ON QUIN.

THAT tongue which set the table in a roar,
And charm'd the public ear, is heard no more;
Closed are those eyes, the harbingers of wit,

Which spake, before the tongue, what Shakespeare writ ;
Cold is that hand which, living, was stretch'd forth
At friendship's call, to succour modest worth.
Here lies James Quin! Deign, reader, to be taught,
Whate'er thy strength of body, force of thought,
In Nature's happiest mould, however cast,
To this complexion thou must come at last.

D. Garrick.

ON HAVARD, THE COMEDIAN.

HAVARD from sorrow rests beneath this stone:
An honest man-beloved as soon as known;
Howe'er defective in the mimic art,
In real life he justly play'd his part!
The noblest character he acted well,
And heaven applauded when the curtain fell.

D. Garrick.

Quin was employed by Frederic, prince of Wales, to instruct the royal children in elocution; and George III. having delivered his first speech from the throne in a graceful manner, when told of it, Quin said, "Ay, it was I who taught the boy to speak." About this time he obtained a pension, having retired from the stage some years before.

ON MR. BEIGHTON, WHO HAD BEEN VICAR OF
EGHAM FORTY-FIVE YEARS.

NEAR half an age, with ev'ry good man's praise,
Among his flock the shepherd pass'd his days;
The friend, the comfort of the sick and poor,
Want never knock'd unheeded at his door :
Oft when his duty call'd, disease and pain
Strove to confine him, but they strove in vain.
All mourn his death, his virtues long they tried,
They knew not how they loved him, till he died.
Peculiar blessings did his life attend,

He had no foe, and Camden was his friend.

D. Garrick.

ON STERNE.82

SHALL pride a heap of sculptured marble raise, Some worthless, unmourn'd, titled fool to praise ; And shall we not by one poor grave-stone learn Wherę genius, wit, and humour sleep with Sterne ? D. Garrick.

82 On Sterne another epitaph may be given:

How often wrong's our nomenclature!
How our names differ from our nature

'Tis easy to discern;

Here lies the quintessence of wit,

For mirth and humour none more fit,

And yet men call him Stern-e.

The wit and humour in Sterne's novel of "Tristram Shan

ON PAUL WHITEHEAD.83

HERE lies a man misfortune could not bend,
Praised as a poet, honour'd as a friend;
Though his youth kindled with the love of fame,
Within his bosom glowed a brighter flame.
Whene'er his friends with sharp afflictions bled,
And from the wounded deer the herd was fled,
Whitehead stood forth, the healing balm applied,
Nor quitted their distresses-'till he died.

D. Garrick.

dy," published at the mature age of forty-seven, "brought him at once into the blaze of a London reputation." This was followed by his "Sentimental Journey in France," Sermons under the name of "Yorick." His writings display rather native genius than profound erudition, and his wit somewhat resembles that of Rabelais, which he carried with him even into the pulpit. It is told of him, that being once called upon to preach a Charity Sermon, he chose for his text the words, "He that giveth to the poor lendeth to the Lord;" "Well," said he, "if you think the security good, be so kind as to post the blunt. Now to God the Father, God the Son," &c., &c. He was the great-grandson of Archbishop Sterne, supposed to have been the author of that excellent book "The Whole Duty of Man."

83 Whitehead's poems are not above mediocrity. He was satirized by Churchill in these lines:

May I (can more disgrace on manhood fall?)

Be born a Whitehead, and baptized a Paul.

His "State Dunce," (inscribed to Pope, and a close imitation of that writer,) "Manners" (1739), and "Honour," are

ON PITT, FIRST EARL OF CHATHAM."

SHALL Chatham die, and be forgot? oh, no!
Warm from its source let grateful sorrow flow;
His matchless ardour fired each fear-struck mind,
His genius soar'd when Britons droop'd and pined.
D. Garrick.

attacks on the leading men in power, whom he calumniated with relentless and undistinguishing bitterness. When his friends came into power he obtained the sinecure office of Deputy Treasurer to the Chamber, worth 800l. per annum. His easiness of disposition and incapacity to resist the persuasions of his friends led him to participate in the orgies of Mednam Abbey; but his latter years appear to have been without reproach.

84 Pitt entered Parliament as M. P. for Old Sarum (1736), and exerted himself strenuously in opposition to the measures of Sir Rob. Walpole, for which Sarah, Duchess of Marlboro', who hated Walpole, bequeathed him a legacy of 10,000%. All the world is cognizant of the stupendous statesmanlike qualities of his mind. When ruling the destinies of his country, the most brilliant actions were performed on the Continent and the East. A writer in the "London Quarterly Review" says, "Lord Chatham was the most powerful orator that ever illustrated and ruled the senate of this empire. For nearly half a century he was not merely the arbiter of the destinies of his own country, but the foremost man in all the world." "Chatham's genius and eloquence," says J. G. Phillimore, in his admirable " History of England during the Reign of George III.," "raised our island from an abyss of despondency and humiliation to a higher pitch of glory than

L

ON HOGARTH.

FAREWELL, great painter of mankind,
Who reach'd the noblest point of art,
Whose pictured morals charm the mind,
And, through the eye, correct the heart.

If genius fire thee, reader, stay,
If nature move thee, drop a tear;
If neither touch thee, pass away,

For Hogarth's honour'd dust lies here.

D. Garrick.

ON GOLDSMITH.

HERE lies Nolly Goldsmith, for shortness call'd Noll, Who wrote like an angel, but talk'd like poor Poll.85

D. Garrick.

she has both before or since been permitted to attain.”—Vol. i. p. 201.

85 This burlesque epitaph originated with the poet's challenge to try his epigrammatic powers with the dramatist who excelled in this species of writing, and each of them was to write the other's epitaph. Garrick at once said his epitaph was finished, and spoke the above distich. Goldsmith, upon the company's laughing very heartily, grew very thoughtful, and either would not, or could not write anything at that time: however, soon afterwards he produced his much admired, and last poem, called "Retaliation," which contains the mock epitaphs of Garrick, Reynolds, Burke, and the rest of the party, one or two of which will appear in the following