The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1895-01-17
on tho morning OF tho tcsnrrec,ion, but
somehow i had not caught them up to
tho ;imo Of my visit,

on tue morning OF tho resurrection, but
somehow u Ind not caught them up to
tho tmc Of my visit.
AS.RxANrLr or ST. LOUIS PREJUDICE.
Tho stiiols, in apologizinS for tho
somewhat remote location OF their In.
s'itution. spoke Of tho prejudice that
had denied thcm n sito either In tho
Bel tontaino cemetery, whore thoy
wished to Greet 1t, or oven, close By 1t,
or, indeed, at two or three other doair.
nblo sites that they had selected aud
actually bought, and suecessivelv boom
Obliged to resell. Theac projudices wero
partly religious and partly sanitary, and
yot mother OF thom, "a, they claimed,
had any foundation or justification In
common sonse or ancient experience.
They listened with much interest to my
recital OF my explorations In the famous
Columbarium on tho AppiRu Way ncar
Rome, wheto several pcrsons OF tho
household Of faith named by Paul In
his. letter to tho Romans were found
carefully urned In ll!tlo iars that stood
In tho reco,ses OF tho walls--notably
the romans Of Tryphena, Hermes,
Tryphosa aud others who wore sup.
posed TO belong to tho imperial house.
hold Of Ccaar. They had all boon Gro.
mated aud thore Is, no evidence
that tho practice was iben
looked OH with prejudice or dia.
favor by tho early Christians. Indeed
nearly everybody, except those rich
enough to afford tombs, were cromaled
at ono time In Rome. Then camo tho
Catacomb ora OF tho city. when it was
the fashion TO use tho long chamberod
underground recCsse, outside the walls
That present such CHASTITY sights Of
grim skeletons to-day. As between
mummics In Egypt and skeletons In
Rome. the argument 10 decidedly with
tho cremationists. a nice urn duly in.
scribed Is decidedly ploasanter TO gaze
upon than even well wrapped mummy
or n hideous skeleton. Still, for all this,
It is evident that cremation Ia not ye,
popular, albeit II appeals strongly TO
tho slender resources OF tho poor rs an
economical disposition OF their dead.
Dr.. LIE Noyne used to invcigh against
costly funerals and costly cemeteries rs
conspicuous part OF the conventional
machinery OF our civilization, TINT ex-
tortcd from the poor.
MODERN CREMATION gxcgIDlSoLY SlMpLg.
The modern method OF cremation Is
exceedingly simple. Let mo in few
words describe the modus operandi at
the St Louis crema.ory. There is au
upstairs chapel in tho building that
contains below the incineratinG iurn-
aces. There IL platform for the
preacher md an organ for the choir,
and seats for the family and friends in
the body OF tue house. There Ia in the
mids. OF this small house sort OF cata.
falque, or rather caskes shaped heAree
$50 to speak, covered with black cloth
and opening at tho receiving end with
double door Just like a hcarse. Into
this receptacle the coffin is showed. the
doors closed, and as lar as the family is
concerned this i, tho END OF the funeral
outside OF the services. While tho SER
vices arc In progress tho coffin noise
lessly desceuds OIL the elevator on which
il rests 10 the furnace below. and there
tho body is taken out OF its caske,.
hihppCt - FAbulhkCN GULL,
placed on an iron rack that is showed
on rollers into furnace heated like
that historic one through (which the
three Hebrew salamandroids passed,
several degrees above average, and by
the time the last word is said upstairs
the body is well on its way 10 complete
reduction to it, pound or two OF re-
siduun. ITO this complexion must we
come at last" whether by this process
or the slower one OF decay, and BY
either process the earth and the. air get
exactly that portion OF the human body
that belongs to them. So that as re-
CARDS "the morning OF the last day" 1t
makes no sort, OF difference which pro-
cess is employed. 1t does seem. how.
ever, to make some difference TO our
Imagination as TO whether we 20 into
an urn or rest in the companionship OF
the dead in cemetery. AMI could not
but observe that my friend, the elder
Stitel, had erected splendid granite
canopy in the cemetery, wherein the
urns OF tho family are to be deposited.
and whereou the passerby will read
that once in the flight OF ages past
there lived man" OF his particular
name. This after all is the craving or.
the weakness OF humanity, to be not
forgotten in the hereafter.
"For who. to dumb Forgc,iulncSsa prey.
This pleasing. anxious being ere rc.ignd,
Left the WARN precincts OF the cheerful day,
Nor Gus, one longing, lingering look behiud7"
AN AFTERNOON OF "REMINISCENCES
II suddenly occurs to me that am
making a not very cheerful letter OIL. Of
all this account and comment in regard
to Cremation, and 1 will break it right
off with my quotation above from
Gray's famous eitgy on country
church yard. I am writing. rs re.
marked at the outset. about old time
Wheeling people who arc still above
ground in this region. Every few days
! hear OF n new name. Very lately |
had talk with n somewhat remarkable
man who was born on Scotch Ridge, on
the Ohio side. not far from Martins
Ferry. Mr.. John J. Mitchell. or, as l
should rather designate him, perhaps,
Capt. John J. Mitchell. since he will DO
best known to your older roaders n, n
river man. In that capacity rs fiat
boatman-he sot out away bnck in tho
thirtics to make his fortune, and he
has succeeded to such M extent that
he is now well known as ono OF the
wealthy citizens OF 81. Louis. He enter
tnined mo for tho good par, OF m after
noon with old time "reminiscences OF
Wheeling and Wheeling vicinacc. He
inquired particularly after his old
friend. CAPT. Richard Crawford, whom