INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 



The mere sight of a fishing-line in after-life is often- 

 times sufiicientj without the aid of other accessories, to 

 awake pleasant memories of the past, " Quels souvenirs 

 touchants cette ligne pent rappeler \" writes Lacepede : and 

 if there must always be a touch of melancholy blending 

 with these pleasant associations — associations which the 

 chances of life, or of death, may perhaps make it impossible 

 that we should ever renew — depend upon it, it is not the 

 melancholy that " corrodes," but rather the tender senti- 

 ment which soothes the heart where it rests, and leaves its 

 owner a kindlier and a better man. 



But I am forgetting my utilitarian motto. To all true 

 anglers, then, I venture to submit these pages ; and I would 

 say to them, grudge not a few hours, or even days, to a 

 pursuit which wiU assuredly repay you fiftyfold by years 

 of after-gratification. 



