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 Acteon's game pursue,
Their fate oft makes the tale seem true.
The sick or sullen hawk, to-day,
Flies not; to-morrow, quite away.
Patience and purse to cards and dice
Too oft are made 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 twined you see,
His fate 's foretold who fondly places
His bliss in woman's soft embraces :
All 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,

As seldom fall unto the lot

Of sceptres, though they 're justly got.

1649.

THO. WEAVER,* Master of Arts.

TO MY DEAR BROTHER,

MR. IZAAK WALTON,

ON HIS COMPLETE ANGLER.

THIS book is so like you, and you like it,
For harmless mirth, expression, art, and wit,
That I protest, ingenuously 'tis true,

I love this mirth, art, wit, the book, and you.

*Son of Thomas Weaver, of Worcester. + Elder brother of Walton's first wife.

ROB. FLOUD,† C.

See Wood's Athen. Oxon.

TO THE READERS

OF MY MOST INGENUOUS FRIEND'S BOOK,

"THE COMPLETE ANGLER."

HE that both knew and writ the Lives of men,
Such as were once, but must not be again;
Witness his matchless Donne and Wotton, by
Whose aid he could their speculations try :
He that conversed with angels, such as were
Ouldsworth and Featly,+ each a shining star
Shewing the way to Bethlem; each a saint,
Compared to whom our zealots, now, but paint :
He that our pious and learn'd Morley ‡ knew,
And from him suck'd wit and devotion too :
He that from these such excellencies fetch'd,
That He could tell how high and far they reach'd;
What learning this, what graces th' other had
And in what several dress each soul was clad:
Reader, this He, this fisherman, comes forth,
And in these fisher's weeds would shroud his worth.
Now his mute harp is on a willow hung,

With which, when finely touch'd and fitly strung,
He could friends' passions for these times allay,
Or chain his fellow anglers from their prey.
But now the music of his pen is still,
And he sits by a brook watching a quill,
Where with a fix'd eye and a ready hand,
He studies first to hook, and then to land

;

Some Trout, or Perch, or Pike; and having done,
Sits on a bank, and tells how this was won,

And that escaped his hook, which with a wile

Did eat the bait, and fisherman beguile.

Thus whilst some vex'd they from their lands are thrown,

He joys to think the waters are his own;

And like the Dutch, he gladly can agree

To live at peace now, and have fishing free.

April 3, 1650.

EDV. POWELL,§ Master of Arts.

*

Dr. Richard Holdsworth. See an account of him in the Fasti Oxon. 207; and in Ward's Lives of the Gresham Professors.

† Dr. Daniel Featly, for whom see Athen. Oxon. 603.

Dr. George Morley, Bishop of Winchester.

§ Edward Powell, of the borough of Stafford.

DESCRIPTIVE LIST

OF

THE EMBELLISHMENTS.

WOOD-CUTS.

1. Walton's Original Dedication, Tail-piece: View of Madely Manor-house, Staffordshire; the Seat of John Offley, Esq., to whom the Epistle is addressed. Drawn and Engraved by T. Mosses, from the plate, by M. Burghers, contained in Dr. Plot's Natural History of Staffordshire: Oxf. 1686. folio. Epistle Dedicatory.

2. Walton's Original Preface, Tail-piece: Cupids emblematical of Theory and Practice. Drawn by J. Meadows: Engraved by W. Hughes. Epistle to the Reader.

"That Art was not to be taught by words, but practice: and so must Angling."

3. Tail-piece: Nature furnishing her Children with the rude Implements of Angling. Drawn by J. Meadows: Engraved by H. White. List of Embellishments.

:

4. Head-piece: Portraits and Arms of Dr. John Donne, George Herbert, Bishop Sanderson, Richard Hooker, and Sir Henry Wotton; whose Lives were written by Walton. Drawn by W. H. Brooke Engraved by G. W. Bonner. Page xxviii. 5. Tail-piece: Portraits and Arms of Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, and Thomas Ken, Bishop of Bath and Wells; both of whom were connected with the family of Walton. Drawn by W. H. Brooke: Engraved by G. W. Bonner. Page li.

6. Fac-Simile of the Hand-writing of Izaak Walton. From an Original Presentation Note contained in a copy of his Lives, in the possession of the Right Honourable the Earl of Gosford. By the side of which, is a copy from the Impression of a Seal given by Dr. Donne to I. Walton: Traced and Drawn by R. Thomson: Engraved by W. Hughes. Page lvi.

7. Fac-Simile of the Signature of Charles Cotton, Esq., from an Original Manuscript Poem on " Old Age;" in the Collection of Mr. William Upcott. Traced by R. Thomson: Engraved by W. Hughes. Page 253.

8. Head-piece: View of the entrance of the Town of Ware, in Hertfordshire, taken from Amwell End. Drawn and Engraved by H. White, from a Sketch made on the spot by W. H. Brooke. Page 1.

9. Initial Letter Y. Armorial Ensigns of Stafford, London, and Winchester; the cities in which Walton was born, lived, and died. Drawn by R. Thomson: Engraved by W. Hughes. Page 1. 10. Exterior View of Theobald's Palace. Drawn and Engraved by T. Mosses, after a copy by Mr. Tyson, from an ancient piece of Tapestry, formerly at Houghton, in Norfolk, published in Gough's Edition of Camden's Britannia. Lond. 1789. fol. vol. i. pl. xvii. Page 20.

11. Portrait and Arms of Dr. Alexander Nowel, Dean of St. Paul's. Drawn and Engraved by T. Mosses. Page 38. 12. Tail-piece: View of Amwell Hill, Herts, taken from the London-road. Drawn on the Spot by W. H. Brooke : Copied and Engraved by H. White. Page 44.

13. The Otter, Fishing. Drawn by the late J. Thurston: Engraved by J. Thompson. Page 46.

14. The Chub, from an Original Painting by W. Smith. and Engraved by J. Thompson. Page 53.

Drawn

15. Tail-piece: View of the Angler's Inn, near Hoddesden, Herts, called the Rye-House, from its contiguity to the celebrated ancient building of that name, which is seen on the left-hand side of the View. Drawn on the Spot by W. H. Brooke Engraved by W. Hughes. Page 55. 16. Tail-piece: The Roman Mullets dying. Drawn by the late J. Thurston Engraved by W. Hughes. Page 62.

"They did usually keep them living in glass bottles in their Dining Rooms;-they took great pleasure to see their Mullets change to several colours when they were dying." p. 62.

17. The Skegger-Trout, with Windsor-Castle in the distance, from an Original Painting by W. Smith. Drawn and Engraved by J. Thompson. Page 64.

18. Tail-piece: Emblems of "a Fayre and Happy Milk-Maid: " the Milk-pail, Ballad, Chub, Country-hat, Shepherd's-pipe, and Flowers. Drawn by the late J. Thurston: Engraved by W. Hughes. Page 77.

19. The Trout, from an Original Painting by A. Cooper, Esq., R. A. Drawn and Engraved by J. Thompson. Page 79. 20. Tail-piece: Group of Beggars disputing. Drawn by W. H. Brooke Engraved by T. Mosses. Page 122.

21. The Grayling, from an Original Painting by W. Smith. Drawn and Engraved by H. White. Page 124.

22. Tail-piece: Portrait of Ulysses Aldrovandus, with Emblems of Marine Natural History. Drawn and Engraved by T. Mosses. Page 125.

23. The Salmon, from an Original Painting by A. Cooper, Esq., R. A. Drawn and Engraved by J. Thompson. Page 130. 24. Tail-piece: A Lady of the 17th Century painting at her Toilet. Drawn by the late J. Thurston: Engraved by W. Hughes. Page 134.

25. The Pike, from an Original Painting by A. Cooper, Esq., R. A. Drawn by the late J. Thurston: Engraved by R. Branston. Page 141.

26. Tail-piece: Portrait of Sir Francis Bacon; surrounded by Emblems of Learning and Government. Drawn and Engraved by T. Mosses. Page 149.

27. The Carp, from an Original Painting by A.

Cooper, Esq., R. A. Drawn and Engraved by H. White. Page 155. 28. Tail-piece: Portrait and Arms of Sir Richard Baker, Knt.; surrounded by Emblems alluding to the following extract. Drawn by W. H. Brooke : Engraved by T. Mosses. Page 159.

"Affirmed by Sir Richard Baker, in whose Chronicle you may find these verses:

Hops and Turkies, Carps and Beer,

Came into England all in a year." p. 150.

29. The Bream, from an Original Painting by W. Smith. Drawn and Engraved by H. White.

Page 161.

30. Tail-piece: Portrait of Conrade Gesner; surrounded by Emblems of Medicine and Natural History. Drawn by W. H.

Brooke Engraved by T. Mosses. Page 168.

"This Gesner affirms, and I quote my Author.” p. 161.

31. The Tench, from an Original Painting by A. Cooper, Esq., R. A. Drawn and Engraved by J. Thompson. Page 170. 32. Tail-piece: A Quack and Fanatic haranguing their deceived Hearers; Waltham Cross in the back-ground. Drawn by W. H. Brooke : Engraved by T. Mosses. Page 171.

"There are too many foolish meddlers in Physic and Divinity, that think themselves fit to meddle with hidden secrets, and so bring destruction to their followers." p. 170.