12 COMMENDATORY VERSES. 



When ° you these creatures wisely choose 

 To practise on, which to your use 

 Owe their creation, and when 

 Fish from your arts do rescue men,' 

 To plot, delude, and circumvent, 

 Ensnare, and spoil, are innocent. 

 Here by these crystal streams you may 

 Preserve a conscience clear as they ; 

 And when by sullen thoughts you find 

 Your harassed, not busied, mind 

 In sable melancholy clad, 

 Distemper'd, serious, turning sad ; 

 Hence fetch your cure, cast in your bait. 

 All anxious thoughts and cares will straight 

 Fly with such speed, they'll ' seem to be 

 Possest with the hydrophoby. 

 The water's calmness * in your breast. 

 And smoothness on your brow, shall rest. 



Away with sports of charge and noise. 

 And give me cheap and silent joys,' 

 Such as Actteon's game pursue. 

 Their fate oft makes the tale ' seem true. 

 The sicli or sullen hawk, to-day. 

 Flies not ; to-morrow, quite away. 

 Patience and purse to cards and dice 

 Too oft are made a sacrifice : 

 The daughter's dower, th' inheritance 

 O' th' son, depend on one mad chance. 

 The harms and mischiefs which th' abuse ^ 

 Of wine doth every day produce, 

 Make good the doctrine of the Turks, 

 That in each grape a devil lurks. 

 And by yon * fading sapless tree, 

 'Bout which the ivy twin'd you see. 

 His fate's foretold, who ■* fondly places 

 His bliss in woman's soft embraces. 

 AH pleasures, but the Angler's, bring 

 I' the tail repentance, like a sting. 



Then on these banks' let me sit^ down, 

 Free from the toilsome sword and gown ; 

 And pity those that do ' affect 

 To conquer nations and protect. 

 My reed affords such true * content, 

 Delights so sweet and ' innocent, 



VARIATIONS. 



5 Whilst — arf edit. 6 You fishes choose to rescue men. — Ihid. 



7 you'll. — Ihid. 8 Then this stream's calmness. — Ibid. 



^ And give me cheap and quiet '^oys.— Ibid. Sweeter .ire cheap and silent joys. — 

 3if edit. ^ ^ ^ oft makes that fable true. — zd edit. 



2 This, and the four following lines first appeared in the -s/i edit. 



3 xhst^^dedit. * ihM.—Iiid. 6 this bank.— /*!</. 6 lie.— /Wrf.- 

 7 shall — Hid. 8 affords me such content — Hid. ^ so. — Ibid. 



