Death of the 4th Earl of Jersey

Verses by Hester Lynch Thrale

Ld Jersey dead—no great Villiers! What a grand Monument he will have no doubt after lying in State so! I was thinking these Lines might do for the Inscription. [George Bussy Villiers, 4th Earl of Jersey died Tunbridge Wells 22 August 1805, born 9 June 1735]

That Man’s made up of Dust & Pride,
This Monument may show;
One flourishes you see, Outside:
The other—rots below.—

That Man’s made up of Dust & Pride
May by this Tomb be seen;
One glittering thus on the Outside
Whilst t’other rots within.

All Things must rot I often hear-say
Let them be Silk or Stuff—or Jersey

Hester also wrote the following similar verses…

That Man of Dust & Pride is made
This Monument may show,
One lifts aloft its Towering head
While t’other rots below.

Man’s form’d of Dust & Pride ’tis said
And both may here be found;
One in this Monument display’d
The other under-ground.

Written by Hester Lynch Thrale.
Thraliana entry dated 30 July 1805. Hester Thrale's spelling, grammar and capitalisation, some of which may not conform to today's standards, are reproduced faithfully throughout.