Chapter III: Preface (2)

2. High on a pillar is a neat table monument to the memory of Mrs.
Martha Birch, who died in 1723, in the fiftieth year of her age. The
inscription also informs us, that she was daughter to Francis Viner,
Esq; and was first married to Francis Millington, Esq; and after his
death to Peter Birch, Prebendary of this Abbey; and that she was
pious, chaste, and prudent.

3. At a small distance is a plain neat monument, to the memory of
Abraham Cowley, on which is placed a flaming urn, begirt with a
chaplet of laurel; expressive emblems of the glory he acquired by the
spirit of his writings. The Latin inscription and epitaph on the
pedestal have been thus translated.

Near this place lies ABRAHAM COWLEY, the Pindar, Horace, and Virgil of
England; and the delight, ornament, and admiration of this age.

While, sacred bard, far worlds thy works proclaim,
And you survive in an immortal fame,
Here may you bless’d in pleasing quiet lie,
To guard thy urn may hoary Faith stand by;
And all thy favourite tuneful Nine repair
To watch thy dust with a perpetual care.
Sacred for ever may this place be made,
And may no desperate hand presume t’ invade
With touch unhallow’d, this religious room,
Or dare affront thy venerable tomb;
Unmov’d and undisturb’d till time shall end.
May Cowley’s dust this marble shrine defend.

So wishes, and desires that wish may be sacred to posterity,
George Duke of Buckingham, who erected this monument for that
incomparable man. He died in the forty-ninth year of his age,
and was carried from Buckingham-house, with honourable pomp,
his exequies being attended by persons of illustrious
characters of all degrees, and interred August 13, 1667.

His grave is just before the monument, as appears by a blue stone, on
which is engraved his name.

4. The monument of that ancient poet Geoffery Chaucer, was once a
handsome one in the Gothic stile; but is now defaced by time. Chaucer,
who is stiled the Father of the English poets, was the son of Sir John
Chaucer, a citizen of London, employed by Edward III. in negociations
abroad relating to trade. He was first a student at Cambridge; but
afterwards studied at Merton College, Oxford; and to perfect himself
in the knowledge of the laws, entered himself of the Middle Temple:
thus accomplished, he soon became a favourite at court, and was
employed as shield-bearer to the King; was a gentleman of the
bedchamber, and by Edward III. was sent Embassador abroad. However, in
the succeeding reign he fell into disgrace, and was committed to the
Tower for high-treason, where he wrote his Testament of Love: but upon
the death of Richard II. he became a greater favourite at court than
ever, from his having married the great John of Gaunt’s wife’s sister.
He was born in 1328, and died in 1400.

5. The plain monument of Mr. John Phillips, has his bust in relief,
represented as in an arbour, interwoven with vines, laurel branches,
and apple-trees; and over it this motto, _Honos erit huic quoque
pomo_, alluding to the high qualities ascribed to the apple, in his
excellent poem called _Cyder_. He was author of but few pieces; but
those were masterly performances. His Blenheim, Splendid Shilling, and
Lyric Ode to Lord Bolingbroke on Tobacco, have been much admired. He
was the son of Dr. Stephen Phillips, Archdeacon of Salop, was born at
Brampton in Oxfordshire on the 30th of December 1676, and died of a
consumption at Hereford, on the 15th of February, 1708, in the prime
of his life. The inscription on his monument contains an account of
his virtues and abilities, and is the strongest testimony of his
merit, since that alone could inspire his great patron Sir Simon
Harcourt, Knt. with such a generous friendship for him, as to
countenance and encourage him in the amplest manner when living; and
to extend his regard for him even after his death, by erecting this
monument to his memory.

6. Next this is Mr. Michael Drayton’s monument. This gentleman was
esteemed an excellent poet, and learned antiquarian. The inscription
and epitaph were formerly in gold letters; but are now almost
obliterated, and are as follow:

MICHAEL DRAYTON, Esq; a memorable Poet of his
Age, exchanged his Laurel for a Crown of Glory,
Anno 1631.

Do, pious marble! let thy Readers know
What they, and what their Children owe
To Drayton’s Name, whose sacred dust
We recommend unto thy trust;
Protect his mem’ry and preserve his story;
Remain a lasting Monument of his Glory;
And when thy Ruins shall disclaim
To be the Treasurer of his Name:
His Name, that cannot fade, shall be
An everlasting Monument to thee.

7. Ben Johnson’s monument is of white marble, and his bust is executed
with great happiness and spirit; ’tis inclosed with a tablature
ornamented with a few proper and elegant decorations, consisting of
emblematical figures: and has no other inscription but the words O
RARE BEN JOHNSON! This gentleman was the son of a clergyman, and
educated at Westminster school, while Mr. Camden was Master; but after
his father’s death, his mother marrying a bricklayer, he was forced
from school, and being obliged to work for his father, ’tis said, that
at the building of Lincoln’s Inn, he was sometimes seen at work with
his trowel in one hand, and Horace in the other. However, Mr. Camden
having an esteem for him on account of his abilities, recommended him
to Sir Walter Raleigh. He attended that brave man’s son in his
travels, and upon his return, entered himself at Cambridge; afterwards
he wrote a considerable number of plays; became Poet Laureat to King
James I. and died on the 16th of August 1637, aged 63. His tomb was
erected by the Earl of Essex, who has inscribed his own name on the
stone.

8. Spenser’s tomb is of grey marble, and has suffered greatly by time.
It was erected in an age when taste was in its infancy in England, and
yet has something in it venerably plain, and not absurdly ornamental.
The inscription upon it is as follows:

Here lies (expecting the second coming of our Saviour Christ
Jesus) the Body of Edmund Spenser, the Prince of Poets in his
time, whose divine Spirit needs no other witness than the
works he left behind him. He was born in London in 1510, and
died 1596.

9. Above Spenser’s monument is that of Samuel Butler, the author of
Hudibrass. By the Latin inscription, it appears, that it was erected
by John Barber, Esq; Citizen of London, and afterwards Lord Mayor in
1731, that he who was destitute of all things when alive, might not
want a monument when dead. Mr. Butler was born at Shernsham in
Worcestershire in 1612, and died at London in 1680.

10. A plain and neat monument of white marble in memory of that divine
poet, John Milton, who died in 1674. Under a very elegant bust made by
Rysbrack is this inscription:

In the year of our Lord Christ 1737, this bust of the author
of _Paradise Lost_ was placed here by William Benson, Esq; one
of the two auditors of the imprest to his Majesty, &c.

11. A monument erected to the memory of Thomas Shadwell, is adorned
with his bust crowned with a chaplet of bays, an urn, and other
decorations. It was erected to his honour by his son Dr. Thomas
Shadwell, and the Latin inscription informs us, that he was descended
from an ancient family in Staffordshire; was Poet Laureat and
Historiographer in the reign of King William, and died November 20,
1692, in the fifty-fifth year of his age. This poet was the author of
several plays; but falling under the lash of Mr. Dryden, was satirized
by him under the character of Ogg, in the second part of his Absalom
and Achitophel.

12. The monument of Matthew Prior, is adorned with great expence. On
one side of the pedestal stands the figure of Thalia, one of the
Muses, with a flute in her hand; and on the other History, with her
book shut; between these statues is Prior’s bust upon a raised altar,
and over it is a handsome pediment, on the ascending sides of which
are two boys, one with an hour-glass in his hand run out; the other
holding a torch reversed. On the apex of the pediment is an urn, and
on the base of the monument is a long inscription in Latin, mentioning
the public posts and employments with which he had been intrusted; and
above we are informed, that while he was writing the history of his
own times, death interposed, and broke both the thread of his
discourse and of his life, on the 18th of September 1721, in the
fifty-seventh year of his age.

13. The monument of St. Evremond is a very plain one, adorned with a
bust. The inscription observes, that he was of a noble family in
Normandy, and was employed in the army of France, in which he rose to
the rank of a Marshal; but returning to Holland, was from thence
invited by King Charles II. into England, where he lived in the
greatest intimacy with the King and principal nobility; more
particularly with the Duchess of Mazarine. He was of a very sprightly
turn of humour, as well in his conversation as writings, and lived to
the age of ninety, when he was carried off by a fit of the strangury,
on the 9th of September 1703.

14. The monument erected to the memory of the immortal Shakespear, a
print of which we have here given, is worthy of that great dramatic
writer, and both the design and execution are extremely elegant. Upon
a handsome pedestal stands his statue in white marble in the habit of
the time in which he lived, with one elbow leaning upon some books,
and his head reclined upon his hand, in a posture of meditation. The
attitude, the dress, the shape, the genteel air, and fine composure
observable in this figure of Shakespear, cannot be sufficiently
admired, and the beautiful lines of his upon the scroll are happily
chosen.

The cloud-cap’d towers, the gorgeous palaces,
The solemn temples, the great globe itself;
Yea, all which it inherits, shall dissolve,
And like the baseless fabric of a vision,
Leave not a wreck behind.

Immediately over his head upon a curious piece of dark-coloured
marble, is the following inscription, in capital letters raised in
gold:

GULIELMO SHAKESPEAR
ANNO POST MORTEM CXXIV.
AMOR PUBLICUS POSUIT.

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
shewn, does honour to those great names under whose direction, by the
public favour, it was so elegantly constructed; these were the Earl of
Burlington, Dr. Mead, Mr. Pope, and Mr. Martin. It was designed by
Kent, and executed by Scheemakers; and the expence defrayed by the
grateful contributions of the public.

Mr. Fleetwood, then Master of Drury Lane Theatre, and Mr. Rich of
Covent Garden, gave each a benefit, arising from one of his own plays,
towards it, and the Dean and Chapter made a present of the ground.

15. The next monument is a very fine one to the memory of Nicholas
Rowe, Esq; and his only daughter. On a pedestal about twenty inches
high, which stands on an altar, is a fine bust of Mr. Rowe; near it is
his Lady in the deepest affliction, and between both, on a pyramid
behind, is a medalion, with the head of a young Lady in relief. 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 23d year of her age,
1739.

Underneath upon the front of the altar are these lines:

Thy reliques, Rowe! to this sad shrine we trust,
And near thy Shakespear place thy honoured bust.
Oh! skill’d, next him, to draw the tender tear,
For never heart felt passion more sincere:

To nobler sentiments to fire the brave,
For never Briton more disdain’d 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 lov’d in life,
The childless Mother, and the widow’d Wife,
With tears inscribes this monumental stone,
That holds their ashes, and expects her own.

16. Near this last, is a fine monument erected to the memory of Mr.
John Gay, by the Duke and Duchess of Queensberry, his great patrons.
His bust is a very good one, and the masks, instruments of music, and
other devices, are blended together in a group, in allusion to the
various species of writings in which he excelled, as farce, satire,
fable, and pastoral. The short epitaph in the front, was written by
himself, and has given some offence, as the sentiment at first view
seems by no means proper for a monument;

Life is a jest, and all things shew it:
I thought so once, but now I know it.

Underneath are these lines:

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, ev’n among the great.
A safe companion, and an easy friend;
Unblam’d thro’ 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.
A. POPE.

Here lie the ashes of Mr. John Gay, the warmest friend, the gentlest
companion, the most benevolent man; who maintained independency in low
circumstances of fortune; integrity, in the midst of a corrupt age;
and that equal serenity of mind, which conscious goodness alone can
give, throughout the whole course of his life. Favourite of the Muses,
he was led by them to every elegant art, refined in taste, and fraught
with graces all his own. In various kinds of poetry, superior to many,
inferior to none: his works continue to inspire what his example
taught; contempt of folly, however adorned; detestation of vice,
however dignified; reverence of virtue, however disgraced.

Charles and Catharine, Duke and Duchess of Queensberry, who
loved his person living, and regret him dead, have caused this
monument to be erected to his memory.

17. The next is a most magnificent, lofty and elegant monument,
erected to the late Duke of Argyle, enclosed with rails, and decorated
with figures finely executed. The statue of the Duke is spirited even
at the verge of life. On one side of the base is Pallas, and on the
other Eloquence; the one looking sorrowfully up at the principal
figure above, and the other pathetically displaying the public loss at
his death. Above is the figure of History, with one hand holding a
book, and with the other writing on a pyramid of most beautiful
variegated marble, admirably polished, the name and titles of the Hero
in large gold letters, JOHN DUKE OF ARGYLE AND GR. at which point the
pen of History rests. His actions are supposed to be contained in the
book she holds in her other hand, on the cover of which in letters of
gold are inscribed the date of his Grace’s death, and the years of his
life. Above is inscribed on this beautiful pyramid in gold letters,
the following epitaph, said to be written by Paul Whitehead, Esq;

Britain, behold, if patriot worth be dear,
A shrine that claims thy tributary tear:
Silent that tongue admiring Senates heard:
Nerveless that arm opposing legions fear’d:
Nor less, O Campbell! thine the pow’r 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.

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, Baronet, by his
last will left the sum of five hundred pounds towards erecting
this monument, and recommended the above inscription.

19. The monument of Isaac Barrow, D.D. is remarkable for a fine bust
of that great divine and mathematician, who, as the inscription shews,
was Chaplain to King Charles II. Head of Trinity College, Cambridge;
Professor of Geometry at Gresham College in London, and of Greek and
Mathematics at Cambridge. He died on the 14th of May 1677, aged
forty-seven.

19. A table monument of white marble, erected to the memory of Sir
Richard Cox, who was taster to Queen Elizabeth, and King James I. and
to the latter steward of the household.

20. A neat monument erected to the memory of the learned Isaac
Casaubon, by Dr. Moreton, Bishop of Durham. That profound scholar and
critic whose name is inscribed upon it, was born in France, and in his
younger years was keeper of the royal library at Paris; but at length
being dissatisfied with the Romish religion, he, upon the murder of
his great patron Henry IV. quitted his native country, and at the
earnest entreaty of King James I. settled in England, where he died in
1614, aged forty-five.

21. Above this last monument, is another for John Earnest Grape, a
person well skilled in oriental learning, who is represented as large
as the life, sitting in a thoughtful posture upon a marble tomb, as if
contemplating on death.

22. Next to the west corner of the south cross is an ancient monument
to the memory of that great antiquarian William Camden, who is
represented in a half length, in the dress of his time, holding a book
in his right hand, and in his left his gloves. He rests on an altar,
on the body of which is a Latin inscription, which mentions his
indefatigable industry in illustrating the British antiquities, and
his candour, sincerity, and pleasant good humour in private life. He
died Nov. 9, 1623.

In this south cross are several stones to be met with on the pavement,
worthy of notice. Among these is one over the body of Thomas Parr, of
the county of Salop, born in 1483. He lived in the reigns of ten
Princes, King Edward IV. King Edward V. King Richard III. King Henry
VII. King Henry VIII. King Edward VI. Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth,
King James I. and King Charles I. and was interred here Nov. 15, 1635,
aged an hundred and fifty-two.

At a small distance from Parr, is a small white stone, over the body
of Sir William Davenant, who succeeded Ben Johnson as Poet Laureat to
King Charles I. and died in 1688, aged sixty-three. On this stone is
inscribed O RARE SIR WILLIAM DAVENANT! and this probably gave the
thought of putting the like inscription on the monument afterwards
erected to his predecessor Ben Johnson.

Under the pavement near Dryden’s tomb, lie the remains of Francis
Beaumont, the dramatic writer, who died in London in March, 1615, and
was buried here without either tomb or inscription.

Affixed to the pillars in this south cross, are also two table
monuments; which we shall but just mention, one for Samuel Barton,
D.D. a Prebendary of this church, who died in Sept. 1715, aged
sixty-two: and the other to the memory of Anthony Horneck, D.D. who
was born at Wittenberg in Zealand, but was educated at Oxford, and
became King’s Divinity Professor and Chaplain, a Prebendary of this
church, and a Preacher at the Savoy. This gentleman, who was
remarkable for his piety, died of the stone on the 30th of January,
1696, aged fifty-six.

23. On entering the south side, there is next the wall a monument
erected to the memory of Sophia Fairholm, Countess of Anandale. It is
the representation of an ancient sepulchre, over which a stately
edifice is raised, ornamented at the top with the family arms. She
died in the year 1716, aged forty-six; and the monumental inscription
informs us, that it was erected by her son the Marquis of Anandale, as
a mark of his duty and gratitude.

24. The monument of the brave Sir Cloudesly Shovel, who here appears a
very unmeaning figure, with a large stiff wig, reposing himself upon
velvet cushions under a canopy of state; and on the base is
represented in bas relief, the ship Association in which the Admiral
last sailed, striking against a rock, with several others perishing at
the same time, and at the top are two boys blowing trumpets.

This monument has been highly censured by all persons of taste, tho’
it is erected to his memory at great expence, and even by his
Sovereign Queen Anne. The great Mr. Addison has justly exposed it in
the Spectators, and complains at this brave rough English Admiral’s
being here represented by the figure of a beau; and also censures the
inscription, which instead of celebrating the many remarkable actions
he had performed in the service of his country, only informs us of the
manner of his death, from which it was impossible to reap any honour,
tho’ it may excite our pity. The inscription is as follows:

Sir Cloudesly Shovel, Knt. Rear-Admiral of Great Britain, and
Admiral and Commander in chief of the fleet—the just reward of
his long and faithful services. He was deservedly beloved of
his country, and esteemed, tho’ dreaded by the enemy, who had
often experienced his conduct and courage. Being ship-wrecked
on the rocks of Scylly, in his voyage from Toulon, the 22d of
October 1707, at night, in the 57th year of his age. His fate
was lamented by all, but especially by the seafaring part of
the nation; to whom he was a generous patron, and a worthy
example. His body was flung on the shore, and buried with
others in the sand; but being soon after taken up, was placed
under this monument, which his royal Mistress had caused to be
erected to commemorate his steady loyalty and extraordinary
virtues.

25. The monument of George Stepney, Esq; has his bust under a canopy,
and two naked boys weeping and holding handkerchiefs at their eyes.
This monument, though the materials are very rich, is allowed to be
void of design, and but poorly executed. The Latin inscriptions give
an account of his virtues, his learning and abilities, and the many
negociations in which he was employed at foreign courts. He died at
Chelsea in 1706.

26. A lofty and much more elegant monument for George Churchill, whose
merits are mentioned in a long Latin inscription, where it is said
that he was the second son of Sir Winston Churchill, of Dorsetshire,
Knt. and a not unworthy brother of John Duke of Marlborough: that he
was early trained to military affairs, and served with great honour by
sea and land, under King Charles II. King James II. King William III.
and Queen Anne: that he was Admiral of the English fleet, at the
burning of the French fleet at La Hogue, in King William’s reign; and
for his bravery there, made one of the Commissioners of the Admiralty:
that in the succeeding reign he was made Admiral in chief, and died on
the 8th of May 1718, aged fifty-eight.

27. Near that of Churchill’s, is a stately monument erected for Sir
Palmes Fairborne. Two pyramids of black marble standing on cannon
balls, have two Moorish Emperors heads in profile on their tops; these
pyramids are adorned with relievos, on one Sir Palmes is shot while
viewing the enemy’s lines before the town; and on the other is a
hearse and six horses bringing him off wounded to the castle. Above in
a lofty dome are the arms of the deceased, with this motto underneath,
TUTUS SI FORTIS, and over his arms a Turk’s head on a dagger, by way
of crest, which he won by his valour in fighting against that people
in the German war. On this monument is the following inscription:

Sacred to the immortal memory of Sir Palmes Fairborne, Knt.
Governor of Tangier, in execution of which command, he was
mortally wounded by a shot from the Moors, then besieging the
town, in the 46th year of his age, October 24, 1680.

His epitaph, wrote by Mr. Dryden, runs thus:

Ye sacred reliques, which your marble keep,
Here undisturb’d by wars, in quiet sleep:
Discharge the trust, which (when it was below) }
Fairborne’s undaunted soul did undergo, }
And be the town’s palladium from the foe. }
Alive and dead these walls he will defend:
Great actions great examples must attend.
The Candian siege his early valour knew,
Where Turkish blood did his young hands imbrue;
From thence returning, with deserv’d applause, }
Against the Moors his well-flesh’d sword he draws, }
The same the courage, and the same the cause. }
His youth and age, his life and death combine, }
As in some great and regular design, }
All of a piece throughout, and all divine. }
Still nearer heav’n his virtue shone more bright, }
Like rising flames expanding in their height, }
The martyr’s glory crown’d the soldier’s fight. }
More bravely British General never fell,
Nor General’s death was e’er reveng’d so well,
Which his pleas’d eyes beheld before their close,
Follow’d by thousand victims of his foes.
To his lamented loss, for times to come,
His pious widow consecrates this tomb.

26. On a table monument enriched with military trophies, and raised
against the wall, is the following inscription:

To the memory of the honoured Major Richard Creed, who
attended his Majesty King William the Third in all his wars,
every where signalizing himself, and never more himself than
when he looked an enemy in the face. At the glorious battle of
Blenheim, Ann. Dom. 1704, he commanded those squadrons that
began the attack; in two several charges he remained unhurt;
but in a third, after many wounds received, still valiantly
fighting, he was shot through the head. His dead body was
brought off by his brother, at the hazard of his own life, and
buried there. To his memory his sorrowful mother erects this
monument, placing it near another which her son, when living,
used to look upon with pleasure, for the worthy mention it
makes of that great man Edward Earl of Sandwich, to whom he
had the honour to be related, and whose heroic virtues he was
ambitious to imitate.

27. The monument of Sir John Chardin, who distinguished himself by his
travels into the east, is adorned with a globe, which exhibits a view
of the different countries he visited, and around it are represented a
number of geographical instruments.

28. The monument of Sidney Earl of Godolphin is adorned with a bust
richly dressed, and has an inscription which mentions the employments
and honours through which he passed. He died on September 15, 1712,
aged sixty-seven.

29. The next is a double monument erected to the memory of Sir Charles
Harbord, and Clement Cottrel, Esq; On the base is represented in
relievo a dreadful sea-fight, and on the top in a wreath of laurel is
this inscription, “To preserve and unite the memory of two faithful
friends, who lost their lives at sea together, May 28, 1672.” These
two young gentlemen both perished in the Royal James, with the Earl of
Sandwich, who commanded in that ship as Vice-Admiral against the Dutch
in that memorable fight off the coast of Sussex in the reign of King
Charles II. The Royal James being set on fire, Sir Charles Harbord,
first Lieutenant, though he might have saved himself by swimming as
many others did, yet out of pure affection to his worthy Commander,
chose to die with him. Young Cottrel was a volunteer, and after being
the first man who had boarded a Dutch ship of 70 guns, and pulled down
her ensign with his own hands, returned to the Royal James unwounded,
and also perished with his friends. This gentleman understood seven
languages, tho’ but twenty-two years of age. This moving story is
recited at large on the monument.

30. A tomb erected to the memory of Anne Fielding, the first wife of
Sir Samuel Morland, Knt. and Bart. chiefly remarkable for having two
very learned inscriptions: the first, in Hebrew, is to this effect:

O thou fairest among women! O virtuous woman! The hand of the
Lord hath done this.

The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away, blessed be the
name of the Lord.

Under this is an Ethiopic inscription, which has been thus translated:

Come let us lament over this monument, raised for thee by a
beloved husband; but in certain hope that thou art united with
Christ.

This Lady was truly religious, virtuous, faithful, and, as a
dove, mild and chaste; while she continued in life, she was
honoured, and, through mercy, is happy in death.

Under the Ethiopic is this inscription in English:

Anne, daughter to George Fielding, Esq; and of Mary his wife,
the truly loving (and as truly beloved) wife of Samuel
Morland, Knt. and Bart. died Feb. 20, Ann. Dom. 1679–80.

31. Near this last is a tomb much in the same taste, erected to the
memory of Carola Harsnet, the second wife of the same Baronet, who
died in child-bed of her second son, Oct. 10, 1674, in the 23d year of
her age. Here are two inscriptions, the first in Hebrew, and the other
in Greek, which have been thus translated:

Blessed be the Lord, my wife was precious: blessed be thy
remembrance, O virtuous woman.

When I think of thy mildness, patience, charity, modesty, and
piety, I lament thee, O most excellent creature, and grieve
exceedingly: but not like such as have no faith; for I believe
and expect the resurrection of those who sleep in Christ.

32. Between the two former is a beautiful monument to the memory of
John Smith, Esq; a fine bust in relievo of that gentleman, is
supported by a weeping figure representing his daughter, both which
are designed and executed with great judgment and spirit. The Lady
sits upon an urn, which, with its base and a pyramid behind, unite the
whole in a most harmonious and agreeable stile. On the base is a Latin
inscription, setting forth his descent and issue.

33. Over the door that opens into the cloisters is a noble and elegant
monument erected for General Wade. In the center is a beautiful marble
pillar, enriched with military trophies most exquisitely wrought. The
principal figures, are Fame pushing back Time, who is eagerly
approaching to demolish the pillar, with all the ensigns of honour,
with which it is adorned; the General’s head is in a medalion, and the
whole is executed with great beauty and elegance. The inscription
underneath runs thus:

To the memory of George Wade, Field-Marshal of his Majesty’s
forces, Lieutenant-General of the ordnance, Colonel of his
Majesty’s third Regiment of Dragoon guards, Governor of
Fort-William, Fort-Augustus, and Fort-George, and one of his
Majesty’s most honourable Privy Council. He died March 14,
1748, aged seventy-five.

34. A plain neat monument erected to the memory of Robert Cannon, D.
D. Dean of Lincoln, and Prebendary of this church, who died on the
28th of March 1722, aged fifty-nine.

35. An elegant monument of Mrs. Katharine Bovey. Faith is here
represented with her book closed, and Wisdom lamenting the death of
her Patroness, between which is the Lady’s head in relief enclosed in
an annulet of black marble curiously veined. The inscription, which is
in English, gives an excellent character of the deceased, who died on
the 21st of January 1726, in the seventy-second year of her age; and
informs us that Mrs. Mary Pope, who lived with her near forty years,
in perfect friendship, erected this monument to her memory.

36. A small table monument to the memory of Mr. Henry Wharton, which
is only remarkable an account of the distinguished character of the
person whose name is inscribed upon it. Mr. Wharton was Rector of
Chartham in Kent, Vicar of the church of Minster in the Isle of
Thanet, Chaplain to Archbishop Sancroft, and one of the most
voluminous writers of his years. He died on the 3d of March 1694, aged
only thirty-one, and was so universally respected by the Bishops and
Clergy, that Archbishop Tillotson, and several other prelates, with a
vast body of the clergy, the choir and King’s scholars, all in solemn
procession attended his funeral, and joined in an anthem composed on
this occasion by the great Purcell.

37. A plain neat monument erected to the memory of Dr. Thomas Spratt,
Bishop of Rochester, who died in 1713, aged seventy seven, and of his
son Mr. Thomas Spratt, Archdeacon of Rochester, and Prebendary of the
churches of Rochester, Winchester, and Westminster, whose remains lie
near those of his father. This monument was erected by John Friend, M.
D. as a testimony of his respect for those two worthy personages.

38. A monument for Sir Lumley Robinson, Bart. of Kentwell-Hall in
Suffolk, who by an untimely death ended his life Aug. 6, 1684, aged
thirty-six. It is adorned with columns supported by death’s heads, and
the arms upon the base by a cherub. The sides of the pediment have
enrichments of laurel branches, &c. and on the top is a vase.

39. The monument of John Friend, M. D. has an admirable bust of that
gentleman, standing on a pedestal of fine white veined marble, and
under it is a long inscription in Latin, setting forth the
distinguished acquirements, and great abilities of that eminent
physician.

40. Mr. Congreve’s monument has an half length marble portrait of that
gentleman, placed on a pedestal of fine Egyptian marble, and enriched
with emblematical devices relating to the drama. Underneath is this
inscription in English:

Mr. William Congreve died January 19, 1728, aged fifty-six,
and was buried near this place. To whose most valuable memory
this monument is set up by Henrietta Duchess of Marlborough,
as a mark how dearly she remembers the happiness she enjoyed
in the sincere friendship of so worthy and honest a man; whose
virtue, candour and wit, gained him the love and esteem of the
present age; and whose writings will be the admiration of the
future.

41. The monument of the Right Hon. James Craggs, Esq; his statue is
represented leaning on an urn, and was one of the first in the Abbey
represented standing. The inscription, which is in golden characters,
shews that he was Principal Secretary of state, and a man universally
beloved, which is there particularly remarked, because as he was only
a shoe-maker’s son, it is the more surprizing that in the high station
to which he was raised by his merit, he should escape envy, and
acquire the general esteem. He died on the 16th of February 1720. Upon
the base of this monument are the following lines, written by Mr.
Pope:

Statesman, yet friend to truth, of soul sincere,
In action faithful, and in honour clear!
Who broke no promise, serv’d no private end;
Who gain’d no title, and who lost no friend;
Ennobled by himself, by all approved;
Prais’d, wept, and honour’d by the Muse he lov’d.

42. On the south side of the great west entrance is a noble monument
erected to the memory of the brave Captain Cornwall, who after
distinguishing himself by his heroism, was unhappily slain in the
battle between the English fleet, commanded by the Admirals Matthews
and Lestock, and the French. This monument was erected to his honour
by order of Parliament, and is a noble testimony of the public
gratitude for his distinguished merit. On the back is a lofty pyramid
of Egyptian marble beautifully variegated, and finely polished,
standing on a base of the same marble. Upon this base is a rock of
white marble, along the different parts of which run sea weeds. Near
the top stands a fine figure of Fame, placing a medalion of the
Captain on the summit of the rock, underneath which is a naval crown,
a globe, the trumpet of Fame, and other ornaments, and behind rises to
the top of the pediment a palm, entwined with a laurel. On the other
side of the medalion stands a beautiful figure of Britannia, with the
British Lion couchant at her feet. Beneath, in an opening of the rock,
is a Latin inscription on a fine piece of polished porphyry,
mentioning his descent, and the manner of his death, which happened
while fighting for his country, on the 3d of February 1743, in the
45th year of his age, and that the Senate of Britain consecrated this
monument to his memory. In another opening of the rock, a little
lower, is represented in bass relief a view of the engagement in which
this great man perished, and at the bottom of the rock on the sides
lie cannons, flags, anchors, &c. all of white marble.

43. The next is an elegant monument for Sir Thomas Hardy, Knt. On the
back is a lofty pyramid of a bluish coloured marble, at the foot of
which the statue of the deceased is placed, reclining upon a tomb of
elegant workmanship, with a naked boy on his left side weeping over an
urn: the enrichments round the pedestal on which he stands are just
and proper; and the inscription contains the following short history
of his life:

Sir THOMAS HARDY, to whose memory this monument is erected,
was bred in the royal navy from his youth, and was made a
Captain in 1693.

In the expedition to Cadiz, under Sir George Rooke, he
commanded the Pembroke; and when the fleet left the coast of
Spain, to return to England, he was ordered to Lagos Bay,
where he got intelligence of the Spanish galleons being
arrived in the harbour of Vigo, under convoy of seventeen
French men of war: by his great diligence and judgment he
joined the English fleet, and gave the Admiral that
intelligence which engaged him to make the best of his way to
Vigo, where all the aforementioned galleons and men of war
were either taken or destroyed.

After the success of that action, the Admiral sent him with an
account of it to the Queen, who ordered him a considerable
present, and knighted him.

Some years afterwards he was made a Rear-Admiral, and received
several other marks of favour and esteem from her Majesty, and
from her Royal Consort Prince George of Denmark, Lord High
Admiral of England.

44. The monument of John Conduit, Esq; is allowed, in point of design,
to be not inferior to that last mentioned, and there is something in
the manner which shews them both to be the workmanship of the same
hand. In the middle of the pyramid is a large medalion of brass, round
which is a Latin inscription, thus english’d, JOHN CONDUIT, MASTER OF
THE MINT; this medalion is suspended by a cherub above, and rests on
another below. This gentleman succeeded his relation the great Sir
Isaac Newton in that office, and desired to be interred near him, as
appears from a long Latin inscription on the base. He died May 23d,
1727, aged forty-nine. Catharine his wife died Jan. 20, 1739, and lies
interred under the same tomb.

45. The monument of William Horneck, Esq; is enriched with books,
plans, and instruments of fortification, alluding to the employments
of the deceased; who was chief engineer to the royal train of
artillery, and, as his inscription informs us, learned the art of war
under the great Duke of Marlborough. He died May 10, 1743.

46. The monument of Sir Godfrey Kneller, Knt. has a bust of Sir
Godfrey under a canopy of state, the curtains of which are gilt and
tied with golden strings, and on each side the bust is a weeping
Cupid, one resting on a framed picture, the other holding a painter’s
pallat and pencils. This monument is not however much esteemed.

On the pedestal is a Latin inscription, signifying that Sir Godfrey
Kneller, Knt. who lies interred here, was painter to King Charles II.
King James II. King William III. Queen Anne, and King George I.
Underneath is his epitaph written by Mr. Pope, which has been also
much censured:

Kneller! by Heav’n, and not a master taught!
Whose art was nature, and whose pictures thought;
Now for two ages having snatch’d from fate
Whate’er was beauteous, or whate’er was great,
Rests crown’d with Princes’ honours, Poets’ lays,
Due to his merit, and brave thirst of praise.
Living, great Nature fear’d he might outvie
Her works; and dying, fears herself may die.

47. We come now to the monument of Anna Countess Dowager of
Clanrikard, which is adorned with excellent carving, and a fine statue
of that Lady resting upon a tomb. The inscription gives an account of
her descent, marriages, and issue, and informs us, that she died on
the 14th of January 1732, in the 49th year of her age.

48. The monument of John Woodward, M. D. is a very beautiful one, and
the figures most admirably finished. The head of the deceased is
represented in profile, in a very masterly manner, and the Lady who
holds it is inimitably performed. The inscription contains a panegyric
on the parts and learning of the deceas’d.

49. A neat plain monument erected to the memory of Heneage Twisden, a
young hero, who fell in the battle of Blairgnies in Hainault, while he
was Aid de Camp to John Duke of Argyle, who commanded the right wing
of the Confederate army. He was the seventh son of Sir William
Twisden, Bart. and a youth of the greatest expectations; but the
fortune of war put a stop to his rising merit, in 1709, and in the
29th year of his age.

Near this monument are two small ones to the memory of two of his
brothers, Josiah and John; Josiah was a Captain at the siege of
Agremont, near Lisle in Flanders, and was slain by a cannon shot in
1708, at twenty-three years of age. John was a Lieutenant in the
Admiral’s ship, under Sir Cloudesly Shovel, and perished with him in
1707, aged twenty-three.

50. A monument erected in honour of Col. James Bringfield, ornamented
with military trophies, cherubs, &c. and surrounded by a mantling
enclosing a tablet, on which is inscribed the military preferments of
the deceased, the manner of his death and burial, and the praises of
his piety and virtue. He was born at Abingdon in Berks, was Equerry to
Prince George of Denmark, and Aid de Camp to the Great Duke of
Marlborough; but was killed by a cannon ball, as he was remounting his
General on a fresh horse, at the battle of Ramelies, May 12, 1706, and
was interred at Barechem in Brabant, in the 50th year of his age.

51. The monument of Mr. Killegrew has been reckoned one of the best
pieces of sculpture in the whole church, and what is remarkable, is
cut out of one stone. The embellishments are distinct and very
picturesque, and the inscription, short, modest, and soldier-like. It
is as follows:

Robert Killegrew, of Arwenack in Cornwall, Esq; son of Thomas
and Charlotte, Page of honour to King Charles II. Brigadier
General of her Majesty’s forces, killed in Spain in the battle
of Almanza, April 14, 1707. Ætatis fuæ 47. MILITAVI ANNIS 24.

52. The next is a monument erected to the memory of Mrs. Mary Beaufoy,
who is represented in a devout posture, with cherubs crowning her: on
each side are Cupids lamenting the early decay of a virgin beauty, and
underneath the arms of her family quarterly upheld by cherubs. On the
base is the following inscription:

Reader! whoever thou art, let the sight of this tomb imprint
in thy mind, that the young and old without distinction, leave
this world; and therefore fail not to secure the next. This
Lady was only daughter and heiress to Sir Henry Beaufoy, of
Guyscliffe, near Warwick, by the Hon. Charlotte Lane, eldest
daughter of George Lord Viscount Lansborough. She died July
12, 1705.

53. After passing by a few monuments unworthy of notice, we come to
that of Admiral Baker, adorned with a rostral column of curiously
veined marble, decorated with the prows of galleys, a Medusa’s head,
and other naval and military trophies, with this short inscription
underneath:

To the memory of John Baker, Esq; Vice-Admiral of the White
Squadron of the British Fleet; who, when he commanded in the
Mediterranean, died at Port Mahon, Nov. 10, 1736, aged
fifty-six. He was a brave, judicious and experienced officer;
a sincere friend, and a true lover of his country.

_Manet post Funera Virtus._

54. Next to this is Mr. Priestman’s monument, to which is suspended by
a knot of ribbons, fastened to a column of variegated marble, a fine
medalion, with the words HENRY PRIESTMAN, Esq; round the head.
Underneath are naval trophies and sea instruments; and upon the base
is an inscription, shewing that the person to whom this monument is
erected, was Commander in chief of a squadron of ships of war in the
reign of King Charles II. a Commissioner of the Navy, and one of the
Commissioners for executing the office of Lord High Admiral of England
in the reign of King William III. He died Aug. 20, 1712, aged 65.

55. The monument of Philip Carteret, son to Lord George Carteret, who
died a King’s scholar at Westminster, ripe for the university, on the
19th of March 1710, aged nineteen. On the upper part is an admirable
bust of this noble youth, and underneath a very fine figure of Time
standing on an altar, and holding a scroll in his hand, whereon is
written in Sapphic verses, lines to the following import, which he is
supposed to be repeating:

Why flows the mournful Muse’s tear,
For thee! cut down in life’s full prime?
Why sighs, for thee, the parent dear!
Cropt by the scythe of hoary Time?

Lo! this, my Boy’s the common lot!
To me thy memory entrust;
When all that’s dear shall be forgot,
I’ll guard thy venerable dust.

From age to age, as I proclaim
Thy learning, piety, and truth;
Thy great example shall enflame;
And emulation raise in youth.

56. A neat monument erected for Edward de Carteret, the son of Sir
Edward de Carteret, Gentleman Usher to King Charles II. who died on
the 30th of October 1677, in the eighth year of his age. It is
ornamented with cherubs and with festoons of leaves and fruit.

57. The monument of Thomas Levingston, Viscount Teviot, is decorated
with the arms, supporters, and crest of that nobleman, and with
military trophies, alluding to his profession of a soldier. On the
face of the monument is a long inscription in Latin, shewing that he
was born in Holland, but descended from the Levingstons in Scotland;
that from his childhood he was trained to arms; and having attended
the Prince of Orange into Britain, as a Colonel of foot, rose to the
rank of a Lieutenant-General in the army, and General of the Scotch
forces, was made Master of the ordnance, and a Privy Counsellor; that
he secured Scotland to the King by one decisive action on the Spey,
for which he was advanced to the dignity of a Viscount, and that he
died on the 14th of Jan. 1710, aged sixty.

58. A handsome monument erected for the Lord Constable, ornamented
with a cherub below, and the family arms above. It has this short
inscription:

Near this lies the Right Hon. Robert Lord Constable, Viscount
Dunbar, who departed this life Nov. 23, 1714, in the
sixty-fourth year of his age.

59. A plain neat monument for Peter Heylin, D.D. and Prebendary of
this church, who died on the 8th of May 1662. It is adorned with a
pediment, and the arms of the deceased, and contains a long
inscription in Latin, mentioning the most remarkable incidents in his
life.

60. The tomb of Charles Williams, Esq; adorned with very remarkable
scroll-work, and scollopping; what is very singular is, its being
supported by a death’s head on the wings of Time. This gentleman died
on the 29th of August 1720, aged eighty-seven.

61. A small but elegant monument erected to the memory of the
celebrated Henry Purcell, Esq; well known by his admirable musical
compositions. The inscription consists of this short and comprehensive
sentence:

Here lies Henry Purcell, who left this life,
and is gone to that blessed place, where
only his harmony can be exceeded. He
died Nov. 21, 1697, in his 37th year.

62. The next is the monument of William Croft, Doctor in music. On the
pedestal is an organ in bas relief, and on the top, a bust of the
deceased,

63. The tomb of John Blow, Doctor in music, is adorned with cherubs,
flowers, and a canon in four parts set to music. In the center is an
English inscription, by which it appears he was organist, composer,
and master to the children in the chapel royal thirty-five years, and
organist to this Abbey fifteen years; that he was scholar to Dr.
Christopher Gibbons; and master to the famous Mr. Purcell, and to most
of the eminent masters of his time. He died Oct. 1. 1708, in his
sixtieth year; and his epitaph observes, that his own musical
compositions, especially his church music, are a far nobler monument
to his memory than any other that can be raised to him.

64. We come now to the neat and elegant monument erected to the memory
of Dr. Boulter, Archbishop of Armagh in Ireland. It is of the finest
marble beautified with an admirable new invented polish. The bust of
this worthy Archbishop is finely executed; his long flowing hair has
all the gracefulness of nature, without the smallest degree of that
stiffness which belongs to stone; and his venerable countenance
strikes the beholder with reverence. The ensigns of his dignity
wherewith the monument is adorned, are most exquisitely fine, and
every part about it discovers a masterly genius in the sculptor. The
inscription is inclosed in a beautiful border of porphyry, and is as
follows:

Dr. Hugh Boulter, late Archbishop of Armagh, Primate of all
Ireland, a Prelate so eminent for the accomplishments of his
mind, the purity of his heart, and the excellence of his life,
that it may be thought superfluous to specify his titles,
recount his virtues, or even erect a monument to his fame. His
titles he not only deserved, but adorned; his virtues are
manifest in his good works, which had never dazzled the public
eye, if they had not been too bright to be concealed; and as
to his fame, whosoever has any sense of merit, any reverence
for piety, any passion for his country, or any charity for
mankind, will assist in preserving it fair and spotless, that
when brass and marble shall mix with the dust they cover,
every succeeding age may have the benefit of his illustrious
example. He was born Jan. 4, 1671, was consecrated Bishop of
Bristol, 1718, translated to the Archbishopric of Armagh,
1723, and from thence to Heaven, Sept. 27, 1742.

65. A plain table monument erected to the memory of Dr. Samuel
Bradford, Bishop of Rochester, who died on the 14th of May 1731, in
the seventy-ninth year of his age. It contains a long Latin
inscription scarce legible, surrounded with the arms, and proper
ensigns of his several dignities.

66. The next is a monument erected to the memory of Richard Kane, Esq;
Governor of Minorca, adorned with a curious bust of that gentleman in
white marble, placed upon a handsome pedestal, whereon are inscribed
the most remarkable passages of his life. He was born at Down in
Ireland, Dec. 20, 1661. In 1689 he first appeared in a military
capacity at the memorable siege of Derry; and after the reduction of
Ireland, followed King William into Flanders, where he distinguished
himself, particularly by his intrepid behaviour at the siege of Namur,
where he was grievously wounded. In 1702, he bore a commission in the
service of Queen Anne, and assisted in the expedition to Canada; from
whence he again returned into Flanders, and fought under the Duke of
Argyle and Greenwich, and afterwards under Lord Carpenter. In 1712, he
was made Sub-Governor of Minorca, through which island he caused a
road to be made, which had been thought impracticable. In 1720 he was
ordered by King George I. to the defence of Gibraltar, where he
sustained an eight months siege against the Spaniards, when all hope
of relief was extinguished. For which gallant service he was
afterwards, by King George II. rewarded with the government of
Minorca, where he died Dec. 19, 1736, and was buried in the castle of
St. Philip.