i86 Recreations of a Sportsman 



lating high ideals in sportsmanship goes without 

 saying. Her introduction to sport is a classic. 

 She begins by quoting Solomon, to the effect 

 that a cheerful spirit maketh a flourishing age, 

 A fair age, and a long life. Then she asks what 

 are the things that cause a man to have a merry 

 and cheerful spirit. 'Truly to my best dyscrecon, 

 it seemeth goodly sports and honest gamys whom 

 a man joyeth without any repentaunce after.' 



" Then she goes on to select the four honest 

 games or sports that will bring fair age and 

 long life, to wit, hunting, hawking, fowling, and 

 fishing. l The beste to my simple dyscrecon, why 

 then is fishing . . . with a rodde.' She refers to 

 the fact that angling is not arduous and that it 

 counts little if he lose fish or tackle and if he 

 catches nothing in the way of fish; he has at 

 least his ' holsom walk ' and a ' sweet ayre ' and 

 and * swete savour of the nieede floures that mak- 

 yth hym hungry.' He also hears the melody of 

 birds, and she readily proves that angling keeps 

 a man well, makes him better, morally, physi- 

 cally and mentally, all in the quaint language 

 of four hundred years ago. 



" No high standard of sport has even been 

 adopted that is not traceable to Dame Juliana, 

 who has given us a list of rules for anglers that 

 holds to-day, or should hold. She was the orig- 

 inal giver of advice to the ' trout hog.' Listen : 

 1 Also ye shall not be to ravenous in takyng of 



