Or the personal warning may sometimes be encountered, as in the following somewhat striking example:—
1792:
Reader who er'e thou art that come to see
This Awful scene of sad mortality;
Hark from the subterraneous vaults an awful cry,
Mortals repent, believe, and learn to die.
Obey the solemn voice, thy danger see,
On this depends A blessed Eternity.
Here is an early instance of familiar rhymes:—
1740:
Remember Man as thou goes by,
As thou art so once was I,
and as I am so thou must be,
Prepare thyself to follow me.
Since the last article appeared I have observed in the ''Date Book,'' under the year 1794, the material for an interesting annotation of the headstone to Matthew Lindley, who died 27th March, 1821, or 1824, aged 73 years, and to Hannah, his wife, who died 14th January, 1798, aged 36 years. It is related that the inhabitants of Newthorpe had been burning an effigy of Tom Paine, and that they had exhausted their stock of ammunition by nightfall—testifying that the procedure involved the expenditure of gunpowder. The unfortunate circumstance that their zeal in the sport was not yet similarly exhausted, led the villagers to seek a fresh supply of the former from a small shopkeeper in the neighbourhood named Matthew Lindley. But the shopkeeper felt himself bound to decline to serve them, "because," said he, "the sun is set, and the law forbids any person to sell powder after that time, for fear of accidents by fire." The irritated applicants, however, failing to recognise the validity of the objection, at once grossly abused him and broke his windows. In. consequence of these unjustifiable actions Lindley took proceedings to obtain legal redress, and both he and some of the offenders were ordered to attend before the magistrates at the White Lion Inn, then the usual place for holding petty sessions. But those were the days of mob-law, and feeling appears to have run high on the matter. Consequently when Matthew, accompanied by his brother Robert Lindley, arrived on the scene, with the idea of obtaining redress, they laid themselves open for treatment not calculated on. The brothers were first deliberately hustled into the centre of a mob in the inn yard, and being "thence borne into the Market-place, were loaded with every species of indignity." But while Robert was being pumped upon, in front of the Exchange, it is related that Matthew had the good fortune to escape into a shop on the Long-row.
MORE METRICAL EFFUSIONS. 1809:
Only on one stone at Greasley transpires what may be described as a metrical homily, reproduced below. It is very unusual to meet with so lengthy a piece of verse, particularly at so early a period:---
1754.
O mortal men, how long will ye
God's glory thus despise;
Why wander ye in vanity,
And follow after lies.
Know ye that good and godly men,
the Lord doth take and chuse;
And when to him I make complaint,
He doth me not refuse.
Sin not, but stand in awe therefore,
examine well your heart;
And in your chamber quietly,
see ye yourselves convert.
In peace therefore then Let me lie,
taking my rest and sleep;
For thou only dost me, O Lord,
preserve and safely keep.
Here is another unusual type, though, being but lightly cut, the first line is almost erased:—
1761.
[Although]......
Neither shall [Flesh] be in the Vines,
The Labour of [the] Olive shall fail
And the Fields shall yield no Meat.
The Flock shall be out from the Fold,
And there shall be no Herd in the Stall,
Yet will I rejoice in the Lord,
I will joy in the God of my Salvation.
Naturally, however, the Greasley inscriptions include many instances of hackneyed rhymes, most of which are readily susceptible to adaptation and modification. Here, for instance, are several versions of the too familiar "Afflictions sore" :—
1757.
Afflictions sore Long time I bore,
All Human help was vain;
Till Death Gave ease
And God was pleas'd
To ease me of my pain.
1792.
Afflictions sore long Time I Bore,
which did my Strength decay;
At length Death came and eas'd my Pain,
and took me hence away.
1799.
Afflictions sore long time I bore,
All assistance was in vain;
Till God did please to end my days,
Which took away my pain.
1803.
Afflictions sore long time I bore,
Physicians was in vain ,
Till God did please cold Death shol'd seize,
And Free me from my pain.
Furthermore, to the same verse the two following are more or less akin:—
1787.
Here I am laid to take my rest,
all in this silent Grave;
Long time I bore afflictions sore,
and I no rest could Have.
But at the length it pleas'd the Lord,
to ease me of my Pain;
All Honour, Praise, and Glory be,
[unto His Holy Name].
1799.
In sorrow and pain long time I've lain,
Praying for Heaven every Day;
But God at last remember'd me,
And took away my pain.
The following represents a more marked variation in a, similar story:—
1812.
The Lord to save me did afflict
With sickness long and sore;
But patience He to me did give,
The same for to endure.
My mind establish'd in His love,
And sanctifying grace was given;
His spirit witnessed with mine,
That I was born of Heaven.
Here is another example of lines which, though hackneyed, certainly rank a degree higher than the above:—
1778. (On a youth of 17.)
Stop passenger awile and weigh,
Whose Life is shortest, thine or mine;
If God has tain my Soul to day,
To morrow he may Call for thine;
The only Difference then will be,
That thou hast one day more than me.
PERIODS OF LIFE.
The same sentiments are thus expressed over a child of 7:—
1819.
Short as my infant Life did last,
It much resembles thine;
Thy longer Date when once 'tis past Will seem as short as mine.
Of course, lines lamenting children are of frequent occurrence, the two following being instances:—
1795.
Oh cruel Death, that would not spare thy power, But cropt the bud of this our tender Flower.
1840.
The Great Jehovah from on high, An angel bright did send; To take away this little harmless dove To joys that ne'er will end.
Here are two items from the graves of young girls :—
1756.
Remember Maids, that passes by. As you are Now so once was I; As I am Now so must you be. Therefore prepare to follow me.
1854.
Behold a maid cut down just in her bloom,
Short was her journey to the silent tomb;
Her pain is o'er, her panting heart at rest,
Her soul we trust is number'd with the blest.
The foregoing may well be balanced by two examples of rhymes over young men, as follow:—
1763.
The sweetest flowers do furst decay,
The Bloom of youth soon fades away;
Therefore Repent whilst you have Time,
Death cut me off lust in my Prime.
1866.
Though young in years, his youthful lamp
With grace was well supplied;
For twice he breathed his Saviour's name,
Then closed his eyes and died.
Those eyes shall be unclosed again,
That Saviours face to see;
O Christ! how blessed is the hope
That now he is with Thee.
These quaint rhymes occur over a young married woman:—
1823.
From my sad cradle to my sable chest, I found few days of joy, or months of rest; My race was short (yet tedious) ending soon, For suddenly my sun did set at noon. I groan'd for rest, and fell asleep at even, So when I wak'd behold ! I was in heaven ! Weep not, dear Husband, mourn for me no more, Because I am not last, but sent before. Here, on the other hand, we find length of days in evidence:—
1864.
An aged Christian slumbers here, Whose faith was strong—his love sincere; Content he passed life's little span, In fearing God—and serving man. The following are Greasley examples of what are all more or less hackneyed rhymes:—
1748.
A mortal Body mouldring into Dust, His Soul we hope is plac'd amongst the Just; A tender husband was and Parent kind, To those Relations dear he left behind.
1767.
When in the Prime of Life I were, I had a deal of Worldly Care ; But now those Cares are or'e with me, And shortly they will be with thee. Be wise in time your end to view, That all things may be well with you.
1805.
Remember friends, as you us see, As you are now so once was we; Therefore repent, your time to view, That all things may be well with von.
1816.
With patience to the last she did submit, And murmured not at what the Lord saw fit; But with a Christian courage did resign, Her soul to God at the appointed time.
1872.
Oh sudden change! he in a moment fell, He had not time to bid his friends farewell; Death came without a warning given., And bid him haste to meet his God in heaven.
It is unnecessary to point out that the foregoing records a case of sudden death. The following also not infrequently found elsewhere—appears to have a special application, amd is not without a suggestion of enmity carried beyond the grave:—
1840.
How lov'd, how valu'd once, avails thee not, To whom related, or by whom begot; A heap of dust alone remains of thee, 'Tis all THOU art; and all the PROUD shall be. There are likewise in Greasley Churchyard several instances of the familiar "Farewell vain world" rhymes which it is unnecessary to quote. In one case, however, they occur in such .a fearfully mangled arid perverted form that, in conjunction with very faulty orthography, they rank as a curiosity:—
1866.
Farewell vain world I've had enough of the, I doent value what thou can see of me; Thy frowns I quote not, thy smiles I fear not, Look at home and theirs enough to be done. As has been shown, however, there are, in this churchyard, a few examples of true poetic feeling, the following being further instances:—
1834.
If tender feelings swell the breast Of parent, husband child or friend,
O! let your thoughts awhile here rest, Nor let these dear relations end; Nor hopeless sigh, for from the dust, We hail the mansions of the just.
1860.
The friendly band no more shall greet Accents familiar once, and sweet;
No more the well-known features trace. No more renew the fond embrace.
CONCLUDING MEMORANDA.
Out of the consider able body of further Greasley rhymes, the following and concluding selection is believed to comprise pretty well everything worthy of note:—
1784.
Do not weep or grieve for me, you know I must go home;
I was upon a visit here, and now I must return.
Now I rejoice to leave this world,
of sorrow, sin, and pain ;
I know I'm wash'd in Jesu's Blood,
and shall a Crown obtain.
1806.
Plain in his form but,
Rich he was in mind ;
Religious, Quiet, honest,
Meek and kind.
A tender Husband.
And a Father dear ;
Such is the Dust,
That lieth sleeping here.
1811.
Farewell vain world I bid adieu,
Heaven is my native air ;
I bid my Friends a short adieu,
I was impatient to be there.
1812.
Oh, friendly reader Stop,
and take a view ;
A faithful loving Wife, A friend to all she knew.
Lie ----- sleeping here.
Till the appointed time;
As every mortal must,
Till Christ shall send an Angel's call,
To raise her immortal dust
1817.
Long have I linger'd here in pain,
In hopes a futer life to gain ;
Now lie at rest beneath this dust,
In hopes to rise amongst the just. 1831.
The sweetest flower doth soon decay,
So doth our time so fade away;
Therefore repent while you have time,
Death cut me off just in my prime.
1850.
A tender Wife, A friend sincere,
A tender Mother lieth here;
Who labour'd hard with toil and care,
For a reward with Christ to share.
My husband dear and children to,
Be ready when God calls for you.
1851.
Earth hath his body, heaven his soul doth keep,
His friends the loss, and so he rests asleep;
Rest his dear soul till Christ return,
while we Mourn here below,
and long to come to thee.
1866.
Here lies the mother with her children dear,
On whose warm hearts cold death has laid his hand ;
But when the Lord in glory shall appear,
Then in new life, in judgement, they shall stand.
And oh the joy, to parents and children given,
Again to meet, and part no more in heaven.
1909.
The Sabbath School was our delight,
We loved to hasten there ;
We heard the voice of God proclaimed,
We heard the voice of prayer.
THE NEW BURIAL GROUND.
By way of postscript, it may perhaps be permissible to mention that I was told the first interment in the new burial-ground took place on February 5th, 1908, the deceased (if I remember rightly) being a man named Thomas Tank. It may also be of interest to append a copy of the earliest inscription there, which is painted on a small earthenware memorial, as follows:—
In Loving Memory of
Our dear sister Clara Elizabeth
Braithwaite, Born at Horsley Woodhouse, June
5th, 1862. Died at Eastwood Hilltop February
12th. 1908. A loving mother true and kind, No
friend on earth like her we find ; But when
alive she did her best, And now her spirit has
gone to rest. Sleep on dear sister in the Lord.
List of surnames occurring on the Greasley Churchyard memorials (omitting the modem section of the ground):—Adcock, Allcock, Ames, Anderson, Annable, Anthoney, Aron, Attenborough, Ball, Banner, Barber, Barratt, Barton, Bembridge, Bentley, Bing-ham, Birks, Blake, Bloomfield, Bonington, Brassington, Bratt, Brentnal, Booth, Bostock, Brown, Bux-ton, Cadness, Calveart, Carlin, Cassless, Caunt, Chambers, Cheetham, Clarke, Clay, Clifton, Cocking, Cook, Cooper, Coultes, Crich, Critch, Crosley, Dawes, Daws, Day, Dodsley, Draper, Drawwater, Edwards, Elliott, Ellott, Ellis, Farnsworth, Fletcher, Flint, Fox, Garner, Gelsthorp, Gething, Gilborn, Godber, Grammer, Green, Greensmith, Gregory, Guyler, Hall, Hallam, Hannes, Hanson, Harper, Harris, Harrison, Harvey, Harwood, Haslam, Hays, Heptonstall, Hides, Hopewell, Hopkinsom, Hours, Ingram, Jackson, Jenaver, Kerry, King, Kinsey, Kirk, Knighton, Lee, Leevers, Leivers, Levers, Linley alias Lindley, Making, Maltby, Mariot, Marlow, Martin, Meakin, Millership, Millington, Morley, Morris, Mounteney, Nix, Norris, Nowell, Oates, Oats, Ogle, Parker, Parkin, Paxton, Priest, Purdy, Raworth, Raynor, Read, Rensihaw, Reppen, Rigley, Riley, Robinson, Rogers, Rowland, Sabin, Sander, Sanders, Sant, Saxton [Severn], Shaw, Sison, Sisson, Skinner, Slater, Sleight, Smedley, Smith, Smithurst, Soar, Southern, Stapleton, Starkey, Sterland, Stimpston, Swinden, Tatum, Taylor, Thompson, Toplis, Toul, Toule, Trueman, Turner, Twells, Wagg, Wagstaff, Walker, Walton, Ward, Watkinson, Watson, Wells, Wheatley, Whitelocks alias Whitlocks, Widdowson, Wilcockson, Williamson, Willis, Wilson, Winfield, Winson, Winterbottom, Wood, Wyld, Yeomans, Young.
List of unduplicated surnames used as Christian names:— Alsop, Cocker, Damms, Davis, Forbes, Han-kin, Heafield, Hill, Phillips, Wheatcroft, Wolstan.