Devonshire
Stoke Fleming
By Dr. Walcot, alias Peter Pindar.
To the Memory of Margaret Southcotte, who died the 27th of August, 1786, aged 12 years and 9 months.
Beneath this stone, in sweet repose,
The friend of all, a fair one lies:
Yet hence let Sorrow vent her woes,
Far hence let Pity pour her sighs;
Tho’ every hour thy life approv’d,
The muse the strain of grief forbears;
Nor wishes, tho’ by all belov’d,
To call thee to a world of cares.
Best of thy sex, alas! farewell,
From this dark scene remov’d to shine,
Where purest shades of mortals dwell,
And virtue waits to welcome thine.
An ill-natured critic wrote the following under these beautiful lines:—
Can a Southcotte be said to deserve all the praise
Which above in the rhymes may be seen?
But ’tis not impossible, since the stone says
She had not reached the age of thirteen!