174 ANCIENT ANGLING AUTHORS 



on the water are all copied into this book from The 

 True Art of A ngling. 



The book concludes with a " Pleasant Story for 

 Anglers." " One day a person being fishing, it 

 happened that he pull'd out a dead Man's Skull, 

 and he imagining that it came there by chance, it 

 was but a Deed of Charity to bury it, where upon 

 he goes home and gets a Spade, and finding a 

 convenient Place he fell to digging, and having dug 

 deep, he espied a large old Bag, which pulling out, 

 found it to be full of Gold, and thus was the poor 

 Man enriched unexpectedly." The unexpected good 

 fortune of this angler reminds one of the angler in 

 George Turberville's ballad of " A Controuersie of a 

 conquest in Loue 'twixt Fortune and Venus." 



Whilst Fissher kest his line the houering fish to hooke, 

 By hap a rich man's Daughter on the Fissher kest hir looke. 

 Shee fryde with frantick loue, they marid eke at last : 

 Thus Fissher was from lowe Estate in top of treasure plast. 

 Stoode Fortune by and smylde : " how say you, Dame," 



quoth shee 



To Venus, " was this Conquest your's, or is it due to mee ? " 

 "'Twas I (quoth Vulcan's wife) with help of Cupid's Bowe, 

 That made this wanton wench to rage, and match herself so 



lowe." 



" Not so, 'twas Fortune I, that brought the trull in place ; 

 And Fortune was it that the Man stoode so in Mayden's 



grace ; 



By Fortune fell their loue, 'twas Fortune strake the stroke ; 

 Then detter is this Man to mee that did the Match prouoke." 



I think that I have now sufficiently proved that 

 Markham could not possibly have written the angling 



