Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-10-26
Famous Bones
ry Frederic j. Haskin


10 say how many notable characters lie
buried around here because the question
would have 10 be settled, What Is
famous character
Ots and Hancock, for instance, two
of the greatest orators of the Revolution,
are passed over hurriedly by many visitors
10 the Old Granary ground, but nearly al
hnger m pleased surprise near the simple
stone of Mary Goose. who, according to
the little wooden placard, Is believed to
he the Mother Goose Of the nursery
rhNmes.
- many of the great lie in and around
Boston, and they represent so many
lines nf achievement, that few strangers
leave here without paying tribute TO at
lclst one favorite charact er. The graves
oi Revolutionary heroes are numerous.
The tomb of Mary Chiffon, the first wom-
AN "a lean from the Mayflowcr to Ply
mouth Rock, Is IN the heart of Boston IN
lts oldest cemetery Elizabeth Pam, be-
hcycd 20 bc the original of Hawthorne
Hester prynnc of The Scarlet Letter,
hes m tins same ground, and as Hawthorne
saws IA his novel. her stone may be seen to
this day
over in Cambridge there is more
modern ground, one OF the most beautiful
m the country. and here may be seen
stones and monuments 20 such faInou
folk ~ Edwin Booth, the actor; Agassis
and GRAY. the great naturallsts; Phlllipz
Brooks. Lowell. Holmes and Longfellows
Rufli, Choate and Julia Ward Howe. ;,
Onc Of the most beautiful monuments
to hc found anywhere Is here erected to a
still different type nf famous person. This
Is the memorial t. Mrs Eddy, the founder
of Christian Science. The memorial is
composed of eight white columns IN
CIRCLE. with hcgrnIas and geranIums plant
ei INSIDE II stands by one of the Lakes
IN the cemetery, and as you look across
this lake tho effect is that of a peaceful
Greek temple IN grove of trees, the
whole mlrr ured in the blue water before II !.
TOWN OF GRAvEYARDs.
Boston has 20 cemeteries, all but three
Of which might he called ''old. The four
olde@t-kings Chapel the Granary,
Copps Hill, and the Common Burying
Ground are the most interestingly popu-
lated OF these four. al but Copp's Hill
are IN the very center Of Boston, where
shopprs and office-workers throng stead
lly past the gates.
Thcre are nearly always few strnngrrs
inside prouring over the faint inscriptions
and smiling at the ferocious skull and cross
bones and the hourglass 10 be seen on
most ~ the flint slabs. But Boston fox
IN general hurry by without thought or
glance inside. These graveyards wcrc
old before their great -grandfathers were
born. They are an accepted part OF the
LANDSCAPE and neither repeal nor attract
Even for the stranger these very old
burying grounds do not inspirc gloom as
modern cemete-ice often do. The IN
hnhtants have been dust for over two
hundred years, and II Is al unusually
emotional temperament that can De
moved 20 tears over the rows Of gray
stones all ont after the same pattern, but
now vsred BY different stages Of dilapida-
ton.
Blu. evrn wcrc you inclined 70 grow
BIT spntimentsl over Al ancestor or a
favorit- hcro, you would remember in
tim that Ne might not, after all, lie be-
low thst particular stone, and put away
voIir HANDKERCHIEF with q single sigh
For IL i. a sad fact that the stones do not
always stand where they were originally
planted. After the oldest burylng grounds
were forsaken for newer ones, they were
allowed 10 50 uncared for, and IN these
years ~ neglect stones were stolen, moved
about. broken and lost. In Copp's Hill
Buylug Ground, UP the street from the
old North Church. stones were hlched TO
an IN holes in chimneys and prop up door
steps around the neighborhood. One boy
amused himself by changing the date on
one stone from 1926 70 1923, and on an
q, her from 1920 to l620, in order TO perple1
tho antiquarians who would wonder how
persons we're buried there several yearr
before Boston was settled.
sToIES ToMBsToNr.
Wien the city began 70 care for the
old grounds systematically, many Of the
stolen stones were recovered, and those
found living about were set UP in convenient
places n the same cemetery. City officials
and the cemetery watchmen know IN almost
every case which stones are not IN their
own places. though they NAV not always
know except IL general way, where the
lost graves he IL Was this lack Of ac
curacv ~ the tombstone markers that led |
oliver Wendell Holmes 20 remark that |
the stones really tell the truth when they |
sav here hes
one of the most famous lost graves IS
that ~ Gilbert Stuart, who painted pic |
lures Of 50 many Of the Revolutionary /
statesmen Hls best known work is the /
portrait 81 Washln gton which Is familiar TO
most people II i fact that Washing
tpn presents o different appearance In al
most every portrait A bust in Old North
{ hurch shows him with cheeks slightly
suukeu from age and lips tight set. Few
reople would recognize this elderly gentle
man - the sturdy, pink-cheeked Father Of
ts ouutrv presented by Stuart Yet
Lafayettc u said 10 have looked at this
iIst and exclaimed. Ii Is my old friend
"a ashluRton, indeed
Conhdentlally, the sexton Of Old North
{ hurch whispers that Stuart stuffed the
cheeks ol ms most famous sitter with
cotton u oroer 10 obtain the well-rounded
contour of the face. Whatever the beauty
secrets between Stuart and Washington,
The painter was master and his Wash
lugtOu portrait a masterpiece. II seems
q pity that hIs bones should have been so
cercies-v mIslaid So that II is known only
: Tat ~ was buried IL the Common Bury
Ing Ground
sTRANGE STONE
Tins burving ground on the Boston
{ Common has what is probably the most
unusual stone IN the city 1t was set UP
IN memory Of Mrs Sally Morse wife
Of Mr.. samuel Morse who died July 25,
1899 Oi the cramp IN her stomach after
about one hour : illness. aged 20 years and
: months
Tins stone dug up by chance not so
ong ago. attracted a good deal Of atteL-
Iion and curiosity was aroused as to
whether the unfortunate young mwoman
lad eatern d green apple, or perhaps un-
swallowed peach pit, or even
j dos oi poison.
The mystery was still new and popular