The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1899-06-16
PUNISHMENT IN EETfGI.


her friends to come and see her hus-
band burned in etligy. Needless to
say, the invitation was chcerfullv ac-
ccptcd, and the orotcsQue and pitiahlc
image of the absent spouse was Gro
mated, to the satisfaction of all p.,s-
ent. Any burning in clligy is an in
tcresting event, sure to call together
all the children, old and young, of the
| countryside. This latest instance at
tracts attention on account of its cX-
trcme archaic flavor. If there is truth
in the doctrine of transmigration of
souls, the lady in question must surely
have lived at one time in old Greece.
Theocrtus tells us of sorcercrs that
pretended to work evil. and even to
kill the enemies Of their clients by
means of charms perform cd over doll
images representing the offending per
sons.
The original idea of cfligy was that
there existed some sort Of sympathy
between the image and tbs person for
whom it was substituted. and that
harm done the former or curses pro-
nounced against it would actually re-
suit in evil to the latter. People did
to the efligy as they would like to do
unto the absent offender, and were
chcered by the hope that sooner or
later their vengeance would overtakc
him. These are mildcr times. and the
ordinary mind does not contemplate
with pleasure the incneration alive of
q human being. The burning of a
person in eiligy these days is method
by which the populace expresses its
contempt for some person. 1t is an
extraordinary and ostentatious insult,
and it also furnishes an object on which
cNasperation can be vented. We will
not for moment believe that tn"
lady of Anderson would burn her alb
sent spouse alive, could she lay hands
on him.
1t is said that 4 certain tribe of In
dians possesses very useful divinity.
known as the swearing god.' This
is ridiculous little image nailed to
the wall 1t represents the power Of
evil, and it is considered a pious act to
denounce it in the most picturesque
and forciblc language at ones COM
mand. If an Indian bruises his fin
ger or his mustang refuses to be caught,
he clinchcs his teeth and makes dash
for the house. Once safely in the
presence of the swearing god," he
shakes his fists, tears his HAIR, dances
with rage, and gives vent to the most
horrible profanity. Then he feels bet
ter.
So with an elligy. One can burn it,
shoot at it, throw stones at it, curse it,
and nobody will he injured in the least,
but the person conducting the exercises
will feel better.
That immortal, over-advertised bug
aboo, Guy Fawkes, has been burned in
straw and tatters more frequently than
any other human being alive or dead.
Andrew jackson and Jefferson Davis
were so distinguished within the mem
ory of men now living. With the adj
vance of civilization, this ceremony has
become Christian act. 1t is certainly
more humane to hang up 4 scraccrow
and throw stones at it than to hide be-
hind stone wall and shoot the man
himself or hitch him by the neck to q
lofty limb and drive his horse out from
under him.
Punishment in efligy was legally
practised in France, and with great
solemnity, till the time of the first rev.
olution. If the man condemned cs-
capped, 4 dummy was put in his cell,
and the entire routine of the law al
lowed to take its course. The warrant
was read to it, and on the day ap-
pointed it was conducted to the scatlold
in the presence of all legal functionaries
and with all the circumstance of the
law. Sometimes the same person was
executed in efligy simultaneously in
several cities, but that, alas! did not
exempt him from actual punishment,
should he be atterward caught. There
are instances or record where criminals
have paid the penalty of their offences
both in farce and fact. The Anglo
Saxon race has not taken kindly to
etligy-burning as legal act Though
we are imaginative enough, we always
have 4 reserve of stolid practicability
unassailable by superstition. With us
this curious rite crops up in times OF
great popular excitement. Oliver
Cromwell was frequently burned in |
efligy, and many copies OF the covenant |
along with him. An old chronicle |
piously tells of one occasion wherein |
the protector was vicariously burned |
voleys of shot were fired OF at least !
five hundred in vollcy.'
This leads to the observation that !
burning in ciiigy has been used very /
frequently rs an expression of religious /
fervor, and, of course, poor old Judas /
Iscariot has been the most frequent .
and ong-sutiering victim. On Maundy /
Thursday the people Of Mexico 90 to
see Judas burned and fire squibs at .
him. In Holy Week Portuguese sail
ors hang the betrayer of Christ to a
yard-arm and shoot at him. Then they .
pull him down and fall upon him with
clubs, after which he is torn limb from
limb and cast into the sca.-N. y.
UDmp .Journn'.