The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1865-11-03
Cemeteries.

Cemeteries.
In some countries the dead are thrown pro-
miscuously together into deep hole, and
there, the prey of vultures and carnivorous
animals, they are allowed to rot till the vault
is full and its inhabitants are turned to perfect
dust, when the bones are perhaps removed to
make place for new generation Of humanity.
This is barbarous.
The old heather mode of disposing OF the
dead was better-a mode, by the way, foi
which the writer always had some respect, and
which, as new fashions are introduced, which
after all, are but the revival Of old and obso
lete ones, may yet be adopted among Chris
tian people. This was submitting the body to
tight furnace and then burning it to ashes.
which were gathered up and deposited in cost
ly Urns to be preserved in the families of pos
terity. This was practiced in the old Roman
States. Ihave myself, on my parlor mantel, an
inwrought earthern urn that contained the ash
es OF Roman child. 1t was taken from the
ruins of Herculaneum. l recollect some
years ago, young man, belonging to one
the first families in Maine, who was educated
at Bowdoin College, and after studying Law
went out to Louisiana and commenced pros
pelous practice in his profession. In early
manhood, he fell victim to the yellow feve.
aud died. The thought of being buried upon
Louisianian soil in a water grave, was revolt
ing, and in making his will, he directed tina!
his body should be burned and his ashes re.
turned to bis fathers family in Maine, careful
ly sealed in a marble urn.
The idea of committing the dead to tombs.
however costly and elegant in their construc
ton, was never according to our taste. There
is something revolving in the lonesomness o
that dark, damp, fetid charnelhouse. 1t looks
like an attempt to defeat the intentions of ma
ture, and natures God, who said to our first
parents,
'sDust thou art and unto dust shalt thou return"
Some would not have it so. They would
have the dust return not to kindred dust, but
to the bottom of vile box. There is no place
SO sweet for decaying body as the bosom O
its mother Earth. Job said, @the clods of the
valley shall be saoeet unto me, Earth to earth
ashes to ashes, dust to dust" The quiet grave
is, according to onr idea, the proper disposition
to make of onr dead bodies In a grave educ
cast and west, six feet long and six Deep" lie,
our humble body find its final resting place
Our burial grounds should be settles of the
'dead,"-that is, the deceased of every tow
SHOULD, if possible, be brought together in com
mon cemetery, and notscattered about in small
yards and private enclosures in different local
ities. Least of all should the dead of familie
be buried on the farms or other grounds
the owner. For time, indeed, the family lot
may be fenced and ornamented; but sool
they will be neglected, and in generation OF
two will be altogether abandoned.
In England, where estates are entailed, il
may do better to deposit the dead Of familie.
on their own premises; but in this coultr5
an estate seldom is kept in the family longe
than the third generation; and then those
who succeed will care nothing for the dust
unrelated generations, and the graves will be
come extinct. l recollect case in neighbor
ing town, where a family, who in our youn,
life, as one after another died, were deposited
In pretty yard on the premises, enclosed b,
handsome fence; but a few years ago, it pas
sed INTO otLer hands, and the new owner, no
caring for the dead, but wishing to occupy ths
yard for agricultural purposes, caused the bod
les of father and mother, several uncles anC
aunts, and nine children to be dug up, deposits
ed in one box large enough TO contain the
Skulls and other bones Of the family, and cart
ed the whole to the town buryhlg GROUND
where they were placed in an obscure corner
without stone to tell who were there. Family
grave yards, l repeat, are of short duration
and it is never advisable to prepare or occupy
them. No. Let call go to one place." as Sol
ONION said; let the inhabitants of every town
have common Cemetery, where high anG
low, rich and poor, learned and ignorant may
rest in common level, and where the inscrip
tions upon the grave stones shall record thu
briefhistories Of all that once were.
Since those beautiful grounds of Mount
Auburn, near Boston were projected, most
of our large towns and cities have provided
honorable resting places for the dead, and ex-
pended large sums in appropriate ornamental
tions. This is as it should be. Under the in
huence of Christian sentiment, the old idei
of gloom is repudiated, and all now is done tt
make the graves of loved ones pleasant ant
hopeful. This is a mark of true Christian civ
ilization. There can be no louder preaching
than comes from the silent repositories of the
dead. They yet speak; and speak ever the
words of truth and soberness.
The Sacred Scriptures generally speak Of
the resting place Of the dead as the GALLEY Of
death. Wales rather than hills seem to be the
most appropriate locations, as here all tenant
are brought low. The valley of Jehoshaphat
which ran, like a deep ravine beneath the
eastern wall of the Holy City, was pierced on
both sides with tombs cut in solid rock, and
here it was privilege for the Jewish people
TO rest at last. l think the selection of level
lands is unsuitable, as these afford no chance
Tor the picturesque. The chief beauty Of
Mount Auburn lies in its broken and irregu
lar surface These give opportunities fol
winding avenues and paths, and cause new
beauties suddenly and unexpectedly to sur
prise tne visitor. The cemetery of any civ
OF Vnlaee should be made the most attractive
place for the living to visit. TRAxT
Mrs. Colby's OPENING.
Led by the impulse which makes one like 10