Elmore bulletin. [volume] (Rocky Bar, Idaho) 1889-1906, 1889-09-14

SOME ODD ePlTAPHS.
Tombstone Inscriptions Found In Differ
ent Parts OF the world.
There Is always a mysterious fasci-
nation for most all Of us about grave
yards. tombstones, monuments, and
any thing appertaining To the dead.
The word epitaph is derived from two
Greek words meaning an inscription
and a monument The Greeks, the
Romans and the Egyptians raised
splendid tombs over their noble dead.
those OF the Egyptians being probably
the oldest. although in many cases 1t
IL entirely impossible TO approximate
the date OF some OF the immense
mounds raised in honor Of the de pd in
our own country.
were strictly true the world would
scarcely have need OF other history;
but unfortunately such is not the case.
The tender feelings of the survivors
influence them to forget the wrong
and write only the good. and In most
cases expand the latter as much as
possible.
One OF the best and most epigram-
matte of epitaphs is that OF Alexander
the Great. II Is In Latin, which.
translated. Is as follows:
Here mound suffiees for one for whom the
world was not large enough
The following has the virtue of brew
ity. but contains the now tabbooed
pun. 1t is on the tombstone OF Charles
knight of England. and Is simply:
Good Knight
Here is one from n headstone In
Cornwall, England. and can be read
both ways:
Shall We all eief
We shall die an.
All die shall wef
Die all we shall
This one II on London cooks
Peas TO his shesi
A great deal Of libelous matter has
been written on tombstones concern
ing wives; the following Is an example,
Within this grave do lie
Back to back my wife and I;
when the last trump the air shall ELL
II she gets up I'll Just lie still
The next one breathes a spirit Of do
vout resignation
She once was mine,
And now
To Thee. o Lord. I her resign,
And am your obedient humble servant, Rober,
Kemp.
Lawyers have always come In for
their share of post-mortem abuse. The
following Is taken from the tombstone
OF Lawyer Strange:
Here lies an honest lawyer,
And that's Strange.
This is the epitaph OF James Straw.
attorney, Lincolnshire. England;
Here lies James Straw.
Who forty years, sir. followed the law;
And when he died the Devil cried:
Jimmy. give US yer paw"
The epitaphs OF the great in West
minister Abbey are as n rs.le too long to
be quoted here There are some ex-
captions. however. Of which the fol-
lowing 10 Ben Jonson is one:
o Rare ben Jonson
That Is all OF IL. but 1t speaks vol
umes.
In Denver, Col. Is the tombstone OF
n policeman which bears this inscrip-
tion;
Move on, Mister: move on
In rural graveyard in Massachu-
sets Is the followingi
Here lies Ezekiel Bounder who was accident
ally killed In the 4sd year OF his age This stone
vas erected by his grateful family.
This appears in Southern grave
yard;
The Yankee hosts. with blood-stained han da.
Came southwark 10 divide our lands;
This narrow and contracted spot
IL all that tins poor Yankee got.
At San Antonio. Tex. in the mill.
tary cemetery, on large board tina,
resembles u railway budapest is
written the military command.
In Place-Resti
Besides the trail which leads from
Fort Concho TO Fort Davis. Tex. is a
lone grave. At its head 10 placed a
rough limestone slab. on which are
scratched the Spanish words:
Quien sabef (who knows)
A passerby has scratched beneath
them:
dos sabe CGod knows).
Can any high-sounding phrase on
sculptured granite compare In pathetic
grandeur with this simple little cpl
taph over that solitary grave on
the sandy Texas plainsP-Chicago
Trihuna