EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION 



IN presenting a new edition of William Scrope's 

 Days and Nights of Salmon Fishing to the 

 angling community of the year 1921 one is a 

 little doubtful as to one's attitude as show- 

 man. Should it be proud or slightly apologetic ? 

 There is justification for either alternative, but, on 

 the whole, I am inclined to think that pride wins. 

 For the book is a Classic, a great Classic, and it is, 

 moreover, a Classic which it is now very hard to 

 come by. The first edition of 1843 is a thing of 

 price, of steadily increasing price, the second edition 

 of 1854 is quite rare, and the only modern edition is 

 over twenty years old and is now, I believe, out of 

 print. So modern anglers who want a copy of Scrope 

 have for some time been limited to the chances of the 

 second-hand market, which are precarious. I am 

 sure that they will welcome the opportunity now 

 given to them of acquiring a copy by the simple 

 process of walking into a shop and asking for it. 



I have said that the book is a great Classic, which 

 is rather a strong assertion, for the title may not be 

 lightly conferred, especially on sporting books, which 

 are, too many of them, apt to depend more on a 

 bond of sympathy between author and reader than 

 on intrinsic merit in themselves. I am not, however, 

 inclined to modify my verdict on Scrope's volume. 



