68 THE CO:\IPLETE SPORTSMAN 



ignorant tiro, he will never throw away with 

 every symptom of disgust a fine cuttle fish that 

 has become entangled in his line. Being well 

 acquainted with the various cephalopodous 

 creatures from which the best marking-ink is 

 manufactured, he takes them all carefully home 

 and gets his \vife to mark a dozen of his new 

 evening shirts with them. Nothing escapes his 

 vigilant eye: he studies the domestic life of every 

 finny creature that moves beneath the face of 

 the waters. He can discourse at length and 

 with passionate eloquence upon the maternal 

 habits of the cod, an animal that has no less than 

 3,687,760 children every year, and in this respect 

 provides many of us with an example which, as 

 Mr. Roosevelt has already declared, we should 

 do well to follow if the human race is not to 

 become extinct at no very distant date. His 

 joys are simple joys, his pleasures simple 

 pleasures. The confirmed angler leads an idyllic 

 existence, surrounded by beautiful scenery, in- 

 haling copious draughts of fresh air, and acquir- 

 ing physical health at a very small financial 

 outlay. He may employ his thoughts for hours 

 at a time in the noblest studies, enjoy a close 

 communion with nature, and cultivate those 

 higher qualities of the mind that distinguish the 

 fisherman from his less fortunate fellows. If he 

 is unsuccessful from a sporting point of view he 



