“Whichever it be to whom this letter is due, (for I keep ill account of such things) I begin with such wishes to both, and to all others at home, and all friends round Skiddaw or elsewhere, as the first day of the year calls forth.
“It was some comfort to hear that your dearest mother
listened to my letters, and asked some questions. And it is some comfort to
know that my presence is not wanted, while it is in vain to wish that it were
wished for. I shall be home by the middle of February; glad to be there, and
glad that I have taken a journey which has warmed some old attachments, and
been in many respects of use. As for Cuthbert, he declares that it would have been worth while to
make the whole journey, for the sake of seeing Mary
Colling. Verily I never saw any person in, and about whom, every
thing was more entirely what you could wish, and what it ought to
| 322 | LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE | Ætat. 63. |
“Mr. Bray’s is the only house in which I have eaten upon pewter since I was a child; he has a complete service of it, with his crest engraved upon it, and bright as silver. The house (built for him by the Duck, as the Duke of Bedford is called in Tavistock,) is a very good one, the garden large and pleasantly laid out; it includes some of the ruins, and a door from it opens upon a delightful walk on the Tavy. In spite of the weather we had two pleasant walks, one of about ten miles, the other about six; but of Dartmoor we could see nothing. Our time passed pleasantly, Mary paying us a visit every day; some more Fables in her own handwriting will be among the most interesting autographs that I have to dispose of.
“So much for Tavistock. I see it to great disadvantage.
The Tavy is like our Greta in its better
| Ætat. 63. | OF ROBERT SOUTHEY. | 323 |
“I may fill up what remains of this paper with some epitaphs, which I wrote down from the tombs in Bremhill churchyard. The first two were as follows, on a Dissenter and his wife; and because they were Dissenters, Bowles, in reference to the latter, wrote the third, on one of his own flock.
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“‘E. W. 1800.
“‘A loving wife, a friend sincere,
A tender mother, sleepeth here.”
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“‘W. W. 1834.
“‘Here in the silent dust lies one
Beloved of God.
Redeemed he was by Christ,
Washed in his precious blood,
And faithful was his name.
From tribulation great he came,
In love he lived, in Christ he died;
His life desired, but God denied.’
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‘Bowles, who loves not the Dissenters more than I do, wrote, in contrast to this, the following inscription, on a neighbouring tombstone:—
| 324 | LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE | Ætat. 63. |
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“‘Reader, this heap of earth, this grave-stone mark!
Here lie the last remains of poor John Dark,
Five years beyond man’s age he lived, and trod
This path each sabbath to the House of God;
From youth to age, nor ever from his heart
Did that best prayer our Saviour taught depart.
At his last hour with lifted hands he cried,
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done! and
died.’
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“This was a hit at those who went to meeting instead of church, and never used the Lord’s prayer; moreover it alluded to the Dissenter wishing to live longer if he could.
“And now God bless you all! Heartily indeed do I wish myself at home; but I am far from repenting of my journey.
