ST. PANCRAS, LONDON,
ON AN ATTORNEY.
HERE lies one, believe it if you can,
Who, tho' an attorney, was an honest man ;
The gates of Heav'n for him will open wide,
But will be shut 'gainst all the tribe beside.
O Lord my Sauiour and hevenly Maker,
Have mercy on me *ELISABETH GRAISTOCK and
DAKER.
ON MRS. ELIZABETH CORBETT.
ST. MARGARET'S, WESTMINSter.
Who died at Paris, March 1st, 1724, of a Cancer in
her Breast.
HERE rests a woman, good without pretence,
Blest with plain reason, and with sober sense!
No conquests she, but o'er herself desir'd,
No arts essay'd, but not to be admir'd.
Passion and pride were to her soul unknown,
Convinc'd that virtue only is our own,
So unaffected, so compos'd a mind;
So firm, yet soft; so strong, yet so refin'd;
Heav'n, as its purest gold, by tortures try'd,
The saint sustain'd it, but the woman dy'd.
* LADY ELIZABETH NEVILL, and daughter to the Lord DAKER, and DAME ANNE GRAISTOCK.
ON THE YOUNG LORD MOUNT-CASHEL.
CHILDREN are snatcht away sometimes,
To punish parents for their crimes ;
Thy mother's merit was so great,
Heaven hasten'd thy untimely fate,
To make her character complete.
Tho' many virtues fill'd her breast,
'Twas Resignation crown'd the rest.
FOR ONE WHO WOULD NOT BE BURIED
HEROES and kings! your distance keep;
In peace let one poor poet sleep,
Who never flattered folks like you,
Let Horace blush, and Virgil too.
ST. LAWRENCE, JURY, LONdon.
ON WILLIAM BIRD.
Who died October 2nd, 1698, aged 4 Years. ONE charming Bird to Paradise is flown, Yet are we not of comfort quite bereft : Since one of this fair brood is still our own,
And still to cheer our drooping souls is left This stays with us while that his flight doth take, That earth and skies may one sweet concert make.
HERE rests his head upon the lap of earth,
A youth to fortune and to fame unkown;
Fair Science frown'd not on his humble birth,
And Melancholy mark'd him for her own.
Large was his bounty, and his soul sincere ;
Heav'n did a recompence as largely send :
He gave to Mis'ry-'twas all he had a tear;
He gain'd from Heav'n-'twas all he wish'd—
a friend.
No farther seek his merits to disclose,
Or draw his frailties from their dread abode ; (Where they alike in trembling hope repose) The bosom of his Father and his God.
THUNDERIDGE IN THE VALE, HERTFORDSHIRE,
ON ROGER GARDINER.
Who died April 13, 1658. Aged 21 Years and 9 Months.
ROGER lies here before his hour.
Thus does the GARDINER lose his flower.
ON ROBIN MASTERS,
An Undertaker.
HERE! lieth Robin Masters-Faith 'twas hard,
To take away our honest Robin's breath;
Yet surely Robin was fall well prepar'd,
Robin was always looking out for Death.
IN dawn of life she wisely sought her God,
And the straight path of thorny virtue trod;
In bloom of beauty humbly turn'd aside,
The incense flatt'ry offer'd to her pride.
In other's griefs a tender part she bore,
And all the needy shar'd her little store;
Fond to oblige, too gentle to offend,
Belov'd by all, to all the good a friend :
The bad she censur'd by her life alone,
Blind to their faults, severe upon her own.
At distance view'd the world with pious dread,
And to God's temple for protection fled;
There sought that peace which Heav'n alone can give,
And learn'd to die ere others learn to live.
WOULD'ST thou hear what man can say
In a little? Reader, stay.
Underneath this stone doth lie,
As much beauty as could die;
Which, when alive, did harbour give
To more virtue than doth live.
If at all she had a fault,
Leave it buried in this vault;
One name was ELIZABETH,
Th' other, let it sleep with death;
Fitter where it dy'd to tell,
Then that it liv'd at all.
INTERR'D beneath this marble stone,
Lie sauntering JACK and idle Joan;
While rolling threescore years and one,
Did round this globe their courses run;
If human things went ill or well,
If changing empires rose or fell,
The morning past, the evening came,
And found this couple still the same.
They walk'd, and ate, good folks! what then?
Why, then they walk'd and ate again.
They soundly slept the night away;
They did just nothing all the day:
And having buried children four,
Would not take pains to try for more.
Nor sister either had, nor brother;
They seem'd just tally'd for each other.
Their morals and œconomy
Most perfectly they made agree;
Each virtue kept its proper bound,
Nor trespass'd on the other's ground.
Nor fame, nor censure they regarded ;
They neither punish'd nor rewarded.
He car'd not what the footman did;
Her maids she neither prais'd nor chid:
So ev'ry servant took his course,
And bad at first, they all grew worse,
Slothful disorder fill'd his stable,
And sluttish plenty deck'd her table.
Their beer was strong; their wine was port;
Their meal was large; their grace was short.
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