Page:An English Garner Ingatherings from Our History and Literature (Volume 1 1877).pdf/174

Nor that admirer of sweet music's sound
That on his back ARION bore away
And brought to shore out of the seas profound;
The hippotame that like an horse doth neigh,
The morse that from the rocks enrollèd round
Within his teeth himself doth safe convey;
The tortoise covered with his target hard,
The tuberon attended with his guard.

Nor with that fish that beareth in his snout
A ragged sword, his foes to spoil and kill;
Nor that fierce thrasher that doth fling about
His nimble flail and handles him at will;
The ravenous shark that with the sweepings out
And filth of ships doth oft his belly fill;
  The albacore that followeth night and day
  The flying fish, and takes them for his prey.

The crocodile that weeps when he doth wrong,
The halibut that hurts the appetite,
The turbot broad, the seal, the sturgeon strong,
The cod and cozze that greedy are to bite,
The hake, the haddock, and conger long,
The yellow ling, the milwell fair and white,
  The spreading ray, the thornback thin and flat,
  The boisterous base, the hoggish tunny fat.

These kinds of fish that are so large of size,
And many more that here I leave untold,
Shall go for me, and all the rest likewise
That are the flock of PROTEUS' wat'ry fold;
For well I think my hooks would not suffice,
Nor slender lines, the least of these to hold.
  I leave them therefore to the surging seas:
  In that huge depth, to wander at their ease.