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Show "8JMP80N.-Have you ever eeen any American boob on anQlino, Ji'Uherf .. F'lii!IRER.-No. I do rwt think there are any published. B~o.ther Jonathan if not vet au.ffu:iently civilized to produce anythinQ ort(TI.nal on the gentl~ art. There i3 oood trout-fi.ahing in A-merica, and the' etrcams, which are aU free, are much lese (UJhcd ~an in ~u.r 1 8~~'-w::o:e ~~ llmaU number of oenllemen,' aa an A mert.ean writer say ' hillure to give their time to it.' "-WILLIAM ANDREW CHA'M'O: The Angler's Souvenir (London, 1835). FISHING IN BOOKS rfliAT wise man and accomplished scholar, Sir Henry Wotton, the friend of Izaak Walton and ambassador of King James I. to the republic of Venice, was accustomed to say that "he would rather live five May months than forty Decembers." The reason for this preference was no secret to those who knew him. It had nothing to do with British or Venetian politics. It was simply because December, with all its domestic joys, is practically a dead month in the angler's calendar. His occupation is gone. The better sort of fish are out of season. The trout are lean and haggard: it is no trick to catch them and no treat to eat them. The salmon, all except the silly kelts, have run out to sea, and the place of their habitation no man knoweth. There is nothing for the angler to do but wait for the return of spring, and meanwhile encourage and sustain his patience with such small 145 |