Stepney Church-Vard.

At the East end of the Church, on the outside, is a spacious marble monument against the wall, adorned with a cherub, urn volutas, palm, branches, and the arms namely: Five

paly of six or, and azureo on a
bend sable three mullets, of
the first impaled with azure
and amulet, and fish,

between two bends

wavy argent.

With the following Inscription :

Here lies interred the body of

DAME REBECCA BERRY,

The Wife of Thomas Ellon, of Stratford-bow, gent. Who departed this life, April 26, 1696;

Aged 52 years.

Come ladies, you that would appear
Like angels fair, come dress you here;
Come dress you at this marble stone,
And make that humble grace your own,

K

Which once adorn'd as fair a mind,
As ere yet lodg'd in woman kind.
So she was dress'd, whose humble life
Was free from pride, was free from strife;
Free from all envious brawls and scars,
Of human life, the civil wars ;

These ne'er disturb'd her peaceful mind,
Which still was gentle, still was kind.
Her very looks, her garb, her mein,
Disclos'd the humble soul within ;
Trace her thro' every scene of life,
View her as virgin, widow, wife;
Still the same humble she appears,
The same in youth, the same in years;

The same in low-in high estate,

Ne'er vext with this, ne'er mov'd with that.
Go ladies now, and if you'd be

As fair, as great, as good as she,
Go learn of her humility.

Mr. Lysons has inserted a note on this Coat of Arms, which I shall insert, “This Coat of Arms, which exactly corresponds with that borne by Ventris of Cambridgeshire, (as described in the visitation of that County, at the Herald's College, C,XI. p. 23.) has given rise to a tradition that Lady Berry was the Heroine of a popular ballad, called The Cruel Knight or Fortunate Farmer's Daughter."

a

The story of which is briefly this :-

A Knight passing by a cottage, hears the cries of woman in labour, his knowledge in the occult science, informs him, that the child then born was destined to be his wife; his endeavours to elude the decrees of fate, and avoid so ignoble an alliance, by

various attempts to destroy the child, are defeated. At length when grown to woman's state, he takes her to the sea side, intending to drown her, but relents; at the same time throwing a ring into the sea, he commands her never to see his face again, on pain of instant death, unless she can produce that ring. She afterwards becomes a cook, and finds the ring in a-cod fish, as she is dressing it for dinner.-The marriage takes place of course.

IN MEMORY OF

MISS MARY HODGON,

Late of Kingston-upon-Hull,

Who died, 10th November, 1813; aged 18 years.

The wintry blast of death kills not the buds of virtue,
No they spread

Beneath the heavenly beams of brighter suns,
Through endless ages into higher powers.

ON AN INFANT.

Once lovely and dearly belov'd,
This grave doth an infant enclose,
Whose spirit we trust is remov'd,
From pain to eternal repose.

Under a stone, South from the Church, was interred the Pilgrim, as he was commonly called.

It had this Inscription :

Here remains all that was mortal of

MR. ROGER CRABB,

Who entered into eternity, the 11th September, 1680 ;

Aged 60.

Tread gently, reader, near the dust,
Committed to this tomb-stone's trust;
For while 'twas flesh it held a guest,
With universal love possess't,
A soul that stunn'd opinions try'd,
Did over sects in triumph ride.
Yet separate from the giddy crowd,
And paths tradition had allow'd;
Through good and ill report he past,
Oft censur'd, yet approv'd at last;
Would'st thou his religion know,
In brief 'twas this: to all to do,
Just as he would be done unto.
So in kind nature's laws he stood,
A temple undefil'd with blood,
A friend to every thing was good.
The rest, angels alone can fitly tell,
Haste then to them and him, and so farewell.

TO THE MEMORY OF

The following persons, who all suffered in a
conflagration, on one day, and one
hour, at the Three Cranes, Mile-end
Road, the 3d of June, 1803.

MRS. BARBARA FORD,

Aged 71 years;

MR. JOSEPH WILLIAMS,
Aged 42 years ;

MARY his WIFE, and DAUGHTER of the above.

MRS. BARBARA FORD,
Aged 39 years;

ESTHER WILLIAMS,
Aged 13 years;

JOSEPH WILLIAMS,

Aged 9 years;

AND

RICHARD WILLIAMS,

Aged 7 years;

Children of the aforesaid

JOSEPH and MARY WILLIAMS.

Tremendous God, thy sov'reign power,
Consum'd to atoms in an hour;
Nor spar'd a father, mother, or a son,
Nor any to relate, how it begun ;
Yet we must own that thou art just,
And we are wretched sinful dust.