His father was Dr. Edward Wetenhall, who was first advanced to the See of
Cork, in Ireland, but was afterwards translated from thence to Kilmore and
Ross. He died November 12, 1713, aged seventy-eight.
Dr. STEPHEN HALES.--Here are two beautiful figures in relief, Religion and
Botany; the latter holds a medallion of this great explorer of nature to
public view; Religion is deploring the loss of the divine; and at the feet
of Botany, the winds are displayed on a globe, which allude to his
invention of the ventilator. The Latin inscription is to the following
effect:--"To the memory of Stephen Hales, Doctor of Divinity, Augusta, the
mother of that best of Kings, George the Third, has placed this monument,
who chose him, when living, to officiate as her chaplain; and after he
died, which was on the 4th of January, 1761, in the eighty-fourth year of
his age, honoured him with this marble.
"About the tomb of Hales, whose fair design
And polish great Augusta caus'd to shine,
Religion, hoary Faith, and Virtue wait,
And shed perpetual tears in mournful state.
But of the preacher, render'd to his clay,
The voice of Wisdom still hath this to say--
He was a man to hear affliction's cry,
And trace his Maker's works with curious eye.
O Hales! thy praises not the latest age
Shall e'er diminish, or shall blot thy page;
England, so proud of Newton, shall agree
She had a son of equal rank in thee."--_Wilton, sculptor._
THOMAS TRIPLETT, D.D., who was born near Oxford, and educated at Christ
Church, where he was esteemed a wit, a good Grecian, and a poet. In 1645,
he was made Prebendary of Preston, in the Church of Sarum, and had also a
living, which being sequestered in the Rebellion, he fled to Ireland, and
taught school in Dublin, where he was when Charles I. was beheaded. Not
liking Ireland, he returned to England, and taught school at Hayes, in
Middlesex, till the Restoration, when he was made Prebendary of
Westminster, and of Fenton in the Church of York. He died at a good old
age, July 18, 1670, much beloved and lamented.
A bust of Dr. ISAAC BARROW, representing this truly great man, who, as the
inscription shows, was Chaplain to Charles II., Head of Trinity College,
Cambridge; Geometrical Professor of Gresham College, in London, and of
Greek and Mathematics at Cambridge. His works have been said to be the
foundation of all the divinity that has been written since his time. He
died May 4, 1677, aged 47.
Above this monument the arch is plastered and painted with the figure of a
stag, which was done by order of Richard II.; the following motto was on
the collar:--
"When Julius Cæsar first came in,
About my neck he put this ring;
Whosoever doth me take,
Use me well for Cæsar's sake."
It is said he lived three or four hundred years.
WILLIAM OUTRAM, D.D.--The Latin inscription sets forth that he was born in
Derbyshire, fellow of Trinity and Christ Church Colleges in Cambridge,
Canon of this Abbey, and Archdeacon of Leicester; an accomplished divine,
a nervous and accurate writer, an excellent and diligent preacher, first
in Lincolnshire, afterwards in London, and lastly at St. Margaret's,
Westminster, where he finished his life with great applause, August 23,
1679, aged fifty-four. The inscription on the pedestal shows farther, that
after a long and religious life, and forty-two years of widowhood, Jane,
his wife, died Oct. 4, 1721.
A fine figure of JOSEPH ADDISON, Esq., on a circular basement, about which
are small figures of the nine muses. The Latin inscription is to the
following purport:--"Whoever thou art, venerate the memory of Joseph
Addison, in whom Christian faith, virtue, and good morals, found a
continual patron; whose genius was shown in verse, and every exquisite
kind of writing; who gave to posterity the best examples of pure language,
and the best rules for living well, which remain, and ever will remain
sacred; whose weight of argument was tempered with wit, and accurate
judgment with politeness, so that he encouraged the good, and reformed the
improvident, tamed the wicked, and in some degree made them in love with
virtue. He was born in the year 1672, and his fortune being increased
gradually, arrived at length to public honours. Died in the forty-eighth
year of his age, the honour and delight of the British nation."--He was
buried in front of Lord Halifax's monument, north aisle of Henry the
Seventh's Chapel.--_Sir Richard Westmacott, sculptor._
LORD MACAULAY.--The body of this eminent historian is deposited close to
the statue of Addison. Born October 25th, 1800; died December 28th, 1859.
Near the statute of Addison are two fine busts, one on each side, of LORD
MACAULAY, by Burnard; and THACKERAY, by Marrochetti.
GEORGE FREDERICK HANDEL.--This is the last monument which that eminent
statuary, Roubiliac, lived to finish. It is affirmed that he first became
conspicious, and afterwards finished the exercise of his art, with a
figure of this extraordinary man. The first was erected in the gardens at
Vauxhall, therefore well known to the public. The last figure is very
elegant, and the face is a strong likeness of its original. The left arm
is resting on a group of musical instruments, and the attitude is very
expressive of great attention to the harmony of an angel playing on a harp
in the clouds, over his head. Before it lies the celebrated Messiah, with
that part open, where is the much-admired air,--"_I know that my Redeemer
liveth_." Beneath, only this inscription:--"George Frederick Handel, Esq.,
born Feb. 23, 1684. Died April 14, 1759."
Sacred to the memory of Major-General Sir ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL, Knight of
the Bath, M.P., Colonel of the seventy-fourth Regiment of Foot, Hereditary
Usher of the White Rod for Scotland, late Governor of Jamaica, Governor of
Fort St. George, and Commander-in-Chief of the Forces on the coast of
Coromandel, in the East Indies. He died equally regretted and admired for
his eminent civil and military services to his country; possessed of
distinguished endowments of mind, dignified manners, inflexible integrity,
unfeigned benevolence, with every social and amiable virtue. He departed
this life March 31, A.D. 1791, aged fifty-two. "Alas, piety! alas,
fidelity! like that of old, and warlike courage! when shall you have his
equal?"--_Wilton, sculptor._
Here also lies the body of his nephew, Lieutenant-General Sir JAMES
CAMPBELL, Bart., G.C.H., and C.SS., F.M., who served during the whole of
the last war in many distinguished situations; was Commander of the Forces
in the Ionian Islands at the general peace of 1814, and died at London
upon the 6th of June, 1819, aged fifty-four.
[Illustration: POET'S CORNER, _p. 103_.]
On a tablet is the following inscription:--"To the memory of MARY HOPE,
who died at Brockhall, in the county of Northampton, on the 25th of June,
1767, aged twenty-five, and whose remains lie in the neighbouring church
at Norton, this stone, an unavailing tribute of affliction, is by her
husband erected and inscribed. She was the only daughter of Eliab Breton,
of Forty Hill, Middlesex, Esq., and was married to John Hope, of London,
Merchant, to whom she left three infant sons, Charles, John, and William.
"Tho' low in earth, her beauteous form decay'd,
My faithful wife, my lov'd Maria's laid.
In sad remembrance, the afflicted raise
No pompous tomb inscrib'd with venal praise.
To statesmen, warriors, and to kings, belong
The trophied sculpture, and the poet's song;
And these the proud expiring often claim,
Their wealth bequeathing to record their name.
But humble virtue, stealing to the dust,
Heeds not our lays, or monumental bust.
To name her virtues ill befits my grief--
What was my bliss can now give no relief;
A husband mourns--the rest let friendship tell;
Fame, spread her worth! a husband knew it well!"
Sir THOMAS and Lady ROBINSON.--This monument to the memory of the Dowager
Baroness Lechmere, eldest daughter of Charles Howard, third Earl of
Carlisle, and widow of Nicholas Lord Lechmere, afterwards married Sir
Thomas Robinson, of Rookby Park, in the county of York, Baronet, on
October 28, 1728, and died April 10, 1739, aged forty-four. Sir Thomas,
after enjoying many honourable and lucrative employments in the State,
spent the latter part of his life in retirement, dying March 3, 1777, aged
seventy-six.--_Walsh, sculptor._
EDWARD ATKYNS and his ancestors. The first was Sir Edward Atkyns, one of
the Barons of the Exchequer in the reigns of Charles I. and II., and of
such loyalty as to resist the most splendid offers of the Oliverian party.
He died in 1669, aged eighty-two. The second, Sir Robert Atkyns, was
created Knight of the Bath at the coronation of Charles II.; was
afterwards L.C.B. of the Exchequer under William III., and Speaker of the
House of Lords in several Parliaments; a person of eminent learning, as
his writings abundantly prove. He died in 1709, aged eighty-eight.--The
third, Sir Edward Atkyns, was L.C.B. of the Exchequer at the time of the
Revolution; but not approving that measure, he retired from public
business to his seat in Norfolk, where his chief employment was healing
breaches among his neighbours, which he decided with such exemplary
justice, that none refused his reference, nor did the most litigious men
appeal from his award. He died in 1698, aged sixty-eight.--The fourth, Sir
Robert Atkyns, was versed in the Antiquities of his country, of which his
History of Gloucester was a proof. He died in 1711, aged sixty-five
years.--The inscription sets forth, that in memory of his ancestors, who
have so honourably presided in Westminster Hall, Edward Atkyns, Esq., late
of Kettringham, in Norfolk, second son of the last-named Sir Edward,
caused this monument to be erected. He died Jan. 20, 1750, aged
seventy-nine years.--_Cheere, sculptor._
A medallion and inscription--"To the memory of the Right Honourable JAMES
STUART MACKENZIE, Lord Privy Seal of Scotland, a man whose virtues did
honour to humanity. He cultivated and encouraged science; and during a
long life, was generous without ostentation, secretly charitable,
friendly, hospitable, and ever ready to oblige. He was beloved and revered
by all: he had many friends, and not one enemy. He died the 6th of April,
1800, in the eighty-second year of his age. He was married to Elizabeth,
daughter of John, Duke of Argyle and Greenwich, his uncle."--_Nollekens,
sculptor._
JOHN, Duke of ARGYLE and GREENWICH.--On one side of the base is the figure
of Minerva, and on the other of Eloquence; done by Roubiliac, particularly
expressive. Above is the figure of History, with one hand holding a book,
with the other writing on a pyramid the titles of the hero, whose actions
are supposed to be contained in the book, on the cover of which, in
letters of gold, are inscribed the date of his Grace's birth, Oct. 10,
1680, and time of his death, Oct. 4, 1743. The principal figure is
spirited, even to the verge of life. On the pyramid is this epitaph, said
to be written by Paul Whitehead, Esq.:--
"Briton! behold, if patriot worth be dear,
A shrine that claims a tributary tear;
Silent that tongue admiring senates heard,
Nerveless that arm opposing legions fear'd.
Nor less, O Campbell! thine the power to please,
And give to grandeur all the grace of ease.
Long from thy life let kindred heroes trace
Arts which ennoble still the noblest race;
Others may owe their future fame to me,
I borrow immortality from thee."
Underneath this, in great letters, is written--"JOHN, DUKE OF ARGYLE AND
GR--" at which point the pen of History rests. On the base of the monument
is this inscription:--"In memory of an honest man, a constant friend,
John, the great Duke of Argyle and Greenwich, a General and Orator,
exceeded by none in the age he lived, Sir Henry Fermer, Bart., by his last
will, left the sum of 500_l._ towards erecting this monument, and
recommended the above inscription."
Over the door of the Chapel of St. Faith, is the monument of OLIVER
GOLDSMITH, M.D., representing the portrait of the Doctor in profile. A
festoon curtain, olive branches, and books, are the chief ornaments.
Underneath is a Latin inscription, of which the following is the
import:--"That he was eminent as a Poet, Philosopher, and Historian; that
he scarcely left any species of writing unattempted, and none that he
attempted, unimproved; that he was master of the softer passions, and
could at pleasure command tears, or provoke laughter; but in everything he
said or did, good nature was predominant; that he was witty, sublime,
spirited, and facetious; in speech pompous; in conversation elegant and
graceful; that the love of his associates, fidelity of his friends, and
the veneration of his readers, _had raised this monument to his memory_.
He was born in Ireland, November 29, 1731, educated at Dublin, and died
at London, April 4, 1774, and was buried in the Temple burial
ground."--_Nollekens, sculptor._
Near to the door of the Chapel of St. Faith is a black marble slab, which
covers the remains of CHARLES DICKENS, born Feb. 7th, 1812, died June 9th,
1870. And near to him are the remains of Handel, Cumberland, Macaulay,
Sheridan, Garrick, Samuel Johnson, and Thomas Parr, of the county of
Salop, born 1483, who lived in the reign of ten Princes: viz., Edward IV.,
Edward V., Richard III., Henry VII., Henry VIII., Edward VI., Queen Mary,
Queen Elizabeth, James I., and Charles I. He died Nov. 15th, 1635, at the
age of 152.
A monument erected to the memory of JOHN GAY, by the bounty and favour of
the Duke and Duchess of Queensberry, who were the great encouragers of his
genius. The masks, tragedy, dagger, and instruments of music, which are
blended together in a group are emblematical devices, alluding to the
various ways of writing in which he excelled: namely, farce, satire,
fable, and pastoral. The short epitaph on the front was written by
himself. It is censured by some for its levity,--
"Life is a jest, and all things show it:
I thought so once, but now I know it."
Underneath are these verses, by Mr. Pope, who lived always in great
friendship with Mr. Gay:
"Of manners gentle, of affections mild;
In wit a man, simplicity a child;
With native humour temp'ring virtuous rage,
Form'd to delight at once and lash the age;
Above temptation in a low estate,
And uncorrupted e'en among the great;
A safe companion and an easy friend,
Unblamed through life, lamented in thy end;
These are thy honours; not that here thy bust
Is mix'd with heroes, or with Kings thy dust;
But that the worthy and the good shall say,
Striking their pensive bosoms--Here lies Gay!"
He died December 4, 1732, aged forty-five.--_Rysbrack, sculptor._
NICHOLAS ROWE, Esq., and his only daughter. On the front of the pedestal
is this inscription:--"To the memory of Nicholas Rowe, Esq., who died in
1718, aged forty-five; and of CHARLOTTE, his only daughter, wife of Henry
Fane, Esq., who, inheriting her father's spirit, and amiable in her own
innocence and beauty, died in the twenty-second year of her age, 1739."
Underneath, upon the front of the altar, is this epitaph:--
"Thy reliques, Rowe! to this sad shrine we trust,
And near thy Shakspeare place thy honour'd bust.
Oh! next him skill'd to draw the tender tear,
For never heart felt passion more sincere;
To nobler sentiment to fire the brave,
For never Briton more disdained a slave;
Peace to thy gentle shade, and endless rest,
Blest in thy genius, in thy love, too, blest!
And blest, that timely from our scene remov'd,
Thy soul enjoys that liberty it lov'd!
To these so mourn'd in death, so loved in life,
The childless parent and the widow'd wife,
With tears inscribed this monumental stone,
That hold their ashes, and expects her own."
Mr. Rowe was Poet Laureate, and author of several fine tragedies; and,
just before his death, had finished a translation of Lucan's
Pharsalia.--_Rysbrack, sculptor._
JAMES THOMSON, author of the Seasons, and other Poetical Works. The figure
of Mr. Thomson leans its left arm upon a pedestal, holding a book in one
hand, and the Cap of Liberty in the other. Upon the pedestal, in
bas-relief, are the Seasons; to which a boy points, offering him a laurel
crown, as the reward of his genius. At the feet of the figure is the
tragic mask and the ancient harp. The whole is supported by a projecting
pedestal, and in a panel is the following inscription:--"James Thomson,
_Ætatis 48, Obit 27 August, 1748_. Tutored by thee, sweet Poetry exalts
her voice to ages, and informs the page with music, image, sentiment, and
thought, never to die!" Erected 1762.--_Spang, sculptor._
WILLIAM SHAKSPEARE.--Both the design and workmanship of this monument are
extremely elegant. The figure of Shakspeare, and his attitude, his dress,
his shape, his genteel air, and fine composure, all so delicately
expressed by the sculptor, cannot be sufficiently admired; and those
beautiful lines of his that appear on the scroll are very happily
chosen:--
"The cloud-capp'd towers, the gorgeous palaces,
The solemn temples, the great globe itself,
Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve.
And, like the baseless fabric of a vision,
Leave not a wreck behind."--_The Tempest._
The heads on the pedestal, representing Henry V., Richard III., and Queen
Elizabeth (three principal characters in his plays), are likewise proper
ornaments to grace his tomb. In short, the taste that is here shown does
honour to those great names under whose direction, by the public favour,
it was so elegantly constructed: namely, the Earl of Burlington, Dr. Mead,
Mr. Pope, and Mr. Martin. It was designed by Kent, executed by
Scheemakers, and the expanse defrayed by the grateful contributions of the
public, 125 years after his death. He died April 24, 1617, in his 53rd
year, and was buried in the great church at Stratford.
In front of this monument are buried Dr. Johnson, Garrick, Henderson,
Sheridan, Campbell, and Cary.
"To the memory of Mrs. PRITCHARD, this tablet is here placed by a
voluntary subscription of those who admired and esteemed her. She retired
from the stage, of which she had long been the ornament, in the month of
April, 1768, and died at Bath in the month of August following, in the
fifty-seventh year of her age.
"Her comic vein had every charm to please,
'Twas nature's dictates breathed with nature's ease:
E'en when her powers sustain'd the tragic load,
Full, clear, and just, the harmonious accents flow'd;
And the big passions of her feeling heart
Burst freely forth and shamed the mimic art.
Oft on the scene, with colours not her own,
She painted Vice, and taught us what to shun;
One virtuous track her real life pursu'd,
That nobler part was uniformly good;
Each duty there to such perfection wrought.
That, if the precepts fail'd, the example taught."
_W. Whitehead, P.L._
_Hayward, sculptor._
Above is a bust to ROBERT SOUTHEY (Poet Laureate); born August 12, 1774;
died March 21, 1843.--_Weekes, sculptor._
THOMAS CAMPBELL, LL.D., Author of "The Pleasures of Hope," thrice
Lord-Rector of the University of Glasgow, founder of the Polish
Association, &c. He was born July 27, 1777; died at Boulogne, June 15,
1844; and was buried with great public solemnity, near this spot, on the
3rd of July following. As a classic poet, a warm philanthropist, a staunch
friend of literary men, he possessed the highest qualities of mind and
heart. His Patriotic Lyrics breathe the very spirit of British freedom and
independence; while his other poems--all models of composition--are richly
imbued with the spirit of moral and religious sentiment. This statue, from
the classic chisel of W. C. Marshall, R.A., was erected on the 1st of May,
1855. The pedestal as it now stands, was the gift of a lady (sister-in-law
of Dr. Beattie, the Poet's physician and biographer). The highly
appropriate Lines inscribed upon it are taken from "_The Last Man_:"--
"This spirit shall return to HIM
Who gave its heavenly spark;
Yet think not, sun, it shall be dim
When thou thyself art dark!
No--it shall live again, and shine
In bliss unknown to beams of thine,
By HIM recall'd to breath
Who captive led captivity.
Who robbed the Grave of Victory,
And took the sting from Death!"
The statue represents the Poet in his academic robes of Lord-Rector and
the relieved figure, with the torch, the triumph of immortal HOPE, as
described in the following lines:--
"Eternal Hope! when yonder spheres sublime
Peal'd their first notes to sound the march of Time,
Thy joyous youth began, but shall not fade.--
When all the sister planets have decayed,
When wrapped in fire, the realms of ether glow,
And Heaven's last thunder shakes the world below,
Thou, undismayed, shall o'er the ruins smile,
And light thy torch at Nature's funeral pile!"
"_Pleasures of Hope._"
[For these and the preceding lines, see Campbell's Poems.]
Affixed to the pillar is a tablet--"Sacred to the memory of CHRISTOPHER
ANSTEY, Esq., formerly a scholar at Eton, and fellow of Trinity College,
in Cambridge: a very elegant poet, who held a distinguished pre-eminence,
even among those who excelled in the same kinds of his art. About the year
1770, he exchanged his residence in Cambridgeshire for Bath, a place above
all that he had long delighted in. The celebrated poem that he wrote,
under the title of the Bath Guide, is a sufficient testimony; and after
having lived there thirty-six years, died in the year 1805, aged
eighty-one, and was buried in Walcot Church, Bath."--_Horwell, sculptor._
A tablet with a fine medallion,--"Sacred to the memory of GRANVILLE
SHARP, ninth son of Dr. Thomas Sharp, Prebendary of the Cathedrals and
Collegiate Churches of York, Durham, and Southwell, and grandson of Dr.
John Sharp, Archbishop of York. Born and educated in the bosom of the
Church of England, he ever cherished for her institutions the most
unshaken regard, whilst his whole soul was in harmony with the sacred
strain--'Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace, good will towards
men;' on which his life presented one beautiful comment of glowing piety
and unwearied beneficence. Freed by competence from the necessity, and by
content from the desire, of lucrative occupation, he was incessant in his
labours to improve the condition of mankind. Founding public happiness on
public virtue, he aimed to rescue his native country from the guilt and
inconsistency of employing the arm of Freedom to rivet the fetters of
Bondage, and established for the Negro Race, in the person of _Somerset_
(his servant), the long disputed rights of human nature. Having, in this
glorious cause, triumphed over the combined resistance of Interest,
Prejudice, and Pride, he took his post amongst the foremost of the
honourable band associated to deliver Africa from the rapacity of Europe,
by the abolition of the Slave Trade; nor was death permitted to interrupt
his career of usefulness, till he had witnessed that Act of the British
Parliament by which 'The Abolition' was decreed. In his private relations
he was equally exemplary; and having exhibited through life a model of
disinterested virtue, he resigned his pious spirit into the hands of his
Creator, in the exercise of Charity, and Faith, and Hope, on the 6th day
of July, A.D. 1813, in the seventy-eighth year of his age. Reader, if on
perusing this tribute to a private individual, thou shouldest be disposed
to suspect it as partial, or censure it as diffuse, know that it is not
panegyric, but history.--_Erected by the African Institution of London_,
A.D. 1816."--_Chantrey, sculptor._