126 
PARK AND CEMETERY 
The Modern Cemetery. 
(Paper read by Mr. Charles M. Loring before the Convention of the National Funeral Directors’ Association.) 
We learn from the earliest historical records that the last 
resting place of humanity has been a sacred spot and an 
object of solicitude to the friends of the departed who strove 
to perpetuate their memory and their virtue by monuments 
and stones. The Pyramids of Egypt, the Taj -Mahal at Agra, 
the Mausoleum of Hadrian and the De Medici monuments 
at Rome, the twenty thousand elaborate monuments in Pere 
la Chaise, in which are interred many of the noted men of 
France, the works of monumental art in the Campo Santo 
in Genoa, and the simple slate headstones with their rudely 
carved death’s head and crossed bones of our Puritan fathers, 
are all evidence of the affection and pride with which the 
people of each generation have remembered their dead. 
Some of the headstones of a century ago show how preva- 
lent the desire was to pass down to future generations some 
record of the lives, struggles, and sufferings of the silent 
sleepers beneath them, and the love and respect entertained 
by the living for the dead. 
The earliest epitaphs appear to be strictly devotional, while 
later, through apparent ignorance, many display incongruities 
and absurdities. 
The most ancient epitaph is one so often used on head- 
stones in New England. I saw it repeated many times in 
one graveyard, and three times in one row of stones. 
“Behold and see as you pass by, 
As you are now, so once was I ; 
As I am now, so you will be; 
Prepare for death and follow me.” 
Here is a very noted one : 
“Here lies poor old John Hildebroad; 
Have mercy on his soul, Lord God, 
As he would do, were he Lord God, 
Aud thou wert poor John Hildebroad.” 
This is on a stone in Maine : 
“Here lies the body of 
Enoch Holden, 
who died suddenly and unexpectedly 
by being kicked to death by a cow. 
Well done, good and faithful servant." 
The widow who wrote the following for a stone in Thom- 
aston, Me., little dreamed that her expression of grief would 
be a source of mirth to future generations : 
“My husband — God knows why.” 
Previous to the 15th century monuments in England were 
regarded as sacred, and violence to them was punished by 
deportation or mutilation. It is to be regretted that severe 
punishment cannot be imposed upon the vandals who mutilate 
the monuments of the present day. 
Formerly, the dead were borne on the shoulders of men 
and the friends of the deceased followed in solemn procession 
to the grave. There was no ostentatious display of plumed 
hearse and gilded carriages. The only evidence of pride was 
displayed on the tombstone. The graveyards were described 
by Whittier as, 
“The dreariest spot in all the earth 
To death they set apart.” 
These burial plats were neglected, and shunned by all. A 
superstitious horror filled the minds of the inhabitants of the 
neighborhood in which they were situated and few had the 
courage to pass them unaccompanied after dark. 
It has been but comparatively few years since the sentiment 
toward our burial places has changed, and, strangely enough, 
we received our first impressions for improvement in our 
cemeteries from the Turks, who have, from time immemorial, 
buried their dead in single graves and planted trees near them. 
For ages the people of Continental Europe buried the majority 
of their dead in pits. These pits were in series of 365. Each 
day one was opened and the dead laid in it. It was then 
filled with earth mixed with quicklime. A year after the pit 
was reopened, the earth with its contents removed, fresh 
earth with lime substituted, and so the process went on for 
centuries. In some countries the custom still prevails, and 
the people call themselves Christians. The large pits, into 
which the contents of the smaller are deposited, are the most 
revolting and demoralizing objects imaginable. 
Thank God the old burial ground of the past has, through 
the influence of a better educational system, been renovated, 
the weeds are kept under control, and the headstones once 
more stand erect ! Old superstitions have passed away and 
the descendants of those who sleep in “God’s acre” visit the 
grounds and take pride in making them beautiful. 
To the - Massachusetts Horticultural Society are we largely 
indebted for the change. Mount Auburn, under its care, was 
among the first of the modern cemeteries. For many years 
this beautiful spot was one of the most attractive objects to 
the residents and visitors of Boston, and through this medium 
its influence for good spread over the country. “Spring 
Grove”, Cincinnati, through the wise counsel of its first super- 
intendent, Adolph Strauch, was laid out as a park, and within 
the past twenty-five or thirty years nearly all cemetery assso- 
ciations have followed this beautiful and enlightened system 
in planning their grounds, and now charming burial parks 
are to be found in nearly every city in America, and these 
are developing sentiments which are elevating the young, who 
no longer dread a visit to the cemetery, but look to it as the 
last beautiful place of rest after life’s work is finished. 
Beautiful as are our modern cemeteries, great as has been 
the change in conducting them and in the style of the monu- 
mental work, there is still room for improvement. The people 
must be educated to discard the horrible designs in monu- 
ments which are thrust upon them by the stone cutter. Turned 
urns and bi-colored, disproportioned monstrosities must be 
discouraged. They should not be permitted to disfigure the 
grounds. Owners of lots should consult the superintendents 
as to the more simple and beautiful styles which have been 
adopted by men of artistic skill and which are no more ex- 
pensive than the turned abortions which disfigure so many 
of our cemeteries. All “markers” should be placed on the 
level of the lawn and there should be a wide space between 
monuments. The park-like effect of a section in which no 
“markers” or headstones project above the surface is very 
restful. The single grave section should be ornamented with, 
shrubs and as well cared for as the most expensive lot, and 
the poor made to feel that in the burial park there are no 
favored spots. 
Great improvements have been made in the conduct of 
cemeteries, but we shall not have reached perfection until 
every state in the Union enacts laws prohibiting speculation 
in lots to be used for the burial of the dead. The cemetery 
association should be a philanthropical institution and its 
members trustees for the lot owners. Every dollar received, 
after the land is paid for, should be used for maintenance 
and care, and not less than 20 per cent, of the gross receipts 
should be placed in trust for a perpetual care fund to be 
used when the burial lots are all disposed of. There are a few 
states having such laws, and I am proud to say Minnesota 
was among the first to adopt them. 
It is to be regretted that we in America had not adopted 
the custom which prevails in England of having the women 
of the family take leave of their departed friends at the 
