viii PREFACE. 



Day," " The Fourth Day," and " The Fifth Day ; " and no 

 other notice is taken of the chapters than by stating at the 

 head of each day the chapters which it contains, and in- 

 serting, in the margin, the number and title of each of them 

 as they occur in the fifth edition. 



A similar plan has also been adopted with respect to the 

 Second Part of the work, by Charles Cotton, the dialogue of 

 which occupies three days. 



The research which has been used in seeking for new 

 materials for the Lives of Walton and Cotton has been re- 

 warded with great success ; and it is not a little remarkable, 

 that the sources which have proved most fertile were as 

 accessible to his former as to his present biographer. The 

 prefaces to Walton's Lives of Donne, Wotton, Hooker, Herbert, 

 and Sanderson, as well as those memoirs themselves, abound 

 in anecdotes or traits of character of their amiable author, 

 which had been unaccountably neglected. Walton's other 

 pieces were scarcely less valuable for this purpose ; and the 

 same remark applies to the various productions of Charles 

 Cotton. To every other source of information diligent 

 application has also been made ; and many new facts, espe- 

 cially as to family connections, have been brought to light. 

 The plan upon which the Memoirs of Walton and Cotton have 

 been written, was to introduce every word in which they have 

 alluded to themselves, so as to render them, as far as was 

 practicable, their own biographers. With this view, all their 

 Letters which could be found, and the prefaces and dedications 

 to their works, have been printed at length, whenever they, 

 in any way, illustrated the character of the writers. 



The pleasing duty remains of offering both the Publisher's 

 and the Editor's thanks to those numerous persons from whom 

 they have derived assistance. The list is long, and contains 



