11 S. I. FEB. o, 1910.]
NOTES AND QUERIES.
Ill
Dean Stanley mentions (p. 300) " the
present medallion in Poets' Corner,' 1 saying
that it
" was set up in the middle of the last [i.e., eigh- teenth] century by ' a person of quality, whose name was desired to be concealed.' By a mistake of the sculptor, the buttons were set on the left side of the coat. Hence this epigram
O rare Ben Jonson what a turncoat grown !
Thou ne'er wast such, till clad in stone :
Then let not this disturb thy sprite,
Another age shall set thy buttons right."
A foot-note gives the reference, Seymour's ' Stow,' ii. 512, 513.
"A Historical Description of West- minster Abbey ; its Monuments and Curiosi- ties. Printed for the Vergers in the Abbey, " 1862, p. 98, names Rysbrack as the sculptor of the monument in Poets' Corner.
Pp. 634-5 of Dean Stanley's book give a description (communicated* by Mr. Poole) with an engraved example of what, in one of the entries of the burials in the Clerk of the Works' Register, was called the " Middle Tread," viz., " a central course of stone. . . . having squares placed diamond-wise on either side of it, and a course of square stones against each wall.' 2
The "path of square stone' 2 mentioned above was one of these " middle treads." The original stone appears to have been one of the Middle Tread stones. It " is exactly seventeen inches wide, and has no doubt been seventeen inches high, being the normal size of all the squares of ' Middle Treads,' and also the length of the diagonal of a twelve-inch square, which latter is the normal size of all the lozenges. It has been reduced for some reason to fourteen inches high, and is of Purbeck marble, which, when polished and un- decayed, is of a blue colour."
It appears that the " eighteen inches of square ground in the Abbey " asked for by Ben Jonson meant the space covered by one of these square Middle Tread stones. The eighteenpence paid by Jack Young was for cutting the inscription on the existing stone.
On Sir William Davenant's grave in Poets' Corner "was repeated the inscrip- tion of Ben Jonson, ' O rare Sir William Davenant ' " (Dean Stanley, p. 301).
ROBERT PIERPOINT.
There are three monumental memorials in Westminster Abbey to Ben Jonson.
1. In the south transept, at the south end, known as Poets' Corner, in the easternmost arcade, just above a doorway leading to stairs, is Jonson's well-known monument, by Rysbrack, after Gibbs, erected in 1737 (Hare, ' Westminster, 1 1905, p. 12). Bradley says before 1728. It consists of a tablet
bearing a life-size bust in alto-relievo, in
ordinary dress, under a pediment, which
supports. a black (? bronze) classical lamp.
In the centre of the pediment is a cidaris
(wreath with ribbons), and from its two
ends depend two short flower-strings. Under
the bust is " O Rare Ben Johnson " in
capitals. Beneath this are three masks
between two ribbon-knots. The sculptured
portion is of white marble, resting on a
greyish marble slab. Hare calls it an
' ' allegorical monument " ; but I have no
idea why.
Newman, however, says that " Ben Johnson " has a monument " ornamented with emblematical figures, alluding, perhaps, to the malice and envy of his cotemporaries." This agrees with Hare, but I never saw any- thing more on the tablet than what I have described. Perhaps part has been removed (' Description of Westminster Abbey,' 1827, pp. 85, 107).
2. In the fourth bay from the west window, in the north aisle of the nave, under the ramp below the fourth window, is a small, yellowish, old-looking stone, about 14 by 6 inches, standing upright on its edge, upon which are rather rudely cut, in large capitals, the words :
O Rare Ben Johnson.
It appears that this stone was formerly in the pavement, over the spot where the body stood ; but the authorities, fearing the inscription would be worn away, had it removed in 1821 to its present position.
3. In the pavement of this aisle nearly in a line with the above stone, but a little east is a small square stone, of a bluish tint, set diamond-wise, evidently quite modern, on which is cut, in plain capitals,
O Rare Ben Johnson.
This was placed where No. 2 had formerly been, at the time of the removal in 1821.
In the large official plan of the nave, close to the choir, the position of this stone (No. 3) is marked by the name " Jonson " ; but No. 2 is not indicated. No. 1 would be included in the transept plan. Nos. 2 and 3 I was unable to find in Hare, or New- man, or Barnett ( ' Walk through West- minster Abbey, l 1908), or in two other Abbey guide-books I have used.
Ben Jonson's epitaph is said to have been written by Davenant, though one account ascribes it to Sir J. Young (Bradley, ' West- minster Abbey Guide,'- 1909, p. 27). Bradley mentions Nos. 1, 2, and 3, as does also Cole (' Handbook to Westminster Abbey,' 1882).
