SKETCH OF THE AUTHOR'S LIFE. 



If he should not have been successful in any of his intentions, 

 yet there remains this consolation behind that these, his pursuits, 

 by keeping the body and mind employed, have under Providence, 

 contributed to much health and cheerfulness of spirits even to old 

 age. Gilbert White. 



WHILE the work now presented to river anglers 

 was passing through the press, a painful incident, 

 and one deeply connected with its matured com- 

 pletion, occurred in the death of the author. A pang 

 of sorrow, such as only the loss of many endearing 

 qualities could occasion, shot through many a heart 

 within miles of his residence, as it was spread from 

 lip to lip that John Younger was dead. On a long 

 summer day, the 19th of June, when the pleasant 

 sights and objects of his " dear native valleys" wore 

 their freshest aspect, John Younger died. For some 

 time previous, his hardy compact frame, that had 

 stood the buffets of a life longer than the common 

 span, shewed signs of decay. There is little doubt 

 that poverty, with its saddening distractions, weighed 



upon the elasticity of his nature. Physical ailments, 

 1 



