Although the precepts of the quaint treatise appear antiquated and 

 amusing to a degree, nearly all devoted lovers of angling will heartily agree 

 with the feminine philosophy embodied in the statement that many miseries 

 attend the sports of hunting, hawking, and fowling, and "dowteles thenne 

 folovvyth it, that it must nedes be the dysporte of fysshynge wyth an 

 angle that causeth a long lyfe and a mery." The conclusion thus drawn 

 may not be satisfactory, nor the reasons clear to a field sportsman, but they 

 are ample for the angling brotherhood. 



Following down the line of famous English authors, from the days 

 of Walton to the present time, it will be found that most of the immortals 

 have published pleasant words relating to fishing as a pastime, and Sir 

 Humphrey Davy gave to the world evidence of his love for the theme 

 by writing that admirable work, " Salmonia, or Days of Fly Fishing ;" 

 while Prof. John Wilson (the inimitable "Christopher North") in his 

 Nodes Ambrosianae^ recorded some of the most attractive observations 

 on angling in the whole range of modern literature. 



In America several prominent literary men of the past half century 

 have delighted the fishing fraternity with angling books and essays. Dr. 

 Geo. W. Bethune, the great divine, found time amid his more serious 

 labors, to prepare an elaborate American edition of Walton's Complete 

 Angler, and Hon. Robert B. Roosevelt, diplomat and scholar, has written 

 several volumes on fishing as entertaining and instructive in their way 

 as are the thrilling works by his nephew, — the gifted Theodore Roose- 

 velt — descriptive of the wild sports of the West. The well-earned fame 

 of Charles Lanman rests equally upon his achievements as artist and 

 angling author ; while Henr\' William Herbert, the classical scholar and 

 novelist, is best remembered under the name of " Frank Forester," his 

 works on fishing and field sports taking high rank at the present day, 

 though his historical romances, upon which he believ^ed his literary repu- 

 tation must depend, are nearly forgotten by the reading public. 



It is evident that a pastime which holds T^e /attention ajid warm 

 admiration of scliolarly men must have xx^\\c\\ ^o^^oi^'a^^ 

 " passeth the understanding " of those who Jmve^ 

 go a-fishing. The familiar adage, "spare ^tb^ X^< 

 has been misuntlerstood and the rod mis^.^§| 

 for many generations past. The propel" r|)(T few 

 the youth, in most cases, is not the birch bat the 

 bamboo, and this should be gently pliiced .wi- 

 the hand of the young student, with ^ jiidici 

 instructions as to the best times and "pi 

 conning his new lines, concluding ,witS-?^g 



