"
When the deceased had been unhappy in their loves, emblems of a more
gloomy character were used, such as the yew and cypress; and if
flowers were strewn, they were of the most melancholy colors. Thus, in
poems by Thomas Stanley, Esq. (published in 1651), is the following
stanza:
Yet strew
Upon my dismall grave
Such offerings as you have,
Forsaken cypresse and sad yewe;
For kinder flowers can take no birth
Or growth from such unhappy earth.
In "The Maid's Tragedy," a pathetic little air is introduced,
illustrative of this mode of decorating the funerals of females who
had been disappointed in love:
Lay a garland on my hearse,
Of the dismall yew,
Maidens, willow branches wear,
Say I died true.
My love was false, but I was firm,
From my hour of birth,
Upon my buried body lie
Lightly, gentle earth.
The natural effect of sorrow over the dead is to refine and
elevate the mind; and we have a proof of it in the purity of sentiment
and unaffected elegance of thought which pervaded the whole of these
funeral observances.
Pages:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20