"To the memory of Signor Fido, An Italian of Good Extraction: Who came into England, Not to bite us, like most of his countrymen, But to gain an honest livelihood: He hunted not after fame, Yet acquired it: Regardless of the Praise of his Friends, But most sensible of their love: Tho' he liv'd amongst the great, He neither learn'd nor flatter'd any vice: He was no Bigot, Tho' he doubted of none of the thirty-nine articles; And if to follow Nature, And to respect the laws of Society, Be Philosophy, He was a perfect Phi losopher, A faithful Friend, An agreeable Companion, A loving Husband, Distinguished by a numerous Offspring, All of which he lived to see take good _courses_; In his old age he retired To the House of a Clergyman in the Country, Where he finished his earthly Race, And died an Honour and an Example to the whole Species. Reader, This stone is guiltless of Flattery, For he to whom it is inscribed Was not a man, But a Greyhound." In the concluding lines there is a touch of Sterne. They also call to mind Byron's epitaph on his dog. These epitaphs put the writer in mind of the literary ambition of the eminent Dr. James Gregory of Edinburgh. His great aim was to be _the_ Inscriptor (as he styled it) of his age. No distinguished person died without the doctor promptly striking off his characteristics in a mural legend. For every statue erected to heroes, real or sham, he composed an inscription, and interested himself warmly to have it adopted. Amongst the public monuments on which his compositions may be found are the Nelson Monument at Edinburgh, and the Duke of Wellington's shield at Gibraltar. On King Robert Bruce, Charles Edward Stuart, his mother, Sir James Foulis de Collington, and Robertson the historian, he also produced commemorative inscriptions of great excellence. As a very fair specimen of his style the inscription on the Seott Flagon is transcribed:-- "Gualterum Scott, De Abbotsford, Virum summi Ingenii Scriptorem Elegantem Poetarum sui seculi facile Principem Patriæ Decus Ob varia ergo ipsam merita In civium suorum numerum Grata adscripsit Civitas Edinburgensis Et hoc Cantharo donavit A. D. MDCCCXIII."