EURAL CEMETERIES, 



horizontally, that their inscriptions are liable to become defaced, and that they soon 

 Idso their horizontal position, and that they seem to lie heavily on the breast of the 

 (lead, and to confine and shut them away from us. This last, however, is a matter of 

 mere foelinij and taste, and may not prevail with all minds. The broken column and 

 the reversed torch deserve also a passing criticism. These certainly are beautiful sym- 

 bols, as might liavG been expected from the country of their origin, Greece. ]3ut are 

 they appropriate for us ? Greece had no Bible, and knew almost nothing of the resur- 

 rection nor of the Christian's heaven, and might well represent death with such gloomy 

 devices. But when a good man dies, we do not consider the coluu)n shattered, nor 

 the lamp of life extinct. The column ends just where the All-wise Auchitect saw it 

 most fitting to terminate it ; and the lamp still burns, only with a brighter flame. It 

 has been happily said that, " Those who will use the gloomy hieroglyphics of a per- 

 ished creed, should at least place near them the cheering emblems of a religious faith. 

 If Death be represented with downcast look and inverted flame, let Immortality, as in 

 the fine group of Thorwaldsen, stand by his side with torch high blazing, and eyes 

 ujiturned in love and rapture." But whatever style of monument be chosen, — obelisk, 

 pyramid, urn, cross, column, slab, or anything else, — let it be characterized by sim- 

 plicity. Ostentation is nowhere more disgusting than in a burial-place. \N"e walk 

 past the huge sepulchral stone of the merely rich man, with the trifling exclamation : 

 " How much this cost ! What vain man Ues hei-e ?" But when we come to the little 

 hillock which covers the remains of a child, though it have no headstone, our tenderest 

 respect and sympathy are at once excited. Nothing seems more beautiful than that 

 lowly mound and the Violets upon it, watered perhaps by a mother's tears. 



In regard to this whole subject of monuments, the best general rule that we remem- 

 ber to have met with is this : "yl monument should betray no desire to eochibit great 

 costliness, and no endeavor to avoid a reasonable expensed 



It is perhaps impossible, now, to change the prevalent custom of inclosing cemetery 

 lots w ith hedges, chains, and fences ; but, obviously, they are not needed to protect 

 monuments from injury by man or beast ; for, any one desirous of marring them, can 

 do so, in spite of such inclosures, and cattle are never allowed to range in a well- 

 ordered cemetery. Why not indicate the boundaries of lots by small granite posts at 

 the corners, a few inches above the ground, or by a slight elevation of the sod above 

 the surrounding soil ? Why not avoid whatever has the appearance of exclusiveness 

 and pride, in the place of graves, and let the prevailing s])irit and expression of the 

 spot be that all who slumber there are brethren of one common family ? 



It is a pleasing sign of the times that so much attention is now being paid, in all 

 parts of the country, to the founding of rural cemeteries. It is an honor to the char- 

 acter and tastes of the people. We are not, then, wholly engrossed in the worship of 

 Mammon, forgetful of the amenities and tender charities of life. Let us encourage, 

 more and more, every movement which looks to the promotion of true social culture 

 and happiness. Let us seek to make our homes more comely and attractive; and, since 

 we are all appointed to die, let us smooth the passage to the grave by the comforts of 

 religion, by tender respect for the dead, and by beautifying their last resting-place. 



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