The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1870-12-17
Misreltanp.
CPiTAPlIS.
Some Curious Excerpts from the Literature
OF Gods Acre.

science Of geology is 20 the physical develop.
ment of the earth. He lies like An epitsph,
did not become all sphorism with moro truth
than poetry in it, until long after the period
when our sires of ancient Britain, fearless OF
wrong, repcsed their rugged limbs in Whatever
place resting-time found them. The ePitaph
was known to the classical nations OF antiquity;
and, indeed, by every people, q brief commend.
ration of the heroic a,tions personal virtues OF
their illustrious dead has been regarded as one
of the worthiest occupations of the faculties
of the living. PettiSrew has translated several
from Egyp tan sarcophagi (Bohn's edition. page
81 Heroiotus vii, page 22Sj has preserved to ,
us those which the AHphlctyons caused to be
inscribed on the columns which they raised in
honor Of the heroes of Thermopylgc. Mr. George
Burgess in 1854, gave nv interesting colec-
ton OF Greek epitapAS and DR.. Maitland, in his
"Church of the Catacomhs," published in 1916,
gives us some interesting early Christian ones.
The hrevity Of the epitaph has made it necessari-
ly epigrammatic, and some of the best epgrams
in our language Will bc found in the form of
epitarhs. Nearly every poet, from Chaucer to
the present time, has perpetrated epitaphs to the
memory Of the living ans the dead There is
one class of epitaphs which belong mostly to the
countries in which the Anglo-Saxon language is
spoken, and has only TO the public through
the "wit-and- wisdom columns Of the cheap
weekly newspapers Pettiarew. Herodotus, Bur-
CESS and Maitland give w. the heroic, historic,
sentimental and religion. strata of this science,
leayinr uuwritten an important and interestin.
development the comic and the ABSURD, few
specimens OF which we now give. without claim.
ing for them either originality or novelty
1t seems as If the English speaking nations
found 1t Impossible to contine their raillery to
the living, and accordingly we find the harmless
peculiarities of the dead have often been hit off
on tombstone with felicity which has rem
dered immortal what otherwise the next genera
w" me- nv nav W. ~ An. AoA'"".n ing "o.'-
b;mseI, riT bear renet;ton bsr. for ;ts humc,
and maintness.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN,
PRINTER,
like the e coyer Of ,a an old 3D. book
and strpt ofis lettering and gliding.
INIT III the ~V WORK C Shall IL NOT he lost.
for VIII cas- he l., iieyesl appear once. once more,
IN new anu more eegahIeu uoh,
by
lhh Aol
The following inscription Is in the church,
yard of Chgwell, Essex, England:
5 d' oy sa 5R9 to %u eSnPS cS s
Be ,, careful then, all you that feed
In a church.yard in Chetenhsm, England
may be seen the follow which has appeared
in the newspapers with some variations
Here lies l and my three daughters.
h ft " ny H. uilhhhE ohelennan waters
w 'i. . i ,' 49,. 70 Eisoin salts,
"'""'' w '!"s '4''osc hc'c Vaults
,sS;.n oil n. Loco, -. :; .. !.
speak ill of II man behind his back, but I think
the gentlemau who has JUS. eft the room is-an
attorney a similar sentiment. a- to the pre-.
vailing rascali,y of lawyers of the lower grade,
is found on graye'ton. III Swatfham, Norfolk,
ENGLAND.
Here lletN one believe tifyoucan.
no. tousH an H.,orheSy' was All honest man
But viii ,lu, against all OF She tribe beside"
IT., to,,orir.. corr,o. ~, ,;,..,. .o,.; :.
.n;grs,rmat;c. '''D0 -
-. No. 49,, .,. ,., ,,
'Twoud makc him mad I'D he Know yon read his tombstone
gratis"
lhlS cN"HI"', too IRON frince Edwards Is.
land i. no, Yi,bnut il. ,nprirs thouvh tba rbvr,.
" N' -o '-0 49, '"o
10 IdT from satisfactory
"iif h, Hes rs. the body ofnoor, Charles Lamb,
"''' - Wv ,"'' ! ., ''''''"S
of the COLLECTIONS, the composer met most inyen.
iOusly the iluu,rS, biii,y of IN ,kinv the oe,d
mans name rhyme with the cause Of bis death ::
.,t 49,. H., ,,,,,..., ~,
~, wa. 'i r;lcJ ~ '.'a,,
~, d.. was hli' :, ny u gun
But that wouldn't rhyme
Srar.) ,.a,r, ., 40, hh;.. e w.,
d;.a ,.,y,r, =. tos,.mo,,o,, ID, -. -.
"'.SA .n"I nts
.onips'0.i' sho"'i 10 A"sorioeo WIN sne we'll
Ano"h i'"es.
aSI nun, sr re Hi,y passing nns Gy:
Az am now, so you must BE-
Therefore prepare 10 follow me-"