46 THE COMPLETE ANGLER. [PART t 



with contempt upon those high steeples and magnificent palaces 

 which we adore and wonder at ; from which height I can make 

 her to descend by a word from my mouth, which she both 

 knows and obeys, to accept of meat from my hand, to own me 

 for her master, to go home with me, and be willing the next 

 day to afford me the like recreation. 



And more : this element of air which I profess to trade in, 

 the worth of it is such, and it is of such necessity, that no 

 creature whatsoever, not only those numerous creatures that 

 feed on the face of the earth, but those various creatures that 

 have their dwelling within the waters, every creature that hath 

 life in its nostrils stands in need of my element. The waters 

 cannot preserve the fish without air, witness the not breaking 

 of ice in an extreme frost : the reason is, for that if the in- 

 spiring and expiring organ of any animal be stopped, it sud- 

 denly yields to nature, and dies. Thus necessary is air to the 

 existence both of fish and beasts, nay, even to man himself; 

 that air, or breath of life with which God at first inspired man- 

 kind, Gen. ii. 7, he, if he wants it, dies presently, becomes a 

 sad object to all that loved and beheld him, and in an instant 

 turns to putrefaction. 



Nay, more, the very birds of the air, those that be not 

 Hawks, are both so many and so useful and pleasant to man- 

 kind, that I must not let them pass without some observations : 

 they both feed and refresh him ; feed him with their choice 

 bodies, and refresh him with their heavenly voices. I will not 

 undertake to mention the several kinds of fowl by which this is 

 done ; and his curious palate pleased by day, and which with 

 their very excrements afford him a soft lodging at night. 

 These I will pass by, but not those little nimble musicians of 

 the air, that warble forth their curious ditties, with which Nat- 

 ure hath furnished them to the shame of Art. 



As first the Lark, when she means to rejoice, to cheer herself 

 and those that hear her, she then quits the earth and sings as 

 she ascends higher into the air ; and, having ended her heav- 



