"Peter James" wrote in message
...

One grave, which I shall never forget in St Cleer graveyar near to
Liskeard, was dedicated to the memory of a girl who died aged 16 years
of age. It bore the following epitaph.

"Pray spare a thought as you pass by,
As you are now so once was I.
As I am now, so will you be,
So be prepared to follow me"

All food for thought. It was a very harrowing experience.

Historians of art identify this as a peculiarly English tradition,
most commonly found in paintings as either or both of a skull
and the motto "Et ego in Arcadia" i.e. "I too was once like you,"
apparently rare in French/Italian/German iconography.

--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)