THE MODERN CEMETERY. 
89 
Mt. Auburn, and Some of its Famous Dead. 
There is perhaps no 
cemetery in the country 
that possesses more inter- 
est from the associations 
connected with its dead; 
or that displays more na- 
tural beauty within its 
confines; or that consider- 
ing the noted names in- 
scribed on its memorials 
is marked by greater sim- 
plicity in such memorials. 
The stones have a useful- 
ness, it is true, in denot- 
ing the last resting place, 
but the pages of history, 
science, art, literature, are 
imperishable records of 
many of the occupants of 
Mount Auburn, Boston. 
Mt. Auburn was conse- 
crated over 60 years ago, 
and its area of about 140 
acres contains about 30,000 persons. It is one of 
the pioneers of the rural cemetery idea, and is a 
hallowed park which invites contemplative corn-_ 
munion with those who have passed away. Every 
lot is now disposed of under the “perpetual care” 
provision which enhances the beauty of the place 
and ensures the most intelligent attention to season- 
able requirements. 
Under the early system lot owners were permit- 
ted to take care of their own property, and it 
worked well in many instances, but when succession 
of ownership placed it in other hands a carelessness 
usually developed, a condition which neither be- 
spoke affection for the living nor respect for the 
general appearance of the home of the dead. In 
other cases change of abode, and in still others the 
dead were too quickly forgotten, which all resulted 
in lack of care and general untidiness which serious- 
ly interfered with the best interests of the cemetery. 
The modern system does away with all this, and so 
rapidly is the change being made that only in a 
comparatively few cases does the old method 
obtrude itself. 
One of the recent additions to memorial art in 
the cemetery is that in memory of Edwin Booth, of 
which an illustration is given. It is a marble slab, 
on one side of which is a bronze tablet, with the 
head of the great actor in bas-relief, and the in- 
scription; and on the other side a quotation from 
the poet the interpretation of whose works made 
him famous. 
A plain headstone of white marble, simple as the 
nature of the great preacher himself, marks the 
grave of Phillips Brooks, late bishop of Massachusetts, 
in the Brooks family lot. On the stone is carved: 
“Phillips Brooks, Dec. 13, 1835. Jan. 23, 1893. 
Rector of the Church of the Advent, Philadelphia, 
1859-1862. Rector of the Church of the Holy 
Trinity, Philadelphia, 1862-1869. Rector of Trin- 
ity Church, Boston, 1869-1891. Bishop of the 
Diocese of Massachusetts, 1891-1893.” On the 
base of the stone is the sentence: “Him that over- 
cometh I will make a pillar in the temple of my 
God.” 
A very modest lot is that in which James Rus- 
sell Lowell lies. A small slate headstone marks 
the spot, so unpretentious that one must be careful 
not to overlook it, and there are other stones in 
close proximity, equally unassuming, which direct 
the eye to the last resting places of a distinguished 
company. The inscription on the headstone of 
James Russell Lowell reads as follows; “Sacred to 
the memory of James Russell Lowell, born 1819, 
died 1891, and of his wife Maria White, born 1821, 
died 1853, and also of his second wife, Frances 
Dunlap, born 1825, died 1885.’’ 
A simple gravestone points to where the great 
humanitarian Dorothea L. Dix rests. The stone 
only carries her name, but the soldiers annually 
give plain notice that her work for them still holds 
their remembrance. 
From the Edwin Booth lot some of the most 
noted graves in the cemetery can be seen. Just back 
of it is the memorial to the famous Margaret Fuller 
erected in the family lot. It will be remembered 
that Margaret Fuller and her husband. Count Os- 
soli, were lost at sea in 1850. 
Near by is a large brown stone monument with 
an urn on top, the inscription on the front of which 
tells a story: “Sacred to the memory of Charles 
Bulfinch, born in Boston, A. D., 1763; Graduated 
at Harvard College, A. D., 1781; Chairman of the 
Selectmen of Boston from I 797 to 1817; Architect 
of the State House of Massachusetts from i 795 to 
1798, and of the Capitol of the United States from 
1817 to 1830. He closed a pure and honored life 
with Christian submission April 15, 1844. Mourned 
by a numerous family.” 
The boulder monument in a neighboring lot dis- 
tinguishes the grave of that genial and celebrated 
scientist, Louis Agassiz. The boulder was brought 
from Switzerland, his native country. 
A bit of the work of St. Gaudens, the sculptor, 
is to be found on the stone at the grave of Henry 
Coffin Nevins, the Methuen millionaire. 
Not far from this is the monument to Charlotte 
Cushman, and higher up the hill the Harvard Col- 
lege lot. Here lie President Kirkland, Professors 
