Polynesian., 1863-02-21
Ghe Aolpnesial1.
(From the London Review.)
Muinnaics.

An American author has recently brought out
work on what he calls the " "ApOcatastasis or,
Progress Backwards" of the present day. He
pictures to himself the whole human race retro
grading into the gloomy forests aud dank caverns
whence it has been allured by civilization, and
looks forward to future darkening into the black
ness of the old primeva night. We are returning
to the follies which were discarded by the wisdom
of our ancestors, occupying ourselves with ex-
ploded fallacies, and attempting to resuscitate life
less shams, and are therefore degeneratng fast,
both mentally and physically, that II is to be feared
that we NAV lower to the level of the races from
which we have been gradually developed, that
great-grandchdren may become conscious of pre-
hensile tails, and our remote descendants may jab
Der in an articuate tongue among the shapeess
relics of ruined cities. A highly picturesque view
of the wonders that shall be- but apparently little
Over-colOred. 1t may be true that there is q ten
dency stand once more upon the ancient ways, TO
reopen in the palace of art some of the cobwebbed
galleries which science has condemned, and to
strive to peep into the unseen world through
| windows which stern materIalism has bricked up;
but such undertakings are not likely to be so dis
astrous rs to impede the onward march of man, and
to hurl him back into aboriginal apehood.
The custom of preserving the bodies of the dead
is one of the antiquaed hereses which, after pro-
longed liberation, is showing feeble signs of life
and attempting to recover an orthodox character
Little has as yet been said about it in England but
in France and America it has of late excited good
deal of interest, and given rise to considerable dis
cussiOn. There enthusiasts who look forward
to day when every family of distinction will pride
itself upon its store of picked ancestors and there
| are opponents of the scheme, who consider 1t
proof of most dangerously retrograde tendencies.
But it does not seem probable that embalming will
become fashionable among us. A few eccentric
individuals may avail themselves of It's assistance
to preserve the outward semblance of some one
| they have loved or hated but most men would
strongly object, at a time when rents are so high
| to be called upon to find house-room for their an
cestral mummies. We bury our dead, and in
clined 10 get rd as soon as possible OF the disa-
greeable associations connected with their resting
places. The suburban cemeteries afford an inter-
estng lounge to Sunday visitors but the friends
of those who occupy the soil seldom have leisure
to seek again the melancholy spot which they may
have once honOred by their sympathzing presence
1t is all very we'll for benghted foreigners to strew
flowers on the graves of the beloved one, and make
it pcnic-point on stated anniversaries; but we
prefer to perpetuate regret in masonry, and If
our hearts are oppressed with care for the loss of
friend, to rear such mass of marble above his re-
mains will effectually prevent the earth from
lying lightly upon them.
The question of how to dispose of the dead to the
greatest advantage has occupied the minds OF many
peoples, and has been solved in various ways
in their funeral arrangements that has sutflced to
redeem their names from oblivion. In the tribe of
the Arvace, inhabitants of the kingdom of Guinea,
it the custom for a bereaved family to pu!ver-
ize the bones of a defunct relative and mix the
dust in the flowing cups quaffed to his memory
In some countries a mans relations would have
been thought wanting in respect towards him If
they had omitted to eat him when he died, and it
was considered delicate attention to send a small
joint to friends at distance. Such custom may
have been very gratifying to old persons who were
allowed to die a natural death, bot it must have
been very unpleasant for an ancient Sardonian,
who had lived the number of years allowed by law,
to comply with the regulation which compelled him
to invite his kinsmen and acquaintances to come
and dine off him on certain day, and to have him.
self killed and cooked in time for the feast. No
wonder that the difficulty of calling up the
tional smile expected under such circumstances,
should have given rise to the phrase of Sardonlc
grin" But these were barbarOus peoples, and it
is hardly necessary for the most retrospective eye
to study their cadaverous cookery, while the fune
raj records of ancient civilization open to its in
spection. If we to alter our method of burial
we can choose between cremation and embalming.
The former has the merits Of speed and economy
the latter commends itself chiefly to the pompous
mind and TO one that is regardless of expense.
Where burning is in vogue, an entire ancestry can
be contained in one small vault, and there must be
something almost cheerful in the sight of family
circle " safely potted in their urns." But the prac-
tice is not likely to become general. A book was
published not long ago advocating its revival on
sanitary grounds. but do not suppose that its
arguments will result in depressing the shares
of any Great Metropolis Company. We should be
more likely to follow in the track of the Egyptians,
were not the climate against us. 1t is chiefly in
hot and dry regions that the art of the embalmer
has OurIshed. Amidst the burning sands of Ly bia,
- ocC tba alo
who is left by his companions to die and lie unbur
ied is mummifed by NatHre's hands. The next
passers-by find a shriveed image of man, dried
almost into nothingness, and weighing little
the defunct Hannibal is stated by trustworthy
satirst to have weighed. From such fortuitous
specimens of the homo siecus the first emhalmers
may have taken the hint. and have afterwards i'm
proved upon their model until they produced the
masterpieces which still charm the eye Of the pub
lie in the Egyptian galleries of the British Museum.
They appear to have spared pains, at all events
in the case of corpses of quality, and it is not
prising that they should have been treated with the
respect which great ''artistes deserve. No doubt,
they led jovial life, for it is unvaryng law of
society that persons who make living out of their
neighbOrs' dying should be cheerful, if not jocose.
Undertakes are proverbially facetious, and mute
when off duty, is always full of spirits. And, no
doubt, the Egyptian corpse suffers enjoyed them
selves heartily, and even the despised "dssecter,"
whose duty it was to make the necessary incisions
in the bodies, and who in consequence was hooted
and pelted out of sight when his services were no
logger required-even if he had his hours of joIlif-
cation, and il the populace Kissed him, applauded
himself when he contemplated the money in his
chest. The trade must have been the means Of
supporting numerous class. for the prices de-
manded were large. and the subjects operated upon
were many. To be preserved in frst-rate style
would cost dead aristocrat some three hundred
pounds, aud middle-cass householder would have
to lay by more than a third of that sum if he wished
to do credit to his family. But the money would
be considered well spent by men who were con-
vinced that after period of three thousand years
their souls would return to their earthly elements
and start afresh on a new lease of life. II not