Mountain, Meadow, and Mere. By G. Christopher Davies. (Henry S.
King and Co.)-Mr. Davies' sketches are for the most part of angling experience; and these not of tho remote and impossible kind with which such writers as "lJbique " tantalise us, but domestic and attain- able. We admire, but feel unable, we confess, to imitate the benevolent sportsmen who, when they have found a good thing, never rest till they can communicate it to the public through the columns of the Field. Of such is Mr. Davies, but we observe, with regret, that he speaks of these delightful spots as of things that are bygone, as indeed in these days they too probably are. Can it be that there is such splendid carp- fishing anywhere as he describes in his second paper ? Let the angling reader, who may have thought himself lucky if he has circum- vented a dozen of these cautions creatures in his lifetime, imagine two young fishermen taking home "six to a dozen fish apiece," with an average weight of 2 lb. Another thing we admire in our author is that,. though he can cast a line on occasion, and has seen—most exciting of sights—the swirl of the salmon as he rises to the fly, he has nothing of the insufferable affectation which disdains all kinds of angling other than for trout and salmon. He does not disdain the pike or even the tench ; even the monotonous work of "long-line fishing " has, faute de mieux, some attraction for him. Anglers who wish to anticipate in expectation the pleasures of another season (though for pike-fishing,. at least, there is no better season than winter) should read Mr. Davies' book. We should add that he deals with other sports besides angling, that he has some taste for natural history, and that he writes verse of good quality.
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