not long quietly possessed: for Corboran, the Turkish general, came with a vast army of Persian forces, and besieged the Christians in the city, so that they were brought into so great strait betwixt death and death, hunger within and foes without. Many stole secretly away, whereat the rest were no whit discomfited, counting the loss of cowards to be gain to an army. At last, they generally resolved rather to lose their lives by wholesale on the point of the sword than to retail them out by famine, which is the worst of tyrants, and murdereth men in state whilst they die in not dying. It did not a little encourage them that they found in the Church of St. Peter that lance wherewith our Saviour's body was pierced. They highly prized this military relic of Christ, as if by wounding of Him it had got virtue to wound His enemies, and counted it a pawn of certain victory. Whether this spear was truly found, or whether it was but invented to cozen men with, we will not dispute: however, it wrought much with these pilgrims, for conceit1 oftentimes doth things above conceit, especially when the imagination apprehendeth something founded in religion. Marching forth in several armies, they manfully fell upon their enemies, and being armed with despair to escape, they sought to sell their lives at the dearest rate. Valour doth swell when it is crushed betwixt extremities, and then oftentimes goeth beyond herself in her achievements. This day, by God's blessing on their courage, they got a noble conquest. Some saw St. George in the air with an army of white horses fighting for them; but these, no doubt, did look through the spectacles of fancy. And yet, though we should reject this apparition we need not play the Origens with the story of St. George, and change all the literal sense into an allegory of Christ and His Church: 1 i. e. belief.

for it is improbable that our English nation amongst so many saints that were would choose one that was not to be their patron-especially seeing the world in that age had rather a glut than a famine of saints.

IZAAK WALTON (1593-1683), born at Stafford, settled early in London as a haberdasher, and was there intimate with Donne, Hales, Wotton, Ben Jonson, and other literary men of the day. In 1640 he wrote his Life of Donne as preface to a volume of Donne's sermons, which was about to be published. It was followed in 1651 by the Life of Sir Henry Wotton. He was early noted as a fisherman, but the Complete Angler was not written until 1653. In 1665 appeared his Life of Richard Hooker, and in 1670 the Life of George Herbert. In the same year the four Lives' were collected in one volume. He died at Winchester and was buried in the Cathedral.

THE COMPLETE ANGLER

PART I, CHAPTER IV

BUT turn out of the way a little, good scholar, towards yonder high hedge: we will sit whilst this shower falls so gently upon the teeming earth, and gives a sweeter smell to the lovely flowers that adorn the verdant meadows.

Look, under that broad beech-tree I sat down when I was last this way a-fishing, and the birds in the adjoining grove seemed to have a friendly contention with an echo whose dead voice seemed to live in a hollow cave near to the brow of that primrose-hill. There I sat, viewing the silver streams glide silently towards their centre, the tempestuous sea, yet sometimes opposed by rugged roots and pebble-stones, which broke their waves and turned them into foam: and sometimes viewing the harmless lambs, some leaping securely in the cool shade, whilst others sported themselves in the

cheerful sun, and others were craving comfort from the swollen udders of their bleating dams. As thus I sat, these and other sights had so fully possessed my soul that I thought as the poet has happily expressed it—

I was for that time lifted above earth;

And possessed joys not promised in my birth, As I left this place, and entered into the next field, a second pleasure entertained me; 'twas a handsome milkmaid that had cast away all care, and sung like a nightingale. Her voice was good, and the ditty fitted for it; 'twas that smooth song which was made by Kit Marlow, now at least fifty years ago; and the milkmaid's mother sung an answer to it, which was made by Sir Walter Raleigh in his younger days.

ABRAHAM COWLEY (1618-1667). For biographical details see Chapter I, p. 24.

(From the Essay)

OF AGRICULTURE

THE antiquity of his art is certainly not to be contested by any other. The three first men in the world, were a gardener, a ploughman, and a grazier, and if any man object, that the second of these was a murderer, I desire he would consider, that as soon as he was so, he quitted our profession and turned builder. It is for this reason, I suppose, that Ecclesiasticus forbids us to hate husbandry; because (says he) the Most High has created it. We were all born to this art, and taught by nature to nourish our bodies by the same earth, out of which they were made, and to which they must return, and pay at last for their sustenance.

Behold the original and primitive nobility of all those great persons, who are too proud now, not only to till

the ground, but almost to tread upon it. We may talk what we please of lilies, and lions rampant, and spread eagles in fields d'or, or d'argent, but if heraldry were guided by reason, a plough in a field arable, would be the most noble and ancient arms.

All these considerations make me fall into the wonder and complaint of Columella'. How it should come to pass that all arts or sciences, (for the dispute, which is an art, and which is a science, does not belong to the curiosity of us husbandmen) metaphysic, physic, morality, mathematics, logic, rhetoric, &c. which are all, I grant, good and useful faculties, (except only metaphysic, which I do not know whether it be any thing or no) but even vaulting, fencing, dancing, attiring, cookery, carving, and such like vanities, should all have public schools and masters, and yet that we should never see or hear of any man who took upon him the profession of teaching this so pleasant, so virtuous, so profitable, so honourable, so necessary art?

A man would think, when he's in serious humour, that it were but a vain irrational, and ridiculous thing, for a great company of men and women to run up and down in a room together, in a hundred several postures and figures to no purpose, and with no design; and therefore dancing was invented first, and only practised anciently in the ceremonies, of the heathen religion, which consisted all in mummery and madness; the latter being the chief glory of the worship, and accounted divine inspiration: this, I say, a severe man would think, though I dare not determine so far against so customary a part now of good breeding. And yet, who is there among our gentry, that does not entertain a dancing.

1 First century A. D. A well-known writer on husbandry.

master for his children as soon as they are able to walk? But did ever any father provide a tutor for his son to instruct him betimes in the nature and improvements of that land which he intended to leave him? That is at least a superfluity, and this a defect in our manner of education; and therefore I could wish (but cannot in these times much hope to see it) that one college in each university were erected and appropriated to this study, as well as there are to medicine and the civil law: there would be no need of making a body of scholars and fellows, with certain endowments, as in other colleges; it would suffice, if after the manner of halls in Oxford, there were only four Professors constituted (for it would be too much work for only one master, or principal, as they call him there) to teach these four parts of it. First, aration, and all things relating to it. Secondly, pasturage. Thirdly, gardens, orchards, vineyards, and woods. Fourthly, all parts of rural economy, which would contain the government of bees, swine, poultry, decoys, ponds, &c. and all that which Varro1 calls Villaticas Pastiones, together with the sports of the field, which ought to be looked upon not only as pleasures, but as parts of housekeeping and the domestical conservation and uses of all that is brought in by industry abroad. The business of these professors should not be, as is commonly practised in other arts, only to read pompous and superficial lectures out of Virgil's Georgics3, Pliny, Varro, or Columella, but to instruct their pupils in the whole method and course of this study, which might be

1 First century B. C. Predecessor and model of Columella. The keeping of live-stock round the house (e. g. poultry, pigeons, &c.).

3 Virgil's four poems on husbandry.

Pliny the elder, first century A. D., author of a famous work on Natural History.