4 
G R A 
fet of cliambei's in the Inner Temple, for the purpofe 
of rtiidying the law ; when he gladly embraced an in- 
viuition to accompany Mr. Walpole in the tour of 
Europe. They let out together in the enfuing fpving ; 
and travelled through h'rance, crolfed the Alps, vifited 
the principal towns of Italy as far as Naples, returned 
to Florence, and in the fpring of 1741 proceeded to Ve¬ 
nice. Upon the way thitlier the two companions fell 
into a difagreement, which occafioned their feparation. 
Of this .unfortunate incident Mr. Walpole has gene- 
roufly taken all the blame to himfelf. Gray, with his 
own moderate relburces, finiflied the refl: of his tour, 
and arrived in England in September 1741. His re(i- 
dence from this time was cliiefiy at Cambridge, to which 
he was probably attached by an inlatiabie love of 
books, which his fortune would not permit him to in¬ 
dulge from his own ftores. It was not till 1747 that his 
Ode on a diftant Prolpebf of Eton College made its ap¬ 
pearance before the public. What degree of popula¬ 
rity it obtained we are not told ; but tlie love of fame 
could not be very aiffivc in his mind, (ince it was only 
in confequence of the printing of a iuneptitious copy 
tliat he publilhed, in 1751, his celebrated Elegy written 
in a Country Church-yard, chiefly compofed fome yeaTs 
before, and even now fent into the world with'out the 
author’s name. Few poems were ever fo popular: it 
foon ran tlirough eleven editions, was tranfiated into 
Latin verfe, and has ever fince borne all the marks 
of being one of the mod favourite produttions of 
tlie Britifh mufe. I'lie deatli of Cibber, in 1757, 
gave occafion to a defign of retrieving the charafter of 
tile laureate from the contempt it iiad undergone, bv 
conferring tlie office upon fome real poet, and it was 
offered to Gray. He declined the appointment, which 
was accepted by Whitehead. What he was capable of 
doing as a lyric poet was iliewn in the fame year by the 
publication of his two principal odes. On the Progrefs 
of Poefy, and The Bard. As thefe were exprefsly 
meant to be “ vocal to the intelligent alone,” it is not 
furprifing that they were lefs popular than his elegy 
had been. Many could not underltand them ; fome ri¬ 
diculed them ; and in general they were more gazed at 
than tailed : but with paiticular readers they railed tlie 
author’s poetical talent to a level with that of the firlt 
poets of his country. The uniformity of his life was 
varied by a relidence of three years, commencing in 
1759, in lodgings near the Britilh Mufeum, chiefly for 
the puirpofe of confulting curious books and manu- 
Icripts in that great national repofiiory. A journey 
into Scotland for his health, in 1765, introduced him to 
the moft eminent literati in that country, and fed his 
imagination with thofe icenes of natural lublimity and 
beauty which no man was better qualified to talle. 
The profefforfliip of modern hillory at Cambridge, a 
pdace worth four hundred pounds per annum, which 
had fallen vacant in 1762, was modellly alked by him of 
lord Bute, but had before been promifed to another. 
On a fecoird vacancy, in 1768, it was conferred upon 
him “ uniblicited and unexpetted,” in the moft hand- 
fome manner, by the duke of Grafton. He made a vo¬ 
luntary return for the favour, by an Ode for Mufic, 
for the inltallation of that nobleman as chancellor of the • 
univerlity, in_^i769. His new profelforlhip, while it 
made an important addition to his income and his aca¬ 
demical dignity, laid him under an obligation to exer¬ 
tion, which caufed him confiderable anxiety. Though 
founded in 1724, it had hitherto retnained a perfett fine- 
cure. The example of his predeceltbrs, however, did 
not fatisfy him, and he prepared himfelf to execute the 
duties of the office. T. he baneful efletts of habitual 
indolence, and a life palfed without any determinate ob- 
jH 5 i;ts, were in his cale fingularly confpicuous; for, with 
a mind replete with the llores of knowledge ancient and 
modern, he was unable to bring his acquiiitions to life 
on demand ; and, after many unealy hruggles, he pro- 
G R A 811 
ceeded no further than to fketch out a plan for his in 
auguration fpeech. But his health was now dcclininp-; 
low fpirits, the indolent fch.olar’s familiar maladv, 
leized upon him; and he died July 30, 1771, in the 
fifty-filth year of his age. It is cxclulively as a poet 
that the name of Gray deferves to be tianfmitted to 
pollerity. In this capacity, the fmall number of his 
compolitions, compared with the high rank he has at. 
tained, muff be conlTdered as indicative of an uncom¬ 
mon degree of excellence. In pure invention, perhaps. 
Gray cannot be faid to excel, neither is he highly pa¬ 
thetic or fublime ; blithe is fplendiJ, lofty, and"energe¬ 
tic ; generally correbf, and richly harmonious. Though 
lyric poetry is that in which he has chiefly exerciled 
liihifelf, he was capable of varying his manner to fuit 
any Ipecies of compofition. Perhaps he was beft of all 
qualified for the moral and didabtic, if we may judo-e 
from his noble fragment of An Elfiy on the Alliance 
of Education and Government. But the number of 
his fragments indicates a want of energy to lupport a 
long-continued flight; and it would be too indulgent 
to (nppole tliat he could liave performed all that he 
planned. As a writer of Latin verfd he is perhaps fiir- 
paffed by few in clalfic propriety, and certainly excels 
the ordinary tribe of Latin verlifiers in novelty and dig¬ 
nity. The familiar letters of Gray are entertaining and 
inffrubfive. They are free from all parade, and pof. 
fefs a fund of pleafantry, fometimes bordering upon 
quaintnefs. 
GRAY'BE ARD, f. A-n old man : in contempt: 
Youngling, thou can’ll not love fo dear as I. 
Graybcard, tliy love doth freeze. Shakefpeare. 
GRAY'LING, f. In ichthyology, tlie umber. See 
the article Salmo. 
GRAY'NESS, f. The quality of being gray. 
GRAY'-EYED, adj. Having gray eyes.—Tlie gray- 
ey'd morn I'miles on the frowning nighf. Shakefpeare. 
GRAY-FIAIRED, adj. Having gray hairs : 
In gray-hair'd Caslia’s wither’d arms 
As miglity Louis lay, 
Slie cry’d, If I have any charms. 
My dearell, let’s away. Dorfet, 
GRAY'-HEADED, adj. Witii a gray head of hair : 
Gray-headed men and grave, with warriors mix’d, 
Allemble. Milton. 
GRAYS, or Grays-Thurrock, a fmall neat town 
in tlie county of Effex, diltaiu twenty five miles from 
London, beautifully lituated on the banks of the 
'Fliames, oppofite Dartford in Kent. Its trade is in- 
conliderable. It has a fair yearly on the 23d of May, 
for pedlary; and a market on Tliurlllays, at wliich a 
confiderable quantity of grain is fold to the London 
fabtors. A veffel for goods and paUengeis lails every 
Sunday and Thurld'ay to Wheelers wharf, St. Catha- 
fine’s, London; and returns on Mondays and 7 hurf- 
days: fare nine-pence. The town Hands on the lide of 
a hill ; and has a good market-place, and market-honfe,, 
over which is a handl’ome leflions-room. Here is all'o a 
large wharf, whole lituation on tlie river is about half 
way between Purfleet-magaziiies and 'i ilbury-foi t. 
GRAZALE''MA, a town of Spain, in the province 
of Grenada : eight miles welt of Ronda. 
GRAZAY-LE-BOl'S, a town of France, in the de¬ 
partment of the Mayenne, and chief place of a canton, 
in the dillribl of Mayenne : one league and three quar¬ 
ters call of Mayenne, and two and three quarters north 
of Evron. 
To GRAZE, V. n. [from grafe. ] To eat grafs ; to feed 
on grafs.—The greatefl; of my pi ide is to lee my ewes 
graze., and my lambs luck. Shakefpeare. 
The more ignoble throng 
Attend their llately Heps, and llowly along, Dryd. 
To 
