ENGLISH POETS ON FISHING. 665 



angling " is freely accorded on all sides to " the cloth." A 

 very interesting book entitled The Amusements of Clergy- 

 men, was written in 1797, under the pseudonym of the 

 "Rev. Josiah Framptom," by the Rev. William Gilpin, 

 Prebendary of Salisbury, and author of Forest Scenery, 

 which was reprinted a few years ago by Messrs. Sampson 

 Low, Marston, & Co. 



From The Avon, a poem ascribed to the Rev. J. Huckell, 

 in 1789, we may take the following pretty lines as a 

 specimen of his work : 



" See where serenely gay the Nymph invites 

 To more secure, tho' less sublime delights. 

 The studious angler see, with pleasing care, 

 The flowing line and quiv'ring rod prepare. 

 Delightful task ! When all the woodlands sing 

 The roseate beauties of inspiring spring. 

 Often may patience, wisdom's meek-eyed friend 

 To ev'ry fam'd recess his steps attend ; 

 And then, propitious to the vot'ry's skill, 

 Flow soft, ye waters, and, ye winds, be still ! " 



Though it does not come within the category of English 

 poetry, we will conclude our notice of the period through 

 which we have been glancing with a few lines of transla- 

 tion from a poem of Delille, a charming French writer, at 

 the close of the eighteenth century : 



" Beneath yon willow pale, whose foliage dank 

 Gives added freshness to the river's bank, 

 The fisher stands, and marks upon the tide 

 The trembling line along the current glide ; 

 With mute attention, and with secret joy, 

 He views the bending rod and sinking buoy. 

 Which watery guest has braved the sudden fate 

 Fixed to the barb that lurks beneath the bait ? 

 The springing trout, or carp bedecked with gold ; 

 Or does the perch his purpled fins unfold ? 

 Or silver eel that winds through many a maze, 

 Or pike voracious on his kind that preys ? " 



