1821 .] Stephensiana.—No. L 23 1 
And pensive oft, to seek thy shade, 
Perchance the falling Poet stray’d. 
But now—or parch’d by sultry suns, 
Or some rude blast’s pernicious breath, 
How fast thy vital moisture runs 
And wets the sadden’d turf beneath ; 
Untimely falls thy leafy pride 
Adown the mountain’s craggy side. 
Yet do not droop ! reviving spring 
Thy former health may still renew : 
Mild Ev’ning softer gales may bring. 
And wash thy wounds with tears of dew; 
Not so thy lot, frail man ! may be ; 
Returning Spring ne’er blooms for thee. 
MR. GIBBON. 
When Mr. Fox’s library was sold in 
1781, the first volume of the 44 Decline 
and Fall ” was brought to the hammer. 
If brought three guineas, in consequence 
of the contention produced by the fol¬ 
lowing MS. note in the well-known 
hand of 44 the man of the people 
44 The Author at Brooks’s said that there 
was no salvation for this country , until 
Six heads of the principal persons in 
administration were LAID upon the 
table.” Yet eleven days afterwards, 
this same gentleman accepted a place 
under those very ministers, and acted 
with them ever afterwards. 
SIR FRANCIS BURDETT. 
Sir Francis Burdett was led to Cold 
Bath Fields by a letter written upon 
the leaf of a book, with a splinter of 
wood, in the blood of the miserable 
captives who supplicated him to save 
them from the pangs of death, produced 
by hunger and thirst. On visiting the 
unhappy creatures, he found them 
44 merely frames of men, their minds 
apparently as much impaired as their 
bodies.” They were Englishmen, in 
an English prison, and without a trial. 
Written by adml.' lord nelson to 
LADY HAMILTON, 
i Sooner shall Britain’s sons resign 
The empire of the sea, 
Than Henry shall renounce his faith, 
And plighted vows to thee. 
And waves on waves shall cease to roll, 
And tides forget to flow, 
Ere thy true Henry’s constant love 
Or ebb or change shall know. 
DR. JOHNSON. 
I was told by the foreman of the 
Chelsea China Manufactory, (then in 
the workhouse of St. Luke’s, Middle¬ 
sex) that Dr. Johnson had conceived a 
notion that he was capable of improv¬ 
ing on the manufacture of china. He 
even applied to the directors of the 
Chelsea China Works, and was allowed 
to bake his compositions in their ovens 
t k ■ 
\ 
in *—-st., Chelsea. He was accord¬ 
ingly accustomed to go down with his 
housekeeper, about twice a week, and 
staid the whole day, she carrying a 
basket of provisions along with her. 
The Doctor, who was not allowed to 
enter the mixing room, had access to 
every other part of the house, and 
formed his composition in a particular 
apartment, without being overlooked 
by anyone. He had also free access to 
the oven, and superintended the whole 
of the process; but completely failed, 
both as to composition and baking, for 
his materials always yielded to the 
intensity of the heat, while those of the 
company came out of the furnace per¬ 
fect and complete. The Doctor retired 
in disgust, but not in despair, for he 
afterwards gave a dissertation on this 
very subject in his works; but the 
overseer, who has read this, assured me 
in the spring of 1814, that he was still 
ignorant of the nature of the operation. 
He seemed to think that the Dr. ima¬ 
gined one single substance was suffi¬ 
cient, while lie on the other hand asserts 
that he always used sixteen, and he 
must have had some practice, as he has 
nearly lost his eyesight, by firing 
batches of china, both at Chelsea and 
Derby, to which the manufacture was 
afterwards carried. 
Chelsea china, originally patronized 
by the Duke of Cumberland, and after¬ 
wards by Sir It. Faulkner, was a long 
time in such repute as to be sold by 
auction, and as a set was purchased 
as soon as baked, dealers were sur¬ 
rounding the doors for that purpose. 
EARL OF MOUNT EDGECOMBE. 
The late Lord Edgecombe had a fa¬ 
vourite pig, who is said to have fol¬ 
lowed him for miles, and even to have 
snuffed him in the wind , so as readily to 
anticipate his arrival. This wonderful 
animal at last became the subject of an 
ode, of which it may not be amiss to 
quote a few stanzas : 
Ye muses quit your sacred stream, 
And aid me like the bards of yore, 
Slight Milton, for like his my theme 
In verse was never sung before, 
Indeed the tale is often told in prose 
Since all the world the mighty wonder 
knows! 4 
Theme of sublimity ! my boar, 
All hail! thou beast of high renown, 
As famous as the horse of yore, 
That won his lucky lord a crown.* 
* Darius. 
Fam’d 
