88 
PARK AND CEMETERY. 
PRINCE HENRY OF BATTENBERG’S TOMB. 
I have thought it would be of interest to your 
many readers were I to present to them the accom- 
ing view of the interior of the Whippingham 
Church, one showing the tomb of Prince Henry of 
Battenberg with its decorations, the other, the 
church itself during the occasion of the burial of 
the illustrious Prince. Such views as these are 
always of interest to everyone, besides being in- 
structive to many, as showing what ideas prevail in 
other lands concerning the use of flowers to be 
placed above the remains of the dead. 
The church of Whippingham is popularly 
known as the Queen’s Church, having been built 
in 1 86 1 , after designs by the late Prince Albert, 
husband ot Queen Victoria. It is about 2 miles 
from East Cowes, which itself is quite near to the 
Queen’s residence, Osborne, and occupies the side 
of a hill which slopes to the river Medina. The 
Queen worshipped there formerly much more than 
she does now. Her pew, which is approached by a 
private door, is in the chancel, and over it is a hand- 
some white marble monument to the memory of the 
late Prince Consort. This monument, an inscription 
tells us, was “placed in the church under his direc- 
tion by his broken hearted and devoted widow 
Queen Victoria.” Prince Henry of Battenberg, as 
you readers know, was a son-in-law of Queen 
Victoria. This in itself was sufficient to endear 
him to the English people, but in addition to this 
he lost his life by fever contracted while sustaining 
the arms of England in a foreign land. To those 
not of English birth or who have not spent some 
time in England, it is impossible to convey an 
idea of the enthusiasm anything relating to royalty 
inspires. It speaks volumes for the loyalty of the 
INTERIOR OF WHIPPINGHAM CHURCH, ISLE OF WIGHT. 
people, when sentiment takes such strong hold of 
them. This Prince was a foreigner, and had no 
claim on the English people save that he had be- 
'] HE TOMB OF PRINCE HENRY OF BATTENBERG. 
come the husband of the Princess Beatrice. Yet 
solely on this account, as a part of their beloved 
Queen’s household, all England was grief stricken 
at his death, and at his funeral the pageant was 
a most imposing one. The photographs show 
how beautifully his tomb, as well as the church 
itself was decorated, the church artistically so, I 
think. 
To me, flowers seem most appropriately used to 
place above the remains of those we have loved. 
We erect monuments, sometimes of marble and 
sometimes of flowers, over our fallen heroes, both 
to honor the dead and to inspire the living. The 
marble inscription tells of the heroic deeds per- 
formed, the flowers, that our love is still there, and 
that fame is undying. But recently a most useful cit- 
izen of Worcester, Mass., died, and his will contained 
the request that no flowers should be placed over his 
remains. He loved them too well to see them thus 
desecrated, he said. But there is something the 
most of us love more than flowers, and when the 
dear ones are gone from us, we want to give that 
which we think best represents our thoughts, and that 
is flowers. It is, indeed, a touching sight on Dec- 
oration day and on other occasions, to see the 
number of persons wending their way to the cem- 
eteries, each one with some floral tribute to lay on 
the grave of some loved one who has gone from 
them. And who can express the satisfaction it is 
to many of them to feel that there is yet this one 
little gift they can make to their dead ? I have 
seen in certain cemeteries the same graves decor- 
ated with fresh flowers with unending devotion for 
years and years. In one of our Philadelphia ceme- 
teries, Mount Moriah, which I often visited some 
years ago, was a lot in which were the graves of 
some children. Every Sunday there came to the 
spot the father and mother, who strewed the little 
graves with flowers, and then took seats under the 
shade of a leafy arbor where they sat seemingly 
