Chapter Grass to Great Expectations of G by Brewer's Readers Handbook

Grave (The), a poem in blank verse by Blair (1743). It runs to 767 lines.

The grave, dread thing, Men shiver when thou’rt named. Nature, appalled, Shakes off her wonted firmness.

Mrs. Clive, in 1872, published nine poems, one of which was entitled The Grave.

Graveairs (Lady), a lady of very dubious virtue, in The Careless Husband, by Colley Cibber (1704).

Mrs. Hamilton [1730–1788], upon her entrance, was saluted with a storm of hisses, and advancing to the footlights said, “Gemmen and ladies, I s’pose as how you hiss me because I wouldn’t play ‘lady Graveairs’ last night at Mrs. Bellamy’s benefit. I would have done so, but she said as how my audience stunk, and were all tripe people.” The pit roared with laughter, and the whole house shouted, “Well said, Mrs. Tripe!” a title which the fair speechifier retained ever after.—Memoir of Mrs. Hamilton (1803).

GRAY, the hero of J. Fenimore Cooper’s novel called The Pilot (1823).

Gray (Old Alice), a former tenant of the Ravenswood family.—Sir W. Scott: Bride of Lammermoor (time, William III.).

Gray (Dr. Gideon), the surgeon at Middlemas.

Mrs. Gray, the surgeon’s wife.

Menie Gray, the “surgeon’s daughter,” taken to India and given to Tippoo Saib as an addition to his harem; but, being rescued by Hyder Ali, she was restored to Hartley, and returned to her country.—Sir W. Scott: The Surgeon’s Daughter (time, George II.).

Gray (Duncan) wooed a young lass called Maggie, but she “coost her head fu’ high, looked asklent” (away), and bade him behave himself. “Duncan fleeched, and Duncan prayed,” but Meg was deaf to his pleadings; so Duncan took himself off in dudgeon. This was more than Maggie meant, so she fell sick and like to die. As Duncan “could na be her death,” he came forward manfully again, and then “they were crouse [merry] and canty bath. Ha, ha! the wooing o’t!”—Burns: Duncan Gray (1792).

Gray (Mary), daughter of a country gentleman of Perth. When the plague broke out in 1666, Mary Gray and her friend Bessy Bell retired to an unfrequented spot called Burn Braes, where they lived in a secluded cottage, and saw no one. A young gentleman brought them food, but he caught the plague, communicated it to the two ladies, and all three died.—Allan Ramsay: Bessy Bell and Mary Gray.

Gray (Auld Robin). Jennie, a Scotch lass, was loved by young Jamie; “but saving a crown, he had naething else besides.” To make that crown a pound, young Jamie went to sea, and both were to be for Jennie. He had not been gone many days when Jennie’s mother fell sick, her father broke his arm, and their cow was stolen; then auld Robin came forward and maintained them both. Auld Robin loved the lass, and “wi’ tears in his ee,” said, “Jennie, for their sakes, oh, marry me!” Jennie’s heart said “nay,” for she looked for Jamie back; but her father urged her, and the mother pleaded with her eye, and so she consented. They had not been married above a month when Jamie returned. They met; she gave him one kiss, and, though she “gang like a ghaist,” she made up her mind, like a brave, good lassie, to be a gude wife, for auld Robin was very kind to her (1772).

This ballad was composed by lady Anne Lindsay, daughter of the earl of Balcarres (afterwards lady Barnard). It was written to an old Scotch tune called The Bridegroom Grat when the Sun went Down. Auld Robin Gray was her father’s herdsman. When lady Anne was writing the ballad, and was piling distress on Jennie, she told her sister that she had sent Jamie to sea, made the mother sick, and broken the father’s arm, but wanted a fourth calamity. “Steal the cow, sister Anne,” said the little Elizabeth; and so “the cow was stolen awa’;” and the song completed.

Gray’s Monument, in Westminster Abbey, was by Bacon.