Litchfield enquirer., 1856-06-26

: A Chapter. on Epitaphs,
FnoM AN UNpUHnIsnEp JouaSAL.


FRox AN UNpumIsuEp JOURNAL
All the objects of the present world have their
beginning and their end; they continue for little
time and then vanish away aresupcrseded by Others
whose claims to mutabiii, and decay are the same
and whose birth is but the promise and evidence u
their DEATH In fact world is but one vast Gene
terry graveyard where all created objects of the
past lie entombed together, and whose history to "
is but what ours and the objects around shall be TO
those who shall succeed on the field Of existence
they ~ee, but are not they Tired but dead Future
plants and forests and ediccs will arise from the
ruins of those which exist and future generations
of men will stand upon graves and read our
Epitaphs with the unconcern with which wa
now read the Epitaphs of Others
Within the last year it has been the writer's prjyI
lege to visit many of the rep pstercs of the dom, both
in his own and in foreign Countries and though the
posthumous counsel uttered from the storie marbls
and sculptured brass may not have been needed 10
has yet been heard. One of the most affecting aud
interesting visits of this description that made
to the grave of Shakespeare at Stratford upon Avon
This lovely village, which contains some six or
thousand inhabitants is exactly such spot ~
have been born in, and the most fitting place whcre
his mortal relics could be cntombed None who
have ever visited England in the Spring or early
Summer can forget its Landscape scenery Tho
enchanting descriptions which Scott Irving Willis
and other favorite authors have given of rural life in
England, and which seemed to to partake largely
of the romantic and the fabulous moro than rc-
allied to the actual beholder Especially is this true
of the lovely vale of the Avon. 1t is true there 10
not in the immediate vicinity, ~ about Iitchfield
any of those magnificent panoramic views Of noun
tans, hills and Valleys which excite the wonder and
delight of the stranger, but there are sweet and
charming pictures ofcountry fc--cxtcnsive meadows
ornamented with all the varieties of wild flowers
and hedges. cottages with thatched roof and small
diamond shaped windows and these overrun and
completely embedded in wd-hriar cglantinc and
occasiona, old baronia castle completely covered
with the dark foliage of the -vcrdantivy.
The Church with its little pointed spire. where the
ashes of Shakespeare inurned is embowcred IN
overhanging willows at the end of a long arbor walk
of lime trees and elms. 1t is rude yet neat and
unpretendng structure, and with but few evidences
of decay. In the chanccl of this church, near the
altar and the second step, under frcsstonc slab
lie the remains OF the greatest of Englands bards
the tutclary saint of its diyincst pocsy. In largo
capitals are engraved these lines of his own
Good friend, for Jesus sake forbcare
To dig the dust cncloised here;
Elcst Inc ye man that spares these stones,
And curst be he that moves my bones"
Anne hathaway the wife of the poet lies the next,
and their daughter Susannah and her husband next,
and also another descendant and perhaps the last Of
the poet, (whose name is not remembered next.
The best likeness Of the poet extnt is said to be the
famous bust within the ch.,nccl and in niche near
the slab which marks the place of his burial. II
was placed there several years after his death, and
bears close resemblance to similar plaster casts VI
the poet often in this country.
In more conspicuous position within the Church
is the tomb of the celebrated Johnny COmbe. 10
does rot however, bear the cutting inscription which
is said to have prepared for it by Shakespeare ID
the miscr'S request The inscription referred to may
be found in many of the English guide books for
travellers, and is as follows
"Tcn in the hundred lies here engraved,
Ills u hundred to ten his soul is not saved,
If any ask who lies in this tomb!
Oh oh quoth the devil tits my John, a Combe"
Those who die at peace with the world, bequcathing
large estates to their connexions generally In
for very respectable share Of the cardinal virtues
in their Epitaphs.
There is some bitterness contained In a couplet on
tombstone ut Pcntonville:
death takes the good too good on earth to stay,
And leaves the hsi-too bad - take away
There is however more mirth than malice in tho
following Epitaphs cut a tombstone in the old
parish churchyard of Manchester.
Here lies John Hill, man Of skill,
His age was five times ten
He never did good, and never would,
Had he lived as long again"
But one Of the most amusing which the old English
graveyars have yet revealed to the eye Of the an
tquarian is the following inscription on the head
stone of Robin Wallis, at Newcastle upon Tyne.
Here lies Robin Wallis, the hing Of good fellows,
Clerk Of all hallows and maker Of bellows,
He bellows did make to the day Of his death
But he that made bellows could make BREATH
At Hampshire burying ground where garrison
has been stationed for more than a century, are
several curious, military Inscriptions among others
the following for soldier who died from drinking
beer after protracted and fatigung march
. Here sleeps in peace Hampshire grcnader
Who caught his death by drinking cold mall beer:
Soldiers In wise from his untimcIy fall,
AMI when you are hot, drink strong OF al ALL"
The monument containing the above inscription
was considerably dcfsced years ago, and tho
officers resident there at their ownexpcnse restored IL