b itself has been described as "a
theatrical conceit, of which the design exhibits neither taste nor
invention." The epitaph was the production of Pratt, author of Harvest
Home and other lucubrations which have long since been consigned to the
tomb of the Capulets; and both epitaph and monument are thus spoken of by
Charles Lamb in the _Essays of Elia_. Alluding principally to the
eccentric attitude of the actor's effigy, he observes, "Though I would not
go so far, with some good Catholics abroad, as to shut players altogether
out of consecrated ground, yet I own I was not a little scandalized at the
introduction of theatrical airs and gestures into a place set apart to
remind us of the saddest realities. Going nearer, I found inscribed under
this burlesque figure a farrago of false thought and nonsense." The
farrago in question is in verse, and represents Shakspeare and Garrick as
"twin stars," who as long as time shall last are to "irradiate earth with
a beam divine."

There are but few epitaphs in St. Paul's Cathedral--the other great
resting-place of illustrious dead--worthy of remark or reproduction. The
best in the whole edifice, and one of the most perfect compositions of its
kind, is the well-known inscription commemorative of its renowned
architect, Sir Christopher Wren:

Subditus conditur hujus Ecelesiae at Urbis
Conditor, CHRISTOPHERUS WREN, qui vixit
Annos ultra nonaginta, non sibi, sed
Bono publico. _Lector, si monumentum requiris,_
_Circumspice._

We need not point out the beauties of this celebrated epitaph:--its
terseness of phraseology (to which no translation could do justice)--its
suggestiveness, grandeur and dignity. Another Latin inscription in St.
Paul's is also deserving notice, both on account of its merit, and the
individual it commemorates--that on Dr. Samuel Johnson, written by the
famous Dr. Parr. Of English inscriptions in this Cathedral, the most
striking is that on the monument of John Howard. It concludes with the
well-known sentence: "He trod an open and unfrequented path,to
immortality, in the ardent and unremitting exercise of Christian charity.
May this tribute to his fame excite an emulation of his truly glorious
achievements."

It is no very easy matter to produce a good epitaph. Great practice in
composition is required--great power of condensation--and the exercise of
judgment and discrimination. In efforts at epitaph-writing, few English
poets have appeared to adv