The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1850-06-21

the remains of strangers. | will not here
depict those revolving details which would
best illustrate the subject. l will merely say,
in general terms, what viii not be cOntradcted.
In the language Of the Special Committee Of the
Common Council of New York, on the subject of
inira- inerments (after speaking of one of the
large grave yards Of New York, } the coroner said
that his investigations resulted in the discovery of
trenches, about 100 feet long, 20 feet deep, and
7wide. Into these trenches the collins are placed
in layers, and not covered with earth until the
trenches are filled Hundreds, if not thousands. Of
these collins were exposed TO public view. This
took place above the ground, and was easily wish
bic but what takes place below the ground evades
the public eye The close prox imiiy OF co'fins, the
tiers above tiers, the strata of the dead the heart
less ACKNOWLEDGMENT of bodies by the spade OF the
digger, as new abodes are excayated Tor the recent
dead, the breaking of collins, the intermingling OF
the remains of different individuals, the imsossi-
! bty, after few months, of telling where any par
ticular body sleeps-if sleep 1t may be called,
amidst such disturbance and unrest, the inability
of ever removing any remains, for want of dentiti-
fcaton these and other details the secrets of
| the grave, which are seen only by the eye of the
grave digger, and are not bazoned TO the public.
| Nothing is more self-evident than that there can
be no security for the dead, in crowded and grow
ing towns-for in all our cities it has become al
most daily witnessed spectacle, TO see grave
The or digging of cellars, or by other crcumstan-
ces incident to the growth of population.
VIII not dwell upon the subjects for there IS
nothing so shocking TO the sensbilities of Chris
/
outrage on the human form-a form made in God
image, for whom the Son of man suffered and
died, and which he will one day clothe with i'm
mortality
But these worse than barbarous practices are
fast giving way TO the spirit of humanity and reli-
gion men are beginning TO learn that if they
would rest quietly in their graves when life is over,
| they must make provision for a sepulchre while
| living Hence, rural cemeteries are being laid
out and embellished in every part of the country.
The laws of the different States throw their protec
tka fhax
be assessed for taxes nor sold for debt-they can
not be disturbed forever. The great lesson is at
last being learned by christians which the Savior
taught the world 1900 years aoo--that the body of
man is sacred as well as his soul, and that Christ
! died for both. This ennobling and sublime revela-
ton of Heaven adds to the form of the poorest and
obscurest child of earth, dignity which was
never conferred by princes-and sacredness
! which should shield IL from PROCLAMATION.
! Like the other sublime truths of Christianity too,
i. appeals to mans better nature-it is adapted to
| the highest and most earnest aspirations of the
human soul for, amidst the suferings and the sor-
| rows of EARTH who has not sometimes, when the
image of death came full the vision, sent forth
| from his weary heart a sigh for rest, which the
poor, broken hearted Henry Kirke White breathed
in those touching lines, where he says he look
| ed on quiet, rural spo-
| Here would wish to sleep. This is the spot
Which have long marked out to lay my bones in:
| Tired out and wearied with the riotous world
1t is a lovely spot The sultry sun,
| From his meridian height, endeavors vainly
To pierce the shadowy foliage; while the zephyr
| Comes waiting DER the gently ripping stream,
And plays about my wan cheek"
Here are the dead respected The poor hind,
| Unlcttercd as he is would scorn to invade
The silent resting place of death. I've seen
The aborer returning from his toll,
Here stay his steps, and call his children round,
And slowly spell the rudely sculptured rhymes,
| And, in his rustic manner, moralze-n
And what spot on earths green bosom wakes so
many tender and holy feelings, as sweet land
scape garden, where the dead are so peacefully
sleeping the last sleep! 1t dvess death Of all the
false and consentimal terrors with which we have
clothed it. IL spreads over the tomb the gorgeous
and cheering drapery which was flung, by the
his brother man; and, looking up through its glo-
rious foldings, we
"Sce truth love and mercy in triumph descending
And nature sll glowing In Eden's first bloom
On the cold cheek Of death smiles and roses are
And beauty, immortal, awakes from the tomb
If, then, the Bible be true, and the creed of the
| Christian came from heaven-f this mortal shall
put ON immortality-if over the tomb of man Christ
/ hath inscribed these words, "lIe is not dead but
sleepeth; If the Saviour hmse Ii was buried in the
garden, and angels were sent as sentinels to pro-
ttct his tomb, why should not we initiate that
touching example, and guard the sepulchre of
friend with vigilance, and ciothe il with the vest
menis Of beauty. If death be the gate TO heaven,
why should we not adorn il with flowers 7 The
greatest Of highlands Lyric poets in painting the
land Of the blessed, has borrowed all his imagery
from Hebrew prophets
oh Nh. ;n 40. .s.s,g.,sss r.pturOus scene
And rivers OF delight"
"There generous fruits that never fail.
ON trees Immortal grow
And rocks. and brooks, and hills, and Wales
With milk and honey flow"
/ confess that neither from my experience, my
observation, the Christian faith, or the prompings
OF my own heart, can draw n single image Of
gloom that casts shadow over rural cemetery.
To my fancy, il is " place of sweet recreation 10
the medtatve soul these sacred enclosures, where
faith. with her white wings, may sit broodng with
eyes full of prayer; and where hallowed sanctity
shelters in her arms 30 kindly the departed IL is
poor and pi:iful alarm which hovers over many of
our brightest moments like phantom Of coldness,
and darkness and torpor Let Us have everywhere
places where the living may come and commune
with the dead-list to their solemn voiccs-heaTken
TO their eloquent tones with benedcton and soft inn
ploTation. Let their earnest calls teach us TO
plume our souls for flight into the sweet celestial
country. With velvet verdurc let the green hills be
crowned, and the pures flowers breathe forth their
delicate aroma, and Let there gather here all the
/ lavish decorations which art aud nature can skill
Z fully weave together. Here let the sculptor bring
his classic gifts. ard call from the marble forms
hsrmOniou. thoughts divine. Then tcndefly will
lie the silyery shadows ON The green homes of the
dead--cioud nantes Of ineiiabe lustrc, woven, as
If by hands invisible. The bright sun will glance
smilinRly amid the polished statues. la moonlight
eve, the air will seem vocal with echoes from the
unseen land. Hearts once filled with life, tuniul-
iuous, and heating with hoPe, then viii speak, in
the quiei OF death, To living hearts, and teach this
great lesson that they truly lave, while We are the
shadows Of the echoes"
These beautiful grounds have been dedicated.
and they are hereafter sscred-bui the work OF
conservation will go on for agrs Every heart
that comes here IN sadness. 10 commit the form Of
n cherished ols 20 the earth, will make the spot
siill more holy. Every sigh Of sympathy and tear
Of sorrow vill impari irrsh conse cra,ion--for,
where n human being has breaihed a hope or
prayer, CT wcp', or loved, or suffered. the SPOT
where he stood becomes sacred. Long after we
are gone this future city of the dead will be
visited by our Successors and To these holy mounts
fud wales viii lc borne. enc by one. the good. the
brave. and the beautiful.
lIithor viii come the venerable pastor 90 lay
n fallen sentinel cf the walls Of ZION, and
inscrits on his tomb these inspired words. " know
that ny RcdeemeT lycth." And IN this kinly
earth will the young mother lny her sweet babe
with many ears, and over IL little monument write,
"Of such l. the kingdom Of Heaven - ami che viii
hing the earliest spring flowers o. plant over It's
Al A. ...sfl .l..