The Sun.
London, England, 1848-04-21 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

THE HANDBOOK OF ANGLING. Second
Edit, on By Ephemera.
Spring is now advancing so'rapidly that the green
' herbage is already breaking through the clods of
winter, and the trees are beginning to burgeon with
a promise of the " leafy season." At this time the
angler is preparing himself for excursions to the
beautiful river-scenery of England, and in a snug
corner of his knapsack we commend him to pack this
very portable encyclopaedia of " the gentle craft."
On noticing its original publication, we awarded the
work that meed of approval to which by its merits it
appeared to us to be tolerably well entitled. Since
then our approval has been very significantly con-
firmed—the book is already reprinted, with additions
and emendations. Under its new guise, the Second
Edition of Ephemera's " Hand- book" seems to us
but little removed, if at all, from completeness. It is
the very epitome of the sport; and the conversational
but decided tone of the advice contained in its pages
proves the author to be a proficient and no mere pre-
tender. " Let us sit under this sweet briar hedge,"
says old Izaak in one of his pleasantest moods, " and
discourse, while this shower is falling." Without an
actual companion at his elbow to wile away half-an-
hour in agreeable gossip, the angler may find in this
volume, by Ephemera, a companionship neither dis-
tasteful nor unprofitable. There is in it all the ani-
mation and bonhommie of goodfellowship. Listen, for
instance, to his recommendations anent " dibbing for
chub." " There is the angler," says he—" You see
that he is hiding himself as much as he can ; and
thinking that there are fish peering from beneath the
leaves on the surface of the water, he drops his bait
first on one of those leaves, and then by a sliding
motion causes it to slip off and fall on the water. The
fish, taking this fall for a natural one, is not scared
but seizes the bait boldly." Or listen again to his
hints to a beginner as to the best mode of " throwing
the line and flies." After other preliminary sugges-
tions he proceeds thus :—" Hold your rod up almost
perpendicularly, and pointing rather to the left side.
Take the tip of the line between the forefinger and
thumb of your left hand. Poise your rod loosely and
easily, and see that it balances freely in your right
hand, Be devoid of that fear which begets awkward-
ness. What injury can you do? You are not going
to explode a mine. You are merely going to throw a
thin line with a limber rod upon the water. What if
you shiver them to pieces in the attempt? The
damage can be remedied." Leigh Hunt might have
written that, and relished it too as he wrote it. Each
of the three branches of angling—Fly-fishing, Trol-
ling, and Bottom-fishing—is described with a zestful
accuracy, but the preference is of course awarded to
Fly-fishing. Here it is, we conceive, that Ephemera's
skill as an angler is particularly evidenced ; for, al -
though his chapters on the art of trolling and bottom-
fishingecckapital, those on the different pecullari-
tiesa are capita), those on the different peculiari-
ties and kna sof fly-fishing—on dibbing or daping,
on striking, on hooking, on playing, on humouring
the fish, and on landing them—are of indisputable
superiority. Theancdfmtpters, moreover, on artificial flies,
on fly- dressin,ga,re
an
ihrne monthly list of artificial flies
for the season, roveinent on Cotton's appen-
dix to the Complete I
on the natural historyAAnger-andler-and generation In his elaborate treatise
enoci ration of the " Sal-
mon," we perceive that the fiu
tohrehas availed himself
of the facts acquired through
,extraordinary ex-
periments of Mr. Scrope, Mr. Shaw, and Mr. Young.
The " Handbook" would be valuable for this
portion of the contents. Several of the deosneVrtphteionsof
the personal appearance and peculiarities of
vari-
ous species of freshwater fish towards the close of the
volume are admirable—Ephemera writing in the
spirit of a fascetions Buffon. Thus of the Perch, he
says—" Though somewhat misshapen, his dress is
handsome ; but he seldom dresses better than in the
Dutch-oven or
.frying-pan." Of the Dace—" This
little yellow silvery carp serves as a practical primer
to a young angler : he is a reckless little fellow and
will snap at your worm, gentle, or paste near the bot-
tom of the water, or jump at your fly on the surface
with equal avidity." Of the Barbel—" This bluish
white carp is a lazy wallowing gentleman, and the
Launcelot Gobbo of the subaqueous pantries and
cellars ; the sound of the smacking of his lips tells
you how fond he is of a good morsel." Of the Chub
—" This silvery bluish carp is an exceedingly fine
splendid looking fish ; but in him is fully realised the
proverb, all is not gold that glitters ;' he is to all
intents and purposes, save in appearance, what
the French call him WI villain, that is, a downright
chawbacon or clod-hopper." Here, however, is the
best calotype of them all—

THE PILE.

" The pike, commonly called jack when under
three or four pounds in weight, is a well-known fish ;
like many of us, better known than trusted or treated.
He is a greedy, unsociable, tyrannical savage, and is
hated like a Blue-beard. Everybody girds at him
with spear, gaff, hook, net, snare, and even with pow-
der and shot. He has not a friend in the world. The
horrible gorge hook is especially invented for the tor-
ment of his maw. Notwithstanding he fights his
way vigorously, grows into immense strength despite
his many enemies, and lives longer than his greatest
foe, man. His voracity is unbounded, and like the
most accomplished corporate officer, he is nearly
omniverous, his palate giving the preference, how-
ever, to fish, flesh, and fowl. Dyspepsia never inter-
feres with his digestion ; and he possesses a quality
that would have been valuable at La Trappe—he can
fast without inconvenience for a se'nnight. lie can
gorge himself then to beyond the gills without the
slightest derangement of the stomach. He is shark
and ostrich combined. His body is comely to look
at ; and if he could hide his head—by no means a
diminished one—his green and silver vesture would
attract many admirers. His intemperate habits, how-
ever, render him an object of disgust and dread. He
devours his own children; but, strange to say, likes
better (for eating) the children of his neighbours.
Heat spoils his appetite, cold sharpens it ; and this
very day (30th December, 1846,) a friend has sent
me a gormandising specimen, caught by an armed
gudgeon amidst the ice and snow of the Thames, near
Marlow. I envy the pike constitution."
Ephemera has written throughout in a felicitous
vein, an has done yeoman's service to angling by
his " Handbook."

MR. LEVEIN AND THE FURNI-

TUBE WOODS OF NEW ZEALAND.—
Our friends in New Zealand will be pleased to learn
that Mr. Levein has recently executed a new commission
for the King of Prussia, with which his Majesty has
been so much pleased that he has conferred upon him,
in addition to a special appointment as cabinet maker,
the gold medal awarded by the Prussian Court to persons
of distinguished merit in the arts, in which rank many
of Mr. Levein's productions in the furniture woods of
New Zealand are well entitled to claim a place. We
formerly mentioned that Mr. Levein had received an
appointment from her Majesty in consequence of similar
productions; and we understand that the exquisite ma-
terials furnished by the colony have also attracted the
notice of other Foreign Ambassadors than Chevalier
Bunsen, and that Mr. Levein has orders in progress for
other Courts than that of Prussia. _ .

-6VieTiZtthat this wide appreciation of the furniture
woods of New Zealand will make the colonists alert as
to a highly valuable export, and anxious to preserve
what must eventually become of great importance to the
colony, instead of indiscriminately destroying the mag-
nificent forest trees which supply a material of so great
value. They must resort to the same method as was
practised by Mr. Levein himself when in the colony,
viz., to select with great care only the most valuable
specimens of wood, and to export it in the log, not in
the slab. It is the latter practice, together with the
want of care in the selection, which has led to disap-
pointment in the woods which have been thus carelessly
exported from the colony. Many specimens are now
lying in the docks which cannot find a purchaser, and
no wonder, for they are not worth half the amount of
freight for bringing them from New Zealand. This
alone has been a serious injury to the reputation of the
woods. It does not follow that because wood comes
from the colony it must be of fine quality; there
is as much inferior timber there as else-
where. Like all new articles in the market,
the furniture woods of New Zealand met with
much opposition in their introduction into this country,
and it is solely owing to the perseverance of Mr. Levein,
and the countenance shown to him by the New Zealand
Company, that they have become so favourably known.
Now almost any price might be obtained for really fine
specimens. Some two or three years ago, a specimen of
totara and inau was shown by the editor of this paper to
a cabinet-maker of celebrity. He was struck by the
beauty of the wood, but dogmatically pronounced that it
would not retain its colour. This is the general iim-
pression with regard to new woods from most couentrbeies,
shown
and it is generally true; but experience has
now
richentebsesr
wish that not only do the New Zealand woods
wreteage, inthliekier
colour, but that they increase in
the finer specimens of mahogany and
dinary use. The cabinet-maker of
whom we woods in e o
justor-
dinary
spoken would give a high pricefor
the article could be
e r
now obtain it.
at
thet west-end of London, in
We should have mentioned that
sal e oil r .c
cabinetLevein
w work
opened an establishment for
from New Zealand woods,
ndth
Jeeiumrnmaeld. iate
33Di
yv iee
fs -ms tirveaert
t, ?e Hotel. o r s
eglue azr ilen

---
BOOKSELLERS' PROVIDENT INSTITUTION.—Yester-
day evening a meeting of the board of directors of the
above Institution was held at the committee-rooms, in
Paternoster row, to transact general business. The
report laid before the subscribers by the directors was
t
highly satisfactory, the funda being rapidly on the in-
crease, and the anxiety for the institution since its for-
mation (eleven years since) remains amongst h
mem-
bers of the trade unabated. During the past
}'eare relief
has been bestowed upon six retail and twelvebooksellers'
assistants, and three widows of each o
the amount of 2621. 15s. 4d.; five persons included in
the above statement t
einrinan stitut-
during annuitants—makingtha
tperie
d
eeng p
a total, since 1837, of nearly 1,3001. thus distributed.
a
hTahsenvvolit nalveereaxgpen se b
of i
the d
more than 80/. pioner annum. There are
now on the books 47p6tn emnbeerts . f Upwards of 1,000/. has
been added to the erni u
which reaches shore 17,0001. fund during the year,

MEETING OF MIDDLESEX

MAGISTRATES.

The Magistrates of the county of Middlesex met
at the Court-house, Clerkenwell•green, yesterday, for
the dispatch of county business. Mr. Pownall in the
chair.