In order to carry out the above objects it has been resolved to raise funds for the purpose of carrying into operation the practice of cremation through the agency of cemetery companies, parochial and municipal authorities, or other public bodies.
[176] In the play of 'Virginius' the body of Virginia is represented as having been placed in an urn, and when the distraught father enquires for his missing daughter, the vase is placed in his hands by the sorrowing lover. When this scene is presented, the thrill which seizes the audience is succeeded by a sensation of admiration at the eminently superior system of the ancients. I have seen the actor Brooke in this tragedy, and the effect which he here produced was inexpressible. Many whom I have consulted as to the feelings engendered at this point, have invariably declared that they were at the time complete converts to cremation, and that the sense of approval only left them when they began to realise how impossible were funeral pyres in this country. Happily the Siemens apparatus is now at hand, and its suitability proved beyond all cavil.
[177] Laurentius, 'De funeribus antiquorum;' Kirchmannus, 'De funere Romanorum;' Montfaucon, 'Les funérailles des Grecs, des Romains,' &c.; Muret, 'Cérémonies funèbres de toutes les nations;' Porcacchi, 'Funerali antichi;' and many others to be found in public libraries.
[178] See Trelawney's 'Last Days of Shelley and Byron.'
[179] It has been seriously debated by some eminent men whether or not the ashes should be utilised, instead of being thrown away or gathered for preservation in urns.
[180] The cost of a Hindoo funeral of the humbler class in the neighbourhood of Poona, according to Col. Martin, is as follows:—
| R. | A. | P. | |
| Bamboo sticks for making the trestle | 0 | 14 | 0 |
| Dungaree cloth for winding sheet | 1 | 8 | 0 |
| Twine for binding the trestle | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| One bundle of kurbie for placing on trestle | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| Golal powder for sprinkling over the body | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Flowers and betel-leaves for placing upon it | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Saffron for the sprinkling water | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Vessel for carrying fire | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Piece of gold or pearl for placing in the mouth | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| Three copper pice to tie in the clothes | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| Rice, &c., for dropping on the road, &c. | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Sandal-wood for burning | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Firewood for making fire | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| Oil or ghee for increasing the flame | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Refreshments for friends | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| Total | 12 | 7 | 3 |
[181] The following compilation from a burial service of the Brahmins, who are the priests of all the other castes of Hindoos that burn their dead, may prove interesting to the reader. It is extracted from the 'Sacred Anthology.'
'O Earth! to thee we commend our brother: of thee he was formed, by thee he was sustained, and unto thee he now returns.
'O Fire! thou hadst a claim on our brother during life: he subsisted by thy influence in nature: to thee we commit his body, thou emblem of purity; may his spirit be purified on entering a new state of existence.