ON THE THAMES. 807 
ON THE THAMES. 
WE have lately read and heard much of “Social 
Science,” and we have had it dinned into our ears 
~ how necessary fresh air and exercise are to the well- 
being of all good folks, be they inhabitants of town or 
country ; but there is one outdoor sport which I 
think has not been mentioned at all by any of the 
professors of public health, yet which, to my mind, is 
worthy of being seriously noticed—I mean “angling,” 
or, if you please, “fishing.” The impure air of London 
necessarily creates a feeling of debility and oppres- 
sion, and, as a remedy for this, the gin-shop is but 
too often applied to. Fresh air, be it observed, is a 
much cheaper and much more wholesome stimulant ; 
and this can be obtained in abundance, and at a cheap 
rate, by going out fishing. How, for instance, is the 
poor artisan, by nature a Nimrod, by profession a 
tailor, to gratify his instinct at a small expense of 
time and money? He cannot hunt; he has no horse, 
and if he had, gure would he remain long. on the 
animal’s back were he mounted? He cannot’ shoot ; 
he has no gun, and if he had he could get nothing - 
better than hedge-popping ; but he can fish, When, 
