, 1873-02-02
OUR DEAD.
guriaI Customs Considered. ancient AID
Modern Usages Compared.
The Evils of Present Custo1ns
Weighed.
A Better Method suggested-'-choreh
Tombs, Evening Fu-
uerals, Etc.

Tombs, Evening Fu-
uerals, Etc.
How few there are among ug who have not at
sone time heard, With grief-torn heart and tear
R1led eyes those solemn words OF the burial ser
xica Man that is born Of woman ID OF few
dayB, and fun Of sorrow." -
Some one near and dear to us has ceased to be,
md there Is m untitled void in our hearts which
eaams to Us unbearab1e. LIES discipline at
-s,ch times is hard, and We bow to, OF rebel
.psinst. the decree according to our natural ten
dercies. Many Of us in bitterness Of spirit feel
for tho time that it ia 81 hard to forgive God 81
mighty, while others, with more patient en-
durance, with the faith that, whatever they may
ha forced to suffer, !" He doeth all things WE'LL y
accept the torture, kias the rod, and, believing
tbst He loveth whom he chastoneth," find the
sublime courage to say, "Thy Will be done-'
The perfect one is gone, for the dead alone
bAyo no faults; so one might well wish to pre-
cede his friends into the Silent Land, that he
might be canonized by memory, who, as soon as
animate becomes inanimato clay, makes saints Of
1.-THE sinners, forgetting the evil, and remember
Ing only the good. Who among us does not think
nj his dead as being tho best, the wisest, the
&raest that ever lived, though, when living, their
.$irtues wore unrecognized, and they were not
found too good for human companionsLip2
Still. after having built his temple to Time, the
Comforter, who would raze it to the ground to
e1ect one to Time, the Restoror2 We find that
our lives go on, that the daily tread-mil OF e1-
istenco never stops, though mortal fal e1-
hsusted from its wheel, and that death docs not
esuee even momentary cessation OF the compli-
rased machinery, however much We may wiah
shat it would. On we so, fitting ourselves into
new grooves, filing up vacant spaces with what
ever presents itself, until We, in our turn, drop ont
pf humnnity's ranks, to have our places filled by
those who follow ua. Many and various have
heen the
CUSTOMS OF DIFFERENT AGES
and countries respecting. their funeral rites,
but from the earliest records we find the burla!
Of the dead and tho adorning Of the place OF
sepult1e assumed paramount importance. Tho
Pyramids and Catacombs Of the Egyptians, with
the care they took in embslming their dead,
hhow the respect in which they held theirs. The
Hebrews mourncd in snckcloth and ashes, rent
their garments, tore their hair and lay prostrate
Gpon the ground, demonstrating their sorrow by
An excessive show OF emotion which hardly
seems compatible with our modern ideas OF in
tanse grief. That they considered it desirable
matter to be properly inferred is evident from
Ehs interest which they took in preparing their
sspulchres, and the fact TINT they denied the
sites Of burial only to the suicide, and not to
these unfortunates AFTER sunset
Tho Crooks buried their dead with many cere-
monies. and their poeta assumed an existence
beyond the grave, but gave women small hope
II Immortality. though, arguing from the finite,
bnp can hardly imagine q Paradise Of men, as
terrestrial settlements Of that Kind have usually
appeared to contain more Of the elements OF
P.ndemonium. They placed 30 much stress
upou the bu1ial rites that one could not utter d
moro awful imprecation than to wish his enemy
might die without nortuary houo1s. Inc ho-
nans were not behind tho Greeks IN the oolem-
nifty and imprcssiyencss Of their funeral cereno-
pics. Burning the bodies Of the dead became
IN universal custom among them prior to the
UnriEtian era, but fell into disuse after that
dmo-
Ha7ing thus seen with what solemn consider
stiop tie ancients viewed all ceremonies con
nected With the final disposition OF their dead,
It is not strange that we Of modern date cling
with tenacity to the customary usages pre-
Bcribcd by society as being suitable to proper
fnter7ncnta. During the few brief hours that
Ee have them with us before dustis consigned to
dust, Nemesis recalls to us every hasty word,
erorv uukind act, which seemed go trivial at tho
time, but which now we would gladly blot out
forever, and which 1eadsus to lavish On the uncon-
cious ciay q wealth OF affection and remorse
which, when seutlent and appreciatlye, it may
have pined for in vain. too late to be OF any
avail and though, as we advance u n LIE, We
learn the stern truth that all LIES favors
come too late; that what We want most only
reaches Us when wo have ceased to care for it;
and that the highways of human existence are
6lled with individual ruins Tl1oge rehabilitation
Is impossible, simply because the necessary
mental OF physical requirements we're not Tocog-
nized and provided for in time, still, it helps
rs little IN those first sad hours Of bereavement.
It may be well for us that We ere thus at times
brought face to face with our own lnefhclency;
S at least while our that midst, sans' pes esfy
personal feelings are set aside, and, like 0apulot
md Montague, we bury our old aDimosities in
the graves Of our mutually beloved dead. Argu-
lug from individuals to nations, ls there no les.
son to be learned from this2 In mutual grief
oTer the slain in our own late War,-in mutual
honor to their remains,-may there not spring
up mutual forbearance and renewed trnst2
Decoration Day, when friend and foe, who fell
eide by side in battlo, arc, itEespectiye Of sec
carry floral tributes to wreethe their fombs, will
probably do more toward uniting the 6ympathies
Of the people and burying the hatred Of war
than any political enactment, however wise it
might be. --+-.
FORM AND CEREMONY
would, therefore, seem to be u desirable thing
Khen applied to mortuary rites, but when cus-
tom leads us to carry these matters to excess
then it is time for sentiment to yield to reason,
and the fancies of the few be opposed By the good
Eenseof the many. In taking practical view Of
city funerals, we are naturally led to consider
them from financial point The cost may he
ya1ioEsly estimated, as, from the pine coffin OF
tho paupcr to the magnificent burinl case Of the |
ratrician, there ere many grades OF the rari- |
GUS receptacles for our mortal remains, The
average cost Of burial is probably about e75, and
t. t. rapidly increased BY additional carriage hire.
The rites vary for the different cemetries. q.
single vehicle costing from 50 to $40 in propor- |
ton to the distance it has to go to the cemetery.
This brings rs at once to the point which we t
Tiat to criticise, and that is the stereotyPed
custom Of - -. 49,, |
=. ~.Tm FUNERAL PROCESSION Il
70 what must be in cities distant places OF inter-
taent:, That it ia to be condemned for many |