live, to do so meantime, under that private arrangement,
for their future benefit.
TOMBSTONES IN THE EAST CHURCHYARD.
The place of the dead! They rest from their labours, and how
silently they sleep. There is not one jarring element among
them; not one disturbing note floats over the place wherein
they repose; and yet the many sorrowful-looking faces imprinted
on the surrounding tombstones continue to gaze as earnestly
upon the little mounds before them as if they were in momentary
expectation of a general uprising around them. On entering
these hallowed grounds almost the first object to catch the
observer's eye is the great large handsome marble memorial
stone, standing high over the Prestongrange vault. It tells
of those who have had a dwelling-place at the chief mansion-house
of the parish, but the hand of time has worked havoc with
the inscription, and all that can be made out in the distance
is: —
GULIELMA GRANT,
de
Prestongrange.
On a very neat shield over the above are two finely-carved
crowns. A lion rampant follows the above. Beneath the lion
another crown followed by a Latin inscription.
The oldest memorial stone is a small but neat tablet, and
may be found in the north wall of the old session house, but
where it originally stood, or to whose memory it was raised,
it is impossible to discover. It is richly carved, and the
date is 1634.
V. A. G. S. —Smith.
Only a little way inside the churchyard gate stands a beautiful
white pale-veined marble cross. It is pleasant to look at
as a work of art, but it has a sorrowful tale of its own.
A daughter of the mansion-house, a wife of the manse, and
a mother—departed. Thus it speaks: —
In
Loving Memory
of
VICTORIA ALBERTA GRANT SUTTIE,
Wife of The Rev. George Stuart Smith.
Born 8th Nov. 1867. Died 5th June 1900.
" Gileses are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. "
Adjacent to this stands a beautiful Maltese cross. It speaks
of the late minister of the parish: —
In Memory of
The Rev. JOHN STRUTHERS, LL. D.,
for 44 years minister of the parish of Prestonpans.
Born 3rd February 1815. Died 25th August 1888. Closely adjoining
the above is the memorial stone of another minister of the
parish. He is always spoken of as the "good old Primrose.
"
Sacred to the Memory of
The Rev. PETER PRIMROSE, D. D.,
10 years in Dalgetty,
And 36 years in Prestonpans.
Erected by the Parishioners.
If there is a monumental slab in the whole churchyard whose
inscription does not wish itself to be understood except by
those acquainted with the "dead" languages, it is that of
James Roy, another minister. It tells its story: —
Roy.
" Quis Desiderio
Sit Pudor aut Modus
Tam Cari Capitis"
Optimo Viro
Jacobo Roy
Ecclesiae Hujus Pastori
Post
Breve Biennii Ministerium
Immatura Morte
Sublato
Hunc Lapidem Posuit
Frater ejus Unicus
Gul. Roy Trib Milit
Vixit Anno xxxvii.
Obiit iii Sept. A. H. S.
MDCLXVII.
Translation of the above.
" What moderation or what limit can there be to our regret
for so dear a life?"—(From Horace. )
To JAMES ROY,
An excellent man,
The Pastor of this Congregation,
' Carried away by an early death
After a brief ministry of two years.
This stone is raised by
His only Brother,
William Roy, Officer in the Army.
He lived 37 years,
And died on the 3rd Sept.
1667 A. D. |
