ably coloured by the use of wax. The fly so dressed must have borne some resemblance to a modern chub fly. The rod which they used was 6 feet in length, and to it was attached a line of a similar length. A Latin poem written by Richard de Fournival. about the thirteenth century alludes incidentally to fishing, and from this work it appears that the fly and the worm were among the lures then used by anglers, and that the eel basket and spear were also in use. The foregoing brief notes from the ancient Greek and Latin authors will serve to illustrate the development to which angling had attained at the time when it was first introduced into England. Although there were many books treating more or less of fishing, they appear to have dealt with the art of angling incidentally; the object of the authors seems to have been more to illustrate the customs and habits of fishermen and the natural history of the fish, than to give instruction in angling. It may therefore, I think, be fairly claimed that the Treatyse of ffysshynge wyth an Angle, was not only the first angling manual in England, but was also the first practical work of the kind written in any language. From the date of the appearance of this book, the gradual and steady evolution of the art of angling, etc., from the rough and ready forms of fishing then in vogue, to the artistic and scientific methods now practised in the various branches of the sport, can ANCIENT ANGLING AUTHORS CHAPTER I THE earliest description of fishing in the English language occurs in Elfric's Colloquy, to which the Rev. W. Skeat, Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Cambridge, was the first to draw attention in a paper, entitled "The Oldest English Treatise on Fishing," which he contributed to the Anglers' Note Book. The colloquy was written by Elfric the Abbot, about the end of the tenth century, to teach his pupils Latin, and for this purpose was written in English (Anglo-Saxon), with the Latin translation beneath. It is arranged as a conversation between the master and his pupil, the latter in turns figuring as a huntsman, a fisherman, and a falconer; thus: Hwylcne cræft canst thu? M[agister]. Qualem artem scis tu ? Ic eom Fiscere Piscator]. Ego sum Piscator. 1 A |