A few plain men, to pomp and pride unknown, O'er a poor bard have rais'd this humble stone, Whose wants alone his genius could surpass, Victim of zeal! the matchless "Hudibras." What, tho' fair freedom suffer'd in his page, Reader, forgive the author--for the age. How few, alas! disdain to cringe and cant, When 'tis the mode to play the sycophant. But oh! let all be taught, from BUTLER'S fate, Who hope to make their fortunes by the great; That wit and pride are always dangerous things, And little faith is due to courts or kings. The erection of the above monument was the occasion of this very good epigram by Mr. S. Wesley:-- Whilst BUTLER (needy wretch!) was yet alive, No gen'rous patron would a dinner give; See him, when starv'd to death and turn'd to dust, Presented with a monumental bust! The poet's fate is here in emblem shown, He ask'd for bread, and he received a stone. It is worth remarking that the poet was starving, while his prince, Charles II., always carried a "Hudibras" in his pocket. The inscription on his monument in the Abbey is as follows:-- Sacred to the Memory of SAMUEL BUTLER, Who was born at Strensham, in Worcestershire, 1612, and died at London, 1680; a man of uncommon learning, wit, and probity: as admirable for the product of his genius, as unhappy in the rewards of them. His satire, exposing the hypocrisy and wickedness of the rebels, is such an inimitable piece, that, as he was the first, he may be said to be the last writer in his peculiar manner. That he, who, when living, wanted almost everything, might not, after death, any longer want so much as a tomb, John Barber, citizen of London, erected this monument 1721. Here are a few particulars respecting an oddity, furnished by a correspondent: "Died, at High Wycombe, Bucks, on the 24th May, 1837, Mr. John Guy, aged 64. His remains were interred in Hughenden churchyard, near Wycombe. On a marble slab, on the lid of his coffin, is the following inscription:-- Here, without nail or shroud, doth lie Or covered by a pall, JOHN GUY. Born May 17th, 1773. Died ---- 24th, 1837. On his grave-stone these lines are inscribed:-- In coffin made without a nail, Without a shroud his limbs to hide; For what can pomp or show avail, Or velvet pall, to swell the pride. Here lies JOHN GUY beneath this sod, Who lov'd his friends, and fear'd his God.