The daily critic., 1890-09-05
HUMOR IN GRAVEYARDS
CURIOUS EPITAPHS ON TOMBST0NES
IN THE TYR0L.
The Records Not Always UompIi-
mentary, but Houest-Bad Poetry
ana Ingenious Inscriptions Of
the Mountaineers.
IRON nl london Eraai1o standard.

from ne Lordon Ercnin0 Standard.
In miniature volume Of epitaphs
and inscriptions recently published in
LEIPZIG may be found some curious and
amusing epitaphs, The result of Ludwig
Won Hormann's gleanings among the
Tyrolean Alps burial grounds. Here
it was the custom formerly, we are
told, to inscribe the age and initial let
ters Of the defunct on one Of the planks
Of which the bier was constructed; after
the funeral this was placed upright, or
sometimes laid down, in any frequented
road, generally, however, one leading
to the churchyard. Now, the grave
board Is specially constructed by the
carpenters Il is usually
OF PRIMITIVE FORM,
on which the inscription. the cross and
different illustrations are roughly
painted. The same may be seen in
Upper Bavaria in the Western Alps.
and notably in Salzburg.
The following epitaph Is from the
first named locality, and Is written i'm
verse in the original: MY child was
rosebud, and would have become a
rose, But death came to smell the per
fume, and then It abode no more on
earth
The three we next select are less
POLITICALLY conceived, although the
rhyme is duly observed in German.
Here lies buried the respected maiden
N N, who died in her 18th year. lust
when she was most wanted.
"Dost thou see any difference here
between the rich and the poor 2'' the
passer-by Is asked In the next one;
probably he has often put this same
question 10 himself. but Il may be
doubted especially II he were In
contemplative mood, If he ever framed
so concise an answer as the one to
hand. Death makes all equal: to day
red, tomorrow dead Not every
healthy person Is necessarily red but
the poet sacrificed both sentiment and
eXactitude to
THE ENtGENC1Es OF RHYME.
In the third example the contrary
Is the case, however; rather than be
found wanting In the latter virtue the
writer preferred TO add an extra line TO
the verse: Here rests the blessed N.
N, who, In this rose garden, Is waiting
for her parents; but not only for her
parcnts-for the whole parish like.
wise ~ Yet nothing could be more en-
phatic and sad than the following cpl
taph, dated "ObcrgestGien, Switzerland,
Feb. lS, 1920: 'Gott What mourning
Eighty eight In one grave 20
We come now 10 q few specimens of
scpulChral lore which are decidedly
more graphic than pathetic. In the
original they are nothing less than
humorous, both I'm conception and In
the conscientious struggle to maintain
the rhym az all costs The first eX.
ample like many others, indeed bears
no date "Here lies inferred our organ.
ist Why Because he Is dead. lie
praised God at every breath; the stone
Is above and he underneath Another
organist Is favored with, Here lies
Martin krug whom children, wife and
organ schlHg' (thumped) The birth
and death of another individual Is thus
recorded and lamented "Achl achl
ach, here rests Herr Won Zach he was
born at the Bodensec and died Of
stomachache For summarizing, the
author of the following inscription de-
serves mention; "ln life, red as a elm
nabaT, In death white as chalk; died
October II; buried on the 10Th. In the
next the writer does his best to explain
the inevitable, although the epigram
itself Is slightly confusing; "Herc lies q
young Ochsclein, the son of Carpenter
Ochs; the Lord did not intend that he
should become a big Ochs" tOX). A
certain Herr Bot Is recommended to
mercy In a style which Is somewhat In
dependent: Here rests Hippacher Bot;
take pity on him, liebeF GOtt, even as
HippaCher Bot would remember thee,
liebeT GOtt, If you were IIippacheT Bot
and he the lieber GOtt" This line OF
argument recurs frequently In the
TyTolese burial grounds,
The following, on a carter who was
killed accidentally
CONTRASTS PLEASANTLY
with the foregoing The way of
eternity Is not al an far, he left al 7,
and al s he was there" One who fell
down a precipice has his tragic end Inn
moTtaliZed as follows Here the butcher
Prantel put on his death mantle; a
heavy fall was that, for man with go
years at his back.
An inscription over the grave of a
married couple states first: In this
grave lies Anich Peter, his wife they
buried later; they laid her next 10 him.
Ii Is then asked maliCiously "But will
he now enjoy everlasting peacef A
WidOWeT, who was glad 10 be relieved
Of the company Of his better half, eX-
claims Here, God be thanked, is my
wife inferred, who quaTTelled daily with
me therefore. good Lord, keep far from
this grave, lest she get up and quarrel
with Thee
Two accidental deaths. caused by a
thrust from a bullock, are In each case
recorded with Christian gratitude for
the result The first one reads And
he measured seven feet God grant him
everlasting peace; aB unfortunate bull
thrust sent him 10 ne abode OF the lust
The second by a poke from a bull 10
paradise / came perfOTCe ! turned pale
and bad % leave my vile and babes
still, ! gained eternal rest through you,
you brute, you beast " InuumeTable
are the
COMMEMORATIVE ROAD TABLETS
with illustrations that make ones hair
stand on end, Of the countless accidents
which have occurred in these mountain
GUS regions
The descriptions Of the accidents have
also their peculiariies witness the fol-
lowing w lat has the Lord done with
Ignalius2 Just now he looked az his
brother and said Run quickly after
your hat otherwise it viii be carried
away with the wind Aud Us lie spTang
after the hat-no fence protected the
edge of the path-he fell below on TO a
stone. His head came in two, no brains
were left in probably be was already