The National Register. — London, England, 1816-06-24 00:00:00

138 VIOLATION OF THE DE.III. TO THE EDITOR OF THE NATIONAL REGISTER. Stn,—FROM the tone of the letter signed J. W. in vine l'aper of the Y,l instant, professing to he a reply to the one I ti i.l presionsly addressed to you. on the subject of the Viola. iion of the 1)eall, i jielvs the writer is of the ; anti front the flippant aid Milts nil kind of st) le, in which he deigns to notice our :trettments, would stein to possess infinitely more of 7..al titan judgment. To speak the truth. there is so little of any thing like an apology tor, much less a justification of, the practice of digging up the dead in his ail.' epistle, that I might well suffer it to pass unnoticed ; and only that there is an evident view on his part to misrepresent the purport id' my letter, en rte d with some of the grossest absurdities I ever read, which indispensably call for merited expliMlre, Inver kit J. W. and his genneiniWy ilerotre to that fife the Piddle, in its impartial judgment, 'Nay consign then, to. It seems I have given erect nuance by using certain warm ex pressions applied to the Csent practise of dissection. I grant I have used strong IdG2llage ; but not J. W. know., that •there is such a ft cling as limit as 111(111:11iiiiiiii, and which, if allowed, I would ask hi.u, slaty and Ulle.111(liti as he is, %hes liter any thing in nattier is more likely to call forth sorb ex prissions than the violation of our consecrated burial places I do, lioweve , , address myself to those who have pions feel int; 'to hypocrites, and the tribe, I ills') tin making an appeal. Throughout his letter there is an evident personal tar ness, in my mind wholly unaccountable, unless I may imagine that the appearance of my initials establishes the painful recognition •of one kkowa to him, and srlur ha. 111, 14IT occasion dealt out defeat : i such a reeollection haunts him, lam truly sorry I for it will prove impossible for me to profit by a discussion continued on his part in a such a vengeful mood. J. W. will, I hope, e sense me wired I say that his episode of the history ()Novotny is quite out of place. Neither roil nor I, Sir, or his Readers, required such a tedious exposit ; nor have I said a wail in impeachment of the propriety ofjadirions anatomical practice: the question between J. W. and me, as he has chosen to take it up, is this : I deny the noel ssity of dis torbing the dead ; and further, reprehend the practice as wan ton and brutal, es himical to moral feeling, and at deadly hos tility with the dictates of time religion, and so subversive of pious delicary and refinement, conseqnently brutalizing, that no plea of necessity set up for it can compensate for the serious itOiry sustained by religion and morality through its citation'. once. His letter would insinuate, to meet him on his own ground, that there is an imperious necessity for it; but, alas! where are the proofs? Are there as subjects for dissection sat e those who are savagely dra.ced from tbcirlast earthily habita tions? And does he mean seriously to say that the practice is confined to one in ten thousand? If he floes, the world will hmeh at him in the one ease for his ignorant credulity, and dc: pile him in the other for his disregard of truth. I do not wish to be harsh on such a feeble effort in defence of that which is indefensible ; but, I must say, that he has used his pen with the same unfeeling dexterity, as lie would his surgical knife, when hacking, the flesh from the bones of a subject for dissect for Slimly there never nas a poor letter so cut and mangled Is that of your humble servant's. I am fonnd fault with for running to antiquity for errry thins; and yet J. W. he fore the breath of his,reprehension was exhausted, must drag up a long list of venerated names from the earliest pe riods, to sanction the violation of the tomb : this is wretched inconsistency. As to his remark, that he " never enters a cathedral, or house appropriated to the dead, without taking off his hat, with the most profontul and reverential awe, with mute veneration, &e. for the inhabitants of the silent tomb," it is the veriest methodistical jargon ever uttered ; true cant ; pore Chesterfieldian hypocrisy; for not use of these same ve nerated dead won he spare from the grass contamination of the dissecting Imel, if his resurrection agents could safely con vey them to the spurting room for his juvenile ourgical opera tors to revel wrer. Away vs ith such miserable whining; such rank duplicity. IfJ. IV. is a nom and a Clirktian, as he pro fesses to be,' et him attune better proofs in support of his pretensions than the se he has fornished us with. Ilia I wish to know whether any thing can justify the practice of theft? Will lie meet this? Why, Sir, what we are speaking oh; is designated „ .... iitea'ilitr of dead bodies; and the offenders are' liable to the vetigeance of the arm of the law. Then to be stare we have sicklied sensibility, and narrowed views of limitanity,” ap. plied to such as AIN silt I thank my God, that even this is the case ; as a sensibility, thotteli not finite healthy, must certainly be Inter than toil deprivation of feeling; and a narrowed view of humanity will doubtless be esteemed preferable to the ab sence of rei !Inman sympathy. We have :..4.4C astrology very mmeremonionsly introduced, for what sui!ak e purpose I can. not divine, as there never was a question of comparison started by me ; Mt even in this the thing is so clumsily done, that the very men he quotes as the parents of anatomy, were those who cultivated a most consummate knowledge of', and belief in, .the truths of astrology. The first on his long list of ancient *Ames, Hippocrates, has wrote on the importance of the obser vation of critical days to patients, as governed by planetary motion and index. In the name of common sense let us have no more of th u s harlequinade, this saying a great deal and yet easing nothinz. al. we pursue sdence, Sir, let ns pursue it legitimately, and by all prayer i ncon% compatible with the cultivation of moral tre.ling ; for, as to j' necessity oftliecase, it may as well be said to he expedient to once into a compact with devils, its Order to compass a knowledge of i',he world of spirits, as to as sert that it is essential to anatomical practice to profane the sane Sit, of the grave. J. W.'s letter, displaying as it does a to. tal whitener on his part, of all that can express religious vent.. Cation and feeling, is a sad, but notable proof of tile lamenta ble rousequences of this unchristian and inhonian practice. As to Cie scurrility with Vi 114'11 I am charged, I disclaim any' thing like a wish to speak contemptuously of any profession ; but I repeat again, that I brow of tio language strong enough in the way of reprehension, to express the abhorrence with which I view the violation of the dead. Doubtless, there are men in this profe‘sion whom I respect ; there arc others also whom I do not hesitate to say I feel every thing but esteem for ; and as to mixing in their society, I am free to say I have, but must add, from all that I have seen anti heard, notwithstanding their ex. tenor polish, and apparent equanimity, I has I . known too m:in entirely heartless, absorbed in the contemplation of the moat sordid ptirseit of rain, end besides infected with atheistical netlons ; .‘ltould J. W. prove angry at this declaration, let it be renisnibered, ke ittlS extorted it from int.. Iliad no wish. our old 1 speak of the professim, either as au object of part eyrie or ceosare ; much less dill I insiuuate any thing against the per nit of aaatoutical knowledge. Had a!so, that my quotation from the Taunton Courit r has a•ed this testy opponent of untie ; but, lay in 2 akitle for th.• moment d.t: an'iquity of the tale, sorely J. W. has d i• previvg it a joke; dries he mean to say the story is an intro. eve:. though it should be twenty years since it was first ineatniated 7 it so, let us have the pt‘..ds ut the ; THE NATIONAL REGISTER. otherwise i's age will filthier sliew, that practices adoi tea by surd i. 11%, sufficiently dreadful to chill the eillTellt 'WWII WWII, it.tve bcen suffered but too lour. _ _ _ . . . four correspondent can have read very Ville, and that little to 11/11;til purpose, if he has not yet learned, that the foner.i , rites of the ancients were symbolical of n hot behiliged to the soul, and that t cy considered it imp:tins to ili.torb the dead body, because it prevented its eons imient tytists from No edify and prn• per's returning to their oath e elements. If it is a matter of indifference as to u hat becomes of the 110.1 y After death. or its lamented lineaments may he ilisttirlied and ilinsected with ito pointy, why has religion, of n hatsoeser kind, always Made it her particular proitinee to hallo with her most sotenta rite., the burial of the dead ? Let J. W. atisw er this. I refer him to Pio/tins as an authority, who. in the Fragments of his Commen taries on the Helm:die of Plato, teal fattish him with the infer manna he has been pleased to th.•i_ttiate ins " too ridiculous to notice." 44, however, he stems to be }Unit of 'wetly, peeliaps he ha; read the liiati; in which ca..e, he may perchance recol lect the following lines-- lii, 23 " All night Achilles hails l'atrc,:hs' end With large libations from the gold( The concluding con viet Ilist), in that divine poem, says,-- " Suth Lon ors Ilion to !:er lwro raid : Then slept in ewe the mighty llertor's shade." The applie.stion of these cannot, I thank, ev cut by J. W. he mi mode. stood. Not w lulling to trt •pass further DA a;;0•11- t' , Sir, I shall nuke toy leave, for the present, of J. W., vv ith the hope, that he will, if deposed to say 111011! 1111 this slib• ject. nect It u! redly, 'phut, it Ir• can, point by point, w hat have advaticed. As I have 40 11411161 hr thinks hintse:t com petent to such a task, I have only Li e %press a vs kit that l i e w ill esideay..nr to preserve his good temper for the sake tifltis are C inema, lest he should discover, that the tough is of him Air his vain Knight Errantry, without e;tlin the courtesy, the reli gions feeling, or the armour of romance. I am, Sir,y June tslh, tut G. J. W. P. BATTLE OF WATERLOO. Last Tuesday was the anniversary of the battle of IVaterloo ; an event that stands unrivalled in our mili tary annaLs. If it ha ye nut produced the political results which were expected, no blame is to be attached to tl:c great man, by whose genius, or to the warriors, Ly whose Invincible braver•, this immortal victory was achieved. They su glassed th e sanguine ex pectat ions oftheir coon t ry— they did infinitely mere than tbe rest of Europe, long a witness of their unrivalled exploits, expected. In one day they destroyed that military system, which, for more than twenty years, had been the terror of Europe ; and tram pled upon the fertunes of a man, whose destinies were supposed to be superior to the attacks of fortune. Let us recollect, that never did France send forth such an army, so complete in equipment, so confident in its strength, so confiding in the genius and fortune of its Leader. It marched to certain victory ; and this per suasion did not arise from vain glory, or inexperience. The troops scaled their confidence with► glorious death; and they deserved the crown for which they so nobly struggled. They raised on that immortal day the glory of the French arms; and the Chief, who led these men into battle, had only to complain of fortune, and of the invincible constancy of his opponents. Any other army he would have dcfeated—frem any other host he would have torn the bloody wreath of victory. On the me morable days of the i sth and Kith he :Attained an almost bloodless triumph over the brave Prussians ; elated with the events of those days, he made his preparations to fight the British army ; and, had he succeeded, to decide the chances of the war. Our troops Lad only arrived the day before on the field ; they were unprepared for being attacked; they expected to attack ; and the most intrepid of men are affected by a circumstance of this kind. Even the elements too conspired against them ; for it was after a night of drenching rain that they were brought up in the morning of the 18th to maintain the glory of the na tional arms, and to decide the greatest interests that were ever settled by the chances of war. The general results of that immortal victory are too fresh in recollection to be forgotten ; but to describe adequately the genius that se cured, and the bravery that achieved, these results is a task that far exceeds our humble powers. It is enough, for the present purpose, to say, that Wellington foresaw every combination of the enemy—anticipated every movement ; his eye overlooked the dreadful field ; his moral presence was every where ; and he alone, to use the language of the best judges, could snatch the victory from such valorous and determined opponents. Never was a battle so hardly fought—never was such resolution displayed on all sides to conquer or perish ; and never, also, was a triumph purchased with so much blood. It is in proportion to the courage manifested by the conquer ed, that victory is valued ; and it was the daring valour of the French troops, their constancy, their generous seat and noble fortitude, that enhanced the triumph of our countrymen ; and when the political passions and prepossessions of our time shall be extinct, the glories of Waterloo wal shine with brighter effulgence than those of any other military achievement in our own or the an nals of any other country. Its anniversary should, there fore, be observed by us as a day of national exultation. That ever-memorable battle decided, in one day, a war, which the most sanguine calculated would last many months ; it has thus saved us front an adtlitiomd burthen of debt and taxes—it has moreover placed our national security beyond the each of external denger,—it will have the effect of preventing, for many years, an attack from foreign Powers, who will tremble at the idea ef encountering in battle the warriors who achieved it ; and in a word, it has raised the glory of the British arms to an unlaralleied eh•• ation. A lIO,IX. An erroneous report of an intended Grand Review at Wim bledon oa Tuesday, a report nut comitenaneril by an v older from she Commander is Chief, but Which spread far aryl ide, ereated a strong sensation in evury part of the Nletrapol s at.,) the pageant•lov inn; Wade, who have been on short sruirinre Ahoy that memorable year of spectacle, ISM, were on . the alert at all early litmr. The usual variety of vehicles were pill in requisition on this occasion ; and the Portsmouth road, all the morning, presemell an endless train of carts, coaches, and l'arillltllll, with a suitable procession of pedestrians. No rks. view took place; and on arriving at Wimbledon Common, numbers of the travellers were overvrlylawd mitt' chagrin, and quite 'viable to conceal their disappointment. In expectation of the Review, the itinerant dealers a ha usually freipient fairs were drawn up in good order on the Common ; and the hucksters, whos- trumpery booths were eltristened aster the principal ta verns in the Metropolis, had also prepared to commence has. tilitirs in the use it way while the sha m e-fight ails going on. The a hole Coot 114.11 wore the appt aranee of one vast fair, alai gave the usual assortment of swings and .boas, black and a hit, corks, ander seven and over hUVCII, hat spiced ituts„ awl pat, sit earl ;-,,,a1 gill;, r beer. (tn gaming , the 1111 l own, the multitudes spread themselves over its antrl, surface t but with little disposition join in thu spous e or to regale themselves with the their prepat ell fur them by the arcommodating gentry we have just referred to, Some sulkily flirt w thenist Ives en tbe grass, and others care. lesaly strolled over the pl.tiii. (1,1 a smiltat a prodigious smoke appeared at a distance ; and the Nivigthise Coeknies began to hope that the sham-C.lkt had cumin:owed. thim II throe g some nnaecountable rirennistarce, they email 1111 i hi at . the Claud' r or the guns from which tht se clouds acre supp-sed to be so. roiled. A very a esn'aite advance took 'flare in consequenee of this conjecture ; a hen it aptfat eil, that sled whi c h had 'wen observed arose I* the (meal:ration of the C ~,,, mon. The fin 2'2 hail been lighted in maay parts by :toys anod others of slat crowd, and airs pr a.utly seen loircritg in all dilutions. '1 he Military Amateurs, it is hardly necessary to state, had soon the mortification of Mobil/ that what they had guessed to he a moo sangiiinary mock-light was talc else than —a buttic of smut c An unfinished mill on the Common had bent' f up mith !wits fur the reception of company to .ce the Review. . few permit's took. poswssion 1.i . 1111,4 cliqated ritual on, %%lime they exhibited themselves for ootts Imo; 4. It was !CVerai ported that this huildinz I ad been tired, and that the ctfizies some puhlie charac!ci - s had Ituen cs'libited and then into the Nantes. There was no truth in this; the mill renosibril miluort, and the ilay ended with the sante trill:11z spoilt< and harmless %at arici with which it C0 , 11111031' , •11; on" a perfect farce celobtated the glorious tia;eily perfulmed ton that day last DR.LILITIC REGIS= COVENT.-G %R)).:\ Saturday night Otway's Tragi,dv of Veq!er Pr.-r-rrrd was peribrmed at this Theatre ; when Mr. Kimble ap peared, tin. the last time this season, in the character of Pierre, and displayed all his accustomed energy. He was loudly and generally applauded throughout. The Tragedy of Pizarro was produced here on Mon day night with appropriate splendonr.—The character of Elrira was sustained by Miss O'Neill.—The killing softness that prevails in this tiateinating actress may not harmonise with the general class of heroines ; but there arc feeling and pathos in E/rira ; and Miss O'Neill gave to her distress a forceful energy that rendered the chit meter deeply interesting and strongly attractive. The part of Cura was well played by Mrs. Faucit, and Mr. Conway was a very effective Pizarro.—Mr. C. Kemble, the original .1/onzo, displayed feeling and spirit, and the Rolla of Mr. Young was chaste and impressive. The House displayed n full and fitshionable audience. Mr. Kemble left town on Sunday morning fln. Liver pool, where he is engaged to perform a few nights in a theatrical career ; after which, and a taw nights more in London next season, he finally retires from public life. • ENGLISH OPERA. The Bee Wee was the second piece at this pretty little Theatre on Tuesday night. Miss Kelly's Cicely was infinitely amusing, and the farce altogether went t with great spirit and effect. In consequence of the horses and of Madame tiapti's re-appearance at Covent-garden 'Theatre that night (fur Faricy's benefit), the following appropriate lines were introduced in the opening Address spoken by Miss Kelly: 6. Forla . sl. no itnimitiitel , to feed yelle hopes— No dancing here of foreigners on ropes— No pl.:wine palfrey. we. from Astley4 stray'tl ; We hope to dinar —will ad the horses aid !" These lines were received with acclamation. In the course of the discussions on Monder, Lord Cas tlereagh observed, that Mr. Tierney anvared anxious for an early discussion, to get ready (as he understool) for a foreign journey. This observation was made in one of the Noble Lord's unlucky moments; Mr. Can. ning that moment entered, and sat down next the Noble Lord.—Mr. Tierney observed, that if the Noble Lord got rid of one traveller, he had assured himself of another. This retort excited great laughter. An article from Augsburgh, of the 28th ult. says:— " On the 21st, at six in the evening, such a dreadful storm from the northeast arese at Gnoldsheim, near Spielberg., that the oldest inhabitants remember nothing so terrible: the hail fell of the size of hen's e=rgs, and covered the earth in many places a foot deep. Birds, several hares, and deer, were found killed ; sheep were wounded in the meadows, and lauurers in the chis ; the w hine laud looks us if it had been trampled upon by games —the trees stand stripped of their blossoms, and brolcn. Not a house in the plain but what is da maged, and tl.e ibjury at Cnuldsheiut alone amounts to above 15,000 florins." 'U. Ili th M roil whi and be in q s.itil eom U , sttil sntv rids, son; gene tient there brgui JUNE 24.