30 



imperial fishermen may be added his late 

 majesty George the Fourth. Angling has 

 not, however, been much in repute among 

 the rulers of the earth, for there is no " royal 

 road" to the art any more than there is to 

 geometry. The servants of a king may stock 

 a pond with fish, but it is beyond their skill 

 to make them bite when majesty wishes to 

 enjoy an hour's amusement in angling. 

 Fish have no idea of the distinguished 

 honour of being hooked and whisked out of 

 their native element by the hand of a king ; 

 and they are no more ambitious of seizing 

 a monarch's bait than a clown's. They are 

 so shockingly deficient in courtly polite- 

 ness, that though a king be anxiously wait- 

 ing for a bite, they never offer even to nibble 

 until it perfectly suits their own pleasure. 

 Looking at these circumstances, we need 

 not wonder that angling has never been 

 much celebrated as a royal pastime. 



Burrell. Walton's instance of Antony's 

 angling is very ill chosen, for the passage in 



