The body to be burnt would, in the first instance, soon after death[197] be placed, perhaps, in a coffin of some light material, and taken in due time to the mortuary,[198] ready for conveyance to the 'cinerator.' And, as it is very desirable that the ashes of the body should be kept separate from those of any coffin, a shroud of some imperishable material will be carefully sought after by inventors. The ancient Greeks made use of sheets of asbestos, which is a fibrous form of hornblende;[199] and those of the Egyptians who performed cremation enclosed the body in a receptacle of amianth, which is a similar incombustible mineral substance.[200] Whether these materials will resist the intense heat of the Siemens apparatus remains to be seen; for I have had no opportunities of making experiments. Wood, at all events, is likely to be rejected, on account of the residue of carbon, &c. (charcoal), which might not be easily separated from the more precious relics. Lead would be equally objectionable, for, although easily fusible, it possesses certain disadvantages easily to be imagined. In all probability the most suitable material for the inner coffin, which alone is to be submitted to the impingement of the hot blast, will be zinc. This metal would entirely disappear in the fierce heat, the reason being that it is volatile, and would distil off—its boiling-point being 800° Cent.,[201] or 500° Fahr. below the minimum temperature which will reign in the chamber of the apparatus.
The English and the German machinery for the reduction of the body to ashes vary in a few particulars, but the general construction is the same, as will have been perceived. In one Dresden arrangement the body is lowered into a receiver below, and the idea of interment is thus in a manner preserved.[202] In the English arrangement this is otherwise, and the coffin is made to gradually slide into the receiver, like a ship launched into water. The anguish induced by the moment of departure is in this way somewhat ameliorated, as there is no noise of lowering-machinery to grate upon the ear. At certain appointed words in our beautiful funeral service—for instance, 'ashes to ashes'—a curtain might be partially withdrawn, and the body, encased in a suitable shell, would gravitate slowly into the chamber of the apparatus, which would then immediately close noiselessly; to be opened only after the due reduction of the body. The utmost privacy would be insured, and no strange eyes could gaze upon it[203] during the period of incineration. The funeral service could also be made to occupy the whole of the time necessary for sublimation if it were so desired, or a eulogy or other reference to the departed might form the subject of a discourse. The ashes could afterwards be collected, and reverentially placed in an urn,[204] or other suitable receptacle, and conveyed to their last resting-place. Plate III. represents a view of a mortuary chapel, such as would probably be required in a Christian cemetery; and the scene there represented will serve to show how completely decorous the procedure would be.[205] And one may here remark that the great advances made by science can nowhere better be evidenced than by a comparison between the modern and ancient systems of cremation. However well disguised in beautiful language—as, for instance, by Bulwer in the 'Last Days of Pompeii'—the barbarity of the method practised in classical times will be sensibly felt in the background.
It is likely enough that whenever cremation is again practised, urns will form the chosen receptacles of the ashes. Vases or urns have always been associated with sepulture in classical times. The finest vases which have come down to us from antiquity were not originally intended for sepultural purposes, but for the adornment of the mansion. Frequently, however, these were deposited in the tombs along with the unburnt body,[206] as being the objects most valued by the deceased when living. The survivors doubtless held it as sacrilegious to make use of these favourite objects, for they are found unmolested even now.
It is worthy of remark that amongst the Ojibois Indians of the present day the canoe, gun, and blanket, which are laid upon the grave of each one of the tribe, although newly purchased, are never made use of again, nor ever stolen.[207] Many other Indian tribes observe the same custom;[208] and the Moldavians and the Caubees as well.[209]
The custom of depositing the painted vases in tombs ceased about the time when Italy and Sicily fell completely under Roman dominion. The Romans, who burnt their dead, deposited their ashes in urns, as we have seen. No ashes, it may be said generally, have been found in the Greek tombs of Italy, but the Romans made use of the vases found in tombs made by the Greeks there, as cinerary urns for their dead; and this appropriation was not uncommon. In the case of a member of the Roman family of Claudia an ancient Egyptian vase, now in the Louvre, was utilised in this manner.
The ancient painted vases are now divided into six classes, embracing forty-nine various shapes.[210] The styles are also divided into Early or Egyptian, Archaic Greek, Severe or Transitional, Beautiful or Greek, Florid, and into those of the Decadence period. Should cremation be extensively adopted nowadays, it is not unlikely that all these forms and styles will be laid under contribution. A friend[211] has kindly drawn for the present work a dozen urns, adapted for the reception of human ashes (see Plate IV.). Fig. 1 is Archaic in shape; fig. 3 belongs to the Perfect or Beautiful forms; and fig. 2 represents a shape often used during the Florid era. The others are original designs based upon classic lines, but not referable to any one period. Some very elegant forms of the ancient vases, copied from gems and other archæological resources, are to be found embodied in the monuments of the churchyards and cemeteries of the present day.[212]
Had the practice of cremation followed uninterruptedly down to our times, the receptacles for the ashes would doubtless have been shaped according to the prevailing taste of each period of architecture. For instance, the genius of the Semicircular style, which prevailed from the sixth to the twelfth centuries, and embraced the Anglo-Saxon and Norman periods, would have left its own peculiar mark, just as it has done upon the fonts which were sculptured during its sway. The Early Pointed, the Geometrical, and the Decorated and Late or Perpendicular Gothic periods would, in a similar manner, have influenced the symmetry of the vases produced between the twelfth and fifteenth centuries, and contributed their own quota of beautiful shapes. And, speaking generally, ecclesiastical taste, which presided over every detail of church construction down even to the piercing of the keys, would have been as easily recognisable in the vases which contained the ashes of the dead.
It is impossible to prophesy in what direction the taste of the future may wander as regards the shape of cinerary vessels, but there can be no doubt whatever that in many instances they will assume a distinctly ecclesiastical character. The classic patterns of vases and urns would be in excellent keeping with the architecture of churches built after Greek and Roman models; whilst they might appear otherwise if exposed to view in the niches of the walls of a Gothic fane. But it may fairly be predicted that the architectural style of the church will have to bow to the varying tastes of the worshippers, and just as we see in Westminster Abbey—that beautiful example of the Early Pointed style—the utmost diversity of taste in the monuments which cluster upon its walls, so the walls and vaults of our churches must necessarily accommodate every type of fancy whenever cremation resumes its sway. Cinerary vessels, in accordance with revived mediæval taste, will probably predominate. Some, it may be, will even assume the shapes of ancient reliquaries.[213] There is no reason why these vessels should not vary, in material and design, with the taste or means of the relatives. Glass, precious metals, and even gems, might with propriety be introduced. Urns of gold and silver were not uncommon in ancient times, and are even yet used in Siam.
With reference to the material of which cinerary urns were formerly made, pottery was chiefly chosen on account of the facility of manufacture, but they were frequently constructed of marble, alabaster, and glass. Perhaps the most beautiful cinerary urn in the world was the Barberini or Portland vase, now in the British Museum, and which contained the ashes of the Emperor Alexander Severus. It was made of blue glass upon which a coating of white glass was overlaid, and the latter cut cameo fashion into a number of emblematical figures. Glass was frequently adopted in Italy for cinerary urns, and will probably be the favourite material once more.
Besides the placing of the ashes of the dead in urns, use was frequently made of small stone sarcophagi, and these latter are found in several of the ancient Greek burial-grounds in Anatolia. This will possibly be the form adopted in the future, should an interment of the ashes be chosen in preference to their ennichement. But this is not to say that urns are not equally suitable for laying in the earth if constructed with that view. Probably both forms of containing vessels will be patronised, just as was the case in olden times. In ancient Dardanus stone sarcophagi are commonly found, whilst at Batak, nearer the supposed site of Troy, urns only were discoverable; and yet the ornaments upon the smaller articles of pottery, found in both sarcophagi and urns, were identical in pattern, as far as I can recollect.[214]