Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1883-03-21
CHURCHYARD POETRY.
Quaint Epitaphs in Some Old Eng
lish Burial Places.

Quaint Epitaphs in Some Old Eng
lish Burial Places.
The quaint epitaphs in old burial
places always form an interesting study.
Many samples of odd mortuary inscrip-
tons are to be found in ancient grave
yards in America, but we cannot rival
England in this regard. MacMillan's
Magazine for February contains an arti-
Gle by the the Rev. F. Bayford Harrison
on "Churchyard Poetry" in which he
presents a great many curious speci-
mems gathered from out-oEthe-way
hooks and corners of the British king
dom from which we copy anumber,
with the authors comments in some in
stances.
"It seems hardly fair to place on the
tombstone of one who cannot expos.
tulate or resist such;line as these, which
may be seen in a churchyard in the Isle
Of Wight
TO the memory of Miss Martha Grin.
She was SO very pure within,
She cracked the shell other earthly skin,
And Matched herself a cherubim.
SIN a cemetery near Windsor this
verse of holy scripture appears on
headstone beneath the name of man
who died, advanced in years:
Behold, l come as thief"
"Given thus without any context, the
TO tho pa ,ser-Dy: BelIufd, corno as
theft One requires some time and
some thought fully to take in the object
of the epitaph, if one may call it SO;
which is, doubtless, to actsas warning
to those now living, as we may suppose
it once acted to the dead man at our
feet.
OF lawyer his tombstone bore testi-
monv to his unprofessional conduct by
recording that he was so great lover
of peace that when a contention arose
between life and death, he Immediately
Welded up the ghost to end this dispute
GA Charles Lamb, not the Ella with
whom and for whom We have laughed
and wept, sleeps beneath an epltaph of
which even the authors OF the words of
comic songs might be ashamed:
Here lies the body of poor Charles Lamb,
Killed by a tree that fell slap bang.
"Who will not wonder at and admire
the skill, the originality, of the genius
whose brains furnished him with the
means of putting into verse the sad event
which he has thus recorded:
The wedding day appointed was,
The wedding clothes provided;
But ere the wedding day arrived
She sickened and she died dead.
"After this instance of poets in
genuity in overcoming the exigencies
and difficulties of rhyme, it may be as
we'll to point out how another genlns
did not overcome, but evaded, similar
difficulties. The following appears in a
churchyard in Devonshire, and Dew
onshire men pride themselves on their
indomitable energy and pluck:
Here lies John Meadow
Who passed away like shadow
n. B. His name was Field,
But it WOULD not rhyme.
"This is really very neat, end much
let ending in shield, yield, or WELD
would have been.
''Here is an epitaph of which the lead
ing idea is so uncommon, yet so true,
thatitis well worth producing:
1909
Alex Mefen
Chief. constable Stirlingshire.
Our lite is but winter day
Some only breakfast and away
others to dinner stay
and are full fed
the oldest man but sups
and goes to bed
large is his debt
that fingers out the day
he that goes soonest
Has the least to pay.
"Here is one of forced and affected
sort:
Here lies piece of Christ; star in dust
A vein of gold; china dish that must
Be used in heaven, when God shall feast the
just
"The declension from piece of Christ
through a star and vein of gold, to a
china dish, is very odd; the idea being,
no doubt, that the once living clay will
be vessel of honor when raised to the
mansions prepared for the just.
"Another quaint conceit was the In
seription in memory of "Mr. Thomas
Smith of Emily Lovet, who, through the
spotted veil of the smallpox, yielded up
pure and unspotted soul to God, ex.
pecting but not fearing death"
GA puzzling epitaph-puzzling, because
either the lady was very thin, or the
bunghole unusually targets the follow
ing from Stonehouse churchyard
Worcestershire:
In memory OF
John Collins and Mary, his wife.
She died May l. l79l' Etatis a
He O''0 August 10, 1907, ~ Us
Twas as she tript from cask to cask
In al bunghole quickly fell;
Suffocation was her task,
She had no time to say farewell.
The collection concludes with the
following: "Our present stock of quaint
epitaphs is nearly exhausted, fer we do
not wish to quote those that are old and
hackneyed. One more and we have
done:
Here lives the landlord of the Lion,
He's buried here in hopes of Zion;
His wife, resigned to Heavens Will,
Carries on the business still.
"The force of advertising could no fur
Their CO."