BLAIR'S " GRAVE."
pro THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR."' Sin,—We are constantly finding that Shakespeare can be oppositely quoted on almost any event that takes place. But it is also noticeable that all the real poets show a power of imagination which enables us to fit their words to great passing events at all times. In the poem called "The Grave," by Blair, written a hundred and eighty years ago, we find the following lines t- " Here all the mighty troublers of the earth, Who swam to sovereign rule through seas of blood; The oppressive, sturdy, man-destroying villains, Who ravag'd kingdoms, and laid empires waste, And in a cruel wantonness of power Thinned States of half their people, and gave up To want the rest; now like a storm that's spent, Lie hash'd, and meanly sneak behind thy covert, Vain thought, to hide them from the general scorn That haunts and dogs them like an injured ghost Implacable."
Shantley Green, Guildford.
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