For my part,had I a river,I would gladly let all honest anglers that use the fly cast line in it,but,where there is no protection,then nets,poison,dynamite,slaughter of fingerlings,and unholy baits devastate the fish,so that 'Free Fishing'spells no fishing at all.This presses most hardly on the artisan who fishes fair,a member of a large class with whose pastime only a churl would wish to interfere.
We are now compelled,if we would catch fish,to seek Tarpon in Florida,Mahseer in India:it does not suffice to 'stretch our legs up Tottenham Hill.'
Footnotes:
{1}The MS.was noticed in The Freebooter,Oct.18,1823,but Sir Harris Nicolas could not find it,where it was said to be,among the Lansdowne MSS.
{2}The quip about 'goods and chattels'was revived later,in the case of a royal mistress.
{3}Sir Walter was fond of trout-fishing,and in his Quarterly review of Davy's Salmonia,describes his pleasure in wading Tweed,in 'Tom Fool's light'at the end of a hot summer day.In salmon-fishing he was no expert,and said to Lockhart that he must have Tom Purdie to aid him in his review of Salmonia.The picturesqueness of salmon-spearing by torchlight seduced Scott from the legitimate sport.
{4}There is an edition by Singer,with a frontispiece by Wainewright,the poisoner.London,1820.
{5}Nicolas,I.clv.
{6}Barker's Delight;or,The Art of Angling.1651,1657,1659,London.
{7}I have examined all the Angling works of the period known to me.Gilbert's Angler's Delight (1676)is a mere pamphlet;William Gilbert,gent.pilfers from Walton,without naming him,and has literally nothing original or meritorious.The book is very scarce.My own copy is 'uncut,'but incomplete,lacking the directions for fishing 'in Hackney River.'
Gervase Markham,prior to Walton,is a compiler rather than an original authority on angling.
End