IZAAK WALTON AND HIS FRIENDS 123 



in that year, at his son-in-law's house at 

 Winchester.^ 



George Dawson said, " that for his own part he 

 would rather have written on his tomb, ' He was 

 a good fellow, bless him,' than, 'Of your charity 

 pray for the soul of George Dawson, deceased.' " 

 We know not what Walton would have wished 

 written on his tombstone, but we may well think 

 that up to the last day of his life he possessed ' ' all 

 that should accompany old age, as honour, love, 

 obedience, troops of friends. " At peace with God, at 

 peace with man, life's work well done, and happy in 

 that no shadow of doubt ever probably disturbed the 

 serenity of his faith, we may suppose his death was 



"serene and bright 

 And calm as is a Lapland night." 



We need not apply to his death-bed any such 

 phrase as "unique hopefulness," for most probably 

 he could have said with St Paul that he had " the 

 desire to depart and be with Christ." No mere 

 " minimum of salvation " could be his ! 



We may suppose he could have said, as John 

 Wilson, *' Christopher North," said of himself : — 



" It has pleased Heaven to crown my life with 



• The great frost began on the 15th of December, and lasted over 

 eight weeks, till the 4th of February. Cotton refers to the state of the 

 Eiver Dove, and the fish in it thus : " And doubtless there was great 

 mortality of trout and grayling of great quality.'' He, however, never 

 mentions, as we might have expected he would, that Walton died 

 during the frost. As to a sermon preached on the subject of the frost 

 (London, 1684), see Notes and Queries for August 1902. 



