414 On the Disposal of the Dead. 



House of Commons will iiove«r listen to able AfaE^azine for 

 80 HDJiist a proposal, iiiidcr which the 

 country wotild lose more \>y the wreck 

 of credit and character, than it could 

 *ver gain by such a breach of fiiitls." 

 W. Anueuson. 

 Perslwre; Nov.\S\Cy. 



To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. 



SIR, 



IT seems to have been the favourite 

 object of most ages and countries \o 

 preserve from putrefaction the bodies of 

 those who, in lil'e. had been beloved or 

 respected. The Egjptians have suc- 

 ceeded in their mummies, and the Ro- 

 mans in burning and colli ctinj; the ashes 

 of the dead ; but the more natural and 

 rational process has seldom been consi- 

 dered, viz. that of spredily incorporatiu}? 

 with the earth all that remains of orga- 

 nized matter. 



There is a class of animals \Verme.s\ 

 which forms the connect ins l'"k be- 

 twixt animal and vejictaljlo life ; through 

 thismcdinm the bodies of dead animals 

 are transformed into new life in vegeta- 

 bles. Instead, therefore, of incasing: tlie 

 corpse in lead or oak coffins, or em!)alm- 

 jng to preserve it a little loncccr from the 

 worms, it is surely more rational, and 

 more according to the laws of nature, 

 to bury it in such thin or perishable ma- 

 terials as may most speedily promote its 

 dissolution ; and, if the surface of tho 

 ground were covered with tlowcring 

 pkmts, the grave, insteatl of an object of 

 disgust and horror, might be converted 

 into a pleasing record of out past 

 affections. 



How delightful is the thought, that 

 while wo are inhaling the fragrance of a 

 rose or violet, growing in the mould 

 composed of our ancestors or friends, 

 we may be breathing the pure and per- 

 fumed essence of all that now remains 

 of what was in life most dear to us. 



If all our church-yards were flower- 

 gardens, and every grave a bed of roses, 

 ye should learn to look on the mansions 

 of the dead with hope and joy, and not 

 vith dread and disgust ; and the good 

 Christian should follow his Lord's exam- 

 ple, whose burial-place was in a garden. 

 H. R, 



To the Editor of the Montkli/ Magatim. 



SIR, 



WELL knowing that you take a 

 lively interest in every thing re- 

 latuig to tlie public welfare, I am in- 

 4iuced to request a place in. your vak»o 



[Dec. 1, 



few observations 

 respecting the dangers to which tra- 

 vellers, by stage-coaches, are exposed ; 

 the gross impositions to which they are 

 often subjected ; and some methods by 

 which these may be, in a great measure^' 

 if not entirely, jjrcventod. It may 

 justly be said, and with some degree of 

 pride, that no country in the world can 

 vie with England, either in the rapidity 

 of conveyance from one place to an* 

 other, or in the general accommodations 

 wliich are afforded to travellers ; but it 

 is at the sauie time an acknowledged, 

 and a very lamentable fact, that, accord- 

 ing to the old proverb, we frequently 

 make more haste than good S])eed. 



Although our public carriages, by 

 their present construction, are made far 

 more j)leasing to the eye, consiileraWy 

 lighter in draft, and nmch better adapted 

 to short turnings of the road, than were 

 tho.se of our ancestors, or than those of 

 our neighbours on the Contini^nt still 

 are; yet I am inclined to think, that, by 

 endeavouring to avoid the bulkiness and 

 awkwardness of their machiiK-s, M'e have 

 run into an opi)osite extreme; and, in 

 order to render onr's more compact, 

 have reduced the base on which they 

 stand to such a small compass, as to 

 make them very unsafe, especially .sinco 

 their perpendicular height is so greatly 

 increased by passengers and luggage 

 placed on the roof. It has been the 

 fashion of late years to make the perch 

 of a coach as short and as light as pos- 

 sil)le; and the disproportion between the 

 diameter of the hind and the fore-wheels 

 is, in general, so great, that the naturai 

 tendency of the latter is. almost liks 

 that of a plough-share, tobury themselves 

 in the ground ; and, the point of draft 

 being also, by this construction, placed 

 considerably below the horse's sbonlder, 

 the filler horses are frequently obliged 

 to lift, as well as to draw, the weight. 

 It appears evident to reason, that, if the 

 diameter of the fore-wheels were in- 

 creased, and the perch were made a 

 few feet longer, the draft would be 

 much easier for the horses, as the spoke 

 would then form a longer and more 

 powerful lever, and the carriage would 

 likewise be less in danger of an over- 

 throw, on account of its more extended 

 base. It would also be a great accom- 

 modation to travellers, (especially by 

 night,) if the backs of our coaches were 

 like those of former times, made to form 

 an obtuse angle with the seats, instead 

 af aright angJe ; which, aithougb U may^' 

 1 improv* 



