Of all the cremations which took place in the Le Moyne furnace, that of Professor S. D. Gross, M.D., LL.D., attracted the greatest attention. It was in accordance with his expressed wish that he was committed to the flames. He more than once declared he had no desire that some “curious impertinent” should, a hundred years hence, hand around his jawbone for inspection and comment, and to avoid such a contingency he gave positive directions for the burning of his body. Cremation as a mode of decently disposing of the dead could receive approval from no higher source, and in no more conspicuous manner, than in the disposition of his remains by that means. Dr. Gross stood without a peer among his fellows; he was venerated not only by the medical profession of America, but even by physicians of foreign lands. He was to the profession of medicine what Charles O’Connor was to the profession of law, and his deliberate choice of incineration in preference to burial attracted wide and respectful attention even in so conservative a class as doctors. Perhaps no man ever drew breath who was better qualified to express an opinion on this subject. Who is so well entitled to form a correct opinion as the man who for nearly three-quarters of a century had the closest possible relations with the dying and the dead? That his example gave a new impetus to incineration there is no room to doubt. He sought to be a teacher even after his death; he wanted to benefit his race even in his decease. Perhaps he believed that others might follow where he led, as they had done in life. Others will follow his example, and the work go on until the present custom shall give way to the better one. It may be long before that time comes, but come it will.
On its way to Washington, Pa., the body was accompanied by Mr. A. H. Gross and Dr. Horwitz. There were no ceremonies at the incineration, and the remains were reduced to ashes in two hours. The ashes weighed about seven pounds, were hermetically sealed in a tin box, and placed in the coffin in which the body was carried to Washington. On reaching Philadelphia the coffin was removed to the late residence of Dr. Gross, and subsequently the ashes were enclosed in a marble urn about three feet high, unornamented and without inscription, and placed beside the coffin of Dr. Gross’ late wife in the family vault at Woodlawn Cemetery, where the Rev. Dr. Charles Currie read the Episcopal burial service.
Voltaire derided his contemporaries by declaring that they could not protect themselves from the fatal power of the dead. But when the great Revolution came along, overthrowing the then existing order of things, and performing a painful but necessary work, the same France that had listened to the voice of the great philosopher became aware of a means that shielded from the dangers of the burial-ground—cremation.
On the 28th of March, 1794 (28 Germinal, An II), the deceased republican Beauvais, physician at Montpellier and member of the National Assembly, was cremated in the Champ-de-Mars at Paris. The urn containing his ashes was deposited in the archives of the nation.
In the year V of the republic (1797), a motion by Daubermesnil, to introduce facultative incineration, providing that the act would take place outside of Paris, was rejected by the Council of the Five Hundred; but in 1799 (year VII of the republic), a law was passed by the Seine department in favor of cremation. Advantage was frequently taken of the permission granted. At this time the Institute of France offered a prize of 1500 francs for the best essay on the question whether interment or cineration is preferable. In consequence, 40 dissertations were sent in, and all of them demanded optional cremation. The prize was accorded to two essays: those of MM. Mulot and Amaury-Duval.
From 1856 to 1867, the French cremationists were led by M. Bonneau and Dr. Caffe; the latter has retained the leadership till the most recent times, and has done much, by his admirable expositions of the subject, to popularize cremation in France. One point was brought out by him that is deserving of mention here, namely, that one tempted to stray from the path of honor and virtue may be restrained by the presence of ancestral urns.
Dr. Prosper de Pietra-Santa is to-day the foremost incinerationist in France, a position to which he does honor and which he well merits. His essays, first published in L’Union Medicale, are the chief contributions to modern French cremation literature. In 1873, he issued a complete manual of the subject, in which he deplored the absence of popular sympathy with incineration in France. But the time will come when France will recognize the value of the labors of this ardent reformer, whose name is destined to occupy a most prominent place on the roll of honor of his native country.
The cremation society of France, the proper designation of which is “La Societé pour la propagation de la cremation,” was founded in 1880, and incorporated on the 23d of December of the same year. The late Edmond About and Leon Gambetta—L’illustre citoyen que la France a perdu—were members of this association. At present the society numbers 570 members. Its principal object now is to obtain a law permitting cremation; when this is secured, it will devote its funds to the erection of crematories and the purchase of inventions which tend to simplify the process.
According to Professor R. Beverly Cole, M.D., for many years past cremation is not infrequently practiced in Paris, the retorts of the gas factories being employed for the purpose.
The first and only incineration in Belgium took place in 1798 or 1799, when a certain M. Yoidel, a resident of Mons, cremated the body of his child in the yard of his house, and preserved the ashes in a golden urn.