The lurking Loach, too, and the Bull-head gruff,
And little Pope !-come all !-come smooth and Ruffe!
The Barbel, Chub, and Bream, we'll also treat well,
But let them promise, in return, to eat well!
Then spots and streaks, enchanting all beholders,
Shall make folks careless of Cods' head and shoulders !
Soles then may keep their solitary tracks,
And Turbots shall be thrown upon their backs!
Lobsters, perchance, retain their narrow cloisters,
And ev'ry saucy fellow feed on Oysters!

But turn, O, Muse! and less excursive be,
(The Naiads never should be out at sea!)
Let others seek the billowy track profound,
Be our's LAKES, RIVERS, and the homely PoND!
The radiant Carp, and semi-lucid Dace,
Shall next, in turn, our velvet margins grace-
The Guiniad and Char, though rarely seen,

At least, we'll fancy, stretch'd upon the green;
Then (luckless semblance of the twice-dead Plaice),
Come frisky Flounder, shew thy sidelong face!
However doubtful else, thy tuneful claims,
Thou swimm'st (jam satis) in the silver Thames !
'Tis credit to thy taste to leave the sea,
And give the Londoners a taste of thee!
Delicious White-Bait too, we laud thy taste!

Come whence thou wilt, and go where'er thou may'st!*

* It is an established fact in Natural History, that both the origin and destination of the White-Bait are equally unknown-although the erroneous notion of it's being the fry of some other fish is completely overthrown. See p. 366.

f

Is there another dainty fish of doubt ?

Yes!-one there is—and we can scent him out.
Come, violet-Smelt, then, join the tuneful throng,
And glide in fragrance down the tide of song!
Nor envy while rich pearls thy frame infold,
The coarser Carp “in scales bedropped with gold !”
The healing Tench and the devouring Pike!
The Perch, that scarce less terror seems to strike-
The harmless Roach and Stickleback alike—
From this day forward, be it known, remain,

Prolific subjects for the Poet's strain.

Hail! to the Angler's joys, beyond compare
The countless pleasures of the open air!
With rural ditties let the vallies ring,

And greet with roundelays the welcome Spring!

And, O! ye sylvan Deities that love,

The fond enthusiast of the mead and grove,

Lives there the man that seeks your sacred shores, For gain alone, unheeding Nature's stores?

That woos not Wisdom in the silent hour,

Nor reads a moral lesson in each flower?

With kindred Poachers, be he doom'd to wrangle, Disown'd by all true Brothers of the Angle! Whose opportunities of" Contemplation," Complete and crown the darling " Recreation!"

May gifted bards this joyous theme pursue,
And point to treasures hid from vulgar view.
Sons of Apollo! to the streams resort,
And inspiration draw from fields of sport!

Let mirth with science gracefully combine,
And swell the triumphs of the Angler's line!

IMMORTAL WALTON! may thy flame still burn,
And duteous pilgrims crown thy sacred urn!
Lov'd as thou art, the future age shall show,
Thy cherish'd lineaments with brighter glow!
May the fresh homage that shall yet be paid,
Be grateful incense to thy gentle shade,
Nor honours cease, e'en when thine altar rears
The heap'd applauses of a thousand years!

DESCRIPTIVE LIST

OF

THE EMBELLISHMENTS

CONTAINED IN

J. MAJOR'S EDITION OF THE COMPLETE ANGLER,

BY IZAAK WALTON AND CHARLES COTTON.

MDCCCXXIV.

WOOD-CUTS.

PART I.

1. PAGE iii. Introductory Essay, Head-piece: Portraits and Arms of Dr. John Donne, George Herbert, Dr. Robert Sanderson Bishop of Lincoln, Richard Hooker, and Sir Henry Wotton; whose Lives were written by Walton. Drawn by W. H. Brooke: Engraved by G. W. Bonner.

2. Page vii. Fac-Simile of the Signature of Charles Cotton, Esq., from an Original Manuscript Poem on " Old Age. Against old men's taking physic;" in the Collection of Mr. William Upcott, of the London Institution. Traced by R. Thomson: Engraved by W. Hughes.

3. Page xxx. Fac-Simile of the Hand-writing of Izaak Walton, from an Original Presentation Note contained in a copy of his Lives, in the possession of the Right Honourable the Earl of Gosford. By the side of the above, is a copy from the Impression of a Seal given by Dr. Donne to I. Walton: Communicated by Thomas Hardman, Esq. of Manchester. Traced and Drawn by R. Thomson: Engraved by W. Hughes. 4. Page xxxvii. Introductory Essay, Tail-piece: Portraits and Arms of Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, and Thomas

Ken, Bishop of Bath and Wells; both of whom were connected with the family of Walton. Drawn by W. H. Brooke Engraved by G. W. Bonner.

5. Page 1. List of Embellishments, Tail-piece: Walton surrounded by the Graces. Drawn by W. H. Brooke : Engraved by G. W. Bonner.

6. Page liv. Walton's Original Dedication, Tail-piece: View of Madeley Manor-house, Staffordshire; the Seat of John Offley, Esq., to whom the Epistle is addressed. Drawn and Engraved by T. Mosses, from the plate by M. Burghers, contained in Dr. Plot's Natural History of Staffordshire. Oxf. 1686. Folio.

7. Page lviii. Walton's Original Preface, Tail-piece: Cupids emmatical of Theory and Practice. Drawn by J. Meadows: Engraved by W. Hughes.

"That Art was not to be taught by words, but "practice: and so must Angling." p. liii.

8. Chap. I. p. 1. Head-piece: View of the entrance of the Town of Ware, in Hertfordshire, taken from Amwell end. Drawn and Engraved by H. White, from a sketch made on the spot by W. H. Brooke.

9.

10.

11.

12.

Initial Letter Y. Armorial Ensigns of Stafford, London, and Winchester; the Cities in which Walton was born, lived, and died. Drawn by R. Thomson: Engraved by W. Hughes.

p. 21. Exterior View of Theobald's Palace. Drawn and engraved by T. Mosses, after a copy by Mr. Tyson, from an ancient piece of Tapestry, formerly at Houghton, in Norfolk, published in Gough's Edition of Camden's Bri tannia. Lond. 1789. fol. Vol. I. Pl. xvII.

p. 39. Portrait and Arms of Dr. Alexander Nowel, Dean of St. Paul's. Drawn and Engraved by T. Mosses. p. 46. Tail-piece: View of Amwell-hill, Herts, taken from the London road. Drawn on the Spot by W. H. Brooke: Copied and Engraved by H. White.