THE COMPLETE ANGLER. 17 



piece of parchment no bigger than your hand, though several 

 sheets will not do it safely in this wiser age; I say, sir, if you 

 take us Anglers to be such simple men as I have spoken, 

 then myself and those of my profession will be glad to be so 

 understood : but if by simplicity you meant to express a 

 general defect in those that profess arid practise the excellent 

 art of angling, I hope in time to disabuse you, and make the 

 contrary appear so evidently, that, if you will but have patience 

 to hear me, I shall remove all the anticipations that discourse, 

 or time, or prejudice, have possessed you with against that * 

 laudable and ancient art; for I know it worthy the knowledge 

 and practice of a wise man. 



But, gentlemen, though I be able to do this, I am not so 

 unmannerly as to engross all the discourse to myself; and, 

 therefore, you two having declared yourselves, the one to be 

 a lover of hawks, the other of hounds, I shall be most glad 

 to hear what you can say in the commendation of that 

 recreation which each of you love and practise ; and having 

 heard what you can say, I shall be glad to exercise your 

 attention with what I can say concerning my own recreation 

 and art of angling, and by this means we shall make the way 

 to seem the shorter ; and if you like my motion, I would 

 have Mr. Falconer to begin. 



AUG. Your motion is consented to with all my heart ; and 

 to testify it, I will begin as you have desired me. 



And .first, for the element that I use to trade in, which is 

 the air, an element of more worth than weight an element 

 that doubtless exceeds both the earth and water; for though 

 I sometimes deal in both, yet the air is most properly mine, 

 I and my hawks use that most, and it yields us most recrea- 

 tion : it stops not the high soaring of my noble, generous 

 falcon ; in it she ascends to such a height as the dull eyes of 

 beasts and fish are not able to reach to ; their bodies are too 

 gross for such high elevations : in the air my troops of hawks 

 soar up on high, and when they are lost in the sight of men, 

 then they attend upon and converse with the gods; therefore 

 I think my eagle is so justly styled " Jove's servant in ordi- 

 nary ;" and that very falcon that I am now going to see, 

 deserves no meaner title, for she usually in her flight endan- 

 gers herself, like the son of Dredalus, to have her wings 

 scorched by the sun's heat, she flies so near it ; but her mettle 

 makes her careless of danger ; for then she heeds nothing, but 

 makes her nimble pinions cut the fluid air. and so makes her 



B 



