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change is wrought in a moment '-Enmity melts away and, as it disappears, unsightliness, d ́s proportion, and deformity, vanish; and, through the influence of commiseration, a harmony of love and beauty succeeds. Bring such a man to the tombstone on which shall be inscribed an epitaph on his adversary, composed in the spirit which we have recommended Would he turn from it as from an idle tale No-the thoughtful look, the sigh, and perhaps the involuntary tear. would testify that it had a sane, a generous, and good meaning: and that on the writer's mind had remained an impression which was a true abstract of the character of the deceased; that his gifts and graces were remembered in the simplicity in which they ought to be remembered. The composition and quality of the mind of a virtuous man, contemplated by the side of the grave where his body is mouldering, ought to appear and be felt as something midway between what he was on earth walking about with his living trailties, and what he may be presumed to be as a spirit in heaven.

It suffices, therefore, that the trunk and the main branches of the worth of the deceased be boldly and unaffectedly represented. Any further detail, minutely and scrupulously pursued especially if this be done with laborious and antithetic discriminations, must inevitably frustrate i own purpose: forcing the passing spectator to this conclusion,-either that the dead did not posses the merits ascribed to him, or that they who have raised a monument to his memory, and mst therefore be supposed to have been closely connected with him, were incapable of perceiving tbse merits or at least during the act of composition had lost sight of them. for, the understaning having been so busy in its petty occupation, how could the heart of the mourner be other han cold? and in either of these cases, whether the fault be on the part of the buried person survivors, the memorial is unaffecting and profitless.

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Much better is it to fall short in discrimination than to pursue it too far, or to labour itinfeelingly. For in no place are we so much disposed to dwell upon those points, of nature and cdition, wherein all men resemble each other, as in the temple where the universal Father is wohipped, or by the side of the grave which gathers all human beings to itself, and "equalizes the ty and the low." We suffer and we weep with the same heart; we love and are anxious for o another in one spirit, our hopes look to the same quarter: and the virtues by which we arall to be furthered and supported, as patience, meekness, goodwill, temperance, and temperate esires, are in an equal degree the concern of us all. Let an epitaph, then, contain at least these knowledg ments to our common nature; nor let the sense of their importance be sacrificed to balance of opposite qualities or minute distinctions in individual character; which if they do n, (as will for the most part be the case) when examined, resolve themselves into a trick of wos, will, even when they are true and just, for the most part be grievously out of place, for, as is probable that few only have explored these intricacies of human nature, so can the track of them be interesting only to a few But an epitaph is not a proud writing shut up for th studious; it is exposed to all, to the wise and the most ignorant, it is condescending, perspicus, and lovingly solicits regard: its story and admonitions are brief, that the thoughtless, the by, and indolent, may not be deterred, nor the impatient tired; the stooping old man cons the eraven record like a second horn-book-the child is proud that he can read it-and the stranger introduced by its mediation to the company of a friend: it is concerning all, and for all-in churchyard it is open to the day; the sun looks down upon the stone, and the rains of heave eat against it

Yet, though the writer who would excite sympathy is bound in this case rre than in any other to give proof that he himself has been moved, it is to be remembered, that raise a monument is a sober and a reflective act that the inscription which it bears is intended be permanent, and for universal perusal; and that, for this reason, the thoughts and feelin, expressed should be permanent also-liberated from that weakness and anguish of sorrow whi is in nature transitory. and which with instinctive decency retires from notice The passionshould be subdued, the emotions controlled; strong indeed, but nothing ungovernable or wholl voluntary Seemliness requires this, and truth requires it also: for how can the narrator otherse be trusted? Moreover, a grave is a tranquillizing object: resignation in course of time springs from it as naturally as the wild flowers, besprinkling the turf with which it may be covered, oathering round the monument by which it is defended. The very form and substance of the lument which has received the inscription, and the appearance of the letters, testifying with wh a slow and laborious hand they must have been engraven, might seem to reproach the author w had given way upon this occasion to transports of mind, or to quick turns of conflicting pan; though the same might constitute the life and beauty of a funeral oration or elegiac poem.

These sensations and judgments, acted upon perhaps unconscio y have been one of the main causes why epitaphs so often personate the deceased, and repres him as speaking from his own tombstone. The departed mortal is introduced telling you hims that his pains are gone, that a state of rest is come; and he conjures you to weep for him no leer. He admonishes with the voice of one experienced in the vanity of those affections which confined to earthly objects, and gives a verdict like a superior being, performing the office of adge, who has no temptations to mislead him, and whose decision cannot but be dispassionate hus is death disarmed of its sting, and affliction unsubstantialized. By this tender fiction, the sivors bind themselves to a sedater sorrow, and employ the intervention of the imagination in of, that the reason may speak her own language earlier than she would otherwise have been bled to do. This shadowy inter position also harmoniously unites the two worlds of the livi and the dead by their appropriate

affections And I may observe, that here we have an additional proof of the propriety with which sepulchral inscriptions were referred to the consciousness of immortality as their primal source

I do not speak with a wish to recommend that an epitaph should be cast in this mould preferably to the still more common one, in which what is said comes from the survivors directly but rather to point out how natural those feelings are which have induced men, in all states and ranks of Society, so frequently to adopt this mode And this I have done chiefly in order that the laws, which ought to govern the composition of the other, may be better understood. This latter mode, namely, that in which the survivors speak in their own persons, seems to me upon the whole greatly preferable: as it admits a wider range of notices; and, above all, because, excluding the fiction which is the ground-work of the other, it rests upon a more solid basis.

Enough has been said to convey our notion of a perfect epitaph; but it must be observed that one is meant which will best answer the general ends of that species of composition. According to the course pointed out, the worth of private life, through all varieties of situation and character. will be most honourably and profitably preserved in memory. Nor would the model recommended less suit public men, in all instances save of those persons who, by the greatness of their services in the employments of peace or war, or by the surpassing excellence of their works in art, literature, or science, have made themselves not only universally known, but have filled the heart of their country with everlasting gratitude. Yet I must here pause to correct myself. In describing the general tenor of thought which epitaphs ought to hold, I have omitted to say, that, if it be the actions of a man, or even some one conspicuous or beneficial act of local or general utility, which have distinguished him, and excited a desire that he should be remembered, then, of course, ought the attention to be directed chiefly to those actions or that act; and such sentiments dwelt upon as naturally arise out of them or it. Having made this necessary distinction, I proceed. The mighty benefactors of mankind, as they are not only known by the immediate survivors, but will continue to be known familiarly to latest posterity, do not stand in need of biographic sketches, in such a place; nor of delineations of character to individualize them. This is already done by their works, in the memories of men. Their naked names and a grand comprehensive sentiment of civic gratitude. patriotic love, or human admiration; or the utterance of some elementary principle most essential in the constitution of true virtue; or an intuition, communicated in adequate words, of the sublimity of intellectual power, these are the only tribute which can here be paid-the only offering that upon such an altar would not be unworthy!

"What needs my Shakspeare for his honoured bones?

The labour of an age in piled stones?

Or that his hallowed reliques should be hid

Under a star-ypointing pyramid?

Dear son of memory, great heir of fame,

What needst thou such weak witness of thy name?

Thou in our wonder and astonishment

Hast built thyself a livelong monument,

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"And spires whose silent finger points to heaven.”

An instinctive taste teaches men to build their churches in flat countries with spire-steeples, which as they cannot be referred to any other object, point as with silent finger to the sky and stars, and sometimes, when they reflect the brazen light of a rich though rainy sunset, appear like a pyramid of flame burning heavenward. See The Friend, by S. T. Coleridge, No. 14, page

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The "Transit gloria mundi" is finely expressed in the introduction to the foundation charters of some of the ancient abbeys. Some expressions here used are taken from that of the Abbey of St. Mary's, Furness, the translation of which is as follows:

"Considering cvery day the uncertainty of life; that the roses and flowers of kings, emperors, and dukes, and the crowns and palms of all the great, wither and decay; and that all things, with an uninterrupted course, tend to dissolution and death: I therefore," etc.

Page 473

"Earth has lent

Her waters, air her breezes."

In treating this subject, it was impossible not to recollect, with gratitude, the pleasing picture, which, in his poem of "The Fleece," the excellent and amiable Dyer has given of the influences of manufacturing industry upon the face of this island. He wrote at a time when machinery was first beginning to be introduced, and his benevolent heart prompted him to augur from it nothing but good. Truth has compelled me to dwell upon the baneful effects arising out of an ill-regulated and excessive application of powers so admirable in themselves.

Page 488.

Binding herself by statute."

The discovery of Dr. Bell affords marvellous facilities for carrying this into effect, and it is impossible to overrate the benefit which might accrue to humanity from the universal application of this simple engine under an enlightened and conscientious government.

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507

YARROW REVISITED,

AND

OTHER POEMS,

COMPOSED (TWO EXCEPTED) DURING A TOUR IN SCOTLAND, AND ON THE ENGLISH BORDER, IN THE AUTUMN OF 1831.

YARROW REVISITED.

[The following Stanzas are a memorial of a day passed with Sir Walter Scott, and other Friends visiting the Banks of the Yarrow under his guidance, immediately before his departure from Abbotsford, for Naples.]

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THE gallant Youth, who may have gained,
Or seeks, a Winsome Marrow,'
Was but an Infant in the lap

When first I looked on Yarrow;
Once more, by Newark's Castle-gate
Long left without a Warder,

I stood, looked, listened, and with Thee, Great Minstrel of the Border!

Grave thoughts ruled wide on that sweet day,

Their dignity installing

In gentle bosoms, while sere leaves

Were on the bough, or falling; But breezes played, and sunshine gleamedThe forest to embolden; Reddened the fiery hues, and shot

Transparence through the golden.

For busy thoughts the Stream flowed on In foamy agitation;

And slept in many a crystal pool

For quiet contemplation:

No public and no private care
The freeborn mind enthralling,

We made a day of happy hours,
Our happy days recalling.

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And if, as Yarrow, through the woods
And down the meadow ranging,
Did meet us with unaltered face,

Though we were changed and changing
If, then, some natural shadows spread
Our inward prospect over,
The soul's deep valley was not slow
Its brightness to recover.

Eternal blessings on the Muse,

And her divine employment !

The blameless Muse, who trains her Sons
For hope and calm enjoyment;
Albeit sickness lingering yet

Has o'er their pillow brooded;
And Care waylay their steps-a Sprite
Not easily eluded.

For thee, O SCOTT! compelled to change
Green Eildon-hill and Cheviot
For warm Vesuvio's vine-clad slopes;
And leave thy Tweed and Teviot
For mild Sorento's breezy waves;

May classic Fancy, linking
With native Fancy her fresh aid,

Preserve thy heart from sinking!

O! while they minister to thee,
Each vying with the other,
May Health return to mellow Age,
With Strength, her venturous brother;
And Tiber, and each brook and rill
Renowned in song and story,
With unimagined beauty shine,
Nor lose one ray of glory!

For Thou, upon a hundred streams,
By tales of love and sorrow,
Of faithful love, undaunted truth,

Hast shed the power of Yarrow;
And streams unknown, hills yet unseen,
Where'er thy path invite thee,

At parent Nature's grateful call,
With gladness must requite Thee.

A gracious welcome shall be thine, Such looks of love and honour As thy own Yarrow gave to me When first I gazed upon her; Beheld what I had feared to see, Unwilling to surrender

Dreams treasured up from early days,
The holy and the tender.

And what, for this frail world, were all
That mortals do or suffer,
Did no responsive harp, no pen,
Memorial tribute offer?

Yea, what were mighty Nature's self?
Her features, could they win us,
Unhelped by the poetic voice

That hourly speaks within us?

Nor deem that localised Romance
Plays false with our affections;
Unsanctifies our tears-made sport
For fanciful dejections:

Ah, no! the visions of the past
Sustain the heart in feeling
Life as she is-our changeful Life,

With friends and kindred dealing.

Bear witness, Ye, whose thoughts that day
In Yarrow's groves were center'd;
Who through the silent portal arch

Of mouldering Newark enter'd,
And clomb the winding stair that once
Too timidly was mounted

By the last Minstrel," (not the last)
Ere he his Tale recounted!

Flow on for ever, Yarrow Stream!

Fulfil thy pensive duty,

For kindred Power departing from their sight;

While Tweed, best pleased in chanting a blithe strain,

Saddens his voice again, and yet again. Lift up your hearts, ye Mourners ! for the might

Of the whole world's good wishes with him goes;

Blessings and prayers in nobler retinue Than sceptred King or laurelled Conqueror knows,

Follow this wondrous Potentate. Be true, Ye winds of ocean, and the midland sea, Wafting your Charge to soft Parthenope!

II.

A PLACE OF BURIAL IN THE SOUTH OF SCOTLAND.

PART fenced by man, part by a ragged steep

That curbs a foaming brook, a Grave-yard

lies;

The Hare's best couching-place for fearless sleep;

Which moonlit Elves, far seen by credulous

eyes,

Enter in dance. Of Church, or Sabbath

ties,

No vestige now remains; yet thither creep Bereft Ones, and in lowly anguish weep Their prayers out to the wind and naked skies.

Proud tomb is none; but rudely-sculptured knights,

Well pleased that future Bards should By humble choice of plain old times, are

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