282 THE COMPLETE ANGLER. 



pledged me, I will repeat the verses which I prom- 

 ised you : it is a copy printed amongst some of 

 Sir Henry Wotton's, and doubtless made either by 

 him or by a lover of angling. Come, master, 

 now drink a glass to me, and then I will pledge 

 you, and fall to my repetition ; it is a description 

 of such country recreations as I have enjoyed 

 since I had the happiness to fall into your 

 company. 



" Quivering fears, heart-tearing cares, 

 Anxious sighs, untimely tears, 



Fly, fly to courts, 



Fly to fond worldlings' sports, 

 Where strained sardonic smiles are glozing still, 

 And grief is forced to laugh against her will ; 



Where mirth 's but mummery, 



And sorrows only real be. 



" Fly from our country pastimes, fly, 

 Sad troops of human misery. 



Come, serene looks, 



Clear as the crystal brooks, 

 Or the pure azured heaven, that smiles to see 

 The rich attendance of our poverty : 



Peace and a secure mind, 



Which all men seek, we only find. 



" Abused mortals, did you know 

 Where joy, heart's-ease, and comforts grow, 



You 'd scorn proud towers, 



And seek them in these bowers ; 



Where winds sometimes our woods perhaps may shake, 

 But blustering care could never tempest make; 



Nor murmurs ere come nigh us, 



Saving of fountains that glide by us. 



