The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1876-03-10
BURNING THE DEAD.
he 1IortHH RcmaIns OF n Scientific Gen.
tIenam Disposed of by Cremation


Times, writing from Milan, Italy, says !:
II The latest sensation here is genuin
, case of cremation, which occurred at on
, of the principal cemeteries in Milan Las
, week 1t appears that wealthy Germa
gentleman named Alberto Keller, VIII
resided here for many years previous t
his death, was strict believer in tn
theory of cremation, and in his will pro
vided that temple of cremation shoul'
be built in Cemeterio Monumental
l(where he had previously erected hand
some family tOmb), and presented to tn
city of Milan; and that when it should
be ready for use his remains were to b,
crenated therein, and his ashes to be de
posted in the family tomb.
4 About two years ago Mr.. Keller badC
adieu to things terrestrial, and his body
was ambalmed and consigned to the vault
underneath the tomb. Shortly after
ward experiments were commenced by
Messrs. Clericetti and Polli, system
was invented which was perfected, and q
a temple of cremation was built in the
cemetery.
The building is a miniature model OF
the ancient Roman temples, and stands
on q piece of ground about fifty feet
square. Fifteen solid stone pillars, about
eighteen feet in height and two in thick.
| ness, placed ina circle, support dome
shaped roof, which is in turn surmounted
| by the figure of an urn. In the center,
reached by four or five steps, is a large
stone sarcOphagus, some seven or eight
feet long and about three in width. On
| each side are three rOund black marble
slabs, on the center one of which is q
| white cross. The slab at one end acts as
door, being moved up and down by in
| visible machinery. In the interior of
| the. sarcOphagus are large f1tmber OF
| iron ribs extending from one side to the
other, and uniformly curved downward
slightly in the center. Underneath this
| gridiron arrangement is platform of
| iron, from which projects forest of gas
| burners. Along the sides OF the recepta-
| Gle, just above the iron bars, are rows of
round, knob-like buttons, with hole in
the center these are also used for the
issue of gas -iets-the total number OF
which in the sarcOphagus amounts totwo
hundred and seventeen. The force of
gas employed, as well as the machinery
which opens and shuts this Ponderous
door, is controlled from small back
building some ten or fifteen feet in the
rear of the edifice, the connecting ma
chinery being under ground. On the
front of the temple, under the dome, is a
tablet with an inscription, of which the
following is translation: Cremation
Temple, donated, at the desire of the
noble Alberto Keller, to the City of
Milan"
After the completion of the edifce the
inventors experimental upon the car
cases of dogs and other animals, for the
purpose of determining how great de-
gree of heat and what time were heces-
sary to consume human body. Every
thing being in readiness, last Saturday,
the second anniversary of Mr.. Keller 5
death, was fixed upon to practically test
upon The remains of the founder the puT-
pose for which the temple was erected.
On that day at two o'clock the inventor
of the system, accompanied by some of
the relatives of the deceased, the princi-
pal municipal officers and a large num-
ber of scientific men and journalists, rer-
resenting the principal cities of Europe,
assembled at the Keller tomb. At two
o'clock the body was taken from its
casket i'm the vault and placed in a thin
wooden case which was covered with Il
black cloth. The features Of the corpse
were as natural as on the day on which
it was efltOmbed, two years before. Pre-
ceded by the clergyman of the Evangeli-
cal church, of which Keller had been a
member, the body, followed by the rs
sefhblaee, who had gathered to witness
the Ceremony, vas taken to the temple
of cremation, which is situated near the
rear wall of the cemetery, IN Conspicu-
Gus position, and can he seen from any
point of the grounds, which are perfectly
fiat and unadorned with shrubbery or
trees, the want of which is made up,
however, by come fine specimens OF
sculpture, surmothtiBg tombsand graves.
On arriving at the mausOleum, the cier-
gyman in attendance made lev re-
marks, during which the body was de-
posted in front of the scarcophagus. In
his address tina reverend gentleman said
that the ceremony of cremation was not
against the accepted forms of burial; in
that ft'rm it offered an example OF the
feeting existence Of matter, and In the
action of the destroying flames might be
seen the symbol of the soul that, hberat-
ing itself from the body, flies to heaven,
purified and immortal.
At the close of his remarks signal
Was given, the ponderous door OF the
sarcOphagus disappeard downward, re-
vealing the gasjets burning family in
the interior-a mass of fire. The re.
mains of Alberto Keller were raised and
slid into the sarcophagHs, resting on the
grid-iro The heavy door rose up
again as if by magic, and settled into
its position. The gas was turned on to
its full force, and the body was submit
ted to q temperature of over ] 900 grdd',
or something more than 1000 degrees
At,. al ms
of Alberto Keller were being subjected
to the process of cremation, Professor + 3.
CoIIetti of Padua, to whom belongs the
honor of the victory of cremation reform
i'm Italy, addressed those present. At
the end of three-duarters Of an hour the
gas was extinguished, the inventor re-
marking that the remains of Mr.. Keller
were then reduced to ashes. He added
that thev would remain until the follow
| ing day in the sarcophagus, at which
time thew would be transferred to his
tomb. The assemblage thereupon slowly
dispersed, and the temple of cremation
was left in solitude and silence. Next
day the sarcophagus was opened in the
presence of one or two relatives of the
| deceased, and his ashes collected and
placed in a white marble casket about
| the size of a lady's work-basket, and
placed on a small altar facing the door
of the tomb. On a tablet underneath
the casket is the inscription, " Cenert d
| Alberto Keller" ["Ashes of Albert
KeIler."7 The grated iron door of the
tomb offers a full view of the interior
| which is handsomely decorated witt
flowers, ETC., and the tomb, which is ii
the Protestant portion of the cemetery
is daily visited by numbers of curious
| Milanese, who are desirous of looking
upon the receptacle of the ashes of one
who has been the originator of an epoch
in the civilized world.
| BROwN PAPER AND HAVANA CIGARS
1t is stated that not a steamer leaves
| New York for Havana that does not take
out from 1000 to 5000 reams, or in oc
casionaI instances as high AS 81, 900 reams
of coarse brown wrapping paper. What
this paper was used for was for lonf
time a mystery; but it has recently beer
revealed that it enters into the manu-
facture of "pure Havana cigars" Ii
is said that when saturated in the jnic'
lr-