12 PLEASURES OF ANGLING. 



tures come to all the brethren of the angle, but 

 they come in full measure to but few besides ; be- 

 cause the true angler, " born so," as good Sir Izaak 

 hath it, has within himself, more than those who 

 have no sympathy with his craft, the elements 

 which are necessary to bring him thus en rapport 

 with Nature. And I say all this, not to elevate 

 the art above what is becoming, but to show that 

 the angler, in the quiet pursuit of his craft, finds 

 other attractions, purer and higher and more ennob- 

 ling, than the mere act of taking fish. Let not 

 those who are so " of the earth earthy " as to be 

 unable to find any other pleasure in this pastime 

 than that derived from " striking " and " killing " 

 their prey, write themselves down as the disciples 

 of the quiet and gentle Father of the art. For 

 they are " bastards and not sons," and merit a 

 place rather among the pot-hunters of the guild 

 than among its appreciative disciples. 



But fondness for fishing is no proof of sanctifi- 

 cation. The selfish man at home is selfish in his 

 pleasures ; and there is no pastime where one is 

 oftener tempted to be selfish than in angling. 

 Few, indeed, are those who would send a friend to 

 a favorite pool before he himself had tried it. To 

 do so is the very highest proof of magnanimity. 

 I have known a few such in my experience men 

 who, if asked for their coat would give their cloak 



