Fig. 13.—Easter Sampler by Kitty Harison. Dated 1770.
The Christmas verse is usually:—
“Glory to God in the Highest”;
but an unusual one is that in Margaret Fiddes’s sampler, 1773:—
“The Night soon past, it ran so fast. The Day
Came on Amain. Our Sorrows Ceast Our Hopes
Encreast once more to Meet again A Star appears
Expells all Fears Angels give Kings to
Know A Babe was sent With that intent to
Conquer Death below.”
Ascension Day is marked by:—
“The heavens do now retain our Lord
Until he come again,
And for the safety of our souls
He there doth still remain.
And quickly shall our King appear
And take us by the hand
And lead us fully to enjoy
The promised Holy Land.”
Sarah Smith, 1794.
Whilst Passion Week is recognisable in:—
“Behold the patient Lamb, before his shearer stands,” etc.
The Crucifixion itself, although it is portrayed frequently in German samplers (examples in The Fine Art Society’s Exhibition were dated 1674, 1724, and 1776), is seldom, if ever, found in English ones, but for Good Friday we have the lines:—