Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-03-01
Old English Churchyards.

The old English churchyards are vene-
rated as much as ever and kept kept with
the neatest care. Throughout rural Eng
ldnd they are among the most interesting
OBJECTS, and most CT them are still used
Tor burials by the families of the parish
The remains of the nobility and the lords
OF the manor are usually deposited in
family vaults under the floors of the par
ish churches. Westminster and other
cdthedralS still receive the remains of
distinguished statesmen. prelates and
soldiers but the families of great men
often prefer to have their bodies buried
In their private vaults or family burial
grounds. The dean and chapter of West
minister offered a place in Westminster
Abbey for the body of Florence Nightin-
gale, but her will instructed her eXecu
tors TO have her remains cremated.
There large cemeteries in the neigh
borhood OF London and other great cities
of Europe maintained very much like
those i'll the United States, and they are
reached by funeral trains on the several
railways which run regularly at certain
hours of the day. Private cars for the
use or families are reserved when ap-
piled for.
cremation is quite common in England
but not as much so as in France where
probably one-fourth, if not one-third of
all the dead are disposed of in that way
The number of cremations is increasing
rapidly in other European countries
Famous Cemeteries Of Paris.
The famous cemeteries of Paris receive
additions to their tenantry daily. Several
large new cemeteries in the neighborhood
OF Paris have been opened within the last
few years because the cost of lots in
Pere de la Chaise and other celebra ed
burying grounds have become very high.
Inc funeral customs in Germany Aus
trla. Italy and other European coun-
tries are very much the same as in
France In Russia the dead are buried in
churchyards. and the imperial family
nave their tombs in the chapel of the
fortress of SITS. Peter and Paul on an
island in the Neva river. In Vienna, as /
wrote you last fall. the bodies Of the i'm
perial family are placed in the crypt of
one church. and their hearts are presery-
ed in little urns in another
On the heights of Constantinople in
that part of the city called Pera, where
the foreigners live. there are several
large abandoned cemeteries in Distress
ing condition The fences have been
torn down. the tombstones have been
Knocked over and the neglect produces
melancholy impression. They are no
longer used Tor sanitary reasons, and
several new burial places outside the
city have been provided. The death
rate in Constantinople is very high, and
10 a stranger 1t seems as If he was al
ways passing funeral procession. The
largest cemetery in the world is at
Scutari. that section of Constantinaple
on the Asiatic side of the Bosphorus.
The tombstones in Turkish cemeteries
which mark the graves of men usually
have fezzes carved at the top Another
custom is to place little vessels of water
on the graves for the benefit of the birds
and the marble tombs have basins for
the same purpose there being a super
stition that birds carry tales concerning
the conduct of the living to the spirits
of the dead, and. like everybody else in
Turkey, are suspected of being spiteful
unless something is done to win their
favor.
Each sultan usually builds his own
tomb according to his own taste and ex-
travagance. There are burial grounds
attached to nearly all the mosques, but
the price of the privilege of lying in such
hallowed places is usually too high for