In me thou seest the glowing of such fire,
That on the ashes of his youth doth lie,
As the death-bed whereon it must expire,
Consum’d with that which it was nourish’d by.
This thou perceiv’st, which makes thy love more strong,
To love that well which thou must leave ere long.’
In all these, as well as in many others, there is a mild tone of sentiment, deep, mellow, and sustained, very different from the crudeness of his earlier poems.
End of The Characters of Shakespear’s Plays.
A LETTER TO WILLIAM GIFFORD, ESQ.
[The title-page of the original edition is as follows: A Letter to William Gifford, Esq. From William Hazlitt, Esq. ‘Fit pugil, et medicum urget.’ London: Printed for John Miller, Burlington Arcade, Piccadilly. 1819. Price Three Shillings. A so-called ‘second edition’ of 1820 consisted of the unsold copies with a fresh title-page: London: Printed for Robert Stodart, 81 Strand. 1820.]