A morning stroll brought me to Bunhill Fields, a cemetery whose residents include authors Daniel Defoe and John Runyan, poet and painter William Blake and scores of other lesser-known individuals. There are marked graves dating back to at least 1692. But what got my attention on this day was the tomb of one Mary Page. On one side, the inscription reads (apparently neither lower case nor punctuation had been invented yet; also note, the spelling is carefully checked and reproduced):
HERE LYES DAME MARY PAGE
RELICT OF SIR GREGORY PAGE BART
SHE DEPARTED THIS LIFE MARCH 4 1728
IN THE 56TH YEAR OF HER AGE
Then, on the other side:
IN 67 MONTHS SHE WAS TAPD 66 TIMES
HAD TAKEN AWAY 240 GALLONS OF WATER
WITHOUT EVER REPINING AT HER CASE
OR EVER FEARING THE OPERATION
I haven't given much thought to what I'd want to have on my headstone, but I'm pretty sure that's not it.
Some facts to enhance your reading experience ~
RELICT - a widow or survivor
BART - A man holding a British hereditary title of honor reserved for commoners, ranking immediately below the barons and above all orders of knighthood except the Garter.
REPINING - feeling or expressing unhappiness or distress
And I'm sorry to have to point this out, but that's 3.6 gallons for each procedure. Yikes!
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2 comments:
Repining the case for her, I am sorry about the 5+ years of her medical ordeal. Apparently Mr. Page-the-bart was sick of people asking about her ills so had the particulars engraved!!
What spooks me is how we haven't really advanced that far (medically) since then.
I'll think of Mary Page on my next training run. She sounds like someone who "lived strong" as Lance Armstrong would say.
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