The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1890-05-23
ECCENTRIC BURlAls
Men Whose Cranlxiness Was Copsn,cr.
Even After Their Demise

Men Whose Cranliness Was Copsn,or
Even After Their Demise.
The story is told of certain Fror,,
man who had been great collector =,
coins. BY his will he directed that ~.
obsequies should be peri, rmed viii
every accompaniment calculated to IN.
spire mirthful feelings. His BODY wa.
to be wrapped in tanned pig-skin and
buried coffinless in standing position
upon pile of charcoal. Laurel branches
were to be carried by the mourners. and
on returning from the church thew wero
to throw open the chambers in which
bis treasures were deposited, and all
corners were welcome to help themselves
as they pleased to the contents. Il was
sore disappointment to the public
however, to find that before thew wera
admitted, the servants of the deceased
had decamped with every thing that was
portable. The wishes of curious cbar.
acter, who was named Hilkington, better
known as Squire Hawley, were fullv
carried out few years ago at place
near Doncaster. He was buried in his
own garden, amid the graves of his dead
cattle, which had been stricken down bv
rinderpest. He was laid out in full
hunting costume. including spurs and
whip, and was placed in stone coffin
weighing upwards of a ton which had TO
be lowered into the grave by means of a
crane. His old pony was shot and buried
at his feet, and at his head were laid the
bodies of his favorite dog and an old fox
All his property was left to his groom.
on condition that these funeral obsery
ances were carried out; in default, the
estate was to go to the priest of Don
caster for the benefit of the Roman
Catholic Church. The groom, however,
did not suffer the bequest to himself to
lapse.-lt is related that certain crotch
ETY. old YOrkshireman, some years since,
left directions that on the day Of his
burial great public breakfast should
be given in the town where he might
die, and that his coffin, slung upon
towels knotted together, should be
borne along by relays of men, and
bumped" three times upon particular
heap of stones, and that the "Lamenta-
tons OF Sinner" should then be sung.
A still more important provision was
made regarding the presence of mourn
ers in the chuchyard. Every man,
woman and child who entered the
ground With or after the procession had
to receive a dole of sixnence Never
before or since, we are told. was that
so full of peop,e.-A Sussex
gentleman, named Jack Fuller, ordered
his executors to bury him in pyramidal
in Brightling churchyard.
His reason for desiring to be inclosed
in stone above ground was his unwill-
lngness to be eaten by his relatives-a
process he considered inevitable if
buried in the ordinary way. 1.-THE
he declared, would eat me,
the ducks would eat the worms, and nv
relations would eat the ducks "A gen.
tleman named Underwood left 5000 to
his sister on condition that she had him
buried in particular fashion. Six gem
tlemen were appointed to follow him to
the grave, where they were to sing the
last stanza Of the twentieth Ode of the
second Book of Horace. Mourning was
forbidden to be worn, no bell had to be
tolled, and no relation was to follow the
corpse. The six chosen gentlemen were
70 be the only mourners. The coffin
was painted green, and the deceased
vas buried with his clothes on. Three
copies of Horace were placed in the
crave with him, together with Bentleys
Milton" and Greek Testament After
supper, the six mourners sang the Ode,
I'll being in strict accordance with the
will of the deceased.-Casselrs SATURDAY.
Tourpo1