| 923 (immortal) and last restorer of the ancient covenants of Israel.
It affords us great satisfaction, to lay before the saints this unalterable name, by which they shall be designated from the spurious branches of the evil one, raised up to work miracles and "call down fire from heaven," in the last days.
It is worthy of notoriety that Lucifer and his minions, have never, from the beginning, got exactly the true pattern. This teaches us, that without revelation no man could build up the kingdom of heaven on the earth, and have it prosper. Rejoice then, brethren, and be exceeding glad, for there are other revelations, which say, "the kingdom is yours and shall be till the Lord comes."
GRAVE YARDS IN CITIES.
The subject of metropolitan burial places, says an exchange paper, has often been discussed; but without the production of any beneficial results. It is an established fact that city graveyards exhale noxious gasses from which ensue horrible disease, and as is natural, death itself. The gasses produced by decomposition, it has been ascertained, are often strong enough to burst off the lids of coffins.
Abuses, too, are practised [practiced] by the owners and directors of these city receptacles of the dead. Recently, in London, a developement [development]was made which proved that in a burying ground of two acres in size fifteen hundred interments had been annually made. As it is well known that a quart cannot be put into a gill measure, this expose excited suspicion that all was not right, and so witnesses were called to testify, among other things, to the number of bodies interred in one grave. One of these witnesses testified that eight bodies were put in one grave, and that the grave was generally eight feet deep only. The coffins of adults were put in length-wise, and the coffins of children at each end. The following is a portion of the examination:
"How often do you remove the dead to make room for more?"
"We do not remove the bodies of adults."
"That seems to imply that you do remove those of children?"
"Not until they are decayed; when the rod goes through them (great sensation.)"
We have seen the rod operation performed in yards in this city. Another witness declared that "she had seen the grave-diggers throw up parts of human bodies, and then chop it up with their shovels. Saw one of them seize a corpse by the hair, and on that occasion she cried out and the men threw in the flesh and covered it with clay. She now added that since her last examination she saw Smith, one of the grave-diggers, carrying the bottom and lid of a coffin towards the bone-house. It was at six o'clock on Wednesday morning. Had seen the grave-diggers throw up dark heavy lumps. Could not at first tell what it was, but afterwards knew it to be human flesh. The man in the grave tossed it up on the clay. He would then come up and pick the hair up; saw very long hair at one time upon the clay."-This traffic seems worse than the purchase and sale of live human beings. Much worse.
(->) Upon this subject we would remark, that "the dead" are not treated with proper respect in large cities and other places. In old times the "dead" were respected as much as the living. We read many important interments in the scriptures. In Genesis we find:
"And Abraham hearkened unto Ephron; and Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver, which he had named in the audience of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver current money with the merchant.
And the field of Ephron, which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field, and the cave which was therein, and all the trees that were in the field, that were in all the borders round about, were made sure.
Unto Abraham for a possession, in the presence of the children of Heth, before all that went in at the gate of his city.
And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah, before Mamre: the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan.
And the field, and the cave that is therein, were made sure unto Abraham, for a possession of a burying-place, by the sons of Heth.
And when Abraham had filled the measure of his days, gave up the ghost and died and was gathered unto his people, his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, which is before Mamre."
The receptacles of the "dead" have been held sacred in all ages, by the civilized and the savage. Look at the mummies from the catacombs of Egypt. Look at the mounds of America, and reflect what noble spirits must have actuated the hearts of the living for the dead, among the nations that have passed from the world like the mighty waters of a great river, leaving nothing but the sand of its banks to point us to where it once was.
Embalming, too, is not destitute of the honor of old times. We read that "Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father: and the physicians embalmed Israel.
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