Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-08-01
FAMOUS FUNERALS.
How Alexander, Cesar, wellington, Ma
pOieon aud Washington We're Buried.
IRON ne Bofton Idnertiser.

poAooh ana w ahhiHEton were buiieus
From TIE Boston Adpertiser.
/ To philosopher, of course, the dispo-
sition Of the lifeless human body seems a
matter OF small moment; but to the great
body Of the people the funeral rites and
last resting place OF eOf its great heroes
are matters of keenest interest. In view
Of the approaching obsequies Of our own
great national hero, it viii be interesting
to recall the honors paid after death to
the remains OF some Of the great captains
OF history.
Two long years were consumed in the
formidable preparations for the funeral Of
Alexander the Great. Dying at Baby lon,
he directed that his body, which was i'm
mediately embamed with elaborate care
by Egyptian and Chaldean adopts, should
be deposited in the Temple Of Jupiter on
an Egyptian oasis. Undeterred by the
enormous distance, the procession set
forth, an army Of workmen having been
sent forward to repair the roads and
bridges. The funeral car was drawn by
siXty-fOur mules. chosen for their strength
and size, splendidly caparisOned. The
car itself was OF surprising magniticence,
the sp0kes and naYes Of the wheels and
ende of the aXles being covered with gold,
the platform uph0lding royal pavilion
incrusted with gems, supporting throne
and coffin, the latter Of solid gold and
filed with costly spices. But the body
never reached its destination. Ptolemy
arrested its progress and buried IL at
Alexandria, which city may be said to
have itself proved the enduring monu-
ment Of the conquerOr.
Very different was the funeral OfJulius
Caesar. The circumstances Of bis death
were so tragic, ana such enormous crowds
gathered to the ceremony, that they could
not be formed into a procession and the
different classes Of the people were ac-
cOrdingly asked to come together under
their appropriate insignia IN the Field of
Mars. The body OF the great Roman was
exposed lying upon a gilded bed, covered
with scarlet and cloth OF gold, and placed
under q magnificent canopy In the form
OF a temple.
After the funeral ceremonies were over
a question arose where they should burn
the body. Some suggested a temple on
the Capitoline Hill, others the Senate
House where he had fallen. The senate,
less willing to pay him extraordinary
hOu0rs, proposed a more retired spot. The
discussion Was fast becoming dispute
when two soldiers, with drawn swords
and blazing torches in their hands, forced
their way through the crowd and set fire
to the bed. In a moment there was the
widest excitement. The multitude fell to
work directly building the funeral pyre
upon the spot. First they brought fagots
I and then benches from the neighbOring
pOrticos, and next any combustible ma
terial they could find, and at length, as
/ the excitement grew, the soldiers threw
! in their arms, the musicians their instru-
ments, while others stripped down and
threw upon the flames the trappings of
the funeral procession. So fierce was the
I fire that 1t spread to the neighboring
houses, and was only with the greatest
difficulty eXtinguished. AS fitting
monument the people erected to the
mighty Julius" a lofty column sur
mounted by "A star.
Coming down to modern times, the &C
counts of the Obsequies OF the "IrOn
Duke perhaps the greatest ever known
in England, aud the second funeral Of Ma
pOleOn must still be borne freshly in mind
by many of the veterans of to-day. The
Duke OF Wellington, after lying ia state
five days at Chelsea hospital, was borne
10 his last resting place in St. Paufs on a
/ car drawn by twelve horses accompanied
/ by vast military ana civic concOurse,
the latter including Prince Albert, both
houses OfParliament, judges, mobiles, pub
lie bodies, the mourning coaches Of the
Queen and royal family, and an innu-
mersble tbrong of the people.
NapOleOu funeral, as a parade, re-
mains unparalleled in our times. The
cherished remains Of their hero. having
been received by the French from the
English nineteen years after his death, it
was not so much funeral as a vast tri-
umphal procession that followed, during
which all France resOuuded with BOOM
ing cannon, tolling bells and strains 0f
martial music, while the excited people
lined the banks OF the Seine and filled the
air with frenzied shouts and cries and
sObs Of Joy and graduation. The resources
of funeral art were exhausted upon the
pageant, and the imagination is unable to
distinguish the details of procession in
which the catafalque. the central object
of interest, was borne on a moving mound
of gold and velvet drawn by sixteen black
horses and guarded and escorted, it is
said, by an army OF 900 soldiers.
Compare with these splendOrs the quiet
and simple funeral rites of our own Wash
ingtOn, 50 BETTING republican simplicity
ana the character OF him who was. never
theless, "hrst in the hearts of his country
/ men," A gathering of the dignitaries of
/ the neighboring town of Alexandria, with
! the militia and Free MasOns. his friends
! and neighbors, his own war horse, duly
! caparisOned, led in the midst. one vessel
/ in the river hard by firing minute guns,
and the whole procession confined to his
/ own private grounds, where his tomb was
made and still is.