The Northern Pacific farmer. [volume] (Wadena, Minn.) 1878-1885, 1883-03-22
CHURCHYARD POETRY.
Quaint Epitaphs in some Old Eng
lish Burial Places.


hooks and corners of the British king
dom from which we copy anumber,
with the authors comments in some in
stances.
1T seems hardly fair to place on the
tombstone Of one who cannot expos
tulate or resist such lines 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 theshell of her earthly skin,
Aud Matched herself cherubim.
"In cemetery near Windsor this
verse of holy scripture appears on a
headstone beneath the name of q man
who died, advanced in years:
Behold, come as theft
"Given thus without any context, the
first suggestion is that the deceased says
to the passer-by: "Behold, come 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 act1 as warning
to those now living. as we may suppose
it once acted to the dead man at our
Of q lawyer his tombstone bore testi-
mony to his unprofessional conduct by
recording that he was so great lover
of peace that when contention arose
between life and death, he Immediately
Welded up the ghost to end this dispute.'
"a Charles Lamb, not the Ella with
whom and for whom We have laughed
and wept, sleeps beneath an epitaph 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 a poets in
genuity in overcoming the exigencies
and difficulties of rhyme, it may be as
we'll to point out how another genins
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
more worthy of record than any coup
let ending in shield, yield, or WELD
would have been.
"Here is an epitaph of which the lead
| ing idea is 90 uncommon, yet so true,
thatitis well worth producing:
1909
Alex Mefien
Chief constable Stirlingshire.
Our lite is but winter day
Some only break fast and away
Others to dinner stay
and are full fed
the Oldest man but sups
and goes to bed
~=-.7- large Is his dv1t
that lingeis out the day
he that goes soonest
| Has the least to pay.
"Here is one Of forced and affected
sort:
| Here lies piece of Christi star in dust
| A vein of gold; china dish that must
Be used in heaven, when God shall feast the
just,
"The declension from a piece of Christ
through star and a vein of gold, to a
china dish, is very odd the idea being,
no doubt, that the once living clay will
be a vessel Of honor when raised to the
mansions prepared for the just.
"Another quaint conceit was the in
scription 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"
"A puzzling epitaph-puzzling, because
either the lady was very thin, or the
bunghole unusually targets the follow
ing from Stonehouse churchyard,
| Gloucestcrshjre:
In memory of
John Collins and Mary, his wife.
She d;od May l. 17sl' 1t.t;s "a
He august 10, 1897, US
Twas as she tript from cask to cask
In a. 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 wi,e. resigned to Heavens Will,
Carries on the Business still.
"rhe force of advertising could no fur
Their CO."