VI PREFACE. 



boast of offering much that is original, he may 

 at least claim something on the score of in- 

 dustry, in letting nothing escape unnoticed 

 that came before him. The practice of Angling 

 has been so often and so well described, that 

 while he cannot altogether pass over his 

 favourite pursuit, without some glancings at 

 the best methods of fishing with rod and 

 line ; the most judicious choice of times and 

 seasons; and the most favourable selection 

 of stations for the purpose, as they have pre- 

 sented themselves in his own practice; he, 

 nevertheless, principally builds his hope of 

 interesting the reader by his anecdotical and 

 bibliographical notices. 



In this age of improvement, even our 

 sports are wont to be offered to us with a 

 philosophic halo around them. Walton long 

 ago made Angling a medium for inculcating 

 the most fervent piety and the purest mo- 

 rality. Nor can the finny tribes themselves 

 fail to excite in our minds surprise and ad- 

 miration, whether we consider the singularities 

 of their construction, the diversities of their 

 forms, or their vast importance to man. On 

 these interesting subjects, the author has 

 confined himself to a few cursory remarks 

 in his introductory chapter, and to the small 



