The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1902-10-19
OLD BOOKS ON FISH FISH
HARVARD COLLECTION WHICH
WOULD DELIGHT LOVERS OF
THE GENTLE ART
NO ORIGINAL EDITION OF
IZAAK WALToN's "ANGLER."
Charles Lambs Tribute to the Author
The Finny Tribe and How to Catch
and Cook Its Members Explained in
Quaint Prose and Quainter Verse
John Denny's Work.
Special to The Globe.

Special to The Globe.
CAMBRIDGE, Mass, Oct. II. = The
Harvard University library owns a
special collection of books on angling.
The collection contains some rare old
VolumeS-quaint and curious tones
and interesting specimens of book
craft; and rich in all kinds of treat
Uses on fish, fishing and fishermen. On
the shelves there is enough material
to last an average man a week; a lover
of the sport, a month; a bookworm, a
year. There are books in Latin, in Ger
man, and in French; books published
centuries ago in Europe and books
printed last year in Boston or New
York. The nucleus of the collection,
consisting of over 1000 volumes, was
presented to the university in 1892 by
John Bartlett, himself an enthusiast of
the rod and trout brook but better
known for his familiar Quotations
and for his standard Concordance to
Shakespeare.
In looking over this collection one
naturally turns first to the various
editions of Izaak Walton's "Compleat
Angler" But among the 81 copies of
this immortal classic of English fishing,
including more than one reprint and
exact facsimile, there is no example Of
the first edition of 1853, which has
been sold lately at almost fabulous
prices. The evidence seems to show
that Mr.. Bartlett at one time possessed
a copy, but he has noted in the cata-
logue of his collection that because this
copy was imperfect he had sent it back
to the London dealer who supplied it
to him.
Charm of Izaak Walton.
The charm of Izaak Walton is we'll
described by Charles Lamb in a letter
to Coleridge, a century after the au
thor's death. 1T breathes the very
spirit Of innocence, purity, and sim
plicity of heart" writes Lamb. There
spersed in it; it would sWeeten a
mans temper at any time to read it;
it would Christianize every discord
ant, angry passion; pray make your
self acquainted with it," A tribute to
the delights of the "Compleat Angler"
even prettier than Lambs is the fol-
lowing, written by lady of the court
in a copy owned by the great chemist,
Sir Humphrey Davy:
albeit, gentle angler I
Delight not in thy trade,
Yet in thy pages there doth lie
So much of quaint simplicity,
So much of mind
OF such good kind,
That none need be afraid
Caught by thy cunning bait, this book
To be ensnared upon thy hook"
On the titlepage of the older edi-
tons there appeared the Simon
Peter said, I go a fishing; and they
said, we also will go with thee" and
the title itself ended with the state
ment that the volume was mot I'M
worthy the perusal Of most anglers"
q statement which is quite as true to-
day as it was then.
After Walton one looks next in an
angling library for the famous book of
st. Adams, which was the earliest
printed volume on sports published in
any language, English or otherwise.
Only one copy of the original edition
of the chapter on fishing, printed by
Wynkyn de Worde in 1896, a littlemore
than 20 years after CaXton first set up
his press at Westminster, remains in
existence, but there are several eX-
cellent reprints the best of which, now
very rare, is the one reprinted in 1910,
of which the Harvard collection has
a we'll preserved exempler Quaint as
this sporting treatise may be, it is still
not so interesting as the authoress,
who, from her unique place in the an
nails of English sport, has won the title
of the Diana of the English" She
was Juliana Barnes or Bereners, pri-
Dress of Sopwell, and a true lover Of
the chase and the delights of the rod
and line.
lripute by f7ollnShed.
Says Holinshed, the old English his
torian: "She was a gentleWoman who
endued with excellente CITIES of body
and mind wrote certaine treatises Of
hawking, hunting and fysheing, de-
lighting greatly herselfe in those ex-
ereises.'' A great believer in the whole
some and innocent sports of the field
and country, she advocated them as an
offset against idleness and vicious liv-
ing. She preferred angling above all
other pastimes and finishes her "Treat-
Use Of Fysshynge" with the remark
THUS have l proved in my intent, that
the disport and game Of angling is the
very means and cause that induceth a
man to a merry spirit, which after the
doctrine Of Solomon and Of physic,
mal1eth a Towering age and long. And
therefore to all you that be virtuous,
gentle and freebOrn, I write and make
this simple treatise, following by which
We may have the full craft of angling
to diSport you at your last, to the In
tent that your age may the more flower
and the more longer to endure" "Suc-
cess with the line" says Juliana in
another place, is spoiled by twelve
manere OF ympedyments whyche cause
man to take moo fyshe''-namely l.,
badly made harness; 2, bad bats; 8,
angling at the wrong time; 4, fish
strayed away; 5, water thick: 6, water
too cold; Z, weather too hot; 8, if it
rain; 9, if hail or snow fall 10, if there
be tempest; II, if there be great
Wynd; II, if the wynd be east" Here
was surely plain and canny advice.
book by Leonard Mascall, first
published in 1890, is, chronologically,
the next in interest in the Harvard col
lection. This too is a reprint 1t is
full Of quaint and curious directions
to those who aspire to skill in the
fishers craft One section of 1t is de-
voted to discussion of traps and
snares for the capture of aromatic
polecat. Here is It's recipe for catch
Ing cells: Eye shall make long fag-
gots Of hay wrapped about willow
boughs which We shall put in the midst
Of your bottle or faggot of hay and
then sinke it in the deepe by the banke
and so let 1t lie two or three dayes and
tie Wythe or rope thereunto that We
may soone plucke it up, on land or
boate; and so We shall take yeels
therein good store, in cold Weather
very good
Secrets of AngIikg.
Eminent also, in the early literature
of the piScatorial realm, was John DEN
nys, who wrote the Secrets of Ang-
ling" poem in three books The first
edition appeared in 1913 and has often
been called the rarest volume of Eng
lish literature. The author has the
merit of subtlety in rhyme, elevation of
thought, and equality of interest
throughout; his work manages his sub
jects gracefully and charmingly. The
creaking leathern binding opens to al
lew the pages to fall back to the fol-
4xyv11 100 r0o-