Good People draw near,
There is no need of a tear,
Merry L . . . is gone to his Bed;
I am placed here to tell,
Where now lies the shêll,
If he had any soûl it is fled.
Make the Bells ring aloud,
And be joyful the croud,
For Mirth was his favourite theme,
Which to Praise he turned Poet,
Its fit you should know it,
Since he has left nothing more than his name.
On an Ass (by the late late Dr. Jenner).
Beneath this hugh hillock here lies a poor creature,
So gentle, so easy, so harmless his nature;
On earth by kind Heav’n he surely was sent,
To teach erring mortals the road to content;
Whatever befel him, he bore his hard fate,
Nor envied the steed in his high pamper’d state;
Though homely his fare was, he’d never repine;
On a dock could he breakfast, on thistles could dine;
No matter how coarse or unsavoury his salad,
Content made the flavour suit well with his palate.
Now, Reader, depart, and, as onward you pass,
Reflect on the lesson you’ve heard from an Ass.
On a Henpecked Country Squire.
As father Adam first was fool’d,
A case that’s still too common,
Here lies a man a woman rul’d,
The devil rul’d the woman.
On a Potter.
How frail is man—how short life’s longest day!
Here lies the worthy Potter, turned to clay!
Whose forming hand, and whose reforming care,
Has left us full of flaws. Vile earthenware!
It was his usual custom in company when he told anything, to ask, d’ye hear? and if any one said no, John would reply, no matter, I’ve said.
Death came to John
And whisper’d in his ear,
You must die John,
D’ye hear?Quoth John to Death
The news is bad.
No matter, quoth Death,
I’ve said.
Punning Epitaph.