Fisherman's luck and some other uncertain things . wrote in 1658 anenvious book entitled Northern Memoirs, calcv^lated for the Meridian of Scotland, &c., towhich is added The Contemplative and Practi-cal Angler. In this book the furious Franckfirst pays Walton the flattery of imitation, andthen further adorns him with abuse, calling TheCompleat Angler an indigested octavo, stuffedwith morals from Dubravius and others, andmore than hinting that the father of anglersknew little or nothing of his uncultivated was a Churchman and a Loyalist, yousee, while Franck was a Commonwealth manan
Fisherman's luck and some other uncertain things . wrote in 1658 anenvious book entitled Northern Memoirs, calcv^lated for the Meridian of Scotland, &c., towhich is added The Contemplative and Practi-cal Angler. In this book the furious Franckfirst pays Walton the flattery of imitation, andthen further adorns him with abuse, calling TheCompleat Angler an indigested octavo, stuffedwith morals from Dubravius and others, andmore than hinting that the father of anglersknew little or nothing of his uncultivated was a Churchman and a Loyalist, yousee, while Franck was a Commonwealth manand an Independent. The other detractor of Walton was LordByron, who wrote The quaint, old, cmel coxcomb in his gnlletShould have a hook, and a small tront to pnll it But Byron is certainly a poor authority on thequality of mercy. His contempt need not causean honest man overwhelming distress. I shouldcall it a complimentary dislike. Walton was a great quoter. His book is notstuffed, as Franck jealously alleged, but it *I forgot Leigh Hunt. 132. Walton was a man so peaceful and contented. FISHING m BOOKS is certainly well sauced with piquant referencesto other writers, as early as the author of theBook of Job, and as late as John Dennys, whobetrayed to the world The Secrets of Anglingin 1613. Walton further seasoned his bookwith fragments of information about fish andfishing, more or less apocryphal, gathered from^lian, Pliny, Plutarch, Sir Francis Bacon,Dubravius, Gesner, Rondeletius, the learnedAldrovandus, the venerable Bede, the divine DuBartas, and many others. He borrowed freelyfor the adornment of his discourse, and did notscorn to make use of what may be called livequotations, — that is to say, the unpublishedremarks of his near contemporaries, caught infriendly conversation, or handed down by oraltradition. But these various seasonings did not disguise,they only enhanced, the delicate flavour of thedish which he served up to his readers. Thiswas all of his own taking,
Size: 1303px × 1919px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, bookpublishernewyo, bookyear1901
