, 1874-07-26
THE DISADVANTAGES OF DYING

| hA,
pleasant event to tho individual most conca-n. =.
but the tendency Of the age is to render it evse
day more and more uncomfortable proceedia.
Modern Inventions and discoveries ars ,.n;s,'
making existence enjoyable. Such phrase. y
the "burden Of life," "s1e rest of the rr,.. =
etc., originated in the days Of our graud1,ths,,.
and grandmotaers. No wonder mans lifa ~. =
burden before tie advent Of steam plovs. n,ts,,
| thresheEB, railroads, water-worka Gas. ctr ~
wonder women sighed for the 'trcst OF thu pr,-
when nseWlng-uachines. carpet-sweepe1s, c]othaz
wringers, elevators, speaking tubes, and dn,.s
walters Hero things Unknown. PerLans Il ~.
just as we'll that our grandparents we1o res;on,, :,
| to die. They stood in the way OF the "msrrt =.
| improvement" Does any fanatic sunnooa ~.
| grandfather would have listened to the xea,ha.
| department, and lof. his new-moun hav =. -
mercy of the gibborish OF the sicrsl-aer,;aI. ~
Docs any woman who Keeps green the memo,-..
her grandmother believe the old lady von]d b,,.
tolerated for one moment the idea Of ready-u.d.
underwear, or condescended to belic7e that h,,
aged feet could bo warmed over Patch of b,.sa
| iron set in the floor! All no! To intrrd1..
modern improvements it is necessary to d;snoSs
of our grandparents. But We Of to-d,v ~ e1
troubled with preju dices. Our only tronhis ~. !.
thst inventions do not come fas. enough. Te,a.
graphing is too STOW for US. We demand nner.
matte tubes. Tho modern correspondent fnd,
even postal card q weariness to the flesh AM
yearns for the advent OF writing machinea thu
ho may dash OF his cpistolary sen.
timents as rapidly and gracefully and in mnrt
the same style rs the pianist executes his fants.
sizes. Truly, tho world is growing too con-.
Portable place to leave.
Perhaps the one thing that coDduced most Ia
orr f1rnflt hnrk' fnslrnn.inr n v,. ~ -.
possession OF what they termed q
FIXED RELIGIOUS rA1Tu;"
though how there could be T. faith that want
fixed Is q problem. In those days orery hornv,
h1nded old farmer went down to his grave ~.
pect1ng good long sleep in that narrow bed.
rouaing reueil,e from angelic bands, = miraculous
reinVestment Of his soul with his recreataI
body, 4 sudden growth OF snowy rings frpm
bis labor-howed shoulders. = long, white, flowing
robe. crown upon his cafe-turrowed brow. xnd
o harp in his stitf fingers. By scno curious
mental PROCESS, he Was firmly persuaded thai.
without changing his earthly identity in I'D
least, he who didlFt know one note from another
IN this world would be e:ernaliy content tn
twans . harp in the uo1t; and the honest son Of
the soil, to whom oven white shirt was Sun
day martyrdom, deluded himael into believing
bis eternal happiness was partially compEisea
yestment. But absurd as the;r b..
lief Was, they at least believed SONG
thing. and mans happiness depends u1uch On
his credulity. Modern scientific discoveries and
modern theological Investigations have alimi-
mated the old articles OF fath aud fail to eiya m
new. Science scouts at the idea Of tbeo souls Il
ever 1epossesaing its human body, and p1oyea
that the atoms which go to the compoaitioa OF
one mans anatomy have descended to him from
past generations, and will be ueel o7er and oyer
again IN the economy Of Nature in the building
up Of physical forms yet to be. or course, Il
that be true it alters. the nhole case. No we'll
bred man-pot to sny ChTistian-would boein
the first thing On Resurrection morning Ia
make fuss about such trine' as his own par
tlcuIar body. Moreover. thore is r.aYe doubt
as to whether there would be matter enough to
furnish bodies all around. Now. only cons1der
in what fo1lorn plight that leaves one! Wns
can, without shiVer1ng, conceive Of himself az an
impalpable intangible something Of no particu-
lar form? Even the doctrine OF transm,eraton
has, in comparison, au cndearinc air Of fam1i-
iarity. Who would not -rather Be- clothed upou
with the warm animalisu of donkey even than
to be resolved into d disombodied intelil.
genca visible only to spiritual mediuns
aud liable at noy moment to be shut in tHo
by any closing door, or to ho walked through by
any sentient creature7 Then. too, so long as i
man is lyingthe Law looks after linn; but let hun
once be unfortunate enough to die and he ia
AT TIE MERCY OF spm1run1srs
Any 1ong-haired, hollo.-eyed, ycllov-skinned
medium who chooses can publish over the dead
mans signature any amount OF posthumous
twaddle, the utter lnanity OF Which it hath not
entered into the mind OF uou-mediumistio man
to conceive, and the departed haa no redress.
No lifelong reputation for reticeDca can avail tha
mediums victims, and We may even expect =
speech from Grant when he shall have eona
we'll, wherever ex-Presidents do 70. Rut eTen
that ia not the worst that may befali the de-
parted Let no man tlatter himself that bis
inyipcible rcpueuauce to having his ur,inesu
perpetusted on paper shaIl save fis homeiy
phiz from the ridicule OF uosterity. His cred
a1ous aant from tha country can invest 4
3ollar at any spiritual photographers and eat I
cloudy picture whore ailigent search maT dis-
:o7er human fnce amid mass Of drapery. and
n this guise he will go down to posterity.
Every man ought to consider it as much bis
luty to leave good photograph as wiu, and
20 checkmate those imposters, spirit photog-
aphers-
Once upon time the
READING OF oSE's OBITUARY
Eoo1d have been 3 pleasure, md happy was tho
nan whose escape from premature burial en-
blett him to indulge in the rare pastime OF
,orusing the worlds final verdict upon him
>ut noW-a-day mans reading OF his own ob!tu-
~ would kill him il nothing else lad. No
ongar does the blessed veil OF silence hide ali
he errors and failures, and oven the crimes, Of
he tenant OF the grnve- The biographer's mis-
ion to-day ia not to gid but to tarnsh. When
Ibraham Llncoln's wonderful life came to be
Eritten over, what part OF it d,d public
pinion wage the hottest fight i? Over his lard
Iuggle for common education over his re-
rr IaY1*i irFt III