CHAP. III.] THE SECOND DAY. 379 



bowling-green too, close by it ; so, though I am myself no 

 very good bowler, I am not totally devoted to my own 

 pleasure, but that I have also some regard to other men's. 

 And now, sir, you are come to the door, 1 pray walk in, and 

 there we will sit and talk, as long as you please. 



1 This celebrated fishing-house, of which we have given two views, is 

 formed of stone, and the room within is a cube of fifteen feet, paved with 

 black and white marble, having in the centre a square black marble table. 

 The roof, which is triangular in shape, terminates in a square stone sun- 

 dial surmounted by a globe and a vane. It was originally wainscoted with 

 walls of carved panels and divisions, in the larger spaces of which were 

 painted some of the most interesting scenes in the vicinity of the building ; 

 whilst the smaller ones were occupied with groups of fishing-tackle. In 

 the right-hand corner stood a large beaufet with folding-doors, on which were 

 painted the portraits of Walton and Cotton, attended by a servant-boy ; 

 and beneath it was a closet, having a trout and a grayling delineated upon 

 the door. Such was the original appearance of the fishing house, as col- 

 lected from a description given by Mr. White of Crickhowel to Sir John 

 Hawkins, in 1784 ; although it was then considerably decayed, especially 

 in the wainscoting and the paintings. 



To this, the following account of its present state, written from actual 

 observation by W. H. Pepys, Esq., F.R.S., etc. will form an appropriate 

 and an interesting counterpart. The visit which it details was made by a 

 party composed of several eminent characters equally distinguished in 

 science and the fine arts. 



" It was in the month of April, 1811, that I visited the celebrated 

 fishing-house of Cotton and Walton. I left Ashbourn about nine o'clock 

 in the morning, accompanied by several brothers of the angle : we took the 

 Buxton road for about six miles, and turning through a gate to the left, 

 soon descended into the valley of the Dove, and continued along the banks 

 of the river about three miles farther, when we arrived at Beresford Hall. 

 The fishing-house is situated on a small peninsula, round which the river 

 flows, and was then nearly enveloped with trees. It has been a small neat 

 stone building, covered with stone slates or tiles, but is now going fasfc to 

 decay : the stone steps by which you entered the door are nearly destroyed. 

 It is of a quadrangular form, having a door and two windows in the front, 

 and one larger window on each of the other three sides. The door was 

 secured on the outside by a strong staple, but the bars and casements of 

 the windows being gone, an easy entrance was obtained. The marble floor, 

 as described by White in 1784, had been removed ; only one of the pedestals 

 upon which the table was formerly placed was standing, and that much 

 deteriorated. On the left side was the fire-place, the mantelpiece and sides 

 of which were in a good state. The chimney and recess for the stove were 

 so exactly on the Rumford plan, that one might have supposed he had lived 

 in the time when it was erected. On the right hand side of the room is an 

 angular excavation or small cellar, over which the cupboard, or beaufet, 

 formerly stood. The wainscot of the room is wanting, the ceiling is 

 broken, and part of the stone-tiling admits both light and water. Upon 



