38 NOTES ON FISH AND FISHING. 



writes of himself in the " Author's Epistle " (first edit.), 

 as follows : — 



" I am now grown old I have written no more but my own 



experience and practice If any noble or gentle angler, of what 



degree soever he be, have a mind to discourse of any of these wayes 

 and experiments, I live in Henry the 7th's Gifts, the next door to the 

 Gatehouse in "Westm. My name is Barker, where I shall be ready, as 

 long as please God, to satisfie them, and maintain my art, during life, 

 which is not like to be long." 



Both ofBarker's books were reprinted by Burn (London) 

 in 1820. 



That Walton knew and thought highly of Barker's 

 first book is seen from the following remark of Piscator 

 on the Fourth Day : — " I will tell you freely, I find Mr. 

 Thomas Barker, a gentleman that has spent much time 

 and money in Angling, deal so judiciously and freely in a 

 little book of his, Angling with a fly for Trout, that I will 

 give you his directions without much variation." This 

 occurs in the first edition] but in subsequent editions 

 Walton altered his text to " directions as were lately 

 given to me by an ingenious brother of the Angle, an 

 honest man, and a most excellent fly-fisher/' and as the 

 list of flies then given is a verbatim copy of that given 

 by Leonard Mascall, above mentioned, it would seem 

 that he is the " excellent fly-fisher alluded to," though 

 there is some little difficulty as to dates. In 1652, 

 Gervase Markham, who had before then published several 

 works on country pursuits and sports, issued his Young 

 Sportsman's Delight and Instructor in Angling, &c, a 

 book with which, doubtless, Walton was familiar, as he 

 also may be presumed to have been with other Angling 

 Literature existing at his time; though I cannot help 

 remarking that in his "Dedicatory Epistle" to John 



