1816.] 



Memoirs of Mrs. Elizabeth Hamilton. 



inclosed within it, tlie following m- 

 «criptions: — 



Northern side. 

 " Beneath this monument lieth en- 

 tombed tlie body of Ralph Allen, esq. 

 of Prior-Park, who departed this life the 

 29th day of June, 1764, in the 71st year of The paths of glory lead but to the grave .' 



133 



true, as well as strikingly poetical, are 

 the lines of the poet : — 



The boast Dfheia!diy-t1ie pomp of power. 



And all uiat beauty, all that wealth e'er 



gave. 



Await alike (he inevitable hour; 



his age, (in full hopes of everlasting hap- 

 piness in another state, throngli the infinite 

 merit and mediation of our blessed re- 

 deemer, Jesus Christ;) and of Elizabeth 

 Hoidcu, his second wife, who died aoth 

 September 1766, aged 63." 

 Eastern side. 



The cluirc . of Claverton is a small 

 Gothic bnilding, and has its tower 

 clasped round with ivy, which imparts 

 to the whole structure a rustic appear- 

 ance. Its interior is decorated with a 

 few monuments, among which may he 

 observed a tablet to the memory of the 



" Near this place lie tlie remains of friend of Shenstone — Richard Graves, 



Ralph Allkn Warburton, (the only 

 son of William Warburton, Lord Bishop of 

 Gloucester, and Gertrude, his wife,) who 

 died July 'JSth, 1775, aged 19 years. He 

 was a youth eminently distinguished for 

 goodness of heart, elegance of manners, and 

 gracefulness of person — How transient 

 are human endowments — how vain are 

 human hopes? Reader — prepare for 

 eternity." 



Southern side, 

 " In this vault are deposited the remains 

 of Gertrude, wife of the Rev. Mr. 



A.]M. rector of this parish for many 

 years, and author of the Spiritual 

 Quixote, togetlier with several minor pub- 

 lications. In one of his productions, 

 he details amusing anecdotes of Ralph 

 Allen, as well as of Warburton, Hurd, 

 and others of the literali, who frequented 

 Prior-Park: indeed, he had long and 

 constant access to that princely man- 

 sion, when it was the resort of celebrated 

 characters, who, at that lime, visited 

 Bath and its vicinity I This venerable 



Stafford Smith, of Prior Park, relict of >»»» ,^''as beloved by his parishioners, 



and lived (by the aid of those two best 

 physicians. Exercise and Tempi ranee,) 

 to near a century. Having passed my 

 sunuTicr vacation at Bath, two of my 

 sons visited the very romantic spot of 

 Claverton church-yard, where one of 

 them took a sketch of the mausoleum, 

 whilst the other copied the above in- 

 scriptions; so that you may rel\ on their 

 accuracy. I liave transmitted tliem to 

 you, along with a few illustrative par- 

 ticulars of the deceased personages, 

 whose ashes the mausoleum covers; 

 presuming that they may prove accep- 



William Warburton, Lord Bishop of Glou- 

 cester, and niece to the late Ralph Alien, 

 esq. She died Sept. 1, 1796, aged 68 

 years. Site was a firm and devout Chris- 

 tian, with a tine, natural, and highly cul- 

 tivated understanding ; and a frank, gene- 

 rous, good heart." 



Prior-Park is a stately mansion, 

 with massive columns, which Ralph 

 Allen built, standing on the edge of 

 Combe Down; whence, at the height of 

 four hundred ieet above the; valley, is a 

 beautiful \iew of Bath and its vicinity. 

 It was once the theatre of affluence and 



splendid hospitality, but is now almost tal)le to the readers of your entertaining 



deserted and verging towards decay, and instructive miscellany. 



Such, alas ! is the evanescent state of Pullin's-row, Islington ; E. Evans. 

 all sublunary grandeur. So literally Ang. 12, 1816. 



MEMOIRS AND REMAINS OP EMINENT PERSONS. 



Mrs. ELIZABETH HAMILTON. 



IT would be with feelings of sincere 

 sorrow, for a private and a public 

 loss, that the lovers of elegant literature 

 heard of tlic death of one of the most 

 amiable, useful, and popular of the fe- 

 male writers of the present age ; one 

 who has done honor to her sex and to 

 her coimtry. 



Mrs. Elizabeth Hamilton was born 

 at Belfast, in Ireland ; and the affection 

 for her country, which she constantly 

 expressed, proved tliat sUc bad a true 



Irish heart. She was well-known to the 

 public as the author of " The Cottagers 

 of Glenburnio,'' "Tlic Modern I'hiloso- 

 phers," " Letters on Female Ednca- 

 tion," and various otiier works. Sho 

 has obtained, in different departments 

 of literature, just celebrity, and liascsta- 

 blislied a reputation that will Ktiengtlieu 

 and consolidate from the dnratioii of 

 time — that destroyer of all tiiat is false 

 or su|)erficial. 



'I'he most popular of her lesser works 

 is tlic "Cottagers of Gleuhiuiiie," a' 



lively 



