Little Rivers

Little Rivers is a collection of essays by Henry van Dyke (1852–1933), published in 1895 with the subtitle "A Book of Essays in Profitable Idleness." The book follows a simple and charming idea: life should not consist only of labor and criticism but should also include some "profitable idleness," which the author entrusts to one unassuming little river after another. It records his travels, fishing trips, and reflections along rivers in the United States, Canada, and abroad, writing not only about fishing but also about the woods, smells, sounds, and old memories along the banks. Pieces include the prefatory poem "Prelude," the title essay "Little Rivers," "A Leaf of Spearmint" recalling boyhood fishing with his grandfather, "Ampersand" on walking, "A Handful of Heather" on Scottish heather, "The Ristigouche from a Horse-Yacht" on a boat trip down Canada's Ristigouche, "Alpenrosen and Goat's-Milk" on the Alps, "Trout-Fishing in the Traun" on trout fishing in Austria's Traun River, and "At the Sign of the Balsam Bough" and "A Song after Sundown." The prose is clear and unhurried, revealing a deep love of nature and leisurely life. It was reprinted several times by Charles Scribner's Sons in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, illustrated by F. V. DuMond, and is regarded as a classic of American nature writing and angling literature. The English text runs about 60,000 words.