, 1859-07-29

! TO ReT. Moan Hunt SclencE, Rector of Tsinit,
Church, in which that gentleman acquitted him
self in one Of his finest efforts, which our read
es. will thank us for reproducing cniire.
REy. +. H. scnEsck's ADDRESS.
eau scarcely imagine = scene more rep1ett
with the poetry Of real life than this In which
wc ure norW grouped % actors: From the moi y
town we hare cnme ont into the silent wood
ffum cltv Of the living to found a citY for % tbe
| dead. What sadder, sublimer act than this
Sad. because it contemplates our early return II
the dust whence we sprauE. sublime hecause
this proposed garniture Of the grarc, this rnani
ling death with flowers, tells Of the victory over
| the Great DESTROYER and our inheritance in il.
blessings. Yesterday we we're whir'iag along
on the rapid tide OF world-iife, busy with our
thousand schemes for self and each other: TO-
day We stand in in this secluded grove awel in
to silence and solemnity, ~ We witness the firs.
breaking Of the turf which shall ere long root
With verdure the nnrTow house where ourselves
and oil our worldly schemes shalllic How vio.
lent are the contrasts Of our life and Of ou,
work Yesterday absorbed in engagement.
which loos to NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. amoug liz
ing men; to-day assisting ito hew thc
shaft aud lay the architrave'' Of q sylraD
sepnlchre for our mortal part; tomorrow, il
may be. We lie down in some crypt of this ten.
pie Of the dead fot nnr last long sleep. Aud how
contFassed are the thou2at aud feeling Of our
daily life with the reflection and emotion of this
nedltatiye hour, this calm aod mci1nwlnr scene
Away from here, anil our minds are busted cac
one with its own objects Of enjoyment and de-
sire, but here convened, re have q communit,
Of sentiment, fraternising Of feeling, here We
think alike and feel alike, blending in perfec'
sympathy and avowing our common brother
hood, Us We look upon our common destiny and
make common work Of preparing for it. Thr
grare is the greatest OF Jewellers. It is every
man. s Inheritance. The tequest is the sumo tu
the highest and the lowest. Our act af to-dar
IL an acknowledgment Of this, the common Law
OF our mortality. and our identity Of feeling is
but a token Of the identify Of our fate. But t1lr
recognition we now make Of the power Of the
grave. takes away it's terror and pineks out it.
sting. And here behold the moral beauty Of
our present solemn engagement. While We
meet to set rpart these 'roods Of earth" to the
ha'lowed uses Of sepulture, while we thus con
Tess to each other our mortality, and NANTES.
our desire to make dua preparation for the
change which aHats us. VIC ut the same time
aud by the same token make offerings Of sweet
submission to Him who will pnt death under
His feet. and riudicate the dignity mud valos Of
our spiritua1lzed manhood by thus regarding
without intimidation the last great enemy, and
stscwlng With flowers the arena where We are
to engage him-aowers which angel hand. shall
Mreathe into chaplets Of triumph for our brows.
- Auia tHe ofeF-ns5ulnT NA1eS We may befiese
the spirits Of the blest look down upon MS to-
day-if there bc celestial spectators 10 onr SOL
enln exesc'scs-nav, il the eye Of Him who is
touched with the feeling of our infirmities, and
who has tasted death for all men, regards us
now with its wonted lore, will, what added
subfiussty is this act Of conservation invest
ed-with What deepened devotioa should
ened gratitude should we lift them M
to God for the gin Of this Gods acre.
The tustom Of deposling the mortal remains Of
man in the bosom Of the earth, based as it is
upon the decree Of tue Almighty that he are
turn unto the ground, n We may suppose to have
been inauguratcd tu the day when The mans'ed
clay Of Abel Was committed to its parent duu<t.
Wien Abrabam desired . place where be might
burg his dead out Of sight" he not only nude
recognition Of the divine decree, but voiced the
feeling Of our common humanity. Thus we oh.
serve thc command Of God aud the sentiment Of
man uniting in the Institution Of the custom Of
burial It is part Of the curse that after
again with the mould from which they we're
fashioned, and It is no slight alteration Of that
curse that VIC are permitted 10 burg our dead
out Of our sight" and be spared the pancs Of
witnessing the At tresolution back to earih'' The
custom inhumAtion has further warrant in
tue languase employed by ST. Paul to describe
the resurrection Of The body,-in the beautiful
physical lae,-in the illustration Of the doc
trincs and sacrasueuss Of the Christian faith,
and again in the visions of rntmos, where the
Spirit sketches by the hand of the beloved apos-
t!c the scenes Of the general resurrection. But
locking ut the usage Of intcrmcnt from merely
huuan standpoint, We obtain at onca clue to
tue whole philosophy Of the kabiect, by remark
ing that mcu arc wont to look upon tie grave as
n4ercitu!iy yelling from siew the most repulsive
Of the features Of death. With NIL our faith and
all our hope, after all the nedecmer's triumph,
over it, aud all the cheering assur9nccs Of the
Comforter respecting it, death is still tho King
Of Tcrrors. Though we dread not his coming.
and can advance to meet him viii, tue hnldness
Of Christian soldier, still does the anticipation
Of the conflict sead chill through the stoutest
heart, and present appalling images to the most
undauntcd eye. Though man "die the death
Of the righteous" and his departure be as calm
and beautiful al the fadiag Of autumn. there
the Stern agony and the narrow-housc" All
this can be borne, however, and horne serenely.
But thcre are other thoughts clingiug to the
great flct OF death from which the mind strinks
There arc other associations, at the suggestion
Of which we stop the ear and close the crrs
There arc images Of the body 8 dissolution which
pierce with anguish the sensitive heart OF the
mould we make wiading-.hcc and Of the
greenswnrd an impenctrab'c vell. to slut from
sight these appalling sspccts Of death. Down
deep in the grave we lowcr the lifc'ess clay, be-
fore decay has stamped it, while fixed ID our
minds is either the memory Of its lring grace,
or Of tl!at statnesque beauty $50 co'dly sweet,
so deadly fair" in its marble-like reposc. a. to
exclude forever all allassocialionsof darkness and
the wor1n." How wonderful is death. Regard
ed thus in its phy ysical relations, it is allied with
darkness and dissolution, while in its spiritual
relations it seems but the sou,bre ycssihulc to a
gorgeous tcnpls; demanding thick walls of c!ar
to conceal the repulsiyc work Of its hand mail-
ems, aud again standing MS the usher by the por-
tals Of eternal dAv; tearing the fettcrs from the
rrisoncd spirit Of man. and then giving his clay
tenement to the fang Of the spoi!e1. As q con
sequence Of the grusser work of death is the
rHafoaa OF burial, q custom instituted by God
tnost agreeable IL the sentiment Of refined hu-
;nantty-most consouant with the regimen
Of ons moral dc:t!uy, and most suggestive Of our
joint-heirship with the Erare's Great Conquernr.
The ASsory Of burial has nevcr been written.
We hare only fragmentary facts scattered along
the pages Of sacred and rrofane history, In
lliblical and classical antiquities they are colla-
ted, but arc not sufficiently numerous or ins:ruc-
tire to be susceptible Of consecutive or method
ical arrangement. The temple and The tomb
are found among tue wrecks Of every nation,
and By their graduated eostliness always give
evidence OF the stage Of civilization or luxury.
AL the treasures Of art and oputeuce hare been
lu!isaed on the altar aud the urn. This Las
hrld, as well OF those nations which hare made
thu greatest achievements in the elegant arts as
Of those which hare been *unkcn in ba1barism
Whether it be imperial pyramid Or scufpturrd
sarcopha or the rude eairn, each faithfully pic.
tures the mind which conceived the heart which
prompted end the hand whicl, executed them,
Prior 10 the purchase by Abraham 0: the care
OF Aachpelah. nothing is recorded which throws
light upon the history. Of burial. But his en-
phatic announcement Of the object for which
nu desired the possession" is sufficiently in-
dleatiyG Of the general mode of burial in the
pasriarehal age Nay throughout the whole Of
the Old Testament chronicles, we c3u dnd but
two instances Of departure from what seems to
lave becn the universal usage of inhuua.iou,
The ono was the case OF Sau! and his sons,
whosc bodies had probably been 80 vounded in
tue ba:t1e, and afterward in their own net
Of telt-destruetlon. and after death by the
swords Of the ni!istines, as to preclude their re-
ceiving the usual king1y honors Of emba1mmept,
though ne read that after the burning OF Their
bodies, the bones we're gathered aud solcmn1v
corniated To the Garth. Tbs other instance Il
related By Amos, where he describes cremation
Is the funeral rite allotted those who had been
destroyed by the pestilence This mav have
been, and probably IVES but sanitary measure
adopted in view oi the prcraleoce Of The plague.
Aside froc, these isolated instances Ne observe
uniform usage Of intcrment through the whole
course Of the history ofthe Hehrex people. It
was always regarded By them not on'y rs an
act Of humanity but a. n religious obligation in-
cumbcnt upon all to pay hnnors 10 The remalps
Of departed friends, to consiGn to the earth with
decent rites the remains Of the dead, and no dis
grace was considered deeper than to be denied
the tolemnitics Of honorable sepu3ture. The
preparation Of the body for the tomb vas either
nv attainment or br xTutbirr IN I; na,, .rd .rr