New-York tribune., 1874-05-18
LETTERS FROM THE PEOPLE.

A WOMANS ARGUMENlS FOh
AN APPEAL TO woMEN-TIE suBJEcr FROM THE
POINT OF VIEW or sENTIMENI-CREMAii01
SUGGESTIVE OF PURITY.
To the EditOr OF The Trfbuns
SIR: Let women hear what may be said py
woman In favor Of cremation. Passing by the various
practical arguments often advanced ask you' III,
sisters, to look at the proposed reform from the Po
OF sentiment only. We have all OF us been ihournoi'
Cannot each recall the woeful sight OF an open s,"
and how the sound OF falling elods seemed 10 renu o
hearts those nights that followed so slow TO wane
when the heart wandered beside the lar OH hlloch'
have not the arrowy winds and all the fury OF tenn
pests appeared to be directed 10 that one spot anu
determined to reach 1t through your preast'
Did not the quiet midsummer heavens thein'
selves remind you with pathos unspeahaoo
that the vast solitude OF that blue dome was all tna'
she tered the grave whose memory renamed WIN !ou
awaysi After rains, has not the clean, damp odor Vi
the soil struck you with certain chill sense OF noi
rorf do not mention the still more painful Thoughts
for which you reproached your Conscences ideas who
you drove from you in dismay because they disiuroou
your reeollections Of beloved form, with their 'u
portrayal OF corruption and ACKNOWLEDGMENT.
will only ask you, Shall not pity the little chi
dren now gathering about US as We summon up thosc
past memories still forever present and know that
we choose we do much toward abolishing the Gus
tom which causes such mental anguish
An especial type OF sorrow has been our portion be-
cause the faces we kissed the hands we clasped the
forms loved, were laid in the grave before our
yearning eyes. Faith taught us that they ehangeu
Science demonstrated how, and by what means they
altered: doubt permitted u.s. In the nope Oh lo
Resurrection. endured this painful KNOWLEDGE
patiently, although called upon to submit TO IL ior
months, for years The blessed moment never came 10
us when our tired thought could rest and we eouIu
say with certainty: 1t is now well with the body; u
also has reached repose the forces OF nature disturb
it no longer It is dust" For nature works 30 Slowly
that lives brief In comparison
claim that this long-sustained uncertainty Is hot
necessary. No command concerning 1t was ever
issued from Divine source without reducing the
magnitude of the wonderful miracle Of the future
Resurrection-and with ofense to our faith the
period Of sorrow for the body can be abridged Was
intended, think you that grief for the mere flesh Should
long embitter minds and clog our spiritual asp
toward the departed soulsi II now proposes
reduce the human frame at once to ashes by the ad
OF natural element pure that 10 Is the chosen SYM
Dol OF the spirit both divine and human As e is the
chastener of the soul, SO shall death become that OF
body which shall ouy be touched by, and assocateu
with the pristine purity of flame; ~ ,.o
You Will perhaps say & 'ne poog Srp must ~ pr
formed by natural agencies" Ia return, ask yon
IS not ours the courage which accepts as prelel pe
able the sharp, instantaneous shOcki Is 1t not COM
mon thing for to say, What comes at once comes
wellf" shall we not agree TO the shortening zen oi .,,e
and Othersl Will it not be relief to know that the
sion OF foreign agencies is impossible ! IL Is an ac
knOwedged fact that sex dread the plyscal
exposure attendant upon the dire necessities OF
illness. This screening of ones person actually ana
Ideally a common instinct with us all, hgh or low
Shall, then, lovers. parents our friends ass0-
cate the outer expression Of sOuls-the 0odY-wth
corruption dslonOr, and creeping tmngsi Shall the
little tender children shrink aIghed from our graVesf
Shall those far from be familiar with our memo
res holding such ideas in connection with us! Do you
say IL matters little after life is cXtnctt An! you I'M
pngn the deahess instinct of purity Though some or
us hold creed which declares that the soul * needless
of the fate of Its earthly dwelling pace-wl they even
in the future contemplate such possibilities We're this
"hOy dust" reverently placed in tombs sanctncd by
the same religious rites customary were crema-
ton once protected by the flaw and sanctioned by the
church. there is capable OF attacking IT'S pro-
pnety
may mention, in favor OF cremation, that many cer-
nizc approve it, My desire has been wholly to show
upon aesthetic grounds also advance many pleas
upon basis Yet should not venture to claim
your attention these solely meet on the
higher ground Of right and wrong. You give the ma
tlon tone this reform be proper one, sup
port itl III the opposite, overthrow IT, but reflect ex-
anime act You not requested To speak, write,
lay open your hearts 10 the world where instinct
warns against it, but is IL not "A duty bestow
fleet unbiased judgment, let silent
beliefs do their work. For all these unspokcn
yctions your nature inspiring encouraging, reward
ing are guardians of your hearthstones the mai n
springs Of society. and the germs OF your chldrens
future.
Nele- York, May 10, 1874.