“DEATH loves [recte “leaves”] a shining mark
a signal blow
“A blow which while it
executes alarms
“And startles thousands
with a single fall;
Here is Interr,d
ye agreeable & Generous
Mrs. SARAH WILLIAMS
(with her infant Babe)
Consort of
Col. WILLIAM WILLIAMS
who died Febry 24th
1764 Aetatis Suae 28
Lovely bright infant
chaste as morning dew
She sparkled was exhaled
And went to Heaven
I mentioned in the Graveyard Poets section of the overview tab that the Night-Thoughts on Life, Death, and Immortality of Edward Young (1683-1765) is a frequent source for these epitaphs. This largely-forgotten work was once widely read and enormously popular as a devotional text.
This is the only time I have seen two verses separated thus; one for the deceased wife above, and other for the baby whose birth presumably killed her below.
Both verses on this stone are taken from Night V. The choices are very moving, I think: The young wife and mother’s death is described as a dramatic, alarming blow, while the infant’s brief moment on earth is beautifully summarized as a sparkle, an exhalation, and departure to Heaven. Young can be over-wrought at times, but at his best he is superb.
