PEEFACE. Xi 



world is thrown away upon stupidity and self- 

 conceit, and that not only in ethics, but in such 

 practical matters as angling." 



There can be no doubt that the reviewer has 

 here hit upon the two causes of all the ignorance 

 that is in the world, and we, as may be expected, 

 are quite willing to lay the nattering unction to 

 our souls, and to ascribe to these causes the 

 ignorance of those who know no more about 

 fishing than they did before the Practical Angler 

 was published. 



The most unpleasant part of our duty 

 remains to be done, and that is to apologise to 

 a very large number of correspondents whose 

 communications we have been unable to answer. 

 In the first edition, in a moment of heedless 

 enthusiasm, we promised to send pattern flies 

 to any one who wished to see them. We had 

 not the most remote idea of the labour this 

 would entail upon us ; hundreds of letters 

 poured in, and gross after gross of flies went 

 the way whence they did not return ; and after 

 sending away all the flies which we had intended 

 to serve us for years, no resource remained but 



