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Carmina Brugesiana

Domestic Poems by Edward Quillinan

Quillinan, Edward (1791-1851)

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III. STANZAS WRITTEN AT SUDELEY CASTLE.

Addressed to Sir E. Brydges.

BY EDWARD QUILLINAN ESQ.r

I

Where is thy glory, Sudeley? though thy wall
With stubborn strength the hand of Time defies,
The sun looks down into thy roofless hall,
And through thy courts with splendor's mockery pries.
Where are thine ancient Lords? the Brave? the wise?
Crumbled to dust in yonder Gothic Fane.
Where are their children's children? None replies.
Swept from their trunk in Chance's hurricane,
The branches wave no more on Cotswold's old domain.

II

Yet here the sons of Chandos, in their day
Of greatness, ruled in no ungentle sort:
Here Want was succour'd; Sorrow here grew gay;
And Winchcombe's Castle was no Tyrant's Fort:
Here too the imperial Dame with Barons girt,
She who could make the Crowns and Nations bow,
Relax'd, at Welcome's voice, her lion port,
And soften'd into smiles her stately brow:
What wast thou then, famed Pile! Ah changed! what art thou now!

III

Now savage elders flourish in thy courts;
The thistle now thy lorn recesses haunts;
Perch'd on thy walls the wild geranium sports,
And the rude mallows, deck'd in purple, flaunts:
Behold, proud Castle, thine inhabitants!
See how their nodding heads the zephyr hail,
As if they mock'd thee with triumphant taunts,
As vistory's banners to each passing gale
From some dismantled Fort relate their boastful tale.

IV

Are they not emblems, these obtrusive flowers,
Thus choaking up the sculptured Leopard's trace,
And the old Cross on Sudeley's honour'd towers,
Are they not emblems of the motly race
Upraised by Mammon from their humble place?
Those weeds that on the ruins of the Great
Arise in rank luxuriance, and deface
The genealogic types of reverend date,
And flirt new symbols forth, and wear a gaudy state.

V

Brydges; the proud tear in thy dark eye swells,
When History thy Forefather's fame displays,
And hoar Tradition garrulously tells
Tales that their shades to the mind's vision raise,
Like forms shewn dimly through a Twilight haze:
Fancy the while in her insidious strain,
Whispering sweet words, exaggerates the praise,
The power, and wealth, and chivalry, and train
Of thy baronial Sires . . . magnificently vain.

VI

Then follows Memory's fancy-withering part:
She bends, as a fond Sister, o'er the Urn
Of Youth's dead Expectations, the sad Heart;
And culls up every woe that thou hast borne,
And murmurs till the bosom is o'erworn,
And the plumed spirit of ambition droops.
Thus to regrets life's vernal projects turn:
Pain's poisonous fruit succeeds the flowery hopes
That bloom'd in Denton's vale, and Wootton's sylvan slopes.

VII

Yet why repine? . . . no more the Lydian stream
Devolves in its old bed the golden tide;
Ancestrel dignities have ceased to beam
Upon the children of a house of pride:
And thou, tis true, hast been severely tried:
To the maternal legacy of care
Thy birthright by no brother was denied;
No smooth supplanter kindly claim'd thy share,
As hard Rebecca's Hope beguiled the Patriarch's heir.

VIII

Yet why, too fondly querulous, repine?
Still many a pure delight thy journey cheers;
And, though a way with thorns perplex'd is thine,
Fresh flowers still greet thee in the vale of tears;
And Love walks with thee to the goal of years;
And thou hast treasures, as Cornelia's prized;
And even of worldly state enough appears,
And if enough, the rest should be despised;
Peace visits not the heart where pride is unchastised.

IX

Of briers the earth, of clouds the heaven to clear,
Hast thou not too the love of lore and song?
If Sudeley now the haughty head could rear,
As when its battlements withstood the strong,
And frown'd upon Rebellion, if the throng
Of chivalry and beauty, as of yore,
Still danced its beryl-glittering halls along,
And thou wert Lord of hill, and plain, and tower,
While all within was pomp, and all without was power;

X

Could all the specious pageantry convey
A genuine pleasure to the thoughtful mind,
Which one, who loves like thee the Muse's lay,
Within the shades of quiet cannot find?
Ambition's pillars shake with every wind,
And like these Ruins, soon or late, must fall;
But the green wreaths in Learning's bowers entwined
Will grace the tomb, as o'er yon Chapel-wall
The clustering ivy spreads its rich enduring pall.

IV. EPITAPH In the Church of Penshurst, Kent.

Here lies the Body of
William Egerton, LLD.
He was
Grandson of John, Earl of Bridgewater,

But receive less honour from his noble descent,
Than from his personal qualifications:
For he had a strong memory,
And most excellent parts;
Both which were greatly improved by
A learned education:
And as his birth gave him an opportunity
Of being brought up, and
Living in the best company;
So he made a suitable improvement from it;
Happily mixing the knowledge of the Scholar
With the politeness of the Gentleman.
He had talents
Peculiarly fitted for conversation;
For, with a great vivacity,
He had a command and fluency of words,
Which he well knew how to express
To such advaatage,
As might make him either entertaining or instructive.
Thus accomplished, it is no wonder
He was distinguished in his profession.
Being made Chaplain to two succeeding Kings,
Rector of Penshurst,
And All-Hallows, Lombard street;
Chancellor and Prebendary of Hereford;
And Prebendary of Canterbury.
He left behind him
Two daughters and one son,
By Anne, daughter of Sir Francis Head, Bart.
Who caused this marble to be laid down,
As a slender memorial
Of her gratitude and affection
To the memory of the best of Husbands.
He died Feb. 26, 1737, æt 57.

ANOTHER.

Near this place lieth the Body
Of Anne, relict of William Egerton LLD.
Who died March 5, 1778,
Aged 74.
The constant tenor of her life
Was the best preparation for death.
As she was eminently distinguished
For discharging every duty in life
In the most amiable manner,
And upon the purest motives.
All who knew her, loved and revered her,
And must sooner or later be happy,
If they follow her example.

ELEGY

To the memory of John Egerton Esq.r (only son and heir of William Egerton LLD. Rector of Penshurst, etc.) who died Nov. 1740, æt 17.

By Osmund Beauvoir, LLD.

Permit, Blest Shade, the pious Muse to pay
This humble tribute of the sorrowing lay;
With artless grief thy hopeless fate to mourn,
With widow'd cypress shade thy hallow'd urn;
With short-liv'd flowers to deck thy verdant grave—
What more can She bestow, or you receive!

Dark and perplex'd with many a various maze
Are Heaven's decrees, and intricate its ways;
The gleam of hope, that dawns within the breast,
Soon is o'ercast; the rising joy supprest;
Superior Virtue, like the comet's fires,
Breaks on the world, is gazed at, aud retires.
Twas thus amazed we saw the wondrous youth,
Array'd with native innocence and truth,
Rise to revive fall'n Virtue's purer state,
And hail'd the omen of an happier fate.
Twas thus amazed we saw the fatal dart
Baffle the pride of youth and power of art,
And snatch him ere the callow down began
His blooming cheeks to shade, and speak him man.
Had Heaven indulg'd a parent's fond desires;
Check'd the fierce fever, and recall'd its fires,
'Till ripening time with deepest knowledge fraught
Had infant wisdom to perfection brought,
Albion with equal gladness and surprise
Had seen in him another Ellesmere rise;
Seen him all glorious in his country's cause,
Direct her councils, and protect her laws,
While sable crowds had on each accent hung,
And caught the precepts falling from his tongue.
When on the banks of Lethe's baleful flood
Rome's future sons in mystic order stood,
A fate like this bade tender sorrows rise,
And tears prophetic veil'd Anchises' eyes.
The father's shade bewail'd Marcellus' doom,
And wept the loss of Cæsar and of Rome.
See, breathless there, a senseless lump of earth,
That life of humour, and that soul of mirth!
Where's now the wit, which flowing with such ease,
Could with just thought, and without satire please?

Where is that chearful innocence! Where now
That smile that sat and play'd around that brow?
See there that form, so pleasing once, so gay,
A loathsome heap of monumental clay!
'Tis this alone, blest youth, remains of thee;
'Tis this is all the great, the good shall be!
Meanwhile the soul, exulting, unconfin'd,
“Bright emanation of the all-knowing mind,”
Pure from the dregs of earth directs its flight,
And seeks the regions of eternal light.
Her powers enlarg'd, and faculties improv'd,
With holy wonder and amazement mov'd,
Creation's ample field expatiates o'er,
Sees what dim reason shadow'd out before;
Orbs rise o'er orbs, and system system join,
To form the Almighty's unexplor'd design.
Struck with the aweful scene, to him she pays
The grateful homage of unfeigned praise!

EPITAPH IN WOOTTON CHURCH.

Near this place lies interred
The body of Johu Brydges Esq.r
Who died April the 22.d 1780. aged 69.
Also The body of Edward Brydges Esq.
Who died Nov. 19.th 1780.
Aged 68.
These two Brothers,
After having received a liberal Education,

Chose a life of retirement,
Which they passed together,
Being united
Not only by a strong affection,
But by an uncommon benevotence of heart,
Which mutually inclined them
Daily to promote the happiness
Of all around them.
The unfeigned sorrow
Which the Inhabitants of this Village,
And an extensive Neighbourhood,
Discovered at their death,
Speaks at once to the heart
Their uncommon Virtues;
And has rendered the pomp of Epitaph
Vain and useless.
John Brydges died a Bachelor.
Edward Brydges married
Jemima daughter of William Egerton, LLD.
And has left her three sons,
And five daughters,
To lament his loss,
And revere his beloved memory.

EPITAPH, IN THE CHURCH OF WOOTTON, IN KENT.

Sacred to the Memory of
Jemima, relict of Edward Brydges
Of Wootton Court, Esq.r
Whom she survived nine and twenty years;
And dying December 14.th 1819, aged 81,
Was buried in the Family Vault in this Church.
She was of illustrious Birth,
Being youngest Daughter, and Coheiress,
Of William Egerton L. L. D. Prebendary of Canterbury,
Rector of Penshurst, and Chancellor of Hereford,
Who was one of the sons of
The Honourable Thomas Egerton of Tatton Park in Cheshire,
A younger son of John 2.d Earl of Bridgewater,
By Lady Elizabeth Cavendish, Daughter of
William Duke of Newcastle.
An Example of conjugal fidelity,
And domestic virtues,
She passed the most important portion
Of her life
In the adjoining Mansion;
Where the elegance of her manners,
The attractions of her person,
And the kindness of her conduct,
Secured her the respect of the High,

And the veneration of the Poor.
Of strong talents, and cultivated mind,
She lived and died in the mingled awe,
And comfort, of the Christian Faith.
If age at length enfeebled her frame,
The cares of a numerous Family
Struggling with the storms of the world,
Neither extinguished her cheerfulness,
Nor her love of society.
Keenly alive to praise,
She repaid attentions with the warmest gratitude,
And sunk into the grave surrounded
By those, whose respect and kindness
Were most delightful to her.

Sacred also to the Memory of
Edward Tymewell Brydges of Wootton Court, A. M.
Also Rector and Patron of Otterden,
And of this Parish; (Eldest son the said Jemima
By the said Edward,)
Who died at this seat,
Oct. 17. 1807, aged 58.
He died respected by his neighbours,
And beloved and deeply lamented
By his Parishioners.
With Feelings too acute
For the common concerns of Life,
He possessed a Philanthropy,
Which glowed with delight at
All the refined pleasures of Society.
A mild eloquenee,
Combined with a melodious voice,
Gave a charm to his Oratory,

Which could rarely be excelled;
And numerous were the Friends,
Whom the attractions of his manners,
And the suavity of his disposition
Procured and rivetted.

The Cares of Life, and
The protracted Litigation of his Claim
To the ancient Barony of Chandos,
Which wasted so many years
Of his existence,
Were at length
Too much
For a delicate Constitution;
And he sank into the grave
Before his Mother,
After a severe Illness of four years,
Which he bore
With the most patient fortitude.

He left no surviving Issue
By his wife Caroline,
Daughter of Richard Fairfield, Esq.r
Of Streatham in Surry,
Who joins his two surviving Brothers
Sir Egerton Brydges Bart. K. J.
And
J. W. H. Brydges Esq.r
In erecting this Monument.

CENOTAPH.

(Intended for a Tablet in Wootton Church.)

In memory of
John Brydges of Wootton Court
In the county of Kent,
Esquire;
And of Gray's Inn, Barrister at Law:
Who died in the month of July
1712,
At the early age of 31 years,
And 9 months:
And lies buried in the
Parish Church of St. Alphage
In Canterbury.
He was taken off
By a rapid fever, in the midst
Of high hopes, and ardent endeavours
To restore,
By talent and labour
In the exercise of an
Honourable Profession,
The waning Branch of
His ancient Family
To its pristine lustre.
He was born in
Oct. 1680;

And after a liberal education
At Oxford,
Though inheriting a competent
Landed patrimony,
Applied himself to the study
Of the Laws of his Country,
As a path of just advancement,
And solid distinction.
But the prospects of Man are vain;
And the fire of his expectations
Was the flame in which he died!
He left three infant children,
A daughter Deborah;
A son John, aged two years;
And a second son Edward,
Aged six months;
(Yet insensible of their loss),
By his wife Jane,
Only surviving daughter and heir
Of Edward Gibbon, Esq.r
Of Westcliffe, near Dover,
By Martha, daughter of
Sir John Roberts, of Bekesborne, K.t
Who survived him till
1738;
And lies buried in the
Same Church;
Together with
Her grandfather Sir John Roberts,
Who died in 1658;
And her grandmother Dame Jane Roberts,
Who was daughter of
Simon Bunce of Throwleigh,

By a daughter of
Arthur Barham, Esq.r
Son of Sir Nicolas Barham,
Serjeant at Law in the reign of
Queen Elizabeth.

In Memory also
Of the above-named
Jane Brydges, Widow,
Daughter of Edward Gibbon , Esq.r
Who was eldest son of Thomas Gibbon,
Of Westcliffe Esq.r by his second wife Alice Taylor,
Sister of the half-blood to Jane,
Wife of Sir John Maynard,
One of the most eminent Lawyers of his age;
In right of which alliance
The said Jane Brydges derived
A valuable landed property
From the will of the said Dame Jane Maynard.
Which Jane Brydges also,
By her paternal aunt, Anne, wife
Of John Coppin of Wootton, Esq.r
(Whose only son John Coppin
Died without issue in 1703),
Finally brought that Seat and
Estate to her husband, and
His posterity.

In grateful recollection
Of these benefits
Still enjoyed;
And as a record of this line
Of inheritance,
This Tablet is thus
Inscribed.

His brother Matthew Gibbon was great grandfather of Edward Gibbon, the Historian.

IX. EPITAPH

In the chancel of the Church of Little Gadsden, in Hertfordshire.

Here lies interred
John, Earl of Bridgewater,
Viscount Brackley, Baron of Ellesmere,
And one of the Lords of the Privy Council,
And Lieutenant of the Counties of Bucks and Hertford,
And Custos Rotulorum of both
To K. Charles II, and K. James II.
Who desired no other Memorial of Him,
But only this:
That having (in the nineteenth year of his age,)
Married the Lady Elizabeth Cavendish,
Daughter to the then Earl,
Since Marquis, and after, Duke of Newcastle,
He did enjoy,
Almost twenty-two years,
All the happiness that a man could receive

In the sweet society of the best of wives,
Till it pleased God,
In the forty-fourth year of his age,
To change his great felicity into
As great misery,
By depriving him of his truly loving,
And entirely beloved wife,
Who was all his worldly bliss;
After which time, humbly submitting to,
And waiting on the will and pleasure
Of the Almighty,
He did sorrowfully wear out
Twenty-three years, four months, and twelve days;
And then on the 26.th day of October
In the year of our Lord, 1686;
And in the sixty-fourth year of his own age,
Yielded up his soul into the
Merciful hands of God, who gave it.”

In the same Chancel.

To the sacred Memory of
The late transcendently virtuous Lady,
Now glorious Saint,
The Right Hon. Elizabeth, Countess of Bridgewater.
She was second daughter to
The Right Hon. William, Marquis of Newcastle,
And wife to the Right Hon. John
Earl of Bridgewater:
And whose family she hath enriched
With an hopeful issue.”
etc. etc.

“She was a Lady,
In whom all the accomplishments
Both of mind and body did concur
To make her the glory of the present,
And example of future ages:
Her beauty was so unparalleled,
That it is as much beyond the art of
The most elegant pen,
As it surpasseth the skill
Of several of the most exquisite pencils,
(That attempted it,)
To describe, and not to disparage it.
She had a winning, and an attractive behaviour;
A charming discourse;
A most obliging conversation:
She was so courteous and affable to all persons,
That she gained their love; yet not
So familiar to expose herself to contempt:
She was of a noble and generous soul;
Yet of so meek and humble a disposition,
That never any woman of her quality
Was greater in the world's opinion;
And less in her own.
The Rich at her table daily tasted her
Hospitality:
The Poor at her gate
Her charity.
Her devotion was most exemplary, if not inimitable.
Witness,
(Besides several other Occasional Meditions and Prayers,)
Her Divine Meditations
Upon every particular chapter of the Bible,
Written with her own hand,

And never till, since her death,
Seen by any eye but her own,
And her then dear, but now sorrowful husband,
To the admiration
Both of her eminent piety in composing,
And of her modesty in concealing.
Then she was a most affectionate,
And observing wife to her husband,
A most tender and indulgent mother
To her children;
A most kind and bountiful mistress
To her family.
In a word,
She was so superlatively good,
That language is too narrow to express
Her deserved character.
Her death was as religious,
As her life was virtuous.
On the 14.th day of June,
In the year of our Lord 1663,
Of her own age 37,
She exchanged her earthly coronet
For an heavenly crown.”