That, by his periods eloquent and grave; This, by responses, and a well-set stave: 'These for the Living; but when Life be fled, 'I toll myself the Requiem for the Dead.' "Tis to this Church I call thee, and that Place, Where slept our Fathers when they'd run their race: We too shall rest, and then our Children keep Their road in Life, and then, forgotten, sleep; Meanwhile the Building slowly falls away, And, like the Builders, will in time decay. The old Foundation-but it is not clear When it was laid-you care not for the Year; On this, as Parts decay'd by Time and Storms, Arose these various disproportion'd Forms; Yet Gothic, all the Learn'd who visit us (And our small Wonders) have decided thus: "Yon noble Gothic Arch,” “That Gothic Door;" So have they said; of proof you'll need no more. Here large plain Columns rise in solemn style, You'd love the Gloom they make in either Aile; When the Sun's Rays, enfeebled as they pass (And shorn of splendour) through the storied Glass, Faintly display the Figures on the Floor, Which pleas'd distinctly in their place before. But ere you enter, yon bold Tower survey, Tall and entire, and venerably grey, For Time has soften'd what was harsh when new, There she perceives them round the surface creep, And wouldst thou, Artist! with thy Tints and Brush, * If it should be objected, that Centuries are not slower than Hours, because the speed of Time must be uniform; I would answer, that I understand so much, and mean that they are slower in no other sense, than because they are not finished so soon. + This kind of vegetation, as it begins upon siliceous stones, is very thin, and frequently not to be distinguished from the surface of the Flint. The Byssus Jolithus of Linnæus (Lepraria Jolithus of the present System), an adhesive carmine crust on rocks and old buildings, was, even by scientific persons, taken for the substance on which it spread. A great variety of these minute vegetables are to be found in some parts of the coast, where the beach, formed of stones of various kinds, is undisturbed, and exposed to every change of weather; in this situation, the different species of Lichen, in their different stages of growth, have an appearance interesting and agreeable even to those who are ignorant of, and indifferent to the cause. Seeds, to our Eye invisible, will find On the rude Rock the Bed that fits their kind; But ours yet stands, and has its Bells renown'd Each has its motto: some contriv'd to tell, Such wondrous good, as few conceive could spring * The several purposes for which bells are used, are expressed in two Latin verses of this kind. The noble Lady and the Lord who rest Death levels Man,-the Wicked and the Just, And here 'tis doubtful if the duteous Son, * Quandoquidem data sunt ipsis quoque fata sepulchris. Now to their Love and Worth of every kind, "Tis well; but let not Love nor Grief believe, That we assent (who neither lov❜d nor grieve) To all that Praise, which on the Tomb is read, To all that Passion dictates for the Dead; But more indignant, we the Tomb deride, Whose bold Inscription Flattery sells to Pride. Read of this Burgess-on the Stone appear How worthy he! how virtuous! and how dear! What wailing was there when his Spirit fled, How mourn'd his Lady for her Lord when dead, And tears abundant through the Town were shed; See! he was liberal, kind, religious, wise, And free from all disgrace and all disguise; His sterling worth, which words cannot express, Lives with his Friends, their pride and their distress. All this of Jacob Holmes? for his the name; He thus kind, liberal, just, religious?—Shame! What is the truth? Old Jacob married thrice; He dealt in Coals, and Av'rice was his vice; He rul'd the Borough when his Year came on, And some forget, and some are glad he's gone; For never yet with Shilling could he part, But when it left his hand, it struck his heart. Yet, here will Love its last attentions pay, And place Memorials on these Beds of Clay. Large level Stones lie flat upon the Grave, And half a Century's Sun and Tempest brave; But many an honest tear and heartfelt sigh, Have follow'd those who now unnotic'd lie; |