Daniel Defoe the attractive story of "Robinson Crusoe." In the "Dictionary
of English Literature," by William Davenport Adams, will be found
important information bearing on this subject.
In _Gloucester Notes and Queries_ we read as follows: "Stout's Hill is the
name of a house situated on high ground to the south of the village of
Uley, built in the style which, in the last century, was intended for
Gothic, but which may be more exactly defined as the 'Strawberry Hill'
style. In a house of earlier date lived the father of Samuel Rudder, the
laborious compiler of the 'History of Gloucestershire' (1779). He lies in
the churchyard of Uley, on the south side of the chancel, and his
gravestone has a brass-plate inserted, which records a remarkable fact:--
Underneath lies the remains of ROGER RUTTER, _alias_ RUDDER, eldest
son of John Rutter, of Uley, who was buried August 30, 1771, aged 84
years, having never eaten flesh, fish, or fowl, during the course of
his long life.
Tradition tells us that this vegetarian lived mainly on 'dump,' in various
forms. Usually he ate 'plain dump;' when tired of plain dump, he changed
his diet to 'hard dump;' and when he was in a special state of
exhilaration, he added the variety 'apple dump' to his very moderate
fare."
On Saturday, the 2nd May, 1800, the remains of William Cowper were
interred in that part of Dereham Church known as St. Edmund's Chapel. He
died without a will, but Lady Hesketh consented to administer his estate,
and eventually placed a tablet to his memory on the wall of the chancel,
near his grave. It is constructed of white marble, and over the top are
represented two volumes, labelled respectively "Holy Bible" and "The
Task." The inscription as follows was written by Cowper's friend,
Hayley:--
In memory of
WILLIAM COWPER, Esq.,
Born in Hertfordshire in 1731,
Buried in this Church in 1801.
Ye who with warmth the public triumph feel
Of talents, dignified by sacred zeal,
Here, to devotion's bard devoutly just,
Pay your fond tribute due to Cowper's dust!
England, exulting in his spotless fame,
Ranks with her dearest sons his fav'rite name;
Sense, fancy, wit, suffice not all to raise
So clear a title to affection's praise;
His highest honours to the heart belong;
His virtues form'd the magic of his song.
Charles and Mary Lamb are buried in the churchyard of Edmonton, and a
white headstone, marks the spot, on which is recorded, in bold black
letters, the following inscription written by Lamb's friend, the Rev.
Henry Francis Cary, the translator of Dante:--
To the memory
of
CHARLES LAMB,
died 27th December 1834, aged 59.
Farewell, dear friend, that smile, that harmless mirth,
No more shall gladden our domestic hearth;
That rising tear, with pain forbid to flow,
Better than words no more assuage our woe;
That hand outstretched from small but well-earned store,
Yield succour to the destitute no more,
Yet art thou not all lost, thro' many an age
With sterling sense of humour shall thy page
Win many an English bosom pleased to see
That old and happier vein revived in thee.
This for our earth, and if with friends we share
Our joys in heaven we hope to meet thee there.
Also MARY ANNE LAMB,
Sister of the above.
Born 3rd December 1767, Died 20th May 1847.
In the church is a memorial to Lamb and Cowper. It occupies a good
position at the west end of the north wall, and consists of two inscribed
white marble panels, enshrined in a graceful freestone design, the arches
of which are supported by veined marble pilasters. In the upper portion of
each panel is carved a portrait in relief, the one on the right showing
the head of Cowper, while on the left the features of Lamb are
characteristically depicted.
The following are the inscriptions contained on the memorial:--
(_Left panel._)
In memory of
CHARLES LAMB
"The Gentle Elia" and author of
Tales from Shakespeare, etc.
Born in the Inner Temple 1775
educated at Christ's Hospital
died at Bay Cottage Edmonton 1834
and buried beside his sister Mary
in the adjoining churchyard.
At the centre of his being lodged
A soul by resignation sanctified
O, he was good if e'er a good man lived!
WORDSWORTH.
(_Right panel._)
In memory of
WILLIAM COWPER, THE POET
Born in Berkhampstead 1731
Died and buried at East Dereham 1800.
He was the author of
The Diverting History of "John Gilpin."
John Gilpin was a citizen
Of credit and renown,
A trainband captain eke was he
Of famous London town.
John Gilpin's spouse said to her dear,
Though wedded we have been
These twice ten tedious years, yet we
No holiday have seen.
To-morrow is our wedding day,
And we will then repair
Unto "the Bell" at Edmonton,
All in a chaise and pair, etc.
(_Along base of design._)
This monument to commemorate the visit of the London and Middlesex
Archaeological Association/ to Edmonton church and parish on the 26th
July 1888/ was erected by the President of the Meeting Joshua W.
Butterworth, F.S.A.
For some years we have been interested in the life and poetry of Mary
Pyper, "A Poet of the Poor," and in our "Literary Byways" have told at
length the story of her career. We there state, through the exertions of
Dr. Rogers in May, 1885, a handsome cross was erected over her remains in
Greyfriars' churchyard, Edinburgh, simply bearing her name, "Mary Pyper."
Such was the information we received from a friend whom we induced to see
the memorial and give us particulars of it, and to our surprise when we
visited her grave in April, 1899, we found on the cross the following
inscription, which we presume has been added since its erection:--
By admiring
Friends
Erected
in memory of
MARY PYPER,
who amidst
untoward
surroundings
cherished
her gift as a writer of
sacred verse.
Born 25th May,
1795.
She died at
Edinburgh,
25th May, 1870.
Let me go! The day is breaking;
Morning bursts upon the eye;
Death this mortal frame is shaking,
But the soul can never die!
The lines are from her poem entitled "The Christian's View of Death,"
which finds a place in several standard works of poetry. Her best known
production is an "Epitaph: A Life," and often attributed incorrectly to
German sources. It is as follows:--
"I came at morn--'twas Spring, and smiled,
The fields with green were clad;
I walked abroad at noon, and lo!
'Twas Summer--I was glad.
I sate me down--'twas Autumn eve,
And I with sadness wept;
I laid me down at night--and then
'Twas Winter--and I slept."
Among self-taught poets Mary Pyper is entitled to an honourable place.
Mr. John T. Page furnishes us with the following inscriptions copied from
Hogarth's monument in Chiswick churchyard. It was erected, says Mr. Page,
in 1771, seven years after his death, and is a tall piece of masonry
crowned with a funeral urn. Beneath this, on the side facing the church,
are carved in low relief a mask, maul-stick, palette and brushes, a laurel
wreath and an open book bearing the title of his famous "Analysis of
Beauty." On the same side, on a small block of Aberdeen granite at the
foot of the memorial, is recorded the fact that it was
Restored by
WILLIAM HOGARTH,
of Aberdeen,
in 1856.
It has well stood the "storm and stress" since then, but is now beginning
to show signs of the need of another restoration, for, on the east side,
over the inscription, the combined armorial bearings of Hogarth and his
wife are as nearly as possible obliterated.
The inscriptions are as follows:--
(_N. Side._)
Farewell great Painter of mankind!
Who reach'd the noblest point of Art,
Whose _pictur'd Morals_ charm the Mind,
And through the Eye correct the Heart.
If _Genius_ fire thee, Reader, stay;
If _Nature_ touch thee, drop a Tear;
If neither move thee, turn away,
For HOGARTH'S honour'd dust lies here.
D. GARRICK.
(_E. Side._)
Here lieth the body
of WILLIAM HOGARTH, ESQR.,
who died October the 26th 1764
aged 67 years
MRS. JANE HOGARTH
wife of William Hogarth Esqr.
Obit. the 13th of November 1789
AEtat 80 years.
(_W. Side._)
Here lieth the Body
of MRS. ANNE HOGARTH Sister
to WILLIAM HOGARTH ESQR.
She died August the 13th 1771
aged 70 years
Also the Body of
MARY LEWIS Spinster
died 25th March 1808
Aged 88 years.
(_S. Side._)
Here lieth the Body
of DAME JUDITH THORNHILL
Relict of SR JAMES THORNHILL KNIGHT
of Thornhill in the County of Dorset
She died November the 12th 1757
aged 84 years.
The lapse of one hundred and thirty years, says Mr. Page, has not served
to dim the ardour with which the works of William Hogarth are cherished by
the English nation. His "Harlot's Progress" not only served to reconcile
his father-in-law, Sir James Thornhill, to the runaway match the plebeian
Hogarth had contracted three years before with his daughter, but it is
still looked upon as his _chef d'oeuvre_ by many eminent critics; and
there is nearly always to be seen a crowd round his "Marriage a la Mode"
in the National Gallery. The virulent contest with Wilkes and Churchill,
with which his last days were embittered, has long ago been forgotten, and
the name of William Hogarth still lives, and will be popular for all time
through his admired series of paintings and engravings, which are prized
and hoarded with an ever-increasing love by their happy possessors.
[Illustration: ETTY'S GRAVE.]
Fairholt, in his "Homes, Works, and Shrines of English Artists"[3] gives
an interesting sketch of the career of William Etty, the son of a miller,
who for seven years was an apprentice to a printer in Hull, but devoted
all his spare time to art, and eventually after many struggles won a high
place amongst the painters of the period. He was buried in the churchyard
of St. Olave, York, where from the beautiful grounds of the Yorkshire
Philosophical Society, and through one of the arches of the ruined Abbey
of St. Mary, his tomb may be seen. The arch near his grave was closed, but
was opened to bring in sight his tomb. Mr. Fairholt is in error in saying
it bears the simple inscription:--
WILLIAM ETTY, ROYAL ACADEMICIAN.
Some years ago from the other side of the tomb we copied the following
inscription from a crumbling stone:--
WILLIAM ETTY, ROYAL ACADEMICIAN,
Who in his brilliant works has left
an enduring monument of his exalted genius.
Earnestly aiming to attain that lofty position on which
his highly gifted talents have placed him, he throughout life
exhibited an undeviating perseverance in his profession.
To promote its advancement in his beloved country he watched the progress
of those engaged in its study with the most disinterested kindness.
To a cultivated and highly poetical mind
Were united a cheerfulness and sweetness of disposition
With great simplicity and urbanity of manners.
He was richly endeared to all who knew him.
His piety was unaffected, his faith in Christ sincere,
and his devotion to God exemplary.
He was born at York, March 10th, 1787, and died
in his native city, November 13th, 1849.
"Why seek ye the living among the dead?"--Luke xxii., 5.
Etty, says Fairholt, had that wisdom which few men possess, the wisdom of
a contented mind. He loved his quiet home, in his provincial birthplace,
better than the bustle of London, or the notoriety he might obtain by a
residence there. His character and his talent would ensure him attention
and deference anywhere, but he preferred his own nook by the old church at
York. He probably felt with the poet, that
"The wind is strongest on the highest hills,
The quiet life is in the vale below."
The remains of Cruikshank rest in the crypt in St. Paul's Cathedral,
London, and over his grave the following inscription appears:--
GEORGE CRUIKSHANK,
Artist,
Designer, Etcher, Painter.
Born at No. -- Duke Street, St. George's, Bloomsbury, London
on September 27th, 1792.
Died at 263, Hampstead Road, St. Pancras, London,
on February 1st, 1878.
Aged 86 years.
In memory of his Genius and his Art,
His matchless Industry and worthy Work
For all his fellow-men, This monument
Is humbly placed within this sacred Fane
By her who loved him best, his widowed wife.
Eliza Cruikshank,
Feb. 9th, 1880.
A sketch of his life has been written by Walter Hamilton, under the title
of "George Cruikshank, Artist and Humourist." (London: Elliot Stock,
1878.) William Bates, B.A., M.R.C.S., wrote "George Cruikshank, the
Artist, the Humourist, and the Man, with Some Account of his Brother
Robert." (Birmingham: Houghton & Hammond, 1878.) Blanchard Jerrold wrote
"The Life of George Cruikshank." (London: Chatto & Windus, a new edition
with eighty-four illustrations, 1883.) An able article contributed to the
_Westminster Review_, by William Makepeace Thackeray, has been reproduced
in book form by George Redway, London (1884). Some time ago the following
appeared in a newspaper:--One day while Dr. B. W. Richardson was engaged
at his house with an old patient who had been away many years in India,
George Cruikshank's card was handed to the doctor. "It must be the
grandson, or the son, at any rate, of the great artist I remember as a
boy," said the patient. "It is impossible that George Cruikshank of Queen
Caroline's trial-time can be alive!" The doctor asked the vivacious George
to come in. He tripped in, in his eighty-fourth year, and, when the old
officer expressed his astonishment, George exclaimed, "I'll show you
whether he is alive!" With this he took the poker and tongs from the
grate, laid them upon the carpet, and executed the sword dance before Dr.
Richardson's astonished patient.
At the east end of the High Street, Portsmouth, and nearly opposite the
house before which the Duke of Buckingham was stabbed by Felton, in 1628,
stands the Unitarian Chapel. John Pounds habitually worshipped here on a
Sunday evening, and the place where he used to sit, in front of one of the
side galleries, just to the right of the minister, is still pointed out.
He lies buried in the graveyard, on the left-hand side of the chapel, near
the end of the little foot-path which leads round the building to the
vestries. Shortly after his death a tablet was placed in the chapel,
beneath the gallery, to his memory. Although his grave was dug as near as
possible to that part of the chapel wall opposite where he used to sit,
yet this tablet was, apparently without any reason, put some distance away
from the spot. In shape and material it is of the usual orthodox style--a
square slab of white marble, edged with black, and inscribed on it are the
words:--
Erected by friends
as a memorial of their esteem
and respect for
JOHN POUNDS,
who, while earning his livelihood
by mending shoes, gratuitously
educated, and in part clothed and fed,
some hundreds of poor children.
He died suddenly
on the 1st of January, 1839,
aged 72 years.
Thou shalt be blessed: for they
cannot recompense thee.
Not long after this tablet was placed in position the idea was mooted that
a monument should be erected over his grave. The Rev. Henry Hawkes, the
minister who then had charge of the place, at once took the matter up, and
subscriptions came in so well that the monument was more than paid for.
The surplus money was wisely laid out in the purchase of a Memorial
Library, which still occupies one of the ante-rooms of the chapel. The
monument erected over the grave is of a suitable description, plain but
substantial, and is in form a square and somewhat tapering block of stone
about four feet high. On the front is the following inscription:--
Underneath this Monument
rest the mortal remains of
JOHN POUNDS,
the Philanthropic Shoemaker
of St. Mary's Street, Portsmouth,
who while
working at his trade in a very
small room, gratuitously
instructed in a useful education
and partly clothed and fed,
some hundreds of girls and boys.
He died suddenly,
on New Year's Day, MDCCCXXXIX,
while in his active beneficence,
aged LXXII years.
"Well done thou good and faithful
servant, enter thou into the joy
of thy Lord."
"Verily I say unto thee, inasmuch as
thou hast done it unto one of the
least of these My brethren, thou
hast done it unto Me."
On the side facing the library door there are, in addition to the above,
the ensuing sentences:--
This Monument
has been erected chiefly
by means of Penny Subscriptions,
not only from the Christian
Brotherhood
with whom JOHN POUNDS
habitually worshipped
in the adjoining Chapel,
but from persons of widely
different Religious opinions
throughout Great Britain
and from the most distant parts
of the World.
In connection with this memorial
has also been founded in like manner
within these precincts
a Library to his memory
designed to extend
to an indefinite futurity
the solid mental and moral usefulness
to which the philanthropic shoemaker
was so earnestly devoted
to the last day of his life.
Pray for the blessing of God to prosper it.
Large trees overshade the modest monument, and the spot is a quiet one,
being as far as possible away from the street.[4]
On the gravestone of Richard Turner, Preston, a hawker of fish, the
following inscription appears:
Beneath this stone are deposited the remains of RICHARD TURNER, author
of the word Teetotal, as applied to abstinence from all intoxicating
liquors, who departed this life on the 27th day of October, 1846, aged
56 years.
In Mr. W. E. A. Axon's able and entertaining volume, "Lancashire
Gleanings" (pub. 1883), is an interesting chapter on the "Origin of the
Word 'Teetotal.'" In the same work we are told that Dr. Whitaker, the
historian of Whalley, wrote the following epitaph on a model publican:--
Here lies the Body of
JOHN WIGGLESWORTH,
More than fifty years he was the
perpetual Innkeeper in this Town.
Withstanding the temptations of that dangerous calling,
he maintained good order in his
House, kept the Sabbath day Holy,
frequented the Public Worship
with his Family, induced his guests
to do the same, and regularly
partook of the Holy Communion.
He was also bountiful to the Poor,
in private as well as in public,
and, by the blessings of Providence
on a life so spent, died
possessed of competent Wealth,
Feb. 28, 1813,
aged 77 years.
The churchyard of Sutton Coldfield, Warwickshire, contains a gravestone
bearing an inscription as follows:--
As a warning to female virtue,
And a humble monument of female chastity,
This stone marks the grave of
MARY ASHFORD,
Who, in the 20th year of her age, having
Incautiously repaired to a scene of amusement,
Was brutally violated and murdered
On the 27th of May, 1817.
Lovely and chaste as the primrose pale,
Rifled of virgin sweetness by the gale,
Mary! the wretch who thee remorseless slew
Avenging wrath, who sleeps not, will pursue;
For though the deed of blood was veiled in night,
Will not the Judge of all mankind do right?
Fair blighted flower, the muse that weeps thy doom,
Rears o'er thy murdered form this warning tomb.
The writer of the foregoing epitaph was Dr. Booker, vicar of Dudley. The
inscription is associated with one of the most remarkable trials of the
present century. It will not be without interest to furnish a few notes on
the case. One Abraham Thornton was tried at the Warwick Assizes for the
murder of Mary Ashford, and acquitted. The brother and next of kin of the
deceased, not being satisfied with the verdict, sued out, as the law
allowed him, an appeal against Thornton, by which he could be put on his
trial again. The law allowed the appeal in case of murder, and it also
gave option to the accused of having it tried by wager of law or by wager
of battle. The brother of the unfortunate woman had taken no account of
this, and accordingly, not only Mr. Ashford but the judge, jury, and bar
were taken greatly aback, and stricken with dismay, when the accused,
being requested to plead, took a paper from Mr. Reader, his counsel, and a
pair of gloves, one of which he drew on, and, throwing the other on the
ground, exclaimed, "Not guilty; and I am ready to defend the same with my
body!" Lord Ellenborough on the bench appeared grave, and the accuser
looked amazed, so the court was adjourned to enable the judge to have an
opportunity of conferring with his learned brethren. After several
adjournments, Lord Ellenborough at last declared solemnly, but
reluctantly, that wager of battle was still the law of the land, and that
the accused had a right of appeal to it. To get rid of the law an attempt
was made, by passing a short and speedy Act of Parliament, but this was
ruled impossible, as it would have been _ex post facto_, and people waited
curiously to see the lists set up in the Tothill Fields. As Mr. Ashford
refused to meet Thornton, he was obliged to cry "craven!" After that the
appellor was allowed to go at large, and he could not be again tried by
wager of law after having claimed his wager of battle. In 1819 an Act was
passed to prevent any further appeals for wager of battle.
The following is from a gravestone in Saddleworth churchyard, and tells a
painful story:--
Here lie interred the dreadfully bruised and lacerated bodies of
WILLIAM BRADBURY and THOMAS his son, both of Greenfield, who were
together savagely murdered, in an unusually horrible manner, on Monday
night, April 2nd, 1832, old William being 84, and Thomas 46 years old.
Throughout the land, wherever news is read,
Intelligence of their sad death has spread;
Those now who talk of far-fam'd Greenfield's hills
Will think of Bill o' Jacks and Tom o' Bills.
Such interest did their tragic end excite
That, ere they were removed from human sight,
Thousands upon thousands daily came to see
The bloody scene of the catastrophe.
One house, one business, and one bed,
And one most shocking death they had;
One funeral came, one inquest pass'd,
And now one grave they have at last.
The following on a Hull character is from South Cave churchyard:--
In memory of THOMAS SCRATCHARD,
Who dy'd rich in friends, Dec. 10, 1809.
Aged 58 years.
That Ann lov'd Tom, is very true,
Perhaps you'll say, what's that to you.
Who e'er thou art, remember this,
Tom lov'd Ann, 'twas that made bliss.
In Welton churchyard, near Hull, the next curious inscription appears on
an old gravestone:--
Here lieth He ould
Jeremy who hath
eight times maried
been but now in his
ould age he lies
in his cage under
the grass so green
which JEREMIAH SIMP-
SON departed this
Life in the 84 yeare
of his age in the
year of our Lord
1719.
According to "Shropshire Folk-Lore" (published 1883), Edward Burton, of
Longner, Shrewsbury, died in 1558, and in the garden of Longner Hall is a
plain altar-tomb, dated 1614. He was a zealous Protestant, and died
suddenly of excitement on hearing Shrewsbury bells ring for the accession
of Queen Elizabeth. The minister of St. Chad's Church, Shrewsbury,
refused to permit his body to be buried there; it was therefore taken home
again and laid in his garden:--
Was't for denying Christ, or some notorious fact,
That this man's body Christian burial lackt?
Oh no; his faithful true profession
Was the chief cause, what then was held transgression.
When Pop'ry here did reign, the See of Rome
Would not admit to any such, a tomb
Within their Idol Temple Walls, but he,
Truly professing Christianity,
Was like Christ Jesus in a garden laid,
Where he shall rest in peace till it be said,
"Come, faithful servant, come, receive with Me,
A just reward of thy integrity."
Mr. J. Potter Briscoe favours us with an account of a Nottingham
character, and a copy of his epitaph. Vincent Eyre was by trade a
needle-maker, and was a firm and consistent Tory in politics, taking an
active interest in all the party struggles of the period. His good nature
and honesty made him popular among the poorer classes, with whom he
chiefly associated. A commendable trait in his character is worthy of
special mention, namely, that, notwithstanding frequent temptations, he
spurned to take a bribe from anyone. In the year 1727 an election for a
Member of Parliament took place, and all the ardour of Vin's nature was
at once aroused in the interests of his favourite party. The Tory
candidate, Mr. Borlase Warren, was opposed by Mr. John Plumtree, the Whig
nominee, and, in the heat of the excitement, Vin emphatically declared
that he should not mind dying immediately if the Tories gained the
victory. Strange to relate, such an event actually occurred, for when the
contest and the "chairing" of the victor was over, he fell down dead with
joy, September 6th, 1727. The epitaph upon him is as follows:--