Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1883-05-24

ia sxna haar ARe3 nealh hsahaal
lssg.kl hsa rrs ~rn ! -. -.
l. NOst people unasrstand lkas kair
does sometimes grow after dsas bat
there are perhaps few NE kh0wtlia
thsrs u . EuzF cQnzidsFnhlaer0mth
- leAse one-thira ef tha eases. whsrs
bodies are inferred in the usual, man
ner. A story was told bvl L Wide
At a dinner party IN New s6rk which
Illustrates this face rNhsu Gahriel
Dante. hOess&ti was eSeEy yoaaar-
scarcely more than : boy--aaid Mr.
Wide. Ske was deeply in love. with 3
youAg 0iFl. and. having = noE rifi.
be szfi l6k8 = -
nets and NeSsss - her. ealslse - 4
yonngs and By her wish. the ularu-
scripts Of these poems were placed ia q
casket and laid under her head. 10
that even in the last sleep they
should be, As they always had been.
kept beneath her pillow. Years pass
ed by and Rossettis fame grew until
every line of his composition became
precious, and some Of those who priced
his writings most asked him for copies.
OF the songs that had been buried.
He had kept no copies, or they had
been lost. AT all events he could fur
nish none, and when they asked him
torewrite the verses he declared that
he was utterly unable to do 80.
At last his friends importuned him
for permission to have the original
manuscripts exhumed. He consented
after some hesitation, and all the ne.
cessary preliminaries having been COM
piled with the grave which had been
sealed for many years was opened.
Then strange thing was found.
The casket containing the poems had
proved to be Of perishable material
and its cover had orumbled away.
The long tresses Of the girl had grown
after death, had twined and inter
twined among the leaves of the poets
paper, coillng around the written
words of love in a loving embrace
long after death had sealed the lips
and dimmed the eye that had made
response to that love.
TfaF
There is nothing improbable in the
story so far as it relates to the physi-
cal phenomenon. That hair grows
after death is too we'll established a
fact to De challenged, and is readily
enough to be understood by any one
who will give even little study 10
its formation. it being an appendage
to the human form, aud not strictly
speaking, a part Of its~It might in
deed be almost called friendly para
site.
A well known New York under
taker said: "A gentleman who had
lost his little boy FIVE or six years be-
fore came to the establishment WHARF
| was working and said he wanted
the remains taken up and carried to
Boston. He had moved 10 that city.
where he had lost another child, and
his wife was anxious that they should
both be buried in the plot he had
bought in the Laurel Hill cemetery.
This gentleman was anxious to see
for himself that everything was done
right, and went over with me to
Greenwood. We had buried the
child and there was not any trouble
about finding the right grave and the
right coffin, but he was nervous about
it. He insisted on having the coffin
opened after it was taken up and
seeing for himself that there was no
mistake. had il done, and as soon
as he saw the body he said I knew
it that isn't my boy. His hair was
cut short while he was sick, and look
at that ] In this case there was a
rather unusual growth. / should say
the hair was foot long. In cases
where the body has been buried
good many years-say a hundred
years-the hair is sometimes found a
yard long on a mans head, and much
longer, OF course, on a woman'A."
Another undertaken said that he
was employed at one time TO remove
a great number of bodies that had
been buried in a cemetery which had
been sold. They had lain undisturb-
ed for an average Of about twenty
five years, and in nearly one-half the
cases the hair on the heads of the
men was from foot to foot and
half long. In cases Of women il was
evident enough from the arrange
ment Of their hair that il had grown
a great deal after death. There was
no way, so far as he knew, Of deter
mining what causes the difference be-
tween cases, some hair growing and
other apparently not growing or only
growing little, but he said he be-
lieved that in cases Of fever there
was apt TO be such growth. a
1t might be supposed that If a post
mortem growth Of hair Il az common
as has been indicated mention of the
fact would have been made in the
accounts that have been preserved of
the remains Of noted persons after
burial but the only instance that ia
recalled is that of Napoleon /. OF
him it Is said that when his BODY was
removed from st. Helena 20 France il
was found that the hair had erownto
q great length.-New York Herald.