172 DICK ROOK. 



DICK ROOK. 



A SKETCH FROM THE LIFE. 



Ah ! what a life were this how sweet ! how lovely ! 



Gives not the hawthorn bush a sweeter shade 



To shepherds, looking on their silly sheep, 



Than doth a rich embroider'd canopy, 



To kings, that fear their subject's treachery? 



O yes, it doth ; a thousand fold it doth. 



And to conclude, the shepherd's homely curds 



His cold thin drink out of his leather bottle, 



His wonted sleep under a fresh tree's shade, 



All which secure and sweetly he enjoys, 



Is far beyond a prince's delicates. 



SHAKSPEARE'S HENRY VI. Part III. 2. 5. 



IN my various walks and rambles in the country, 

 I frequently meet with odd and amusing charac- 

 ters. I am in the habit of talking to strangers, 

 whenever a fit opportunity presents itself for 

 doing so, and although some of my friends have 

 prognosticated that I shall some time or other 

 get myself into a scrape by indulging in this pro- 

 pensity, such has never yet been the case. In- 

 deed, I always find that a little civility of manner, 

 a trifling apology, or the offer of a pinch of snuff 

 on a proper occasion, invariably produce civility 

 in return. I may add, that I never yet met with 

 that person from whom I could not extract either 

 some information, or gain some insight into cha- 



