Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1900-06-16
MILLIONS GRAVE UNKNOWN.
story of Alleged Dissertation of His
Tomb Recalled.


Tomb Recalled.
At the present time. when the pro
posed bruce elimination looms so large
ly among the topics Of the day. it ma.
not be out of place to nnearth. so t
speak. the little known story of the sup
posed discovery of the remains of Mil
ton Aug. 4. 1890. the neighborhood O
st. Giles, Cripplegate. was thrown int
state of excitement and indignation
by the news that the body of Milton
buried just / 10 years before. had dur
ing some repairs to the church beer
! found beneath desk in the chancel
The corpse was in leaden coffin
which was broken open by disturbing
ghouls and the remains were exposed
to view. hundreds of curious visitors
crowding to see the CHASTITY sight Two
vestrymen sold locks of the hair and
some of the teeth of the venerated poet.
disposing also of his lower jaw. hi:
right hand and his ribs
The ubiquitous journalist stepped
forward and forthwith wrote a pam
phlet upon the subject. describing the
corpse and its treatment. and at once.
as in these days. the inevitable news
paper controversy arose. Sides were
taken. and The st. James Chronicle
of the period boldly disputed that it
was Milton s corpse at all and tabulat-
ed a number of reasons to bear out that
contention.
The time at which poet becomes
famous after his demise may reasona-
bly, be computed at a hundred years
Shakespeare was thought little of until
that period had elapsed. and it was
nearly century before Burns fame
may be said to have ripened. and here
it is clear that Milton had not been
much in mems minds from his death to
this disinterment for his place of Sc
pulture was actually unknown Forty
years before Bishop Newton had en-
deavored to discover it. but could obtain
no information whatever as to its
whereabouts. And so 1t would seem
certain that the unfortunate "old man
eloquent had died almost "unwept.
unhonored and unsung."
One of the reasons against it being
the body of the poet, as given by the
above paper. was that "he was very
poor and much emaciated at the time
of his death and that it was most I'M
likely that his rapacious wife. who OPP
pressed her husband s children while he
was living and cheated them after
death. would or could have provided
an expensive leaden coffin in which to
inter him.
From this and more cogent reasons
lovers Of the glorious Milton may rest
pretty sure that his bones were not
only disturbed by proxy, but that it
was another's body which thus received
the veneration of some and the desecra-
tion of others.
The body disinterred was that of
small person. with dark brown hair.
whereas Milton. being Go at his death.
had gray lair. The brow. too. was
small and low, while that of the poet
was broad and high The teeth. again,
were small. white and even, which
could not have been the case with Mil
ton. A doctor too. gave it as his opin-
ion that the corpse was that of young
female, although by reason Of the raw
ages of decay he could not be certain
One other argument cited by the OPP
ponent paper which has a touch of
pathos in it. reduces the matter to a
certainty that the remains were not
those of our great singer Poor Milton,
in addition to his blindness and his
wife's neglect. suffered agcnies Of govt.
and his fingers were full Of chalk
stones. while the disiDterred skeleton
had small smooth finger bones. with
no vestige of such Disagreement
So the lovers of the memory of the
author Of Paradise Lost may be as
sured that Milton s remains lie still I'M
disturbed in what will be news to the
vast majority of his admirers-some
unknown grave within the precincts of |
the old church of st. Giles. London |
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