Evening star., 1914-08-09

A 7 this season of the year. when
~ proud fishermen are having them
selves photographed with proof OF
their prowess with rod and reel, and
mild fun is being poked at followers of
Izaak Walton. few know that Walton
was more than angler. He wrote The
Complete Angler" and it was one of the
most popular books England has pro
duced. but possibly few people realize
that it was published nearly 300 Years
ago and that some folks say its au1ia-
bile old author knew not whit of FISH
ing. They even say it is very improbable
that Izaak ever used a reel at all, and
that. living along the Thames river as ne
did. he simply gathered by hearsay the
ingormation found in his book But II
he were less an angler he was something
more, all quite undisputed.
Today is his birthday anniversary. and
England for 500 years has kept his mem
ory green, not only as writer and the
patron saint of fishermen. but as man
perhaps no other man of his humble
birth and unfinished education SO easily
drew statesmen and church dignitaries To
him. Born in 1893, in Stafford. England.
and coming to London in 1913, he engag-
ed in trade-nobody seems to know Just
what-and not long after his marriage, in
much to their eenjoyment. James Russell
Lowell is quoted saving that Walton
seems to have had special genius for
bishops and to have known the whole OF
the Episcopal bench OF his day, while an
oxford professor, writing Of this tries to
imagine venerable bishop In surpllce
and robes, squeezed into a pitiful little
punt with an obscure shopman, and both
eagerly 'bobbing for eels.
Walton was usually supposed to be
linen draper. though when seeking u
marriage draper he registered: ''1zaak
Walton of the Cittie of London, IRON
monger." This. however. is said to be
not a sure and simple evidence that he
dealt in iron, for there was a most ex-
traordinary custom during that period
of allowing a man who was a free citi-
zen to annex to his name any trade
he chose to call his own. He might
as well have styled himself attorney.
for he was described in several docu-
| ments as gentleman" and in Great
Britain the two terms were synony-
NOUS Gentleman he was by orthob-
raphy and spirit. but gentleman IN any
other sense he cared not 10 De, WTote
an old admirer
IA strong partisan and the trusted
friend of royalists," he wrote in very
pleasant, flowing style book contain :
ing biographies of several men of his
acquaintance who were active in those
stirring years of the reign of Charles
l. He wrote also life of Dr. Dome.
the satirist and theologian of the first
King Charles time, and Love and
TRUTH" In answer to The Nake
Truth" a pamphlet on the primitive
church Acting as a sort of foreWord
to the latter was: But let none of you
suffer as a busybody in other mems
matters" advice that is not to be scorned
nov after 300 years. Two copies of
this book are in the British Museum,
and one of them has a note penciled in
1t that the giver had hunted twenty
years to find this original copy. One
or two other books are attributed to
Walton by some readers. but this
seems to be much like a case of
Shakespeare and Bacon, and the i'm
portance of the work does not Justify
sustained argument.
Richard LIE Galliene. as late as 1897,
published an edition of the book which
made the angler famous. and in 1898
a company of London booksellers sold
set Of the first five editions. in the
original bindings. for the sum of
$4,000. In 500 they sold the only re-
naming copy they possessed of the
first edition for $1,000, Americans MAX
ing both purchases.
Lord Byron seems to be the only