Pearson, afterwards lord bishop of Chester, preached his funeral
sermon, and gave this reason, why he declined commending the deceased,
"because such praising of him would not be adequate to the expectation
of the audience, seeing some who knew him must think it far below
him."--There were many who attempted to write elegies upon him, and
several performances of this kind, in Latin and English, are prefixed
to the edition of Cleveland's works, in verse and prose, printed in
8vo, in 1677, with his effigies prefixed.

From the verses of his called Smectymnuus, we shall give the following
specimen, in which the reader will see he did not much excel in
numbers.

Smectymnuus! the goblin makes me start,
I'th' name of Rabbi-Abraham, what art?
Syriack? or Arabick? or Welsh? what skilt?
Up all the brick-layers that Babel built?
Some conjurer translate, and let me know it,
'Till then 'tis fit for a West Saxon Poet.
But do the brotherhood then play their prizes?
Like murmurs in religion with disguises?
Out-brave us with a name in rank and file,
A name, which if 'twere trained would spread a mile;
The Saints monopoly, the zealous cluster,
Which like a porcupine presents a muster.

The following lines from the author's celebrated satire, entitled, the
Rebel-Scot, will yet more amply shew his turn for this species of
poetry.