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001C97B0 July 19, 1929. Angling by Proxy By J. Porter preached a sermon to his admir- ing sisters from the text, "There was a fish, and it was a de'il o'ish,and it was ill to its young anes." There are several purple passages in the famous "Noctes" describing great days on river and loch; but they are all in the breezy Doric which is put, ap- propriately enough, in the mouth of that fine angler, the Ettrick Shepherd, and would hardly bear quotation here. North's four es- says on "Anglimania" are not in iiialect, and can be read by any- one who can appreciate the mingled poetry an(1 descriptiori. Hut Christopher North is in a class by himself. There are few men in any age who experience t?.e sheer joy of life in the same measure as he did, and fewer still who can give expression to it. Zane Grey's account of his fishing experiences on the Rogue River in Southern Oregon makes interesting reading, especially for those who have had the op- portunity to see that impetuous stream, born i» the mountains around Crater Lake, and fqd by their melting snoivs. His descrip- tions are vivid and accurate, as we should expect from such a careful student of landscape. But wheii picturing a river he is not quite at his best; for with all his appreciation of that Oregon river winding through the great primeval forest, ive miss the magic note which puts his de- scriptions of desert scenery a- mong the classic passages of geo- graphical writing. His account c.f his fishing experiences is care- ful an/ no doubt accurate, though it would take an angler to judge of that. But it makes good reading; and he has a large number of photographs taken on the spot which fit his descrip- tions closely, though the repro- ductions are hardly as satisfac- tory as we could wish. It is interesting to note the number of unpretentious writers on angling who can be followed ivithout effort by the mere out- sider. The older Scottish books are of this class. Several of them which were picked up sec- ond hand at odd times served to pass quite a few evenings agree- ably for one reader. If the sheets of Bartholomew's splen- did map of that country are at hand to refer to, the interest is greatly increased. Stoddart's "Angler's Companion," and the second volume of "The Moor and the Loch" by Colquhoun, seem to retain their usefulness in spite of the changes ivhich have taken place in the angling art within the last fifty years. There is no riention in their pages of the dis- tinction between ivet and dry flies, or of bamboo rods built up in sections around a steel core. But Stoddart's old "Companion" is repeatedly mentioned in the recent American book on trout- f;shing which has been already referred to. Stoddart was bred to the laiv, but became a remit- tance man through his passion for angling. The technical de- tails of flies and leaders take on quite a fair degree of interest in his pages: and he manages to conduct us through some of the finest river scenery in Scotland. And here it must be admitted that an ordinary stream-valley is hardly to be understood in its completeness until one has heard or read a» «nailer's descriptionof't. Stoddart divas not so reck- less an angler as Christopher North. ivho undoubtedly short- ened his life through exposure while on fishing excursions. Stoddart could still ply a salmon- rod ivith success at 69, but North ~eems to have put up his rod for the last time before he was GO. Stoddart has had some suc- cess too as a writer of angling sollgs:-- It is not given to everyone to be an angler. The writer had a short spell of it in his school- days. Ffe went fishing fourteen times, and caught one little eel. ~ After that he made up his mind that he had done enough for glory, and forgot all about the subject for a baker's dozen of years, when it was recalled to his attention while reading the ivorks of Professor Wilson, more commonly known as Christopher North. He enjoyed the eloquence of that remarkably successful angler; but never for a moment did it awaken the desire to handle a rod again. It is not the unpardonable Hin, however, to be appreciative of other people' enthusiasms while refusing to share them; and angling by proxy will always remain an en- juyable occupation for many people who will never fish in this xvo] ld. Walton's "Complete Angler" is a book for which every reader is expected to profess admira- tion. To get through it two or three times at judiciously spaced intervals in the course of a life- time is, however, all that most readers can accomplish. Izaak and the other characters are very prosy, and have a great weakness for absurd stories. I.'ut the redeeming feature of the book is the amiability of its tone, arising as it does from real good- riess of heart; and that quality will always have its value in lit- erature. Theere was something more than absurdity, however, in IValton and his fellow-Cock- neys, Scottish angling writers of high authority used to admit that the greatest masters of the art of trolling were to be looked for on the banks of the Thames; and one of them said the same thing of English fly-fishers. There was another English writer on angling ivho was not as fortunate as Walton in his bid for immortality. Sir Humphry Davy divas an eminent chemist and a brilliant lecturer; but his work called "Salmonia" describ- ed fly-fishing with a twaddling prosiness which exposed him to the banter of Christopher North, svho devoted one of the chapters &~f "Anglimania" to an examina- tion of Davy's book. Davy had t,een somewhat spoiled by Lon- don society, and he could not make absurd blunders like AVal- ton and hope to be forgiven for the sake of his loveableness. His reviewer showed up the mistakes in the handling of his fishing tackle, made merry ivith his "el- oquent" descriptions of scenery, and in one place conducted a ruthless analysis of his geo graphy. Sir Humphry had re- sorted to what painters call "composition" in his account of a red-letter day, and had over- done it badly. The clay is repre- sented as having begun ivith a l iventy-mile ivalk before break- fast over moor and through bog to the head of Loch 41aree in the N estern Highlands,an eighteen- mile row down the loch, plying the rod all the way, the catching rind crimping of a salmon, the cating of a big dinner of salmon, trout, and snipe. and a consti- tutional of another couple of miles before going to bed. Such a day might havo been gone through by Christopher North himself, but hardly by any other man of his time. Christopher North was an angler of surpassing skill. He ~ has had a well-known fly named "The Professor" in his honor; «nd he is mentioned several tim- L~: in an American book on trout- fishing ivhich only came out in the present year, although his angling writings appeared near- ly a hundred years ago. He be- gan very early to discourse on ringllng. IVhen five years old he THE 4VEST VAN NE%'S 'SVe love the angler's quiet lo', His meditative art; The fancies in his hour of thought That blossoms from his heart. All other things ive'll cast be- hind, Let busy toil alone, And, flinging care unto the wind, SVe'll angle, angle on." The present svriter has great- ly enjoyed fishing by proxy in the pages of a rather small book, Young's "Angler's and Sketch- er's Guide to Sutherland." There are many people who believe that the north-west of Scotland be- twen Gairloch and Kyle Sku, in- cluding the Assynt lochs, is the finest part of that country. It would he interesting to set parti- sans from Sutherland and Pertli- shire to argue the point; but we need not do it. western Suther- land, however, has furnished the subject of some of the finest of l J lV. wilson's photographs; and its scenery has been described from the geological point of view in a princely memoir of the Geo- logical Survey. EVith these and the maps and Young's little guide-book, one can read a great- er depth of meaning into Scott's line, "Land of the mountain and the flood." England has a wider variety of i.iver scenery than Scotland. But the industrial development of England meant the pollution of the streams and the extermina- tion of the finny tribes which in- habited them; and the English enthusiast has had to travel to Scotland or Norway for many years past in his quest for good fishing. The Irish lakes and riv- ers afford numberless opportun- ities for angling, by far the greater part of which can be had free. But Ireland has not been written up with the same thor- oughness as Scotland. One Irish sporting writer actually gives riiore references to the Ross- shire lochs and the 4lorayshire rivers than to the lakes and streams of his own country. Sportsmen, too, seem to have a disrelish as a class for anything like political restlessness. But Scottish fishing has become a liixury reserved for the well-to- do; and it is quite possible that fishirg in Ireland may come to its own yet. A renaissance of English angling is, however, an unlikely thing unless Ilr. Car- iiegie's dream of England's fut- ure as the playground of the na- tions should be realized througn the exhaustion of her mineral resources. The Disabled Veterans Branch of the Canadian Legion was granted permission to tag in KVest Vancouver (but not on the ferries) tomorrow (Saturday). The Children's Aid Society of Vancouver was granted permis- sion to tag in West Vancouver (but not on the ferries) on Sat- urday, September 14th. Plr. and ~lrs. Grant of East Beach, are having a house built at 12th and Duchess. A Veteran Skipper told us the other day that in his work the longer way was often the safer way as the ship' course seemed roundabout in escaping shoals and hidden rocks. Our Store may not be the most convenient but it will pay you to steer the safe course in your cruise fur medicine as there is always a qualified druggist in charge. KVe are in business for your health. WEST YAM 'HARNACY The Store of Service. IVe Deliver Phone &Vest 37 Jimmy Thomson' TRANSF Daily Trips to and from City. hioving Baggage a Specialty. PHONE WEST 110 FOR Coal and Wood Prompt Delivery. IVe are all apt to be regardless of the riches that lie at our doors and can be had for nothing. 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