Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, ON THE BURNING OF LORD MANSFIELD'S LIBRARY (1), by WILLIAM COWPER


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

ON THE BURNING OF LORD MANSFIELD'S LIBRARY (1), by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: So then - the vandals of our isle
Last Line: The burning of his own.
Subject(s): Books; Great Britain - Gordon Riots (1780); Murray, William. 1st Earl Of Mansfield; Vandalism; Reading


TOGETHER WITH HIS MSS.,

BY THE MOB, IN THE MONTH OF JUNE 1780.

So then--the Vandals of our isle,
Sworn foes to sense and law,
Have burnt to dust a nobler pile
Than ever Roman saw!

And Murray sighs o'er Pope, and Swift,
And many a treasure more,
The well-judged purchase, and the gift,
That graced his lettered store.

Their pages mangled, burnt, and torn,
The loss was his alone;
But ages yet to come shall mourn
The burning of his own.





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