"Here shall the Morn her earliest tears bestow, "Since which, some (unknown) admirer of my daughter published in one of the Morning Papers the following lines, which he modestly terms 'Elegiac Lines' offered to her memory. They were too flattering to be neglected, and therefore on the model of the LYONS Taurobolium, which guards the unhallowed spot, they likewise are impressed, and are as follows: "READER, if Youth should sparkle in thine cye, Where Beauty, Youth, and Innocence repose. "Doth Wit adorn thy mind--doth Science pour "Does Music's dulcet notes dwell on thy tongue, The melting strains a Cherub might inspire. "Of Youth, of Beauty, then, be vain no more, Of Music's power, of Wit, and Learning's prize; I cannot, however, quit this melancholy subject, without mentioning an accidental object, which, on a superstitious mind, might operate very forcibly. The workmen in turning this rude arch, put up the stones unhewn, and in the most irregular manner; yet it so happened, that two whitish stones, something of a bastard alabaster kind, were so laid, that, since my daughter's death, and the place becoming more an object of serious attention, I perceived that those stones, at a certain oblique point of view, offer a very striking figure of a winged angel, and consequently are now emblematical of the lines, which almost touch the "silver wings" of this natural piece of sculpture. "Dr «Dr. YOUNG, author of the NIGHT THOUGHTS, being introduced where I was on a visit in London, he attracted the attention of all the company, and in a particular manner that of an elderly lady, who was so astonished to find him a cheerful lively old man, instead of the gloomy being she conceived him to be, that she could not help expressing to him her agreeable surprise. "O Madam (replied the Doctor), there is much difference between writing and talking:" So, that you may not conclude me altogether lost in sorrow and sadness, I must give you the epitaph of one of my fellow-travellers. He was a very honest fellow, as the following lines will testify: True to his master, gen'rous, brave, Blush then, ye human sons of b- Yet grudge the tribute of a tear To the poor dog which slumbers here. Mrs. THICKNESSE, who presents her compliments to you and yours, calls out, "Pray put me in, for I am afraid I shall die soon." So I repeated to her the following Epigram : My sickly spouse, with many a sigh, "Twas well it did;—for on my life, 'Twas Heaven's will to spare my wife. • You will conclude *, my dear Sir, that a spot which is so respectable For modern as well as antient endowments, and which is to be further en The Author's works altogether could not more accurately describe Mr. T. than this single passage-a volume in itself. riched with kindred ashes, will not be left liable to the precarious disposal of an auctioneer's wooden hammer:-No, Sir; if no child of our's sur vive us to enjoy it, it shall devolve to a most respectable GENTLEMAN of BATH, or to his heirs; a Gentleman, with whom I never ate or drank, and for reasons he, or they, will then know; but which I will carry to the grave with me. The following lines, which are in a little recess at the foot-path gate, are too applicable to be omitted: Here let Time's creeping winter shed My sluggard blood wax chill and freeze, I wake! and find those visions true. Most of the objects enumerated in this Abstract are still here, and in great preservation: the little Mausoleum of Anna is guarded with pe culiar care by the present proprietor; and an old Dog, of the pointer breed, now dim-sighted and scarcely able to crawl about his antient haunts, receives from the whole family a certain tenderness and care, due to him from pity, on account of his being the only living creature that remains of the former Hermitage groupe. He was stricken in years when his old master died; but while the place became deserted, and little better than a ruin, the poor fellow, though he was removed by a charitable hand to a considerable distance, almost daily visited the spot, lingered about it, and quitted it for his new abode with reluctance. He now passes his time with his present, and no less kind, masters and mistresses in Bond-street, Bath, yet still contrives to hobble after some of them, or by himself, to St. Catherine's-hill daily. The Hermitage is in almost every respect enlarged, beautified, and improved by Mr. Coward, and the gate thrown open to the public, in token of universal welcome; by which urbanity, the residents and visitors of the very beautiful city, of which it commands the most delightful prospect, are accommodated with a walk that equally conduces to health and pleasure. Innumerable were the literary squibs, crackers, pasquinades, and popguns, which the inflammatory disposition and irritable habits of this truly truly ingenious man called forth. It was too frequently no more than enforcing the law of retaliation, simply returning blow for blow. His arrows often polished, more often envenomed, always keen, and for the most part hurled with equal virulence and dexterity, rebounded on himself, and fixed their points deeper, perhaps, in his own bosom than in that of his antagonist. But I have seen him forgive a real offender, and known him relieve the wants of a person who had been guilty of ingratitude. Passing the farrago of satire that at different times issued from his pen, and the reverberations of pleasant or indignant wit, or of angry remonstrance, many of which were no less remarkable for Genius, I shall preserve only one effusion of a well-tempered muse, and worthy man, who has touched with appropriate pleasantry upon a difference which once subsisted, and, what is more extraordinary, was afterwards accommodated between Mr. Thicknesse and the amiable and venerable Mr. Graves *. The public and an admiring circle of private friends have very recently sustained a heartfelt loss in the death of this truly venerable and excellent man; a loss most sincerely felt by all to whom he was known; for to know was to love him, but by none more sincerely affectionated or more heavily deplored, than by the Gleaner; who for a long course of years has been honoured by his conversation, his correspondence, and a friendship that experienced no change or diminution. A warm and just tribute will be offered to his memory in that part of the present volume devoted to republications, ΤΟ THE PRESENT RETURNED*. TO P. THICKNESSE, ESQ. To Clara long had Ranger sighed, However, by some strange mistake With other name than Clara's on it: Of Mr. Graves's Books. They |