William Baxter The Lay of the Grave-Digger (1849)

 

T H E

L A D I E S '   R E P O S I T O R Y .
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F E B R U A R Y,   1 8 4 9 .
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T H E   L A Y   O F   T H E   G R A V E - D I G G E R .
BY WILLIAM BAXTER.
F R O M   T H E   G E R M A N .
DIG, spade, a lonely grave;
For all on earth I have
    I owe, my spade, to thee;
For rich and poor I toil;
They all become my spoil--
    They come at last to me.

O, once this noble skull,
Of wit and fancy full,
    Bow'd none on earth to thank;
This sightless mass of bone,
Whence cheeks, lips, eyes, are gone,
    Had gold, and lofty rank.

This head with glossy hair
Seem'd like an angel's-fair,
    For a few fleeting years;
And though the gazing crowd
Shouted his praise aloud,
    Their praise no more he hears.

Dig, spade, a lonely grave;
For all on earth I have
    I owe, my spade, to thee;
For rich and poor I toil;
They all become my spoil--
    They come at last to me.

 

[The Ladies' Repository 9 (February 1849): 41.]

ABOUT THE ELECTRONIC EDITION

      William Baxter's "The Lay of the Grave-Digger" was first published in The Ladies' Repository: A Monthly Periodical Devoted to Literature and Religion, Vol. 9, No. 2, February 1849, p. 41. This volume, edited by B. F. Tefft, was published in Cincinnati by L. Swormstedt and J. H. Power and in New York by G. Lane and L. Scott.

      Addenda and corrigenda are earnestly solicited.

Ernie Stefanik
Derry, PA

Created 13 April 2000.
Updated 28 June 2003.

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