ON ROBIN HOOD.

Hear underneath dis laitl stean
Laiz Robert, Earl of Huntingdon ;
Nea arcir ver az hie sae geud,
An pipl kauld im Robin Heud:
Sick utlawz as hi an is men
Vil England niver si agen,

Obiit 24 kal, Dekembris, 1247.

See Thoresby's Ducat Leod, p. 576. Biog. Brit. VI.-3933.

The above is in black letter.

IN MODERN ENGLISH,

Here, underneath this little stone,
Lays Robert, Earl of Huntingdon :
No archer was as he so good,
And people call'd him Robin Hood:
Such outlaws as he and his men
Will England never see again.

He died December 24th, 1247,

The famous hero of the above epitaph had his chief residence in Sherwood Forest, Nottinghamshire, and the heads of whose story, as collected by Stow, are briefly these:

"In this time (about the year 1190, in the reign of Richard the First) were many robbers and outlaws, among the which Robin Hood and Little John, renowned thieves, continued in woods, despoiling and robbing the goods of the rich. They killed none but such as would invade them: or by resistance for their own defence.

The said Robert entertained an hundred tall men, and good archers, with such spoiles and thefts as he got, upon whom four hundred, (were they ever so strong), durst not give the onset. He suffered no woman to be oppressed, violated, or otherwise molested poor men's goods he spared, abundantlie relieving them with that which, by theft, he got from abbeys and the houses of rich earls: whom Major (the historian) blameth for his rapine and theft, but of all thieves he affirmeth him to be the prince, and the most gentle thief." Annals, p. 156.

The personal courage of this celebrated outlaw, his skill in archery, his humanity, and especially his levelling principle of taking from the rich and giving to the poor, have, in all ages, rendered him the favourite of the common people; who, not content with celebrating his memory by innumerable songs and stories, have erected him into the dignity of an earl. Indeed, it is not impossible but our hero, to gain the more respect from his followers, or they to derive the more credit to their profession, may have given rise to such a report themselves: for we find it recorded in an epitaph, which, if genuine, must have been inscribed on his tombstone near the nunnery of Kirklees, in Yorkshire; where (as the story goes) he was bled to death by a treacherous nun, to whom he applied for phlebotomy.

ON MR. FOOTE.

Here lies one Foote, whose death may thousands save, For death has now one Foote within the grave,

In Paul's Church-yard, Mousehole, Cornwall; on DOLLY PENTREATH, who was one of the last persons known to speak the Cornish language, and died at the great age of 102. Her epitaph is both in Coxnish and English.

Old Doll Pentreath, one hundred age and two,
Both born, and in Paul parish buried too;
Not in the church 'mongst people great and high,
But in the Church-yard doth old Dolly lie!

IN GLASGOW CHURCH-YARD.

Here ligs Mess Andrew Gray,
Of whom ne muckle good can I say ;
He was ne Quaker, for he had ne spirit;
He was ne Papist, for he had ne merit ;
He was ne Turk, for he drank muckle wine ;
He was ne Jew, for he eat muckle swine.
Full forty years he preach'd and lee'd ;
For which God doom'd him when he dee'd.

In Shrivenham Church, Berkshire; on SAMUEL BARRINGTON, Admiral of the White, and General of Marines, who died, August 16, 1800.

Here rests the hero, who, in glory's page,

Wrote his fair deeds for more than half an age; Here rests the patriot, who, for England's good, Each toil encounter'd, and each clime withstood.

Here rests the Christian, his the loftier theme,
To seize the conquest, yet renounce the fame.
He, when his arm St. Lucia's trophies boasts,
Ascribes the glory to the Lord of Hosts;
And when the harder task remain'd behind,
The passive courage and the will resign'd.
Patient the veteran victor yields his breath,
Secure in him who conquer'd Sin and Death.

HANNAH MORE.

An Inscription on a Tomb-stone, in Ansty Churchyard.

Mary Best lies buried here,

Her age it was just ninety year:
Twenty-eight she liv'd a single life,
And only four years was a wife ;
She liv'd a widow fifty-eight,

And died January 11th, eighty-eight.

In Berkhampstead Church, Herts, on MRS. CowPER, mother of Cowper the Poet, by whom the following Epitaph was written: she died, November 13, 1737.

Here lies interr'd, too soon bereft of life,
The best of mothers, and the kindest wife :
Who neither knew, nor practis'd any art,
Secure in all she wished, her husband's heart;

Her love to him preserving ev'n in death,
Pray'd heav'n to bless him with her latest breath:
Still was she studious never to offend,
And glad of an occasion to commend :
With ease could pardon injuries receiv'd,
Nor e'er was cheerful when another griev'd :
Despising state, with her own lot content,
Enjoy'd the comforts of a life well-spent ;
Resign'd when Heav'n demanded back her breath,
Her mind heroic 'midst the pangs of death.
Whoe'er thou art that dost this tomb draw near,
O stay awhile, and shed a friendly tear;
These lines, tho' weak, are like herself sincere.

ON SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS.

Here Reynolds is laid; and, to tell you my mind,
He has left not a wiser or better behind.
His pencil was striking, resistless, and grand;
His manners were gentle, complying, and bland.
Still born to improve us in every part;

His pencil, our faces; his manners, our heart;
To coxcombs averse, yet most civilly steering,
When they judg'd without skill, he was still hard of
hearing;

When they talk'd of their Raphaels, Correggios, and stuff,

He shifted his trumpet,* and only took snuff.

GOLDSMITH.

* Sir Joshua was so deaf, as to be obliged to use

an ear-trumpet in company.