PRACTICAL FLY FISHING 



It was at the pool below Cromford Bridge 

 that this initiation took place, which made young 

 John Beever a successful angler, and enabled 

 him in the end to write Practical Fly-fishing. 

 From the same place, still as lovely as in those 

 ancient days, even though its repose has been 

 broken in upon by the main line of the Mid- 

 land Railway, the Rector of Cromford, the 

 Rev. W. H. Arkwright, kindly sends the follow- 

 ing extracts from private letters, giving some 

 gossip about this same Frank, in whom any 

 reader of his pupil's book can hardly fail 

 to be interested. Mr. James Arkwright of 

 Cromford writes (Nov. 15, 1892): 'Old Frank 

 Ogden, about whom you inquire, was a great 

 friend of mine from fifty to sixty years since. I 

 learnt a good deal from him of the gentle art 

 or * contemplative man's amusement.' I got 

 my flies from him, and sat watching him making 

 them, which was his occupation in his latter 

 days. At one time Frank was my father's 

 huntsman, when he kept harriers, which was 

 before my time, though I can just remember 

 the kennels in front of the Rock House Lodge. 

 4 Old Frank' was afterwards coachman to my 

 father, and I think at one time was a post-boy, 

 probably before he lived with my father. A 

 son of Frank was a distinguished fly-maker, and 



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