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The poems and songs of William Hamilton of Bangour

collated with the ms. volume of his poems, and containing several pieces hitherto unpublished; with illustrative notes, and an account of the life of the author. By James Paterson

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EPITAPH ON MISS SETON.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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116

EPITAPH ON MISS SETON.

[_]

INTERRED IN THE CHAPEL OF SETON-HOUSE.

In these once hallowed walls' neglected shade,
Sacred to piety and to the dead,
Where the long line of Seton's race repose,
Whose tombs to wisdom, or to valour rose;
Tho' now a thankless age, to slav'ry prone,
Past fame despising, careless of its own,
Records no more; each public virtue fled,
Who wisely counsell'd, or who bravely bled.
Tho' here the warrior shield is hung no more,
But every violated trophy tore.
Heaven's praise, man's honour, share one shameful lot,
God and his image both alike forgot.
To this sweet maid a kindred place is due,
Her earth shall consecrate these walls anew,
The muse that listens to desert alone,
Snatches from fate, and seals thee for her own.
 

This alludes to the plundering and defacing of Seton House and Chapel by the Hanoverians, in 1715.—See trial of the Earl of Wintoun for high treason, in “State Trials.”