An old stone bearing the foregoing inscription was replaced by a new one some years ago at the expense of the late S. Carter, Esq., formerly Member of Parliament for Coventry. In the pages of the Spectator honourable mention is made of John Parkes.
In the churchyard of Hanslope is buried Sandy M’Kay, the Scottish giant, who was killed in a prize fight with Simon Byrne. A headstone bears the following inscription:—
| Sacred to the memory of Alex. M’Kay, (Late of Glasgow), Who died 3rd June, 1834, Aged 26 years. |
| Strong and athletic was my frame; Far from my native home I came, And manly fought with Simon Byrne; Alas! but lived not to return. Reader, take warning of my fate, Lest you should rue your case too late; If you ever have fought before, Determine now to fight no more. |
We are informed that Byrne was killed shortly afterwards, whilst engaged in fighting.
From the prize-ring let us turn to the more satisfactory amusement of cricket. In Highgate Cemetery, Lillywhite, the celebrated cricketer, is buried, and over his remains is placed a monument with the significant emblem of a wicket being upset with a ball.
The following lines are said to be copied from a tombstone in a cemetery near Salisbury:—
| I bowl’d, I struck, I caught, I stopp’d, Sure life’s a game of cricket, I blocked with care, with caution popp’d, Yet Death has hit my wicket. |
The tennis ball is introduced in an epitaph placed in St. Michael’s Church, Coventry. It reads thus:—
Here lyes the Body of Captain Gervase Scrope, of the Family of Scropes, of Bolton, in the County of York, who departed this life the 26th day of August, Anno Domini, 1705.