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Buria quem Dominum ac Abbatem noverit olim,
Illius hic recubant ossa sepulta Uiri.
Sutkoice Melforba nomen-nato Johannem
Dixerunt Remys* progeniesque pater.
Magnanimus, prudens, doctus fuit atque benignus,
Integer, et voti religionis amans.

Regni qui cum Henrici Dctavi viderat annum
Ter decimum ac primum, Martis atque Dies
Anum terque decem ...... flamine terras

Decidit. D anime parce benigne Deus, 1540.

Abbot Reeve appears to have been one of the ancestors of the family of that name lately resident at Harleston in Norfolk, if we may judge from the almost exact similarity of the arms. The Reeves were situated in London at the time of the Restoration; but how long before that period is uncertain, though probably for a considerable time. In the church of St. Sepulchre some memorials for them may still be seen. The family was burnt out of London by the great fire in 1667; and with the remains of their fortune, one branch purchased the Inn at Stonham, in this county, called Stonham-Pye, where they resided for many years. From thence their descendants removed to Harleston, where lately resided Mr. William Reeve, an eminent surgeon, and of considerable property. The Rev. William Reeve, his only son, Vicar of Hoxne, and Denham, a person of great learning, charity, and generosity, died in 1786, and in him this branch of the family became extinct. Another branch resided at Bildeston, a descendant of which, Mr. Read Reeve, was lately living at Lavenham.

MAJESTIC arches, consecrated walls,

Ye sacred fanes, that saints and men revere; Each scene that venerating love recalls,

Be yours my latest sighs, my parting tear!

* Weever writes Kemis, but this is evidently a mistake for Revis, or Reves. He has likewise osso for ossa, viro for viri, and progenie atque for progeniesque.

Oft has my soul, with pride and rapture, trac'd The blest events that gave your shrines to fame; And often have I seen your altars grae'd

With splendours, worthy of the christian's name.

When on my ear the solemn anthem stole,
To midnight gales in swelling chorus giv'n,
Transported, fir'd, my elevated soul

Rose with the strain, anticipating heav'n.

Bear witness, saints, I never proudly fail'd
To raise from earth the homage-bending knee;
And ever with fraternal love I hail'd

The dear fraternal "Benedicite."

With gentlest skill I sooth'd the mourner's woe,
I bade religion's voice her vot'ries cheer;
And 'twas my purest bliss on earth to know

That innocence and friendship harbour'd here.

And here I hop'd my bones might calmly rest, Some sculptur'd lines my life, my death approve; And oft my grave, with soften'd footsteps prest, Speak plaintive lessons of religious love.

The hope how vain! and can I live to see
These sacred arches mould'ring into dust?
Or chang'd to halls of wanton minstrelsy,
To scenes of riot and polluted lust?

Oh, no! that wretchedness is spar'd-I feel
A sick'ning swoon its welcome influence shed,
And bless the chilly dews that o'er me steal,
As death's kind angel hovers round my head.

Perchance this spoil, so impiously begun

By wretched men, will not destroy the whole : All righteous Providence! Thy will be done! O Lord of heav'n and earth! Receive my soul!

The falt'ring accents sunk to broken sighs

And o'er the Abbot Reeve the brothers hung; With holy sighs and tears they clos'd his eyes; And then with solemn pomp his Requiem sung.

His Epitaph.

With mem'ry's grateful tribute Bury owns
Her mitred Lord: here rests his humble bones:
His honour'd birth shall Suffolk's Melford claim;
John his baptismal, Reeve his natal name.
Heroic, prudent, learned and benign,
And just was he, and lov'd his vows divine.
The day he saw, when our eighth Henry's hand
For one and thirty years had rul'd this land!
And when the spring, her charming course begun,
In March an equal term of days had run ;
Sped by the angels bright, he reach'd his goal;
O gracious God! have mercy on his soul!

A SONG OF AN ENGLISH KNIGHT,

that married the Royal Princess Mary, Sister to King Henry the VIIIth. which Knight was afterwards made Duke of Suffolk.

To the tune of "Who list to lead a Soldier's life."

Charles Brandon, the celebrated Duke of Suffolk, was son and heir of Sir William Brandon, standardbearer to Henry, Earl of Richmond, at the battle of Bosworth. The family is represented to be of great antiquity, and to have assumed its name from the lordship of Brandon in this county.

He was remarkable for the dignity and gracefulness of his person, and his robust and athletic constitution. He distinguished himself in tilts and tournaments, the favorite exercises of Henry, by his consummate dexterity, gallantry, and valour. He was brought up with that prince, studied his disposition, and exactly conformed to it. That conformity gradually brought on a stricter intimacy, and from thenceforth his advancement to royal favor and honors was rapid and extraordinary.

His first creation to nobility was to the title of viscount Lisle, the 5th of Henry VIIIth. for his eminent services in the campaign against France; and soon after he was raised to the dignity of Duke of Suffolk. It was thought at the time the king conferred this honor upon him, that he intended him a far greater, by giving him his sister Mary in marriage, who had long won his heart by her beauty, grace, and accomplishments. But policy and the etiquette of courts forbade their union, and consigned the young and beautiful Mary to the arms of an aged and infirm monarch. For just at this period, Lewis the XIIth. of France, seeking the alliance of the English King, a match was made up between him and the princess, to

the great grief of the duke; who, however, though he dearly loved her, had sufficient honor not to use the least means for preventing the marriage. After her short-lived and unnatural union with that monarch, the duke became her husband. When the news was brought to Henry, he seemed much dissatisfied with it, and at first kept Suffolk at a distance; but the king of France and others interceding in his behalf, he was soon reconciled, and the duke had no small share afterwards in the administration of affairs. During the period of that capricious reign of vanity, extravagance, and blood, he preserved his influence to the last, and died, in the estimation of his king and country, in the year 1545, with this character, that although a better courtier than a statesman, yet he used his prince's favors with so much moderation, as not to disoblige any one. He was interred in the south aisle of St. George's Chapel, at Windsor Castle.

The duke had four wives; and by the Princess Mary, his third wife, he had one son, Henry, who was created, the 17th of Henry VIIIth. Earl of Lincoln; and two daughters, of which Frances married, first, Henry Grey, afterwards Duke of Suffolk, and secondly, Adrian Stokes; and Eleanor, Henry Earl of Cumberland.

This nobleman is one instance that Henry was not altogether incapable of a cordial and steady friendship; and Suffolk seems to have been worthy of the favor, which, from his earliest youth, he had enjoyed with his master. The king was sitting in council when informed of his death; and he took the opportunity both to express his own sorrow for the loss, and to celebrate the merits of the deceased. He declared, that during the whole course of their friendship, his brother-in-law had never made one attempt to injure an adversary, and had never whispered a word to the disadvantage of any person. "Is there any one of you, my lords, who can say as much?" When the king subjoined these words, he looked round in all their faces, and saw that confusion, which the consciousness of secret guilt naturally threw upon them.

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