108
NOTES AND QUERIES. [12 s. iv. APRIL,
Junius's Letter of Dec. 22, 1767. In the
' Milton ' he even misquotes ' Paradise Lost,'
i. 164-5, and ' Comus,' line 819. Were all
his errors of fact, quotation, and deduction
to be collected, they would fill a whole
number of ' N. & Q.' J. P.
It may be affirmed as a general rule that nobody Mho quotes from memory is always accurate. Bacon is a notorious illustration of it, and Macau] ay is far from being an exception to it. Speaking of Bacon suggests Macaulay's Essay on him. The citations in that are not more inaccurate than those in the other essays, but at least four of them are wrong. To economize the reduced space of ' N. & Q.' I refrain from comparing the wrong versions with the originals; but any one who is interested can make the com- parison by turning to ' Marmion,' III. xxx,, Pope's ' Imitations of Horace,' II. ii. 132, and ' Paradise Lost,' i. 382, iii. 555
DAVID SALMON.
In his essay on Southey's edition of ' The Pilgrim's Progress,' Macaulay speaks of the tediousness which mars Spenser's ' Fairy Queen,' and drives off nearly all readers : "Very few and very weary are those who are in at the death of the Blatant Beast." But the Blatant Beast is not killed ; he is taken and led captive by Sir Calidore, and afterwards escapes. " So now he raungeth through the world againe " (Book VI. xii. 40).
fH. DAVEY.
89 Montpelier Road, Brighton.
As H. H. seems to be within reach of the British Museum, it might be worth his while to consult John Paget's ' New Examen,' 1861, 8vo, in which Macaulay is severely criticized. S. L. PETTY.
MARGARET DOUGLAS, AFTERWARDS
RICHARDSON, AND THE YOUNG PRETENDER
(12 S. iv. 67). J T. F. in his interesting
article quotes an epitaph which either did
service on more than one occasion, or is
erroneously placed in the instance stated.
In a scrapbook belonging to Sir Alexander Macdonald of the Isle?, compiled by his ancestress Diana Bosville, who died in 1795, she relates as follows :
" This extemporare [sic] epitaph on the late celebrated and ingenious Dr. Monsey of Chelsea College was written at his desire by Peter Pindar, whose works he perused to the last, and who seems, on this occasion, to have delineated the Doctor very admirably. The Doctor always wished to be buried in a field or a ditch, or thrown into the Thames ; so little was his regard for the ceremonies of sepulture.
EPITAPH SUPPOSED TO BE WRITTEN BY THE
DOCTOR FOR HIMSELF.
Here lie my old Limbs my Vexation ends,
For I've liv'd much too long for myself and my
Friends. As for Churchyards and Grounds which the
Parsons call holy, 'Tis a rank Piece of Priestcraft and founded on
Folly :
In short I despise them ; and as for my Soul, Which may mount at last Day with'niy Bones
from this Hole,
I think that it really hath nothing to fear From the God of mankind, whom I truly revere. What the next World may be, little troubles my
Pate ;
If not better than this, I beseech thee, oh, Fate I When the Bodies of Millions fly up in the Riot, To let the old Carcase of Monsey lie quiet.
Dr. Messenger Monsey died in 1788 at the age of 95. He was a protege of Lord Godolphin, who procured him the appoint- ment of physician to Chelsea Hospital, a post which Monsey retained till death, to the great annoyance of a number of younger men who hoped to succeed him, and who were incensed at his longevity. In spite of Peter Pindar's premature epitaph, Monsey is said to have bequeathed his body for dissection, which took place before the students at Guy's.
He left an only daughter, who married William Alexander, eldest brother of the first Earl of Caledori, and who was the grandmother of Robert Monsey Rolfe, the Lord Chancellor and first Lord Cranworth Further particulars of the eccentric Chelsea physician will be found in my book ' A Painter of Dreams,' published in 1918.
It will be seen that the epitaph written by Peter Pindar differs in certain particulars from that quoted in the article on Margaret Douglas, and has two extra lines.
A M. W. STIRLING.
I have a copj 7 of this epitaph similar to that given by J. T. F., except that the first line is, Here rests my old bones, my vocation now ends, which was given me by the late Chancellor Ferguson of Carlisle, who informed me that " auld Meg Douglas," as he had heard her called, was a staunch adherent of the Pretender and an " unstrickt " Sabbatarian. Some of the " ancient inhabitants," whom he had conversed with, remembered her as being called Meg Douglas the Witch of Brampton. When he wrote me, he had not discovered the date of her death, but con- sidered it was shortly before the close of the eighteenth century.
I have a list of the vicars of Brampton from 1220 to date, and there is no one named
