Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1857-10-22
For the Chroni Gle.
Early Interments.
Oh, hurry them n OF so oon away,
But lOnse keep the pallid clay;

But longe keep the pallld ciayi
spark of fe may linger there,
Still feeding the vital air.
Why is it that We follow up the danger
Gus custom of early interim Why give
our dear ones to an early tomb. Past ex-
perience has long since demonstrated that
is the oniV infallible sign OF
death Then why not keep them! why
not let then stay with us till that unmis-
takes place.
Who does no, shrink with horror at the
thought OF being entombed ali,e! Con-
sciousness awhile suspended, but to return.
and find yourself shut up forever from the
pure air and light of day. no alternative but
to submit. Placed thus, too, by those ou
love, perhaps your dearest friends. Oh. the
agony OF those waking moments. Or, per-
haps, conscious all the time, but incapable
of the least motion or faintest whisper,
though hearing ard knowing all that is said
and done. Such was the situation of one
who was found in The morning in bed, to all
appearance corpse. They arrayed him
for :he tomb; they placed him in the coffin;
his friends gathered around to take a last
look, and take a last farewell. The lid
closed he was borne away and placed above
the yawning tomb. The minister raised
his vuice in solemn, brief address, closing
with "dust thou art, and to dust thou must
return" He felt the coffin lowered the
earth falling th"k and fast upon him. What
think you were his feelings now! The per-
spiration was LoZing from every pore. A
silence at length, which lasted he could not
tell how long. 1t seemed sges, but it was
broken at length, and listening eagerly, oh,
how eagerly, he ascertained that the earth
was being removed from over him. Hope
sprang airesh. "Can it be (thought he)
that my frien Is suspect the truth" But
strangers voices met his ear; he was rudelv
thrown into a vehicle, and hurried away to
dissectiug room. The students OF anatomy
assembled and concluded to apply the gal
vanic battery, for experiment or curiosity.
A few shocks aroused him from his trance,
when res'Orative5 were Immediately appli, d,
but he was weak as a newborn infant from
the intensity OF his suffering. ] would not
wound the ieylngs of any respecting their
departed friends, nor open anew the sorrows
OF the bleeding heart, but for The pre- moni-
tion of the past, the daily dangers tha; at
| tend us.
Never can forget the thrill of horror
that chilled my very hearts blood, few
short years ago, when a number of grage,
were removed in certain town, not thirty
miles from this, when it was said that al
least a third of the corpses were founC
turned over on their faces, particularly those
buried during the raging OF the cholera.
have my information from an inhabiiant o
the tewn in which these removals tool
| place.
In some Places the hair was torn from
| the head, and the shroud rent to fragments
The strug lie must necessarily be briee; bu
who who can paint the agony of those few
short ;nomentsl
This is no IDLE vaguery Of the mind. but
sad reality, drsN n from the story OF tn
past, and imprinted on the tablet OF memur,
| in ch racters never to be ased.
Why is it that such solemn waenings pas:
unheeded by! Why is it that tie danger
Gus custom still prevails, notw ithstandin!
the evidence frequently presented Of tn
uncertain signs O. death!
Think of the risk vou run in Interim
your dear ones SO soon. Can YOU not assig
them little space in your home, at Iva
until their pr seHce becomes a. source q
real annoyance, in other words TIL decom
> position unmis akeably takes place. HO,
much better this than the sad reflcctiu
that you, perhsps. had buried them to
suDn.
Why i, it that so little is said and wri
ten on this subject! Numer aus facts migl
be collected and presented to the public ey,
show ing The danger which lack of cautic
OF early iaterment incurs. Would it nC
be proper, Mr.. EdiIer, to collect some fac;
10 keep the public mind aroused On tn
subject, and elicit information to set th
unwary on their guard Oh this all momen,
Gus subject PRUDEECE.
Der If 1897