Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1854-10-07
From the Hartford Times, August IS.
A CHAT WITH GRAVE-DIGGERS.

In company with some friends from New York,
| visited, a day or two since, the beautiful ccmctry
north of your city, known as Spring Grove. In
wandering over the handsome grounds we came
upon the general director, or grave-digger, seated
on a rustic bench in the recess of the grove, and
engaged him in a little conversation. lie appears
to be something's of a character in his own way,
and his observations were not without interest. 1t
appears he has been engaged in his present bust
ness for a great many years, and he has buried his
thousands. | asked hin if he did not find the CT
(ccts of such n life to be a gradual hardning of the
Elmer feelings" of his nature?--a slow process of
dulling or bunting those scnsibil!ties which are
naturally excited by contact with scenes of death
and the moving exhibitions of mortal sorrow and
suffering? Well, he replied, us for that matter, !
was once asked the same question by a good old
lady, (whOm | have since buricd.)
She thought it must make me better or worse ;
and | said to her, "Marm, there is but one thing
that can improve the heart, ond that is grace dirine.
Now you seem to think thee is only one 6uuying
for u man to go through with after he dies, but the
fact is he is ticice buried before | bury him. First,
he is Tail ont in his grave-clothcs, and that is bury
ing him once-ain't it? Then the unde1tdker comes
and performs his office, by properly placing him in
the coffin. and then he is buried tDtce. After that,
! simply bury the coffin, and see nothing more
shocking or decorating to the feelings in that, than
in the two previous Offices which have been per-
formed upon the body. ! wish always at the grave
all done up properly, and this work takes mp my
mint, so that have no time to indulge in grief,
or hearken to the promptings of any special sym
pathy.
This was putting the subject in rather a new
light, simply because (%pcrhaps) it was viewed from
u new position,
You seem to Tore money yeti" said l 'notwith-
standing the daily experience of yourj life gives
proof that you, too, must 90 the way of the thou
sands you have put under ~ground-and that, too,
before many years have passed over your head. |
sec you are absorbed in calculations of profit and
loss in these grave lots"
Yes, it is easy to preach, but | find few to prac-
ticc. Wasn't 1t DR.. Franklin who said that it is
easier to teach ten thousand men the right course,
to pursue, than to be one of those ten thousand
yourself? lie was always saying some good thing
or other. ] observe that men always love to taH:
about the folly of loving money, but ] haven't yet
met with any that seemed to lose the desire to drive
a good bargrin even in grave lots. As for me, |
barely make out to get along"
A remarkable fact was told me by this expert
enccd grave digger, i'll relation to the deaths occur
ring III Hartford. lie said that although the
foreign population of the city numbered consider
able less than onefourth Of the rest, yet the deaths
among the foreigners actully outnumJered, year by
year, those of the nativo-born nhabitants--th
heaviest per centage Of mortality being among the
Irish population.