The weekly Mississippian. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1859-1864, 1860-03-14
For the Mss,ssgpian.
MATTERS AND THINGS--No. g

f cemetery. BY an Ordinance, passed August
10th, 1881, 1t is provided that the revenu
raised from the appointment Of a Sexton ''shaI
be considered and held as a fund, exclusiyeir
appropriated for keeping in repair the Buryinj
ground of said city, &c.; and for the plantin,
of ornamental trees therein; so as to show a
all times, the most solemn respect and atteu
ton to the mansions Of the sleeping dead -
This duty has been omitted in the past by tht
embaTrassments of the city. None existing
now, | see no reason why the requirement,
of the Ordinance should not be enforced
would therefore recommend that the Treasu
1er keep separate account Of that f!nd, ans
that it be expended in the manner specified
and for none other under your directions.
The Mayor who had the good taste anl
courage to write thus is deserving of praise
for it requires a certain courage in public Of
ficer to recommend laying out the public mo-
ney for purposes of mere adornment
Without question, the graveyard is the true
test of the character and refinement OF the
citizens Of the place to which it belongs
have seen this idea expressed before, but it is
not the less true for not being original. For
instance traveller stops over Sunday at one
Of our Southern towns or villages. To pass
time after Church he loiters to the grave yard;
for cemetery to stranger with its inscrip-
tons on the tombs and slabs is history of
the town; book of biographies, In an
| hours ramble among the graves he becomes
acquainted with every family name in the adj
joining village; he understands their position
by their titles and costliness Of the mQnu-
ment; he is admitted into communion with
all their domestic woes! He reads how one
little boy named Henry or Charles was drown
ed, the only son of his widowed mother, and
known little fellow is awakened in his bosom;
and he reads the little verse which affection
has placed beneath his Lame with sorrow al
most equal with that of the mourners who
had stood by the side of the grave
Another record tells him how two little i'll
fants (twin>) died the same day and were bu-
RED in the same grave with their young moth
er! At another head stone he reads how the
man who lay beneath had fought brayely in
the war with Mexico, but contracting disease
came home to die beneath his natal roof And
so he walks in and out among the green
mounds becoming each moment more AMI
more familiar with the village history. Then
afterwards as he walks along the streets and
reads the signs over the doors, he knows al
about the owners, he knows who has lost
father or wife or brother, for he has seen their
names on the tonib-stones.
No place, therefore, can be so interesting to
a cultivated stranger Of a reflective turn Of
mind as graveyard; and certainly it ought
to be avorite and loved resort OF the c.ti-
zens who feel that "the dead still live and
that their memories should be freshly preserv-
ed on earth.
But vixen the traveller finds that the crave
yard is ssl oil field or worse -stil', hes been
fenced in and improved, and is now open TO
cattle, its fences broken, its walks overgrowr,
its graves matted with briars and Irambles,
and an air of neglect and desolation pervaIes
the whole place, with what answering desola-
ton Of heart must he turn away and leave it
with a sigh, for of all desolatc and painful
looking spots on the round earth is q neglect !
ed and hroken-down graveyard 1t sends
shuider to the soul, as the shocked observer
says to himself suppose I were to die here
in this town and be laid in that fearful place,
which looks accursed of both God and man ~
As he seeks his hotel and sees the giided
signs of gay widowers over whose sunken |
graves the COWS are browsing from the weeds,
and passes the richly dressed lady on whose |
old mothers forgotten grave SOW is wallow- |
ing; or beholds the stately mansion with its |
well kept front yard of the man whose son Or |
father, or brother is buried in that "Acaldema |
of neglect" he must form very severe judg- |
ment upon their personal characters As he !
observes.the citizens generally we'll to-do, the |
corporation composed of men who are not |
savages, he feels that such a cemetery is want |
ture and deficient in the qualities OF head and |
heart that ought to belong to a community OF |
gcnteel christians. He will leave that place |
with an i'll impression of it and OF its people, !
best house in it as gift The horror Of such |
desecration of the dead would haunt him -
But if he finds neatly fenced and kept grave |
yard, with weeded walks, pretty but not ne
cessarily expensive grave stones, well kept |
with flowers growing at head |
and foot, and trees shading the resting places
of the dead, and an air of taste and refinement |
parvading all, he is avorably impressed with
the character of the people. He feels that the
amenities of social life are cultivated by them:
that they are happy, prosperous, moral and
christian.
Unqpssfl6kbiy the character of town is
writer Iin apppcarance of its cemetery. Gar
dens, frdt Tards, may be well kept; but if the
keeper and owner neglects the graves of his
dead there is something "rotten in Denmark"
And who should do this Who should
look after the burial l-places? The corporation
ifitis able. But corporations shave no salls"
and generally consider their part done when
they purchase and enclose the ''lot" with
common feid-ferace. Perhaps they think the
city or towns money ought to go to improve
the streets, walks or squares? These, there
fore, aesthetics" should be the part of the cit
izens A club of young men should raise
r.. tba Il-S aY,1 cntO
trees, and then the ladies' should combine to
plant flowers and otherwise aid with their
good taste. If dozen or twenty of the rich
er citizens can be made to unite and put up
handsome fence SO much the better.
Whatever be the mode, the grave-yards
should be improved and made the most beau
tiful resort of the citizens-some villages have
no other resorts for qaiet recreation. Heavy
fines ought to be inflicted on all who deseerate
acemetery once put in order, and every citi-
zen who has q friend lying in it, or who eX-
poets to lie there himself one day ought to
consider himself one Of its protectors.
If what have said will result in the i'm
prpyement of our grave yards, (some OF which
are disgrace to savages,) will be gratified.
But let there be no spasmodic efforts not car
ried out, as of late in one or two of our towns
where year ago great stir was made about
improving the graveyard. public meeting
called, speeches made and committee ap-
pointed who - did nothing. u.
DRArH OF J. r. STRoTHER, Esq-We re-
! gret to announce this morning, the death of J.
R. s4other, Esq, which took place at his re-
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