st ignorance and lowly faith among the
secrets of religion; and by all these miseries of haste the heart grows
weary, and is made weak and dull, or else hard and angry, while it
dwelleth in the midst of them.

"But let me tell you that an angler's occupation is a good cure for
these evils, if for no other reason, because it gently dissuadeth us
from haste and leadeth us away from feverish anxieties into those ways
which are pleasantness and those paths which are peace. For an angler
cannot force his fortune by eagerness, nor better it by discontent. He
must wait upon the weather, and the height of the water, and the hunger
of the fish, and many other accidents of which he has no control. If
he would angle well, he must not be in haste. And if he be in haste,
he will do well to unlearn it by angling, for I think there is no surer
method.

"This fair tree that shadows us from the sun hath grown many years
in its place without more unhappiness than the loss of its leaves in
winter, which the succeeding season doth generously repair; and shall we
be less contented in the place where God hath planted us? or shall there
go less time to the making of a man than to the growth of a tree? This
stream floweth wimpling and laughing down to the great sea which it
knoweth not; yet it doth not fret because the future is hidden;
and doubtless it were wise in us to accept the mysteries of life as
cheerfully and go forward with a merry heart, considering that we know
enough to make us happy and keep us honest for to-day. A man should be
well content if he can see so far ahead of him as the next bend in the
stream. What lies beyond, let him trust in the hand of God.

"But as concerning riches, wherein should you and I be happier, this
pleasant afternoon of May, had we all the gold in Croesus his coffers?
Would the sun shine for us more bravely, or the flowers give forth a
sweeter breath, or yonder warbling vireo, hidden in her leafy choir,
send down more pure and musical descants, sweetly attuned by natural
magic to woo and win our thoughts from vanity and hot desires into a
harmony with the tranquil thoughts of God? And as for fame and power,
trust me, sir, I have seen too many men in my time that lived very
unhappily though their names were upon all lips, and died very sadly
though their power was felt in many lands; too many of these great
ones have I seen that spent their days in disquietude and ended them in
sorrow, to make me env