Antigua and the Antiguans, Volume 1 (of 2): A full account of the colony and its inhabitants from the time of the Caribs to the present dayLanaghan, Mrs.
History
Antigua and the Antiguans, Volume 1 (of 2): A full account of the colony and its inhabitants from the time of the Caribs to the present day
Lanaghan, Mrs.
Antigua -- Description and travel; Antigua -- History
The tower contains two bells; the tenor one inscribed—“Edmund
Powell, Golden Grove, 1684,” and was kept for the use of the
coloured classes in other days. The large bell was presented to
the church by John Delap, (before he assumed the name of
Halliday,) Esq., 1788. It bore the following inscription:—“The
gift of John Delap, Esq. The Rev. James Lindsey, rector; Thomas
Hanson Halloran, and Daniel Hill, churchwardens. Charles Penton,
London, fecit. John Warner, founder, of London, 1788.” It was
taken down the 11th of February, 1840, on account of a serious
injury beyond repair, shipped for London on board the “Antigua
Packet,” and exchanged for a new one of the same size, which now
serves to call the people to church, and to speak the demise of
the inhabitants; but it is silent at a wedding, for in this
country no merry peal of bells announces that event which
elsewhere is ever the signal for joy and festivity.
Having attempted the description of the church, I will now
proceed to mention the churchyard, which lies upon a gentle
slope, and contains numerous tombs, with their iron or wooden
railings. The most beautiful tomb in the ground was erected to
the memory of the Honourable Otto Baijer, by his widow, who
afterwards died on her passage to England in 1726. Her remains
were brought back to Antigua, and now repose by the side of her
loved husband. It is of pure white marble, although stained by
exposure to the weather, and is elegantly ornamented with various
fruits and flowers in basso-relievo.
The oldest sepulchral monuments, of which I could make out the
inscriptions, are to the memory of Troughton, 1704; Col. Philip
Lee. 1704;[78] Capt. Bastien Baijer, 1715; Thos. Oasterman, Esq.,
1724; Frederic Cope, 1739; and Mrs. Warner, the wife of Ashton
Warner, Esq., 1748.
The inscription upon the tomb of Frederic Cope demands, however,
further mention. It is an acrostic; the _poetry_ I leave to the
judgment of my readers.
THE INSCRIPTION.
“F ar removed from every human eye he is,
R egardless now of earth, partakes of heaven’s bliss;
E xalted was his lively soul whilst here below,
D elighted ever tender friendships for to show;
E asy and cheerful through every scene of Life;
R eady to forgive all; but unto me, his wife,
I ndulgent to the last degree, for ever kind—
C alm was his spirit, virtuous was his mind.
C areful he ever was to take no bribe in Law;
O h! full, full well the abject hate of mortals saw.
P artial he never was, just to each man’s fame,
E ach initial letter will now declare his name.”
He was born in London, of honest parents, on the 21st day of May,
1711, and died, in Antigua, on the 8th ———, 1739.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive