Democratic Sentinel, Volume 9, Number 33, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 September 1885 — Epitaphs. [ARTICLE]

Epitaphs.

When with characteristic cynicism Byron derided the credulity of him who would “Believe a woman or an epitaph” he may have had in mind Ben Jonson’s famous lines on the Countess of Pembroke : “Underneath this sable hearse Lies the subject of all verse, • Sydney’s sister—Pembroke’s mother! Death ere thou hast slain another Fair, and learned, and good as she, Time shall throw a dart at thee!” Could the memory of Shakspeare demand loftier strains? Compare the above with the quaintness and simplicity of the lines: “Blest be the man who spares these stones, And curst be he who moves my bones," Inscribed on the tomb of the Bard of Avon. Strict adherence to mere matter of fact has scarcely been considered the special attribute of an epitaph—though the three following are well-authenti-cated examples of unvarnished detail: “Sarah Yorke this life did resign, Sixteen hundred and seventy-nine." —AbruncA. “Here lies the body of William Wix, One thousand seven hundred and sixty-six.” —Richmond, Yorkshire. “Here lies the body of honest Tom Page, Who died in the thirty-third year of his age." —Norwich Cathedral. And in the same connection may be instanced the inscription on the tomb of the inn-keeper, buried in the churchyard opposite his hostelry: “Here lies Tommy Day, Removed from over the tray.” Latin was long considered the only appropriate language for an epitaph. It is well known that Dr. Johnson refused “to disgrace the walls of Westminster Abbey” with an English inscription to the memory of Oliver Goldsmith. This is the more to be deplored, since the Doctor could (and did) write English epitaphs of meritwitness that upon Phillips, the musician— “ Sleep undisturbed within this peaceful shrine, Till angels wake thee witn a note like thine.” Brevity, “the soul of wit,” has been little considered in this class of composition, and (“O, rare Ben Jonson” excepted) there occur to the writer but three as remarkable in this particular —that upon Dr. Fuller—- “ Fuller’s earth.” Upon Burbage, the actor, a simple stage direction: “Exit Burbage." And the happy combination of eulogium and farewell to the memory of Knight, the publisher—- “ Good Knight!” Successive generations have pressed into this service such time-honored effusions as “Afflictions sore long time I bore,” etc. And the really beautiful lines by Dr. Doune upon a deceased infant—- “ Ere sin could blight, or sorrow fade, Death came with friendly care; The opening bud to heaven conveyed, And bade it blossom there,” have appeared upon hundreds-of tombs. The touching subject of infant mortality finds also fitting expression in the two following: “Just with her lips the cup of life she pressed, Found the taste bitter—and declined the rest.’> “This babe entombed on the world did peep. Disliked it —closed its eyes—and fell asleep.”