Here may you, bless'd in pleasing quiet, lie! Unmov'd and undisturb'd till time shall end, So wishes, and desires that wish inay be sacred to posterity, George Duke of Buckingham, who erected this monument to that incomparable man. He died in the 49th year of his age, and was carried from Buckingham House, with honourable pomp, his exequies being attended by persons of illustrious characters of all degrees, and buried August 3, 1667.” His grave is just before the monument, as appears by a blue stone, on which is engraved his name. JOHN ROBERTS, Esq.-This gentleman, as the inscription tells us, was the faithful Secretary of the Right Hon. Henry Pelham, Minister of State to King George II. and that this marble to his memory was erected by his three surviving sisters. Neither his age, nor the time of his death, are mentioned. Over the inscription is his portrait, in profile, and quite above sits a delicate weeping figure by the side of an urn, in relief. GEOFFERY CHAUCER.-This has been a very beautiful monument in the Gothic style, but is now much defaced, and is generally passed over with a superficial glance, except by those who never sufany thing curious to escape their notice. Geoffrey Chaucer, to whose name it is sacred, is called fer the the Father of English Poets, and flourished in the 14th century. He was son of sir John Chaucer, a citizen of London, and employed by Edward III. in negociations abroad relating to trade. He was a great favourite at court, and married the great John of Gaunt's wife's sister. He was born in 1328, and died Oct. 25, 1400, Mr. JOHN PHILLIPS.-The bust of this gentle in relief, is here represented as in an arbour interwoven with vines, laurel branches, and appletrees; and over it is this motto-" Honos erat huic quoque Pomo;" alluding to the high qualities ascribed to the apple, in that excellent poem of his called Cider. He was son of Stephen Phillips, D. D. Archdeacon of Salop; was born at Bampton, in Oxfordshire, December 30, 1675, and died at Hereford, February 14, 1708, of a consumption, in the prime of life. The inscription on his monument is a recital of his transcendant virtues and abilities, and is the strongest testimony of how much merit he possessed, since that alone could inspire his great patron, Sir Simon Harcourt, Knight, with such a generous friendship as to countenance and encourage him in the amplest manner when living, and to extend his regard for him even after death, by erecting this monument to his memory. BARTON BOOTH, Esq.-This is a very neat monument, elegantly designed, and well executed, The bust of Mr. Booth is placed between two cherubs, one holding a wreath over his head in the act of crowning him; the other, in a very pensive attitude, holding a scroll, on which is inscribed his descent from an ancient family in Lancashire, his admission into Westminster School, under Dr. Busby, his qualifications as an actor, which procured him both the royal patronage and the public applause. He died in 1733, in the 54th year of his age and this monument was erected by his surviving widow, in 1772. On the base the dramatic insignia lie broken and neglected. MICHAEL DRAYTON.-Next to that of Mr. Booth is this gentleman's monument, but by whom erected does not appear. The inscription and epitaph were formerly in letters of gold, but now almost obliterated, and therefore are here preserved: MICHAEL DRAYTON, Esq. a memorable Poet of his age, exchanged his laurel for a Crown of Glory, anno 1631. Do, pious marble! let thy readers know Protect his mem'ry, and preserve his story; This gentleman was both an excellent poet and a learned antiquarian. The first appears by his Epistles and Legends; the latter by his Polyalbion, which the great Selden honoured with a comment. BEN JOHNSON.-This monument is of fine marble, and is very neatly ensculped and ornamented with emblematical figures, alluding, perhaps, to the malice and envy of his cotemporaries. His Epitaph "ORARE BEN JOHNSON!" appears to be rather a quaintness of humour, than intended to convey much meaning; for upon a gravestone gravestone which covers the body of Sir William Davenant, in the pavement on the west side of this cross, there is the same inscription: "O RARE SIR WILLIAM DAVENANT!" and as Sir William, by whose direction this inscription was engraved upon both, seems to have adopted it as strongly characteristic, we must leave it to the reader to apply it as he pleases. He was Poet Laureat to King James I. and cotemporary with Shakespeare, to whose writings, when living, he was no friend, though, when dead, he wrote a Poem prefixed to his Plays, which does him the amplest justice. His father was a clergyman, and he was educated at Westminster School while Mr. Camden was Master; but after his father's death, his mother marrying a bricklayer, he was forced from school, and made to lay bricks. There is a story told of him, that at the building of Lincoln's Inn, he worked with his trowel in one hand, and Horace in the other; but Mr. Camden regarding his parts, recommended him to Sir Walter Raleigh, whose sou he attended in his travels, and upon his return entered himself at Cambridge. He died August 16, 1637, aged 63. SAMUEL BUTLER.-This tomb, as by the inscription appears, was erected by John Barber, Esq. Lord Mayor of London, that he who was destitute of all things when alive, might not want a monument when dead. He was author of Hudibras, and was a man of consummate learning, wit, and pleasantry, peculiarly happy in his writings, though he reaped small advantage from them, and suffered great distress, by reason of his narrow circumstances. He lived, however, to a good old age, and was buried at the expence of a private friend, in the churchyard of St. Paul, Covent Garden. He was born at Sternsham, in Worcestershire, in 1612, and died in London, in 1680. EDMUND EDMUND SPENCER.-Beneath Mr. Butler's there was a rough decayed tomb of Purbeck stone, to the memory of Mr. Edmund Spencer, one of the best English Poets, which being much decayed, a subscription was set on foot, by the liberality of Mr. Mason, in 1768, to restore it. The subscription succeeded, and the monument was restored as nearly as possible to the old form, but in statuary marble. His works abound with innumerable beauties, and such a variety of imagery, as is scarce to be found in any other writer, ancient or modern. On his monument is this inscription: -- "Here lies (expecting the second coming of our Saviour Christ Jesus) the body of Edmund Spencer, the Prince of Poets in his time, whose divine spirit needs no other witness than the works which he left behind him. He was born in London in 1553, and died in 1598." JOHN MILTON.-He was a great polemical and political writer, and Latin Secretary to Oliver Cromwell; but what have immortalized his name, are those two inimitable pieces, Paradise Lost and Regained. He was born in London in 1604, and died at Bunhill (perhaps the same as Bunhill Fields) in 1674, leaving three daughters behind him unprovided for; and not long since a granddaughter of his was relieved by a benefit at the Theatre Royal in Drury Lane. In 1787, Mr. Auditor Benson erected this monument to his memory. Under Milton is an elegant monument lately erected to the memory of Mr. GRAY. This monument seems expressive of the compliment contained in the epitaph, where the Lyric Muse, in alt-relief, is holding a medallion of the Poet, and at |