Will this do better? the metaphor is more complete.
“Till slowly ebb’d the { lava of the |
spent volcanic } wave, And blackening ashes mark’d the Muse’s grave. |
“Is Whitbread determined to castrate all my cavalry lines*? I don’t see why t’other house should be spared; besides, it is the public, who ought to know better; and you recollect Johnson’s was against similar buffooneries of Rich’s—but, certes, I am not Johnson.
“Instead of ‘effects,’ say ‘labours’—‘degenerate’ will do, will it? Mr. Betty is no longer a babe, therefore the line cannot be personal.
| 370 | NOTICES OF THE | A. D. 1812. |
“Till ebb’d the lava of { the burning |
that molten } wave |
“This is the place where, if a poet Shined in description, he might show it.” |
“Yes, it shall be—the magic of that name, That scorns the scythe of Time, the torch of Flame, On the same spot, &c. &c. |
“P.S. I foresee there will be charges of partiality in the papers; but you know I sent in no Address; and glad both you and I must be that I did not, for, in that case, their plea had been plausible. I doubt the Pit will be testy; but conscious innocence (a novel and pleasing sensation) makes me bold.”
