Classic Poem

MDCCXXVI.

Let THIS I NSCRIPTION
(Appealing yet to testimonies manifold)
Recall to every surviving witness,
And, for ensample, record to posterity,
Her endowments,
Whether owing to the indulgency of nature,
Or to the assiduous lessons of education,
Or to the silent admonitions of reflection.
To her parents, husband, children,
In no care, no duty, no affection,
Was she wanting,
Receiving, deserving, winning,
From them respectively,
Equal endearments.
Of countenance and of disposition,
Open, chearful, modest;
Of behaviour, humble, courteous, easy;
Of speech, affable, free, discreet;
In civilities, punctual, sincere, and elegant;
Prone to offices of kindness and good will;
To enmity a stranger;
Forward, earnest, impatient,
To succour the distress'd,
To comfort the afflicted;
Solicitous for the poor,
And rich in store of alms:
Whereby she became
The delight, the love, the blessing, of all.

I N her houshold flourished
Chearfulness, due order, thrift, and plenty.
In the closet retired,
In the temple publick,
Morning and evening did she worship;
By instruction, by example,
Sedulous to nurture her children in godliness:
So prevalent her love to them
Visited with that sore disease,
Which too often kills or blites
The mother's fondest hopes,
That (regardless of self-preservation)
In piously watching over their lives
She, catching the infection, lost her own,
Triumphing, through resignation,
Over sickness, pain, anguish, agony,
And (encompassed with tears and lamentations)
Expiring in the fervour of prayer.