New-York tribune., 1879-12-07
QUEER BURfALS.
BITS OF oUToF-THE-wAY LEARNING.

From The Qneen
Under the date of June 81. IN that odd repertory
OF out-of-the-way leaning Cbambers's Book Of
Days." find curious facts concerning
burials IN unconsecrated ground. As the book IL not
IN tie hands OF everyone, cannot do better than
present our readers with "a brief summary OF SOmo
of the principal cases recorded
The first is thar of modern-lookmg altar
tomb built of bricks, and about two feet and
half high standing on the dreariest spot Of lonely
foOtpafh that leads across the fields from small
HertfOrdshIre Village, called flannden, 10 anofner
yillage-name not gwen. A large stone slab sets
forth that this tomb is sacred to the memory of one
Mr.. William Liberty, who was buried here ~ ID.
I777 by his own desire. and TO whose remains
were added those Of his widow Mrs. Alice Liberty.
deceased thIrty-twO years later-namely. IN lSOJ.
About mile from Great hssenden,
large Buckingi1amshre village. stands queer
looking building-a sort OF dwarf pyramid
which IL locally called 'Captain back
houses Tomb 1t Is built Of iints. strength
eued with bricks; It is about eleven feet
square at the base the walls up to about four ~
live feet are perDendicular. then they taper pyra-
midio ally but instead of terminating IN point.
Hat sab.stone, about three feet square. to'ms the
summit" lt Is covered with ivy. and has two small
Gothic windows to tue north and south. lt was ths
tomb Ot certain Mr. backbouse, who Dullt IL dur
ing his lifetime. III have nothing 20 do, said he,
with the ehnrch or the ehurchyard Bury me
there. in my wood on the hill, ana my sword
with me, and III DEFY all the evil spirits IN exist
ence TO injure ne He died at tue of eighty, ON
the 2lst Of June, $500, and was buried. or rather
deposited. IN the queer sepuichre he himself bad
erected HIS sword was placed in the coffin with
him. and the coffiu reared upr ght within niche Or
recess IN the western wall, which was then buut up
IN front, 80 that he WAS IN fact nRnHred" seven
wears later hls son, LIeutenantGenerai BackhOuse,
took the body tr0m the mausoleum. and hld 10
buried IN the churchyard at Great Missenden, along
with other decent Christian folk.
sir James lille, who died at his place, Pentilly
Castle, Cornwall. was buried by ais own wish under
"a tower OF Summer-hOuse, where he had passed
many joyous hours with his friends. baronet
of some military fame, who died in a midland
county, 1928" ordered that his body should 90
covered with a sere-cloth, and buried without
coffin, IN particular place In the park; ms grave
10 be sown with fine acOrns. from which the most
promising plant as TO be selected, " that after
my death my body mag not be entirely Useless. but
may serve 10 rear good English oak" be left q
snail legacy to his gardener o see that the plant
is well watered, aud kept free from weeds HI,
friends buried him in the churchyard instead Of
the park but the acOrns were sOwn as be desired.
and on his grave now stands hne oak tree. Bask-
ervIlle. the famous printer, II said 20 have been
buried by has own desire under windmill near MS
garden. He died IN l775 samuel Johnson not
tie lexcogranher but a dancing master IN Cheshire,
who died IN l773 was buried IN plantation form
of the pleasure grounds of the Old Hall. at
GawswOrth. near Mscclesheld. HIS grave-stohe Is
yet 10 be seen. A farmer named lrgg. Of steven
age Herts. directed his body 70 be inciosed in lead
and deposited In the tle-beam Of his barn, where 10
may still be seen. And another member
of this odd sect of what We may call
anti-churchyard interment " rests On a table IN
the Summer-house belonging To a family residence
in NOrthamptonshiTe.' thomas Hollis, gentle-
man of considerable property, benevolent and
eccentric, warm liberal and as religious as liberal,
tell dead in the field where he was directing his
pl0ughcd over so that no trace of hrs last resting
place should be found He was buried az desired.
MIR. Booth, OF Brush House. in Yorkshire, was
buried IN his shrubbery; Dr. Kenny. physician nc
Newport Pagne, Bucks was buried IN his garden
on a raised plot Of ground surrounded by small
fence: and lhomas Withcrs an Opulent German,
who died IN 1913. was by his own direction buried
" beneath the shade of his own trees, aud IN his
own ground" fine old fellow, one Faithful, a
shepherd in the parish Of Aston Clinton, Is buried
in lonely spot on the ChllteTns. He had been ac-
cnstomed to lead his fcek To tins high hilltop from
buried where be had sat and medltated for 50 many
years. They did he desired. and aid hIm beneath
the turf, which they then cut this epitaph:
Faithful lived and Faithful died
Faithful ii,s buried on the M side;
The hill wide the fields surround,
In the day of Judgment he'll D. found.
farmer and his female servant lost on the
moors near Hope In Derbyshire, were buried m the
peat where they were found. Iwenty-nne years
after. their graves were opened, and their bodies
found in perfect preservation; and torty-hve
years after they stlll fresh before HOwei
Sele was buried in the trunk Of tree by NadOc,
the friend and companion Of owen Glendower,
Howels cousin and murderer. The oak was ever
after called HOwels Oak and IS still pointed out
TO strangers-bnt wheref Our Book OF Daysv
generally exact speaks only in this broad and AIRY
manner; but it would be interest ing to know the
exact spot II by chance one should pass that way.
made his fortune by the manufacture Of iron. de-
termned that his body should be encased by his
favorte metal when be died. In his will be directed
that he should be buried IN bis garden. IN iron
coffin with an iron monument over him of twenty
tons weight and be so buried within thirty
wards of his mansion of Castlehead- He had the
coffin made long before his death. and used TO take
pleasure in showing II to his visitors very much 70
the horror of many of them. He would also make n
present of iron coffin TO anyone who mi ght desire
TO possess one. When lie camo 10 be placed IN his
narrow bed 1t found that the coffin he had pro-
vided was too small 40 he was temporarily Inferred
until another could be made. When placed In the
ground second time. the coffin was found to be too
near tine surface accordingly lt was taken up, and
an excavation cut in the rock, after which it
buried third time. On the Castlehead estates
being sold in 1s2s the family directed the conin
again To be taken up and removed TO the neigh
boring chapel yard of Lindale, where 1t now les"