Sighing that Nature form’d but one such man, And broke the die, in moulding Sheridan.1
ATTRIBUTION:
Monody on the Death of Sheridan. Line 117.
Note 1. Natura il fece, e poi ruppe la stampa (Nature made him, and then broke the mould).—Ariosto: Orlando Furioso, canto x. stanza 84.
The idea that Nature lost the perfect mould has been a favorite one with all song-writers and poets, and is found in the literature of all European nations.—Book of English Songs, p. 28. [back]
