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; n or ew ^ le great receptacles for the dead lately establishedt]ji a , near the metropolis, cannot be out of place in a work ofof t ) * na ’ ^ le m °re especially, that the professional talenta ct : le ar chitect has, not unfrequently, been called intop u i 1 to furnish designs for the buildings connected withhast C Cernetei 'ies, if not for the ornamental gardens, since itdead » COrne ^ le fashion of the day to make these “cities of the
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the r) 0111 *^ le ver y earliest ages the disposal of the bodies ofSaci-ed ' UlS ' Jeen a necessary, and with many nations, av 6riei „ Among some we find that a superstitious
f Un a . tl0 , n for those who had “ passed away;” the necessity ofand t i nt< ; 3 to secure the future happiness of the deceased ;a p ai .(.\ e Clame attached to the violation of the tomb, formedhurvi UOt 1 their civil and religious code. The practice ofthg ■ o the dead in the earth is probably the oldest, as it isbu rn in P les t mode of disposing of them; but the custom ofdep og it? the body, and afterwards collecting the ashes, andatn Qn , r ln S them in a tomb, or urn, became very general8e ertl ° s ‘ the Greeks and Romans. The Egyptians do notthe an^ lave ever adopted this practice; and even amongstStent ijj 6 ?*' reeks and Romans, it seems likely that inter-A.t t] 1(J tae earth was mostly resorted to by the lower orders,is th e P resent day, all European nations deposit their dead
The^^h’ and t he ceremony of burning is extinct.gene ra j e . sta hhshment of public cemeteries is now becomingbahi v Q m *h e neighbourhood of large cities; a practice pro-Mi ,* ’ ' ‘ -----
Rested to us by the customs of the Orientals, with°f p e \ e hurial-places of their departed friends are objectsSsd ,. lar care, and who cultivate, with extreme affectiondeli e r, ’ Cltu< i e > the flowers and trees with which it is their« ^ to adorn them.
8 ha nf , ei , on S the first objects that present themselves to athe g r en tering Turkey, ” remarks a recent writer, “ ares ho teg of cypress extending in dark masses along thetlieij- Sa( j ■ttiese are the last resting-places of the Turks ; and^hrj S ti and solemn shade, far more gloomy than any whicha atv atlJ n Usa ge has adopted, informs the traveller that he isTh 6 s't ° a . ^ rave an< i serious people.
' y ith r 1 nation of cemeteries is of great importance, bothC ° riv 'enie ( t0 t' le public health, and from considerations ofdually Among the Greeks we find that they were
*er e „ Vlth °ut the cities. Among the Romans the tombse at'ly ^i « ra »y placed by the sides of the public roads. The?f tei '\v ai . ( ] 1S,Ians followed the custom of the Romans, but they.6 eh\ n . c j S transferred their burial-places to the vicinity oftl * 3 *° be'T’ an< ^ "uthin towns. This insalubrious practice,’ e fivi no . j 10 P e, l) will soon entirely cease, and the health of‘ l be g,® e n ° longer endangered by the too close proximityB ^metelf 3 of tlle dead.
0 ° rt h of ) la y? should be placed on high ground, and to thehie b ltat ' 0Ils > so that southerly winds should not blowbe!)'P^ces si? SeS ’ barged with the putrid exhalations; low
^uld be avrndprt. and pnrp shmild Itp tnkpn flint.
Pao ! *
J ple ar” not Interred near v
It jv,® Su Pplied with water. .
suk,,! 1101 be uninteresting here to state that extra-mura ,^ated U $ an cemeteries, formed part of the plan of the cele-Christoni.o" w— c— --
he avoided, and care should be taken thatwells, or rivers, from which
o t
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hie ,
“ Kristopher Wren, for the rebuilding of London cl >UrM, §reat fi re, “ I would wish,” says he, “ that all burialse, b e!3 might be disallowed, which is not only unwliole-' v s u . tae pavements can never be kept even, nor theiUi-M? ht ’. and if the church-yard be close aboutthis is also
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<ha Ceat by a r J® a ^y raised by the graves, occasions in time ag r „ P s 'ulo the church, which renders it damp, anden > as appears evidently in all old churches.”
inconvenient, because the ground
He then proceeds to recommend, that a piece of ground,being purchased in the fields, should then be “ enclosed witha strong brick wall, and having a walk round, and two crosswalks, decently planted with yew-trees. The four quartersto serve four parishes, where the dead need not be disturbedat the pleasure of the sexton.
“ In these places beautiful monuments may be erected ;but yet the dimensions should be regulated by an architect,and not left to the fancy of every mason; for thus the richwith large marble tombs would shoulder out the poor: whena pyramid, a good bust, or statue on a proper pedestal, willtake up little room in the quarters, and be properer thanfigures lying on marble beds; the walls will containescutcheons and memorials for the dead, and the real goodair and walks for the living.”
Though the cemeteries which have been formed are pro-nounced to be only improvements on the places of burial inthis country, and flu- below what it would yet be practicableto accomplish ; they have indisputably been viewed withpublic satisfaction, and have created desires of furtheradvances by the erection of national cemeteries. Abroad thenational cemeteries have obtained the deepest hold on theaffections of the population. They have been establishednear to all the large towns in the United States . To someof them a horticultural garden is attached ; the garden-walksbeing connected with the places of interment, which, thoughdecorated, are kept apart. These cemeteries are places ofpublic resort, and are there observed, as in other countries,to have a powerful effect in soothing the grief of thosewho have departed friends, and in refining the feelingsof all.
At Constantinople , the place of promenade for Europeansis the cemetery at Pera, which is planted with cypress, andhas a delightful position on the side of a hill overlookingthe Golden Horn . The greatest public cemetery attached tothat capital is at Scutari, which forms a beautiful grove. InRussia , almost every town of importance has its burial-place,at a distance from the town, laid out by the architect of thegovernment. It is always well planted with trees, and isfrequently ornamented with sculpture. Nearly every Ger-man town has its cemetery, planted and ornamented. InTurkey, Russia, and Germany , the poorer classes have theadvantages of interment in the national cemeteries.
One of the most celebrated cemeteries in Europe is that ofPere la Chaise, but in this, as in all the cemeteries of Paris ,it has been a subject of complaint, that the graves of thepoor are neglected and little cared for, amidst the splendidmonuments and sculptured ornaments which mark the tombsof the higher classes.
The first attempt at a metropolitan cemetery, in imitationof that of Pere la Chaise , was made by the General CemeteryCompany, who, in the year 1833, opened to the public theirnew and extensive burial-ground at Kensall Green. Thiscemetery occupies above fifty acres of ground, which is taste-fully laid out with flowers and plants; well-gravelled walkslead to various parts of the ground; and yews, evergreens,and shrubs, deemed appropriate to a place of sepulture, orna-ment and diversify the landscape. On the road-side, thecemetery is bounded by a high wall, affording protection andseclusion ; on the other side, towards the canal, an open ironpalisading permits an uninterrupted view of the country,which here presents a prospect both extensive and beautiful.At the entrance there is a handsome gateway, from which a cen-tral walk leads to the church in the consecrated portion of thecemetery. In this building are solemnized the funeral ritesaccording to the Church of England . In front of the churcha large circle is appropriated to many of the more splendid