The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1890-12-11
RAHlGES or TIME AVERTED.
LIT Of EmbalmilC 10 bs Supplanted BY
q New Process.
Dipped In . Metallic Fluid and Pre-.
served In an EnVelOPe That Exc
aetlY RePrOduees the Image
81 the Dead Person.

e~ag1SSs ~ was UNI AZ ANAO Suo(9 WhCAC
attempts were made to keep the remains
nicely preserved, and these attempts were
almost always defective and the result
hideous, % that the faces Of our beloved
deadonly vaguely preserved their natural
features.
Embalming at best is in reality only q
vain stimulation, no matter how much
care be taken. Embalming merely de-
lays the gradual process Of decomposition.
Antiseptic substances injected into the
arteries Of the cadaver do not prevent the
tissues from softening, while the skin
contracts and blackens. '
In the majority Of instances the features
Of the dead are SO changed In q few
months as to be unrecognized by the
nearest relatives. Indeed, 1t is only the
bony skeleton, constituted Of mineral sub
stances, that escapes the work Of destruc-
ton for even reasonable length Of time.
Such embalmed bodies are usually con-
signed to mother earth-a pasture field
for the microbe and poisonous germ-for,
as II by secret instinct, no one dreams Of
daring to open the caskets in which our
dead sleep their eternal sleep.
As regards embalming, We are far the
inferior Of the ancient Egyptians, but our
modern DR.. VarlOt, a young hospital ply
sician, well known for his daring and
original researches and scientific expert
ments, now proposes to revolutionize the
undertakers' business. Thanks to Var
lots method, bodies need no longer be
embalmed, but are now metallized. II
we may judge by the specimens placed
in our editorial hands, and which are
taken for metallic casts Of bronzes by ex-
perts, Varlot's work is incomparably per
feet. His metallized bodies, one tragic
head in particular, with grand forehead,
large, open eyes and finely formed lips,
equals the most effective work in artistic
bronze we have ever seen, while q new
born babe seems to sleep like an angel in
glowing metal Of rarest gold.
There is nothing horrible about this
metallic body preserving. The dead in
their realism resemble chaste and beauti-
ful works Of art, and 80 exact Is their re-
semblance that photographs en- relief
bring out the slightest details as to mus
cular projections, and all the curves Of
real anatomical beauty. The very luster
Of nails and the softness Of skin seems 10
be perfectly preserved. These metallic
bodies are exact copies Of the modern
realistic school of sculpture, 30 great Is
their perfection, and might serve when
preserved In the nude for ornaments for
the porches Of Gothic cathedrals.
It's hard matter 10 make one believe
that such artistic productions, such mag
niicent statues, are cinerary urns and an
thropomorphous sepulchers, containing
in their interior the organic remains Of q
human being whose heart once beat with
q million emotions, and whose flesh once
trembled at the contact Of a passion, q
being that once breathed, vept, loved and
suffered. 1t is electricity, that marvellous
agent, which produces such effects; 1t is
that miraculous agent that performs this
seeming miracle. We can now metaIlize
bodies like we plate spoon, q medal, q
piece Of jewelry, q leaf Of tree, o flower
or q butterfly.
The body to be metallized is immersed
| a- a T.