Show English Poet Laureates Lon Long Lived but Prosy Poet laureates of ot England have ha been a long lived race Doctor Bridges he he was a 0 physician too was too was eighty eighty- five e when he passed on The ages of ot othis his three Immediate predecessors In Inthe Inthe inthe the office Alfred Alfred Austin Tenn Tennyson son and Wor Wordsworth Wordsworth averaged averaged eighty Among Among- the distinguished la laureates of ot otan an earlier period Ben Den Jonson lived to tobe tobe tobe be three sixty three and Dr Dryden en to be sixty sixty- nine But the record among laureates Is la held by hy the manager actor Colley Cl Gibber who died In 1757 at nt the age uge of ot eighty se cn As a poet Colley was terrible and King Edward had no great opinion opinion ion of the poetry of or Alfred Austin poet laureate at the time he ascended the throne He Hc was not alone In that opinion I always thought that Mr Austins Austin's appointment was not a n good one he wrote to Lord Salisbury then primo prime minister but as long as he gets no pa pay It would woul I think be best to renew renew renew re re- re- re new the appointment In his hs favor or A few months later Inter King Edward sent to Salisbury some verses and pointedly called his hs attention to the trash which the poet laureate writes the the letter Is quoted In Sir Sidney Lees Lee's Life of at Edward |