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To nobler sentiments to fire the brave,
For never Briton more disdain'd a slave!
Peace to thy gentle shade, and endless rest,
Blest in thy genius, in thy love too blest!
And blest, that timely from our scene remov'd
Thy soul enjoys that liberty it lov'd.
To these so mourn'd in death, so lov'd in life,
The childless Mother, and the widow'd Wife,
With tears inscribes this monumental stone,
That holds their ashes, and expects her own.
16. Near this last, is a fine monument
erected to the memory of Mr. John Gay,
by the Duke and Duchess of Queens-
berry, his great patrons. His bust is a
very good one, and the masks, instruments
of music, and other devices, are blended to-
gether in a group, in allusion to the various
species of writings in which he excelled, as
farce, satire, fable, and pastoral. The
short epitaph in the front, was written by
himself, and has given some offence, as the
sentiment at first view seems by no means
proper for a monument;
Life is a jest, and all things shew it:
I thought so once, but now I know it.
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| A B B | 55 |
Underneath are these lines:
Of manners gentle, of affections mild;
In wit, a man; simplicity, a child;
With native humour temp'ring virtuous rage,
Form'd to delight, at once, and lash the age:
Above temptation in a low estate,
And uncorrupted, ev'n among the great.
A safe companion, and an easy friend;
Unblam'd thro' life, lamented in thy end.
These are thy honours; not that here thy bust
Is mix'd with Heroes, or with Kings thy dust;
But that the Worthy and the Good shall say,
Striking their pensive bosoms - Here lies Gay.
A. POPE.
Here lies the ashes of Mr. John Gay, the warmest friend,
the gentlest companion, the most benevolent man;
who maintained independency in low circumstances
of fortune; integrity, in the midst of a corrupt age;
and that equal serenity of mind, which conscious
goodness alone can give, throughout the whole course
of his life. Favourite of the Muses, he was led by
them to every elegant art, refined in taste, and
fraught with graces all his own. In various kinds of
poetry, superior to many, inferior to none: his
works continue to inspire what his example taught;
contempt of folly, however adorned; detestation of
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