But he lost all his wind after threescore and ten,
And here with three wives he waits till again
The trumpet shall rouse him to sing out Amen.
[Illustration: OLD SCARLETT]
The duties of sexton and parish clerk were usually performed by one
person, as we have already frequently noticed, and therefore it is
fitting that we should record the epitaph of Old Scarlett, most famous
of grave-diggers, who buried two queens, both the victims of stern
persecution, ill-usage, and Tudor tyranny--Catherine, the divorced wife
of Henry VIII, and poor sinning Mary Queen of Scots. His famous picture
in Peterborough Cathedral, on the wall of the western transept, usually
attracts the chief attention of the tourist, and has preserved his name
and fame. He is represented with a spade, pickaxe, keys, and a whip in
his leathern girdle, and at his feet lies a skull. In the upper
left-hand corner appear the arms of the see of Peterborough, save that
the cross-keys are converted into cross-swords. The whip at his girdle
appears to show that Old Scarlett occupied the position of dog-whipper
as well as sexton. There is a description of this portrait in the _Book
of Days_, wherein the writer says:
"What a lively effigy--short, stout, hardy, self-complacent,
perfectly satisfied, and perhaps even proud of his
profession, and content to be exhibited with all its insignia
about him! Two queens had passed through his hands into that
bed which gives a lasting rest to queens and to peasants
alike.
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