The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations Preface

Send me the half that’s got my keys.’
‘Ruthless Rhymes for Heartless Homes’ (1899) ‘Mr Jones’ (poem attributed to ‘G.W.’)
Billy, in one of his nice new sashes,
Fell in the fire and was burnt to ashes;
Now, although the room grows chilly,
I haven’t the heart to poke poor Billy.
‘Ruthless Rhymes for Heartless Homes’ (1899) ‘Tender-Heartedness’
7.77 James Graham, Marquis of Montrose 1612-50
Great, Good and Just, could I but rate
My grief to thy too rigid fate!
‘Epitaph on King Charles I’
Let them bestow on every airth a limb;
Then open all my veins, that I may swim
To thee, my Maker! in that crimson lake;
Then place my parboiled head upon a stake—
Scatter my ashes—strew them in the air;—
Lord! since thou know’st where all these atoms are,
I’m hopeful thou’lt recover once my dust,
And confident thou’lt raise me with the just.
‘Lines written on the Window of his Jail the Night before his Execution’
He either fears his fate too much,
Or his deserts are small,
That puts it not unto the touch
To win or lose it all.
‘My Dear and Only Love’
But if thou wilt be constant then,
And faithful of thy word,
I’ll make thee glorious by my pen,
And famous by my sword.
‘My Dear and Only Love’
7.78 Kenneth Grahame 1859-1932
The curate faced the laurels—hesitatingly. But Aunt Maria flung herself on him. ‘O Mr
Hodgitts!’ I heard her cry, ‘you are brave! for my sake do not be rash!’ He was not rash.
‘The Golden Age’ (1895) ‘The Burglars’
Monkeys...very sensibly refrain from speech, lest they should be set to earn their livings.
‘The Golden Age’ (1895) ‘Lusisti Satis’
There is nothing—absolutely nothing—half so much worth doing as simply messing about in
boats.