Ten in the hundred lies here engrav’d,
Tis a hundred to ten his soul is not sav’d;
If any man ask, ‘Who lies in this tomb?’
Oh! Oh! quoth the Devil, ’tis my John a Coomb.
“The epitaph upon the brother, whether called for or not, I cannot say, is of a similar spirit:
Thin in beard, and thick in purse,
Never man beloved worse;
He went to the grave with many a curse;
The devil and he had both one nurse.
“A flat stone, lying on the pavement over the place of his interment, has this inscription, said to have been written by Shakespeare for his own monument:
Good friend, for Jesus’ sake forbeare
To digg the dust encloased heare;
Blest be the man that spares these stones,
And curst be he that moves my bones.”
There is another also ascribed to him quoted in “Shakspere’s Poetry,” No. 6, Bacon Society Journal, p. 245, which, with the Goliath, makes up the number to five.
Epitaph on Elias James. [Mark the lost H.]
When God was pleased, the world unwilling yet,
Elias James to nature paid his debt,
And here reposeth, as he lived he died,
The saying in him strongly verified,
Such life, such death: then the known truth to tell,
He lived a godly lyfe and dyed as well.
The other account of a visit paid, and chair and relics bought, is taken from Samuel Ireland, London, 1795, a handsome volume of well-executed picturesque views of the Avon, and buildings connected with Shakesperian localities, which are generally made use of without acknowledgment.
“As such we shall conduct them to the humble cottage in which he first drew breath, on the 23rd of April, 1564.
“The annexed sketch of it was made in October, 1792. Part of these premises which belonged to Shakspeare are still occupied by a descendant of Joan Harte, sister to our Poet, who pursues the humble occupation of a butcher. His father Thomas Harte died about a year ago at the age of sixty-seven. The kitchen of this house has an appearance sufficiently interesting to command a place in this work, abstracted from its claim to notice as a relative to the bard. It is a subject very similar to those that so frequently employed the rare talents of Ostade, and therefore cannot be deemed unworthy of the pencil of an inferior artist. In the corner of the chimney stood an old oak chair, which had for a number of years received nearly as many adorers as the celebrated shrine of the Lady of Loretto. This relic was purchased in July, 1790, by the Princess Czartoryska, who made a journey to this place in order to obtain intelligence relative to Shakspeare; and being told he had often sat in this chair, she placed herself in it, and expressed an ardent wish to become a purchaser; but being informed that it was not to be sold at any price, she left a handsome gratuity to old Mrs. Harte, and left the place with apparent regret. About four months after, the anxiety of the Princess could no longer be withheld, and her secretary was despatched express, as the fit agent, to purchase this treasure at any rate; the sum of twenty guineas was the price fixed on, and the secretary and chair, with a proper certificate of its authenticity on stamped paper, set off in a chaise for London.” . . .