April 24. 1852.] 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



m 



communication, which is not without interest at 

 the present moment, as it may influence the tribute 

 about to be paid to the memory of the Tredescants 

 by the reparation of their monuments, I have re- 

 lied on Dr. Hamel's transcripts. 



One is gratified to find that the merits of these 

 humble and unpretending lovers of science is at 

 length appreciated, and that, while some of the in- 

 habitants of Lambeth, where they dwelt, are taking 

 efiective measures to restore the monument erected 

 to their memory by the unfortunate Hester, a just 

 tribute to their merits has been paid by Dr. Hamel 

 at St. Petersburg ! On Ashmole's tombstone in 

 Lambeth Church is inscribed: "Mortem obiit 18 

 Maii, 1692, sed durante Musaso Ashmoleano Oxonii 

 nunquam moriturus." May not some similar record 

 relate to posterity that it was to the Tredescants 

 we owe the foundation of the first Museum of 

 Curiosities of Nature and Art, as well as the first 

 Botanic Garden ? S. W. Singer. 



Manor PJace, South Lambeth. 



INEDITED POETRY. 



I have now before me an interesting little vo- 

 lume containing " Elegiac Verses " and other po- 

 etical efi'usions, composed by, and in the autograph 

 of, Anne Ellys, wife and widow of a Bishop of St. 

 David's. Most of the pieces are dated, the earliest 

 in January, 1761, the latest February 15, 1763. 

 The MS. is in small 4to. and contains fifteen pieces, 

 eleven of which relate to the death of her husband 

 (which occurred, so far as I can gather from the 

 dates, on Januai-y 17th, 1761), and breathe a spirit 

 of deep affection and of fervent piety. So far as I 

 am aware, the poems have never been published ; 

 permit me to send you one of the pieces, as it may 

 he deemed worthy of a place in the museum of 

 inedited poetry already collected in your pages, 

 and which I hope to see greatly increased. 



•'thoughts ok a garuen. 



" The mind of man, like a luxuriant field, 

 Will various products, in abundance, yield. 

 If cultur'd well by skilful gardener's hand, 

 What beauteous prospects overspread the land. 

 What various flowers to the sight appear, 

 To deck each season of the rolling year. 

 Their od'rous scents the opening buds disclose. 

 From the blew [sic] violet to the blushing rose. 

 And each in its successive order blows. 

 Each different fragrance yields a fresh delight, 

 And various colours charm the ravish'd sight. 

 Unnumber'd fruits as well as flowers arise, 

 To please the taste, and to delight the eyes. 

 The blooming peach tempts the beholder's hand. 

 And curling vines in beauteous order stand ; 

 Their purple clusters to the sight disclose. 

 While ruddy apples with Vermillion glows [sic]. 

 Fancy and order makes the whole complete, 

 Not costly elegance, yet exactly neat. 



•} 



us [ 



Delightful scene, produce of care and pains, 



Late wild and dreary were these beauteous plains. 



And should they now again neglected be, ' 



How soon, alas, would the beholder see, 



Instead of order, wild deformity. 



Let this, my soul, incline thee to reflect. 



The fatal consequence of sad neglect. 



Thy mind like this sweet spot thou may'st improve, 



And make it worthy of its Maker's love. 



Observe thyself with nicest care, thy pain 



And present labour will be future gain. 



Let no ill weeds arise lest they destroy, 



The seeds of virtue which alone yield joy. 



Manure thy soul with every lovely grace, 



No more let sin thy heaven-born soul deface. 



Nor idle or inactive, let it be ; 



By this example warn'd, observe and see 



How from the least neglect great dangers rise. 



Watch lest the nipping frost of sin surprise. 



Or gusts of passion with impetuous sway. 



Bear down thy good resolves, or then delay. 



As scorching suns destroy the new set tree, 



And burn the tender plant in infancy ; 



So jealous of thy own improvements be, 



Lest they should fill thy mind with vanity, 



Check its too speedy growth, observe and sec 



How the too early buds all blasted be. 



And as all human care and labour's vain, 



Without the vernal breeze and gentle rain ; 



So when thy utmost care and skill is shown, 



Reflect it is not thou, but God alone 



Whose heavenly grace, distilling on thy soul. 



Must all the wild disorders there controul. 



Pray for the beams of his celestial light, 



To clear the errours of thy misty sight. 



So thy endeavours and God's grace conjoin'd, 



Will towards perfection lead the willing mind. 



A. E." 

 This piece is the second in the collection, several 

 of the other poems are signed with the author's 

 name at full length : the last piece appears tp be 

 written under a presentiment of impending death; 

 its heading is somewhat curious : 



"February 15th [1763], past 2 in the morning. 

 Going to bed very ill." 



This leads me to inquire the date of her death. 

 Should any further extracts from the MS. be 

 deemed desirable, allow me to assure you that 

 they are very much at your service. 



W. Sparrow Simpson. 



[From the epitaph on the tablet erected to the me- 

 mory of Bishop Ellys in Gloucester Cathedral, we 

 learn that "he married Anne, the eldest daughter of 

 Sir Stephen Anderson of Ey worth, in the county of 

 Bedford, Bart., whom he left, with only one daughter, 

 to lament the common loss of one of the best of man- 

 kind." Kippis, in his Biog. Britan., adds, " The un- 

 fortunate marriage of Bishop Ellys's daughter, after his 

 decease, and the subsequent derangement of her mind, 

 would form a melancholy tale of domestic history."] 



