Towards the close of the last century, there lived in Kidderminster an eccentric person of the name of Orton (not that Orton, the friend of Doddridge, who passed some time in the town), but "Job Orton," the landlord of the Bell Inn. During his lifetime he erected his tomb in the parish churchyard, with this memento-mori inscription graven in large characters on the upper slab:
"Job Orton, a man from Leicestershire;
And when he's dead, he must lie under here."
This inscription remains unaltered to this day, and may be seen on the right-hand of the broad walk on the north side of the spacious churchyard. His coffin was constructed at the same time; and, until it should be required for other and personal purposes, was used as a wine-bin. But, to carry his eccentricity even to the grave, he left strict orders that he should be buried in an erect posture: and "tradition" (of course) says that his request was complied with. Your correspondent says that tradition "assigns no reason for the peculiarity" of the Harcourt knight's burial; but tradition has been more explicit in Job Orton's case, whose reason (?) for his erect posture in the tomb was, that at the last day he might be able to rise from his grave before his wife, who was buried in the usual horizontal manner! Job Orton appears to have had a peculiar talent for the composition of epitaphs; as, in his more playful moments, he was accustomed to tell his better-half that if he outlived her he should put the following lines on her tombstone:
"Esther Orton—a bitter, sour weed;
God never lov'd her, nor increas'd her seed."
He seems, however, to have spared her this gratuitous insult. As a farther illustration of the characters of this singular couple, the following anecdote is told. Esther Orton having frequently declared, that she should "never die happy until she had rolled in riches," Job, like a good husband, determined to secure his wife's happiness. Having sold some land for a thousand pounds, he insisted that the money should be paid wholly in guineas. Taking these home in a bag, he locked his wife up in a room; knocked her down, opened his bag of guineas, and raining the golden wealth upon her, rolled his Danae over and over in the coin. "And now, Esther," said Job Orton, "thee mayst die as soon as thee pleases: for thee'st had thy wish, and roll'd in riches."
Cuthbert Bede, B.A.