The complete angler, or The contemplative man's recreation

Contents

Introductory Essay i

Author's Dedication to John Offley, Esq. . 37

Author's Address to his Readers ... 41

Chap. III. — How to fish for, and to dress, the Chavender, or Chub 100

Chap. IV. — Observations of the Nature and Breeding of the Trout, and how to fish for him. And the Milk-maid's Song .... 107

THE THIRD AND FOURTH DAYS.

Chap. V. — More Directions how to fish for, and how to make for the Trout an Artificial Minnow and Flies, with some Merriment . -122

VI CONTENTS.

THE FOURTH DAY.

Chap. VI. — Observations of the Umber or Grayling, and Directions how to fish for them . 166

Chap. VII. — Observations of the Salmon, with Directions how to fish for him . . . - . .169

Chap. VIII. — Observations of the Luce or Pikk,

with Directions how to fish for him . . .173

Chap. IX. — Observations of the Carp, with Directions how to fish for him . . . . .192

Chap. X. — Observations of the Bream, and Directions to catch him ...... 202

Chap. XI. — Observations of the Tench, and Advice

how to angle for him . . . . .210

Chap. XII. — Observations of the Pearch, and Directions how to fish for him . . . .214

Chap. XIII. — Observations of the Eel, and other

Fish that want scales, and how to fish for them 220

Chap. XIV. — Observations of the Barbel, and Directions how to fish for him .... 229

Chap. XV. — Observations of the Gudgeon, the Ruffe, and the Bleak, and how to fish for them ......... 235

Chap. XVI. — Is of nothing, or that which is nothing worth . . ... . . . 239

THE FIFTH DAY.

Chap. XVII. — Of Roach and Dace, and how to fish

for them ; and of Cadis 248

Chap. XVIII. — Of the Minnow or Penk, of the Loach, and of the Bull-Head, or Miller's- Thumb 260

Chap. XIX. — Of several Rivers, and some Observations of Fish . . . . . . . 265

CONTENTS. Vll

Chap. XX. — Of Fish-Ponds, and how to order

them 270

Chap. XXI. — Directions for making of a Line, and

for the coloring of both Rod and Line . -274

Part II

instructions how to angle for a trout or grayling in a clear stream.

The First Day 293

Linn^ean Arrangement of the Fish . . 383 Original and Selected Notes * . . . . 389 General Index 439

* In these notes, in addition to much biographical and historical information, will be found the Various Readings of the Editions published in the lifetime of the Author.

LIST OF EMBELLISHMENTS.

ENGRAVINGS ON STEEL.

i. Portrait of Izaak Walton, from the original, by Hous- MAN, in the National Gallery, copied by C. R. Bone ; engraved by Henry Robinson . . To face Title.

2. Portrait of Charles Cotton, from an original Minia-

ture by Sir Peter Lely, drawn by H. Corbould and K. Meadows ; alluding to his character, as an Angler, a Poet, a Lover, and a Bacchanalian. Engraved by Henry Robinson . To face the Title to Part n.

3. Fac-simile of the original Title, 1653. Engraved by W.

Collard. The type-letter carefully copied by F. P. BECKER. To precede the Dedication to John Offley, Esq.

4. The Salutation at Tottenham Cross . To face page 45 The Hostess . . . . . . . 98

The Milkmaid's Song . . . . .118

Landing the Trout ... . . . . 141

The Scholar's" Recital . . . . '. .217

The Angler's Song ...... 245

The Farewell at Tottenham Cross . . . 284

Landing the Grayling ..... 335

LIST OF EMBELLISHMENTS.

ENGRAVINGS ON WOOD.

PART I.

Ye Finny Tribes, by Nature gay, That sport beneath the noontide ray, Live ye I as erst (in Memory's eye) When love was young, and hope was high : Renew, in thought, each sylvan scene, On which my Mary smiled serene, — Whom but to think I once possest Makes yet the sunshine of my breast.

Charterhouse, Jan. 2d, 1843.

J. M.

i. View from Lea Bridge,* drawn uy T. CRESWICK,

A.R.A In the Title.

2. Portraits of Donne, Wotton, Hooker, Her-

bert, and Sanderson, whose Lives were written by Walton, drawn by J. W. Archer . i

3. Autograph of Charles Cotton . ... 6 4. Izaak Walton .... 7

5. Seal-ring, — a memorial -bequest from Sir H. Davy

to his friend, W. H. Pepys, Esq. ... 26

6. Additional Autograph of Walton, and engraving

of a Seal given to him by Dr. Donne . . 33

* The views on the River Dove accompanying Part II. were most kindly placed at my disposal by my friend John L. Anderdon, Esq. Being the result of several journeys made in the very spirit of Pilgrimage to those romantic spots, they form a very interesting illustration. I have also induced T. Creswick, Esq., to make repeated visits to the Lea, in order that this edition may boast a full display of the actual scenery of both parts of this tranquillizing book.

X LIST OF EMBELLISHMENTS.

7. Old Houses in Fleet Street, including the residence

8. View of Madeley Manor, drawn by J. W. Archer 39

9. The Angler's Study, drawn by K. Meadows, Esq. 44

10. View of Ware on the River Lea, drawn by T.

11. Initial Letter to Chapter I. alluding to its contents

of Angling, Hunting, and Hawking, drawn by J.

W. Archer . -45

12. Montaigne playing with his Cat, drawn by K.

Meadows, Esq 49

13. Portrait of Elias Ashmole, Esq. . . 72

These portraits of eminent men "of wisdom, learning, and experience," many of them personal friends of the author, were drawn on the blocks from the best authorities, by J. W. Archer.

14. Portrait of Dean No well, who " spent a tenth

part of his time in Angling " . . . .82

15. View of Amwell Hill and Bridge over the New

River, near Ware, drawn by T. Creswick, A.R.A 88

16. The Otter, drawn from the life at the Zoological

Gardens (with permission), by J. W. Archer, Esq. The animal was in the act of devouring a fish at the time ...... 90

17. The Chub, from an original painting by W.

Smith 97

These fish, with a few exceptions, are drawn on the blocks by Alexander Fussell, from the originals, painted by A. Cooper, Esq., R.A., and W. Smith, Esq., expressly for this work, and now in the possession of my friend, W. Yarrell, Esq.

LIST OF EMBELLISHMENTS. XI

18. Portrait of W. Camden, Esq., from "Morgan's

Sphere of Gentry " ...... 99

19. View of Broxbourn, on the River Lea, by T.

20. Skegger Trout, from an original Painting by W.

Smith 108

21. Portrait of Sir Walter Raleigh . . . 121

22. The Trout, from an original Painting by A.

Cooper, R.A. 123

23. A Gypsy Camp, drawn by K. Meadows, Esq. 165

24. The Grayling, from an original Painting by W.

Smith 167

25. Portrait of Ulysses Aldrovandus . . 168

26. The Salmon, from an original Painting by A.

Cooper, R. A. 173

27. View of Waltham Abbey, by T. Creswick,

28. The Pike, from an original Painting by A. Coop-

29. Portrait of Lord Bacon . . . . 191

30. The Carp, from an original Painting by Geo.

Lance, Esq., in the possession of W. J. Brod- ERIP, Esq., drawn on the block by J. W. Archer, under the superintendence of the painter himself. Exhibited at the British Institution, 1844 ...... 197

31. Portrait of Conrad Gesner .... 201

32. The Bream, from an original Painting by W.

Smith 203

33. View on the Lea, Mrs. Bullin's Cottage, Ching-

ford, by T. Creswick, A.R.A. . . .210

34. The Tench, from an original Painting by A.

Cooper, R.A. 212

XIV LIST OF EMBELLISHMENTS.

69. Source of the Dove, with Explorers drinking to

the immortal Memory of Walton and Cotton 382

The above are from the original drawings of Messrs. Gompertz and Leitch, in the collection of John L. Anderdon, Esq., mentioned at page ix. ante. The whole were drawn on the blocks for the Engravers by J. W. Archer.

70. The Pearch, from a Painting of a remarkably fine

specimen of this fish, by F. R. Lee, Esq., R.A., in the possession of W. J. Broderip, Esq 388

IN THE NOTES.

71. The Walton Chamber in Beresford Hall, alluded

72. Music to the Angler's Song .... 430

73. View of Theobald's, copied by J. W. Archer,

from the ' ' Vetusta Monumenta "... 438

74. The Weatheixock, with the wind in the "right

quarter," by K. Meadows, Esq. . . . 445

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INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.

T F there were a single circumstance by which the fame of those " honorable men," the effigies of whom now face the reader, could possibly be enhanced, it was that of having for their biographer one who, with the soundest judgment, possessed a sweetness of disposition ever inclining to the bright side of things, a veracity not to be questioned, and a felicity of expression peculiarly his own : thus gifted, like the skilful artist, at once both flattering and faithful, he brought to the task of delineation that delicacy due to family feeling, combined with the justice demanded by strict impartiality : the existence and the application, therefore, of such rare qualities are equally the subject of exultation.

On the other hand, that Izaak WALTON should have been deemed by his contemporaries the fittest of all persons to perform so important a task, were sufficient, by reflection alone, to insure to himself an imperishable name ; the pictorial allusion, therefore, at the head of this Introductory Essay will probably be deemed particularly appropriate : it contains the portraits of Dr. John Donne, Mr. George Herbert, Bishop Sanderson, Mr. Richard Hooker, and Sir Henry Wotton, whose lives, at different times, were written by Walton.

The praise bestowed on the Life of Dr. Donne by Dr. King, afterwards Bishop of Winchester, in a letter to Walton himself, is equally applicable to the rest: — "I am glad that the general demonstration of his worth was so fairly preserved and represented to the world by your pen, in the history of his life ; indeed, so well, that, beside others, the best critic of our later time, Mr. John Hales of Eaton, affirmed to me he had not seen a life written with more advantage to the subject, or reputation to the writer, than that of Dr. Donne."

The posthumous fame of these lives so well accords with this contemporary applause, that they are to be found in almost every respectable library; yet it were unpardonable on the occasion of this attempt * to give additional popularity to our author's inimitable work of the Complete Angler, not to re-

* The attempt was so successful, as to leave me forever indebted to the whole body of the public press. Dr. Southey also spoke of this humble Essay in terms too flattering to be here adduced ; but I must crave pardon for the necessary egotism of a few other notes. Twenty-one years having now elapsed, and three editions become scarce, I have, in the endeavor yet further to increase the popularity of this work, again the co-operation of a host of talent and a world of kindness ! — while the stanchest Waltonians have looked on, free from jealousy, and anxious only to see their beloved author made as attractive as possible to the rising generation.

mind the reader that he has other claims to literary reputation than those derived from this truly felicitous achievement.

In both instances he became an author by mere chance. Sir Henry Wotton had undertaken to write the life of Dr. Donne, and had requested Walton to assist him in collecting materials for that purpose ; but Sir Henry dying before it was completed, Walton undertook it himself, and succeeded so fully to the satisfaction of the most learned men of his time, that it was to be attributed to their importunity, rather than to his own ambition, that he performed the same office for his "dear friend Sir Henry " himself, and those other eminent men whose names have just been enumerated.

Sir Henry Wotton too, as it appears from the Dedication of the Complete Angler to John Offley,* Esq., had intended " to write a discourse of the Art and in praise of Angling, and," continues Walton, "doubtless he had done so, if death had not prevented him ; the remembrance of which hath often made me sorry : for if he had lived to do it, then the unlearned angler had seen some better treatise of this art, a treatise that might have proved worthy his perusal, which, though some have undertaken, I could never yet see in English."

Here again our modest author finds an excuse for

* This gentleman, whose ancestors had been settled at Madeley Manor as early as the year 1237, married the heiress of the Crewes, of Crewe Hall, and was the progenitor of the present Lord Crewe. The family is connected by marriages with the noble houses of Hastings, Powis, and Wilton.

the undertaking of a work, of which it seems almost too weak a praise to say, that its parallel could scarcely have been hoped for, even from the elegant mind of Sir Henry Wotton himself.

Our author, who was born at Stafford in 1593, but who lived the greatest part of his time in London, published the first edition of this celebrated work in 1653, and lived to see it go through no less than five editions ; the last of which, in 1676, was accompanied by a Second Part, written by his intimate friend and adopted son, Charles Cotton of Beresford Hall, in the County of Stafford, Esq. This Second Part, in which Mr. Cotton, from his local opportunities, was enabled to treat more at large on Fly-fishing than Walton had proposed to do, forms an important part of the work, in more than one point of view ; but chiefly, as conveying the fullest evidence of that reverence, and almost homage, which its accomplished author entertained for the character of Walton.

The Fishing-house on the banks of the Dove seems to have been built expressly to perpetuate the memory of their friendship ; the motto over its door was " Piscatoribus sacrum" with the initials of Walton and Cotton interwoven in a cipher upon the keystone of the building, and the same cipher was, by Mr. Cotton's desire, placed in the title-page of the first edition of his portion of the work, and has been continued in all those since published.

This part of our history will be fully illustrated by the following short epistles which passed on the occasion - y and the opportunity is taken of giving the signatures in the genuine autographs of the authors, — ■ that of Walton being also introduced, with a more enlarged specimen of his handwriting, in another place.

To my most worthy Father and Friend, Mr. Izaak Walton, the Elder.

Sir, — Being you were pleased, some years past, to grant me your free leave to do what I have here attempted, and observing you never retract any promise, when made in favor even of your meanest friends, I accordingly expect to see these following particular directions for the taking of a trout to wait upon your better and more general rules for all sorts of angling : and, though mine be neither so perfect, so well digested, nor indeed so handsomely couched, as they might have been, in so long a- time as since your leave was granted, yet I dare affirm them to be generally true ; and they had appeared too in something a neater dress, but that I was surprised with the sudden news of a sudden new edition of your Complete Angler ; so that, having but a little more than ten days' time to turn me in, and rub up my memory, for, in truth, I have not, in all this long time, though I have often thought on 't, and almost as often resolved to go presently about it, I was forced upon the instant to scribble what I here present you ; which I have also endeavored to accommodate to your own method. And, if mine be clear enough for the honest Brothers of the Angle readily to understand, which is the only thing I aim at, then I have my end, and shall need to make no further apology : a writing of this kind not requiring, if I were master of any such thing, any eloquence to set it off or recommend it ; so that if you, in your better judgment, or kindness rather, can allow it passable, for a thing of this nature, you will then do me honor, if the Cipher, fixed and carved in the front of my little fishing-house, may be here explained : and to permit me to attend you in public, who, in private, have ever been, am, and ever resolve to be, sir,

Your most affectionate son and servant,

To my most honored Friend, CHARLES COTTON, Esq. Sir,—

You now see I have returned you your very pleasant and useful discourse of the Art of Fly-fishing, printed just as it was sent me : for I have been so obedient to your desires, as to endure all the praises you have ventured to fix upon me in it. And when I have thanked you for them, as the effects of an undissembled love, then let me tell you, sir, that I will really endeavor to live up to the character you have given of me ; if there were no other reason, yet for this alone, that you, that love me so well, and always think what you speak, may not, for my sake, suffer by a mistake in your judgment.

And, sir, I have ventured to fill a part of your margin, by way of paraphrase, for the reader's clearer understanding the situation, both of your Fishing-house, and the pleasantness of that you dwell in. And I have ventured also to give him a copy of verses that you were pleased to send me, now some years past ; in which he may see a good picture of both ; and so much of your own mind, too, as will make any reader that is blest with a generous soul to love you the better. I confess, that for doing this you may justly judge me too bold : if you do, I will say so too ; and so far commute for my offence, that, though I be more than a hundred miles from you, and in the eighty-third year of my age, yet I will forget both, and next month begin a pilgrimage to beg your pardon ; for I would die in your favor ; and till then will live, sir, Your most affectionate father and friend,

Loudon, April 2Qfk, 1676.

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With this enlarged edition also appeared, for the first time, the following beautiful verses, exhibiting as favorable a specimen of Cotton's poetical powers as his whole works could supply.

THE RETIREMENT,

IRREGULAR STANZAS, ADDRESSED TO

MR. IZAAK WALTON.

FAREWELL, thou busy world ! and may We never meet again : Here I can eat, and sleep, and pray, And do more good in one short day, Than he, who his whole age outwears Upon the most conspicuous theatres, Where naught but vanity and vice do reign.

INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.

Good God ! how sweet are all things here ! How beautiful the fields appeal- !

How cleanly do we feed and lie !

Lord ! what good hours do we keep !

How quietly we sleep !

What peace ! what unanimity !

How innocent from the lewd fashion Is all our business, all our recreation !

III. O how happy here 's our leisure !

O how innocent our pleasure !

O ye valleys ! O ye mountains !

O ye groves, and crystal fountains ! How I love at liberty, By turns, to come and visit ye !

IV. Dear Solitude, the soul's best friend

That man acquainted with himself dost make,

And all his Maker's wonders to entend,

With thee I here converse at will,

And would be glad to do so still ;

For it is thou alone that keep'st the soul awake.

v.

How calm and quiet a delight

Is it alone To read, and meditate, and write ;

By none offended, and offending none ! *To walk, ride, sit, or sleep at one's own ease, And, pleasing a man's self, none other to displease !

VI. O my beloved Nymph ! fair Dove !

Princess of Rivers ! how I love

Upon thy flowery banks to lie, And view thy silver stream, When gilded by a summer's beam,

And in it all thy wanton fry

Playing at liberty ; And, with my angle upon them,

The all of treachery

I ever learned industriously to try.

VII. Such streams, Rome's yellow Tiber cannot show

The Iberian Tagus, or Ligurian Po ;

The Maese, the Danube, and the Rhine,

Are puddle-water all, compared with thine ;

And Loire's pure streams yet too polluted are

With thine much purer to compare ;

The rapid Garonne, and the winding Seine,

Are both too mean,

Beloved Dove, with thee

To vie priority ;

Nay, Thame and Isis when conjoined submit,

And lay their trophies at thy silver feet.

VIII

O my beloved rocks, that rise To awe the earth and brave the skies ! From some aspiring mountain's crown,

How dearly do I love, Giddy with pleasure, to look down,

And from the vales to view the noble heights above !

IO INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.

O my beloved caves ! from Dog-star's heat,

And all anxieties, my safe retreat ;

What safety, privacy, what true delight,

In th' artificial night

Your gloomy entrails make,

Have I taken, do I take !

How oft, when grief has made me fly

To hide me from society,

Ev'n of my dearest friends, have I

In your recesses' friendly shade

All my sorrows open laid, And my most secret woes intrusted to your privacy !

IX. Lord ! would men let me alone, What an over -happy one

Should I think myself to be, Might I, in this desert place, Which most men in discourse disgrace,

Live but undisturbed and free !

Here, in this despised recess,

Would I, maugre Winter's cold, And the Summer's worst excess, *

Try to live out to sixty full years old ! And all the. while,

Without an envious eye, On any thriving under Fortune's smile

Contented live, and then — contented die.

C. C.

But, notwithstanding the purity of sentiment contained in these verses, we are compelled to add that the virtuous aspirations of the poet were rendered

INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. II

.vain by a general want of economy in his affairs : thus forming a striking contrast to those of the practical moralist, whom we cannot help wishing he had been able to imitate in a degree more consistent with his truly creditable admiration. Nevertheless, their connection was highly honorable to them both ; it is beautiful to fancy the cheerful sage relaxing to accommodate himself to the comparatively dissipated man of fashion, who, on the other hand, seems to have held himself as it were in a course of reformation, in compliment to his indulgent friend : nothing can be finer than his carrying this temper to the length of making his acceptableness to Walton the test of his general worthiness. See Part II. Chap. I. : " My father Walton will be seen twice in no man's company he does not like, and likes none but such as he believes to be very honest men ; which is one of the best arguments, or at least one of the best testimonies I have, that I either am, or that he thinks me, one of those, seeing I have not yet found him weaiy of me."

Yet here we cannot refrain from the remark, that Walton triumphs over his coadjutor as much in the true aims of genius as in moral worth ; having immortalized himself by a work which he produced by mere accident ! — whilst Cotton, though almost an author by profession, having chosen disgusting topics for many of his original compositions, now lives chiefly in connection with the name of his venerable friend : — or, to say the least, the benign influence of a virtuous association was never more strikingly illustrated, since his devoted attachment to "Walton forms the best evidence we have of his naturallyamiable disposition, and a more honorable, if not a more certain immortality, is, on his part, the issue of this ever-memorable friendship ; and yet it has been recently and justly observed, that a judicious selection of his poems would stamp him as first rate with the present age ; though his capacity to vie with the most licentious wits of his own times injured his performances, taken as a whole — his Muse was truly " fond to inspire " if sometimes " ashamed to avow " — he flew to his pen upon all occasions, and was so ready at it, that he could disclose all his troubles, and his own noble, generous, jovial, and even thankful temper in half a score lines, as in the following part of an epistle to his friend Sir Clifford Clifton.

' ' He 's good fellow enough to do every one right, And never was first that asked what time of night ; His delight is to toss the can merrily round, And loves to be wet, but hates to be drowned ; He fain would be just, but sometimes he cannot, Which gives him the trouble that other men ha' not ; He honors his friend, but he wants means to show it, And loves to be rhyming, but is the worst poet. Yet among all these vices, to give him his due, He has virtue to be a true lover of you ; But how much he loves you, he says you may guess it, Since nor prose nor yet metre he swears can express it ! "

Right pithily, also, has honest Charles anticipated as full a reply as will ever be necessary to all revilers of his favorite recreation : —

" We care not who says,

And intends it dispraise, That an angler to a fool is next neighbor ;

Let him prate ; what care we ;

We 're as honest as he, And so let him take that for his labor ! " *

But to return to Walton, who must have often lamented the misfortunes of his adopted son.

The precise situation in life in which Walton was placed has unfortunately never reached posterity ; and, with due deference to his earliest biographers, we cannot help thinking it has been fixed in too humble a sphere.

Sir John Hawkins speaks of a deed dated 1624, by which it appears that his house in Fleet Street was in the joint occupation of Izaak Walton and John Mason, Hosier; "whence," says Sir John, "we may conclude, that half a shop was sufficient for the business of Walton." Now to this deduction we by no means agree ; but in unison with the tradition in his family, that he was " a wholesale Linen-draper or Hamburgh Merchant" would much rather infer that

* As for that morbid sensibility which rails at angling on the score of cruelty, let us rely on the defence of the invincibly reasoning Armstrong, — it was neither made on behalf of Walton or Cotton, but injustice to God and for all mankind !

"There are who think these pastimes scarce humane, Yet in my mind (and not relentless I) His life is pure that wears no /onler stains.'"

Izaak Walton (it is to be observed that his name is mentioned first in the said deed) had let a part of his house to the said John Mason, his own business not requiring the public exposure of -his goods.

Be this as it might, we have the pleasure of presenting the reader with a genuine view of the house rendered so truly interesting as the dwelling of our author ; the curious in London topography will recognize the corner house, in the print annexed to this Essay, as the southwest end of Chancery Lane, Fleet Street, as it appeared till within about the last sixteen years. The third west from the corner is considered as the identical house of Walton, whilst the view at the same time contains a glance of the curious old houses up Chancery Lane, in one of which he also resided about ten years after the above date. It is probably the only correct delineation, extant, having been drawn on the spot by the late Mr. Smith of the British Museum, whose superiority in topographical delineation is particularly well known.

Again, we find some of our author's biographers full of wonder at the extent and high respectability of his connections, particularly among the superior clergy of his time ; — it is true that this distinction is ascribed to the most honorable sources, integrity of character, and amiableness of disposition ; we are also apprised of the undoubted fact, that he was brother-in-law to the amiable Bishop Ken, whilst his direct consanguinity with Archbishop Cranmer himself is (although erroneously) insisted on. By extraordinary ingenuity, therefore, mystery has been created out of the very circumstances calculated to afford elucidation ; for what is this but presenting Walton to us in the midst of his own relations and family friends ? * proving him to have been in a walk of life, whatever it exactly was, consistent even with their alliance, as well as countenance and protection ! To reason but a little further, (see only the list of intimates named in his will !) he appears to have known almost everybody who was worth knowing ! — and were it not that there seems to be no record of his intimacy with the congenially-minded Evelyn, we should apply to him what was said by Johnson of Congreve : — " He lived only for himself and his friends, and amongst his friends he was able to name almost every man of his time whom wit or elegance had raised to reputation ! "