best backyard playsets for 8 year oldsThe Project Gutenberg eBook of The Compleat Angler, by Izaak Walton
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IZAAK WALTON
THE COMPLEAT ANGLER
To the Right worshipful
John Offley
of Madeley Manor,gift ideas with fidget toys for toddlers in the County of Stafford
Esquire, My most honoured Friend
Sir,—I have made so ill use of your former favours, as by them to beencouraged to entreat, that they may be enlarged to the patronage andprotection of this Book: and I have put on a modest confidence, that Ishall not be denied, because it is a discourse of Fish and Fishing,which you know so well, and both love and practice so much.
You are assured, though there be ignorant men of another belief, thatAngling is an Art: and you know that Art better than others; and thatthis is truth is demonstrated by the fruits of that pleasant labourwhich you enjoy, when you purpose to give rest to your mind, and divestyourself of your more serious business, and, which is often, dedicate aday or two to this recreation.
At which time, if common Anglers should attend you, and be eyewitnessesof the success, not of your fortune, but your skill, it would doubtlessbeget in them an emulation to be like you, and that emulation mightbeget an industrious diligence to be so; but I know it is not attainableby common capacities: and there be now many men of great wisdom,learning, and experience, which love and practice this Art, that know Ispeak the truth.
Sir, this pleasant curiosity of Fish and Fishing, of which you are sogreat a master, has been thought worthy the pens and practices of diversin other nations, that have been reputed men of great learning andwisdom. And amongst those of this nation, I remember Sir Henry Wotton, adear lover of this Art, has told me, that his intentions were to write aDiscourse of the Art, and in praise of Angling; and doubtless he haddone so, if death had not prevented him; the remembrance of which hadoften made me sorry, for if he had lived to do it, then the unlearnedAngler had seen some better treatise of this Art, a treatise that mighthave proved worthy his perusal, which, though some have undertaken, Icould never yet see in English.
But mine may be thought as weak, and as unworthy of common view; and Ido here freely confess, that I should rather excuse myself, than censureothers, my own discourse being liable to so many exceptions; againstwhich you, Sir, might make this one, that it can contribute nothing toYOUR knowledge. And lest a longer epistle may diminish your pleasure, Ishall make this no longer than to add this following truth, that I amreally,
Sir,
your most affectionate Friend,
and most humble Servant,
Iz. Wa.
The epistle to the reader
To all Readers of this discourse, but especially to the honest Angler
I think fit to tell thee these following truths; that I did neitherundertake, nor write, nor publish, and much less own, this Discourse toplease myself: and, having been too easily drawn to do all to pleaseothers, as I propose not the gaining of credit by this undertaking, so Iwould not willingly lose any part of that to which I had a just titlebefore I began it; and do therefore desire and hope, if I deserve notcommendations, yet I may obtain pardon.
And though this Discourse may be liable to some exceptions, yet I cannotdoubt but that most Readers may receive so much pleasure or profit byit, as may make it worthy the time of their perusal, if they be not toograve or too busy men. And this is all the confidence that I can put on,concerning the merit of what is here offered to their consideration andcensure; and if the last prove too severe, as I have a liberty, so I amresolved to use it, and neglect all sour censures.
And I wish the Reader also to take notice, that in writing of it I havemade myself a recreation of a recreation; and that it might prove so tohim, and not read dull and tediously, I have in several places mixed,not any scurrility, but some innocent, harmless mirth, of which, if thoube a severe, sour-complexioned man, then I here disallow thee to be acompetent judge; for divines say, there are offences given, and offencesnot given but taken.
And I am the willinger to justify the pleasant part of it, becausethough it is known I can be serious at seasonable times, yet the wholeDiscourse is, or rather was, a picture of my own disposition, especiallyin such days and times as I have laid aside business, and gone a-fishingwith honest Nat. and R. Roe; but they are gone, and with them most of mypleasant hours, even as a shadow that passeth away and returns not.
And next let me add this, that he that likes not the book, should likethe excellent picture of the Trout, and some of the other fish, which Imay take a liberty to commend, because they concern not myself.
Next, let me tell the Reader, that in that which is the more useful partof this Discourse, that is to say, the observations of the nature andbreeding, and seasons, and catching of fish, I am not so simple as notto know, that a captious reader may find exceptions against somethingsaid of some of these; and therefore I must entreat him to consider,that experience teaches us to know that several countries alter thetime, and I think, almost the manner, of fishes' breeding, but doubtlessof their being in season; as may appear by three rivers inMonmouthshire, namely, Severn, Wye, and Usk, where Camden observes, thatin the river Wye, Salmon are in season from September to April; and weare certain, that in Thames and Trent, and in most other rivers, they bein season the six hotter months.
Now for the Art of catching fish, that is to say, How to make a man thatwas none to be an Angler by a book, he that undertakes it shallundertake a harder task than Mr. Hales, a most valiant and excellentfencer, who in a printed book called A Private School of Defenceundertook to teach that art or science, and was laughed at for hislabour. Not but that many useful things might be learned by that book,but he was laughed at because that art was not to be taught by words,but practice: and so must Angling. And note also, that in this DiscourseI do not undertake to say all that is known, or may be said of it, but Iundertake to acquaint the Reader with many things that are not usuallyknown to every Angler; and I shall leave gleanings and observationsenough to be made out of the experience of all that love and practicethis recreation, to which I shall encourage them. For Angling may besaid to be so like the Mathematicks, that it can never be fully learnt;at least not so fully, but that there will still be more new experimentsleft for the trial of other men that succeed us.
But I think all that love this game may here learn something that may beworth their money, if they be not poor and needy men: and in case theybe, I then wish them to forbear to buy it; for I write not to get money,but for pleasure, and this Discourse boasts of no more, for I hate topromise much, and deceive the Reader.
And however it proves to him, yet I am sure I have found a high contentin the search and conference of what is here offered to the Reader'sview and censure. I wish him as much in the perusal of it, and so Imight here take my leave; but will stay a little and tell him, thatwhereas it is said by many, that in fly-fishing for a Trout, the Anglermust observe his twelve several flies for the twelve months of the year,I say, he that follows that rule, shall be as sure to catch fish, and beas wise, as he that makes hay by the fair days in an Almanack, and nosurer; for those very flies that used to appear about, and on, the waterin one month of the year, may the following year come almost a monthsooner or later, as the same year proves colder or hotter: and yet, inthe following Discourse, I have set down the twelve flies that are inreputation with many anglers; and they may serve to give him someobservations concerning them. And he may note, that there are in Wales,and other countries, peculiar flies, proper to the particular place orcountry; and doubtless, unless a man makes a fly to counterfeit thatvery fly in that place, he is like to lose his labour, or much of it;but for the generality, three or four flies neat and rightly made, andnot too big, serve for a Trout in most rivers, all the summer: and forwinter fly-fishing it is as useful as an Almanack out of date. And ofthese, because as no man is born an artist, so no man is born an Angler,I thought fit to give thee this notice.
When I have told the reader, that in this fifth impression there aremany enlargements, gathered both by my own observation, and thecommunication with friends, I shall stay him no longer than to wish hima rainy evening to read this following Discourse; and that if he be anhonest Angler, the east wind may never blow when he goes a-fishing.
I. W.
The first day
A Conference betwixt an Angler, a Falconer, and a Hunter, eachcommending his Recreation
Chapter I
Piscator, Venator, Auceps
Piscator. You are well overtaken, Gentlemen! A good morning to you both!I have stretched my legs up Tottenham Hill to overtake you, hoping yourbusiness may occasion you towards Ware, whither I am going this finefresh May morning.
Venator. Sir, I, for my part, shall almost answer your hopes; for mypurpose is to drink my morning's draught at the Thatched House inHoddesden; and I think not to rest till I come thither, where I haveappointed a friend or two to meet me: but for this gentleman that yousee with me, I know not how far he intends his journey; he came solately into my company, that I have scarce had time to ask him thequestion.
Auceps. Sir, I shall by your favour bear you company as far asTheobalds, and there leave you; for then I turn up to a friend's house,who mews a Hawk for me, which I now long to see.
Venator. Sir, we are all so happy as to have a fine, fresh, coolmorning; and I hope we shall each be the happier in the others' company.And, Gentlemen, that I may not lose yours, I shall either abate or amendmy pace to enjoy it, knowing that, as the Italians say, "Good company ina journey makes the way to seem the shorter".
Auceps. It may do so, Sir, with the help of good discourse, which,methinks, we may promise from you, that both look and speak socheerfully: and for my part, I promise you, as an invitation to it, thatI will be as free and open hearted as discretion will allow me to bewith strangers.
Venator. And, Sir, I promise the like.
Piscator. I am right glad to hear your answers; and, in confidence youspeak the truth, I shall put on a boldness to ask you, Sir, whetherbusiness or pleasure caused you to be so early up, and walk so fast? forthis other gentleman hath declared he is going to see a hawk, that afriend mews for him.
Venator. Sir, mine is a mixture of both, a little business and morepleasure; for I intend this day to do all my business, and then bestowanother day or two in hunting the Otter, which a friend, that I go tomeet, tells me is much pleasanter than any other chase whatsoever:howsoever, I mean to try it; for to-morrow morning we shall meet a packof Otter-dogs of noble Mr. Sadler's, upon Amwell Hill, who will be thereso early, that they intend to prevent the sunrising.
Piscator. Sir, my fortune has answered my desires, and my purpose is tobestow a day or two in helping to destroy some of those villanousvermin: for I hate them perfectly, because they love fish so well, orrather, because they destroy so much; indeed so much, that, in myjudgment all men that keep Otter-dogs ought to have pensions from theKing, to encourage them to destroy the very breed of those base Otters,they do so much mischief.
Venator. But what say you to the Foxes of the Nation, would not you aswillingly have them destroyed? for doubtless they do as much mischief asOtters do.
Piscator. Oh, Sir, if they do, it is not so much to me and myfraternity, as those base vermin the Otters do.
Auceps. Why, Sir, I pray, of what fraternity are you, that you are soangry with the poor Otters?
Piscator. I am, Sir, a Brother of the Angle, and therefore an enemy tothe Otter: for you are to note, that we Anglers all love one another,and therefore do I hate the Otter both for my own, and their sakes whoare of my brotherhood.
Venator. And I am a lover of Hounds; I have followed many a pack of dogsmany a mile, and heard many merry Huntsmen make sport and scoff atAnglers.
Auceps. And I profess myself a Falconer, and have heard many grave,serious men pity them, it is such a heavy, contemptible, dullrecreation.
Piscator. You know, Gentlemen, it is an easy thing to scoff at any artor recreation; a little wit mixed with ill nature, confidence, andmalice, will do it; but though they often venture boldly, yet they areoften caught, even in their own trap, according to that of Lucian, thefather of the family of Scoffers:
"Lucian, well skilled in scoffing, this hath writ;
Friend, that's your folly, which you think your wit:
This, you vent oft, void both of wit and fear,
Meaning another, when yourself you jeer."
If to this you add what Solomon says of Scoffers, that "they are anabomination to mankind," let him that thinks fit scoff on, and be aScoffer still; but I account them enemies to me and all that love Virtueand Angling.
And for you that have heard many grave, serious men pity Anglers; let metell you, Sir, there be many men that are by others taken to be seriousand grave men, whom we contemn and pity. Men that are taken to be grave,because nature hath made them of a sour complexion; money-getting men,men that spend all their time, first in getting, and next, in anxiouscare to keep it; men that are condemned to be rich, and then always busyor discontented: for these poor rich-men, we Anglers pity themperfectly, and stand in no need to borrow their thoughts to thinkourselves so happy. No, no, Sir, we enjoy a contentedness above thereach of such dispositions, and as the learned and ingenuous Montaignesays, like himself, freely, "When my Cat and I entertain each other withmutual apish tricks, as playing with a garter, who knows but that I makemy Cat more sport than she makes me? Shall I conclude her to be simple,that has her time to begin or refuse, to play as freely as I myselfhave? Nay, who knows but that it is a defect of my not understanding herlanguage, for doubtless Cats talk and reason with one another, that weagree no better: and who knows but that she pities me for being no wiserthan to play with her, and laughs and censures my folly, for makingsport for her, when we two play together?"
Thus freely speaks Montaigne concerning Cats; and I hope I may take asgreat a liberty to blame any man, and laugh at him too, let him be neverso grave, that hath not heard what Anglers can say in the justificationof their Art and Recreation; which I may again tell you, is so full ofpleasure, that we need not borrow their thoughts, to think ourselveshappy.
Venator. Sir, you have almost amazed me; for though I am no Scoffer, yet
I have, I pray let me speak it without offence, always looked upon
Anglers, as more patient, and more simple men, than I fear I shall find
you to be.
Piscator. Sir, I hope you will not judge my earnestness to beimpatience: and for my simplicity, if by that you mean a harmlessness,or that simplicity which was usually found in the primitive Christians,who were, as most Anglers are, quiet men, and followers of peace; menthat were so simply wise, as not to sell their consciences to buyriches, and with them vexation and a fear to die; if you mean suchsimple men as lived in those times when there were fewer lawyers; whenmen might have had a lordship safely conveyed to them in a piece ofparchment no bigger than your hand, though several sheets will not do itsafely in this wiser age; I say, Sir, if you take us Anglers to be suchsimple men as I have spoke of, then myself and those of my professionwill be glad to be so understood: But if by simplicity you meant toexpress a general defect in those that profess and practice theexcellent Art of Angling, I hope in time to disabuse you, and make thecontrary appear so evidently, that if you will but have patience to hearme, I shall remove all the anticipations that discourse, or time, orprejudice, have possessed you with against that laudable and ancientArt; for I know it is worthy the knowledge and practice of a wise man.
But, Gentlemen, though I be able to do this, I am not so unmannerly asto engross all the discourse to myself; and, therefore, you two havingdeclared yourselves, the one to be a lover of Hawks, the other ofHounds, I shall be most glad to hear what you can say in thecommendation of that recreation which each of you love and practice; andhaving heard what you can say, I shall be glad to exercise yourattention with what I can say concerning my own recreation and Art ofAngling, and by this means we shall make the way to seem the shorter:and if you like my motion, I would have Mr. Falconer to begin.
Auceps. Your motion is consented to with all my heart; and to testifyit, I will begin as you have desired me.
And first, for the Element that I use to trade in, which is the Air, anelement of more worth than weight, an element that doubtless exceedsboth the Earth and Water; for though I sometimes deal in both, yet theair is most properly mine, I and my Hawks use that most, and it yieldsus most recreation. It stops not the high soaring of my noble, generousFalcon; in it she ascends to such a height as the dull eyes of beastsand fish are not able to reach to; their bodies are too gross for suchhigh elevations; in the Air my troops of Hawks soar up on high, and whenthey are lost in the sight of men, then they attend upon and conversewith the Gods; therefore I think my Eagle is so justly styled Jove'sservant in ordinary: and that very Falcon, that I am now going to see,deserves no meaner a title, for she usually in her flight endangersherself, like the son of Daedalus, to have her wings scorched by thesun's heat, she flies so near it, but her mettle makes her careless ofdanger; for she then heeds nothing, but makes her nimble pinions cut thefluid air, and so makes her highway over the steepest mountains anddeepest rivers, and in her glorious career looks with contempt uponthose high steeples and magnificent palaces which we adore and wonderat; from which height, I can make her to descend by a word from mymouth, which she both knows and obeys, to accept of meat from my hand,to own me for her Master, to go home with me, and be willing the nextday to afford me the like recreation.
And more; this element of air which I profess to trade in, the worth ofit is such, and it is of such necessity, that no creature whatsoever—notonly those numerous creatures that feed on the face of the earth, butthose various creatures that have their dwelling within the waters,every creature that hath life in its nostrils, stands in need of myelement. The waters cannot preserve the Fish without air, witness thenot breaking of ice in an extreme frost; the reason is, for that if theinspiring and expiring organ of any animal be stopped, it suddenlyyields to nature, and dies. Thus necessary is air, to the existence bothof Fish and Beasts, nay, even to Man himself; that air, or breath oflife, with which God at first inspired mankind, he, if he wants it, diespresently, becomes a sad object to all that loved and beheld him, and inan instant turns to putrefaction.
Nay more; the very birds of the air, those that be not Hawks, are bothso many and so useful and pleasant to mankind, that I must not let thempass without some observations. They both feed and refresh him; feed himwith their choice bodies, and refresh him with their heavenly voices. Iwill not undertake to mention the several kinds of Fowl by which this isdone: and his curious palate pleased by day, and which with their veryexcrements afford him a soft lodging at night. These I will pass by, butnot those little nimble musicians of the air, that warble forth theircurious ditties, with which nature hath furnished them to the shame ofart.
As first the Lark, when she means to rejoice, to cheer herself and thosethat hear her; she then quits the earth, and sings as she ascends higherinto the air and having ended her heavenly employment, grows then mute,and sad, to think she must descend to the dull earth, which she wouldnot touch, but for necessity.
How do the Blackbird and Thrassel with their melodious voices bidwelcome to the cheerful Spring, and in their fixed months warble forthsuch ditties as no art or instrument can reach to!
Nay, the smaller birds also do the like in their particular seasons, asnamely the Laverock, the Tit-lark, the little Linnet, and the honestRobin that loves mankind both alive and dead.
But the Nightingale, another of my airy creatures, breathes such sweetloud musick out of her little instrumental throat, that it might makemankind to think miracles are not ceased. He that at midnight, when thevery labourer sleeps securely, should hear, as I have very often, theclear airs, the sweet descants, the natural rising and falling, thedoubling and redoubling of her voice, might well be lifted above earth,and say, "Lord, what musick hast thou provided for the Saints in Heaven,when thou affordest bad men such musick on Earth!"
And this makes me the less to wonder at the many Aviaries in Italy, orat the great charge of Varro's Aviary, the ruins of which are yet to beseen in Rome, and is still so famous there, that it is reckoned for oneof those notables which men of foreign nations either record, or lay upin their memories when they return from travel.
This for the birds of pleasure, of which very much more might be said.My next shall be of birds of political use. I think it is not to bedoubted that Swallows have been taught to carry letters between twoarmies; but 'tis certain that when the Turks besieged Malta or Rhodes, Inow remember not which it was, Pigeons are then related to carry andrecarry letters: and Mr. G. Sandys, in his Travels, relates it to bedone betwixt Aleppo and Babylon, But if that be disbelieved, it is notto be doubted that the Dove was sent out of the ark by Noah, to give himnotice of land, when to him all appeared to be sea; and the Dove proveda faithful and comfortable messenger. And for the sacrifices of the law,a pair of Turtle-doves, or young Pigeons, were as well accepted ascostly Bulls and Rams; and when God would feed the Prophet Elijah, aftera kind of miraculous manner, he did it by Ravens, who brought him meatmorning and evening. Lastly, the Holy Ghost, when he descended visiblyupon our Saviour, did it by assuming the shape of a Dove. And, toconclude this part of my discourse, pray remember these wonders weredone by birds of air, the element in which they, and I, take so muchpleasure.
There is also a little contemptible winged creature, an inhabitant of myaerial element, namely the laborious Bee, of whose prudence, policy, andregular government of their own commonwealth, I might say much, as alsoof their several kinds, and how useful their honey and wax are both formeat and medicines to mankind; but I will leave them to their sweetlabour, without the least disturbance, believing them to be all verybusy at this very time amongst the herbs and flowers that we see natureputs forth this May morning.
And now to return to my Hawks, from whom I have made too long adigression. You are to note, that they are usually distinguished intotwo kinds; namely, the long-winged, and the short-winged Hawk: of thefirst kind, there be chiefly in use amongst us in this nation,
The Gerfalcon and Jerkin,
The Falcon and Tassel-gentle,
The Laner and Laneret,
The Bockerel and Bockeret,
The Saker and Sacaret,
The Merlin and Jack Merlin,
The Hobby and Jack:
There is the Stelletto of Spain,
The Blood-red Rook from Turkey,
The Waskite from Virginia:
And there is of short-winged Hawks,
The Eagle and Iron
The Goshawk and Tarcel,
The Sparhawk and Musket,
The French Pye of two sorts:
These are reckoned Hawks of note and worth; but we have also of aninferior rank,
The Stanyel, the Ringtail,
The Raven, the Buzzard,
The Forked Kite, the Bald Buzzard,
The Hen-driver, and others that I forbear to name.
Gentlemen, if I should enlarge my discourse to the observation of theEires, the Brancher, the Ramish Hawk, the Haggard, and the two sorts ofLentners, and then treat of their several Ayries, their Mewings, rareorder of casting, and the renovation of their feathers: theirreclaiming, dieting, and then come to their rare stories of practice; Isay, if I should enter into these, and many other observations that Icould make, it would be much, very much pleasure to me: but lest Ishould break the rules of civility with you, by taking up more than theproportion of time allotted to me, I will here break off, and entreatyou, Mr. Venator, to say what you are able in the commendation ofHunting, to which you are so much affected; and if time will serve, Iwill beg your favour for a further enlargement of some of those severalheads of which I have spoken. But no more at present.
Venator. Well, Sir, and I will now take my turn, and will first beginwith a commendation of the Earth, as you have done most excellently ofthe Air; the Earth being that element upon which I drive my pleasant,wholesome, hungry trade. The Earth is a solid, settled element; anelement most universally beneficial both to man and beast; to men whohave their several recreations upon it, as horse-races, hunting, sweetsmells, pleasant walks: the earth feeds man, and all those severalbeasts that both feed him, and afford him recreation. What pleasure dothman take in hunting the stately Stag, the generous Buck, the wild Boar,the cunning Otter, the crafty Fox, and the fearful Hare! And if I maydescend to a lower game, what pleasure is it sometimes with gins tobetray the very vermin of the earth; as namely, the Fichat, theFulimart, the Ferret, the Pole-cat, the Mouldwarp, and the likecreatures that live upon the face, and within the bowels of, the Earth.How doth the Earth bring forth herbs, flowers, and fruits, both forphysick and the pleasure of mankind! and above all, to me at least, thefruitful vine, of which when I drink moderately, it clears my brain,cheers my heart, and sharpens my wit. How could Cleopatra have feastedMark Antony with eight wild Boars roasted whole at one supper, and othermeat suitable, if the earth had not been a bountiful mother? But to passby the mighty Elephant, which the Earth breeds and nourisheth, anddescend to the least of creatures, how doth the earth afford us adoctrinal example in the little Pismire, who in the summer provides andlays up her winter provision, and teaches man to do the like! The earthfeeds and carries those horses that carry us. If I would be prodigal ofmy time and your patience, what might not I say in commendations of theearth? That puts limits to the proud and raging sea, and by that meanspreserves both man and beast, that it destroys them not, as we see itdaily doth those that venture upon the sea, and are there shipwrecked,drowned, and left to feed Haddocks; when we that are so wise as to keepourselves on earth, walk, and talk, and live, and eat, and drink, and goa hunting: of which recreation I will say a little, and then leave Mr.Piscator to the commendation of Angling.
Hunting is a game for princes and noble persons; it hath been highlyprized in all ages; it was one of the qualifications that Xenophonbestowed on his Cyrus, that he was a hunter of wild beasts. Huntingtrains up the younger nobility to the use of manly exercises in theirriper age. What more manly exercise than hunting the Wild Boar, theStag, the Buck, the Fox, or the Hare? How doth it preserve health, andincrease strength and activity!
And for the dogs that we use, who can commend their excellency to thatheight which they deserve? How perfect is the hound at smelling, whonever leaves or forsakes his first scent, but follows it through so manychanges and varieties of other scents, even over, and in, the water, andinto the earth! What music doth a pack of dogs then make to any man,whose heart and ears are so happy as to be set to the tune of suchinstruments! How will a right Greyhound fix his eye on the best Buck ina herd, single him out, and follow him, and him only, through a wholeherd of rascal game, and still know and then kill him! For my hounds, Iknow the language of them, and they know the language and meaning of oneanother, as perfectly as we know the voices of those with whom wediscourse daily.
I might enlarge myself in the commendation of Hunting, and of the nobleHound especially, as also of the docibleness of dogs in general; and Imight make many observations of land-creatures, that for composition,order, figure, and constitution, approach nearest to the completenessand understanding of man; especially of those creatures, which Moses inthe Law permitted to the Jews, which have cloven hoofs, and chew thecud; which I shall forbear to name, because I will not be so uncivil toMr. Piscator, as not to allow him a time for the commendation ofAngling, which he calls an art; but doubtless it is an easy one: and,Mr. Auceps, I doubt we shall hear a watery discourse of it, but I hopeit will not be a long one.
Auceps. And I hope so too, though I fear it will.
Piscator. Gentlemen, let not prejudice prepossess you. I confess mydiscourse is like to prove suitable to my recreation, calm and quiet; weseldom take the name of God into our mouths, but it is either to praisehim, or pray to him: if others use it vainly in the midst of theirrecreations, so vainly as if they meant to conjure, I must tell you, itis neither our fault nor our custom; we protest against it. But, prayremember, I accuse nobody; for as I would not make a "watery discourse,"so I would not put too much vinegar into it; nor would I raise thereputation of my own art, by the diminution or ruin of another's. And somuch for the prologue to what I mean to say.
And now for the Water, the element that I trade in. The water is theeldest daughter of the creation, the element upon which the Spirit ofGod did first move, the element which God commanded to bring forthliving creatures abundantly; and without which, those that inhabit theland, even all creatures that have breath in their nostrils, mustsuddenly return to putrefaction. Moses, the great lawgiver and chiefphilosopher, skilled in all the learning of the Egyptians, who wascalled the friend of God, and knew the mind of the Almighty, names thiselement the first in the creation: this is the element upon which theSpirit of God did first move, and is the chief ingredient in thecreation: many philosophers have made it to comprehend all the otherelements, and most allow it the chiefest in the mixtion of all livingcreatures.
There be that profess to believe that all bodies are made of water, andmay be reduced back again to water only; they endeavour to demonstrateit thus:
Take a willow, or any like speedy growing plant newly rooted in a box orbarrel full of earth, weigh them all together exactly when the treebegins to grow, and then weigh all together after the tree is increasedfrom its first rooting, to weigh a hundred pound weight more than whenit was first rooted and weighed; and you shall find this augment of thetree to be without the diminution of one drachm weight of the earth.Hence they infer this increase of wood to be from water of rain, or fromdew, and not to be from any other element; and they affirm, they canreduce this wood back again to water; and they affirm also, the same maybe done in any animal or vegetable. And this I take to be a fairtestimony of the excellency of my element of water.
The water is more productive than the earth. Nay, the earth hath nofruitfulness without showers or dews; for all the herbs, and flowers,and fruit, are produced and thrive by the water; and the very mineralsare fed by streams that run under ground, whose natural course carriesthem to the tops of many high mountains, as we see by several springsbreaking forth on the tops of the highest hills; and this is alsowitnessed by the daily trial and testimony of several miners.
Nay, the increase of those creatures that are bred and fed in the waterare not only more and more miraculous, but more advantageous to man, notonly for the lengthening of his life, but for the preventing ofsickness; for it is observed by the most learned physicians, that thecasting off of Lent, and other fish days, which hath not only given thelie to so many learned, pious, wise founders of colleges, for which weshould be ashamed, hath doubtless been the chief cause of those manyputrid, shaking intermitting agues, unto which this nation of ours isnow more subject, than those wiser countries that feed on herbs, salads,and plenty of fish; of which it is observed in story, that the greatestpart of the world now do. And it may be fit to remember that Mosesappointed fish to be the chief diet for the best commonwealth that everyet was.
And it is observable, not only that there are fish, as namely the Whale,three times as big as the mighty Elephant, that is so fierce in battle,but that the mightiest feasts have been of fish. The Romans, in theheight of their glory, have made fish the mistress of all theirentertainments; they have had musick to usher in their Sturgeons,Lampreys, and Mullets, which they would purchase at rates rather to bewondered at than believed. He that shall view the writings of Macrobius,or Varro, may be confirmed and informed of this, and of the incrediblevalue of their fish and fish-ponds.
But, Gentlemen, I have almost lost myself, which I confess I may easilydo in this philosophical discourse; I met with most of it very lately,and, I hope, happily, in a conference with a most learned physician, Dr.Wharton, a dear friend, that loves both me and my art of Angling. But,however, I will wade no deeper into these mysterious arguments, but passto such observations as I can manage with more pleasure, and less fearof running into error. But I must not yet forsake the waters, by whosehelp we have so many known advantages.
And first, to pass by the miraculous cures of our known baths, howadvantageous is the sea for our daily traffick, without which we couldnot now subsist. How does it not only furnish us with food and physickfor the bodies, but with such observations for the mind as ingeniouspersons would not want!
How ignorant had we been of the beauty of Florence, of the monuments,urns, and rarities that yet remain in and near unto old and new Rome, somany as it is said will take up a year's time to view, and afford toeach of them but a convenient consideration! And therefore it is not tobe wondered at, that so learned and devout a father as St. Jerome, afterhis wish to have seen Christ in the flesh, and to have heard St. Paulpreach, makes his third wish, to have seen Rome in her glory; and thatglory is not yet all lost, for what pleasure is it to see the monumentsof Livy, the choicest of the historians; of Tully, the best of orators;and to see the bay trees that now grow out of the very tomb of Virgil!These, to any that love learning, must be pleasing. But what pleasure isit to a devout Christian, to see there the humble house in which St.Paul was content to dwell, and to view the many rich statues that aremade in honour of his memory! nay, to see the very place in which St.Peter and he lie buried together! These are in and near to Rome. And howmuch more doth it please the pious curiosity of a Christian, to see thatplace, on which the blessed Saviour of the world was pleased to humblehimself, and to take our nature upon him, and to converse with men: tosee Mount Sion, Jerusalem, and the very sepulchre of our Lord Jesus! Howmay it beget and heighten the zeal of a Christian, to see the devotionsthat are daily paid to him at that place! Gentlemen, lest I forgetmyself, I will stop here, and remember you, that but for my element ofwater, the inhabitants of this poor island must remain ignorant thatsuch things ever were, or that any of them have yet a being.
Gentlemen, I might both enlarge and lose myself in such like arguments.I might tell you that Almighty God is said to have spoken to a fish, butnever to a beast; that he hath made a whale a ship, to carry and set hisprophet, Jonah, safe on the appointed shore. Of these I might speak, butI must in manners break off, for I see Theobald's House. I cry you mercyfor being so long, and thank you for your patience.
Auceps. Sir, my pardon is easily granted you: I except against nothingthat you have said: nevertheless, I must part with you at thispark-wall, for which I am very sorry; but I assure you, Mr. Piscator, Inow part with you full of good thoughts, not only of yourself, but yourrecreation. And so, Gentlemen, God keep you both.
Piscator. Well, now, Mr. Venator, you shall neither want time, nor myattention to hear you enlarge your discourse concerning hunting.
Venator. Not I, Sir: I remember you said that Angling itself was ofgreat antiquity, and a perfect art, and an art not easily attained to;and you have so won upon me in your former discourse, that I am verydesirous to hear what you can say further concerning those particulars.
Piscator. Sir, I did say so: and I doubt not but if you and I didconverse together but a few hours, to leave you possessed with the samehigh and happy thoughts that now possess me of it; not only of theantiquity of Angling, but that it deserves commendations; and that it isan art, and an art worthy the knowledge and practice of a wise man.
Venator. Pray, Sir, speak of them what you think fit, for we have yetfive miles to the Thatched House; during which walk, I dare promise you,my patience and diligent attention shall not be wanting. And if youshall make that to appear which you have undertaken, first, that it isan art, and an art worth the learning, I shall beg that I may attend youa day or two a-fishing, and that I may become your scholar, and beinstructed in the art itself which you so much magnify.
Piscator. O, Sir, doubt not but that Angling is an art; is it not an artto deceive a Trout with an artificial Fly? a Trout! that is moresharp-sighted than any Hawk you have named, and more watchful andtimorous than your high-mettled Merlin is bold? and yet, I doubt not tocatch a brace or two to-morrow, for a friend's breakfast: doubt nottherefore, Sir, but that angling is an art, and an art worth your learning.The question is rather, whether you be capable of learning it? anglingis somewhat like poetry, men are to be born so: I mean, withinclinations to it, though both may be heightened by discourse andpractice: but he that hopes to be a good angler, must not only bring aninquiring, searching, observing wit, but he must bring a large measureof hope and patience, and a love and propensity to the art itself; buthaving once got and practiced it, then doubt not but angling will proveto be so pleasant, that it will prove to be, like virtue, a reward toitself.
Venator. Sir, I am now become so full of expectation, that I long muchto have you proceed, and in the order that you propose.
Piscator. Then first, for the antiquity of Angling, of which I shall notsay much, but only this; some say it is as ancient as Deucalion's flood:others, that Belus, who was the first inventor of godly and virtuousrecreations, was the first inventor of Angling: and some others say, forformer times have had their disquisitions about the antiquity of it,that Seth, one of the sons of Adam, taught it to his sons, and that bythem it was derived to posterity: others say that he left it engraven onthose pillars which he erected, and trusted to preserve the knowledge ofthe mathematicks, musick, and the rest of that precious knowledge, andthose useful arts, which by God's appointment or allowance, and hisnoble industry, were thereby preserved from perishing in Noah's flood.
These, Sir, have been the opinions of several men, that have possiblyendeavoured to make angling more ancient than is needful, or may well bewarranted; but for my part, I shall content myself in telling you, thatangling is much more ancient than the incarnation of our Saviour; for inthe Prophet Amos mention is made of fish-hooks; and in the book of Job,which was long before the days of Amos, for that book is said to havebeen written by Moses, mention is made also of fish-hooks, which mustimply anglers in those times.
But, my worthy friend, as I would rather prove myself a gentleman, bybeing learned and humble, valiant and inoffensive, virtuous andcommunicable, than by any fond ostentation of riches, or, wanting thosevirtues myself, boast that these were in my ancestors; and yet I grant,that where a noble and ancient descent and such merit meet in any man,it is a double dignification of that person; so if this antiquity ofangling, which for my part I have not forced, shall, like an ancientfamily, be either an honour, or an ornament to this virtuous art which Iprofess to love and practice, I shall be the gladder that I made anaccidental mention of the antiquity of it, of which I shall say no more,but proceed to that just commendation which I think it deserves.
And for that, I shall tell you, that in ancient times a debate hathrisen, and it remains yet unresolved, whether the happiness of man inthis world doth consist more in contemplation or action? Concerningwhich, some have endeavoured to maintain their opinion of the first; bysaying, that the nearer we mortals come to God by way of imitation, themore happy we are. And they say, that God enjoys himself only, by acontemplation of his own infiniteness, eternity, power, and goodness,and the like. And upon this ground, many cloisteral men of greatlearning and devotion, prefer contemplation before action. And many ofthe fathers seem to approve this opinion, as may appear in theircommentaries upon the words of our Saviour to Martha.
And on the contrary, there want not men of equal authority and credit,that prefer action to be the more excellent; as namely, experiments inphysick, and the application of it, both for the ease and prolongationof man's life; by which each man is enabled to act and do good toothers, either to serve his country, or do good to particular persons:and they say also, that action is doctrinal, and teaches both art andvirtue, and is a maintainer of human society; and for these, and otherlike reasons, to be preferred before contemplation.
Concerning which two opinions I shall forbear to add a third, bydeclaring my own; and rest myself contented in telling you, my veryworthy friend, that both these meet together, and do most properlybelong to the most honest, ingenuous, quiet, and harmless art ofangling.
And first, I shall tell you what some have observed, and I have found itto be a real truth, that the very sitting by the river's side is notonly the quietest and fittest place for contemplation, but will invitean angler to it: and this seems to be maintained by the learned Peter duMoulin, who, in his discourse of the fulfilling of Prophecies, observes,that when God intended to reveal any future events or high notions tohis prophets, he then carried them either to the deserts, or thesea-shore, that having so separated them from amidst the press of peopleand business, and the cares of the world, he might settle their mind ina quiet repose, and there make them fit for revelation.
And this seems also to be imitated by the children of Israel, who havingin a sad condition banished all mirth and musick from their pensivehearts, and having hung up their then mute harps upon the willow-treesgrowing by the rivers of Babylon, sat down upon those banks, bemoaningthe ruins of Sion, and contemplating their own sad condition.
And an ingenious Spaniard says, that "rivers and the inhabitants of thewatery element were made for wise men to contemplate, and fools to passby without consideration ". And though I will not rank myself in thenumber of the first, yet give me leave to free myself from the last, byoffering to you a short contemplation, first of rivers, and then offish; concerning which I doubt not but to give you many observationsthat will appear very considerable: I am sure they have appeared so tome, and made many an hour pass away more pleasantly, as I have satquietly on a flowery bank by a calm river, and contemplated what I shallnow relate to you.
And first concerning rivers; there be so many wonders reported andwritten of them, and of the several creatures that be bred and live inthem, and those by authors of so good credit, that we need not to denythem an historical faith.
As namely of a river in Epirus that puts out any lighted torch, andkindles any torch that was not lighted. Some waters being drunk, causemadness, some drunkenness, and some laughter to death. The river Selarusin a few hours turns a rod or wand to stone: and our Camden mentions thelike in England, and the like in Lochmere in Ireland. There is also ariver in Arabia, of which all the sheep that drink thereof have theirwool turned into a vermilion colour. And one of no less credit thanAristotle, tells us of a merry river, the river Elusina, that dances atthe noise of musick, for with musick it bubbles, dances, and growssandy, and so continues till the musick ceases, but then it presentlyreturns to its wonted calmness and clearness. And Camden tells us of awell near to Kirby, in Westmoreland, that ebbs and flows several timesevery day: and he tells us of a river in Surrey, it is called Mole, thatafter it has run several miles, being opposed by hills, finds or makesitself a way under ground, and breaks out again so far off, that theinhabitants thereabout boast, as the Spaniards do of their river Anus,that they feed divers flocks of sheep upon a bridge. And lastly, for Iwould not tire your patience, one of no less authority than Josephus,that learned Jew, tells us of a river in Judea that runs swiftly all thesix days of the week, and stands still and rests all their sabbath.
But I will lay aside my discourse of rivers, and tell you some things ofthe monsters, or fish, call them what you will, that they breed and feedin them. Pliny the philosopher says, in the third chapter of his ninthbook, that in the Indian Sea, the fish called Balaena or Whirlpool, isso long and broad, as to take up more in length and breadth than twoacres of ground; and, of other fish, of two hundred cubits long; andthat in the river Ganges, there be Eels of thirty feet long. He saysthere, that these monsters appear in that sea, only when the tempestuouswinds oppose the torrents of water falling from the rocks into it, andso turning what lay at the bottom to be seen on the water's top. And hesays, that the people of Cadara, an island near this place, make thetimber for their houses of those fish bones. He there tells us, thatthere are sometimes a thousand of these great Eels found wrapt orinterwoven together He tells us there, that it appears that dolphinslove musick, and will come when called for, by some men or boys thatknow, and use to feed them; and that they can swim as swift as an arrowcan be shot out of a bow; and much of this is spoken concerning thedolphin, and other fish, as may be found also in the learned Dr.Casaubon's Discourse of Credulity and Incredulity, printed by him aboutthe year 1670.
I know, we Islanders are averse to the belief of these wonders; butthere be so many strange creatures to be now seen, many collected byJohn Tradescant, and others added by my friend Elias Ashmole, Esq., whonow keeps them carefully and methodically at his house near to Lambeth,near London, as may get some belief of some of the other wonders Imentioned. I will tell you some of the wonders that you may now see, andnot till then believe, unless you think fit.
You may there see the Hog-fish, the Dog-fish, the Dolphin, theCony-fish, the Parrot-fish, the Shark, the Poison-fish, Sword-fish, andnot only other incredible fish, but you may there see the Salamander,several sorts of Barnacles, of Solan-Geese, the Bird of Paradise, suchsorts of Snakes, and such Birds'-nests, and of so various forms, and sowonderfully made, as may beget wonder and amusement in any beholder; andso many hundred of other rarities in that collection, as will make theother wonders I spake of, the less incredible; for, you may note, thatthe waters are Nature's store-house, in which she locks up her wonders.
But, Sir, lest this discourse may seem tedious, I shall give it a sweetconclusion out of that holy poet, Mr. George Herbert his divine"Contemplation on God's Providence".
Lord! who hath praise enough, nay, who hath any?
None can express thy works, but he that knows them;
And none can know thy works, they are so many,
And so complete, but only he that owes them.
We all acknowledge both thy power and love
To be exact, transcendant, and divine;
Who cost so strangely and so sweetly move,
Whilst all things have their end, yet none but thine.
Wherefore, most sacred Spirit! I here present,
For me, and all my fellows, praise to thee;
And just it is, that I should pay the rent,
Because the benefit accrues to me.
And as concerning fish, in that psalm, wherein, for height of poetry andwonders, the prophet David seems even to exceed himself, how doth hethere express himself in choice metaphors, even to the amazement of acontemplative reader, concerning the sea, the rivers, and the fishtherein contained! And the great naturalist Pliny says, "That nature'sgreat and wonderful power is more demonstrated in the sea than on theland ". And this may appear, by the numerous and various creaturesinhabiting both in and about that element; as to the readers of Gesner,Rondeletius, Pliny, Ausonius, Aristotle, and others, may bedemonstrated. But I will sweeten this discourse also out of acontemplation in divine Du Bartas, who says:
God quickened in the sea, and in the rivers,
So many fishes of so many features,
That in the waters we may see all creatures,
Even all that on the earth are to be found,
As if the world were in deep waters drown'd.
For seas—as well as skies—have Sun, Moon, Stars
As well as air—Swallows, Rooks, and Stares;
As well as earth—Vines, Roses, Nettles, Melons,
Mushrooms, Pinks, Gilliflowers, and many millions
Of other plants, more rare, more strange than these,
As very fishes, living in the seas;
As also Rams, Calves, Horses, Hares, and Hogs,
Wolves, Urchins, Lions, Elephants, and Dogs;
Yea, Men and Maids, and, which I most admire,
The mitred Bishop and the cowled Friar:
Of which, examples, but a few years since,
Were strewn the Norway and Polonian prince.
These seem to be wonders; but have had so many confirmations from men oflearning and credit, that you need not doubt them. Nor are the number,nor the various shapes, of fishes more strange, or more fit forcontemplation, than their different natures, inclinations, and actions;concerning which, I shall beg your patient ear a little longer.
The Cuttle-fish will cast a long gut out of her throat, which, like asan Angler doth his line, she sendeth forth, and pulleth in again at herpleasure, according as she sees some little fish come near to her; andthe Cuttle-fish, being then hid in the gravel, lets the smaller fishnibble and bite the end of it; at which time she, by little and little,draws the smaller fish so near to her, that she may leap upon her, andthen catches and devours her: and for this reason some have called thisfish the Sea-angler.
And there is a fish called a Hermit, that at a certain age gets into adead fish's shell, and, like a hermit, dwells there alone, studying thewind and weather and so turns her shell, that she makes it defend herfrom the injuries that they would bring upon her.
There is also a fish called by Ælian the Adonis, or Darling of the Sea;so called, because it is a loving and innocent fish, a fish that hurtsnothing that hath life, and is at peace with all the numerousinhabitants of that vast watery element; and truly, I think most Anglersare so disposed to most of mankind.
And there are, also, lustful and chaste fishes; of which I shall giveyou examples.
And first, what Du Bartas says of a fish called the Sargus; which,because none can express it better than he does, I shall give you in hisown words, supposing it shall not have the less credit for being verse;for he hath gathered this and other observations out of authors thathave been great and industrious searchers into the secrets of nature.
The adult'rous Sargus doth not only change
Wives every day, in the deep streams, but, strange!
As if the honey of sea-love delight
Could not suffice his ranging appetite,
Goes courting she-goats on the grassy shore,
Horning their husbands that had horns before.
And the same author writes concerning the Cantharus, that which youshall also hear in his own words:
But, contrary, the constant Cantharus
Is ever constant to his faithful spouse
In nuptial duties, spending his chaste life.
Never loves any but his own dear wife.
Sir, but a little longer, and I have done.
Venator. Sir, take what liberty you think fit, for your discourse seemsto be musick, and charms me to an attention.
Piscator. Why then, Sir, I will take a little liberty to tell, or ratherto remember you what is said of Turtle-doves; first, that they silentlyplight their troth, and marry; and that then the survivor scorns, as theThracian women are said to do, to outlive his or her mate, and this istaken for a truth; and if the survivor shall ever couple with another,then, not only the living, but the dead, be it either the he or the she,is denied the name and honour of a true Turtle-dove.
And to parallel this land-rarity, and teach mankind moral faithfulness,and to condemn those that talk of religion, and yet come short of themoral faith of fish and fowl, men that violate the law affirmed by St.Paul to be writ in their hearts, and which, he says, shall at the LastDay condemn and leave them without excuse—I pray hearken to what DuBartas sings, for the hearing of such conjugal faithfulness will bemusick to all chaste ears, and therefore I pray hearken to what DuBartas sings of the Mullet.
But for chaste love the Mullet hath no peer;
For, if the fisher hath surpris'd her pheer
As mad with wo, to shore she followeth
Prest to consort him, both in life and death.
On the contrary, what shall I say of the House-Cock, which treads anyhen; and, then, contrary to the Swan, the Partridge, and Pigeon, takesno care to hatch, to feed, or cherish his own brood, but is senseless,though they perish. And it is considerable, that the Hen, which, becauseshe also takes any Cock, expects it not, who is sure the chickens be herown, hath by a moral impression her care and affection to her own broodmore than doubled, even to such a height, that our Saviour, inexpressing his love to Jerusalem, quotes her, for an example of tenderaffection, as his Father had done Job, for a pattern of patience.
And to parallel this Cock, there be divers fishes that cast their spawnon flags or stones, and then leave it uncovered, and exposed to become aprey and be devoured by vermin or other fishes. But other fishes, asnamely the Barbel, take such care for the preservation of their seed,that, unlike to the Cock, or the Cuckoo, they mutually labour, both thespawner and the melter, to cover their spawn with sand, or watch it, orhide it in some secret place unfrequented by vermin or by any fish butthemselves.
Sir, these examples may, to you and others, seem strange; but they aretestified, some by Aristotle, some by Pliny, some by Gesner, and by manyothers of credit; and are believed and known by divers, both of wisdomand experience, to be a truth; and indeed are, as I said at thebeginning, fit for the contemplation of a most serious and a most piousman. And, doubtless, this made the prophet David say, "They that occupythemselves in deep waters, see the wonderful works of God": indeed suchwonders and pleasures too, as the land affords not.
And that they be fit for the contemplation of the most prudent, andpious, and peaceable men, seems to be testified by the practice of somany devout and contemplative men, as the Patriarchs and Prophets ofold; and of the Apostles of our Saviour in our latter times, of whichtwelve, we are sure, he chose four that were simple fishermen, whom heinspired, and sent to publish his blessed will to the Gentiles; andinspired them also with a power to speak all languages, and by theirpowerful eloquence to beget faith in the unbelieving Jews; andthemselves to suffer for that Saviour, whom their forefathers and theyhad crucified; and, in their sufferings, to preach freedom from theincumbrances of the law, and a new way to everlasting life: this was theemployment of these happy fishermen. Concerning which choice, some havemade these observations:
First, that he never reproved these, for their employment or calling, ashe did the Scribes and the Money-changers. And secondly, he found thatthe hearts of such men, by nature, were fitted for contemplation andquietness; men of mild, and sweet, and peaceable spirits, as indeed mostAnglers are: these men our blessed Saviour, who is observed to love toplant grace in good natures, though indeed nothing be too hard for him,yet these men he chose to call from their irreprovable employment offishing, and gave them grace to be his disciples, and to follow him, anddo wonders; I say four of twelve.
And it is observable, that it was our Saviour's will that these, ourfour fishermen, should have a priority of nomination in the catalogue ofhis twelve Apostles, as namely, first St. Peter, St. Andrew, St. James,and St. John; and, then, the rest in their order.
And it is yet more observable, that when our blessed Saviour went upinto the mount, when he left the rest of his disciples, and chose onlythree to bear him company at his Transfiguration, that those three wereall fishermen. And it is to be believed, that all the other Apostles,after they betook themselves to follow Christ, betook themselves to befishermen too; for it is certain, that the greater number of them werefound together, fishing, by Jesus after his resurrection, as it isrecorded in the twenty-first chapter of St. John's gospel.
And since I have your promise to hear me with patience, I will take aliberty to look back upon an observation that hath been made by aningenious and learned man; who observes, that God hath been pleased toallow those whom he himself hath appointed to write his holy will inholy writ, yet to express his will in such metaphors as their formeraffections or practice had inclined them to. And he brings Solomon foran example, who, before his conversion, was remarkably carnally amorous;and after, by God's appointment, wrote that spiritual dialogue, or holyamorous love-song the Canticles, betwixt God and his church: in which hesays, "his beloved had eyes like the fish-pools of Heshbon".
And if this hold in reason, as I see none to the contrary, then it maybe probably concluded, that Moses, who I told you before writ the bookof Job, and the Prophet Amos, who was a shepherd, were both Anglers; foryou shall, in all the Old Testament, find fish-hooks, I think but twicementioned, namely, by meek Moses the friend of God, and by the humbleprophet Amos.
Concerning which last, namely the prophet Amos, I shall make but thisobservation, that he that shall read the humble, lowly, plain style ofthat prophet, and compare it with the high, glorious, eloquent style ofthe prophet Isaiah, though they be both equally true, may easily believeAmos to be, not only a shepherd, but a good-natured plain fisherman.Which I do the rather believe, by comparing the affectionate, loving,lowly, humble Epistles of St. Peter, St. James, and St. John, whom weknow were all fishers, with the glorious language and high metaphors ofSt. Paul, who we may believe was not.
And for the lawfulness of fishing: it may very well be maintained by ourSaviour's bidding St. Peter cast his hook into the water and catch afish, for money to pay tribute to Caesar. And let me tell you, thatAngling is of high esteem, and of much use in other nations. He thatreads the Voyages of Ferdinand Mendez Pinto, shall find that there hedeclares to have found a king and several priests a-fishing. And he thatreads Plutarch, shall find, that Angling was not contemptible in thedays of Mark Antony and Cleopatra, and that they, in the midst of theirwonderful glory, used Angling as a principal recreation. And let me tellyou, that in the Scripture, Angling is always taken in the best sense;and that though hunting may be sometimes so taken, yet it is but seldomto be so understood. And let me add this more: he that views the ancientEcclesiastical Canons, shall find hunting to be forbidden to Churchmen,as being a turbulent, toilsome, perplexing recreation; and shall findAngling allowed to clergymen, as being a harmless recreation, arecreation that invites them to contemplation and quietness.
I might here enlarge myself, by telling you what commendations ourlearned Perkins bestows on Angling: and how dear a lover, and great apractiser of it, our learned Dr. Whitaker was; as indeed many others ofgreat learning have been. But I will content myself with two memorablemen, that lived near to our own time, whom I also take to have beenornaments to the art of Angling.
The first is Dr. Nowel, sometime dean of the cathedral church of St.Paul, in London, where his monument stands yet undefaced; a man that, inthe reformation of Queen Elizabeth, not that of Henry VIII., was sonoted for his meek spirit, deep learning, prudence, and piety, that thethen Parliament and Convocation, both, chose, enjoined, and trusted himto be the man to make a Catechism for public use, such a one as shouldstand as a rule for faith and manners to their posterity. And the goodold man, though he was very learned, yet knowing that God leads us notto heaven by many, nor by hard questions, like an honest Angler, madethat good, plain, unperplexed Catechism which is printed with our goodold Service-book. I say, this good man was a dear lover and constantpractiser of Angling, as any age can produce: and his custom was tospend besides his fixed hours of prayer, those hours which, by commandof the church, were enjoined the clergy, and voluntarily dedicated todevotion by many primitive Christians, I say, besides those hours, thisgood man was observed to spend a tenth part of his time in Angling; and,also, for I have conversed with those which have conversed with him, tobestow a tenth part of his revenue, and usually all his fish, amongstthe poor that inhabited near to those rivers in which it was caught;saying often, "that charity gave life to religion ": and, at his returnto his house, would praise God he had spent that day free from worldlytrouble; both harmlessly, and in a recreation that became a churchman.And this good man was well content, if not desirous, that posterityshould know he was an Angler; as may appear by his picture, now to beseen, and carefully kept, in Brazen-nose College, to which he was aliberal benefactor. In which picture he is drawn leaning on a desk, withhis Bible before him; and on one hand of him, his lines, hooks, andother tackling, lying in a round; and, on his other hand, are hisAngle-rods of several sorts; and by them this is written, "that he died13 Feb. 1601, being aged ninety-five years, forty-four of which he hadbeen Dean of St. Paul's church, and that his age neither impaired hishearing, nor dimmed his eyes, nor weakened his memory, nor made any ofthe faculties of his mind weak or useless". It is said that Angling andtemperance were great causes of these blessings; and I wish the like toall that imitate him, and love the memory of so good a man.
My next and last example shall be that under-valuer of money, the lateprovost of Eton College, Sir Henry Wotton, a man with whom I have oftenfished and conversed, a man whose foreign employments in the service ofthis nation, and whose experience, learning, wit, and cheerfulness, madehis company to be esteemed one of the delights of mankind. This man,whose very approbation of Angling were sufficient to convince any modestcensurer of it, this man was also a most dear lover, and a frequentpractiser of the art of Angling; of which he would say, "it was anemployment for his idle time, which was then not idly spent"; forAngling was, after tedious study, "a rest to his mind, a cheerer of hisspirits, a diverter of sadness, a calmer of unquiet thoughts, amoderator of passions, a procurer of contentedness; and that it begathabits of peace and patience in those that professed and practiced it ".Indeed, my friend, you will find Angling to be like the virtue ofhumility, which has a calmness of spirit, and a world of other blessingsattending upon it. Sir, this was the saying of that learned man.
And I do easily believe, that peace, and patience, and a calm content,did cohabit in the cheerful heart of Sir Henry Wotton, because I knowthat when he was beyond seventy years of age, he made this descriptionof a part of the present pleasure that possessed him, as he sat quietly,in a summer's evening, on a bank a-fishing. It is a description of thespring; which, because it glided as soft and sweetly from his pen, asthat river does at this time, by which it was then made, I shall repeatit unto you:—
This day dame Nature seem'd in love
The lusty sap began to move;
Fresh juice did stir th' embracing vines.
And birds had drawn their valentines.
The jealous trout, that low did lie
Rose at a well-dissembled fly
There stood my Friend, with patient skill,
Attending of his trembling quill.
Already were the eaves possess'd
With the swift pilgrim's daubed nest;
The groves already did rejoice
In Philomel's triumphing voice:
The showers were short, the weather mild,
The morning fresh, the evening smil'd.
Joan takes her neat-rubb'd pail, and now,
She trips to milk the sand-red cow;
Where, for some sturdy foot-ball swain,
Joan strokes a syllabub or twain.
The fields and gardens were beset
With tulips, crocus, violet;
And now, though late, the modest rose
Did more than half a blush disclose.
Thus all looks gay, and full of cheer,
To welcome the new-livery'd year.
These were the thoughts that then possessed the undisturbed mind of Sir
Henry Wotton. Will you hear the wish of another Angler, and the
commendation of his happy life, which he also sings in verse: viz. Jo.
Davors, Esq.
Let me live harmlessly, and near the brink
Of Trent or Avon have a dwelling-place
Where I may see my quill, or cork, down sink
With eager bite of Perch, or Bleak, or Dace;
And on the world and my Creator think:
Whilst some men strive ill-gotten goods t' embrace;
And others spend their time in base excess
Of wine, or worse, in war and wantonness.
Let them that list, these pastimes still pursue,
And on such pleasing fancies feed their fill;
So I the fields and meadows green may view,
And daily by fresh rivers walk at will
Among the daisies and the violets blue,
Red hyacinth, and yellow daffodil,
Purple Narcissus like the morning rays,
Pale gander-grass, and azure culver-keys.
I count it higher pleasure to behold
The stately compass of the lofty sky;
And in the midst thereof, like burning gold,
The flaming chariot of the world's great eye:
The watery clouds that in the air up-roll'd
With sundry kinds of painted colours fly;
And fair Aurora, lifting up her head,
Still blushing, rise from old Tithonus' bed.
The hills and mountains raised from the plains,
The plains extended level with the ground
The grounds divided into sundry veins,
The veins inclos'd with rivers running round;
These rivers making way through nature's chains,
With headlong course, into the sea profound;
The raging sea, beneath the vallies low,
Where lakes, and rills, and rivulets do flow:
The lofty woods, the forests wide and long,
Adorned with leaves and branches fresh and green,
In whose cool bowers the birds with many a song,
Do welcome with their quire the summer's Queen;
The meadows fair, where Flora's gifts, among
Are intermix'd with verdant grass between;
The silver-scaled fish that softly swim
Within the sweet brook's crystal, watery stream.
All these, and many more of his creation
That made the heavens, the Angler oft doth see;
Taking therein no little delectation,
To think how strange, how wonderful they be:
Framing thereof an inward contemplation
To set his heart from other fancies free;
And whilst he looks on these with joyful eye,
His mind is rapt above the starry sky.
Sir, I am glad my memory has not lost these last verses, because theyare somewhat more pleasant and more suitable to May-day than my harshdiscourse. And I am glad your patience hath held out so long as to hearthem and me, for both together have brought us within the sight of theThatched House. And I must be your debtor, if you think it worth yourattention, for the rest of my promised discourse, till some otheropportunity, and a like time of leisure.
Venator. Sir, you have angled me on with much pleasure to the ThatchedHouse; and I now find your words true, "that good company makes the wayseem short"; for trust me, Sir, I thought we had wanted three miles ofthis house, till you showed it to me. But now we are at it, we'll turninto it, and refresh ourselves with a cup of drink, and a little rest.
Piscator. Most gladly, Sir, and we'll drink a civil cup to all the
Otter-hunters that are to meet you to-morrow.
Venator. That we will, Sir, and to all the lovers of Angling too, ofwhich number I am now willing to be one myself; for, by the help of yourgood discourse and company, I have put on new thoughts both of the artof Angling and of all that profess it; and if you will but meet meto-morrow at the time and place appointed, and bestow one day with meand my friends, in hunting the Otter, I will dedicate the next two daysto wait upon you; and we too will, for that time, do nothing but angle,and talk of fish and fishing.
Piscator. It is a match, Sir, I will not fail you, God willing, to be at
Amwell Hill to-morrow morning before sun-rising.
The second day
On the Otter and the Chub
Chapter II
Piscator, Venator, Huntsman, and Hostess
Venator. My friend Piscator, you have kept time with my thoughts; forthe sun is just rising, and I myself just now come to this place, andthe dogs have just now put down an Otter. Look! down at the bottom ofthe hill there, in that meadow, chequered with water-lilies andlady-smocks; there you may see what work they make; look! look! you maysee all busy; men and dogs; dogs and men; all busy.
Piscator. Sir, I am right glad to meet you, and glad to have so fair anentrance into this day's sport, and glad to see so many dogs, and moremen, all in pursuit of the Otter. Let us compliment no longer, but joinunto them. Come, honest Venator, let us be gone, let us make haste; Ilong to be doing; no reasonable hedge or ditch shall hold me.
Venator. Gentleman Huntsman, where found you this Otter?
Huntsman. Marry, Sir, we found her a mile from this place, a-fishing. Shehas this morning eaten the greatest part of this Trout; she has onlyleft thus much of it as you see, and was fishing for more; when we camewe found her just at it: but we were here very early, we were here anhour before sunrise, and have given her no rest since we came; sure shewill hardly escape all these dogs and men. I am to have the skin if wekill her.
Venator. Why, Sir, what is the skin worth?
Huntsman. It is worth ten shillings to make gloves; the gloves of anOtter are the best fortification for your hands that can be thought onagainst wet weather.
Piscator. I pray, honest Huntsman, let me ask you a pleasant question:do you hunt a beast or a fish?
Huntsman. Sir, it is not in my power to resolve you; I leave it to beresolved by the college of Carthusians, who have made vows never to eatflesh. But, I have heard, the question hath been debated among manygreat clerks, and they seem to differ about it; yet most agree that hertail is fish: and if her body be fish too, then I may say that a fishwill walk upon land: for an Otter does so sometimes, five or six or tenmiles in a night, to catch for her young ones, or to glut herself withfish. And I can tell you that Pigeons will fly forty miles for abreakfast: but, Sir, I am sure the Otter devours much fish, and killsand spoils much more than he eats. And I can tell you, that thisdog-fisher, for so the Latins call him, can smell a fish in the water ahundred yards from him: Gesner says much farther: and that his stonesare good against the falling sickness; and that there is an herb,Benione, which, being hung in a linen cloth near a fish-pond, or anyhaunt that he uses, makes him to avoid the place; which proves he smellsboth by water and land. And, I can tell you, there is brave hunting thiswater-dog in Cornwall; where there have been so many, that our learnedCamden says there is a river called Ottersey, which was so named byreason of the abundance of Otters that bred and fed in it.
And thus much for my knowledge of the Otter; which you may now see abovewater at vent, and the dogs close with him; I now see he will not lastlong. Follow, therefore, my masters, follow; for Sweetlips was like tohave him at this last vent.
Venator. Oh me! all the horse are got over the river, what shall we donow? shall we follow them over the water?
Huntsman. No, Sir, no; be not so eager; stay a little, and follow me;for both they and the dogs will be suddenly on this side again, Iwarrant you, and the Otter too, it may be. Now have at him with Kilbuck,for he vents again.
Venator. Marry! so he does; for, look! he vents in that corner. Now,now, Ringwood has him: now, he is gone again, and has bit the poor dog.Now Sweetlips has her; hold her, Sweetlips! now all the dogs have her;some above and some under water: but, now, now she is tired, and pastlosing. Come bring her to me, Sweetlips. Look! it is a Bitch-otter, andshe has lately whelp'd. Let's go to the place where she was put down;and, not far from it, you will find all her young ones, I dare warrantyou, and kill them all too.
Huntsman. Come, Gentlemen! come, all! let's go to the place where we putdown the Otter. Look you! hereabout it was that she kennelled; look you!here it was indeed; for here's her young ones, no less than five: come,let us kill them all.
Piscator. No: I pray, Sir, save me one, and I'll try if I can make hertame, as I know an ingenious gentleman in Leicestershire, Mr. Nich.Segrave, has done; who hath not only made her tame, but to catch fish,and do many other things of much pleasure.
Huntsman. Take one with all my heart; but let us kill the rest. And nowlet's go to an honest ale-house, where we may have a cup of good barleywine, and sing "Old Rose," and all of us rejoice together.
Venator. Come, my friend Piscator, let me invite you along with us. I'llbear your charges this night, and you shall bear mine to-morrow; for myintention is to accompany you a day or two in fishing.
Piscator. Sir, your request is granted; and I shall be right glad bothto exchange such a courtesy, and also to enjoy your company.
The third day
Venator. Well, now let's go to your sport of Angling.
Piscator. Let's be going, with all my heart. God keep you all,Gentlemen; and send you meet, this day, with another Bitch-otter, andkill her merrily, and all her young ones too.
Venator. NOW, Piscator, where will you begin to fish?
Piscator. We are not yet come to a likely place; I must walk a milefurther yet before I beam.
Venator. Well then, I pray, as we walk, tell me freely, how do you likeyour lodging, and mine host and the company? Is not mine host a wittyman?
Piscator. Sir, I will tell you, presently, what I think of your host:but, first, I will tell you, I am glad these Otters were killed; and Iam sorry there are no more Otter-killers; for I know that the want ofOtter-killers, and the not keeping the fence-months for the preservationof fish, will, in time, prove the destruction of all rivers. And thosevery few that are left, that make conscience of the laws of the nation,and of keeping days of abstinence, will be forced to eat flesh, orsuffer more inconveniences than are yet foreseen.
Venator. Why, Sir, what be those that you call the fence-months?
Piscator. Sir, they be principally three, namely, March, April, and May:for these be the usual months that Salmon come out of the sea to spawnin most fresh rivers. And their fry would, about a certain time, returnback to the salt water, if they were not hindered by weirs and unlawfulgins, which the greedy fishermen set, and so destroy them by thousands;as they would, being so taught by nature, change the fresh for saltwater. He that shall view the wise Statutes made in the 13th of Edwardthe First, and the like in Richard the Second, may see severalprovisions made against the destruction of fish: and though I profess noknowledge of the law, yet I am sure the regulation of these defectsmight be easily mended. But I remember that a wise friend of mine didusually say, "that which is everybody's business is nobody's business":if it were otherwise, there could not be so many nets and fish, that areunder the statute size, sold daily amongst us; and of which theconservators of the waters should be ashamed.
But, above all, the taking fish in spawning-time may be said to beagainst nature: it is like taking the dam on the nest when she hatchesher young, a sin so against nature, that Almighty God hath in theLevitical law made a law against it.
But the poor fish have enemies enough besides such unnatural fishermen;as namely, the Otters that I spake of, the Cormorant, the Bittern, theOsprey, the Sea-gull, the Hern, the King-fisher, the Gorara, the Puet,the Swan, Goose, Duck, and the Craber, which some call the Water-rat:against all which any honest man may make a just quarrel, but I willnot; I will leave them to be quarrelled with and killed by others, for Iam not of a cruel nature, I love to kill nothing but fish.
And, now, to your question concerning your host. To speak truly, he isnot to me a good companion, for most of his conceits were eitherscripture jests, or lascivious jests, for which I count no man witty:for the devil will help a man, that way inclined, to the first; and hisown corrupt nature, which he always carries with him, to the latter. Buta companion that feasts the company with wit and mirth, and leaves outthe sin which is usually mixed with them, he is the man, and indeed sucha companion should have his charges borne; and to such company I hope tobring you this night; for at Trout-hall, not far from this place, whereI purpose to lodge to-night, there is usually an Angler that proves goodcompany. And let me tell you, good company and good discourse are thevery sinews of virtue. But for such discourse as we heard last night, itinfects others: the very boys will learn to talk and swear, as theyheard mine host, and another of the company that shall be nameless. I amsorry the other is a gentleman, for less religion will not save theirsouls than a beggar's: I think more will be required at the last greatday. Well! you know what example is able to do; and I know what the poetsays in the like case, which is worthy to be noted by all parents andpeople of civility:
….many a one
Owes to his country his religion;
And in another, would as strongly grow,
Had but his nurse or mother taught him so.
This is reason put into verse, and worthy the consideration of a wiseman. But of this no more; for though I love civility, yet I hate severecensures. I'll to my own art; and I doubt not but at yonder tree I shallcatch a Chub: and then we'll turn to an honest cleanly hostess, that Iknow right well; rest ourselves there; and dress it for our dinner.
Venator. Oh, Sir! a Chub is the worst fish that swims; I hoped for a
Trout to my dinner.
Piscator. Trust me, Sir, there is not a likely place for a Trouthereabout: and we staid so long to take our leave of your huntsmen thismorning, that the sun is got so high, and shines so clear, that I willnot undertake the catching of a Trout till evening. And though a Chubbe, by you and many others, reckoned the worst of fish, yet you shallsee I'll make it a good fish by dressing it.
Venator. Why, how will you dress him?
Piscator. I'll tell you by-and-by, when I have caught him. Look youhere, Sir, do you see? but you must stand very close, there lie upon thetop of the water, in this very hole, twenty Chubs. I'll catch only oneand that shall be the biggest of them all: and that I will do so, I'llhold you twenty to one, and you shall see it done.
Venator. Ay, marry! Sir, now you talk like an artist, and I'll say youare one, when I shall see you perform what you say you can do: but I yetdoubt it.
Piscator. You shall not doubt it long; for you shall see me do itpresently. Look! the biggest of these Chubs has had some bruise upon histail, by a Pike or some other accident; and that looks like a whitespot. That very Chub I mean to put into your hands presently; sit youbut down in the shade, and stay but a little while; and I'll warrantyou, I'll bring him to you.
Venator. I'll sit down; and hope well, because you seem to be soconfident.
Piscator. Look you, Sir, there is a trial of my skill; there he is: thatvery Chub, that I showed you, with the white spot on his tail. And I'llbe as certain to make him a good dish of meat as I was to catch him:I'll now lead you to an honest ale-house, where we shall find a cleanlyroom, lavender in the windows, and twenty ballads stuck about the wall.There my hostess, which I may tell you is both cleanly, and handsome,and civil, hath dressed many a one for me; and shall now dress it aftermy fashion, and I warrant it good meat.
Venator. Come, Sir, with all my heart, for I begin to be hungry, andlong to be at it, and indeed to rest myself too; for though I havewalked but four miles this morning, yet I begin to be weary; yesterday'shunting hangs still upon me.
Piscator. Well, Sir, and you shall quickly be at rest, for yonder is thehouse I mean to bring you to.
Come, hostess, how do you? Will you first give us a cup of your bestdrink, and then dress this Chub, as you dressed my last, when I and myfriend were here about eight or ten days ago? But you must do me onecourtesy, it must be done instantly.
Hostess. I will do it, Mr. Piscator, and with all the speed I can.
Piscator. NOW, Sir, has not my hostess made haste? and does not the fishlook lovely?
Venator. Both, upon my word, Sir; and therefore let's say grace and fallto eating of it.
Piscator. Well, Sir, how do you like it?
Venator. Trust me, 'tis as good meat as I ever tasted. Now let me thankyou for it, drink to you and beg a courtesy of you; but it must not bedenied me.
Piscator. What is it, I pray, Sir? You are so modest, that methinks I maypromise to grant it before it is asked.
Venator. Why, Sir, it is, that from henceforth you would allow me tocall you Master, and that really I may be your scholar; for you are sucha companion, and have so quickly caught and so excellently cooked thisfish, as makes me ambitious to be your scholar.
Piscator. Give me your hand; from this time forward I will be yourMaster, and teach you as much of this art as I am able; and will, as youdesire me, tell you somewhat of the nature of most of the fish that weare to angle for, and I am sure I both can and will tell you more thanany common angler yet knows.
The third day-continued
How to fish for, and to dress, the Chavender of Chub
Chapter III
Piscator and Venator
Piscator. The Chub, though he eat well, thus dressed, yet as he isusually dressed, he does not. He is objected against, not only for beingfull of small forked bones, dispersed through all his body, but that heeats waterish, and that the flesh of him is not firm, but short andtasteless. The French esteem him so mean, as to call him Un Villain;nevertheless he may be so dressed as to make him very good meat; as,namely, if he be a large Chub, then dress him thus:
First, scale him, and then wash him clean, and then take out his guts;and to that end make the hole as little, and near to his gills, as youmay conveniently, and especially make clean his throat from the grassand weeds that are usually in it; for if that be not very clean, it willmake him to taste very sour. Having so done, put some sweet herbs intohis belly; and then tie him with two or three splinters to a spit, androast him, basted often with vinegar, or rather verjuice and butter,with good store of salt mixed with it.
Being thus dressed, you will find him a much better dish of meat thanyou, or most folk, even than anglers themselves, do imagine: for thisdries up the fluid watery humour with which all Chubs do abound. Buttake this rule with you, That a Chub newly taken and newly dressed, isso much better than a Chub of a day's keeping after he is dead, that Ican compare him to nothing so fitly as to cherries newly gathered from atree, and others that have been bruised and lain a day or two in water.But the Chub being thus used, and dressed presently; and not washedafter he is gutted, for note, that lying long in water, and washing theblood out of any fish after they be gutted, abates much of theirsweetness; you will find the Chub, being dressed in the blood, andquickly, to be such meat as will recompense your labour, and disabuseyour opinion.
Or you may dress the Chavender or Chub thus:
When you have scaled him, and cut off his tail and fins, and washed himvery clean, then chine or slit him through the middle, as a salt-fish isusually cut; then give him three or four cuts or scotches on the backwith your knife, and broil him on charcoal, or wood coal, that are freefrom smoke; and all the time he is a-broiling, baste him with the bestsweet butter, and good store of salt mixed with it. And, to this, add alittle thyme cut exceedingly small, or bruised into the butter. TheCheven thus dressed hath the watery taste taken away, for which so manyexcept against him. Thus was the Cheven dressed that you now liked sowell, and commended so much. But note again, that if this Chub that youeat of had been kept till to-morrow, he had not been worth a rush. Andremember, that his throat be washed very clean, I say very clean, andhis body not washed after he is gutted, as indeed no fish should be.
Well, scholar, you see what pains I have taken to recover the lostcredit of the poor despised Chub. And now I will give you some rules howto catch him: and I am glad to enter you into the art of fishing bycatching a Chub, for there is no fish better to enter a young Angler, heis so easily caught, but then it must be this particular way:
Go to the same hole in which I caught my Chub, where, in most hot days,you will find a dozen or twenty Chevens floating near the top of thewater. Get two or three grasshoppers, as you go over the meadow: and getsecretly behind the tree, and stand as free from motion as is possible.Then put a grasshopper on your hook, and let your hook hang a quarter ofa yard short of the water, to which end you must rest your rod on somebough of the tree. But it is likely the Chubs will sink down towards thebottom of the water, at the first shadow of your rod (for Chub is thefearfullest of fishes), and will do so if but a bird flies over him andmakes the least shadow on the water; but they will presently rise up tothe top again, and there lie soaring till some shadow affrights themagain. I say, when they lie upon the top of the water, look out the bestChub, which you, setting yourself in a fit place, may very easily see,and move your rod, as softly as a snail moves, to that Chub you intendto catch; let your bait fall gently upon the water three or four inchesbefore him, and he will infallibly take the bait. And you will be assure to catch him; for he is one of the leather-mouthed fishes, of whicha hook does scarce ever lose its hold; and therefore give him playenough before you offer to take him out of the water. Go your waypresently; take my rod, and do as I bid you; and I will sit down andmend my tackling till you return back.
Venator. Truly, my loving master, you have offered me as fair as I couldwish. I'll go and observe your directions.
Look you, master, what I have done, that which joys my heart, caughtjust such another Chub as yours was.
Piscator. Marry, and I am glad of it: I am like to have a towardlyscholar of you. I now see, that with advice and practice, you will makean Angler in a short time. Have but a love to it; and I'll warrant you.
Venator. But, master! what if I could not have found a grasshopper?
Piscator. Then I may tell you, That a black snail, with his belly slit,to show his white, or a piece of soft cheese, will usually do as well.Nay, sometimes a worm, or any kind of fly, as the ant-fly, theflesh-fly, or wall-fly; or the dor or beetle which you may find undercow-dung; or a bob which you will find in the same place, and in timewill be a beetle; it is a short white worm, like to and bigger than agentle; or a cod-worm; or a case-worm; any of these will do very well tofish in such a manner.
And after this manner you may catch a Trout in a hot evening: when, asyou walk by a brook, and shall see or hear him leap at flies, then, ifyou get a grasshopper, put it on your hook, with your line about twoyards long; standing behind a bush or tree where his hole is: and makeyour bait stir up and down on the top of the water. You may, if youstand close, be sure of a bite, but not sure to catch him, for he is nota leather-mouthed fish. And after this manner you may fish for him withalmost any kind of live fly, but especially with a grasshopper.
Venator. But before you go further, I pray, good master, what mean youby a leather-mouthed fish?
Piscator. By a leather-mouthed fish, I mean such as have their teeth intheir throat, as the Chub or Cheven: and so the Barbel, the Gudgeon, andCarp, and divers others have. And the hook being stuck into the leather,or skin, of the mouth of such fish, does very seldom or never lose itshold: but on the contrary, a Pike, a Perch, or Trout, and so some otherfish, which have not their teeth in their throats, but in their mouths,which you shall observe to be very full of bones, and the skin verythin, and little of it. I say, of these fish the hook never takes sosure hold but you often lose your fish, unless he have gorged it.
Venator. I thank you, good master, for this observation. But now whatshall be done with my Chub or Cheven that I have caught?
Piscator. Marry, Sir, it shall be given away to some poor body; for I'llwarrant you I'll give you a Trout for your supper: and it is a goodbeginning of your art to offer your first-fruits to the poor, who willboth thank you and God for it, which I see by your silence you seem toconsent to. And for your willingness to part with it so charitably, Iwill also teach more concerning Chub-fishing. You are to note, that inMarch and April he is usually taken with worms; in May, June, and July,he will bite at any fly, or at cherries, or at beetles with their legsand wings cut off, or at any kind of snail, or at the black bee thatbreeds in clay walls. And he never refuses a grasshopper, on the top ofa swift stream, nor, at the bottom, the young humble bee that breeds inlong grass, and is ordinarily found by the mower of it. In August, andin the cooler months, a yellow paste, made of the strongest cheese, andpounded in a mortar, with a little butter and saffron, so much of it as,being beaten small, will turn it to a lemon colour. And some make apaste for the winter months, at which time the Chub is accounted best,for then it is observed, that the forked bones are lost, or turned intoa kind of gristle, especially if he be baked, of cheese and turpentine.He will bite also at a minnow, or peek, as a Trout will: of which Ishall tell you more hereafter, and of divers other baits. But take thisfor a rule, that, in hot weather, he is to be fished for towards themid-water, or near the top; and in colder weather, nearer the bottom;and if you fish for him on the top, with a beetle, or any fly, then besure to let your line be very long, and to keep out of sight. And havingtold you, that his spawn is excellent meat, and that the head of a largeCheven, the throat being well washed, is the best part of him, I willsay no more of this fish at the present, but wish you may catch the nextyou fish for.
But, lest you may judge me too nice in urging to have the Chub dressedso presently after he is taken, I will commend to your consideration howcurious former times have been in the like kind.
You shall read in Seneca, his Natural Questions, that the ancients wereso curious in the newness of their fish, that that seemed not new enoughthat was not put alive into the guest's hand; and he says, that to thatend they did usually keep them living in glass bottles in theirdining-rooms, and they did glory much in their entertaining of friends,to have that fish taken from under their table alive that was instantlyto be fed upon; and he says, they took great pleasure to see theirMullets change to several colours when they were dying. But enough ofthis; for I doubt I have staid too long from giving you someObservations of the Trout, and how to fish for him, which shall take upthe next of my spare time.
The third day-continued
On the Nature and Breeding of the Trout, and how to fish for him
Chapter IV
Piscator, Venator, Milk-woman, Maudlin, Hostess
Piscator. The Trout is a fish highly valued, both in this and foreignnations. He may be justly said, as the old poet said of wine, and weEnglish say of venison, to be a generous fish: a fish that is so likethe buck, that he also has his seasons; for it is observed, that hecomes in and goes out of season with the stag and buck. Gesner says, hisname is of a German offspring; and says he is a fish that feeds cleanand purely, in the swiftest streams, and on the hardest gravel; and thathe may justly contend with all fresh water fish, as the Mullet may withall sea fish, for precedency and daintiness of taste; and that being inright season, the most dainty palates have allowed precedency to him.
And before I go farther in my discourse, let me tell you, that you areto observe, that as there be some barren does that are good in summer,so there be some barren Trouts that are good in winter; but there arenot many that are so; for usually they be in their perfection in themonth of May, and decline with the buck. Now you are to take notice,that in several countries, as in Germany, and in other parts, comparedto ours, fish do differ much in their bigness, and shape, and otherways; and so do Trouts. It is well known that in the Lake Leman, theLake of Geneva, there are Trouts taken of three cubits long; as isaffirmed by Gesner, a writer of good credit: and Mercator says, theTrouts that are taken in the Lake of Geneva are a great part of themerchandize of that famous city. And you are further to know, that therebe certain waters that breed Trouts remarkable, both for their numberand smallness. I know a little brook in Kent, that breeds them to anumber incredible, and you may take them twenty or forty in an hour, butnone greater than about the size of a Gudgeon. There are also, in diversrivers, especially that relate to, or be near to the sea, as Winchester,or the Thames about Windsor, a little Trout called a Samlet, or SkeggerTrout, in both which places I have caught twenty or forty at a standing,that will bite as fast and as freely as Minnows: these be by some takento be young Salmons; but in those waters they never grow to be biggerthan a Herring.
There is also in Kent, near to Canterbury, a Trout called there aFordidge Trout, a Trout that bears the name of the town where it isusually caught, that is accounted the rarest of fish; many of them nearthe bigness of a Salmon, but known by their different colour; and intheir best season they cut very white: and none of these have been knownto be caught with an angle, unless it were one that was caught by SirGeorge Hastings, an excellent angler, and now with God: and he hath toldme, he thought that Trout bit not for hunger but wantonness; and it isthe rather to be believed, because both he, then, and many others beforehim, have been curious to search into their bellies, what the food wasby which they lived; and have found out nothing by which they mightsatisfy their curiosity.
Concerning which you are to take notice, that it is reported by goodauthors, that grasshoppers and some fish have no mouths, but arenourished and take breath by the porousness of their gills, man knowsnot how: and this may be believed, if we consider that when the ravenhath hatched her eggs, she takes no further care, but leaves her youngones to the care of the God of nature, who is said, in the Psalms, "tofeed the young ravens that call upon him ". And they be kept alive andfed by a dew; or worms that breed in their nests; or some other waysthat we mortals know not. And this may be believed of the FordidgeTrout, which, as it is said of the stork, that he knows his season, sohe knows his times, I think almost his day of coming into that river outof the sea; where he lives, and, it is like, feeds, nine months of theyear, and fasts three in the river of Fordidge. And you are to note,that those townsmen are very punctual in observing the time of beginningto fish for them; and boast much, that their river affords a Trout thatexceeds all others. And just so does Sussex boast of several fish; as,namely, a Shelsey Cockle, a Chichester Lobster, an Arundel Mullet, andan Amerly Trout.
And, now, for some confirmation of the Fordidge Trout: you are to knowthat this Trout is thought to eat nothing in the fresh water; and it maybe the better believed, because it is well known, that swallows, andbats, and wagtails, which are called half-year birds, and not seen tofly in England for six months in the year, but about Michaelmas leave usfor a hotter climate, yet some of them that have been left behind theirfellows, have been found, many thousands at a time, in hollow trees, orclay caves, where they have been observed to live, and sleep out thewhole winter, without meat. And so Albertus observes, that there is onekind of frog that hath her mouth naturally shut up about the end ofAugust, and that she lives so all the winter: and though it be strangeto some, yet it is known to too many among us to be doubted.
And so much for these Fordidge Trouts, which never afford an anglersport, but either live their time of being in the fresh water, by theirmeat formerly gotten in the sea, not unlike the swallow or frog, or, bythe virtue of the fresh water only; or, as the birds of Paradise and thecameleon are said to live, by the sun and the air.
There is also in Northumberland a Trout called a Bull-trout, of a muchgreater length and bigness than any in these southern parts; and thereare, in many rivers that relate to the sea, Salmon-trouts, as muchdifferent from others, both in shape and in their spots, as we see sheepin some countries differ one from another in their shape and bigness,and in the fineness of the wool: and, certainly, as some pastures breedlarger sheep; so do some rivers, by reason of the ground over which theyrun, breed larger Trouts.
Now the next thing that I will commend to your consideration is, thatthe Trout is of a more sudden growth than other fish. Concerning which,you are also to take notice, that he lives not so long as the Pearch,and divers other fishes do, as Sir Francis Bacon hath observed in hisHistory of Life and Death.
And next you are to take notice, that he is not like the Crocodile,which if he lives never so long, yet always thrives till his death: but'tis not so with the Trout; for after he is come to his full growth, hedeclines in his body, and keeps his bigness, or thrives only in his headtill his death. And you are to know, that he will, about, especiallybefore, the time of his spawning, get, almost miraculously, throughweirs and flood-gates, against the stream; even through such high andswift places as is almost incredible. Next, that the Trout usuallyspawns about October or November, but in some rivers a little sooner orlater; which is the more observable, because most other fish spawn inthe spring or summer, when the sun hath warmed both the earth and water,and made it fit for generation. And you are to note, that he continuesmany months out of season; for it may be observed of the Trout, that heis like the Buck or the Ox, that will not be fat in many months, thoughhe go in the very same pastures that horses do, which will be fat in onemonth: and so you may observe, That most other fishes recover strength,and grow sooner fat and in season than the Trout doth.
And next you are to note, That till the sun gets to such a height as towarm the earth and the water, the Trout is sick, and lean, and lousy,and unwholesome; for you shall, in winter, find him to have a big head,and, then, to be lank and thin and lean; at which time many of them havesticking on them Sugs, or Trout-lice; which is a kind of a worm, inshape like a clove, or pin with a big head, and sticks close to him, andsucks his moisture, those, I think, the Trout breeds himself: and neverthrives till he free himself from them, which is when warm weathercomes; and, then, as he grows stronger, he gets from the dead stillwater into the sharp streams and the gravel, and, there, rubs off theseworms or lice; and then, as he grows stronger, so he gets him intoswifter and swifter streams, and there lies at the watch for any fly orminnow that comes near to him; and he especially loves the May-fly,which is bred of the cod-worm, or cadis; and these make the Trout boldand lusty, and he is usually fatter and better meat at the end of thatmonth than at any time of the year.
Now you are to know that it is observed, that usually the best Troutsare either red or yellow; though some, as the Fordidge Trout, be whiteand yet good; but that is not usual: and it is a note observable, thatthe female Trout hath usually a less head, and a deeper body than themale Trout, and is usually the better meat. And note, that a hog backand a little head, to either Trout, Salmon or any other fish, is a signthat that fish is in season.
But yet you are to note, that as you see some willows or palm-trees budand blossom sooner than others do, so some Trouts be, in rivers, soonerin season: and as some hollies, or oaks, are longer before they casttheir leaves, so are some Trouts, in rivers, longer before they go outof season.
And you are to note, that there are several kinds of Trouts: but theseseveral kinds are not considered but by very few men; for they go underthe general name of Trouts; just as pigeons do, in most places; thoughit is certain, there are tame and wild pigeons; and of the tame, therebe hermits and runts, and carriers and cropers, and indeed too many toname. Nay, the Royal Society have found and published lately, that therebe thirty and three kinds of spiders; and yet all, for aught I know, gounder that one general name of spider. And it is so with many kinds offish, and of Trouts especially; which differ in their bigness, andshape, and spots, and colour. The great Kentish hens may be an instance,compared to other hens: and, doubtless, there is a kind of small Trout,which will never thrive to be big; that breeds very many more thanothers do, that be of a larger size: which you may rasher believe, ifyou consider that the little wren and titmouse will have twenty youngones at a time, when, usually, the noble hawk, or the musical thrasselor blackbird, exceed not four or five.
And now you shall see me try my skill to catch a Trout; and at my nextwalking, either this evening or to-morrow morning, I will give youdirection how you yourself shall fish for him.
Venator. Trust me, master, I see now it is a harder matter to catch aTrout than a Chub; for I have put on patience, and followed you thesetwo hours, and not seen a fish stir, neither at your minnow nor yourworm.
Piscator. Well, scholar, you must endure worse luck sometime, or youwill never make a good angler. But what say you now? there is a Troutnow, and a good one too, if I can but hold him; and two or three turnsmore will tire him. Now you see he lies still, and the sleight is toland him: reach me that landing-net. So, Sir, now he is mine own: whatsay you now, is not this worth all my labour and your patience?
Venator. On my word, master, this is a gallant Trout; what shall we dowith him?
Piscator. Marry, e'en eat him to supper: we'll go to my hostess fromwhence we came; she told me, as I was going out of door, that my brotherPeter, a good angler and a cheerful companion, had sent word he wouldlodge there to-night, and bring a friend with him. My hostess has twobeds, and I know you and I may have the best: we'll rejoice with mybrother Peter and his friend, tell tales, or sing ballads, or make acatch, or find some harmless sport to content us, and pass away a littletime without offence to God or man.
Venator. A match, good master, let's go to that house, for the linenlooks white, and smells of lavender, and I long to lie in a pair ofsheets that smell so. Let's be going, good master, for I am hungry againwith fishing.
Piscator. Nay, stay a little, good scholar. I caught my last Trout witha worm; now I will put on a minnow, and try a quarter of an hour aboutyonder trees for another; and, so, walk towards our lodging. Look you,scholar, thereabout we shall have a bite presently, or not at all. Havewith you, Sir: o' my word I have hold of him. Oh! it is a greatlogger-headed Chub; come, hang him upon that willow twig, and let's begoing. But turn out of the way a little, good scholar! toward yonderhigh honeysuckle hedge; there we'll sit and sing whilst this showerfalls so gently upon the teeming earth, and gives yet a sweeter smell tothe lovely flowers that adorn these verdant meadows.
Look! under that broad beech-tree I sat down, when I was last this waya-fishing; and the birds in the adjoining grove seemed to have afriendly contention with an echo, whose dead voice seemed to live in ahollow tree near to the brow of that primrose-hill. There I sat viewingthe silver streams glide silently towards their centre, the tempestuoussea; yet sometimes opposed by rugged roots and pebble-stones, whichbroke their waves, and turned them into foam; and sometimes I beguiledtime by viewing the harmless lambs; some leaping securely in the coolshade, whilst others sported themselves in the cheerful sun; and sawothers craving comfort from the swollen udders of their bleating dams.As I thus sat, these and other sights had so fully possess my soul withcontent, that I thought, as the poet has happily express it,
I was for that time lifted above earth,
And possest joys not promis'd in my birth.
As I left this place, and entered into the next field, a second pleasureentertained me; 'twas a handsome milk-maid, that had not yet attained somuch age and wisdom as to load her mind with any fears of many thingsthat will never be, as too many men too often do; but she cast away allcare, and sung like a nightingale. Her voice was good, and the dittyfitted for it; it was that smooth song which was made by Kit Marlow, nowat least fifty years ago; and the milk-maid's mother sung an answer toit, which was made by Sir Walter Raleigh, in his younger days. They wereold-fashioned poetry, but choicely good; I think much better than thestrong lines that are now in fashion in this critical age. Look yonder!on my word, yonder, they both be a-milking again. I will give her theChub, and persuade them to sing those two songs to us.
God speed you, good woman! I have been a-fishing; and am going to BleakHall to my bed; and having caught more fish than will sup myself and myfriend, I will bestow this upon you and your daughter, for I use to sellnone.
Milk-woman. Marry! God requite you, Sir, and we'll eat it cheerfully.And if you come this way a-fishing two months hence, a grace of God!I'll give you a syllabub of new verjuice, in a new-made hay-cock, forit. And my Maudlin shall sing you one of her best ballads; for she and Iboth love all anglers, they be such honest, civil, quiet men. In themeantime will you drink a draught of red cow's milk? you shall have itfreely.
Piscator. No, I thank you; but, I pray, do us a courtesy that shallstand you and your daughter in nothing, and yet we will think ourselvesstill something in your debt: it is but to sing us a song that was sungby your daughter when I last passed over this meadow, about eight ornine days since.
Milk-woman. What song was it, I pray? Was it, "Come, Shepherds, deckyour herds "? or, "As at noon Dulcina rested"? or, "Phillida floutsme"? or, "Chevy Chace"? or, "Johnny Armstrong"? or, "Troy Town"?
Piscator. No, it is none of those; it is a Song that your daughter sungthe first part, and you sung the answer to it.
Milk-woman. O, I know it now. I learned the first part in my golden age,when I was about the age of my poor daughter; and the latter part, whichindeed fits me best now, but two or three years ago, when the cares ofthe world began to take hold of me: but you shall, God willing, hearthem both; and sung as well as we can, for we both love anglers. Come,Maudlin, sing the first part to the gentlemen, with a merry heart; andI'll sing the second when you have done.
The Milk-maid's song.
Come live with me, and be my love,
And we will all the pleasures prove,
That valleys, groves, or hills, or fields,
Or woods, and steepy mountains yields;
Where we will sit upon the rocks,
And see the shepherds feed our flocks,
By shallow rivers, to whose falls
Melodious birds sing madrigals.
And I will make thee beds of roses;
And, then, a thousand fragrant posies;
A cap of flowers, and a kirtle,
Embroidered all with leaves of myrtle;
A gown made of the finest wool
Which from our pretty lambs we pull
Slippers, lin'd choicely for the cold,
With buckles of the purest gold;
A belt of straw and ivy-buds,
With coral clasps, and amber studs.
And if these pleasures may thee move,
Come, live with me, and be my love,
Thy silver dishes, for thy meat
As precious as the Gods do eat
Shall, on an ivory table, be
Prepared each day for thee and me.
The shepherd swains shall dance and sing
For thy delight, each May morning.
If these delights thy mind may move,
Then live with me, and be my love.
Venator. Trust me, master, it is a choice song, and sweetly sung byhonest Maudlin. I now see it was not without cause that our good queenElizabeth did so often wish herself a milk-maid all the month of May,because they are not troubled with fears and cares, but sing sweetly allthe day, and sleep securely all the night: and without doubt, honest,innocent, pretty Maudlin does so. I'll bestow Sir Thomas Overbury'smilk-maid's wish upon her, "that she may die in the Spring; and, beingdead, may have good store of flowers stuck round about herwinding-sheet".
The Milk-maid's mother's answer
If all the world and love were young
And truth in every shepherd's tongue,
These pretty pleasures might me move
To live with thee, and be thy love.
But Time drives flocks from field to fold.
When rivers rage, and rocks grow cold
Then Philomel becometh dumb
And age complains of cares to come.
The flowers do fade, and wanton fields
To wayward winter reckoning yields.
A honey tongue, a heart of gall,
Is fancy's spring but sorrow's fall.
Thy gowns, thy shoes, thy beds of roses,
Thy cap, thy kirtle, and thy posies,
Soon break, soon wither, soon forgotten;
In folly rise, in reason rotten.
Thy belt of straw, and ivy buds,
Thy coral clasps, and amber studs,
All these in me no means can move
To come to thee, and be thy love.
What should we talk of dainties, then,
Of better meat than's fit for men?
These are but vain: that's only good
Which God hath blessed and sent for food.
But could youth last, and love still breed;
Had joys no date, nor age no need;
Then those delights my mind might move
To live with thee, and be thy love.
Mother. Well! I have done my song. But stay, honest anglers; for I willmake Maudlin sing you one short song more. Maudlin! sing that song thatyou sung last night, when young Coridon the shepherd played so purely onhis oaten pipe to you and your cousin Betty.
Maudlin. I will, mother.
I married a wife of late,
The more's my unhappy fate:
I married her for love,
As my fancy did me move,
And not for a worldly estate:
But oh! the green sickness
Soon changed her likeness;
And all her beauty did fail.
But 'tis not so
With those that go
Thro'frost and snow
As all men know,
And carry the milking-pail.
Piscator. Well sung, good woman; I thank you. I'll give you another dishof fish one of these days; and then beg another song of you. Come,scholar! let Maudlin alone: do not you offer to spoil her voice. Look!yonder comes mine hostess, to call us to supper. How now! is my brotherPeter come?
Hostess. Yes, and a friend with him. They are both glad to hear that youare in these parts; and long to see you; and long to be at supper, forthey be very hungry.
The third day-continued
On the Trout
Chapter V
Piscator, Peter, Venator, Coridon
Piscator. Well met, brother Peter! I heard you and a friend would lodgehere to-night; and that hath made me to bring my friend to lodge heretoo. My friend is one that would fain be a brother of the angle: he hathbeen an angler but this day; and I have taught him how to catch a Chub,by dapping with a grasshopper; and the Chub he caught was a lusty one ofnineteen inches long. But pray, brother Peter, who is your companion?
Peter. Brother Piscator, my friend is an honest countryman, and his nameis Coridon; and he is a downright witty companion, that met me herepurposely to be pleasant and eat a Trout; and I have not yet wetted myline since we met together: but I hope to fit him with a Trout for hisbreakfast; for I'll be early up.
Piscator. Nay, brother, you shall not stay so long; for, look you! hereis a Trout will fill six reasonable bellies.
Come, hostess, dress it presently; and get us what other meat the housewill afford; and give us some of your best barley-wine, the good liquorthat our honest forefathers did use to think of; the drink whichpreserved their health, and made them live so long, and to do so manygood deeds.
Peter. On my word, this Trout is perfect in season. Come, I thank you,and here is a hearty draught to you, and to all the brothers of theangle wheresoever they be, and to my young brother's good fortuneto-morrow. I will furnish him with a rod, if you will furnish him withthe rest of the tackling: we will set him up, and make him a fisher. AndI will tell him one thing for his encouragement, that his fortune hathmade him happy to be scholar to such a master; a master that knows asmuch, both of the nature and breeding of fish, as any man; and can alsotell him as well how to catch and cook them, from the Minnow to theSalmon, as any that I ever met withal.
Piscator. Trust me, brother Peter, I find my scholar to be so suitableto my own humour, which is to be free and pleasant and civilly merry,that my resolution is to hide nothing that I know from him. Believe me,scholar, this is my resolution; and so here's to you a hearty draught,and to all that love us and the honest art of Angling.
Venator. Trust me, good master, you shall not sow your seed in barrenground; for I hope to return you an increase answerable to your hopes:but, however, you shall find me obedient, and thankful, and serviceableto my best ability.
Piscator. 'Tis enough, honest scholar! come, let's to supper. Come, myfriend Coridon, this Trout looks lovely; it was twenty-two inches whenit was taken; and the belly of it looked, some part of it, as yellow asa marigold, and part of it as white as a lily; and yet, methinks, itlooks better in this good sauce.
Coridon. Indeed, honest friend, it looks well, and tastes well: I thankyou for it, and so doth my friend Peter, or else he is to blame.
Peter. Yes, and so I do; we all thank you: and, when we have supped, Iwill get my friend Coridon to sing you a song for requital.
Coridon. I will sing a song, if anybody will sing another, else, to beplain with you, I will sing none. I am none of those that sing for meat,but for company: I say,
'"Tis merry in hall, When men sing all."
Piscator. I'll promise you I'll sing a song that was lately made, at myrequest, by Mr. William Basse; one that hath made the choice songs ofthe "Hunter in his Career," and of "Tom of Bedlam," and many others ofnote; and this, that I will sing, is in praise of Angling.
Coridon. And then mine shall be the praise of a Countryman's life. Whatwill the rest sing of?
Peter. I will promise you, I will sing another song in praise of Anglingto-morrow night; for we will not part till then; but fish to-morrow, andsup together: and the next day every man leave fishing, and fall to hisbusiness.
Venator. Tis a match; and I will provide you a song or a catch againstthen, too, which shall give some addition of mirth to the company; forwe will be civil and as merry as beggars.
Piscator. Tis a match, my masters. Let's e'en say grace, and turn to thefire, drink the other cup to whet our whistles, and so sing away all sadthoughts. Come on, my masters, who begins? I think it is best to drawcuts, and avoid contention.
Peter. It is a match. Look, the shortest cut falls to Coridon.
Coridon. Well, then, I will begin, for I hate contention
Coridon's song.
Oh the sweet contentment
The countryman doth find!
Heigh trolollie lollie foe,
Heigh trolollie lee.
That quiet contemplation
Possesseth all my mind:
Then care away
And wend along with me.
For Courts are full of flattery,
As hath too oft been tried
Heigh trolollie lollie foe, etc.,
The city full of wantonness,
And both are full of pride:
Then care away, etc.
But oh, the honest countryman
Speaks truly from his heart
Heigh trolollie lollie foe, etc.
His pride is in his tillage,
His horses, and his cart:
Then care away, etc.
Our cloathing is good sheep-skins
Grey russet for our wives
Heigh trolollie lollie loe, etc.
'Tis warmth and not gay cloathing
That doth prolong our lives:
Then care away, etc.
The ploughman, tho' he labour hard,
Yet on the holy-day
Heigh trolollie lollie foe, etc.
No emperor so merrily
Does pass his time away:
Then care away, etc.
To recompense our tillage,
The heavens afford us showers
Heigh trolollie lollie foe, etc.
And for our sweet refreshment.
The earth affords us bowers:
Then care away, etc.
The cuckow and the nightingale
Full merrily do sing,
Heigh trolollie lollie foe, etc.
And with their pleasant roundelays
Bid welcome to the spring:
Then care away, etc.
This is not half the happiness
The countryman enjoys
Heigh trolollie lollie foe, etc.,
Though others think they have as much,
Yet he that says so lies:
Then come away,
Turn countrymen with me.
Jo. Chalkhill.
Piscator. Well sung, Coridon, this song was sung with mettle; and it waschoicely fitted to the occasion: I shall love you for it as long as Iknow you. I would you were a brother of the angle; for a companion thatis cheerful, and free from swearing and scurrilous discourse, is worthgold. I love such mirth as does not make friends ashamed to look uponone another next morning; nor men, that cannot well bear it, to repentthe money they spend when they be warmed with drink. And take this for arule: you may pick out such times and such companies, that you makeyourselves merrier for a little than a great deal of money; for "'Tisthe company and not the charge that makes the feast"; and such acompanion you prove: I thank you for it.
But I will not compliment you out of the debt that I owe you, andtherefore I will begin my song, and wish it may be so well liked.
The Angler's song.
As inward love breeds outward talk
The hound some praise, and some the hawk
Some, better pleas'd with private sport
Use tennis, some a mistress court:
But these delights I neither wish
Nor envy, while I freely fish.
Who hunts, doth oft in danger ride;
Who hawks, lures oft both far and wide
Who uses games shall often prove
A loser, but who falls in love,
Is fetter'd in fond Cupid's snare:
My angle breeds me no such care.
Of recreation there is none
So free as fishing is alone;
All other pastimes do no less
Than mind and body both possess:
My hand alone my work can do,
So I can fish and study too.
I care not, I, to fish in seas,
Fresh rivers best my mind do please,
Whose sweet calm course I contemplate,
And seek in life to imitate:
In civil bounds I fain would keep,
And for my past offences weep.
And when the timorous Trout I wait
To take, and he devours my bait,
How poor a thing, sometimes I find,
Will captivate a greedy mind:
And when none bite, I praise the wise
Whom vain allurements ne'er surprise.
But yet, though while I fish, I fast,
I make good fortune my repast;
And thereunto my friend invite,
In whom I more than that delight:
Who is more welcome to my dish
Than to my angle was my fish.
As well content no prize to take,
As use of taken prize to make:
For so our Lord was pleased, when
He fishers made fishers of men;
Where, which is in no other game,
A man may fish and praise his name.
The first men that our Saviour dear
Did choose to wait upon him here,
Blest fishers were, and fish the last
Food was that he on earth did taste:
I therefore strive to follow those
Whom he to follow him hath chose.
W. B.
Coridon. Well sung, brother, you have paid your debt in good coin. Weanglers are all beholden to the good man that made this song: come,hostess, give us more ale, and let's drink to him. And now let's everyone go to bed, that we may rise early: but first let's pay ourreckoning, for I will have nothing to hinder me in the morning; for mypurpose is to prevent the sun-rising.
Peter. A match. Come, Coridon, you are to be my bed-fellow. I know,brother, you and your scholar will lie together. But where shall we meetto-morrow night? for my friend Coridon and I will go up the watertowards Ware.
Piscator. And my scholar and I will go down towards Waltham.
Coridon. Then let's meet here, for here are fresh sheets that smell oflavender; and I am sure we cannot expect better meat, or better usage inany place.
Peter. 'Tis a match. Good-night to everybody.
Piscator. And so say I.
Venator. And so say I.
The fourth day
Piscator. Good-morrow, good hostess, I see my brother Peter is still inbed. Come, give my scholar and me a morning drink, and a bit of meat tobreakfast: and be sure to get a dish of meat or two against supper, forwe shall come home as hungry as hawks. Come, scholar, let's be going.
Venator. Well now, good master, as we walk towards the river, give medirection, according to your promise, how I shall fish for a Trout.
Piscator. My honest scholar, I will take this very convenientopportunity to do it.
The Trout is usually caught with a worm, or a minnow, which some call apeek, or with a fly, viz. either a natural or an artificial fly:concerning which three, I will give you some observations anddirections.
And, first, for worms. Of these there be very many sorts: some breedonly in the earth, as the earth-worm; others of, or amongst plants, asthe dug-worm; and others breed either out of excrements, or in thebodies of living creatures, as in the horns of sheep or deer; or some ofdead flesh, as the maggot or gentle, and others.
Now these be most of them particularly good for particular fishes. Butfor the Trout, the dew-worm, which some also call the lob-worm, and thebrandling, are the chief; and especially the first for a great Trout,and the latter for a less. There be also of lob-worms, some calledsquirrel-tails, a worm that has a red head, a streak down the back, anda broad tail, which are noted to be the best, because they are thetoughest and most lively, and live longest in the water; for you are toknow that a dead worm is but a dead bait, and like to catch nothing,compared to a lively, quick, stirring worm. And for a brandling, he isusually found in an old dunghill, or some very rotten place near to it,but most usually in cow-dung, or hog's-dung, rather than horse-dung,which is somewhat too hot and dry for that worm. But the best of themare to be found in the bark of the tanners, which they cast up in heapsafter they have used it about their leather.
There are also divers other kinds of worms, which, for colour and shape,alter even as the ground out of which they are got; as the marsh-worm,the tag-tail, the flag-worm, the dock-worm, the oak-worm, the gilt-tail,the twachel or lob-worm, which of all others is the most excellent baitfor a salmon, and too many to name, even as many sorts as some thinkthere be of several herbs or shrubs, or of several kinds of birds in theair: of which I shall say no more, but tell you, that what worms soeveryou fish with, are the better for being well scoured, that is, long keptbefore they be used: and in case you have not been so provident, thenthe way to cleanse and scour them quickly, is, to put them all night inwater, if they be lob-worms, and then put them into your bag withfennel. But you must not put your brandlings above an hour in water, andthen put them into fennel, for sudden use: but if you have time, andpurpose to keep them long, then they be best preserved in an earthenpot, with good store of moss, which is to be fresh every three or fourdays in summer, and every week or eight days in winter; or, at least,the moss taken from them, and clean washed, and wrung betwixt your handstill it be dry, and then put it to them again. And when your worms,especially the brandling, begins to be sick and lose of his bigness,then you may recover him, by putting a little milk or cream, about aspoonful in a day, into them, by drops on the moss; and if there beadded to the cream an egg beaten and boiled in it, then it will bothfatten and preserve them long. And note, that when the knot, which isnear to the middle of the brandling, begins to swell, then he is sick;and, if he be not well looked to, is near dying. And for moss, you areto note, that there be divers kinds of it, which I could name to you,but I will only tell you that that which is likest a buck's-horn is thebest, except it be soft white moss, which grows on some heaths, and ishard to be found. And note, that in a very dry time, when you are put toan extremity for worms, walnut-tree leaves squeezed into water, or saltin water, to make it bitter or salt, and then that water poured on theground where you shall see worms are used to rise in the night, willmake them to appear above ground presently. And you may take notice,some say that camphire put into your bag with your moss and worms givesthem a strong and so tempting a smell, that the fish fare the worse andyou the better for it.
And now, I shall shew you how to bait your hook with a worm so as shallprevent you from much trouble, and the loss of many a hook, too, whenyou fish for a Trout with a running line; that is to say, when you fishfor him by hand at the ground. I will direct you in this as plainly as Ican, that you may not mistake.
Suppose it be a big lob-worm: put your hook into him somewhat above themiddle, and out again a little below the middle: having so done, drawyour worm above the arming of your hook; but note, that, at the enteringof your hook, it must not be at the head-end of the worm, but at thetail-end of him, that the point of your hook may come out toward thehead-end; and, having drawn him above the arming of your hook, then putthe point of your hook again into the very head of the worm, till itcome near to the place where the point of the hook first came out, andthen draw back that part of the worm that was above the shank or armingof your hook, and so fish with it. And if you mean to fish with twoworms, then put the second on before you turn back the hook's-head ofthe first worm. You cannot lose above two or three worms before youattain to what I direct you; and having attained it, you will find itvery useful, and thank me for it: for you will run on the ground withouttangling.
Now for the Minnow or Penk: he is not easily found and caught tillMarch, or in April, for then he appears first in the river; naturehaving taught him to shelter and hide himself, in the winter, in ditchesthat be near to the river; and there both to hide, and keep himselfwarm, in the mud, or in the weeds, which rot not so soon as in a runningriver, in which place if he were in winter, the distempered floods thatare usually in that season would suffer him to take no rest, but carryhim headlong to mills and weirs, to his confusion. And of these Minnows:first, you are to know, that the biggest size is not the best; and next,that the middle size and the whitest are the best; and then you are toknow, that your minnow must be so put on your hook, that it must turnround when 'tis drawn against the stream; and, that it may turn nimbly,you must put it on a big-sized hook, as I shall now direct you, which isthus: Put your hook in at his mouth, and out at his gill; then, havingdrawn your hook two or three inches beyond or through his gill, put itagain into his mouth, and the point and beard out at his tail; and thentie the hook and his tail about, very neatly, with a white thread, whichwill make it the apter to turn quick in the water; that done, pull backthat part of your line which was slack when you did put your hook intothe minnow the second time; I say, pull that part of your line back, sothat it shall fasten the head, so that the body of the minnow shall bealmost straight on your hook: this done, try how it will turn, bydrawing it across the water or against a stream; and if it do not turnnimbly, then turn the tail a little to the right or left hand, and tryagain, till it turn quick; for if not, you are in danger to catchnothing: for know, that it is impossible that it should turn too quick.And you are yet to know, that in case you want a minnow, then a smallloach, or a stickle-bag, or any other small fish that will turn quick,will serve as well. And you are yet to know that you may salt them, andby that means keep them ready and fit for use three or four days, orlonger; and that, of salt, bay-salt is the best.
And here let me tell you, what many old anglers know right well, that atsome times, and in some waters, a minnow is not to be got; andtherefore, let me tell you, I have, which I will shew to you, anartificial minnow, that will catch a Trout as well as an artificial fly:and it was made by a handsome woman that had a fine hand, and a liveminnow lying by her: the mould or body of the minnow was cloth, andwrought upon, or over it, thus, with a needle; the back of it with verysad French green silk, and paler green silk towards the belly, shadowedas perfectly as you can imagine, just as you see a minnow: the belly waswrought also with a needle, and it was, a part of it, white silk; andanother part of it with silver thread: the tail and fins were of aquill, which was shaven thin: the eyes were of two little black beads:and the head was so shadowed, and all of it so curiously wrought, and soexactly dissembled, that it would beguile any sharp-sighted Trout in aswift stream. And this minnow I will now shew you; look, here it is,and, if you like it, lend it you, to have two or three made by it; forthey be easily carried about an angler, and be of excellent use: fornote, that a large Trout will come as fiercely at a minnow as thehighest-mettled hawk doth seize on a partridge, or a greyhound on ahare. I have been told that one hundred and sixty minnows have beenfound in a Trout's belly: either the Trout had devoured so many, or themiller that gave it a friend of mine had forced them down his throatafter he had taken him.
Now for Flies; which is the third bait wherewith Trouts are usuallytaken. You are to know, that there are so many sorts of flies as therebe of fruits: I will name you but some of them; as the dun-fly, thestone-fly, the red-fly, the moor-fly, the tawny-fly, the shell-fly, thecloudy or blackish-fly, the flag-fly, the vine-fly; there be of flies,caterpillars, and canker-flies, and bear-flies; and indeed too manyeither for me to name, or for you to remember. And their breeding is sovarious and wonderful, that I might easily amaze myself, and tire you ina relation of them.
And, yet, I will exercise your promised patience by saying a little ofthe caterpillar, or the palmer-fly or worm; that by them you may guesswhat a work it were, in a discourse, but to run over those very manyflies, worms, and little living creatures, with which the sun and summeradorn and beautify the river-banks and meadows, both for the recreationand contemplation of us anglers; pleasures which, I think, myself enjoymore than any other man that is not of my profession.
Pliny holds an opinion, that many have their birth, or being, from a dewthat in the spring falls upon the leaves of trees; and that some kindsof them are from a dew left upon herbs or flowers; and others from a dewleft upon coleworts or cabbages: all which kinds of dews being thickenedand condensed, are by the sun's generative heat, most of them, hatched,and in three days made living creatures, and these of several shapes andcolours; some being hard and tough, some smooth and soft; some arehorned in their head, some in their tail, some have none; some havehair, some none: some have sixteen feet, some less, and some have none:but, as our Topsel hath with great diligence observed, those which havenone, move upon the earth, or upon broad leaves, their motion being notunlike to the waves of the sea. Some of them he also observes to be bredof the eggs of other caterpillars, and that those in their time turn tobe butterflies; and again, that their eggs turn the following year to becaterpillars. And some affirm, that every plant has its particular fly orcaterpillar, which it breeds and feeds. I have seen, and may thereforeaffirm it, a green caterpillar, or worm, as big as a small peascod,which had fourteen legs; eight on the belly, four under the neck, andtwo near the tail. It was found on a hedge of privet; and was takenthence, and put into a large box, and a little branch or two of privetput to it, on which I saw it feed as sharply as a dog gnaws a bone: itlived thus, five or six days, and thrived, and changed the colour two orthree times but by some neglect in the keeper of it, it then died anddid not turn to a fly: but if it had lived, it had doubtless turned toone of those flies that some call Flies of prey, which those that walkby the rivers may, in summer, see fasten on smaller flies, and, I think,make them their food. And 'tis observable, that as there be these fliesof prey, which be very large; so there be others, very little, created,I think, only to feed them, and breed out of I know not what; whoselife, they say, nature intended not to exceed an hour; and yet that lifeis thus made shorter by other flies, or accident.
'Tis endless to tell you what the curious searchers into nature'sproductions have observed of these worms and flies: but yet I shall tellyou what Aldrovandus, our Topsel, and others, say of the Palmer-worm, orCaterpillar: that whereas others content themselves to feed onparticular herbs or leaves; for most think, those very leaves that gavethem life and shape, give them a particular feeding and nourishment, andthat upon them they usually abide; yet he observes, that this is calleda pilgrim, or palmer-worm, for his very wandering life, and variousfood; not contenting himself, as others do, with any one certain placefor his abode, nor any certain kind of herb or flower for his feeding,but will boldly and disorderly wander up and down, and not endure to bekept to a diet, or fixt to a particular place.
Nay, the very colours of caterpillars are, as one has observed, veryelegant and beautiful I shall, for a taste of the rest, describe one ofthem; which I will, some time the next month, shew you feeding on awillow-tree; and you shall find him punctually to answer this verydescription: his lips and mouth somewhat yellow; his eyes black as jet;his forehead purple; his feet and hinder parts green; his tailtwo-forked and black; the whole body stained with a kind of red spots,which run along the neck and shoulder-blade, not unlike the form of St.Andrew's cross, or the letter X, made thus crosswise, and a white linedrawn down his back to his tail; all which add much beauty to his wholebody. And it is to me observable, that at a fixed age this caterpillargives over to eat, and towards winter comes to be covered over with astrange shell or crust, called an aurelia; and so lives a kind of deadlife, without eating all the winter. And as others of several kinds turnto be several kinds of flies and vermin, the Spring following; so thiscaterpillar then turns to be a painted butterfly.
Come, come, my scholar, you see the river stops our morning walk: and Iwill also here stop my discourse: only as we sit down under thishoneysuckle hedge, whilst I look a line to fit the rod that our brotherPeter hath lent you, I shall, for a little confirmation of what I havesaid, repeat the observation of Du Bartas:
God, not contented to each kind to give
And to infuse the virtue generative,
Made, by his wisdom, many creatures breed
Of lifeless bodies, without Venus' deed.
So, the cold humour breeds the Salamander,
Who, in effect, like to her birth's commander,
With child with hundred winters, with her touch
Quencheth the fire, tho'glowing ne'er so much.
So of the fire, in burning furnace, springs
The fly Pyrausta with the flaming wings:
Without the fire, it dies: within it joys,
Living in that which each shine else destroys.
So, slow Boôtes underneath him sees
In th' icy isles those goslings hatch'd of trees;
Whose fruitful leaves, falling into the water,
Are turn'd, they say, to living fowls soon after.
So, rotten sides of broken ships do change
To barnacles. O transformation strange!
'Twas first a green tree; then, a gallant hull;
Lately a mushroom; now, a flying gull.
Venator. O my good master, this morning-walk has been spent to my greatpleasure and wonder: but, I pray, when shall I have your direction howto make artificial flies, like to those that the Trout loves best; and,also, how to use them?
Piscator. My honest scholar, it is now past five of the clock: we willfish till nine; and then go to breakfast. Go you to yondersycamore-tree, and hide your bottle of drink under the hollow root ofit; for about that time, and in that place, we will make a bravebreakfast with a piece of powdered beef, and a radish or two, that Ihave in my fish bag: we shall, I warrant you, make a good, honest,wholesome hungry breakfast. And I will then give you direction for themaking and using of your flies: and in the meantime, there is your rodand line; and my advice is, that you fish as you see me do, and let'stry which can catch the first fish.
Venator. I thank you, master. I will observe and practice your directionas far as I am able.
Piscator. Look you, scholar; you see I have hold of a good fish: I nowsee it is a Trout. I pray, put that net under him; and touch not myline, for if you do, then we break all. Well done, scholar: I thank you.
Now for another. Trust me, I have another bite. Come, scholar, come laydown your rod, and help me to land this as you did the other. So now weshall be sure to have a good dish of fish for supper.
Venator. I am glad of that: but I have no fortune: sure, master, yoursis a better rod and better tackling.
Piscator. Nay, then, take mine; and I will fish with yours. Look you,scholar, I have another. Come, do as you did before. And now I have abite at another. Oh me! he has broke all: there's half a line and a goodhook lost.
Venator. Ay, and a good Trout too.
Piscator. Nay, the Trout is not lost; for pray take notice, no man canlose what he never had.
Venator. Master, I can neither catch with the first nor second angle: Ihave no fortune.
Piscator. Look you, scholar, I have yet another. And now, having caughtthree brace of Trouts, I will tell you a short tale as we walk towardsour breakfast. A scholar, a preacher I should say, that was to preach toprocure the approbation of a parish that he might be their lecturer, hadgot from his fellow-pupil the copy of a sermon that was first preachedwith great commendation by him that composed it: and though the borrowerof it preached it, word for word, as it was at first, yet it was utterlydisliked as it was preached by the second to his congregation, which thesermon-borrower complained of to the lender of it: and was thusanswered: "I lent you, indeed, my fiddle, but not my fiddle-stick; foryou are to know, that every one cannot make musick with my words, whichare fitted for my own mouth". And so, my scholar, you are to know, thatas the ill pronunciation or ill accenting of words in a sermon spoilsit, so the ill carriage of your line, or not fishing even to a foot in aright place, makes you lose your labour: and you are to know, thatthough you have my fiddle, that is, my very rod and tacklings with whichyou see I catch fish, yet you have not my fiddle-stick, that is, you yethave not skill to know how to carry your hand and line, nor how to guideit to a right place: and this must be taught you; for you are toremember, I told you Angling is an art, either by practice or a longobservation, or both. But take this for a rule, When you fish for aTrout with a worm, let your line have so much, and not more lead thanwill fit the stream in which you fish; that is to say, more in a greattroublesome stream than in a smaller that is quieter; as near as may be,so much as will sink the bait to the bottom, and keep it still inmotion, and not more.
But now, let's say grace, and fall to breakfast. What say you, scholar,to the providence of an old angler? Does not this meat taste well? andwas not this place well chosen to eat it? for this sycamore-tree willshade us from the sun's heat.
Venator. All excellent good; and my stomach excellent good, too. And nowI remember, and find that true which devout Lessius says, "that poormen, and those that fast often, have much more pleasure in eating thanrich men, and gluttons, that always feed before their stomachs are emptyof their last meat and call for more; for by that means they robthemselves of that pleasure that hunger brings to poor men". And I doseriously approve of that saying of yours, "that you had rather be acivil, well-governed, well-grounded, temperate, poor angler, than adrunken lord ": but I hope there is none such. However, I am certain ofthis, that I have been at many very costly dinners that have notafforded me half the content that this has done; for which I thank Godand you.
And now, good master, proceed to your promised direction for making andordering my artificial fly.
Piscator. My honest scholar, I will do it; for it is a debt due unto youby my promise. And because you shall not think yourself more engaged tome than indeed you really are, I will freely give you such directions aswere lately given to me by an ingenious brother of the angle, an honestman, and a most excellent fly-fisher.
You are to note, that there are twelve kinds of artificial made Flies,to angle with upon the top of the water. Note, by the way, that thefittest season of using these is in a blustering windy day, when thewaters are so troubled that the natural fly cannot be seen, or rest uponthem. The first is the dun-fly, in March: the body is made of dun wool;the wings, of the partridge's feathers. The second is another dun-fly:the body, of black wool; and the wings made of the black drake'sfeathers, and of the feathers under his tail. The third is thestone-fly, in April: the body is made of black wool; made yellow underthe wings and under the tail, and so made with wings of the drake. Thefourth is the ruddy-fly, in the beginning of May: the body made of redwool, wrapt about with black silk; and the feathers are the wings of thedrake; with the feathers of a red capon also, which hang dangling on hissides next to the tail. The fifth is the yellow or greenish fly, in Maylikewise: the body made of yellow wool; and the wings made of the redcock's hackle or tail. The sixth is the black-fly, in May also: the bodymade of black wool, and lapt about with the herle of a peacock's tail:the wings are made of the wings of a brown capon, with his blue feathersin his head. The seventh is the sad yellow-fly in June: the body is madeof black wool, with a yellow list on either side; and the wings takenoff the wings of a buzzard, bound with black braked hemp. The eighth isthe moorish-fly; made, with the body, of duskish wool; and the wingsmade of the blackish mail of the drake. The ninth is the tawny-fly, gooduntil the middle of June: the body made of tawny wool; the wings madecontrary one against the other, made of the whitish mail of the wilddrake. The tenth is the wasp-fly in July; the body made of black wool,lapt about with yellow silk; the wings made of the feathers of thedrake, or of the buzzard. The eleventh is the shell-fly, good inmid-July: the body made of greenish wool, lapt about with the herle of apeacock's tail: and the wings made of the wings of the buzzard. Thetwelfth is the dark drake-fly, good in August: the body made with blackwool, lapt about with black silk; his wings are made with the mail ofthe black drake, with a black head. Thus have you a jury of flies,likely to betray and condemn all the Trouts in the river.
I shall next give you some other directions for fly-fishing, such as aregiven by Mr. Thomas Barker, a gentleman that hath spent much time infishing: but I shall do it with a little variation.
First, let your rod be light, and very gentle: I take the best to be oftwo pieces. And let not your line exceed, especially for three or fourlinks next to the hook, I say, not exceed three or four hairs at themost; though you may fish a little stronger above, in the upper part ofyour line: but if you can attain to angle with one hair, you shall havemore rises, and catch more fish. Now you must be sure not to cumberyourself with too long a line, as most do. And before you begin toangle, cast to have the wind on your back; and the sun, if it shines, tobe before you; and to fish down the stream; and carry the point or topof your rod downward, by which means the shadow of yourself and rod too,will be the least offensive to the fish, for the sight of any shadeamazes the fish, and spoils your sport, of which you must take greatcare.
In the middle of March, till which time a man should not in honestycatch a Trout; or in April, it the weather be dark, or a little windy orcloudy; the best fishing is with the palmer-worm, of which I last spoketo you; but of these there be divers kinds, or at least of diverscolours: these and the May-fly are the ground of all fly-angling: whichare to be thus made:
First, you must arm your hook with the line, in the inside of it: thentake your scissors, and cut so much of a brown mallard's feather as, inyour own reason, will make the wings of it, you having, withal, regardto the bigness or littleness of your hook; then lay the outmost part ofyour feather next to your hook; then the point of your feather next theshank of your hook, and, having so done, whip it three or four timesabout the hook with the same silk with which your hook was armed; andhaving made the silk fast, take the hackle of a cock or capon's neck, ora plover's top, which is usually better: take off the one side of thefeather, and then take the hackle, silk or crewel, gold or silverthread; make these fast at the bent of the hook, that is to say, belowyour arming; then you must take the hackle, the silver or gold thread,and work it up to the wings, shifting or still removing your finger asyou turn the silk about the hook, and still looking, at every stop orturn, that your gold, or what materials soever you make your fly of, dolie right and neatly; and if you find they do so, then when you havemade the head, make all fast: and then work your hackle up to the head,and make that fast: and then, with a needle, or pin, divide the winginto two; and then, with the arming silk, whip it about cross-waysbetwixt the wings: and then with your thumb you must turn the point ofthe feather towards the bent of the hook; and then work three or fourtimes about the shank of the hook; and then view the proportion; and ifall be neat, and to your liking, fasten.
I confess, no direction can be given to make a man of a dull capacityable to make a fly well: and yet I know this, with a little practice,will help an ingenious angler in a good degree. But to see a fly made byan artist in that kind, is the best teaching to make it. And, then, aningenious angler may walk by the river, and mark what flies fall on thewater that day; and catch one of them, if he sees the Trouts leap at afly of that kind: and then having always hooks ready-hung with him, andhaving a bag always with him, with bear's hair, or the hair of a brownor sad-coloured heifer, hackles of a cock or capon, several colouredsilk and crewel to make the body of the fly, the feathers of a drake'shead, black or brown sheep's wool, or hog's wool, or hair, thread ofgold and of silver; silk of several colours, especially sad-coloured, tomake the fly's head: and there be also other coloured feathers, both oflittle birds and of speckled fowl: I say, having those with him in abag, and trying to make a fly, though he miss at first, yet shall he atlast hit it better, even to such a perfection as none can well teach him.And if he hit to make his fly right, and have the luck to hit, also,where there is store of Trouts, a dark day, and a right wind, he willcatch such store of them, as will encourage him to grow more and more inlove with the art of fly-making.
Venator. But, my loving master, if any wind will not serve, then I wishI were in Lapland, to buy a good wind of one of the honest witches, thatsell so many winds there, and so cheap.
Piscator. Marry, scholar, but I would not be there, nor indeed fromunder this tree; for look how it begins to rain, and by the clouds, if Imistake not, we shall presently have a smoking shower, and therefore sitclose; this sycamore-tree will shelter us: and I will tell you, as theyshall come into my mind, more observations of fly-fishing for a Trout.
But first for the wind: you are to take notice that of the winds thesouth wind is said to be best. One observes, that
…when the wind is south,
It blows your bait into a fish's mouth.
Next to that, the west wind is believed to be the best: and having toldyou that the east wind is the worst, I need not tell you which wind isthe best in the third degree: and yet, as Solomon observes, that "hethat considers the wind shall never sow"; so he that busies his head toomuch about them, if the weather be not made extreme cold by an eastwind, shall be a little superstitious: for as it is observed by some,that "there is no good horse of a bad colour"; so I have observed, thatif it be a cloudy day, and not extreme cold, let the wind sit in whatcorner it will and do its worst, I heed it not. And yet take this for arule, that I would willingly fish, standing on the lee-shore: and youare to take notice, that the fish lies or swims nearer the bottom, andin deeper water, in winter than in summer; and also nearer the bottom inany cold day, and then gets nearest the lee-side of the water.
But I promised to tell you more of the Fly-fishing for a Trout; which Imay have time enough to do, for you see it rains May-butter. First for aMayfly: you may make his body with greenish-coloured crewel, orwillowish colour; darkening it in most places with waxed silk; or ribbedwith black hair; or, some of them, ribbed with silver thread; and suchwings, for the colour, as you see the fly to have at that season, nay,at that very day on the water. Or you may make the Oak-fly: with anorange, tawny, and black ground; and the brown of a mallard's featherfor the wings. And you are to know, that these two are most excellentflies, that is, the May-fly and the Oak-fly.
And let me again tell you, that you keep as far from the water as youcan possibly, whether you fish with a fly or worm; and fish down thestream. And when you fish with a fly, if it be possible, let no part ofyour line touch the water, but your fly only; and be still moving yourfly upon the water, or casting it into the water, you yourself beingalso always moving down the stream.
Mr. Barker commends several sorts of the palmer-flies; not only thoseribbed with silver and gold, but others that have their bodies all madeof black; or some with red, and a red hackle. You may also make theHawthorn-fly: which is all black, and not big, but very small, thesmaller the better. Or the oak-fly, the body of which is orange colourand black crewel, with a brown wing. Or a fly made with a peacock'sfeather is excellent in a bright day: you must be sure you want not inyour magazine-bag the peacock's feather; and grounds of such wool andcrewel as will make the grasshopper. And note, that usually the smallestflies are the best; and note also, that the light fly does usually makemost sport in a dark day, and the darkest and least fly in a bright orclear day: and lastly note, that you are to repair upon any occasion toyour magazine-bag: and upon any occasion, vary and make them lighter orsadder, according to your fancy, or the day.
And now I shall tell you, that the fishing with a natural-fly isexcellent, and affords much pleasure. They may be found thus: theMay-fly, usually in and about that month, near to the river-side,especially against rain: the Oak-fly, on the butt or body of an oak orash, from the beginning of May to the end of August; it is a brownishfly and easy to be so found, and stands usually with his head downward,that is to say, towards the root of the tree: the small black-fly, orHawthorn-fly, is to be had on any hawthorn bush after the leaves be comeforth. With these and a short line, as I shewed to angle for a Chub, youmay cape or cop, and also with a grasshopper, behind a tree, or in anydeep hole; still making it to move on the top of the water as if it werealive, and still keeping yourself out of sight, you shall certainly havesport if there be Trouts; yea, in a hot day, but especially in theevening of a hot day, you will have sport.
And now, scholar, my direction for fly-fishing is ended with thisshower, for it has done raining. And now look about you, and see howpleasantly that meadow looks; nay, and the earth smells so sweetly too.Come let me tell you what holy Mr. Herbert says of such days and flowersas these, and then we will thank God that we enjoy them, and walk to theriver and sit down quietly, and try to catch the other place of Trouts.
Sweet day, so cool, so calm, so bright,
The bridal of the earth and sky,
Sweet dews shall weep thy fall to-night,
For thou must die.
Sweet rose, whose hue, angry and brave,
Bids the rash gazer wipe his eye,
Thy root is ever in its grave,
And thou must die.
Sweet spring, full of sweet days and roses,
A box where sweets compacted lie;
My music shews you have your closes,
And all must die.
Only a sweet and virtuous soul,
Like season'd timber, never gives,
But when the whole world turns to coal,
Then chiefly lives.
Venator. I thank you, good master, for your good direction forfly-fishing, and for the sweet enjoyment of the pleasant day, which isso far spent without offence to God or man: and I thank you for thesweet close of your discourse with Mr. Herbert's verses; who, I haveheard, loved angling; and I do the rather believe it, because he had aspirit suitable to anglers, and to those primitive Christians that youlove, and have so much commended.
Piscator. Well, my loving scholar, and I am pleased to know that you areso well pleased with my direction and discourse.
And since you like these verses of Mr. Herbert's so well, let me tellyou what a reverend and learned divine that professes to imitate him,and has indeed done so most excellently, hath writ of our book of CommonPrayer; which I know you will like the better, because he is a friend ofmine, and I am sure no enemy to angling.
What! Pray'r by th' book? and Common? Yes; Why not?
The spirit of grace
And supplication
Is not left free alone
For time and place,
But manner too: to read, or speak, by rote,
Is all alike to him that prays,
In's heart, what with his mouth he says.
They that in private, by themselves alone,
Do pray, may take
What liberty they please,
In chusing of the ways
Wherein to make
Their soul's most intimate affections known
To him that sees in secret, when
Th' are most conceal'd from other men.
But he, that unto others leads the way
In public prayer,
Should do it so,
As all, that hear, may know
They need not fear
To tune their hearts unto his tongue, and say
Amen; not doubt they were betray'd
To blaspheme, when they meant to have pray'd.
Devotion will add life unto the letter:
And why should not
That, which authority
Prescribes, esteemed be
Advantage got?
If th' prayer be good, the commoner the better,
Prayer in the Church's words, as well
As sense, of all prayers bears the bell.
And now, scholar, I think it will be time to repair to our angle-rods,which we left in the water to fish for themselves; and you shall choosewhich shall be yours; and it is an even lay, one of them catches.
And, let me tell you, this kind of fishing with a dead rod, and layingnight-hooks, are like putting money to use; for they both work for theowners when they do nothing but sleep, or eat, or rejoice, as you knowwe have done this last hour, and sat as quietly and as free from caresunder this sycamore, as Virgil's Tityrus and his Meliboeus did undertheir broad beech-tree. No life, my honest scholar, no life so happy andso pleasant as the life of a well-governed angler; for when the lawyeris swallowed up with business, and the statesman is preventing orcontriving plots, then we sit on cowslip-banks, hear the birds sing, andpossess ourselves in as much quietness as these silent silver streams,which we now see glide so quietly by us. Indeed, my good scholar, we maysay of angling, as Dr. Boteler said of strawberries, "Doubtless Godcould have made a better berry, but doubtless God never did"; and so,if I might be judge, God never did make a more calm, quiet, innocentrecreation than angling.
I'll tell you, scholar; when I sat last on this primrose-bank, andlooked down these meadows, I thought of them as Charles the emperor didof the city of Florence: "That they were too pleasant to be looked on,but only on holy-days". As I then sat on this very grass, I turned mypresent thoughts into verse: 'twas a Wish, which I'll repeat to you:—
The Angler's wish.
I in these flowery meads would be:
These crystal streams should solace me;
To whose harmonious bubbling noise
I with my Angle would rejoice:
Sit here, and see the turtle-dove
Court his chaste mate to acts of love:
Or, on that bank, feel the west wind
Breathe health and plenty: please my mind,
To see sweet dew-drops kiss these flowers,
And then washed off by April showers:
Here, hear my Kenna sing a song;
There, see a blackbird feed her young.
Or a leverock build her nest:
Here, give my weary spirits rest,
And raise my low-pitch'd thoughts above
Earth, or what poor mortals love:
Thus, free from law-suits and the noise
Of princes' courts, I would rejoice:
Or, with my Bryan, and a book,
Loiter long days near Shawford-brook;
There sit by him, and eat my meat,
There see the sun both rise and set:
There bid good morning to next day;
There meditate my time away,
And Angle on; and beg to have
A quiet passage to a welcome grave.
When I had ended this composure, I left this place, and saw a brother ofthe angle sit under that honeysuckle hedge, one that will prove worthyour acquaintance. I sat down by him, and presently we met with anaccidental piece of merriment, which I will relate to you, for it rainsstill.
On the other side of this very hedge sat a gang of gypsies; and near tothem sat a gang of beggars. The gypsies were then to divide all themoney that had been got that week, either by stealing linen or poultry,or by fortune-telling or legerdemain, or, indeed, by any other sleightsand secrets belonging to their mysterious government. And the sum thatwas got that week proved to be but twenty and some odd shillings. Theodd money was agreed to be distributed amongst the poor of their owncorporation: and for the remaining twenty shillings, that was to bedivided unto four gentlemen gypsies, according to their several degreesin their commonwealth. And the first or chiefest gypsy was, by consent,to have a third part of the twenty shillings, which all men know is 6s.8d. The second was to have a fourth part of the 20s., which all men knowto be 5s. The third was to have a fifth part of the 20s., which all menknow to be 4s. The fourth and last gypsy was to have a sixth part of the20s., which all men know to be 3s. 4d.
As for example,
3 times 6s. 8d. are 20s.
And so is 4 times 5s. are 20s.
And so is 5 times 4s. are 20s.
And so is 6 times 3s. 4d. are 20s.
And yet he that divided the money was so very a gypsy, that though hegave to every one these said sums, yet he kept one shilling of it forhimself
As, for example, s. d.
6 8
5 0
4 0
3 4
———
make but . . . . . . 19 0
But now you shall know, that when the four gypsies saw that he had gotone shilling by dividing the money, though not one of them knew anyreason to demand more, yet, like lords and courtiers, every gypsy enviedhim that was the gainer; and wrangled with him; and every one said theremaining shilling belonged to him; and so they fell to so high acontest about it, as none that knows the faithfulness of one gypsy toanother will easily believe; only we that have lived these last twentyyears are certain that money has been able to do much mischief. However,the gypsies were too wise to go to law, and did therefore choose theirchoice friends Rook and Shark, and our late English Gusman, to be theirarbitrators and umpires. And so they left this honeysuckle hedge; andwent to tell fortunes and cheat, and get more money and lodging in thenext village.
When these were gone, we heard as high a contention amongst the beggars,whether it was easiest to rip a cloak, or to unrip a cloak? One beggaraffirmed it was all one: but that was denied, by asking her, If doingand undoing were all one? Then another said, 'twas easiest to unrip acloak; for that was to let it alone: but she was answered, by askingher, how she unript it if she let it alone? and she confess herselfmistaken. These and twenty such like questions were proposed andanswered, with as much beggarly logick and earnestness as was ever heardto proceed from the mouth of the pertinacious schismatick; and sometimesall the beggars, whose number was neither more nor less than the poets'nine muses, talked all together about this ripping and unripping; and soloud, that not one heard what the other said: but, at last, one beggarcraved audience; and told them that old father Clause, whom Ben Jonson,in his Beggar's Bush, created King of their corporation, was to lodge atan ale-house, called "Catch-her-by-the-way," not far from WalthamCross, and in the high road towards London; and he therefore desiredthem to spend no more time about that and such like questions, but referall to father Clause at night, for he was an upright judge, and in themeantime draw cuts, what song should be next sung, and who should singit. They all agreed to the motion; and the lot fell to her that was theyoungest, and veriest virgin of the company. And she sung FrankDavison's song, which he made forty years ago; and all the others of thecompany joined to sing the burthen with her. The ditty was this; butfirst the burthen:
Bright shines the sun; play, Beggars, play;
Here's scraps enough to serve to-day.
What noise of viols is so sweet,
As when our merry clappers ring?
What mirth doth want where Beggars meet?
A Beggar's life is for a King.
Eat, drink, and play, sleep when we list
Go where we will, so stocks be mist.
Bright shines the sun; play, Beggars, play,
Here's scraps enough to serve to-day.
The world is ours, and ours alone;
For we alone have world at will
We purchase not, all is our own;
Both fields and streets we Beggars fill.
Nor care to get, nor fear to keep,
Did ever break a Beggar's sleep,
Play, Beggars, play; play, Beggars, play;
Here's scraps enough to serve to-day.
A hundred head of black and white
Upon our gowns securely feed If any dare his master bite
He dies therefore, as sure as creed.
Thus Beggars lord it as they please;
And only Beggars live at ease.
Bright shines the sun; play, Beggars, play;
Here's scraps enough to serve to-day.
Venator. I thank you, good master, for this piece of merriment, and thissong, which was well humoured by the maker, and well remembered by you.
Piscator. But, I pray, forget not the catch which you promised to makeagainst night; for our countryman, honest Coridon, will expect yourcatch, and my song, which I must be forced to patch up, for it is solong since I learnt it, that I have forgot a part of it. But, come, nowit hath done raining, let's stretch our legs a little in a gentle walkto the river, and try what interest our angles will pay us for lendingthem so long to be used by the Trouts; lent them indeed, like usurers,for our profit and their destruction.
Venator. Oh me! look you, master, a fish! a fish! Oh, alas, master, Ihave lost her.
Piscator. Ay marry, Sir, that was a good fish indeed: if I had had theluck to have taken up that rod, then 'tis twenty to one he should nothave broken my line by running to the rod's end, as you suffered him. Iwould have held him within the bent of my rod, unless he had been fellowto the great Trout that is near an ell long, which was of such a lengthand depth, that he had his picture drawn, and now is to be seen at minehost Rickabie's, at the George in Ware, and it may be, by giving thatvery great Trout the rod, that is, by casting it to him into the water,I might have caught him at the long run, for so I use always to do whenI meet with an over-grown fish; and you will learn to do so too,hereafter, for I tell you, scholar, fishing is an art, or, at least, itis an art to catch fish.
Venator. But, master, I have heard that the great Trout you speak of isa Salmon.
Piscator. Trust me, scholar, I know not what to say to it. There aremany country people that believe hares change sexes every year: andthere be very many learned men think so too, for in their dissectingthem they find many reasons to incline them to that belief. And to makethe wonder seem yet less, that hares change sexes, note that Dr. Mer.Casaubon affirms, in his book "Of credible and incredible things," thatGasper Peucerus, a learned physician, tells us of a people that once ayear turn wolves, partly in shape, and partly in conditions. And so,whether this were a Salmon when he came into fresh water, and his notreturning into the sea hath altered him to another colour or kind, I amnot able to say; but I am certain he hath all the signs of being aTrout, both for his shape, colour, and spots; and yet many think he isnot.
Venator. But, master, will this Trout which I had hold of die? for it islike he hath the hook in his belly.
Piscator. I will tell you, scholar, that unless the hook be fast in hisvery gorge, 'tis more than probable he will live, and a little time,with the help of the water, will rust the hook, and it will in time wearaway, as the gravel doth in the horse-hoof, which only leaves a falsequarter.
And now, scholar, let's go to my rod. Look you, scholar, I have a fishtoo, but it proves a logger-headed Chub: and this is not much amiss, forthis will pleasure some poor body, as we go to our lodging to meet ourbrother Peter and honest Coridon. Come, now bait your hook again, andlay it into the water, for it rains again; and we will even retire tothe Sycamore-tree, and there I will give you more directions concerningfishing, for I would fain make you an artist.
Venator. Yes, good master, I pray let it be so.
Piscator. Well, scholar, now that we are sate down and are at ease, Ishall tell you a little more of Trout-fishing, before I speak of theSalmon, which I purpose shall be next, and then of the Pike or Luce.
You are to know, there is night as well as day fishing for a Trout; andthat, in the night, the best Trouts come out of their holes. And themanner of taking them is on the top of the water with a great lob orgarden-worm, or rather two, which you are to fish with in a stream wherethe waters run somewhat quietly, for in a stream the bait will not be sowell discerned. I say, in a quiet or dead place, near to some swift,there draw your bait over the top of the water, to and fro, and if therebe a good Trout in the hole, he will take it, especially if the night bedark, for then he is bold, and lies near the top of the water, watchingthe motion of any frog or water-rat, or mouse, that swims betwixt himand the sky; these he hunts after, if he sees the water but wrinkle ormove in one of these dead holes, where these great old Trouts usuallylie, near to their holds; for you are to note, that the great old Troutis both subtle and fearful, and lies close all day, and does not usuallystir out of his hold, but lies in it as close in the day as the timoroushare does in her form; for the chief feeding of either is seldom in theday, but usually in the night, and then the great Trout feeds veryboldly.
And you must fish for him with a strong line, and not a little hook; andlet him have time to gorge your hook, for he does not usually forsakeit, as he oft will in the day-fishing. And if the night be not dark,then fish so with an artificial fly of a light colour, and at the snap:nay, he will sometimes rise at a dead mouse, or a piece of cloth, oranything that seems to swim across the water, or to be in motion. Thisis a choice way, but I have not oft used it, because it is void of thepleasures that such days as these, that we two now enjoy, afford anangler.
And you are to know, that in Hampshire, which I think exceeds allEngland for swift, shallow, clear, pleasant brooks, and store of Trouts,they used to catch Trouts in the night, by the light of a torch orstraw, which, when they have discovered, they strike with a Trout-spear,or other ways. This kind of way they catch very many: but I would notbelieve it till I was an eye-witness of it, nor do I like it now I haveseen it.
Venator. But, master, do not Trouts see us in the night?
Piscator Yes, and hear, and smell too, both then and in the day-time:for Gesner observes, the Otter smells a fish forty furlongs off him inthe water: and that it may be true, seems to be affirmed by Sir FrancisBacon, in the eighth century of his Natural History, who there provesthat waters may be the medium of sounds, by demonstrating it thus: "Thatif you knock two stones together very deep under the water, those thatstand on a bank near to that place may hear the noise without anydiminution of it by the water ". He also offers the like experimentconcerning the letting an anchor fall, by a very long cable or rope, ona rock, or the sand, within the sea. And this being so well observed anddemonstrated as it is by that learned man, has made me to believe thatEels unbed themselves and stir at the noise of thunder, and not only, assome think, by the motion or stirring of the earth which is occasionedby that thunder.
And this reason of Sir Francis Bacon has made me crave pardon of onethat I laughed at for affirming that he knew Carps come to a certainplace, in a pond, to be fed at the ringing of a bell or the beating of adrum. And, however, it shall be a rule for me to make as little noise asI can when I am fishing, until Sir Francis Bacon be confuted, which Ishall give any man leave to do.
And lest you may think him singular in this opinion, I will tell you,this seems to be believed by our learned Doctor Hakewill, who in hisApology of God's power and providence, quotes Pliny to report that oneof the emperors had particular fish-ponds, and, in them, several fishthat appeared and came when they were called by their particular names.And St. James tells us, that all things in the sea have been tamed bymankind. And Pliny tells us, that Antonia, the wife of Drusus, had aLamprey at whose gills she hung jewels or ear-rings; and that othershave been so tender-hearted as to shed tears at the death of fisheswhich they have kept and loved. And these observations, which will tomost hearers seem wonderful, seem to have a further confirmation fromMartial, who writes thus:—
Piscator, fuge; ne nocens, etc.
Angler! would'st thou be guiltless ? then forbear;
For these are sacred fishes that swim here,
Who know their sovereign, and will lick his hand,
Than which none's greater in the world's command;
Nay more they've names, and, when they called are,
Do to their several owner's call repair.
All the further use that I shall make of this shall be, to adviseanglers to be patient, and forbear swearing, lest they be heard, andcatch no fish.
And so I shall proceed next to tell you, it is certain that certainfields near Leominster, a town in Herefordshire, are observed to makethe sheep that graze upon them more fat than the next, and also to bearfiner wool; that is to say, that that year in which they feed in such aparticular pasture, they shall yield finer wool than they did that yearbefore they came to feed in it; and coarser, again, if they shall returnto their former pasture; and, again, return to a finer wool, being fedin the fine wool ground: which I tell you, that you may the betterbelieve that I am certain, if I catch a Trout in one meadow, he shall bewhite and faint, and very like to be lousy; and, as certainly, it Icatch a Trout in the next meadow, he shall be strong, and red, andlusty, and much better meat. Trust me, scholar, I have caught many aTrout in a particular meadow, that the very shape and the enamelledcolour of him hath been such as hath joyed me to look on him: and I havethen, with much pleasure, concluded with Solomon, "Everything isbeautiful in his season".
I should, by promise, speak next of the Salmon; but I will, by yourfavour, say a little of the Umber or Grayling; which is so like a Troutfor his shape and feeding, that I desire I may exercise your patiencewith a short discourse of him; and then, the next shall be of theSalmon.
The fourth day-continued
The Umber or Grayling
Chapter VI
Piscator
The Umber and Grayling are thought by some to differ as the Herring andPilchard do. But though they may do so in other nations, I think thosein England differ nothing but in their names. Aldrovandus says, they beof a Trout kind; and Gesner says, that in his country, which isSwitzerland, he is accounted the choicest of all fish. And in Italy, heis, in the month of May, so highly valued, that he is sold there at amuch higher rate than any other fish. The French, which call the Chub UnVillain, call the Umber of the lake Leman Un Umble Chevalier; and theyvalue the Umber or Grayling so highly, that they say he feeds on gold;and say, that many have been caught out of their famous river of Loire,out of whose bellies grains of gold have been often taken. And somethink that he feeds on water thyme, and smells of it at his first takingout of the water; and they may think so with as good reason as we dothat our Smelts smell like violets at their being first caught, which Ithink is a truth. Aldrovandus says, the Salmon, the Grayling, and Trout,and all fish that live in clear and sharp streams, are made by theirmother Nature of such exact shape and pleasant colours purposely toinvite us to a joy and contentedness in feasting with her. Whether thisis a truth or not, is not my purpose to dispute: but 'tis certain, allthat write of the Umber declare him to be very medicinable. And Gesnersays, that the fat of an Umber or Grayling, being set, with a littlehoney, a day or two in the sun, in a little glass, is very excellentagainst redness or swarthiness, or anything that breeds in the eyes.Salvian takes him to be called Umber from his swift swimming, or glidingout of sight more like a shadow or a ghost than a fish. Much more mightbe said both of his smell and taste: but I shall only tell you that St.Ambrose, the glorious bishop of Milan, who lived when the church keptfasting-days, calls him the flower-fish, or flower of fishes; and thathe was so far in love with him, that he would not let him pass withoutthe honour of a long discourse; but I must; and pass on to tell you howto take this dainty fish.
First note, that he grows not to the bigness of a Trout; for the biggestof them do not usually exceed eighteen inches. He lives in such riversas the Trout does; and is usually taken with the same baits as the Troutis, and after the same manner; for he will bite both at the minnow, orworm, or fly, though he bites not often at the minnow, and is verygamesome at the fly; and much simpler, and therefore bolder than aTrout; for he will rise twenty times at a fly, if you miss him, and yetrise again. He has been taken with a fly made of the red feathers of aparoquet, a strange outlandish bird; and he will rise at a fly notunlike a gnat, or a small moth, or, indeed, at most flies that are nottoo big. He is a fish that lurks close all Winter, but is very pleasantand jolly after mid-April, and in May, and in the hot months. He is of avery fine shape, his flesh is white, his teeth, those little ones thathe has, are in his throat, yet he has so tender a mouth, that he isoftener lost after an angler has hooked him than any other fish. Thoughthere be many of these fishes in the delicate river Dove, and in Trent,and some other smaller rivers, as that which runs by Salisbury, yet heis not so general a fish as the Trout, nor to me so good to eat or toangle for. And so I shall take my leave of him: and now come to someobservations of the Salmon, and how to catch him.
The fourth day-continued
The Salmon
Chapter VII
Piscator
The Salmon is accounted the King of freshwater fish; and is ever bred inrivers relating to the sea, yet so high, or far from it, as admits of notincture of salt, or brackishness. He is said to breed or cast hisspawn, in most rivers, in the month of August: some say, that then theydig a hole or grave in a safe place in the gravel, and there place theireggs or spawn, after the melter has done his natural office, and thenhide it most cunningly, and cover it over with gravel and stones; andthen leave it to their Creator's protection, who, by a gentle heat whichhe infuses into that cold element, makes it brood, and beget life in thespawn, and to become Samlets early in the spring next following.
The Salmons having spent their appointed time, and done this naturalduty in the fresh waters, they then haste to the sea before winter, boththe melter and spawner; but if they be stopped by flood-gates or weirs, orlost in the fresh waters, then those so left behind by degrees grow sickand lean, and unseasonable, and kipper, that is to say, have bonygristles grow out of their lower chaps, not unlike a hawk's beak, whichhinders their feeding; and, in time, such fish so left behind pine awayand die. 'Tis observed, that he may live thus one year from the sea; buthe then grows insipid and tasteless, and loses both his blood andstrength, and pines and dies the second year. And 'tis noted, that thoselittle Salmons called Skeggers, which abound in many rivers relating tothe sea, are bred by such sick Salmons that might not go to the sea, andthat though they abound, yet they never thrive to any considerablebigness.
But if the old Salmon gets to the sea, then that gristle which shews himto be kipper, wears away, or is cast off, as the eagle is said to casthis bill, and he recovers his strength, and comes next summer to thesame river, if it be possible, to enjoy the former pleasures that therepossess him; for, as one has wittily observed, he has, like some personsof honour and riches which have both their winter and summer houses, thefresh rivers for summer, and the salt water for winter, to spend hislife in; which is not, as Sir Francis Bacon hath observed in his Historyof Life and Death, above ten years. And it is to be observed, thatthough the Salmon does grow big in the sea, yet he grows not fat but infresh rivers; and it is observed, that the farther they get from thesea, they be both the fatter and better.
Next, I shall tell you, that though they make very hard shift to get outof the fresh rivers into the sea yet they will make harder shift to getout of the salt into the fresh rivers, to spawn, or possess thepleasures that they have formerly found in them: to which end, they willforce themselves through floodgates, or over weirs, or hedges, or stopsin the water, even to a height beyond common belief. Gesner speaks ofsuch places as are known to be above eight feet high above water. Andour Camden mentions, in his Britannia, the like wonder to be inPembrokeshire, where the river Tivy falls into the sea; and that thefall is so downright, and so high, that the people stand and wonder atthe strength and sleight by which they see the Salmon use to get out ofthe sea into the said river; and the manner and height of the place isso notable, that it is known, far, by the name of the Salmon-leap.Concerning which, take this also out of Michael Drayton, my honest oldfriend; as he tells it you, in his Polyolbion:
And when the Salmon seeks a fresher stream to find;
(Which hither from the sea comes, yearly, by his kind,)
As he towards season grows; and stems the watry tract
Where Tivy, falling down, makes an high cataract,
Forc'd by the rising rocks that there her course oppose,
As tho' within her bounds they meant her to inclose;
Here when the labouring fish does at the foot arrive,
And finds that by his strength he does but vainly strive;
His tail takes in his mouth, and, bending like a bow
That's to full compass drawn, aloft himself doth throw,
Then springing at his height, as doth a little wand
That bended end to end, and started from man's hand,
Far off itself doth cast, so does that Salmon vault;
And if, at first, he fail, his second summersault
He instantly essays, and, from his nimble ring
Still yerking, never leaves until himself he fling
Above the opposing stream——.
This Michael Drayton tells you, of this leap or summersault of the
Salmon.
And, next, I shall tell you, that it is observed by Gesner and others,that there is no better Salmon than in England; and that though some ofour northern counties have as fat, and as large, as the river Thames,yet none are of so excellent a taste.
And as I have told you that Sir Francis Bacon observes, the age of aSalmon exceeds not ten years; so let me next tell you, that his growthis very sudden: it is said that after he is got into the sea, hebecomes, from a Samlet not so big as a Gudgeon, to be a Salmon, in asshort a time as a gosling becomes to be a goose. Much of this has beenobserved, by tying a riband, or some known tape or thread, in the tailof some young Salmons which have been taken in weirs as they haveswimmed towards the salt water; and then by taking a part of them again,with the known mark, at the same place, at their return from the sea,which is usually about six months after; and the like experiment hathbeen tried upon young swallows, who have, after six months' absence,been observed to return to the same chimney, there to make their nestsand habitations for the summer following; which has inclined many tothink, that every Salmon usually returns to the same river in which itwas bred, as young pigeons taken out of the same dovecote have also beenobserved to do.
And you are yet to observe further, that the He-salmon is usually biggerthan the Spawner; and that he is more kipper, and less able to endure awinter in the fresh water than the She is: yet she is, at that time oflooking less kipper and better, as watry, and as bad meat.
And yet you are to observe, that as there is no general rule without anexception, so there are some few rivers in this nation that have Troutsand Salmon in season in winter, as 'tis certain there be in the riverWye in Monmouthshire, where they be in season, as Camden observes, fromSeptember till April. But, my scholar, the observation of this and manyother things I must in manners omit, because they will prove too largefor our narrow compass of time, and, therefore, I shall next fall uponmy directions how to fish for this Salmon.
And, for that: First you shall observe, that usually he stays not longin a place, as Trouts will, but, as I said, covets still to go nearerthe spring-head: and that he does not, as the Trout and many other fish,lie near the water-side or bank, or roots of trees, but swims in thedeep and broad parts of the water, and usually in the middle, and nearthe ground, and that there you are to fish for him, and that he is to becaught, as the Trout is, with a worm, a minnow which some call a peek,or with a fly.
And you are to observe, that he is very seldom observed to bite at aminnow, yet sometimes he will, and not usually at a fly, but moreusually at a worm, and then most usually at a lob or garden-worm, whichshould be well scoured, that is to say, kept seven or eight days in mossbefore you fish with them: and if you double your time of eight intosixteen, twenty, or more days, it is still the better; for the wormswill still be clearer, tougher, and more lively, and continue so longerupon your hook. And they may be kept longer by keeping them cool, and infresh moss; and some advise to put camphire into it.
Note also, that many used to fish for a Salmon with a ring of wire onthe top of their rod, through which the line may run to as great alength as is needful, when he is hooked. And to that end, some use awheel about the middle of their rod, or near their hand, which is to beobserved better by seeing one of them than by a large demonstration ofwords.
And now I shall tell you that which may be called a secret. I have beena-fishing with old Oliver Henly, now with God, a noted fisher both forTrout and Salmon; and have observed, that he would usually take three orfour worms out of his bag, and put them into a little box in his pocket,where he would usually let them continue half an hour or more, before hewould bait his hook with them. I have asked him his reason, and he hasreplied, "He did but pick the best out to be in readiness against hebaited his hook the next time": but he has been observed, both byothers and myself, to catch more fish than I, or any other body that hasever gone a-fishing with him, could do, and especially Salmons. And Ihave been told lately, by one of his most intimate and secret friends,that the box in which he put those worms was anointed with a drop, ortwo or three, of the oil of ivy-berries, made by expression or infusion;and told, that by the worms remaining in that box an hour, or a liketime, they had incorporated a kind of smell that was irresistiblyattractive, enough to force any fish within the smell of them to bite.This I heard not long since from a friend, but have not tried it; yet Igrant it probable, and refer my reader to Sir Francis Bacon's Naturalhistory, where he proves fishes may hear, and, doubtless, can moreprobably smell: and I am certain Gesner says, the Otter can smell in thewater; and I know not but that fish may do so too. 'Tis left for a loverof angling, or any that desires to improve that art, to try thisconclusion.
I shall also impart two other experiments, but not tried by myself,which I will deliver in the same words that they were given me by anexcellent angler and a very friend, in writing: he told me the latterwas too good to be told, but in a learned language, lest it should bemade common.
"Take the stinking oil drawn out of polypody of the oak by a retort,mixed with turpentine and hive-honey, and anoint your bait therewith,and it will doubtless draw the fish to it."
The other is this: "Vulnera hederae grandissimae inflicta sudantbalsamum oleo gelato, albicantique persimile, odoris vero longesuavissimi".
"'Tis supremely sweet to any fish, and yet assa foetida may do thelike."
But in these I have no great faith; yet grant it probable; and have hadfrom some chymical men, namely, from Sir George Hastings and others, anaffirmation of them to be very advantageous. But no more of these;especially not in this place.
I might here, before I take my leave of the Salmon, tell you, that thereis more than one sort of them, as namely, a Tecon, and another called insome places a Samlet, or by some a Skegger; but these, and others whichI forbear to name, may be fish of another kind, and differ as we know aHerring and a Pilchard do, which, I think, are as different as therivers in which they breed, and must, by me, be left to thedisquisitions of men of more leisure, and of greater abilities than Iprofess myself to have.
And lastly, I am to borrow so much of your promised patience, as to tellyou, that the trout, or Salmon, being in season, have, at their firsttaking out of the water, which continues during life, their bodiesadorned, the one with such red spots, and the other with such black orblackish spots, as give them such an addition of natural beauty as, Ithink, was never given to any woman by the artificial paint or patchesin which they so much pride themselves in this age. And so I shall leavethem both; and proceed to some observations of the Pike.
The fourth day-continued
On the Luce or Pike
Chapter VIII
Piscator and Venator
Piscator. The mighty Luce or Pike is taken to be the tyrant, as theSalmon is the king, of the fresh water. 'Tis not to be doubted, but thatthey are bred, some by generation, and some not; as namely, of a weedcalled pickerel-weed, unless learned Gesner be much mistaken, for hesays, this weed and other glutinous matter, with the help of the sun'sheat, in some particular months, and some ponds, apted for it by nature,do become Pikes. But, doubtless, divers Pikes are bred after thismanner, or are brought into some ponds some such other ways as is pastman's finding out, of which we have daily testimonies.
Sir Francis Bacon, in his History of Life and Death, observes the Piketo be the longest lived of any fresh-water fish; and yet he computes itto be not usually above forty years; and others think it to be not aboveten years: and yet Gesner mentions a Pike taken in Swedeland, in theyear 1449, with a ring about his neck, declaring he was put into thatpond by Frederick the Second, more than two hundred years before he waslast taken, as by the inscription in that ring, being Greek, wasinterpreted by the then Bishop of Worms. But of this no more; but thatit is observed, that the old or very great Pikes have in them more ofstate than goodness; the smaller or middle-sized Pikes being, by themost and choicest palates, observed to be the best meat: and, contrary,the Eel is observed to be the better for age and bigness.
All Pikes that live long prove chargeable to their keepers, becausetheir life is maintained by the death of so many other fish, even thoseof their own kind, which has made him by some writers to be called thetyrant of the rivers, or the fresh-water wolf, by reason of his bold,greedy, devouring, disposition; which is so keen, as Gesner relates, Aman going to a pond, where it seems a Pike had devoured all the fish, towater his mule, had a Pike bit his mule by the lips; to which the Pikehung so fast, that the mule drew him out of the water; and by thataccident, the owner of the mule angled out the Pike. And the same Gesnerobserves, that a maid in Poland had a Pike bit her by the foot, as shewas washing clothes in a pond. And I have heard the like of a woman inKillingworth pond, not far from Coventry. But I have been assured by myfriend Mr. Segrave, of whom I spake to you formerly, that keeps tameOtters, that he hath known a Pike, in extreme hunger, fight with one ofhis Otters for a Carp that the Otter had caught, and was then bringingout of the water. I have told you who relate these things; and tell youthey are persons of credit; and shall conclude this observation, bytelling you, what a wise man has observed, "It is a hard thing topersuade the belly, because it has no ears".
But if these relations be disbelieved, it is too evident to be doubted,that a Pike will devour a fish of his own kind that shall be bigger thanhis belly or throat will receive, and swallow a part of him, and let theother part remain in his mouth till the swallowed part be digested, andthen swallow that other part that was in his mouth, and so put it overby degrees; which is not unlike the Ox, and some other beasts takingtheir meat, not out of their mouth immediately into their belly, butfirst into some place betwixt, and then chew it, or digest it by degreesafter, which is called chewing the cud. And, doubtless, Pikes will bitewhen they are not hungry; but, as some think, even for very anger, whena tempting bait comes near to them.
And it is observed, that the Pike will eat venomous things, as some kindof frogs are, and yet live without being harmed by them; for, as somesay, he has in him a natural balsam, or antidote against all poison. Andhe has a strange heat, that though it appear to us to be cold, can yetdigest or put over any fish-flesh, by degrees, without being sick. Andothers observe, that he never eats the venomous frog till he have firstkilled her, and then as ducks are observed to do to frogs inspawning-time, at which time some frogs are observed to be venomous, sothoroughly washed her, by tumbling her up and down in the water, that hemay devour her without danger. And Gesner affirms, that a Poloniangentleman did faithfully assure him, he had seen two young geese at onetime in the belly of a Pike. And doubtless a Pike in his height ofhunger will bite at and devour a dog that swims in a pond; and therehave been examples of it, or the like; for as I told you, "The bellyhas no ears when hunger comes upon it".
The Pike is also observed to be a solitary, melancholy, and a bold fish;melancholy, because he always swims or rests himself alone, and neverswims in shoals or with company, as Roach and Dace, and most other fishdo: and bold, because he fears not a shadow, or to see or be seen ofanybody, as the Trout and Chub, and all other fish do.
And it is observed by Gesner, that the jaw-bones, and hearts, and gallsof Pikes, are very medicinable for several diseases, or to stop blood,to abate fevers, to cure agues, to oppose or expel the infection of theplague, and to be many ways medicinable and useful for the good ofmankind: but he observes, that the biting of a Pike is venomous, andhard to be cured.
And it is observed, that the Pike is a fish that breeds but once a year;and that other fish, as namely Loaches, do breed oftener: as we arecertain tame Pigeons do almost every month; and yet the Hawk, a bird ofprey, as the Pike is a fish, breeds but once in twelve months. And youare to note, that his time of breeding, or spawning, is usually aboutthe end of February, or, somewhat later, in March, as the weather provescolder or warmer: and to note, that his manner of breeding is thus: a heand a she Pike will usually go together out of a river into some ditchor creek; and that there the spawner casts her eggs, and the melterhovers over her all that time that she is casting her spawn, but touchesher not.
I might say more of this, but it might be thought curiosity or worse,and shall therefore forbear it; and take up so much of your attention asto tell you that the best of Pikes are noted to be in rivers; next,those in great ponds or meres; and the worst, in small ponds.
But before I proceed further, I am to tell you, that there is a greatantipathy betwixt the Pike and some frogs: and this may appear to thereader of Dubravius, a bishop in Bohemia, who, in his book Of Fish andFish-ponds, relates what he says he saw with his own eyes, and could notforbear to tell the reader. Which was:
"As he and the bishop Thurzo were walking by a large pond in Bohemia,they saw a frog, when the Pike lay very sleepily and quiet by the shoreside, leap upon his head; and the frog having expressed malice or angerby his sworn cheeks and staring eyes, did stretch out his legs andembrace the Pike's head, and presently reached them to his eyes, tearingwith them, and his teeth, those tender parts: the Pike, moved withanguish, moves up and down the water, and rubs himself against weeds,and whatever he thought might quit him of his enemy; but all in vain,for the frog did continue to ride triumphantly, and to bite and tormentthe Pike till his strength failed; and then the frog sunk with the Piketo the bottom of the water: then presently the frog appeared again atthe top, and croaked, and seemed to rejoice like a conqueror, afterwhich he presently retired to his secret hole. The bishop, that hadbeheld the battle, called his fisherman to fetch his nets, and by allmeans to get the Pike that they might declare what had happened: and thePike was drawn forth, and both his eyes eaten out; at which when theybegan to wonder, the fisherman wished them to forbear, and assured themhe was certain that Pikes were often so served."
I told this, which is to be read in the sixth chapter of the book ofDubravius, unto a friend, who replied, "It was as improbable as to havethe mouse scratch out the cat's eyes". But he did not consider, thatthere be Fishing frogs, which the Dalmatians call the Water-devil, ofwhich I might tell you as wonderful a story: but I shall tell you that'tis not to be doubted but that there be some frogs so fearful of thewater-snake, that when they swim in a place in which they fear to meetwith him they then get a reed across into their mouths; which if theytwo meet by accident, secures the frog from the strength and malice ofthe snake; and note, that the frog usually swims the fastest of the two.
And let me tell you, that as there be water and land frogs, so there beland and water snakes. Concerning which take this observation, that theland-snake breeds and hatches her eggs, which become young snakes, insome old dunghill, or a like hot place: but the water-snake, which isnot venomous, and as I have been assured by a great observer of suchsecrets, does not hatch, but breed her young alive, which she does notthen forsake, but bides with them, and in case of danger will take themall into her mouth and swim away from any apprehended danger, and thenlet them out again when she thinks all danger to be past: these beaccidents that we Anglers sometimes see, and often talk of.
But whither am I going? I had almost lost myself, by remembering thediscourse of Dubravius. I will therefore stop here; and tell you,according to my promise, how to catch this Pike.
His feeding is usually of fish or frogs; and sometimes a weed of hisown, called pickerel-weed, of which I told you some think Pikes arebred; for they have observed, that where none have been put into ponds,yet they have there found many; and that there has been plenty of thatweed in those ponds, and that that weed both breeds and feeds them: butwhether those Pikes, so bred, will ever breed by generation as theothers do, I shall leave to the disquisitions of men of more curiosityand leisure than I profess myself to have: and shall proceed to tellyou, that you may fish for a Pike, either with a ledger or awalking-bait; and you are to note, that I call that a Ledger-bait, whichis fixed or made to rest in one certain place when you shall be absentfrom it; and I call that a Walking-bait, which you take with you, andhave ever in motion. Concerning which two, I shall give you thisdirection; that your ledger-bait is best to be a living bait (though adead one may catch), whether it be a fish or a frog: and that you maymake them live the longer, you may, or indeed you must, take thiscourse:
First, for your LIVE-BAIT. Of fish, a roach or dace is, I think, bestand most tempting; and a perch is the longest lived on a hook, andhaving cut off his fin on his back, which may be done without hurtinghim, you must take your knife, which cannot be too sharp, and betwixtthe head and the fin on the back, cut or make an incision, or such ascar, as you may put the arming-wire of your hook into it, with aslittle bruising or hurting the fish as art and diligence will enable youto do; and so carrying your arming-wire along his back, unto or near thetail of your fish, betwixt the skin and the body of it, draw out thatwire or arming of your hook at another scar near to his tail then tiehim about it with thread, but no harder than of necessity, to preventhurting the fish; and the better to avoid hurting the fish, some have akind of probe to open the way for the more easy entrance and passage ofyour wire or arming: but as for these, time and a little experience willteach you better than I can by words. Therefore I will for the presentsay no more of this; but come next to give you some directions how tobait your hook with a frog.
Venator. But, good master, did you not say even now, that some frogswere venomous; and is it not dangerous to touch them?
Piscator. Yes, but I will give you some rules or cautions concerningthem. And first you are to note, that there are two kinds of frogs, thatis to say, if I may so express myself, a flesh and fish frog. Byflesh-frogs, I mean frogs that breed and live on the land; and of thesethere be several sorts also, and of several colours, some beingspeckled, some greenish, some blackish, or brown: the green frog, whichis a small one, is, by Topsel, taken to be venomous; and so is thepaddock, or frog-paddock, which usually keeps or breeds on the land, andis very large and bony, and big, especially the she-frog of that kind:yet these will sometimes come into the water, but it is not often: andthe land-frogs are some of them observed by him, to breed by layingeggs; and others to breed of the slime and dust of the earth, and thatin winter they turn to slime again, and that the next summer that veryslime returns to be a living creature, this is the opinion of Pliny. AndCardanus undertakes to give a reason for the raining of frogs: but if itwere in my power, it should rain none but water-frogs; for those I thinkare not venomous, especially the right water-frog, which, about Februaryor March, breeds in ditches, by slime, and blackish eggs in that slime:about which time of breeding, the he and she frogs are observed to usedivers summersaults, and to croak and make a noise, which the land-frog,or paddock-frog, never does.
Now of these water-frogs, if you intend to fish with a frog for a Pike,you are to choose the yellowest that you can get, for that the Pike everlikes best. And thus use your frog, that he may continue long alive:
Put your hook into his mouth, which you may easily do from the middle ofApril till August; and then the frog's mouth grows up, and he continuesso for at least six months without eating, but is sustained, none but Hewhose name is Wonderful knows how: I say, put your hook, I mean thearming-wire, through his mouth, and out at his gills; and then with afine needle and silk sew the upper part of his leg, with only onestitch, to the arming-wire of your hook; or tie the frog's leg, abovethe upper joint, to the armed-wire; and, in so doing, use him as thoughyou loved him, that is, harm him as little as you may possibly, that hemay live the longer.
And now, having given you this direction for the baiting yourledger-hook with a live fish or frog, my next must be to tell you, howyour hook thus baited must or may be used; and it is thus: havingfastened your hook to a line, which if it be not fourteen yards longshould not be less than twelve, you are to fasten that line to any boughnear to a hole where a Pike is, or is likely to lie, or to have a haunt;and then wind your line on any forked stick, all your line, except halfa yard of it or rather more; and split that forked stick, with such anick or notch at one end of it as may keep the line from any more of itravelling from about the stick than so much of it as you intend. Andchoose your forked stick to be of that bigness as may keep the fish orfrog from pulling the forked stick under the water till the Pike bites;and then the Pike having pulled the line forth of the cleft or nick ofthat stick in which it was gently fastened, he will have line enough togo to his hold and pouch the bait. And if you would have this ledger-baitto keep at a fixt place undisturbed by wind or other accidents which maydrive it to the shore-side, for you are to note, that it is likeliest tocatch a Pike in the midst of the water, then hang a small plummet oflead, a stone, or piece of tile, or a turf, in a string, and cast itinto the water with the forked stick to hang upon the ground, to be akind of anchor to keep the forked stick from moving out of your intendedplace till the Pike come: this I take to be a very good way to use somany ledger-baits as you intend to make trial of.
Or if you bait your hooks thus with live fish or frogs, and in a windyday, fasten them thus to a bough or bundle of straw, and by the help ofthat wind can get them to move across a pond or mere, you are like tostand still on the shore and see sport presently, if there be any storeof Pikes. Or these live baits may make sport, being tied about the bodyor wings of a goose or duck, and she chased over a pond. And the likemay be done with turning three or four live baits, thus fastened tobladders, or boughs, or bottles of hay or flags, to swim down a river,whilst you walk quietly alone on the shore, and are still in expectaionof sport. The rest must be taught you by practice; for time will notallow me to say more of this kind of fishing with live baits.
And for your DEAD-BAIT for a Pike: for that you may be taught by oneday's going a-fishing with me, or any other body that fishes for him;for the baiting your hook with a dead gudgeon or a roach, and moving itup and down the water, is too easy a thing to take up any time to directyou to do it. And yet, because I cut you short in that, I will commutefor it by telling you that that was told me for a secret: it is this:Dissolve gum of ivy in oil of spike, and therewith anoint your dead baitfor a Pike; and then cast it into a likely place; and when it has lain ashort time at the bottom, draw it towards the top of the water, and soup the stream; and it is more than likely that you have a Pike followwith more than common eagerness. And some affirm, that any bait anointedwith the marrow of the thigh-bone of a heron is a great temptation toany fish.
These have not been tried by me, but told me by a friend of note, thatpretended to do me a courtesy. But if this direction to catch a Pikethus do you no good, yet I am certain this direction how to roast himwhen he is caught is choicely good; for I have tried it, and it issomewhat the better for not being common. But with my direction you musttake this caution, that your Pike must not be a small one, that is, itmust be more than half a yard, and should be bigger.
"First, open your Pike at the gills, and if need be, cut also a littleslit towards the belly. Out of these, take his guts; and keep his liver,which you are to shred very small, with thyme, sweet marjoram, and alittle winter-savoury; to these put some pickled oysters, and someanchovies, two or three; both these last whole, for the anchovies willmelt, and the oysters should not; to these, you must add also a pound ofsweet butter, which you are to mix with the herbs that are shred, andlet them all be well salted. If the Pike be more than a yard long, thenyou may put into these herbs more than a pound, or if he be less, thenless butter will suffice: These, being thus mixt, with a blade or two ofmace, must be put into the Pike's belly; and then his belly so sewed upas to keep all the butter in his belly if it be possible; if not, thenas much of it as you possibly can. But take not off the scales. Then youare to thrust the spit through his mouth, out at his tail. And then takefour or five or six split sticks, or very thin laths, and a convenientquantity of tape or filleting; these laths are to be tied round aboutthe Pike's body, from his head to his tail, and the tape tied somewhatthick, to prevent his breaking or falling off from the spit. Let him beroasted very leisurely; and often basted with claret wine, andanchovies, and butter, mixt together; and also with what moisture fallsfrom him into the pan. When you have roasted him sufficiently, you areto hold under him, when you unwind or cut the tape that ties him, such adish as you purpose to eat him out of; and let him fall into it with thesauce that is roasted in his belly; and by this means the Pike will bekept unbroken and complete. Then, to the sauce which was within, andalso that sauce in the pan, you are to add a fit quantity of the bestbutter, and to squeeze the juice of three or four oranges. Lastly, youmay either put it into the Pike, with the oysters, two cloves ofgarlick, and take it whole out, when the Pike is cut off the spit; or,to give the sauce a haut goût, let the dish into which you let the Pikefall be rubbed with it: The using or not using of this garlick is leftto your discretion. M. B."
This dish of meat is too good for any but anglers, or very honest men;and I trust you will prove both, and therefore I have trusted you withthis secret.
Let me next tell you, that Gesner tells us, there are no Pikes in Spain,and that the largest are in the lake Thrasymene in Italy; and the next,if not equal to them, are the Pikes of England; and that in England,Lincolnshire boasteth to have the biggest. Just so doth Sussex boast offour sorts of fish, namely, an Arundel Mullet, a Chichester Lobster, aShelsey Cockle, and an Amerly Trout.
But I will take up no more of your time with this relation, but proceedto give you some Observations of the Carp, and how to angle for him; andto dress him but not till he is caught.
The fourth day-continued
On the Carp
Chapter IX
Piscator
The Carp is the queen of rivers; a stately, a good, and a very subtilfish; that was not at first bred, nor hath been long in England, but isnow naturalised. It is said, they were brought hither by one Mr. Mascal,a gentleman that then lived at Plumsted in Sussex, a county that aboundsmore with this fish than any in this nation.
You may remember that I told you Gesner says there are no Pikes inSpain; and doubtless there was a time, about a hundred or a few moreyears ago, when there were no Carps in England, as may seem to beaffirmed by Sir Richard Baker, in whose Chronicle you may find theseverses:
Hops and turkies, carps and beer,
Came into England all in a year.
And doubtless, as of sea-fish the Herring dies soonest out of the water,and of fresh-water fish the Trout, so, except the Eel, the Carp enduresmost hardness, and lives longest out of its own proper element; and,therefore, the report of the Carp's being brought out of a foreigncountry into this nation is the more probable.
Carps and Loaches are observed to breed several months in one year,which Pikes and most other fish do not; and this is partly proved bytame and wild rabbits; as also by some ducks, which will lay eggs nineof the twelve months; and yet there be other ducks that lay not longerthan about one month. And it is the rather to be believed, because youshall scarce or never take a male Carp without a melt, or a femalewithout a roe or spawn, and for the most part very much, and especiallyall the summer season; and it is observed, that they breed morenaturally in ponds than in running waters, if they breed there at all;and that those that live in rivers are taken by men of the best palatesto be much the better meat.
And it is observed that in some ponds Carps will not breed, especiallyin cold ponds; but where they will breed, they breed innumerably:Aristotle and Pliny say six times in a year, if there be no Pikes norPerch to devour their spawn, when it is cast upon grass or flags, orweeds, where it lies ten or twelve days before it be enlivened.
The Carp, if he have water-room and good feed, will grow to a very greatbigness and length; I have heard, to be much above a yard long. It issaid by Jovius, who hath writ of fishes, that in the lake Lurian inItaly, Carps have thriven to be more than fifty pounds weight: which isthe more probable, for as the bear is conceived and born suddenly, andbeing born is but short lived; so, on the contrary, the elephant is saidto be two years in his dam's belly, some think he is ten years in it,and being born, grows in bigness twenty years; and it is observed too,that he lives to the age of a hundred years. And 'tis also observed,that the crocodile is very long-lived; and more than that, that all thatlong life he thrives in bigness; and so I think some Carps do,especially in some places, though I never saw one above twenty-threeinches, which was a great and goodly fish; but have been assured thereare of a far greater size, and in England too.
Now, as the increase of Carps is wonderful for their number, so there isnot a reason found out, I think, by any, why they should breed in someponds, and not in others, of the same nature for soil and all othercircumstances. And as their breeding, so are their decays also verymysterious: I have both read it, and been told by a gentleman of triedhonesty, that he has known sixty or more large Carps put into severalponds near to a house, where by reason of the stakes in the ponds, andthe owner's constant being near to them, it was impossible they shouldbe stole away from him; and that when he has, after three or four years,emptied the pond, and expected an increase from them by breeding youngones, for that they might do so he had, as the rule is, put in threemelters for one spawner, he has, I say, after three or four years, foundneither a young nor old Carp remaining. And the like I have known of onethat had almost watched the pond, and, at a like distance of time, atthe fishing of a pond, found, of seventy or eighty large Carps, notabove five or six: and that he had forborne longer to fish the saidpond, but that he saw, in a hot day in summer, a large Carp swim nearthe top of the water with a frog upon his head; and that he, upon thatoccasion, caused his pond to be let dry: and I say, of seventy or eightyCarps, only found five or six in the said pond, and those very sick andlean, and with every one a frog sticking so fast on the head of the saidCarps, that the frog would not be got off without extreme force orkilling. And the gentleman that did affirm this to me, told me he sawit; and did declare his belief to be, and I also believe the same, thathe thought the other Carps, that were so strangely lost, were so killedby the frogs, and then devoured.
And a person of honour, now living in Worcestershire, assured me he hadseen a necklace, or collar of tadpoles, hang like a chain or necklace ofbeads about a Pike's neck, and to kill him: Whether it were for meat ormalice, must be, to me, a question.
But I am fallen into this discourse by accident; of which I might saymore, but it has proved longer than I intended, and possibly may not toyou be considerable: I shall therefore give you three or four more shortobservations of the Carp, and then fall upon some directions how youshall fish for him.
The age of Carps is by Sir Francis Bacon, in his History of Life andDeath, observed to be but ten years; yet others think they live longer.Gesner says, a Carp has been known to live in the Palatine above ahundred years. But most conclude, that, contrary to the Pike or Luce, allCarps are the better for age and bigness. The tongues of Carps are notedto be choice and costly meat, especially to them that buy them: butGesner says, Carps have no tongue like other fish, but a piece offleshlike fish in their mouth like to a tongue, and should be called apalate: but it is certain it is choicely good, and that the Carp is tobe reckoned amongst those leather-mouthed fish which, I told you, havetheir teeth in their throat; and for that reason he is very seldom lostby breaking his hold, if your hook be once stuck into his chaps.
I told you that Sir Francis Bacon thinks that the Carp lives but tenyears: but Janus Dubravius has written a book Of fish and fish-ponds inwhich he says, that Carps begin to spawn at the age of three years, andcontinue to do so till thirty: he says also, that in the time of theirbreeding, which is in summer, when the sun hath warmed both the earthand water, and so apted them also for generation, that then three orfour male Carps will follow a female; and that then, she putting on aseeming coyness, they force her through weeds and flags, where she letsfall her eggs or spawn, which sticks fast to the weeds; and then theylet fall their melt upon it, and so it becomes in a short time to be aliving fish: and, as I told you, it is thought that the Carp does thisseveral months in the year; and most believe, that most fish breed afterthis manner, except the Eel. And it has been observed, that when thespawner has weakened herself by doing that natural office, that two orthree melters have helped her from off the weeds, by bearing her up onboth sides, and guarding her into the deep. And you may note, thatthough this may seem a curiosity not worth observing, yet others havejudged it worth their time and costs to make glass hives, and order themin such a manner as to see how bees have bred and made their honeycombs,and how they have obeyed their king, and governed their commonwealth.But it is thought that all Carps are not bred by generation; but thatsome breed other ways, as some Pikes do.
The physicians make the galls and stones in the heads of Carps to bevery medicinable. But it is not to be doubted but that in Italy theymake great profit of the spawn of Carps, by selling it to the Jews, whomake it into red caviare; the Jews not being by their law admitted toeat of caviare made of the Sturgeon, that being a fish that wantsscales, and, as may appear in Leviticus xi., by them reputed to beunclean.
Much more might be said out of him, and out of Aristotle, whichDubravius often quotes in his Discourse of Fishes: but it might ratherperplex than satisfy you; and therefore I shall rather choose to directyou how to catch, than spend more time in discoursing either of thenature or the breeding of this Carp, or of any more circumstancesconcerning him. But yet I shall remember you of what I told you before,that he is a very subtil fish, and hard to be caught.
And my first direction is, that if you will fish for a Carp, you mustput on a very large measure of patience, especially to fish for a riverCarp: I have known a very good fisher angle diligently four or six hoursin a day, for three or four days together, for a river Carp, and nothave a bite. And you are to note, that, in some ponds, it is as hard tocatch a Carp as in a river; that is to say, where they have store offeed, and the water is of a clayish colour. But you are to remember thatI have told you there is no rule without an exception; and thereforebeing possess with that hope and patience which I wish to all fishers,especially to the Carp-angler, I shall tell you with what bait to fishfor him. But first you are to know, that it must be either early, orlate; and let me tell you, that in hot weather, for he will seldom bitein cold, you cannot be too early, or too late at it. And some have beenso curious as to say, the tenth of April is a fatal day for Carps.
The Carp bites either at worms, or at paste: and of worms I think thebluish marsh or meadow worm is best; but possibly another worm, not toobig, may do as well, and so may a green gentle: and as for pastes, thereare almost as many sorts as there are medicines for the toothache; butdoubtless sweet pastes are best; I mean, pastes made with honey or withsugar: which, that you may the better beguile this crafty fish, shouldbe thrown into the pond or place in which you fish for him, some hours,or longer, before you undertake your trial of skill with the angle-rod;and doubtless, if it be thrown into the water a day or two before, atseveral times, and in small pellets, you are the likelier, when you fishfor the Carp, to obtain your desired sport. Or, in a large pond, to drawthem to any certain place, that they may the better and with more hopebe fished for, you are to throw into it, in some certain place, eithergrains, or blood mixt with cow-dung or with bran; or any garbage, aschicken's guts or the like; and then, some of your small sweet pelletswith which you propose to angle: and these small pellets being a few ofthem also thrown in as you are angling, will be the better.
And your paste must be thus made: take the flesh of a rabbit, or cat,cut small; and bean-flour; and if that may not be easily got, get otherflour; and then, mix these together, and put to them either sugar, orhoney, which I think better: and then beat these together in a mortar,or sometimes work them in your hands, your hands being very clean; andthen make it into a ball, or two, or three, as you like best, for youruse: but you must work or pound it so long in the mortar, as to make itso tough as to hang upon your hook without washing from it, yet not toohard: or, that you may the better keep it on your hook, you may kneadwith your paste a little, and not too much, white or yellowish wool.
And if you would have this paste keep all the year, for any other fish,then mix with it virgin-wax and clarified honey, and work them togetherwith your hands, before the fire; then make these into balls, and theywill keep all the year.
And if you fish for a Carp with gentles, then put upon your hook a smallpiece of scarlet about this bigness, it being soaked in or anointed withoil of petre, called by some, oil of the rock: and if your gentles beput, two or three days before, into a box or horn anointed with honey,and so put upon your hook as to preserve them to be living, you are aslike to kill this crafty fish this way as any other: but still, as youare fishing, chew a little white or brown bread in your mouth, and castit into the pond about the place where your float swims. Other baitsthere be; but these, with diligence and patient watchfulness, will dobetter than any that I have ever practiced or heard of. And yet I shalltell you, that the crumbs of white bread and honey made into a paste isa good bait for a Carp; and you know, it is more easily made. And havingsaid thus much of the Carp, my next discourse shall be of the Bream,which shall not prove so tedious; and therefore I desire the continuanceof your attention.
But, first, I will tell you how to make this Carp, that is so curious tobe caught, so curious a dish of meat as shall make him worth all yourlabour and patience. And though it is not without some trouble andcharges, yet it will recompense both.
Take a Carp, alive if possible; scour him, and rub him clean with waterand salt, but scale him not: then open him; and put him, with his bloodand his liver, which you must save when you open him, into a small potor kettle: then take sweet marjoram, thyme, and parsley, of each half ahandful; a sprig of rosemary, and another of savoury; bind them into twoor three small bundles, and put them in your Carp, with four or fivewhole onions, twenty pickled oysters, and three anchovies. Then pourupon your Carp as much claret wine as will only cover him; and seasonyour claret well with salt, cloves, and mace, and the rinds of orangesand lemons. That done, cover your pot and set it on a quick fire till itbe sufficiently boiled. Then take out the Carp; and lay it, with thebroth, into the dish; and pour upon it a quarter of a pound of the bestfresh butter, melted, and beaten with half a dozen spoonfuls of thebroth, the yolks of two or three eggs, and some of the herbs shred:garnish your dish with lemons, and so serve it up. And much good do you!Dr. T.
The fourth day-continued
On the Bream
Chapter X
Piscator
The Bream, being at a full growth, is a large and stately fish. He willbreed both in rivers and ponds: but loves best to live in ponds, andwhere, if he likes the water and air, he will grow not only to be verylarge, but as fat as a hog. He is by Gesner taken to be more pleasant,or sweet, than wholesome. This fish is long in growing; but breedsexceedingly in a water that pleases him; yea, in many ponds so fast, asto overstore them, and starve the other fish.
He is very broad, with a forked tail, and his scales set in excellentorder; he hath large eyes, and a narrow sucking mouth; he hath two setsof teeth, and a lozenge-like bone, a bone to help his grinding. Themelter is observed to have two large melts; and the female, two largebags of eggs or spawn.
Gesner reports, that in Poland a certain and a great number of largebreams were put into a pond, which in the next following winter werefrozen up into one entire ice, and not one drop of water remaining, norone of these fish to be found, though they were diligently searched for;and yet the next spring, when the ice was thawed, and the weather warm,and fresh water got into the pond, he affirms they all appeared again.This Gesner affirms; and I quote my author, because it seems almost asincredible as the resurrection to an atheist: but it may win something,in point of believing it, to him that considers the breeding orrenovation of the silk-worm, and of many insects. And that isconsiderable, which Sir Francis Bacon observes in his History of Lifeand Death, fol. 20, that there be some herbs that die and spring everyyear, and some endure longer.
But though some do not, yet the French esteem this fish highly; and tothat end have this proverb "He that hath Breams in his pond, is able tobid his friend welcome"; and it is noted, that the best part of a Breamis his belly and head.
Some say, that Breams and Roaches will mix their eggs and melt together;and so there is in many places a bastard breed of Breams, that nevercome to be either large or good, but very numerous.
The baits good to catch this Bream are many. First, paste made of brownbread and honey; gentles; or the brood of wasps that be young, and thennot unlike gentles, and should be hardened in an oven, or dried on atile before the fire to make them tough. Or, there is, at the root ofdocks or flags or rushes, in watery places, a worm not unlike a maggot,at which Tench will bite freely. Or he will bite at a grasshopper withhis legs nipt off, in June and July; or at several flies, under water,which may be found on flags that grow near to the water-side. I doubtnot but that there be many other baits that are good; but I will turnthem all into this most excellent one, either for a Carp or Bream, inany river or mere: it was given to me by a most honest and excellentangler; and hoping you will prove both, I will impart it to you.
1. Let your bait be as big a red worm as you can find, without a knot:get a pint or quart of them in an evening, in garden-walks, or chalkycommons, after a shower of rain; and put them with clean moss wellwashed and picked, and the water squeezed out of the moss as dry as youcan, into an earthen pot or pipkin set dry; and change the moss freshevery three or four days, for three weeks or a month together; then yourbait will be at the best, for it will be clear and lively.
2. Having thus prepared your baits, get your tackling ready and fittedfor this sport. Take three long angling-rods; and as many and more silk,or silk and hair, lines; and as many large swan or goose-quill floats.Then take a piece of lead, and fasten them to the low ends of yourlines: then fasten your link-hook also to the lead; and let there beabout a foot or ten inches between the lead and the hook: but be surethe lead be heavy enough to sink the float or quill, a little under thewater; and not the quill to bear up the lead, for the lead must lie onthe ground. Note, that your link next the hook may be smaller than therest of your line, if you dare adventure, for fear of taking the Pike orPerch, who will assuredly visit your hooks, till they be taken out, as Iwill show you afterwards, before either Carp or Bream will come near tobite. Note also, that when the worm is well baited, it will crawl up anddown as far as the lead will give leave, which much enticeth the fish tobite without suspicion.
3. Having thus prepared your baits, and fitted your tackling, repair tothe river, where you have seen them swim in skulls or shoals, in thesummer-time, in a hot afternoon, about three or four of the clock; andwatch their going forth of their deep holes, and returning, which youmay well discern, for they return about four of the clock, most of themseeking food at the bottom, yet one or two will lie on the top of thewater, rolling and tumbling themselves, whilst the rest are under him atthe bottom; and so you shall perceive him to keep sentinel: then markwhere he plays most and stays longest, which commonly is in the broadestand deepest place of the river; and there, or near thereabouts, at aclear bottom and a convenient landing-place, take one of your anglesready fitted as aforesaid, and sound the bottom, which should be abouteight or ten feet deep; two yards from the bank is best. Then considerwith yourself, whether that water will rise or fall by the next morning,by reason of any water-mills near; and, according to your discretion,take the depth of the place, where you mean after to cast yourground-bait, and to fish, to half an inch; that the lead lying on ornear the ground-bait, the top of the float may only appear upright halfan inch above the water.
Thus you having found and fitted for the place and depth thereof, thengo home and prepare your ground-bait, which is, next to the fruit ofyour labours, to be regarded.
The GROUND-BAIT.
You shall take a peck, or a peck and a half, according to the greatnessof the stream and deepness of the water, where you mean to angle, ofsweet gross-ground barley-malt; and boil it in a kettle, one or twowarms is enough: then strain it through a bag into a tub, the liquorwhereof hath often done my horse much good; and when the bag and malt isnear cold, take it down to the water-side, about eight or nine of theclock in the evening, and not before: cast in two parts of yourground-bait, squeezed hard between both your hands; it will sinkpresently to the bottom; and be sure it may rest in the very place whereyou mean to angle: if the stream run hard, or move a little, cast yourmalt in handfuls a little the higher, upwards the stream. You may,between your hands, close the malt so fast in handfuls, that the waterwill hardly part it with the fall.
Your ground thus baited, and tackling fitted, leave your bag, with therest of your tackling and ground-bait, near the sporting-place allnight; and in the morning, about three or four of the clock, visit thewater-side, but not too near, for they have a cunning watchman, and arewatchful themselves too.
Then, gently take one of your three rods, and bait your hook; casting itover your ground-bait, and gently and secretly draw it to you till thelead rests about the middle of the ground-bait.
Then take a second rod, and cast in about a yard above, and your third ayard below the first rod; and stay the rods in the ground: but goyourself so far from the water-side, that you perceive nothing but thetop of the floats, which you must watch most diligently. Then when youhave a bite, you shall perceive the top of your float to sink suddenlyinto the water: yet, nevertheless, be not too hasty to run to your rods,until you see that the line goes clear away; then creep to thewater-side, and give as much line as possibly you can: if it be a goodCarp or Bream, they will go to the farther side of the river: thenstrike gently, and hold your rod at a bent, a little while; but if youboth pull together, you are sure to lose your game, for either yourline, or hook, or hold, will break: and after you have overcome them,they will make noble sport, and are very shy to be landed. The Carp isfar stronger and more mettlesome than the Bream.
Much more is to be observed in this kind of fish and fishing, but it isfar fitter for experience and discourse than paper. Only, thus much isnecessary for you to know, and to be mindful and careful of, that if thePike or Perch do breed in that river, they will be sure to bite first,and must first be taken. And for the most part they are very large; andwill repair to your ground-bait, not that they will eat of it, but willfeed and sport themselves among the young fry that gather about andhover over the bait.
The way to discern the Pike and to take him, it you mistrust your Breamhook, for I have taken a Pike a yard long several times at my Breamhooks, and sometimes he hath had the luck to share my line, may be thus:
Take a small Bleak, or Roach, or Gudgeon, and bait it; and set it,alive, among your rods, two feet deep from the cork, with a little redworm on the point of the hook: then take a few crumbs of white bread, orsome of the ground-bait, and sprinkle it gently amongst your rods. IfMr. Pike be there, then the little fish will skip out of the water athis appearance, but the live-set bait is sure to be taken.
Thus continue your sport from four in the morning till eight, and if itbe a gloomy windy day, they will bite all day long: but this is too longto stand to your rods, at one place; and it will spoil your eveningsport that day, which is this.
About four of the clock in the afternoon repair to your baited place;and as soon as you come to the water-side, cast in one-half of the restof your ground-bait, and stand off; then whilst the fish are gatheringtogether, for there they will most certainly come for their supper, youmay take a pipe of tobacco: and then, in with your three rods, as in themorning. You will find excellent sport that evening, till eight of theclock: then cast in the residue of your ground-bait, and next morning,by four of the clock, visit them again for four hours, which is the bestsport of all; and after that, let them rest till you and your friendshave a mind to more sport.
From St. James's-tide until Bartholomew-tide is the best; when they havehad all the summer's food, they are the fattest.
Observe, lastly, that after three or four days' fishing together, yourgame will be very shy and wary, and you shall hardly get above a bite ortwo at a baiting: then your only way is to desist from your sport, abouttwo or three days: and in the meantime, on the place you late baited,and again intend to bait, you shall take a turf of green but shortgrass, as big or bigger than a round trencher; to the top of this turf,on the green side, you shall, with a needle and green thread, fasten oneby one, as many little red worms as will near cover all the turf: thentake a round board or trencher, make a hole in the middle thereof, andthrough the turf placed on the board or trencher, with a string or cordas long as is fitting, tied to a pole, let it down to the bottom of thewater, for the fish to feed upon without disturbance about two or threedays; and after that you have drawn it away, you may fall to, and enjoyyour former recreation.
B. A.
The fourth day-continued
On the Tench
Chapter XI
Piscator
The Tench, the physician of fishes, is observed to love ponds betterthan rivers, and to love pits better than either: yet Camden observes,there is a river in Dorsetshire that abounds with Tenches, but doubtlessthey retire to the most deep and quiet places in it.
This fish hath very large fins, very small and smooth scales, a redcircle about his eyes, which are big and of a gold colour, and fromeither angle of his mouth there hangs down a little barb. In everyTench's head there are two little stones which foreign physicians makegreat use of, but he is not commended for wholesome meat, though therebe very much use made of them for outward applications. Rondeletiussays, that at his being at Rome, he saw a great cure done by applying aTench to the feet of a very sick man. This, he says, was done after anunusual manner, by certain Jews. And it is observed that many of thosepeople have many secrets yet unknown to Christians; secrets that havenever yet been written, but have been since the days of their Solomon,who knew the nature of all things, even from the cedar to the shrub,delivered by tradition, from the father to the son, and so fromgeneration to generation, without writing; or, unless it were casually,without the least communicating them to any other nation or tribe; forto do that they account a profanation. And, yet, it is thought thatthey, or some spirit worse than they, first told us, that lice,swallowed alive, were a certain cure for the yellow-jaundice. This, andmany other medicines, were discovered by them, or by revelation; for,doubtless, we attained them not by study.
Well, this fish, besides his eating, is very useful, both dead andalive, for the good of mankind. But I will meddle no more with that, myhonest, humble art teaches no such boldness: there are too many foolishmeddlers in physick and divinity that think themselves fit to meddlewith hidden secrets, and so bring destruction to their followers. ButI'll not meddle with them, any farther than to wish them wiser; andshall tell you next, for I hope I may be so bold, that the Tench is thephysician of fishes, for the Pike especially, and that the Pike, beingeither sick or hurt, is cured by the touch of the Tench. And it isobserved that the tyrant Pike will not be a wolf to his physician, butforbears to devour him though he be never so hungry.
This fish, that carries a natural balsam in him to cure both himself andothers, loves yet to feed in very foul water, and amongst weeds. Andyet, I am sure, he eats pleasantly, and, doubtless, you will think sotoo, if you taste him. And I shall therefore proceed to give you somefew, and but a few, directions how to catch this Tench, of which I havegiven you these observations.
He will bite at a paste made of brown bread and honey, or at amarsh-worm, or a lob-worm; he inclines very much to any paste with whichtar is mixt, and he will bite also at a smaller worm with his headnipped off, and a cod-worm put on the hook before that worm. And I doubtnot but that he will also, in the three hot months, for in the ninecolder he stirs not much, bite at a flag-worm or at a green gentle; butcan positively say no more of the Tench, he being a fish I have notoften angled for; but I wish my honest scholar may, and be everfortunate when he fishes.
The fourth day-continued
On the Perch
Chapter XII
Piscator and Venator
Piscator. The Perch is a very good and very bold biting fish. He is oneof the fishes of prey that, like the Pike and Trout, carries his teethin his mouth, which is very large: and he dare venture to kill anddevour several other kinds of fish. He has a hooked or hog back, whichis armed with sharp and stiff bristles, and all his skin armed, orcovered over with thick dry hard scales, and hath, which few other fishhave, two fins on his back. He is so bold that he will invade one of hisown kind, which the Pike will not do so willingly; and you may,therefore, easily believe him to be a bold biter.
The Perch is of great esteem in Italy, saith Aldrovandus: and especiallythe least are there esteemed a dainty dish. And Gesner prefers the Perchand Pike above the Trout, or any fresh-water fish: he says the Germanshave this proverb, "More wholesome than a Perch of Rhine": and he saysthe River-Perch is so wholesome, that physicians allow him to be eatenby wounded men, or by men in fevers, or by women in child-bed.
He spawns but once a year; and is, by physicians, held very nutritive;yet, by many, to be hard of digestion. They abound more in the river Po,and in England, says Rondeletius, than other parts: and have in theirbrain a stone, which is, in foreign parts, sold by apothecaries, beingthere noted to be very medicinable against the stone in the reins. Thesebe a part of the commendations which some philosophical brains havebestowed upon the freshwater Perch: yet they commend the Sea-Perch whichis known by having but one fin on his back, of which they say we Englishsee but a few, to be a much better fish.
The Perch grows slowly, yet will grow, as I have been credibly informed,to be almost two feet long; for an honest informer told me, such a onewas not long since taken by Sir Abraham Williams, a gentleman of worth,and a brother of the angle, that yet lives, and I wish he may: this wasa deep-bodied fish, and doubtless durst have devoured a Pike of half hisown length. For I have told you, he is a bold fish; such a one as butfor extreme hunger the Pike will not devour. For to affright the Pike,and save himself, the Perch will set up his fins, much like as aturkey-cock will sometimes set up his tail.
But, my scholar, the Perch is not only valiant to defend himself, but heis, as I said, a bold-biting fish: yet he will not bite at all seasonsof the year; he is very abstemious in winter, yet will bite then in themidst of the day, if it be warm: and note, that all fish bite best aboutthe midst of warm day in winter. And he hath been observed, by some, notusually to bite till the mulberry-tree buds; that is to say, tillextreme frosts be past the spring; for, when the mulberry-tree blossoms,many gardeners observe their forward fruit to be past the danger offrosts; and some have made the like observation of the Perch's biting.
But bite the Perch will, and that very boldly. And, as one has wittilyobserved, if there be twenty or forty in a hole, they may be, at onestanding, all catched one after another; they being, as he says, likethe wicked of the world, not afraid, though their fellows and companionsperish in their sight. And you may observe, that they are not like thesolitary Pike, but love to accompany one another, and march together introops.
And the baits for this bold fish are not many: I mean, he will bite aswell at some, or at any of these three, as at any or all otherswhatsoever: a worm, a minnow, or a little frog, of which you may findmany in hay-time. And of worms; the dunghill worm called a brandling Itake to be best, being well scoured in moss or fennel; or he will biteat a worm that lies under cow-dung, with a bluish head. And if you rovefor a Perch with a minnow, then it is best to be alive; you stickingyour hook through his back fin; or a minnow with the hook in his upperlip, and letting him swim up and down, about mid-water, or a littlelower, and you still keeping him to about that depth by a cork, whichought not to be a very little one: and the like way you are to fish forthe Perch with a small frog, your hook being fastened through the skinof his leg, towards the upper part of it: and, lastly, I will give youbut this advice, that you give the Perch time enough when he bites; forthere was scarce ever any angler that has given him too much. And now Ithink best to rest myself; for I have almost spent my spirits withtalking so long.
Venator. Nay, good master, one fish more, for you see it rains still:and you know our angles are like money put to usury; they may thrive,though we sit still, and do nothing but talk and enjoy one another.Come, come, the other fish, good master.
Piscator. But, scholar, have you nothing to mix with this discourse,which now grows both tedious and tiresome? Shall I have nothing fromyou, that seem to have both a good memory and a cheerful spirit?
Venator. Yes, master, I will speak you a copy of verses that were madeby Doctor Donne, and made to shew the world that he could make soft andsmooth verses, when he thought smoothness worth his labour: and I lovethem the better, because they allude to Rivers, and Fish and Fishing.They be these:
Come, live with me, and be my love,
And we will some new pleasures prove,
Of golden sands, and crystal brooks,
With silken lines, and silver hooks.
There will the river whisp'ring run,
Warm'd by thy eyes more than the sun
And there the enamel'd fish will stay
Begging themselves they may betray.
When thou wilt swim in that live bath,
Each fish, which every channel hash,
Most amorously to thee will swim,
Gladder to catch thee, than thou him.
If thou, to be so seen, beest loath
By sun or moon, thou dark'nest both;
And if mine eyes have leave to see,
I need not their light, having thee,
Let others freeze with angling reeds,
And cut their legs with shells and weeds,
Or treacherously poor fish beset
With strangling snares or windowy net;
Let coarse bold hands, from slimy nest,
The bedded fish in banks outwrest;
Let curious traitors sleeve silk flies,
To 'witch poor wand'ring fishes' eyes.
For thee, thou need'st no such deceit,
For thou thyself art shine own bait;
That fish that is not catcht thereby,
Is wiser afar, alas, than I.
Piscator. Well remembered, honest scholar. I thank you for these choiceverses; which I have heard formerly, but had quite forgot, till theywere recovered by your happy memory. Well, being I have now restedmyself a little, I will make you some requital, by telling you someobservations of the Eel; for it rains still: and because, as you say,our angles are as money put to use, that thrives when we play, thereforewe'll sit still, and enjoy ourselves a little longer under thishoneysuckle hedge.
The fourth day-continued
Of the Eel, and other Fish that want Scales
Chapter XIII
Piscator
It is agreed by most men, that the Eel is a most dainty fish: the Romanshave esteemed her the Helena of their feasts; and some the queen ofpalate-pleasure. But most men differ about their breeding: some say theybreed by generation, as other fish do; and others, that they breed, assome worms do, of mud; as rats and mice, and many other livingcreatures, are bred in Egypt, by the sun's heat when it shines upon theoverflowing of the river Nilus; or out of the putrefaction of the earth,and divers other ways. Those that deny them to breed by generation, asother fish do, ask, If any man ever saw an Eel to have a spawn or melt?And they are answered, That they may be as certain of their breeding asif they had seen spawn; for they say, that they are certain that Eelshave all parts fit for generation, like other fish, but so small as notto be easily discerned, by reason of their fatness; but that discernedthey may be; and that the He and the She Eel may be distinguished bytheir fins. And Rondeletius says, he has seen Eels cling together likedew-worms.
And others say, that Eels, growing old, breed other Eels out of thecorruption of their own age; which, Sir Francis Bacon says, exceeds notten years. And others say, that as pearls are made of glutinousdewdrops, which are condensed by the sun's heat in those countries, soEels are bred of a particular dew, falling in the months of May or Juneon the banks of some particular ponds or rivers, apted by nature forthat end; which in a few days are, by the sun's heat, turned into Eels:and some of the Ancients have called the Eels that are thus bred, theoffspring of Jove. I have seen, in the beginning of July, in a river notfar from Canterbury, some parts of it covered over with young Eels,about the thickness of a straw; and these Eels did lie on the top ofthat water, as thick as motes are said to be in the sun: and I haveheard the like of other rivers, as namely, in Severn, where they arecalled Yelvers; and in a pond, or mere near unto Staffordshire, where,about a set time in summer, such small Eels abound so much, that many ofthe poorer sort of people that inhabit near to it, take such Eels out ofthis mere with sieves or sheets; and make a kind of Eel-cake of them,and eat it like as bread. And Gesner quotes Venerable Bede, to say, thatin England there is an island called Ely, by reason of the innumerablenumber of Eels that breed in it. But that Eels may be bred as someworms, and some kind of bees and wasps are, either of dew, or out of thecorruption of the earth, seems to be made probable by the barnacles andyoung goslings bred by the sun's heat and the rotten planks of an oldship, and hatched of trees; both which are related for truths by DuBartas and Lobel, and also by our learned Camden, and laborious Gerhardin his Herbal.
It is said by Rondeletius, that those Eels that are bred in rivers thatrelate to or be nearer to the sea, never return to the fresh waters, asthe Salmon does always desire to do, when they have once tasted the saltwater; and I do the more easily believe this, because I am certain thatpowdered beef is a most excellent bait to catch an Eel. And though SirFrancis Bacon will allow the Eel's life to be but ten years, yet he, inhis History of Life and Death, mentions a Lamprey, belonging to theRoman emperor, to be made tame, and so kept for almost threescore years;and that such useful and pleasant observations were made of thisLamprey, that Crassus the orator, who kept her, lamented her death; andwe read in Doctor Hakewill, that Hortensius was seen to weep at thedeath of a Lamprey that he had kept long, and loved exceedingly.
It is granted by all, or most men, that Eels, for about six months, thatis to say, the six cold months of the year, stir not up or down, neitherin the rivers, nor in the pools in which they usually are, but get intothe soft earth or mud; and there many of them together bed themselves,and live without feeding upon anything, as I have told you some swallowshave been observed to do in hollow trees, for those six cold months. Andthis the Eel and Swallow do, as not being able to endure winter weather:for Gesner quotes Albertus to say, that in the year 1125, that year'swinter being more cold than usually, Eels did, by nature's instinct, getout of the water into a stack of hay in a meadow upon dry ground; andthere bedded themselves: but yet, at last, a frost killed them. And ourCamden relates, that, in Lancashire, fishes were digged out of the earthwith spades, where no water was near to the place. I shall say littlemore of the Eel, but that, as it is observed he is impatient of cold, soit hath been observed, that, in warm weather, an Eel has been known tolive five days out of the water.
And lastly, let me tell you, that some curious searchers into thenatures of fish observe, that there be several sorts or kinds of Eels;as the silver Eel, the green or greenish Eel, with which the river ofThames abounds, and those are called Grigs; and a blackish Eel, whosehead is more flat and bigger than ordinary Eels; and also an Eel whosefins are reddish, and but seldom taken in this nation, and yet takensometimes. These several kind of Eels are, say some, diversely bred; as,namely, out of the corruption of the earth; and some by dew, and otherways, as I have said to you: and yet it is affirmed by some for acertain, that the silver Eel is bred by generation, but not by spawningas other fish do; but that her brood come alive from her, being thenlittle live Eels no bigger nor longer than a pin; and I have had toomany testimonies of this, to doubt the truth of it myself; and if Ithought it needful I might prove it, but I think it is needless.
And this Eel, of which I have said so much to you, may be caught withdivers kinds of baits: as namely, with powdered beef; with a lob orgarden worm; with a minnow; or gut of a hen, chicken, or the guts of anyfish, or with almost anything, for he is a greedy fish. But the Eel maybe caught, especially, with a little, a very little Lamprey, which somecall a Pride, and may, in the hot months, be found many of them in theriver Thames, and in many mud-heaps in other rivers; yea, almost asusually as one finds worms in a dunghill.
Next note, that the Eel seldom stirs in the day, but then hides himself;and therefore he is usually caught by night, with one of these baits ofwhich I have spoken; and may be then caught by laying hooks, which youare to fasten to the bank, or twigs of a tree; or by throwing a stringacross the stream, with many hooks at it, and those baited with theaforesaid baits; and a clod, or plummet, or stone, thrown into the riverwith this line, that so you may in the morning find it near to somefixed place; and then take it up with a drag-hook, or otherwise. Butthese things are, indeed, too common to be spoken of; and an hour'sfishing with any angler will teach you better, both for these and manyother common things in the practical part of angling, than a week'sdiscourse. I shall therefore conclude this direction for taking the Eel,by telling you, that in a warm day in summer, I have taken many a goodEel by Snigling, and have been much pleased with that sport.
And because you, that are but a young angler, know not what Snigling isI will now teach it to you. You remember I told you that Eels do notusually stir in the daytime; for then they hide themselves under somecovert; or under boards or planks about flood-gates, or weirs, or mills;or in holes on the river banks: so that you, observing your time in awarm day, when the water is lowest, may take a strong small hook, tiedto a strong line, or to a string about a yard long; and then into one ofthese holes, or between any boards about a mill, or under any greatstone or plank, or any place where you think an Eel may hide or shelterherself, you may, with the help of a short stick, put in your bait, butleisurely, and as far as you may conveniently; and it is scarce to bedoubted, but if there be an Eel within the sight of it, the Eel willbite instantly, and as certainly gorge it; and you need not doubt tohave him if you pull him not out of the hole too quickly, but pull himout by degrees; for he, lying folded double in his hole, will, with thehelp of his tail, break all, unless you give him time to be wearied withpulling, and so get him out by degrees, not pulling too hard.
And to commute for your patient hearing this long direction, I shallnext tell you, how to make this Eel a most excellent dish of meat.
First, wash him in water and salt; then pull off his skin below his ventor navel, and not much further: having done that, take out his guts asclean as you can, but wash him not: then give him three or four scotcheswith a knife; and then put into his belly and those scotches, sweetherbs, an anchovy, and a little nutmeg grated or cut very small, andyour herbs and anchovies must also be cut very small; and mixt with goodbutter and salt: having done this, then pull his skin over him, all buthis head, which you are to cut off, to the end you may tie his skinabout that part where his head grew, and it must be so tied as to keepall his moisture within his skin: and having done this, tie him withtape or packthread to a spit, and roast him leisurely; and baste himwith water and salt till his skin breaks, and then with butter; andhaving roasted him enough, let what was put into his belly, and what hedrips, be his sauce. S. F.
When I go to dress an Eel thus, I wish he were as long and as big asthat which was caught in Peterborough river, in the year 1667; which wasa yard and three quarters long. If you will not believe me, then go andsee at one of the coffee-houses in King Street in Westminster.
But now let me tell you, that though the Eel, thus drest, be not onlyexcellent good, but more harmless than any other way, yet it is certainthat physicians account the Eel dangerous meat; I will advise youtherefore, as Solomon says of honey, "Hast thou found it, eat no morethan is sufficient, lest thou surfeit, for it is not good to eat muchhoney". And let me add this, that the uncharitable Italian bids us "giveEels and no wine to our enemies".
And I will beg a little more of your attention, to tell you, thatAldrovandus, and divers physicians, commend the Eel very much formedicine, though not for meat. But let me tell you one observation, thatthe Eel is never out of season; as Trouts, and most other fish, are atset times; at least, most Eels are not.
I might here speak of many other fish, whose shape and nature are muchlike the Eel, and frequent both the sea and fresh rivers; as, namely,the Lamprel, the Lamprey, and the Lamperne: as also of the mightyConger, taken often in Severn, about Gloucester: and might also tell inwhat high esteem many of them are for the curiosity of their taste. Butthese are not so proper to be talked of by me, because they make usanglers no sport; therefore I will let them alone, as the Jews do, towhom they are forbidden by their law.
And, scholar, there is also a FLOUNDER, a sea-fish which will wandervery far into fresh rivers, and there lose himself and dwell: and thriveto a hand's breadth, and almost twice so long: a fish without scales,and most excellent meat: and a fish that affords much sport to theangler, with any small worm, but especially a little bluish worm, gottenout of marsh-ground, or meadows, which should be well scoured. But this,though it be most excellent meat, yet it wants scales, and is, as I toldyou, therefore an abomination to the Jews.
But, scholar, there is a fish that they in Lancashire boast very muchof, called a CHAR; taken there, and I think there only, in a mere calledWinander Mere; a mere, says Camden, that is the largest in this nation,being ten miles in length, and some say as smooth in the bottom as if itwere paved with polished marble. This fish never exceeds fifteen orsixteen inches in length; and is spotted like a Trout: and has scarce abone, but on the back. But this, though I do not know whether it makethe angler sport, yet I would have you take notice of it, because it isa rarity, and of so high esteem with persons of great note.
Nor would I have you ignorant of a rare fish called a GUINIAD; of whichI shall tell you what Camden and others speak. The river Dee, which runsby Chester, springs in Merionethshire; and, as it runs toward Chester,it runs through Pemble Mere, which is a large water: and it is observed,that though the river Dee abounds with Salmon, and Pemble mere with theGuiniad, yet there is never any Salmon caught in the mere, nor aGuiniad in the river. And now my next observation shall be of theBarbel.
The fourth day-continued
Of the Barbel
Chapter XIV
Piscator, Venator, Milk-woman
Piscator. The Barbel is so called, says Gesner, by reason of his barb orwattles at his mouth, which are under his nose or chaps. He is one ofthose leather-mouthed fishes that I told you of, that does very seldombreak his hold if he be once hooked: but he is so strong, that he willoften break both rod and line, if he proves to be a big one.
But the Barbel, though he be of a fine shape, and looks big, yet he isnot accounted the best fish to eat, neither for his wholesomeness norhis taste; but the male is reputed much better than the female, whosespawn is very hurtful, as I will presently declare to you.
They flock together like sheep, and are at the worst in April, aboutwhich time they spawn; but quickly grow to be in season. He is able tolive in the strongest swifts of the water: and, in summer, they love theshallowest and sharpest streams: and love to lurk under weeds, and tofeed on gravel, against a rising ground; and will root and dig in thesands with his nose like a hog, and there nests himself: yet sometimeshe retires to deep and swift bridges, or flood-gates, or weir; where hewill nest himself amongst piles, or in hollow places; and take such holdof moss or weeds, that be the water never so swift, it is not able toforce him from the place that he contends for. This is his constantcustom in summer, when he and most living creatures sport themselves inthe sun: but at the approach of winter, then he forsakes the swiftstreams and shallow waters, and, by degrees, retires to those parts ofthe river that are quiet and deeper; in which places, and I think aboutthat time he spawns; and, as I have formerly told you, with the help ofthe melter, hides his spawn or eggs in holes, which they both dig in thegravel; and then they mutually labour to cover it with the same sand, toprevent it from being devoured by other fish.
There be such store of this fish in the river Danube, that Rondeletiussays they may, in some places of it, and in some months of the year, betaken, by those who dwell near to the river, with their hands, eight orten load at a time. He says, they begin to be good in May, and that theycease to be so in August: but it is found to be otherwise in thisnation. But thus far we agree with him, that the spawn of a Barbel, ifit be not poison, as he says, yet that it is dangerous meat, andespecially in the month of May, which is so certain, that Gesner andGasius declare it had an ill effect upon them, even to the endangeringof their lives.
The fish is of a fine cast and handsome shape, with small scales, whichare placed after a most exact and curious manner, and, as I told you,may be rather said not to be ill, than to be good meat, The Chub and hehave, I think, both lost part of their credit by ill cookery; they beingreputed the worst, or coarsest, of fresh-water fish. But the Barbelaffords an angler choice sport, being a lusty and a cunning fish; solusty and cunning as to endanger the breaking of the angler's line, byrunning his head forcibly towards any covert, or hole, or bank, and thenstriking at the line, to break it off, with his tail; as is observed byPlutarch, in his book De Industria Animalium: and also so cunning, tonibble and suck off your worm close to the hook, and yet avoid theletting the hook come into his mouth.
The Barbel is also curious for his baits; that is to say, that they beclean and sweet; that is to say, to have your worms well scoured, andnot kept in sour and musty moss, for he is a curious feeder: but at awell-scoured lob-worm he will bite as boldly as at any bait, andspecially if, the night or two before you fish for him, you shall baitthe places where you intend to fish for him, with big worms cut intopieces. And note, that none did ever over-bait the place, nor fish tooearly or too late for a Barbel. And the Barbel will bite also atgenerals, which, not being too much scoured, but green, are a choicebait for him: and so is cheese, which is not to be too hard, but kept aday or two in a wet linen cloth, to make it tough; with this you mayalso bait the water a day or two before you fish for the Barbel, and bemuch the likelier to catch store; and if the cheese were laid inclarified honey a short time before, as namely, an hour or two, you werestill the likelier to catch fish. Some have directed to cut the cheeseinto thin pieces, and toast it; and then tie it on the hook with finesilk. And some advise to fish for the Barbel with sheep's tallow andsoft cheese, beaten or worked into a paste; and that it is choicely goodin August: and I believe it. Rut, doubtless, the lob-worm well scoured,and the gentle not too much scoured, and cheese ordered as I havedirected, are baits enough, and I think will serve in any month: thoughI shall commend any angler that tries conclusions, and is industrious toimprove the art. And now my honest scholar, the long shower and mytedious discourse are both ended together: and I shall give you but thisobservation, that when you fish for a Barbel, your rod and line be bothlong and of good strength; for, as I told you, you will find him a heavyand a dogged fish to be dealt withal; yet he seldom or never breaks hishold, if he be once strucken. And if you would know more of fishing forthe Umber or Barbel, get into favour with Dr. Sheldon, whose skill isabove others; and of that, the poor that dwell about him have acomfortable experience.
And now let's go and see what interest the Trouts will pay us, forletting our angle-rods lie so long and so quietly in the water for theiruse. Come, scholar, which will you take up?
Venator. Which you think fit, master.
Piscator. Why, you shall take up that; for I am certain, by viewing theline, it has a fish at it. Look you, scholar! well done! Come, now takeup the other too: well! now you may tell my brother Peter, at night,that you have caught a leash of Trouts this day. And now let's movetowards our lodging, and drink a draught of red-cow's milk as we go; andgive pretty Maudlin and her honest mother a brace of Trouts for theirsupper.
Venator. Master, I like your motion very well: and I think it is nowabout milking-time; and yonder they be at it.
Piscator. God speed you, good woman! I thank you both for our songs lastnight: I and my companion have had such fortune a-fishing this day, thatwe resolve to give you and Maudlin a brace of Trouts for supper; and wewill now taste a draught of your red-cow's milk.
Milk-woman. Marry, and that you shall with all my heart; and I will bestill your debtor when you come this way. If you will but speak theword, I will make you a good syllabub of new verjuice; and then you maysit down in a haycock, and eat it; and Maudlin shall sit by and sing youthe good old song of the "Hunting in Chevy Chace," or some other goodballad, for she hath store of them: Maudlin, my honest Maudlin, hath anotable memory, and she thinks nothing too good for you, because you besuch honest men.
Venator. We thank you; and intend, once in a month to call upon youagain, and give you a little warning; and so, good-night Good-night,Maudlin. And now, good master, let's lose no time: but tell me somewhatmore of fishing; and if you please, first, something of fishing for aGudgeon.
Piscator. I will, honest scholar.
The fourth day-continued
Of the Gudgeon, the Ruffe, and the Bleak
Chapter XV
Piscator
The GUDGEON is reputed a fish of excellent taste, and to be verywholesome. He is of a fine shape, of a silver colour, and beautifiedwith black spots both on his body and tail. He breeds two or three timesin the year; and always in summer. He is commended for a fish ofexcellent nourishment. The Germans call him Groundling, by reason of hisfeeding on the ground; and he there feasts himself, in sharp streams andon the gravel. He and the Barbel both feed so: and do not hunt for fliesat any time, as most other fishes do. He is an excellent fish to enter ayoung angler, being easy to be taken with a small red worm, on or verynear to the ground. He is one of those leather-mouthed fish that has histeeth in his throat, and will hardly be lost off from the hook if he beonce strucken.
They be usually scattered up and down every river in the shallows, inthe heat of summer: but in autumn, when the weeds begin to grow sour androt, and the weather colder, then they gather together, and get into thedeeper parts of the water; and are to be fished for there, with yourhook always touching the ground, if you fish for him with a float orwith a cork. But many will fish for the Gudgeon by hand, with a runningline upon the ground, without a cork, as a Trout is fished for: and itis an excellent way, if you have a gentle rod, and as gentle a hand.
There is also another fish called a POPE, and by some a RUFFE; a fishthat is not known to be in some rivers: he is much like the Perch forhis shape, and taken to be better than the Perch, but will not grow tobe bigger than a Gudgeon. He is an excellent fish; no fish that swims isof a pleasanter taste. And he is also excellent to enter a young angler,for he is a greedy biter: and they will usually lie, abundance of themtogether, in one reserved place, where the water is deep and runsquietly; and an easy angler, if he has found where they lie, may catchforty or fifty, or sometimes twice so many, at a standing.
You must fish for him with a small red worm; and if you bait the groundwith earth, it is excellent.
There is also a BLEAK or fresh-water Sprat; a fish that is ever inmotion, and therefore called by some the river-swallow; for just as youshall observe the swallow to be, most evenings in summer, ever inmotion, making short and quick turns when he flies to catch flies, inthe air, by which he lives; so does the Bleak at the top of the water.Ausonius would have called him Bleak from his whitish colour: his backis of a pleasant sad or sea-water-green; his belly, white and shining asthe mountain snow. And doubtless, though we have the fortune, whichvirtue has in poor people, to be neglected, yet the Bleak ought to bemuch valued, though we want Allamot salt, and the skill that theItalians have, to turn them into anchovies. This fish may be caught witha Pater-noster line; that is, six or eight very small hooks tied alongthe line, one half a foot above the other: I have seen five caught thusat one time; and the bait has been gentles, than which none is better.
Or this fish may be caught with a fine small artificial fly, which is tobe of a very sad brown colour, and very small, and the hook answerable.There is no better sport than whipping for Bleaks in a boat, or on abank, in the swift water, in a summer's evening, with a hazel top aboutfive or six foot long, and a line twice the length of the rod. I haveheard Sir Henry Wotton say, that there be many that in Italy will catchswallows so, or especially martins; this bird-angler standing on the topof a steeple to do it, and with the line twice so long as I have spokenof. And let me tell you, scholar, that both Martins and Bleaks be mostexcellent meat.
And let me tell you, that I have known a Heron, that did constantlyfrequent one place, caught with a hook baited with a big minnow or asmall gudgeon. The line and hook must be strong: and tied to some loosestaff, so big as she cannot fly away with it: a line not exceeding twoyards.
The fourth day-continued
Is of nothing, or of nothing worth
Chapter XVI
Piscator, Venator, Peter, Coridon
Piscator. My purpose was to give you some directions concerning ROACHand DACE, and some other inferior fish which make the angler excellentsport; for you know there is more pleasure in hunting the hare than ineating her: but I will forbear, at this time, to say any more, becauseyou see yonder come our brother Peter and honest Coridon. But I willpromise you, that as you and I fish and walk to-morrow towards London,if I have now forgotten anything that I can then remember, I will notkeep it from you.
Well met, gentlemen; this is lucky that we meet so just together at thisvery door, Come, hostess, where are you? is supper ready? Come, firstgive us a drink; and be as quick as you can, for I believe we are allvery hungry. Well, brother Peter and Coridon, to you both! Come, drink:and then tell me what luck of fish: we two have caught but ten bouts, ofwhich my scholar caught three. Look! here's eight; and a brace we gaveaway. We have had a most pleasant day for fishing and talking, and arereturned home both weary and hungry; and now meat and rest will bepleasant.
Peter. And Coridon and I have not had an unpleasant day: and yet I havecaught but five bouts; for, indeed, we went to a good honest ale-house,and there we played at shovel-board half the day; all the time that itrained we were there, and as merry as they that fished. And I am glad weare now with a dry house over our heads; for, hark! how it rains andblows. Come, hostess, give us more ale, and our supper with what hasteyou may: and when we have supped, let us have your song, Piscator; andthe catch that your scholar promised us; or else, Coridon will bedogged.
Piscator. Nay, I will not be worse than my word; you shall not want mysong, and I hope I shall be perfect in it.
Venator. And I hope the like for my catch, which I have ready too: andtherefore let's go merrily to supper, and then have a gentle touch atsinging and drinking; but the last with moderation.
Coridon. Come, now for your song; for we have fed heartily. Come,hostess, lay a few more sticks on the fire. And now, sing when you will.
Piscator. Well then, here s to you, Coridon; and now for my song.
O the gallant Fisher's life,
It is the best of any;
'Tis full of pleasure, void of strife,
And 'tis beloved of many:
Other joys
Are but toys;
Only this
Lawful is;
For our skill
Breeds no ill,
But content and pleasure.
In a morning up we rise
Ere Aurora's peeping,
Drink a cup to wash our eyes.
Leave the sluggard sleeping;
Then we go
To and fro,
With our knacks
At our backs
To such streams
As the Thames
If we have the leisure.
When we please to walk abroad
For our recreation,
In the fields is our abode,
Full of delectation:
Where in a brook
With a hook
Or a lake
Fish we take:
There we sit
For a bit,
Till we fish entangle.
We have gentles in a horn,
We have paste and worms too
We can watch both night and morn,
Suffer rain and storms too;
None do here
Use to swear;
Oaths do fray
Fish away;
We sit still,
And watch our quill
Fishers must not wrangle.
If the sun's excessive heat
Make our bodies swelter,
To an osier hedge we get
For a friendly shelter
Where, in a dike,
Perch or Pike
Roach or Dace
We do chase Bleak or Gudgeon,
Without grudging
We are still contented.
Or we sometimes pass an hour
Under a green willow,
That defends us from a shower,
Making earth our pillow;
Where we may
Think and pray
Before death
Stops our breath.
Other joys
Are but toys,
And to be lamented.
Jo. Chalkhill.
Venator. Well sung, master; this day's fortune and pleasure, and thenight's company and song, do all make me more and more in love withangling. Gentlemen, my master left me alone for an hour this day; and Iverily believe he retired himself from talking with me that he might beso perfect in this song; was it not, master?
Piscator. Yes indeed, for it is many years since I learned it; andhaving forgotten a part of it, I was forced to patch it up with the helpof mine own invention, who am not excellent at poetry, as my part of thesong may testify; but of that I will say no more, lest you should thinkI mean, by discommending it, to beg your commendations of it. Andtherefore, without replications, let's hear your catch, scholar; which Ihope will be a good one, for you are both musical and have a good fancyto boot.
Venator. Marry, and that you shall; and as freely as I would have myhonest master tell me some more secrets of fish and fishing, as we walkand fish towards London to-morrow. But, master, first let me tell you,that very hour which you were absent from me, I sat down under awillow-tree by the water-side, and considered what you had told me ofthe owner of that pleasant meadow in which you then left me; that he hada plentiful estate, and not a heart to think so; that he had at thistime many law-suits depending; and that they both damped his mirth, andtook up so much of his time and thoughts, that he himself had notleisure to take the sweet content that I, who pretended no title tothem, took in his fields: for I could there sit quietly; and looking onthe water, see some fishes sport themselves in the silver streams,others leaping at flies of several shapes and colours; looking on thehills, I could behold them spotted with woods and groves; looking downthe meadows, could see, here a boy gathering lilies and lady-smocks, andthere a girl cropping culverkeys and cowslips, all to make garlandssuitable to this present month of May: these, and many other fieldflowers, so perfumed the air, that I thought that very meadow like thatfield in Sicily of which Diodorus speaks, where the perfumes arisingfrom the place make all dogs that hunt in it to fall off, and to losetheir hottest scent I say, as I thus sat, joying in my own happycondition, and pitying this poor rich man that owned this and many otherpleasant groves and meadows about me, I did thankfully remember what mySaviour said, that the meek possess the earth; or rather, they enjoywhat the others possess, and enjoy not; for anglers and meekquiet-spirited men are free from those high, those restless thoughts,which corrode the sweets of life; and they, and they only, can say, asthe poet has happily express it,
Hail! blest estate of lowliness;
Happy enjoyments of such minds
As, rich in self-contentedness,
Can, like the reeds, in roughest winds,
By yielding make that blow but small
At which proud oaks and cedars fall.
There came also into my mind at that time certain verses in praise of amean estate and humble mind: they were written by Phineas Fletcher, anexcellent divine, and an excellent angler; and the author of excellentPiscatory Eclogues, in which you shall see the picture of this goodman's mind: and I wish mine to be like it.
No empty hopes, no courtly fears him fright;
No begging wants his middle fortune bite:
But sweet content exiles both misery and spite.
His certain life, that never can deceive him,
Is full of thousand sweets and rich content
The smooth-leav'd beeches in the field receive him,
With coolest shade, till noon-tide's heat be spent.
His life is neither tost in boisterous, seas,
Or the vexatious world, or lost in slothful ease;
Please and full blest he lives when he his God can please.
His bed, more safe than soft, yields quiet sleeps,
While by his side his faithful spouse teas place
His little son into his bosom creeps,
The lively picture of his father's face.
His humble house or poor state ne'er torment him
Less he could like, if less his God had lent him;
And when he dies, green turfs do for a tomb content him,
Gentlemen, these were a part of the thoughts that then possessed me. AndI there made a conversion of a piece of an old catch, and added more toit, fitting them to be sung by us anglers. Come, Master, you can singwell: you must sing a part of it, as it is in this paper.
Man's life is but vain, for 'tis subject to pain,
And sorrow, and short as a bubble;
'Tis a hodge-podge of business, and money, and care,
And care, and money, and trouble.
But we'll take no care when the weather proves fair;
Nor will we vex now though it rain;
We'll banish all sorrow, and sing till to-morrow,
And angle, and angle again.
Peter. I marry, Sir, this is musick indeed; this has cheer'd my heart,and made me remember six verses in praise of musick, which I will speakto you instantly.
Musick! miraculous rhetorick, thou speak'st sense
Without a tongue, excelling eloquence;
With what ease might thy errors be excus'd,
Wert thou as truly lov'd as th' art abus'd!
But though dull souls neglect, and some reprove thee,
I cannot hate thee, 'cause the Angels love thee.
Venator. And the repetition of these last verses of musick has called tomy memory what Mr. Edmund Waller, a lover of the angle, says of love andmusick.
Whilst I listen to thy voice,
Chloris! I feel my heart decay
That powerful voice
Calls my fleeting soul away:
Oh! suppress that magic sound,
Which destroys without a wound.
Peace, Chloris! peace, or singing die,
That together you and I
To heaven may go;
For all we know
Of what the blessed do above
Is, that they sing, and that they love.
Piscator. Well remembered, brother Peter; these verses came seasonably,and we thank you heartily. Come, we will all join together, my host andall, and sing my scholar's catch over again; and then each man drink thetother cup, and to bed; and thank God we have a dry house over ourheads.
Piscator. Well, now, good-night to everybody. Peter. And so say I.
Venator. And so say I.
Coridon. Good-night to you all; and I thank you.
The FIFTH day.
Piscator. Good-morrow, brother Peter, and the like to you, honest
Coridon.
Come, my hostess says there is seven shillings to pay: let's each mandrink a pot for his morning's draught, and lay down his two shillings,so that my hostess may not have occasion to repent herself of being sodiligent, and using us so kindly.
Peter. The motion is liked by everybody, and so, hostess, here's yourmoney: we anglers are all beholden to you; it will not be long ere I'llsee you again; and now, brother Piscator, I wish you, and my brotheryour scholar, a fair day and good fortune. Come, Coridon, this is ourway.
The FIFTH day-continued
Of Roack and Dace
Chapter XVII
Venator and Piscator
Venator. Good master, as we go now towards London, be still so courteousas to give me more instructions; for I have several boxes in my memory,in which I will keep them all very safe, there shall not one of them belost.
Piscator. Well, scholar, that I will: and I will hide nothing from youthat I can remember, and can think may help you forward towards aperfection in this art. And because we have so much time, and I havesaid so little of Roach and Dace, I will give you some directionsconcerning them.
Some say the Roach is so called from rutilus, which they say signifiesred fins. He is a fish of no great reputation for his dainty taste; andhis spawn is accounted much better than any other part of him. And youmay take notice, that as the Carp is accounted the water-fox, for hiscunning; so the Roach is accounted the water-sheep, for his simplicityor foolishness. It is noted, that the Roach and Dace recover strength,and grow in season in a fortnight after spawning; the Barbel and Chub ina month; the Trout in four months; and the Salmon in the like time, ifhe gets into the sea, and after into fresh water.
Roaches be accounted much better in the river than in a pond, thoughponds usually breed the biggest. But there is a kind of bastard smallRoach, that breeds in ponds, with a very forked tail, and of a verysmall size; which some say is bred by the Bream and right Roach; andsome ponds are stored with these beyond belief; and knowing-men, thatknow their difference, call them Ruds: they differ from the true Roach,as much as a Herring from a Pilchard. And these bastard breed of Roachare now scattered in many rivers: but I think not in the Thames, which Ibelieve affords the largest and fattest in this nation, especially belowLondon Bridge. The Roach is a leather-mouthed fish, and has a kind ofsaw-like teeth in his throat. And lastly, let me tell you, the Roachmakes an angler excellent sport, especially the great Roaches aboutLondon, where I think there be the best Roach-anglers. And I think thebest Trout-anglers be in Derbyshire; for the waters there are clear toan extremity.
Next, let me tell you, you shall fish for this Roach in Winter, withpaste or gentles; in April, with worms or cadis; in the very hot months,with little white snails; or with flies under water, for he seldom takesthem at the top, though the Dace will. In many of the hot months,Roaches may also be caught thus: take a May-fly, or ant-fly, sink himwith a little lead to the bottom, near to the piles or posts of abridge, or near to any posts of a weir, I mean any deep place whereRoaches lie quietly, and then pull your fly up very leisurely, andusually a Roach will follow your bait up to the very top of the water,and gaze on it there, and run at it, and take it, lest the fly shouldfly away from him.
I have seen this done at Windsor and Henley Bridge, and great store ofRoach taken; and sometimes, a Dace or Chub. And in August you may fishfor them with a paste made only of the crumbs of bread, which should beof pure fine manchet; and that paste must be so tempered betwixt yourhands till it be both soft and tough too: a very little water, and time,and labour, and clean hands, will make it a most excellent paste. Butwhen you fish with it, you must have a small hook, a quick eye, and animble hand, or the bait is lost, and the fish too; if one may lose thatwhich he never had. With this paste you may, as I said, take both theRoach and the Dace or Dare; for they be much of a kind, in manner offeeding, cunning, goodness, and usually in size. And therefore take thisgeneral direction, for some other baits which may concern you to takenotice of: they will bite almost at any fly, but especially atant-flies; concerning which take this direction, for it is very good.
Take the blackish ant-fly out of the mole-hill or ant-hill, in whichplace you shall find them in the month of June; or if that be too earlyin the year, then, doubtless, you may find them in July, August, andmost of September. Gather them alive, with both their wings: and thenput them into a glass that will hold a quart or a pottle; but first putinto the glass a handful, or more, of the moist earth out of which yougather them, and as much of the roots of the grass of the said hillock;and then put in the flies gently, that they lose not their wings: lay aclod of earth over it; and then so many as are put into the glass,without bruising, will live there a month or more, and be always inreadiness for you to fish with: but if you would have them keep longer,then get any great earthen pot, or barrel of three or four gallons,which is better, then wash your barrel with water and honey; and havingput into it a quantity of earth and grass roots, then put in your flies,and cover it, and they will live a quarter of a year. These, in anystream and clear water, are a deadly bait for Roach or Dace, or for aChub: and your rule is to fish not less than a handful from the bottom.
I shall next tell you a winter-bait for a Roach, a Dace, or Chub; and itis choicely good. About All-hallantide, and so till frost comes, whenyou see men ploughing up heath ground, or sandy ground, or greenswards,then follow the plough, and you shall find a white worm, as big as twomaggots, and it hath a red head: you may observe in what ground mostare, for there the crows will be very watchful and follow the ploughvery close: it is all soft, and full of whitish guts; a worm that is, inNorfolk and some other counties, called a grub; and is bred of the spawnor eggs of a beetle, which she leaves in holes that she digs in theground under cow or horse dung, and there rests all winter, and in Marchor April comes to be first a red and then a black beetle. Gather athousand or two of these, and put them, with a peck or two of their ownearth, into some tub or firkin, and cover and keep them so warm that thefrost or cold air, or winds, kill them not: these you may keep allwinter, and kill fish with them at any time; and if you put some of theminto a little earth and honey, a day before you use them, you will findthem an excellent bait for Bream, Carp, or indeed for almost any fish.
And after this manner you may also keep gentles all winter; which are agood bait then, and much the better for being lively and tough. Or youmay breed and keep gentles thus: take a piece of beast's liver, and,with a cross stick, hang it in some corner, over a pot or barrel halffull of dry clay; and as the gentles grow big, they will fall into thebarrel and scour themselves, and be always ready for use whensoever youincline to fish; and these gentles may be thus created till afterMichaelmas. But if you desire to keep gentles to fish with all the year,then get a dead cat, or a kite, and let it be flyblown; and when thegentles begin to be alive and to stir, then bury it and them in softmoist earth, but as free from frost as you can; and these you may dig upat any time when you intend to use them: these will last till March, andabout that time turn to be flies.
But if you be nice to foul your fingers, which good anglers seldom are,then take this bait: get a handful of well-made malt, and put it into adish of water; and then wash and rub it betwixt your hands till youmake it clean, and as free from husks as you can; then put that waterfrom it, and put a small quantity of fresh water to it, and set it insomething that is fit for that purpose, over the fire, where it is notto boil apace, but leisurely and very softly, until it become somewhatsoft, which you may try by feeling it betwixt your finger and thumb; andwhen it is soft, then put your water from it: and then take a sharpknife, and turning the sprout end of the corn upward with the point ofyour knife, take the back part of the husk off from it, and yet leavinga kind of inward husk on the corn, or else it is marr'd and then cut offthat sprouted end, I mean a little of it, that the white may appear; andso pull off the husk on the cloven side, as I directed you; and thencutting off a very little of the other end, that so your hook may enter;and if your hook be small and good, you will find this to be a verychoice bait, either for winter or summer, you sometimes casting a littleof it into the place where your float swims.
And to take the Roach and Dace, a good bait is the young brood of waspsor bees, if you dip their heads in blood; especially good for Bream, ifthey be baked, or hardened in their husks in an oven, after the bread istaken out of it; or hardened on a fire-shovel: and so also is the thickblood of sheep, being half dried on a trencher, that so you may cut intosuch pieces as may best fit the size of your hook; and a little saltkeeps it from growing black, and makes it not the worse, but better:this is taken to be a choice bait, if rightly ordered.
There be several oils of a strong smell that I have been told of, and tobe excellent to tempt fish to bite, of which I could say much. But Iremember I once carried a small bottle from Sir George Hastings to SirHenry Wotton, they were both chemical men, as a great present: it wassent, and receiv'd, and us'd, with great confidence; and yet, uponinquiry, I found it did not answer the expectation of Sir Henry; which,with the help of this and other circumstances, makes me have littlebelief in such things as many men talk of. Not but that I think thatfishes both smell and hear, as I have express in my former discourse:but there is a mysterious knack, which though it be much easier than thephilosopher's stone, yet is not attainable by common capacities, or elselies locked up in the brain or breast of some chemical man, that, likethe Rosicrucians, will not yet reveal it. But let me nevertheless tellyou, that camphire, put with moss into your worm-bag with your worms,makes them, if many anglers be not very much mistaken, a tempting bait,and the angler more fortunate. But I stepped by chance into thisdiscourse of oils, and fishes smelling; and though there might be moresaid, both of it and of baits for Roach and Dace and other float-fish,yet I will forbear it at this time, and tell you, in the next place,how you are to prepare your tackling: concerning which, I will, forsport sake, give you an old rhyme out of an old fish book; which willprove a part, and but a part, of what you are to provide.
My rod and my line, my float and my lead,
My hook and my plummet, my whetstone and knife,
My basket, my baits, both living and dead,
My net, and my meat, for that is the chief:
Then I must have thread, and hairs green and small,
With mine angling purse: and so you have all.
But you must have all these tackling, and twice so many more, withwhich, if you mean to be a fisher, you must store yourself; and to thatpurpose I will go with you, either to Mr. Margrave, who dwells amongstthe book-sellers in St. Paul's Church-yard, or to Mr. John Stubs, nearto the Swan in Goldinglane: they be both honest men, and will fit anangler with what tackling he lacks.
Venator. Then, good master, let it be at—for he is nearest to mydwelling. And I pray let's meet there the ninth of May next, about twoof the clock; and I'll want nothing that a fisher should be furnishedwith.
Piscator. Well, and I'll not fail you, God willing, at the time andplace appointed.
Venator. I thank you, good master, and I will not fail you. And, goodmaster, tell me what BAITS more you remember; for it will not now belong ere we shall be at Tottenham-High-Cross; and when we come thither Iwill make you some requital of your pains, by repeating as choice a copyof Verses as any we have heard since we met together; and that is aproud word, for we have heard very good ones.
Piscator Well, scholar, and I shall be then right glad to hear them. AndI will, as we walk, tell you whatsoever comes in my mind, that I thinkmay be worth your hearing. You may make another choice bait thus: take ahandful or two of the best and biggest wheat you can get; boil it in alittle milk, like as frumity is boiled; boil it so till it be soft; andthen fry it, very leisurely, with honey, and a little beaten saffrondissolved in milk; and you will find this a choice bait, and good, Ithink, for any fish, especially for Roach, Dace, Chub, or Grayling: Iknow not but that it may be as good for a river Carp, and especially ifthe ground be a little baited with it.
And you may also note, that the SPAWN of most fish is a very temptingbait, being a little hardened on a warm tile and cut into fit pieces.Nay, mulberries, and those black-berries which grow upon briars, be goodbaits for Chubs or Carps: with these many have been taken in ponds, andin some rivers where such trees have grown near the water, and the fruitcustomarily drops into it. And there be a hundred other baits, more thancan be well named, which, by constant baiting the water, will become atempting bait for any fish in it.
You are also to know, that there be divers kinds of CADIS, orCase-worms, that are to be found in this nation, in several distinctcounties, in several little brooks that relate to bigger rivers; asnamely, one cadis called a piper, whose husk, or case, is a piece ofreed about an inch long, or longer, and as big about as the compass of atwo-pence. These worms being kept three or four days in a woollen bag,with sand at the bottom of it, and the bag wet once a day, will in threeor four days turn to be yellow; and these be a choice bait for the Chubor Chavender, or indeed for any great fish, for it is a large bait.
There is also a lesser cadis-worm, called a Cockspur, being in fashionlike the spur of a cock, sharp at one end: and the case, or house, inwhich this dwells, is made of small husks, and gravel, and slime, mostcuriously made of these, even so as to be wondered at, but not to bemade by man, no more than a king-fisher's nest can, which is made oflittle fishes' bones, and have such a geometrical interweaving andconnection as the like is not to be done by the art of man. This kind ofcadis is a choice bait for any float-fish; it is much less than thepiper-cadis, and to be so ordered: and these may be so preserved, ten,fifteen, or twenty days, or it may be longer.
There is also another cadis, called by some a Straw-worm, and by some aRuff-coat, whose house, or case, is made of little pieces of bents, andrushes, and straws, and water-weeds, and I know not what; which are soknit together with condensed slime, that they stick about her husk orcase, not unlike the bristles of a hedge-hog. These three cadises arecommonly taken in the beginning of summer; and are good, indeed, to takeany kind of fish, with float or otherwise. I might tell you of manymore, which as they do early, so those have their time also of turningto be flies in later summer; but I might lose myself, and tire you, bysuch a discourse: I shall therefore but remember you, that to knowthese, and their several kinds, and to what flies every particular cadisturns, and then how to use them, first as they be cadis, and after asthey be flies, is an art, and an art that every one that professes to bean angler has not leisure to search after, and, if he had, is notcapable of learning.
I'll tell you, scholar; several countries have several kinds of cadises,that indeed differ as much as dogs do; that is to say, as much as a verycur and a greyhound do. These be usually bred in the very little rills,or ditches, that run into bigger rivers; and I think a more proper baitfor those very rivers than any other. I know not how, or of what, thiscadis receives life, or what coloured fly it turns to; but doubtlessthey are the death of many Trouts: and this is one killing way:
Take one, or more if need be, of these large yellow cadis: pull off hishead, and with it pull out his black gut; put the body, as littlebruised as is possible, on a very little hook, armed on with a red hair,which will shew like the cadis-head; and a very little thin lead, so putupon the shank of the hook that it may sink presently. Throw this bait,thus ordered, which will look very yellow, into any great still holewhere a Trout is, and he will presently venture his life for it, it isnot to be doubted, if you be not espied; and that the bait first touchthe water before the line. And this will do best in the deepest stillestwater.
Next, let me tell you, I have been much pleased to walk quietly by abrook, with a little stick in my hand, with which I might easily takethese, and consider the curiosity of their composure: and if you shouldever like to do so, then note, that your stick must be a little hazel,or willow, cleft, or have a nick at one end of it, by which means youmay, with ease, take many of them in that nick out of the water, beforeyou have any occasion to use them. These, my honest scholar, are someobservations, told to you as they now come suddenly into my memory, ofwhich you may make some use: but for the practical part, it is that thatmakes an angler: it is diligence, and observation, and practice, and anambition to be the best in the art, that must do it. I will tell you,scholar, I once heard one say, "I envy not him that eats better meatthan I do; nor him that is richer, or that wears better clothes than Ido: I envy nobody but him, and him only, that catches more fish than Ido". And such a man is like to prove an angler; and this nobleemulation I wish to you, and all young anglers.
The FIFTH day-continued
Of the Minnow, or Penk; Loach, Bull-Head, or Miller's-Thumb: and the
Stickle-bag
Chapter XVIII
Piscator and Venator
Piscator. There be also three or four other little fish that I hadalmost forgot; that are all without scales; and may for excellency ofmeat, be compared to any fish of greatest value and largest size. Theybe usually full of eggs or spawn, all the months of summer; for theybreed often, as 'tis observed mice and many of the smaller four-footedcreatures of the earth do and as those, so these come quickly to theirfull growth and perfection. And it is needful that they breed both oftenand numerously; for they be, besides other accidents of ruin, both aprey and baits for other fish. And first I shall tell you of the Minnowor Penk.
The MINNOW hath, when he is in perfect season, and not sick, which isonly presently after spawning, a kind of dappled or waved colour, liketo a panther, on its sides, inclining to a greenish or sky-colour; hisbelly being milk white; and his back almost black or blackish. He is asharp biter at a small worm, and in hot weather makes excellent sportfor young anglers, or boys, or women that love that recreation. And inthe spring they make of them excellent Minnow-tansies; for being washedwell in salt, and their heads and tails cut off, and their guts takenout, and not washed after, they prove excellent for that use; that is,being fried with yolk of eggs, the flowers of cowslips and of primroses,and a little tansy; thus used they make a dainty dish of meat.
The LOACH is, as I told you, a most dainty fish: he breeds and feeds inlittle and clear swift brooks or rills, and lives there upon the gravel,and in the sharpest streams: he grows not to be above a finger long, andno thicker than is suitable to that length. The Loach is not unlike theshape of the Eel: he has a beard or wattles like a barbel. He has twofins at his sides, four at his belly, and one at his tail; he is dappledwith many black or brown spots; his mouth is barbel-like under his nose.This fish is usually full of eggs or spawn; and is by Gesner, and otherlearned physicians, commended for great nourishment, and to be verygrateful both to the palate and stomach of sick persons. He is to befished for with a very small worm, at the bottom; for he very seldom, ornever, rises above the gravel, on which I told you he usually gets hisliving.
The MILLER'S-THUMB, or BULL-HEAD, is a fish of no pleasing shape. He isby Gesner compared to the Sea-toad-fish, for his similitude and shape.It has a head big and flat, much greater than suitable to his body; amouth very wide, and usually gaping; he is without teeth, but his lipsare very rough, much like to a file. He hath two fins near to his gills,which be roundish or crested; two fins also under the belly; two on theback; one below the vent; and the fin of his tail is round. Nature hathpainted the body of this fish with whitish, blackish, brownish spots.They be usually full of eggs or spawn all the summer, I mean thefemales; and those eggs swell their vents almost into the form of a dug.They begin to spawn about April, and, as I told you, spawn severalmonths in the summer. And in the winter, the Minnow, and Loach, andBull-head dwell in the mud, as the Eel doth; or we know not where, nomore than we know where the cuckoo and swallow, and other half-yearbirds, which first appear to us in April, spend their six cold, winter,melancholy months. This BULL-HEAD does usually dwell, and hide himself,in holes, or amongst stones in clear water; and in very hot days willlie a long time very still, and sun himself, and will be easy to be seenupon any flat stone, or any gravel; at which time he will suffer anangler to put a hook, baited with a small worm, very near unto his verymouth: and he never refuses to bite, nor indeed to be caught with theworst of anglers. Matthiolus commends him much more for his taste andnourishment, than for his shape or beauty.
There is also a little fish called a STICKLEBAG, a fish without scales,but hath his body fenced with several prickles. I know not where hedwells in winter; nor what he is good for in summer, but only to makesport for boys and women-anglers, and to feed other fish that be fish ofprey, as Trouts in particular, who will bite at him as at a Penk; andbetter, if your hook be rightly baited with him, for he may be so baitedas, his tail turning like the sail of a wind-mill, will make him turnmore quick than any Penk or Minnow can. For note, that the nimbleturning of that, or the Minnow is the perfection of Minnow-fishing. Towhich end, if you put your hook into his mouth, and out at his tail; andthen, having first tied him with white thread a little above his tail,and placed him after such a manner on your hook as he is like to turnthen sew up his mouth to your line, and he is like to turn quick, andtempt any Trout: but if he does not turn quick, then turn his tail, alittle more or less, towards the inner part, or towards the side of thehook; or put the Minnow or Sticklebag a little more crooked or morestraight on your hook, until it will turn both true and fast; and thendoubt not but to tempt any great Trout that lies in a swift stream. Andthe Loach that I told you of will do the like: no bait is more tempting,provided the Loach be not too big.
And now, scholar, with the help of this fine morning, and your patientattention, I have said all that my present memory will afford me,concerning most of the several fish that are usually fished for in freshwaters.
Venator. But, master, you have by your former civility made me hope thatyou will make good your promise, and say something of the several riversthat be of most note in this nation; and also of fish-ponds, and theordering of them: and do it I pray, good master; for I love anydiscourse of rivers, and fish and fishing; the time spent in suchdiscourse passes away very pleasantly.
The FIFTH day-continued
Of Rivers, and some Observations of Fish
Chapter XIX
Piscator
WELL, scholar, since the ways and weather do both favour us, and that weyet see not Tottenham-Cross, you shall see my willingness to satisfyyour desire. And, first, for the rivers of this nation: there be, as youmay note out of Dr. Heylin's Geography and others, in number threehundred and twenty-five; but those of chiefest note he reckons anddescribes as followeth.
The chief is THAMISIS, compounded of two rivers, Thame and Isis; whereofthe former, rising somewhat beyond Thame in Buckinghamshire, and thelatter near Cirencester in Gloucestershire, meet together aboutDorchester in Oxfordshire; the issue of which happy conjunction isThamisis, or Thames; hence it flieth betwixt Berks, Buckinghamshire,Middlesex, Surrey, Kent and Essex: and so weddeth itself to the KentishMedway, in the very jaws of the ocean. This glorious river feeleth theviolence and benefit of the sea more than any river in Europe; ebbingand flowing, twice a day, more than sixty miles; about whose banks areso many fair towns and princely palaces, that a German poet thus trulyspake:
Tot campos, &c.
We saw so many woods and princely bowers,
Sweet fields, brave palaces, and stately towers;
So many gardens drest with curious care,
That Thames with royal Tiber may compare.
2. The second river of note is SABRINA or SEVERN: it hath its beginningin Plinilimmon-hill, in Montgomeryshire; and his end seven miles fromBristol; washing, in the mean space, the walls of Shrewsbury, Worcester,and Gloucester, and divers other places and palaces of note.
3. TRENT, so called from thirty kind of fishes that are found in it, orfor that it receiveth thirty lesser rivers; who having his fountain inStaffordshire, and gliding through the counties of Nottingham, Lincoln,Leicester, and York, augmenteth the turbulent current of Humber, themost violent stream of all the isle. This Humber is not, to say truth, adistinct river having a spring-head of his own, but it is rather themouth or aestuarium of divers rivers here confluent and meetingtogether, namely, your Derwent, and especially of Ouse and Trent; and,as the Danow, having received into its channel the river Dravus, Savus,Tibiscus, and divers others, changeth his name into this of Humberabus,as the old geographers call it.
4. MEDWAY, a Kentish river, famous for harbouring the royal navy.
5. TWEED, the north-east bound of England; on whose northern banks isseated the strong and impregnable town of Berwick.
6. TYNE, famous for Newcastle, and her inexhaustible coal-pits. These,and the rest of principal note, are thus comprehended in one of Mr.Drayton's Sonnets:
Our floods' queen, Thames, for ships and swans is crown'd
And stately Severn for her shore is prais'd;
The crystal Trent, for fords and fish renown'd;
And Avon's fame to Albion's cliffs is rais'd.
Carlegion Chester vaunts her holy Dee;
York many wonders of her Ouse can tell;
The Peak, her Dove, whose banks so fertile be,
And Kent will say her Medway doth excel:
Cotswold commends her Isis to the Tame:
Our northern borders boast of Tweed's fair flood;
Our Western parts extol their Willy's fame,
And the old Lea brags of the Danish blood.
These observations are out of learned Dr. Heylin, and my old deceasedfriend, Michael Drayton; and because you say you love such discourses asthese, of rivers, and fish, and fishing, I love you the better, and lovethe more to impart them to you. Nevertheless, scholar, if I should beginbut to name the several sorts of strange fish that are usually taken inmany of those rivers that run into the sea, I might beget wonder in you,or unbelief, or both: and yet I will venture to tell you a real truthconcerning one lately dissected by Dr. Wharton, a man of great learningand experience, and of equal freedom to communicate it; one that lovesme and my art; one to whom I have been beholden for many of the choicestobservations that I have imparted to you. This good man, that dares doanything rather than tell an untruth, did, I say, tell me he had latelydissected one strange fish, and he thus described it to me:
"This fish was almost a yard broad, and twice that length; his mouthwide enough to receive, or take into it, the head of a man; his stomach,seven or eight inches broad. He is of a slow motion; and usually lies orlurks close in the mud; and has a moveable string on his head, about aspan or near unto a quarter of a yard long; by the moving of which,which is his natural bait, when he lies close and unseen in the mud, hedraws other smaller fish so close to him, that he can suck them into hismouth, and so devours and digests them."
And, scholar, do not wonder at this; for besides the credit of therelator, you are to note, many of these, and fishes which are of thelike and more unusual shapes, are very often taken on the mouths of oursea rivers, and on the sea shore. And this will be no wonder to any thathave travelled Egypt; where, 'tis known, the famous river Nilus does notonly breed fishes that yet want names, but, by the overflowing of thatriver, and the help of the sun's heat on the fat slime which the riverleaves on the banks when it falls back into its natural channel, suchstrange fish and beasts are also bred, that no man can give a name to;as Grotius in his Sopham, and others, have observed.
But whither am I strayed in this discourse. I will end it by tellingyou, that at the mouth of some of these rivers of ours, Herrings are soplentiful, as namely, near to Yarmouth in Norfolk, and in the westcountry Pilchers so very plentiful, as you will wonder to read what ourlearned Camden relates of them in his Britannia.
Well, scholar, I will stop here, and tell you what by reading andconference I have observed concerning fish-ponds.
The FIFTH day-continued
Of Fish-Ponds
Chapter XX
Piscator
DOCTOR LEBAULT, the learned Frenchman, in his large discourse of MaisonRustique, gives this direction for making of fish-ponds. I shall referyou to him, to read it at large: but I think I shall contract it, andyet make it as useful.
He adviseth, that when you have drained the ground, and made the earthfirm where the head of the pond must be, that you must then, in thatplace, drive in two or three rows of oak or elm piles, which should bescorched in the fire, or half-burnt, before they be driven into theearth; for being thus used, it preserves them much longer from rotting.And having done so, lay faggots or bavins of smaller wood betwixt them:and then, earth betwixt and above them: and then, having first very wellrammed them and the earth, use another pile in like manner as the firstwere: and note, that the second pile is to be of or about the heightthat you intend to make your sluice or floodgate, or the vent that youintend shall convey the overflowings of your pond in any flood thatshall endanger the breaking of your pond-dam.
Then he advises, that you plant willows or owlers, about it, or both:and then cast in bavins, in some places not far from the side, and inthe most sandy places, for fish both to spawn upon, and to defend themand the young fry from the many fish, and also from vermin, that lie atwatch to destroy them, especially the spawn of the Carp and Tench, when'tis left to the mercy of ducks or vermin.
He, and Dubravius, and all others advise, that you make choice of such aplace for your pond, that it may be refreshed with a little rill, orwith rain water, running or falling into it; by which fish are moreinclined both to breed, and are also refreshed and fed the better, anddo prove to be of a much sweeter and more pleasant taste.
To which end it is observed, that such pools as be large and have mostgravel, and shallows where fish may sport themselves, do afford fish ofthe purest taste. And note, that in all pools it is best for fish tohave some retiring place; as namely, hollow banks, or shelves, or rootsof trees, to keep them from danger, and, when they think fit, from theextreme heat of summer; as also from the extremity of cold in winter.And note, that if many trees be growing about your pond, the leavesthereof falling into the water, make it nauseous to the fish, and thefish to be so to the eater of it.
'Tis noted, that the Tench and Eel love mud; and the Carp loves gravellyground, and in the hot months to feed on grass. You are to cleanse yourpond, if you intend either profit or pleasure, once every three or fouryears, especially some ponds, and then let it dry six or twelve months,both to kill the water-weeds, as water-lilies, candocks, reate, andbulrushes, that breed there; and also that as these die for want ofwater, so grass may grow in the pond's bottom, which Carps will eatgreedily in all the hot months, if the pond be clean. The letting yourpond dry and sowing oats in the bottom is also good, for the fish feedthe faster; and being sometimes let dry, you may observe what kind offish either increases or thrives best in that water; for they differmuch, both in their breeding and feeding.
Lebault also advises, that if your ponds be not very large and roomy,that you often feed your fish, by throwing into them chippings of bread,curds, grains, or the entrails of chickens or of any fowl or beast thatyou kill to feed yourselves; for these afford fish a great relief. Hesays, that frogs and ducks do much harm, and devour both the spawn andthe young fry of all fish, especially of the Carp; and I have, besidesexperience, many testimonies of it. But Lebault allows water-frogs to begood meat, especially in some months, if they be fat: but you are tonote, that he is a Frenchman; and we English will hardly believe him,though we know frogs are usually eaten in his country: however headvises to destroy them and king-fishers out of your ponds. And headvises not to suffer much shooting at wild fowl; for that, he says,affrightens, and harms, and destroys the fish.
Note, that Carps and Tench thrive and breed best when no other fish isput with them into the same pond; for all other fish devour their spawn,or at least the greatest part of it. And note, that clods of grassthrown into any pond feed any Carps in summer; and that garden-earth andparsley thrown into a pond recovers and refreshes the sick fish. Andnote, that when you store your pond, you are to put into it two or threemelters for one spawner, if you put them into a breeding-pond; but ifinto a nurse-pond, or feeding-pond, in which they will not breed, thenno care is to be taken whether there be most male or female Carps.
It is observed that the best ponds to breed Carps are those that bestony or sandy, and are warm, and free from wind; and that are not deep,but have willow-trees and grass on their sides, over which the waterdoes sometimes flow: and note, that Carps do more usually breed inmarle-pits, or pits that have clean clay bottoms; or in new ponds, orponds that lie dry a winter season, than in old ponds that be full ofmud and weeds.
Well, Scholar, I have told you the substance of all that eitherobservation or discourse, or a diligent survey of Dubravius and Lebaulthath told me: not that they, in their long discourses, have not saidmore; but the most of the rest are so common observations, as if a manshould tell a good arithmetician that twice two is four. I willtherefore put an end to this discourse; and we will here sit down andrest us.
The FIFTH day-continued
Chapter XXI
Piscator and Venator
Piscator. Well, Scholar, I have held you too long about these cadis, andsmaller fish, and rivers, and fish-ponds; and my spirits are almostspent, and so I doubt is your patience; but being we are now almost atTottenham where I first met you, and where we are to part, I will loseno time, but give you a little direction how to make and order yourlines, and to colour the hair of which you make your lines, for that isvery needful to be known of an angler; and also how to paint your rod,especially your top; for a right-grown top is a choice commodity, andshould be preserved from the water soaking into it, which makes it inwet weather to be heavy and fish ill-favouredly, and not true; and alsoit rots quickly for want of painting: and I think a good top is worthpreserving, or I had not taken care to keep a top above twenty years.
But first for your Line. First note, that you are to take care that yourhair be round and clear, and free from galls, or scabs, or frets: for awell-chosen, even, clear, round hair, of a kind of glass-colour, willprove as strong as three uneven scabby hairs that are ill-chosen, andfull of galls or unevenness. You shall seldom find a black hair but itis round, but many white are flat and uneven; therefore, if you get alock of right, round, clear, glass-colour hair, make much of it.
And for making your line, observe this rule: first, let your hair beclean washed ere you go about to twist it; and then choose not only theclearest hair for it, but hairs that be of an equal bigness, for such dousually stretch all together, and break all together, which hairs of anunequal bigness never do, but break singly, and so deceive the anglerthat trusts to them.
When you have twisted your links, lay them in water for a quarter of anhour at least, and then twist them over again before you tie them into aline: for those that do not so shall usually find their line to have ahair or two shrink, and be shorter than the rest, at the first fishingwith it, which is so much of the strength of the line lost for want offirst watering it, and then re-twisting it; and this is most visible ina seven-hair line, one of those which hath always a black hair in themiddle.
And for dyeing of your hairs, do it thus: take a pint of strong ale,half a pound of soot, and a little quantity of the juice of walnut-treeleaves, and an equal quantity of alum: put these together into a pot,pan, or pipkin, and boil them half an hour; and having so done, let itcool; and being cold, put your hair into it, and there let it lie; itwill turn your hair to be a kind of water or glass colour, or greenish;and the longer you let it lie, the deeper coloured it will be. You mightbe taught to make many other colours, but it is to little purpose; fordoubtless the water-colour or glass-coloured hair is the most choice andmost useful for an angler, but let it not be too green.
But if you desire to colour hair greener, then do it thus: take a quartof small ale, half a pound of alum; then put these into a pan or pipkin,and your hair into it with them; then put it upon a fire, and let itboil softly for half an hour; and then take out your hair, and let itdry; and having so done, then take a pottle of water, and put into ittwo handfuls of marigolds, and cover it with a tile or what you thinkfit, and set it again on the fire, where it is to boil again softly forhalf an hour, about which time the scum will turn yellow; then put intoit half a pound of copperas, beaten small, and with it the hair that youintend to colour; then let the hair be boiled softly till half theliquor be wasted, and then let it cool three or four hours, with yourhair in it; and you are to observe that the more copperas you put intoit, the greener it will be; but doubtless the pale green is best. But ifyou desire yellow hair, which is only good when the weeds rot, then putin more marigolds; and abate most of the copperas, or leave it quiteout, and take a little verdigris instead of it.
This for colouring your hair.
And as for painting your Rod, which must be in oil, you must first makea size with glue and water, boiled together until the glue be dissolved,and the size of a lye-colour: then strike your size upon the wood with abristle, or a brush or pencil, whilst it is hot: that being quite dry,take white-lead, and a little red-lead, and a little coal-black, so muchas altogether will make an ash-colour: grind these altogether withlinseed-oil; let it be thick, and lay it thin upon the wood with a brushor pencil: this do for the ground of any colour to lie upon wood.
For a green, take pink and verdigris, and grind them together in linseedoil, as thin as you can well grind it: then lay it smoothly on with yourbrush, and drive it thin; once doing, for the most part, will serve, ifyou lay it well; and if twice, be sure your first colour be thoroughlydry before you lay on a second.
Well, Scholar, having now taught you to paint your rod, and we havingstill a mile to Tottenham High-Cross, I will, as we walk towards it inthe cool shade of this sweet honeysuckle hedge, mention to you some ofthe thoughts and joys that have possessed my soul since we two mettogether. And these thoughts shall be told you, that you also may joinwith me in thankfulness to the Giver of every good and perfect gift, forour happiness. And that our present happiness may appear to be thegreater, and we the more thankful for it, I will beg you to considerwith me how many do, even at this very time, lie under the torment ofthe stone, the gout, and tooth-ache; and this we are free from. Andevery misery that I miss is a new mercy; and therefore let us bethankful. There have been, since we met, others that have met disastersor broken limbs; some have been blasted, others thunder-strucken: and wehave been freed from these, and all those many other miseries thatthreaten human nature; let us therefore rejoice and be thankful. Nay,which is a far greater mercy, we are free from the insupportable burthenof an accusing tormenting conscience; a misery that none can bear: andtherefore let us praise Him for His preventing grace, and say, Everymisery that I miss is a new mercy. Nay, let me tell you, there be manythat have forty times our estates, that would give the greatest part ofit to be healthful and cheerful like us, who, with the expense of alittle money, have eat and drunk, and laughed, and angled, and sung, andslept securely; and rose next day and cast away care, and sung, andlaughed, and angled again; which are blessings rich men cannot purchasewith all their money. Let me tell you, Scholar, I have a rich neighbourthat is always so busy that he has no leisure to laugh; the wholebusiness of his life is to get money, and more money, that he may stillget more and more money; he is still drudging on, and says, that Solomonsays "The diligent hand maketh rich"; and it is true indeed: but heconsiders not that it is not in the power of riches to make a man happy;for it was wisely said, by a man of great observation, "that there be asmany miseries beyond riches as on this side of them ". And yet Goddeliver us from pinching poverty; and grant, that having a competency,we may be content and thankful. Let not us repine, or so much as thinkthe gifts of God unequally dealt, if we see another abound with riches;when, as God knows, the cares that are the keys that keep those richeshang often so heavily at the rich man's girdle, that they clog him withweary days and restless nights, even when others sleep quietly. We seebut the outside of the rich man's happiness: few consider him to be likethe silk-worm, that, when she seems to play, is, at the very same time,spinning her own bowels, and consuming herself; and this many rich mendo, loading themselves with corroding cares, to keep what they have,probably, unconscionably got. Let us, therefore, be thankful for healthand a competence; and above all, for a quiet conscience.
Let me tell you, Scholar, that Diogenes walked on a day, with hisfriend, to see a country fair; where he saw ribbons, andlooking-glasses, and nutcrackers, and fiddles, and hobby-horses, andmany other gimcracks; and, having observed them, and all the otherfinnimbruns that make a complete country-fair, he said to his friend,"Lord, how many things are there in this world of which Diogenes hath noneed!" And truly it is so, or might be so, with very many who vex andtoil themselves to get what they have no need of. Can any man chargeGod, that He hath not given him enough to make his life happy? No,doubtless; for nature is content with a little. And yet you shall hardlymeet with a man that complains not of some want; though he, indeed,wants nothing but his will; it may be, nothing but his will of his poorneighbour, for not worshipping, or not flattering him: and thus, when wemight be happy and quiet, we create trouble to ourselves. I have heardof a man that was angry with himself because he was no taller; and of awoman that broke her looking-glass because it would not shew her face tobe as young and handsome as her next neighbour's was. And I knew anotherto whom God had given health and plenty; but a wife that nature had madepeevish, and her husband's riches had made purse-proud; and must,because she was rich, and for no other virtue, sit in the highest pew inthe church; which being denied her, she engaged her husband into acontention for it, and at last into a law-suit with a dogged neighbourwho was as rich as he, and had a wife as peevish and purse-proud as theother: and this law-suit begot higher oppositions, and actionable words,and more vexations and lawsuits; for you must remember that both wererich, and must therefore have their wills. Well! this wilful,purse-proud law-suit lasted during the life of the first husband; afterwhich his wife vext and chid, and chid and vext, till she also chid andvext herself into her grave: and so the wealth of these poor rich peoplewas curst into a punishment, because they wanted meek and thankfulhearts; for those only can make us happy. I knew a man that had healthand riches; and several houses, all beautiful, and ready furnished; andwould often trouble himself and family to be removing from one house toanother: and being asked by a friend why he removed so often from onehouse to another, replied, "It was to find content in some one of them".But his friend, knowing his temper, told him, "If he would find contentin any of his houses, he must leave himself behind him; for content willnever dwell but in a meek and quiet soul". And this may appear, if weread and consider what our Saviour says in St. Matthew's Gospel; for Hethere says"Blessed be the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.Blessed be the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed be thepoor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. And, "Blessed be themeek, for they shall possess the earth." Not that the meek shall notalso obtain mercy, and see God, and be comforted, and at last come tothe kingdom of heaven: but in the meantime, he, and he only, possessesthe earth, as he goes towards that kingdom of heaven, by being humbleand cheerful, and content with what his good God had allotted him. Hehas no turbulent, repining, vexatious thoughts that he deserves better;nor is vext when he see others possess of more honour or more richesthan his wise God has allotted for his share: but he possesses what hehas with a meek and contented quietness, such a quietness as makes hisvery dreams pleasing, both to God and himself.
My honest Scholar, all this is told to incline you to thankfulness; andto incline you the more, let me tell you, and though the prophet Davidwas guilty of murder and adultery, and many other of the most deadlysins, yet he was said to be a man after God's own heart, because heabounded more with thankfulness that any other that is mentioned in holyscripture, as may appear in his book of Psalms; where there is such acommixture, of his confessing of his sins and unworthiness, and suchthankfulness for God's pardon and mercies, as did make him to beaccounted, even by God himself, to be a man after his own heart: and letus, in that, labour to be as like him as we can; let not the blessingswe receive daily from God make us not to value, or not praise Him,because they be common; let us not forget to praise Him for the innocentmirth and pleasure we have met with since we met together. What would ablind man give to see the pleasant rivers, and meadows, and flowers, andfountains, that we have met with since we met together? I have beentold, that if a man that was born blind could obtain to have his sightfor but only one hour during his whole life, and should, at the firstopening of his eyes, fix his sight upon the sun when it was in its fullglory, either at the rising or setting of it, he would be so transportedand amazed, and so admire the glory of it, that he would not willinglyturn his eyes from that first ravishing object, to behold all the othervarious beauties this world could present to him. And this, and manyother like blessings, we enjoy daily. And for the most of them, becausethey be so common, most men forget to pay their praises: but let not us;because it is a sacrifice so pleasing to Him that made that sun and us,and still protects us, and gives us flowers, and showers, and stomachs,and meat, and content, and leisure to go a-fishing.
Well, Scholar, I have almost tired myself, and, I fear, more than almosttired you. But I now see Tottenham High-Cross; and our short walkthither shall put a period to my too long discourse; in which my meaningwas, and is, to plant that in your mind with which I labour to possessmy own soul; that is, a meek and thankful heart. And to that end I haveshewed you, that riches without them, do not make any man happy. But letme tell you, that riches with them remove many fears and cares. Andtherefore my advice is, that you endeavour to be honestly rich, orcontentedly poor: but be sure that your riches be justly got, or youspoil all. For it is well said by Caussin, "He that loses hisconscience has nothing left that is worth keeping". Therefore be sureyou look to that. And, in the next place, look to your health: and ifyou have it, praise God, and value it next to a good conscience; forhealth is the second blessing that we mortals are capable of; a blessingthat money cannot buy; and therefore value it, and be thankful for it.As for money, which may be said to be the third blessing, neglect itnot: but note, that there is no necessity of being rich; for I told you,there be as many miseries beyond riches as on this side them: and if youhave a competence, enjoy it with a meek, cheerful, thankful heart. Iwill tell you, Scholar, I have heard a grave Divine say, that God hastwo dwellings; one in heaven, and the other in a meek and thankfulheart; which Almighty God grant to me, and to my honest Scholar. And soyou are welcome to Tottenham High-Cross.
Venator. Well, Master, I thank you for all your good directions; but fornone more than this last, of thankfulness, which I hope I shall neverforget. And pray let's now rest ourselves in this sweet shady arbour,which nature herself has woven with her own fine fingers; 'tis such acontexture of woodbines, sweetbriar, jasmine, and myrtle; and sointerwoven, as will secure us both from the sun's violent heat, and fromthe approaching shower. And being set down, I will requite a part ofyour courtesies with a bottle of sack, milk, oranges, and sugar, which,all put together, make a drink like nectar; indeed, too good for any butus Anglers, And so, Master, here is a full glass to you of that liquor:and when you have pledged me, I will repeat the Verses which I promisedyou: it is a Copy printed among some of Sir Henry Wotton's, anddoubtless made either by him, or by a lover of angling. Come, Master,now drink a glass to me, and then I will pledge you, and fall to myrepetition; it is a description of such country recreations as I haveenjoyed since I had the happiness to fall into your company.
Quivering fears, heart-tearing cares,
Anxious sighs, untimely tears,
Fly, fly to courts,
Fly to fond worldlings' sports,
Where strain'd sardonic smiles are glosing still,
And Grief is forc'd to laugh against her will:
Where mirth's but mummery,
And sorrows only real be.
Fly from our country pastimes, fly,
Sad troops of human misery.
Come, serene looks,
Clear as the crystal brooks,
Or the pure azur'd heaven that smiles to see
The rich attendance of our poverty:
Peace and a secure mind,
Which all men seek, we only find.
Abused mortals I did you know
Where joy, heart's-ease, and comforts grow,
You'd scorn proud towers,
And seek them in these bowers;
Where winds, sometimes, our woods perhaps may shake,
But blust'ring care could never tempest make,
Nor murmurs e'er come nigh us,
Saving of fountains that glide by us.
Here's no fantastick mask, nor dance,
But of our kids that frisk and prance;
Nor wars are seen
Unless upon the green
Two harmless lambs are butting one the other,
Which done, both bleating run, each to his mother
And wounds are never found,
Save what the plough-share gives the ground.
Here are no false entrapping baits,
To hasten too, too hasty Fates,
Unless it be
The fond credulity
Of silly fish, which worldling like, still look
Upon the bait, but never on the hook;
Nor envy, unless among
The birds, for prize of their sweet song.
Go, let the diving negro seek
For gems, hid in some forlorn creek:
We all pearls scorn,
Save what the dewy morn
Congeals upon each little spire of grass,
Which careless shepherds beat down as they pass:
And gold ne'er here appears,
Save what the yellow Ceres bears,
Blest silent groves, oh may ye be,
For ever, mirth's best nursery!
May pure contents
For ever pitch their tents
Upon these downs, these meads, these rocks, these mountains.
And peace still slumber by these purling fountains:
Which we may, every year,
Meet when we come a-fishing here.
Piscator. Trust me, Scholar, I thank you heartily for these Verses: theybe choicely good, and doubtless made by a lover of angling. Come, now,drink a glass to me, and I will requite you with another very good copy:it is a farewell to the vanities of the world, and some say written bySir Harry Wotton, who I told you was an excellent angler. But let thembe writ by whom they will, he that writ them had a brave soul, and mustneeds be possess with happy thoughts at the time of their composure.
Farewell, ye gilded follies, pleasing troubles;
Farewell, ye honour'd rags, ye glorious bubbles;
Fame's but a hollow echo, Gold, pure clay;
Honour the darling but of one short day;
Beauty, th' eye's idol, but a damask'd skin;
State, but a golden prison, to live in
And torture free-born minds; embroider'd Trains,
Merely but pageants for proud swelling veins;
And Blood allied to greatness is alone
Inherited, not purchas'd, nor our own.
Fame, Honour, Beauty, State, Train, Blood and Birth,
Are but the fading blossoms of the earth.
I would be great, but that the sun doth still
Level his rays against the rising hill:
I would be high, but see the proudest oak
Most subject to the rending thunder-stroke:
I would be rich, but see men, too unkind
Dig in the bowels of the richest mind:
I would be wise, but that I often see
The fox suspected, whilst the ass goes free:
I would be fair, but see the fair and proud,
Like the bright sun, oft setting in a cloud:
I would be poor, but know the humble grass
Still trampled on by each unworthy ass:
Rich, hated wise, suspected, scorn'd if poor;
Great, fear'd, fair, tempted, high, still envy'd more.
I have wish'd all, but now I wish for neither.
Great, high, rich, wise, nor fair: poor I'll be rather.
Would the World now adopt me for her heir;
Would beauty's Queen entitle me the fair;
Fame speak me fortune's minion, could I "vie
Angels" with India with a speaking eye
Command bare heads, bow'd knees, strike justice dumb,
As well as blind and lame, or give a tongue
To stones by epitaphs, be call'd "great master"
In the loose rhymes of every poetaster?
Could I be more than any man that lives,
Great, fair, rich wise, all in superlatives;
Yet I more freely would these gifts resign
Than ever fortune would have made them mine.
And hold one minute of this holy leisure
Beyond the riches of this empty pleasure.
Welcome, pure thoughts; welcome, ye silent groves;
These guests, these courts, my soul most dearly loves.
Now the wing'd people of the sky shall sing
My cheerful anthems to the gladsome spring:
A pray'r-book, now, shall be my looking-glass,
In which I will adore sweet virtue's face.
Here dwell no hateful looks, no palace cares,
No broken vows dwell here, nor pale-fac'd fears;
Then here I'll sit, and sigh my hot love's folly,
And learn t' affect an holy melancholy:
And if contentment be a stranger then,
I'll ne'er look for it, but in heaven, again.
Venator. Well, Master, these verses be worthy to keep a room in everyman's memory. I thank you for them; and I thank you for your manyinstructions, which, God willing, I will not forget. And as St. Austin,in his Confessions, commemorates the kindness of his friend Verecundus,for lending him and his companion a country house, because there theyrested and enjoyed themselves, free from the troubles of the world, so,having had the like advantage, both by your conversation and the art youhave taught me, I ought ever to do the like; for, indeed, your companyand discourse have been so useful and pleasant, that, I may truly say, Ihave only lived since I enjoyed them and turned angler, and not before.Nevertheless, here I must part with you; here in this now sad place,where I was so happy as first to meet you: but I shall long for theninth of May; for then I hope again to enjoy your beloved company, atthe appointed time and place. And now I wish for some somniferouspotion, that might force me to sleep away the intermitted time, whichwill pass away with me as tediously as it does with men in sorrow;nevertheless I will make it as short as I can, by my hopes and wishes:and, my good Master, I will not forget the doctrine which you told meSocrates taught his scholars, that they should not think to be honouredso much for being philosophers, as to honour philosophy by theirvirtuous lives. You advised me to the like concerning Angling, and Iwill endeavour to do so; and to live like those many worthy men, ofwhich you made mention in the former part of your discourse. This is myfirm resolution. And as a pious man advised his friend, that, to begetmortification, he should frequent churches, and view monuments, andcharnel-houses, and then and there consider how many dead bodies timehad piled up at the gates of death, so when I would beget content, andincrease confidence in the power, and wisdom, and providence of AlmightyGod, I will walk the meadows, by some gliding stream, and therecontemplate the lilies that take no care, and those very many othervarious little living creatures that are not only created, but fed, manknows not how, by the goodness of the God of Nature, and therefore trustin him. This is my purpose; and so, let everything that hath breathpraise the Lord: and let the blessing of St. Peter's Master be withmine.
Piscator. And upon all that are lovers of virtue; and dare trust in hisprovidence; and be quiet; and go a-Angling.
"Study to be quiet."
