USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Cambridge > History of the cemetery of Mount Auburn. > Part 10
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summers, in this inclement region, to thaw the ice, so that the whole body could be liberated. At length, in 1804, the enormous mass separated from the mountain of ice, and fell over upon its side, on a sand bank. At this time it appears to have been in a state of perfect preservation, with its skin and flesh as entire as when it had existed antecedently to the Deluge, or to whatever con- vulsion of the globe may have transported animals, apparently of the torrid zone, to the confines of the Arctic circle. The Tonguse chief cut off the tusks, which were nine feet long, and weighed two hundred pounds each. Two years after this event, Mr. Adams, being at Yakutsk, and hearing of this event, undertook a journey to the spot. He found the animal in the same place, but ex- ceedingly mutilated by the dogs and wolves of the neighborhood, which had fed upon its flesh as fast as it thawed. He, however, succeeded in removing the whole skeleton, and in recovering two of the feet, one of the ears, one of the eyes, and about three quarters of the skin, which was covered with reddish hair and black bristles. These are now in the museum at St. Petersburg. The foregoing facts are sufficient to show that a low degree of temperature is an effectual pre-
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ventive of animal decomposition. On the other hand, a certain degree of heat combined with a dry atmosphere, although a less perfect protection, is sufficient to check the destructive process. Warmth, combined with moisture, tends greatly to promote decomposition ; yet if the degree of heat, or the circumstances under which it acts, are such as to produce a perfect dissipation of moisture, the further progress of decay is arrested. In the arid caverns of Egypt the dried flesh of mummies, although greatly changed from its original appearance, has made no progress tow- ards ultimate decomposition, during two or three thousand years. It is known that the ancient Egyptians embalmed the dead bodies of their friends, by extracting the large viscera from the cavities of the head, chest, and abdomen, and fill- ing them with aromatic and resinous substances, particularly asphaltum, and enveloping the out- side of the body in cloths impregnated with similar materials. These impregnations pre- vented decomposition for a time, until perfect dryness had taken place. Their subsequent preservation, through so many centuries, appears to have been owing, not so much to the anti- septic quality of the substance in which they are
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enveloped, as to the effectual exclusion of moist- . ure.
In the crypt under the cathedral of Milan, travellers are shown the ghastly relics of Carlo Borromeo, as they have lain for two centuries, inclosed in a crystal sarcophagus, and bedecked with costly finery, of silk and gold. The preser- vation of this body is equal to that of an Egyptian mummy, yet a more loathsome piece of mockery than it exhibits can be hardly imagined.
It will be perceived that the instances which have been' detailed are cases of extraordinary exemption, resulting from uncommon care, or from the most favorable combination of circum- stances, such as can befall but an exceedingly small portion of the human race. The common fate of animal bodies is to undergo the entire destruction of their fabric, and the obliteration of their living features in a few years, and sometimes even weeks, after their death. No sooner does life cease, than the elements which constituted the vital body become subject to the common laws of inert matter. The original affinities, which had been modified or suspended during life, are brought into operation, the elementary atoms react upon each other, the organized struc-
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ture passes into decay, and is converted to its original dust. Such is the natural, and, I may add, the proper destination of the material part of all that has once moved and breathed.
The reflections which naturally suggest them- selves in contemplating the wrecks of humanity, which have occasionally been brought to light, are such as lead us to ask, of what possible use is a resistance to the laws of nature, which, when most successfully executed, can at best only pre- serve a defaced and degrading image of what was once perfect and beautiful ? Could we, by any means, arrest the progress of decay, so as to gather round us the dead of a hundred genera- tions in a visible and tangible shape ; could we fill our houses and our streets with mummies, - what possible acquisition could be more useless, what custom could be more revolting ? - For precisely the same reason the subterranean vaults and the walls of brick, which we construct to divide the clay of humanity from that of the rest of creation, and to preserve it separate for a time, as it were for future inspection, are neither useful, gratifying, nor ultimately effectual. Could the individuals themselves, who are to be the subjects of this care, have the power to regulate the offi-
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cious zeal of their survivors, one of the last things they could reasonably desire would be, that the light should ever shine on their changed and crumbling relics.
On the other hand, when nature is permitted to take its course, when the dead are committed to the earth under the open sky, to become early and peacefully blended with their original dust, no unpleasant association remains. It would seem as if the forbidding and repulsive conditions which attend on decay, were merged and lost in the surrounding harmonies of the creation.
When the body of Major Andre was taken up, a few years since, from the place of its interment near the Hudson, for the purpose of being removed to England, it was found that the skull of that officer was closely encircled by a net-work, formed by the roots of a small tree, which had been planted near his head. This is a natural and most beautiful coincidence. It would seem as if a faithful sentinel had taken his post, to watch, till the obliterated ashes should no longer need a friend. Could we associate with inanimate clay any of the feelings of sentient beings, who would not wish to rescue his remains from the prisons of mankind, and commit them thus to the embrace of nature ?
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Convenience, health, and decency require that the dead should be early removed from our sight. The law of nature requires that they should moulder into dust, and the sooner this change is accomplished, the better. This change should take place, not in the immediate contiguity of survivors, not in frequented receptacles provided for the promiscuous concentration of numbers, not where the intruding light may annually usher in a new tenant, to encroach upon the old. It should take place peacefully, silently, separately, in the retired valley, or the sequestered wood, where the soil continues its primitive exuberance, and where the earth has not become too costly to afford to each occupant at least his length and breadth.
Within the bounds of populous and growing cities, interments cannot with propriety take place beyond a limited extent. The vacant tracts re- served for burial grounds, and the cellars of churches which are converted into tombs, become glutted with inhabitants, and are in the end obliged to be abandoned, though not perhaps until the original tenants have been ejected, and the same space has been occupied three or four suc_ cessive times. Necessity obliges a recourse at last
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to be had to the neighboring country, and hence in Paris, London, Liverpool, Leghorn, and other European cities, cemeteries have been constructed without the confines of their population. These places, in consequence of the sufficiency of the ground, and the funds which usually grow out of such establishments, have been made the recipi- ents of tasteful ornament. Travellers are at- tracted by their beauty, and dwell with interest on their subsequent recollection. The scenes which, under most other circumstances, are repulsive and disgusting, are by the joint influ- ence of nature and art rendered beautiful, attrac- tive, and consoling.
The situation of Mount Auburn, near Boston, is one of great natural fitness for the objects to which it has been devoted. Independently of its superior size, it may be doubted whether any spot, which has been set apart for the same purposes in Europe, possesses half the interest in its origi- nal features. In a few years, when the hand of taste shall have scattered among the trees, as it has already begun to do, enduring memorials of marble and granite, a landscape of the most pic- turesque character will be created. No place in the environs of our city will possess stronger
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attractions to the visitor. To the mourner it offers seclusion, amid the consoling influences of nature. The moralist and man of religion will
Find room
And food for meditation, nor pass by
Much, that may give him pause, if pondered fittingly.'
We regard the relics of our deceased friends and kindred for what they have been, and not for what they are. We cannot keep in our pres- ence the degraded image of the original frame ; and if some memorial is necessary to soothe the unsatisfied want, which we feel when bereaved of their presence, it must be found in contemplat- ing the place in which we know that their dust is hidden. The history of mankind, in all ages, shows that the human heart clings to the grave of its disappointed wishes, that it seeks consolation in rearing emblems and monuments, and in col- lecting images of beauty over the disappearing relics of humanity. This can be fitly done, not in the tumultuous and harassing din of cities, not in the gloomy and almost unapproachable vaults of charnel houses ; - but amidst the quiet verdure of the field, under the broad and cheerful light of heaven, - where the harmonious and ever chang- ing face of nature reminds us, by its resuscitating influences, that to die is but to live again."
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REPORT
Of the Garden and Cemetery Committee of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, at a meeting held on Saturday, Sep- tember 17, 1834.
THE Garden and Cemetery Committee of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, beg leave to submit the following Annual Report, for the consideration of the Society : -
" The Committee congratulate the Society upon the continued improvement of the Garden and Cemetery, and the additional favor and encour- agement, which the design has received from the public. Before proceeding, however, to any par- ticulars respecting this subject, they feel it their duty to make a few remarks, in order to correct some erroneous notions, which pervade certain portions of the community, relative to the nature and objects of the establishment. It is by no means uncommon to find persons impressed with the belief, that the establishment is a private specu- lation for the private benefit of the members of the Society, or of the individuals, who originally advanced the money to purchase the grounds for the Garden and Cemetery, and that considerable profits have been already realized from it. This
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notion is utterly unfounded. The Cemetery is, in the truest and noblest sense, a public institu- tion, that is, an institution of which the whole community may obtain the benefit upon easy and equal terms. No individual has any private in- terest in the establishment beyond what he acquires as the proprietor of a lot in the Ceme- tery ; and every man in the community may become a proprietor upon paying the usual sum fixed for the purchase of a lot. The whole grounds are held by the Horticultural Society in trust for the purposes of a Garden and Cemetery ; and no member thereof as such has any private interest therein, except as a corporator, or pro- prietor of a lot. The whole funds which have been already realized by the sale of lots have been devoted to paying the price of the original pur- chase, laying out the grounds, enclosing them with a fence, erecting an entrance gate and por- tal, and a cottage, and other structures for the accommodation of the superintendent, and defray- ing the incidental expenses. The expenditures
have already amounted, asgappears by the Treas- urer's Report, to upwards of twenty-five thousand dollars ; and the proceeds of the sales have fallen short of this amount by about two thousand dol-
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lars ; so that as yet the expenditures have ex- ceeded the income. It has always been the understanding of the Society, that all the funds, which should be obtained by the sales of the lots, should, after defraying the annual expenses of the establishment, be applied exclusively to the pre- servation, repair, ornament, and permanent im- provement of the Garden and Cemetery ; and never to the private emolument of any of the members -and, indeed, this constituted the fun- damental object of those, who have become the proprietors of lots. It is due also to the gentle- men, whose public spirit matured the design, to state, that it was their primary object to exclude all private speculation and interests from the undertaking; and, by a wise and fixed policy, to secure all the funds, which should arise from its success, to public purposes of an enduring and permanent character. The Society has sanctioned these views. It was believed that a generous community would foster the design ; and, by a timely liberality, in the purchase of lots, would enable the Society to make this beautiful Retreat for the Dead at the same time the consolation and just pride of the Living. The Committee have great pleasure in stating that these reasonable
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expectations have not been disappointed. Mount Auburn has already become a place of general resort and interest, as well to strangers as to citi- zens ; and its shades and paths, ornamented with monumental structures, of various beauty and elegance, have already given solace and tran- quillizing reflections to many an afflicted heart, and awakened a deep moral sensibility in many a pious bosom. The Committee look forward, with increasing confidence, to a steady public patronage, which shall supply all the means necessary for the accomplishment of all the in- teresting objects of the establishment.
Relying on this patronage, the Committee in- dulge the hope that the period is not far distant, when, by the sale of lots, the Society will be enabled to enclose all the grounds with a perma- nent wall; to erect a Temple of simple and classical character, in which the service over the dead may be performed by clergymen of every denomination ; to add extensively to the beauty and productiveness of the Garden ; and, above all, to lay the foundation of an accumulating fund, the income of which shall be perpetually devoted to the preservation, embellishment, and improve- ment of the grounds. This last object the Com-
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mittee deem of the highest importance to the perpetuity of the establishment ; and it cannot be contemplated with too much care and earnestness in all the future arrangements of the Society. In addition to these objects, the Committee would suggest the propriety of making arrangements for the admission of water from Fresh Pond into the ponds of the Cemetery ; and, after passing through them, of conducting it into Charles River. Such a measure would add to the salubrity of the ponds, as well as improve the general aspect and effect of the whole scenery. It is believed that this measure may be accomplished at a compara- tively small expense, whenever the funds of the Society will admit of a suitable appropriation. In the meantime it seems desirable to secure, by some preliminary arrangement, the ultimate suc- cess of the project.
The Committee would further state, that by the Report of the Treasurer it appears, that the whole number of lots in the Cemetery, which have been already sold, is 351, viz :- 175 lots in 1832, 76 lots in 1833, and 100 lots in 1834; and the aggregate sum produced by these sales is $23,225.72. The whole expenditures incurred during the same years amount to $25,211.88.
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The balance of cash and other available funds now in the hands of the Treasurer are $5403.32. The Committee are of opinion, that reliance may safely be placed upon the future sales of lots to defray the expenses of the current year ; and that, therefore, a portion of the funds now on hand may be properly applied to the reduction of the remaining debts due by the Society.
The Committee would further state, that since the month of August, 1833, there have been nine- ty-three interments at Mount Auburn ; eighteen tombs have been built ; sixteen monuments have been erected ; and sixty-eight lots have been turfed and otherwise ornamented. It is understood that other monuments are in progress, and will be erected in a short time.
The Committee would further state, that find- ing the grounds at Mount Auburn were visited by unusual concourses of people on Sundays, and that the injuries done to the grounds and shrub- bery were far greater on those occasions than any other, circumstances which it is unnecessary to mention, they deemed it their duty, as well in reverence for the day, as in reference to the per- manent interests of the establishment, and a regard to the feelings of the community, to make
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a regulation prohibiting any persons except pro- prietors and their families, and the persons ac- companying them, from entering the grounds on Sundays. The effects of this regulation have been highly beneficial. It has not only given quiet to the neighborhood, and enabled pro- prietors and their families to visit their lots on Sundays under circumstances of more seclusion, tranquillity, and solemn religious feelings ; but it has put a stop to many of the depredations, which thoughtless and mischievous persons had been too apt to indulge in, in their recreations on that day. Several other regulations have been made, which experience had shown to be indispensable to the due security and uses of the Cemetery. The most important among these is the closing the gates at sunset and opening them at sunrise. And it may be observed of all these regulations, that while they allow a free access to the grounds to all visitors at reasonable times, and in a rea- sonable manner, they are calculated to prevent any desecration of them under false pretexts, or by secret misconduct.
The Committee would further state, that in pursuance of the vote of the Society, at their last annual meeting, they made an application to the
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Legislature of the Commonwealth, at its last ses- sion, for additional provisions to aid the general objects of the Society. The Legislature accord- ingly passed an act, entitled 'An act in further addition to an act to incorporate the Massachu- setts Horticultural Society,' which is entirely satisfactory to the Committee. They therefore beg leave to recommend, that the Society should, by a formal vote, accept the same.
All of which is respectfully submitted.
JOSEPH STORY, Chairman.
Sept. 20, 1834."
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HYMN SUNG AT THE CONSECRATION.
WRITTEN BY THE REV. JOHN PIERPONT.
To thee, O GOD, in humble trust, Our hearts their cheerful incense burn, For this thy word, " Thou art of dust, And unto dust shalt thou return."
For, what were life, life's work all done, The hopes, joys, loves, that cling to clay, All, all, departed, one by one, And yet life's load borne on for aye !
Decay ! Decay ! 'tis stamped on all ! All bloom, in flower and flesh, shall fade ; Ye whispering trees, when we shall fall, Be our long sleep beneath your shade !
Here to thy bosom, mother Earth, Take back, in peace, what thou hast given ; And all that is of heavenly birth, O GOD in peace, recall to heaven !
Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
AN ACT
TO INCORPORATE THE PROPRIETORS OF THE CEMETERY AT MOUNT AUBURN. 1835.
Section 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives, in General Court as- sembled, and by the authority of the same, That Joseph Story, John Davis, Jacob Bigelow, Isaac Parker, George Bond, and Charles P. Curtis, together with such other persons as are proprie- tors of lots in the Cemetery at Mount Auburn, in the towns of Cambridge and Watertown, in the County of Middlesex, and who shall in writing signify their assent to this Act, their successors and assigns, be and they hereby are created a Corporation, by the name of the Proprietors of the Cemetery of Mount Auburn, and they shall
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have all the powers and privileges contained in the statute of the year one thousand eight hun- dred and thirty-three, chapter eighty-three.
Section 2. Be it further enacted, That the said Corporation may take and hold in fee simple the Garden and Cemetery at Mount Auburn, now held by the Massachusetts Horticultural So- ciety, and any other lands adjacent thereto, not exceeding fifty acres in addition to said Garden and Cemetery, upon the same trusts and for the same purposes, and with the same powers and privileges as the said Massachusetts Horticultural Society now hold the same by virtue of the statute of the year one thousand eight hundred and thirty-one, chapter sixty-nine; and may also take and hold any personal estate not exceeding in value fifty thousand dollars, to be applied to purposes con- nected with and appropriate to the objects of said establishment.
Section 3. Be it further enacted, That all per- sons who shall hereafter become proprietors of lots in said Cemetery, of a size not less, each, than three hundred square feet, shall thereby become members of the said Corporation.
Section 4. Be it further enacted, That the officers of the said Corporation shall consist of
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not less than seven nor more than twelve Trus- tees, a Treasurer, Secretary, and such other offi- cers as they may direct. The Trustees shall be elected annually, at the annual meeting, and shall hold their offices until others are chosen. And they shall choose one of their number to be Presi- dent, who shall be also President of the Corpo- ration ; and they shall also choose the Secretary and Treasurer, either from their own body or at large. And the said Trustees shall have the general management, superintendence, and care of the property, expenditures, business, and pru- dential concerns of the Corporation, and of the sales of lots in the said Cemetery, and they shall make a report of their doings to the Corporation at their annual meeting. The Treasurer shall give bonds for the faithful discharge of the duties of his office, and shall have the superintendence and management of the fiscal concerns of the Corporation, subject to the revision and control of the Trustees, to whom he shall make an an- nual report, which shall be laid before the Cor- poration at their annual meeting. And th Secretary shall be under oath for the faithful performance of the duties of his office, and shall record the doings at all meetings of the Corpora- tion and of the Trustees.
:
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Section 5. Be it further enacted, That the annual meetings of said Corporation shall be holden at such time and place as the by-laws shall direct, and the Secretary shall give notice thereof in one or more newspapers, printed in Boston, seven days at least before the time of meeting. And special meetings may be called by the Trustees in the same manner, unless otherwise directed by the by-laws; or by the Secretary, in the same manner, upon the written request of twenty members of the Corporation. At all meetings, a quorum for business shall con- sist of not less than seven members ; and any business may be transacted, of which notice shall be given in the advertisements for the meeting, and all questions shall be decided by a majority of the members present, and voting either in person or by proxy.
Section 6. Be it further enacted, That as soon as the said Corporation shall have received from the Massachusetts Horticultural Society a legal conveyance of the said Garden and Cemetery at Mount Auburn, the Massachusetts Horticultural Society shall cease to have any rights, powers, and authorities over the same ; and all the rights, powers, and authorities, trusts, immunities, and
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privileges conferred upon the said Society, and upon the proprietors of lots in the said Cemetery in and by virtue of the first section of the statute of the year one thousand eight hundred and thirty- one, chapter sixty-nine, shall be transferred to and exercised by the Corporation created by this Act ; and the same shall, to all intents and purposes, apply to the said Corporation, and all proprietors of lots in the said Cemetery, with the same force and effect as if the same were herein specially enacted, and the said Corporation substituted for the Massachusetts Horticultural Society hereby.
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