the c Compleat Angler. 5 



33 



them angling was as much a matter of praying as of playing, 

 for was there not an entire feries of pious ejaculations for the 

 devout angler's fpecial ufe and benefit ? Ejaculation the firft, 

 when he crofied his threfhold in the morning twilight ; ejacu- 

 lation the fecond, when he firft dipped line in water ; ejacu- 

 lation the third, when the fifh took the bait, and ejaculation 

 the fourth, when he was fairly landed. Apologife, forfooth ! 

 not they. The paftime was ars nobilis to them, in the broaden: 

 fenfe. They magnified their vocation, feeking to raife it above 

 all other fports, by ftrefs of much fubtlety of argument and 

 confiderable fcope of fancy, almofr. putting the fhoes off their 

 feet the while, as if it were, in fome fort, holy ground. 



And time and the world have dealt gently with thefe men, 

 and with their works, keeping the memory of the former green, 

 and floring up the latter in lavender, as Izaak's hoftefs ftored 

 her meets. In fpite of new lights and wide-awake know- 

 ledge, we cling to the old books ftill, loving them for their 

 naivete, their fingle-heartednefs, and that unfading frefhnefs 

 of country life which hangs perfiftently about them, and which 

 even now brings back to our ear the leaves' ripple and the 

 river's murmur, as we thread their lines and turn their pages. 



Whereupon, re-ifTuing out of that Egyptian darknefs, into 

 the full modern daylight once more, do we bring back with 

 us on our lips a fmile or a fneer ? Not the latter, furely, O 

 worfhipful critics — there is no need. We are wifer, it is true, 

 than our forefathers, more fcientific, lefs credulous, but that 

 we are better men, or even very much better Anglers (which 

 is one of the chief points in queftion), is not proven. 



