“it is a common use to entertain the knowledge of a great man by his train: how great’s the dead man then? there’s none that be so backed with troops of followers as he.” quarles.
there is a tale told in wales of a certain sion kent, who agreed with the devil to surrender to him body and soul whether he were buried in or out of the church. but, directing that his body should be laid beneath the church wall, he evaded the compact. it is not often that funeral directions have such eternal issues hanging upon them, but frequently in wills they are given due or elaborate consideration. “true it is,” says fuller, “bodies flung in a bog will not stick there at the day of judgment; cast into a wood, will find out the way; thrown into a dungeon, will have free egress; left on the highway, are still in the ready road to the resurrection. yet seeing they are the tabernacles of the soul, yea, the temples of the holy ghost, the jews justly began, the christians commendably continue, the custom of their solemn interment.” [pg 198]
directions for the disposal of the body, and for the ceremony that shall attend it, are of outstanding interest both for historical and psychological reasons. as one peruses them there rise in the mind innumerable thoughts and fancies of sad or humorous import. every phase of human nature is illustrated from pompous pride to lowliest humility, from pious reverence to vulgar unconventionality, from love of lamentation and display to hatred of mourning and show. between the hours of death and of burial seem to cluster many of man’s most quaint ideas; here lies a harvest-ground for the student, and in the records of wills rich treasures may be discovered.
perhaps few scenes of pageantry will live in the memory more than the funeral procession of henry v., at fulham, with its multitudes of lights and figures solemnly moving through the dusk. such a reconstruction of the past, with its catholic rites and ritual, its appeal to religious emotion, illustrates the picturesque scenes and ceremonies that lie behind the words of a will. sometimes these directions are given at great length and with lavish elaboration. but not all can command magnificence in death, and the will of henry vii.’s tailor may be quoted as typical of the common sort.
“in the name of god, amen. the iiiith day of the month of march, the year of our lord god 1503, and the xixth year of the reign of king henry viith, i george lovekyn, citizen of london, and tailor to our [pg 199] said sovereign lord the king, being whole of mind and in good memory, thanked be almighty jesu, make ordain and dispose this my present testament and last will in manner and form ensuing, that is to wit: first i bequeath and commend my soul to almighty god my maker and saviour and to his blessed mother, our lady saint mary the virgin, and to saint george the holy martyr, and to all the holy company of heaven, and my body to be buried in the parish church of st. mary wolnoth in lombard street of london afore the font there under the chapel of st. george by me there late made, that is to say in or by the burying place of jane my first wife which lieth there buried, on whom jesu have mercy. and i will that i have at my funeral xvi torches burning to be borne and holden by poor men to bring me to my burying place. and i will and desire if it conveniently may be that the four orders of friars mendicant of london shall accompany my body to the said burying place....”
it is said that st. swithun, when he died in 862, on his death-bed ordered his monks to inter him not in a stately shrine, but in a “mean place outside the door, where the foot of the passer-by might tread, and the rain water his grave.” to be beneath the feet of priest or worshipper was not an uncommon wish, and probably, in many cases at least, was a desire for remembrance as much as, or more than, a symbol of humility. thus gilbert carleton, vicar of farningham in 1503, wishes [pg 200] “to be buried in the parish church of farningham in one of two places as can be thought most convenient by my friends, either before the high altar in the chancel there, so that my feet may be under the priest’s feet standing at mass, or else under the step coming in at the church door, so that every creature coming in at the same door may tread upon my burial.” similarly richard-sans-peur, duke of normandy: “je veulx estre enseveli devant l’huys de l’église, afin d’estre conculqué de tous les entrans dans l’église.” another favourite place is that chosen by agnes spicer (1410): “my body to be buried in the church of st. austin’s under the bell ropes.” so ludovic stuart, lord of aubigny (1665), desired his “corpse to be buried and interred without opening it in the church of the reverend fathers the carthusians in this city of paris just under the cord wherewith they ring the bell for the divine service, without any pomp, ceremonies, and hanging up of mourning tapestries in the church; and that upon his grave there be laid a stone of just proportion, whereon they will write his name and quality of great almoner without adding anything else.”
opinion hostile to elaborate funerals or tombs is frequently found, in catholic as well as in protestant wills. john coraunt, in 1403, makes provision for his burial thus: “in the name of god, amen. in the xixth day in the month of april in the year of our lord 1403, i john coraunt, [pg 201] in my good mind and whole, make my testament in this manner. first i bequeath my soul to almighty god, and my body to the earth to be buried where the will is of my two sons william and john. also my will is to have about me at my burying no more wax than one taper at the head and another at the feet, at the ordinance of my aforesaid sons. also i bequeath vi yards of black russet cloth lying on me my burying time to be given to poor needy folk, and all other doings about my interment and mind i will it be done at once simply and without pride, within two days after my dying by the ordinance of my sons.” richard broke, of greenwich (1522), desired “no pomp of torches nor great ringing of bells, but that there be bread and ale at the dirige, to make the neighbours and poor people for to drink.”
bartholomew reed, knight, alderman, citizen, and goldsmith of the city of london, in the twenty-first year of king henry vii., gives directions that seem elaborate, but specially forbids excessive commemoration of his death. he gives his body “to be buried within the cloister of the charterhouse of london, i.e. in the side of the cloister there between two arches or moynells of stone directly against the door leading or opening out of the choir there into the said cloister, so as i may be the better in remembrance of the holy brethren of the place there in their prayers.... and i will that mine executors do make a tomb of stone of the value and cost of xx l, with the image [pg 202] of the trinity and of a dead corpse kneeling thereunto.... i will that mine executors do ordain xx comely torches of wax to burn at the time of mine exequies, and to be holden about my corpse by poor men. and on that four comely tapers of wax to be holden by four poor men in likewise ... i will that in nowise mine executors keep any solemn month’s mind in such manner as oftentimes it is used, but that which shall be done for me, i will it be done at my burying, and that without any hault or sumptuous manner of charge to be done.”
sir john monson, knight of the bath and baronet (proved january 19, 1683, s.a.), desired a “burial only not a funeral,” a desire elsewhere echoed with much variety of phrase and vigour. he himself, in the same spirit, gives these explicit directions: “if i shall die here at broxborne before i go to burton, (which i have reason to expect, my age and infirmities are so great,) my will is that my body be directly carried to south carlton there to be buried according to the established form of our church, with a sermon for the benefit of the living, (if it be thought fit), and that i may avoid all ostentation and respect decency only. my further desire is that my corpse may be carried away from my house at broxborne where i now am about daylight in some morning, without troubling any friends to accompany my hearse, and that there may be only my own coach and one more to go with it from hence to carlton, where i desire to be laid in peace with many of my relations.” [pg 203]
thomas hobbes, of gray’s inn (dated 1631), wished “to be interred in the parish church of streatham ... utterly forbidding at my funeral any solemnities of heraldry, any feasting or banqueting, any multitude of formal mourning, only willing donment black for my child and family, my nephews and niece laurence and my executors, and a servant for each of them, and one to my cousin thomas brooke. and that the company present at my funeral shall have only bread and wine for their refreshment.”
bread and wine, or some equivalent, are commonly provided for friends or for the poor. thomas lightfoot (1559) ordered every person at the day of his burial to have one farthing loaf; john sporett (1559), that his neighbours should have bread and ale; john thorpe (1571), that “all honest folks that goes to the church with me have their dinners.” richard plumpton, of york (1544), went further, giving to william plumpton and his children two hogs-heads of wine “to make merry withal.” elizabeth stow (1568), whose last unhappy hours have been narrated, bequeathed ten shillings “for my children and friends to drink withal after my burial.” and a recent vicar of st. mary, ilford, directed that his executors and other mourners were to be entertained, “complete and thorough hospitality” extended to them, and their travelling expenses paid. [pg 204]
bishop sanderson has been quoted for a loving tribute to his wife; his will gives as good an instance of the shrinking from pompous funerals as could be found in the seventeenth century. “as for my corruptible body, i bequeath it to the earth whence it was taken, to be decently buried in the parish church of buckden, towards the upper end of the chancel, upon the second, or at the furthest the third day after my decease; and that with as little noise, pomp and charge as may be, without the invitation of any person how near soever related unto me, other than the inhabitants of buckden; without the unnecessary expense of escutcheon, gloves, ribbon, etc., and without any blacks to be hung anywhere in or about the house or church, other than a pulpit cloth, a hearse-cloth, and a mourning gown for the preacher; whereof the former, after my body shall be interred, to be given to the preacher of the funeral sermon, and the latter to the curate of the parish for the time being. and my will further is that the funeral sermon be preached by my own household chaplain, containing some wholesome discourse concerning mortality, the resurrection of the dead, and the last judgment; and that he shall have for his pains ￡5, upon condition that he speak nothing at all concerning my person, either good or ill, other than i myself shall direct; only signifying to the auditory that it was my express will to have it so. and it is my will that no costly monument be erected for my memory, but only a fair flat marble stone to be laid [pg 205] over me.... this manner of burial, although i cannot but foresee it will prove unsatisfactory to sundry my nearest friends and relations, and be apt to be censured by others, as an evidence of my too much parsimony and narrowness of mind, as being altogether unusual, and not according to the mode of these times: yet it is agreeable to the sense of my heart, and i do very much desire my will may be carefully observed herein, hoping it may become exemplary to some or other: at least, however, testifying at my death—what i have so often and earnestly professed in my lifetime—my utter dislike of the flatteries commonly used in funeral sermons, and of the vast expenses otherwise laid out in funeral solemnities and entertainments, with very little benefit to any; which if bestowed in pious and charitable works, might redound to the public or private benefit of many persons.”
close upon a hundred years later (august 18, 1760), another bishop, the right rev. benjamin lord bishop of winchester, in english less chaste but with remarkable similarity of thought, wrote out his desires for his interment. “there is hardly anything more unworthy of a man, or a christian, than to have a great concern or deliberation about the place and manner of his funeral. i know of but one reason that can justify it, and that is because it may take off all dispute and difference which may arise, and determine it so as that the executors can have no trouble or blame. i once had a fixed design to order my burial at streatham church in surrey, where i passed many agreeable years [pg 206] of my life, in a vault to be built by me which might hold all my nearest and dearest relations. but when i had thus fully resolved, and was going to begin the work in the plainest manner, i found myself totally disappointed; for when i came to enquire of the proper officers of the parish where i had lived long and where i had buried my first wife, i found something true which i did not before think to be so; and that in short it was in vain to enquire about any particular coffin after such a certain number of years have passed from the time of the funeral. i therefore now, without any further thought about what is of so little consequence, order and appoint, solely to take off all uneasiness from my executor, that my burial shall be in the cathedral church of winchester, in as private a manner as decency will permit, in such part or place as the rev. the dean and the majority of the chapter shall allow of, and judge proper, for the making one grave for this purpose only. i desire that no unnecessary trouble may be given to any persons towards their attendance, but that only what has been usual on such occasions may be paid. i desire and hope that neither my executor nor any near relation will attend: nor indeed any person but the dean and prebendaries if he or any of that body happen on any other account to be at winchester at that time, and not otherwise. these may be followed at the funeral by those servants of mine who may attend the [pg 207] corpse from chelsea.... my will also is, that the inscription i have left, containing only facts relating to myself, may be engraved on a piece of marble, with very little ornament about it, and be fixed to a pillar, the nearest to the grave, without any addition of any character or any word or figure but to fill up the vacancies left.”
in a century of melancholy monuments, the century of “the grave” and “night thoughts,” the desire for simplicity is frequently expressed: there seems to be a common reaction against pomposity and show. “i desire to be decently and privately buried in the churchyard of the parish of wargrave without any funeral pomp or vain idle expense,” says simeon rockall (1789), and pierce galliard, of edmonton and southampton, “i will and desire that my body may be buried decently and privately without pomp or show and with as little expense as possible, either in the parish church where i shall die or at edmonton with my ancestors and family as shall be agreeable to my beloved wife and executrix.” these are but random instances.
but sometimes the tones are raised by appeal to reason or to ridicule. thus rev. obadiah hughes (1751) says: “i order that my body be conveyed in a decent but not pompous manner, (for pomp and show abate the solemnity of death, and often prevent those serious impressions which a funeral might make upon the minds of attendants and spectators,) to the [pg 208] parish church of st. martin outwich in the city of london, and be there deposited as near as may be to the precious remains of my late dear wife, there to rest and sleep together until the great resurrection day.” and samuel gillam, whose will was proved on august 13, 1793, thus breaks out: “whereas i think it a very great absurdity and the most egregious folly to make the deaths and burials of persons to be an occasion of pomp and show, i do hereby order and desire my funeral may be performed in such manner as may be barely decent, but no more, and that the expense thereof do not exceed including the parochial fees ￡20, and that william brent do undertake the same. i give unto the said william brent as a legacy ￡10. i verily believe he is an honest man.”
james clegg (dated april 13, 1781), after giving a sum to mrs. tommasa jackson to employ it in giving a dinner to herself and his most intimate friends, within a month of his death, “sooner or later according as her tears may have subsided,” proceeds: “with regard to my burial my executors shall do as they please: all i recommend is not to be lain under ground alive, i mean that they keep me after my death for two days in some place before burial, paying those for their trouble who may have me in charge—will you do it? it being customary to honour the dead with monuments and pompous tombs, here i intend to interfere, and give orders that for me no greater expense be made than 100 dollars and for an inscription these few words: ‘here lies james clegg,’ which [pg 209] to me appears sufficient: every reader may say what more he thinks fit.” but time—perhaps success—seems somewhat to have relaxed his resolution, for by a codicil dated may 4, 1784, he says: “in case of my decease there shall be called an honourable meeting at which all my countrymen and all the merchants shall be invited, and to my countrymen scarves shall be given, and that a decent tomb shall be made for me at the expense of from two to three hundred dollars, and on the same this inscription shall be written: ‘the monument of james clegg anno ...’”
“and lastly, to close all,” wrote gilbert white, of selborne, “i do desire that i may be buried in the parish church of selborne aforesaid in as plain and private a way as possible, without any pall bearers or parade, and that six honest day-labouring men (respect being had to such as have bred up large families) may bear me to my grave, to whom i appoint the sum of ten shillings each for their trouble.”
coming to recent days it would be easy to illustrate the desire for simplicity in death, from highest to lowest, but instances may be seen in the papers from day to day. leopold, king of the belgians, whose will was dated november 20, 1907, said: “i wish to be buried early in the morning, without any pomp whatsoever. apart from my nephew albert and my household, i forbid anyone to follow my remains.” the late earl of leicester, when he died the “father” of the house of lords, desired [pg 210] that his body “be buried in the churchyard at holkham, enclosed in a single plain deal coffin only, without any brasses or ornament whatever; and i request my executors not to provide any gloves or hatbands, or to allow any other foolish expenditure at my funeral.”
a late bishop suffragan of shrewsbury directed that he should be buried in the simplest possible manner, in an earthen grave which was to be covered with a low plinth bearing the words, “not worthy of the least of all the mercies which thou hast shewed unto thy servant,” and earnestly entreated that no attempt should be made to raise any public memorial in his honour. father tyrrell, in a document dated january 1, 1909, wished nothing to be written on his grave except his name and the statement that he was a catholic priest, with the addition only of the emblem of the chalice and the host.
less simple in the desire for simplicity were the instructions of a solicitor, who directed that his remains should be cremated and the ashes scattered in some plantation for restoration to the world which he had “found so delightful”; that his funeral should be conducted in the most unostentatious, private, and, indeed, secret manner, without advertisement or invitations to attend, and that no gravestone should be erected.
at the particular desire of edward nokes, a miser of hornchurch, whose niggardliness was extended to his funeral arrangements, none who [pg 211] followed him to the grave was in mourning, but each follower appeared in striking costume and the undertaker in blue coat and scarlet waistcoat. such is the lamentable antithesis of a desire which is sometimes expressed, and with which it is easy to sympathise, that no black garments shall be worn. it is a desire which is, perhaps, increasingly common, though in the seventeenth century there are such conspicuous passages as jeremy taylor’s protest against undue lamentation and bacon’s essay “of death.” sir john monson (who is referred to on p. 202) makes it his last request that his wife and relations will not think that a loss to them which will be so great an improvement of his joy and happiness, and not make his crown their cross, but enjoy themselves and those earthly comforts god shall still bless them with in an holy submission and cheerfulness. perhaps the ideal method in this question, difficult because of prejudice and custom, was attained by christina rossetti, who, at her grandmother’s death, was without black clothes, but wrote that she had nevertheless “managed to put on nothing contrary to mourning.”
recently a testatrix desired her body to be buried in quicklime in an ordinary grave, not a walled grave or a vault, and directed especially that no mourning should be worn and that the funeral service should be as cheerful as possible: another that her children should wear as little black as possible, and not shut themselves up, but go out among friends and to places of amusement. “i am not afraid of them forgetting me, but i want them to be happy.” [pg 212]
“let me be placed in my coffin,” wrote an artist in paris, “as quickly as possible after my death, and let nobody outside the household be admitted to my death chamber before i am placed in the coffin. in a word i do not wish anybody to attend through curiosity to see how i look. let no portrait or photograph be made of my corpse, and let me be buried in the shortest time possible. and do not weep for me. i have lived a life happy enough; the aim of my life was my painting, and i gave all of which i was capable. i might have lived another twenty years, but should not have progressed any more, so what would have been the good? and how content i should be if no one wears the marks of mourning. i always had a horror of this show, so if you cannot do otherwise, then wear the least of it possible.”
thought and care for those who are to “have the pleasure of surviving” add here and there pathetic touches. mary horne in 1784 wrote an informal will, of which this is the dominant note. “my dear sister, being very desirous of giving you as little trouble at my death as possible shall make no will, being well assured you’ll strictly observe and comply with this my last request, which is that i may be decently interred according to the enclosed directions.... my desire is that i may be kept as long as possible before i am buried, and to lay as near [pg 213] my dear father and mother in the parish church of swindon as conveniently to be done, and if not attended with much trouble. i would have no shroud but combed wool: to be carried by six poor men of the town, and to each half a guinea given and a strong pair of gloves: the pall flung over me which belongs to the clerk, and no one invited to the funeral, but a pair of the best kid gloves sent to all in the town who i visited.... to those who have the trouble of laying me out and being in the room with me after i am dead a guinea to each and a good pair of gloves.”
as this was dated september 29, 1784, and proved on october 6th, the good lady must have written it within a day or two or an hour or two of death: it is legitimate to believe that she was as loath to give trouble in her life as after death, and that “all in the town whom she visited” were her mourners.
mary horne, it will be noticed, wished to be kept as long as possible before her burial. she does not give a reason, but it was presumably to lessen the risk of premature burial, the possibility of which haunts many minds. seven years before her death dr. william hawes had published his “address on premature death, and premature interment,” and still to-day the subject is one of importance, as the society for the prevention of premature burial can testify. recently a testator expressed a wish either to be cremated or that his heart should be pierced, as “i feel assured that many persons are buried alive.” now and then sensational stories appear, as of rappings in a coffin or of [pg 214] the revival of one about to be interred. “all i recommend,” said james clegg, “is not to be lain under ground alive,” and what he recommends is often anxiously striven against. such efforts were made by ann west (ob. 1803) who once was nearly buried alive, by directing that she should be buried in a coffin without a lid, and that a hole should be left in the brickwork of her vault. it was even said that she bequeathed her fortune to a servant on condition that he should place bread and water on her coffin for a year in case she should revive and need them. but perhaps all was not well at last, for her ghost was said to haunt the neighbourhood.
a similar tale is told of a manchester lady, a miss bexwick or beswick, who died about the middle of the eighteenth century, and devised an estate to her doctor and others, on condition that the doctor paid her a morning visit for twelve months after her death. to fulfil the conditions it was necessary to embalm her body, and the doctor resided in the house to pay the mummy his daily call.
horatio mucklow, of highbury (ob. july 27, 1816), bequeathed a legacy to powell the parish clerk, on condition that he would see his head severed from his body previous to burial, and thomas trigge, of st. george, southwark (will dated february 24, 1755, and proved november 25, 1784), directed that before he was shut up in his coffin a surgeon should give him such a wound as would prove immediately fatal were he [pg 215] alive. such drastic methods are not uncommon to-day. the late lord burton wrote: “i desire that before my body be placed in the coffin the spine and spinal marrow of the neck shall be completely severed by a competent surgeon and the heart removed and placed in a separate vessel, to be enclosed in the coffin,” and presumably the risk of premature burial was in his mind. “i have a great horror of being buried alive,” wrote a lady in her will, “therefore i wish my finger to be cut,” and she bequeathed ￡10 to the doctor performing such service. another ordered a doctor to “thrust a dagger through my heart three times to make sure i am dead.” better thus than to be buried alive: such a stuffy death, as yum-yum says in “the mikado.”
dorcas hutchinson, of st. anne, soho (will proved june 3, 1761), was content with a less drastic method. “i mean by my desire above written not to be enclosed in any coffin whatever within seven days after my decease; that my corpse be laid upon a bed during that time, and may not be put into any covered coffin until the eighth day. my will is that edward havel my present servant may take care that the above request is literally complied with, and for that purpose may stay in the house till i am buried, and upon his so doing i do bequeath him the sum of ￡50.”
for such a method there is much to be said, if after apparent death a prolongation of life be desired, but the method is unfortunately not [pg 216] conclusive. “everybody has heard,” writes john timbs, “of the lady who was buried, being supposed dead, and who bearing with her to the tomb, on her finger, a ring of rare price, this was the means of her being rescued from her charnel prison-house. a butler in the family of the lady, having his cupidity excited, entered the vault at midnight in order to possess himself of the ring, and in removing it from the finger the body was restored to consciousness and made her way in her grave-clothes to her mansion. she lived many years afterwards before she was finally consigned to the vault.”
on saturday, october 29, 1808, elizabeth emma thomas was buried at islington, and on monday this inscription was raised:—
“in memory of mrs. elizabeth emma thomas who died the 28th october, 1808, aged 27 years.
she had no fault save what travellers give the moon: her light was lovely, but she died too soon.”
suspicion was aroused from the rapidity of her burial, the grave opened, and the body removed into the church for inspection. suspicion seemed justified when a large wire pin was found thrust through her left side and fixed in her heart. but it appeared from the evidence that this was done at her own desire, to prevent the possibility of being buried alive, and the jury returned a verdict accordingly: “died by the visitation of god.” [pg 217]
but the preceding is a digression on the way to simplicity. with such an expression as “i commit ... my body to the deep or any convenient place, it’s immaterial where,” we reach down to the minimum, and must ascend again. “to them,” says jeremy taylor, “it is all one, whether they be carried forth upon a chariot or a wooden bier; whether they rot in the air or on the earth; whether they be devoured by fishes or by worms, by birds or by sepulchral dogs, by water or by fire, or by delay”; but man is often in nothing so eccentric as in his desires for the disposal of his remains, or in the accompaniments and accoutrements he asks for his obsequies.
the meanings of these desires are not seldom hid, and each may conjecture for himself the motive of the deceased. thus thomas fuller says of catharine of aragon: “she was buried in the abbey-church of peterborough, under a hearse of black say; probably by her own appointment, that she might be plain when dead, who neglected bravery of clothes when living.” a vain woman, on the other hand, desired according to an old welsh tale to be buried in her ball-dress, and her request was not denied; but her soul was hunted by the spirit-hounds, who pursue the objects of their malice. it is difficult to believe that anything but eccentricity lay behind the wishes of one who was recently buried at barton-on-humber, “in his best suit of clothes and brown boots, cane in hand and cap on head, watch in fob with chain attached, and with a few coins in his pockets.” [pg 218]
again, a woman wishes to be buried in the clothes she shall be wearing at the time of her death, and what might lie behind this desire is suggested by the romance of mrs. fitzherbert and george iv. it was in a will that he acknowledged her as his true wife, and the romance was recalled when he commanded the duke of wellington to see that he was buried in the clothes which he wore at death, and that nothing should be taken from him. the king, it was discovered, had piously worn a miniature of the woman he had loved, and by his command he secured that the portrait should be buried with him.
john hyacinth de magelhaens, buried february 13, 1790, desired that “where the tree fell it might lie.” no doubt some sentiment or tradition would explain many quaint requests. a recent writer spins a little tale to explain a certain sentimental dying injunction “that there should be placed in his hands and buried with him a rosebud which will be found with him whenever or wherever he dies.” the reader of jules sandeau’s tale “un héritage,” soon discovers the reason for the last injunction in the will of count sigismond st. hildesheim. “je joins au présent testament un air tyrolien; je désire que cet air soit gravé sur ma tombe et me serve d’épitaphe.” on many such desires, however, it is curious to speculate.
alice suckling in 1632 bequeathed her body to the earth, dust to dust, therein to be buried in the night. susan hornesby, of horton, in kent, [pg 219] desired “to be buried in linen, in one of them sheets that was my mother’s ... and my three maiden sisters to bury me, and i desire a small funeral.” (proved january 16, 1694.) mary jacob, spinster, in 1783 desired “a black coffin with white nails and white plate, my body to be wrapped in a piece of flannel, and a crape cap, and what hat bands and gloves be given i desire it should be black.” sarah jennings, widow, in the same year makes more elaborate arrangements. “my body i recommend to the earth to be buried in decent christian burial in manner and form following by my executor, nothing doubting but at the general resurrection i shall receive the same again by the mighty power of god. first i order my coffin to be lined with the lining of my silk petticoat, the coffin to be covered with black cloth with three rows of nails. when the bell tolls the second time two porters to be set at the door with hat bands and gloves, and i further order to be laid by my brother richard sutton with a grave stone to cover us both. the under-bearers and pall-bearers to have hat bands and gloves, twenty widows to have one shilling apiece to be paid the day after the burial, and half a guinea for ringing a mourning peal. no bread nor biscuits to be given, but only wine.... and i do further order that i be took down to william pywell’s house as soon as put in my coffin, from thence to proceed to church, and i do further order that neither benjamin sutton nor william oldershaw and his wife shall attend my funeral.” [pg 220]
it is strange how minutely these women contemplate their dissolution. jane carpenter, spinster, by her will dated april 17, 1789, gave the following directions. “first, i will to be kept a week after my decease before my burial, which i will to be at oxford in the churchyard next to all souls college in the parish of st. mary’s, as near as may be to the chancel window; also i desire that my funeral be in the manner following: a strong coffin covered with black and everything good that is wanting or necessary, a hearse and four horses and a coach and four horses; the minister of the parish and the clerk i give a black silk hatband and gloves each; it is my desire to have nothing white, but everything black.... i will and bequeath to mr. richard brook of tidington ... smith and farmer ￡15 15s., and it is my desire that he shall attend my funeral; a letter directed to him at the sign of the three pigeons near thame ... will come safe to hand.”
in the obituary of the gentleman’s magazine for 1788 is this notice: “at his apartments at chelsea college, in his 95th year, messenger mounsey, m.d. for a considerable time he was family physician to the late earl of godolphin, and physician to chelsea college. his character and humour bore a striking resemblance to that of the celebrated dean swift. by his will he has directed that his body shall not suffer any funeral ceremony, but undergo dissection; after which the ‘remainder of [pg 221] his carcase’ (to use his own expression) ‘may be put into a hole, or crammed into a box with holes, and thrown into the thames,’ at the pleasure of the surgeon. the surgeon to whom he has assigned this charge is mr. forster, of union-court, broad street. in pursuance of the doctor’s singular will, mr. forster has since given a discourse in the theatre of guy’s hospital to the medical students and a considerable number of intelligent visitors, on the dissection of the body.... mr. forster ... vindicated the doctor from all affectation, vanity, or whim, in having ordered his body for dissection and prohibited all funeral ceremony, stating that whatever of singularity might appear in his will was resolvable merely into a zeal for knowledge, and a desire of benefiting mankind, as he conceived that a dissection of his body would lead to the illustration of much useful truth. he mentioned also the philosophic contempt in which the doctor held all funeral pomp, and every species of unnecessary form.”
messenger monsey’s will has been quoted in these pages more than once, and is of interest in many ways; but, as proved, it does not contain this strange provision for the disposal of his body after dissection. as to post-mortem examination, monsey is not unique. jean de labadie, that strange and spiritual figure, stated in his last testament that if such an examination of his body should be thought useful to others he willingly allowed it (1674). “lastly, i testify that i, as i belong to [pg 222] god and owe myself entirely to him, give myself without reserve into his keeping, and to my brethren and sisters who are together with me members of this community i give my body, that they may do with it as they think fit, even if they but attend to its simple burial according to our custom. it may be that my body, in which i have suffered great physical pain (which is not uncommon in those who have devoted themselves to the work of the soul and spirit), may be usefully opened and examined, and that some lessons may be drawn from it advantageous to the prolongation of other lives. but as it signifies very little about the body, which returns to dust when the spirit returns to god, i surrender my soul heartily to my god, giving it back like a drop of water to its source, and rest confident in him, praying god my origin and ocean, that he will take me into himself and engulf me eternally in the divine abyss of his being. i would say more of this if i had strength to go on writing, but this word will suffice. i am united to god and one with the saints in god; this unison is all, and it is all to me.” and the same bishop of winchester who is quoted above said in a codicil: “it is my express desire that my body may be opened so far as to see whether any appearance in it may be of use to my fellow creatures: which i hope mr. hawkins will perform and judge of. december 1st, 1759.”
in the will of florence nightingale is a clause peculiarly apt for this chapter. “i give my body for dissection or post-mortem examination for [pg 223] the purposes of medical science, and i request that the directions about my funeral given by me to my uncle, the late samuel smith, be observed. my original request was that no memorial whatever should mark the place where lies my ‘mortal coil.’ i much desire this, but, should the expression of such wish render invalid my other wishes, i limit myself to the above mentioned directions, praying that my body may be carried to the nearest convenient burial ground, accompanied by not more than two persons, without trappings, and that a simple cross with only my initials, date of birth and of death, mark the spot.”
it is said that in early life jeremy bentham determined to leave his body for dissection, and in 1769, at the age of twenty-two, bequeathed it for that purpose: “this my will and general request i make, not out of affectation of singularity, but to the intent and with the desire that mankind may reap some small benefit in and by my decease, having hitherto had small opportunities to contribute thereto while living.” as a matter of fact, directions given by will as to the disposition of the body are invalid, but by the anatomy act, 1832, certain interesting provisions are laid down. the executor may permit the body of the deceased to undergo anatomical examination, unless he has expressed his desire in writing, or verbally in the presence of two or more witnesses during the illness whereof he died, that such examination might not be held, or unless the surviving spouse or any relative shall require the body to be interred without examination. [pg 224]
on the other hand, if any person has directed in writing, or verbally as above, that an anatomical examination shall be held, his direction is to be carried out, unless the surviving spouse or a relative require the body to be interred without such examination.
the desire that there should be placed in the coffin letters written to the testator by his wife before their marriage is intelligible, and the request was made recently in a minister’s will. a contemporary record of the death in 1788 of frances marchioness dowager of tweeddale makes much of such tender provisions. “she lived a great example of prudence and penurious economy, and in her death gave testimony of the goodness of her heart, united with wisdom, in the legacies and orders respecting her own funeral, and her surviving relatives and friends. an instance of conjugal affection, rarely to be found in the life and death of great personages, is more fully evinced by her living 26 years a dowager, ordering her burial with her wedding-ring on her finger, and the letters of her dear lord to be put into the coffin with her, and to be laid as near as possible to her deceased husband.”
unintelligible, however, to any not initiated into the mysteries of testators’ minds are some of these directions or desires:— [pg 225]
“after my decease, i desire that a competent and trustworthy doctor of medicine shall thoroughly satisfy himself that life is absolutely extinct. my carcase is to be cremated, and the residuum thereof deposited in two metal urns, numbered respectively 1 and 2. on the ashes in no. 1 are to be placed a packet, which will be found on my desk, and my miniature portrait scarf-pin, and on the ashes in urn no. 2 a similar packet, which will also be found on my desk, and my miniature portrait finger-ring.”
“i direct that i shall be buried in the clothes in which i shall die, whether they be day clothes or night clothes, and after my death my body is not to be washed or in any way whatsoever meddled with, and no funeral service shall be held over my remains anywhere.”
another testator directed that his body should be burnt or cremated, and the ashes placed in a glass or earthenware jar. a porcelain vase was then to be made large enough to contain this jar, and to bear his name and the date of his death. a vault was to be built of great strength and solidity, to contain at least six vases, a suitable inscription on the exterior. when these operations should be complete, the glass jar was to be placed within the vase, and the lid of the vase put on with a strong cement to exclude the air, the vase then to be deposited in the vault and to remain there for ever.
john baskerville, who died at birmingham, 1775, directed that his body should be buried in a conical building, in his own premises, [pg 226] “heretofore used as a mill, which i have lately raised higher and painted, and in a vault which i have prepared for it. this doubtless to many will appear a whim; perhaps it is so, but it is a whim for many years resolved upon, as i have a hearty contempt of all superstition, the farce of a consecrated ground ...” and other ideas, pleasanter to omit and illustrative of the unreasonableness of eighteenth-century reason. his epitaph was to run as follows:—
“stranger, beneath this cone, in unconsecrated ground, a friend to the liberties of mankind directed his body to be inurned. may the example contribute to emancipate thy mind from the idle fears of superstition and the wicked arts of priesthood.”
john baskerville endeavours to give at least some idea of the motives underlying his behests. so major peter labelliere, whose mind was said to have been unhinged by hopeless love, by politics and religion, chose for his burial a spot on box hill, where about the beginning of the nineteenth century he was interred with his head downwards, in order that as “the world was turned topsy-turvy, he might be right at last.”
in the register of lymington church under the year 1736 is the entry: “samuel baldwin, esq. sojourner in this parish, was immersed, without the needles, sans cérémonie, may 20.” the explanation, according to [pg 227] wm. hone in his “table book,” is that this was done in consequence of the deceased’s earnest wish, to disappoint the intention of his wife, who had repeatedly assured him that, if she survived, she would wreak her revenge by dancing on his grave.
the artist w. p. firth, like many others in recent times, requested that his body should be cremated, saying that “the duty of the individual to his kind includes providing for such final disposal of his body as shall be least detrimental to those who survive him, and that the modern process of incineration provides the quickest and safest mode of such disposal.”
as unsentimental was the mind of the new york citizen who instructed his executors to have made out of his bones circular buttons of dimensions from one half an inch to one inch in diameter, to have the skin of his body tanned and made into pouches; and to have violin strings made out of such parts as might be suitable, adding: “i hereby give unto my beloved friend james hayes the buttons, violin-strings and tanned skin made out of my body as aforesaid, the same to be by him distributed according to his discretion to my intimate friends.” the belief, it is said, that in the human body exists useful material which should not be wasted led this testator to give such strange directions: he did not believe in ordinary unhygienic and wasteful modes of burial, and hoped that his example might be followed. [pg 228]
with the will of john angell, of stockwell, dated september 21, 1774, we may make an end. he seems to have been a man of ambitious ideas. he made provision for a “college or society of seven decayed or unprovided for gentlemen,” and had the temerity to name as trustees the archbishops of canterbury and of york and the lord chancellor, “the great personages whom i have presumed to appoint to this trust,” as he himself says.
the same elaboration marks his funeral arrangements. “i would be interred in the manner following. i would be wrapped in a woollen sheet only. then without a shroud be put into a leaden coffin, which shall not be soldered down but only screwed. on this coffin shall be a large plain inscription on lead expressing who i am. then to be put into a black cloth coffin with usual ornaments. only i would have a plate of copper or brass instead of such as is usually put. thereon shall be well engraved the family coat of arms properly blazoned and as i now bear, with a full inscription as on the lead in latin as thus: john the son of john and caroline qui consortem habuit carissimam. i desire to lie open in my chamber so long as i decently may. afterwards in about a fortnight, or rather above, would be carried to crowhurst in a hearse with six horses dressed properly with shields and escutcheons, but no other trifling ornaments. my own coach shall follow with one footman behind it and i riding before; and besides two mourning coaches only with six horses, in one of which i would have go my executors or near [pg 229] friends, in the other my maid servants. i would desire the tenants and neighbours at crowhurst and in that neighbourhood would meet me at the bottom of riddlesdown as usual heretofore, and they are to have there gloves and hatbands. and i would desire such of my neighbours in about stockwell as would show me that regard to ride two by two before me as far as the further end of croydon, accordingly to have hatbands and gloves. and it is my will and desire that if the college and chapel which i intend to erect be finished and settled, the gentlemen and the chaplain and minister and the whole choir and the servants of the college attend on foot to the top of brixton causeway, singing as they proceed some proper hymn or anthem as shall be appointed on the occasion.”
