b PLEASURES OF ANGLING. 



those experienced by the old soldier fondling his 

 trusty matchlock and "fighting his battles o'er 

 again." 



And unpacking one's kit is like meeting old 

 friends. Every marred fly, every frayed leader, 

 every well-worn tip and line and reel, revives 

 pleasant memories of river, pool or camp-fire, of 

 " rise," or " strike," or struggle, only less real than 

 the reality itself, for " only itself can be its parallel." 



No marvel that apostles and prophets, empe- 

 rors and kings, philosophers and bishops, soldiers 

 and statesmen, scholars and poets, and the quiet, 

 gentle and contemplative of all ages and of all pro- 

 fessions, have found delight in angling, or that 

 they have been made the better and the wiser, and 

 the purer and the happier, by its practice. It brings 

 its devotee into close and intimate communion 

 with nature. It takes him into flowery meads 

 and shady woods ; by the side of murmuring 

 brooks, silvery cascades and crystal rivers ; through 

 deep ravines, sentineled by cloud-clapped moun- 

 tains, and into valleys clothed in vernal beauty, 

 and made vocal with rippling waters and the 

 warbling of feathered songsters. It would have 

 been strange indeed if an art which requires such 

 surroundings, and which can only be successfully 

 practised by the exercise of patience and a quiet 

 temper, had not been discovered by Sir Henry 



