Weekly Trinity journal. [volume] (Weaverville, Calif.) 1857-1972, 1864-06-18
Respect for the Remains of the Dead.

1t has been the boast of the rebels at the South
that aristocratic institutions, such as slavery in
America and monarchy in Europe produced Il
greater humanity and refinement in the upper
| classes than more republican forms of Govern
ment. How superficial is this gliding of civil
cation may be best judged of at times from the
respect shown to the remains of the dead and
the treatment of prisoners of war, especially
the former. The inhuman treatment of those
who fell at the first battle of Bull Rum the sub
sequent brutality displayed, not by private indi-
vduals officers, but by the authorities at
Richmond, to the remains of Colonel Dahlgrcn,
have only been matched by the newly discovered
atrocities practiced by the royalists in 1914 on
the remains of those originators of the First
French Revolution who lie buried in the Pan
theon and said to be by the permission di
recton of Louis XVIII. 1t seems that the pro
posal was made lately to restore Voltairc's heart
to his other remains in the coffin that was sup
posed to contain them. On this proposal being
agitated it found that tradition existed
that neither his body nor that of Rousseau really
were in their supposed resting places, but had
been clandestlnely elected, as orignators Of the
revolution, and thrown into ditch near Bcrcy-
where is not known-and now it never can be.
But the fact is said to have been verified by
search that they not in their collins, which
thousands had supposed when they have made
their pilgrimage to this shrine.
William Shakspearehad inscribed on his tomb,
three hundred years ago: or near it
Blessed he the man that spares my bones:
Hnt cursed be he that moves the stones
And his remains have been respected to this
day, and lie in their beautiful resting place at
Avon. To disturb the bones of the dead from
love and vencration of their memory is not it
seems to us, a desirable mark of respect usually.
But to subject them to indignity, in hate and re-
venge, is weak, poor, pitiful, and cowardly
that no revenge should be permitted to follow
even the worst beyond the grave. Yet so it is,
that the more absolute and tyranncal the Gov
ernment the greater the tendency to pursue its
victims with brutal indignitcs to the dcfenseess
corpse.
Arnold. of Brescia, who, in the midst of the
dark ages, established a republican government
in Rome itself, when at length captured by Bar
barossa had his body burnt by his enemies, and
the ashes thrown into the Tiber lest his remains
should be worshipped by his followers. But the
dust thus scattered has been washed to every
shore. 1t has sowed itself seed along the
coast of Italy especially, and now after eight
hundred years it lives and grows and spreads the
love of liberty and republican institutions thro'-
out Europe.
1t was Herod the Great, the most exccrabe of
all tvrants, who for the treasures foolishy buried
with the long line of Jewish Kings, violated and
riaed all their scphulchers and then erected
monument of expiaton to their memory. Within
a few months Frenchsscicntifc expedition has
succeeded in uncovering not only parts of the
old foundations of Solomon's Temple, but at the
tombs of the kings in discovering the monument
thus built by Herod and one tomb of the royal
line that he had failed to discover or had spared.
When opened the savants succeeded in obtaining
Just one moments view of the royal corpse,
buried there perhaps three thousand years ago,
in all its state and magnifcence one moments
view, and then on being exposed to the light and
air a single uuiyering motion was observed and
all sank down into an indistinguishable mass of
dust A Hebrew inscription, however, of the
most ancient period was discovered and brought
to Paris, and is about to be published. 1t will
probably throw much light upon the formation
of the ancient as distinct from the later square
characters in which the Hebrew Scriptures
now written and printed Philadelphia Ledger.