If courtly bards adorn each statesman's bust And strew their laurels o'er each warrior's dust, Alike immortalise, as good and great, Him who enslaved as him who saved the State, Surely the Muse (a rustic minstrel) may Drop one wild flower upon a poor man's clay. This artless tribute to his mem'ry give Whose life was such as heroes seldom live. In worldly knowledge, poor indeed his store-- He knew the village, and he scarce knew more. The worth of heavenly truth he justly knew-- In faith a Christian, and in practice too. Yes, here lies one, excel him ye who can: Go! imitate the virtues of that man! The famous "Amen" epitaph at Crayford, Kent, is well known, though the name of the clerk who is thus commemorated is sometimes forgotten. It is to the memory of one Peter Snell, who repeated his "Amens" diligently for a period of thirty years, and runs as follows: Here lieth the body of Peter Snell, Thirty years clerk of this Parish. He lived respected as a pious and mirthful man, and died on his way to church to assist at a wedding, on the 31st of March, 1811, Aged seventy years. The inhabitants of Crayford have raised this stone to his cheerful memory, and as a tribute to his long and faithful services. The life of this clerk was just threescore and ten, Nearly half of which time he had sung out Amen. In his youth he had married like other young men, But his wife died one day--so he chanted Amen. A second he took--she departed--what then? He married and buried a third with Amen. Thus his joys and his sorrows were treble, but then His voice was deep base, as he sung out Amen. On the horn he could blow as well as most men, So his horn was exalted to blowing Amen. But he lost all his wind after threescore and ten, And here with three wives he waits till again The trumpet shall rouse him to sing out Amen. [Illustration: OLD SCARLETT]