Calmly passed o’er thy stormless life.”
During the lifetime of Bloomfield, another young and obscure poet, Henry Kirke White of Nottingham, was indebted to Bloomfield’s patrons, Mr. Lofft and Robert Southey, for his introduction to the public. After reading “The Farmer’s Boy” and “Rural Tales,” White wrote the following clever epigram, the sentiment of which all admirers of the shoemaker-poet will heartily indorse:
“Bloomfield, thy happy omened name
Ensures continuance to thy fame;
Both sense and truth this verdict give,
While fields shall bloom, thy name shall live.”
[CHAPTER VI.]
