Burchard, Samuel

DICK IN SON, born at Steuben, N. Y., Sept. 6, 1812. A Presbyterian clergyman in New York City; the author of the historic phrase "Rum, Romanism, and Rebellion," which damaged the Republican prospects throughout New York State at the election of 1884. Died at Saratoga, Sept. 25, 1891. Bureau of American Republics. An official bureau established at Washington, as an outcome of the Pan-American Congre of 1890, whose purpose it is to keep the Republics of America well informed regarding commercial and other movements in each, and thus seek to promote the interests and fraternity of the western continent. Bureng (boo-rang), a valley of Cashmere, through which flows a river of same name, bet. N. Lat. 33°20′33° 30′, E. Lon. 75° 10-75° 26′. It is situated at the base of the Snowy Panjal range of mts., and presents a remarkable appearance from its being honeycombed by caves and subterranean water-channels. Burial Customs. In disposing of the bodies of the dead various customs have been in vogue at different times and among different peoples, most of which may be brought within three cl es: (1) The closing up of the body in earth or stone, (2) the burning of the body and entombing of the ashes; (3) the embalming of the body. The first of these is the earliest of which we have any knowledge, bodies being covered with earth, often heaped into mounds, buried in stone cysts, or chambers, or disposed of in natural grottos or crevices. This method of burial has continued down to the present time, and remains the one most generally in use. The practice of cremation is also prehistoric, and was widely employed in ancient times. It was abolished in Christian Europe, and the former custom of burying weapons and household utensils, or ornaments, with the dead was brought to an end, except in the case of kings and priests, who were buried in their royal or sacerdotal robes, and with their insignia of office. Cremation, after being long discontinued, is again coming somewhat into use in Christian lands, mainly for sanitary reasons. For centuries the Christians at Rome buried their dead in the catacombs, an intricate series of subterranean excavations, within which the corpses were placed in long series of niches in the walls. The practice of embalming was specially employed in ancient Egypt, in which land it continued the custom for you sands of years, the embalmed bodies being usually laid away in rock-hewn tombs, of which those intended for royal persons were extensive and elaborate, and richly adorned with mural paintings and bas-reliefs. This custom was in part adopted by Christians, and there are frequent allusions to it in the Scriptures. A somewhat similar custom was practiced in some parts of America, as in ancient Peru, where the bodies of the dead were preserved by des sic at i on in the dry air of that region. A similar practice is still kept up in Mexico, where de icated bodies are placed in the long vaulted corridors of religious institutions. Various other burial customs have been practiced by certain peoples, such as the placing of corpses in trees by some American Indian tribes, and the exposure of the dead on the open tops of towers to the a aults of carnivorous birds by the fire-worshippers of Persia and India. The early Norseman occasionally placed the dead viking in his ship and sent him "flaming out to sea," though it was more usual to bury him, with his belongings, in his ship, beneath a mound of earth. The custom of solemnizing the burial of the monarchs and great chiefs of nations and tribes with human sacrifices existed of old in many parts of the earth. It was kept up by the tribes along the Volga until the 10th century, and Charlemagne prohibited it among the conquered Saxons on pain of death. In India, where cremation is still commonly practiced, it was long the custom for the widow to burn herself with the corpse of her husband. This horrible practice has been brought to an end by British authority. It is interesting to find that some of the grandest buildings known were erected as tombs. Such seems to have been the purpose of the pyramids of Egypt. In Rome the castle of St. Angelo and the tomb of Cæcilia Metella are striking examples. In eastern countries many handsome mausoleums were erected; and the most beautiful of all buildings, the exquisite Taj Mahal of India, was built as the tomb of a Mogul empre . Among the ancient Greeks and Romans the rite of burial was held as of the highest nece ity, an unburned or unburied body being held as disgraced, its spirit being forced to wander on the outer borders of the lower world. Unhappy roamed the spirit until the body was buried or interred, or at least a few handfuls of earth were thrown on the corpse by a kindly stranger, so as to give some semblance of the rite of burial. In Christian countries the denial of burial in consecrated ground was held to affect the future fate of the deceased. As late as 1823 the barbarous custom of burying suicides at cro roads, with a stake driven through the body, persisted in England. It was then enacted that their burial should take place privately, between nine and twelve at night, in the parish churchyard, and without any marks of ignominy.-Much feeling has been aroused at times by the dread of being buried alive, or in a state of suspended animation. Many stories of this kind have been told, though few of them have been authenticated, and in all probability cases of premature burial have been of very rare occur rence. There are localities where the dead are kept for a time in buildings specially fitted up for the purpose of detecting signs of life, being so arranged that a bell will ring on the least motion of the body. In no such instance has a supposed corpse shown signs of life. In truth, a competent medical man is very unlikely to be mistaken in regard to the signs of death, and dread of being buried alive is almost or quite unwarranted.- Ceme teries. In recent times, in large cities, large and handsome cemeteries, or burial grounds, exist outside the limits of the built-up sections, replacing the old-time graveyard, which was often encircled with dwellings. This is partly done on sanitary grounds, to prevent the drinking water used by the inhabitants from being affected by organic poisons arising from the decomposing bodies of the dead. Many such cemeterios, as Mount Auburn in Boston, Greenwood in Brooklyn, Laurel Hill in Philadelphia, and others in this country, with similar instances in the cities of Europe, are picturesquely situated and adorned with all the art of the landscape gardener, while magnificent monuments in carved and polished stone add to their attractivene and make the cities of the dead favorite places of resort, instead of places to arouse unpleasant feelings and superstitious dread, as of old. Yet, the feeling continues that, however carefully conducted, the earth burial of the dead is unsanitary and likely to affect injuriously the health of the living. This dread, together with a growing distaste to the thought of the decomposition of the body, with its unpleasant a ociations, has roused a sentiment in favor of cremation, and many instances of disposal of the dead by burning have occurred within recent years. Crematories for this purpose, provided with the best modern methods for a rapid, complete and economical consumption of the body, have been built in the vicinity of several of our large cities, and the practice of cremation is slowly growing, though not at a rate that promises any rapid replacement of the usual method of burial.- Funeral ceremonies . In the earlier days of this country, when relaxation from hard physical labor was unusual, the occasion of a funeral came to be looked upon almost as a holiday. People would gather for miles around, and a feast follow the funeral, in which the most abundant provision was made to satisfy the appetites of the mourners. This custom continued until recent times in the country districts, and has not yet died out in settlements remote from cities. It is similar in character and origin to the Irish "wake" and to mortuary customs still prevalent in other countries. The practice of long funeral proce ions, thus inaugurated, made its way into the cities, and still continues in a considerable measure, though 'efforts have been made, on the score of economy, to bring to an end these usele , costly, and not always seemly displays. As a result of the growing feeling against this custom, the practice of keeping funerals private is gradually coming into vogue, the friends of the deceased being invited to attend the obsequies at the house, while only the immediate family follow their lost member to his or her final resting place. This custom is likely to grow, as avoiding undue ostentation and unnece ary expense; and this, in common with the growing feeling in favor of cremation, promises to make important changes in funeral customs, and bring to a final end the old method of making a funeral an occasion of feasting and undue display. We may speak in conclusion of the custom of sending floral offerings to the families of the deceased, for the adornment of the coffin and grave. This, a pretty sentiment in its modest origin, has grown to the dimensions of a new form of ostentatious display, costly and elaborate floral designs being provided often in overwhelming profusion, until the dead suffers almost a preliminary burial under these intended tokens of respect. This custom has reached the proportions of an evil, and as such will doubtle cure itself, the growing tendency in funeral ceremonies being toward an avoidance of ostentations of any kind. Burial Societies. These are friendly societies, to give them their English title, organized for the expre object of providing a fund for paying the funeral expenses of the members upon their death. In the U. S. most of the beneficial orders make some provision for this purpose, agreeing not only to pay weekly benefits in case of sickne , but a fixed sum in the event of death. In addition, there are societies specially organized for this purpose, which make no periodical a e ments upon members, but a e a small sum on each upon the death of any member, thus providing on the spot a sum sufficient for his burial. In the English B. S. children as well as adults were admitted, and in some instances it was proved that the children thus insured were killed or allowed to die of neglect. To avoid this danger, a law was pa ed that no child under six years of age should be thus insured. It is, however, claimed that frauds of this character are still practiced on B. S. It com Bur'mah (BRITISH), a province of British India, which occupies a long, narrow strip of territory on the eastern shore of the Bay of Bengal, bet. Lat. 22° 46′ and 12° N., and Lon. 920 and 99° E. Area , 87,220 sq. m. prises the States of Tena erim and Arakan, which were annexed at the close of the first Burmese war, in 1825, and the State of Pegu, annexed at the close of the second war, in 1852. It is bounded N. by Bengal and Burmah proper, E. by Burmah proper and Siam, S. by the lower part of the Malay peninsula and the Indian Ocean, and W. by the Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal. For its size it is the most thinly inhabited province in British India, a fact which is owing not to its sterility, but to the want of roads. Seat of government, Rangoon. To this district, now known as Lower Burmah, was added, in 1886, upper Burmah, as the result of a war with King Thebaw, who was carried captive to India. This added 68,922 sq. m., making the total province of B. 156,142 sq. miles. Pop . 1891, Lower Burmah, 4,569,680; Upper Burmah, 2,984,730; total, 7,554,410.