CEMETERY (ante). The famous Pere la Chaise, in Paris, is the most celebrated of modern cemeteries, although by no means the largest. It was laid out in 1804, and corn prises about 200 acres, and more than 10,000 monuments erected to the memory of nearly all the great men of France of the present century. Twice this C. and the neighboring heights have been the scene of desperate fighting. In 1S14, during the attack on Paris by the allies, it was stormed by a Russian column; and in 1871 the com munists made their last stand among these tombs, where 900 of them were killed, 200 being buried in quicklime in one huge grave, and 700 in another. Paris has also the cemeteries of Mont Paruasse and Montmartre, besides many smaller burial-grounds. In 1874, a very large C. was laid out 10 tn. n. of Paris, covering nearly 1300 acres. In France, every city and town is required by law to provide a burial-ground beyond its barriers, properly laid out and planted, and each interment must take place in a separate grave. This law does not apply to Paris, however. There the dead are buried 40 or 50 at a time in the fosses communes, the poor being interred gratuitously, and a charge of 20 francs being made in all other cases. The fosse when full is left undisturbed for 5 years; then all the crosses and other memorials are removed, the level of the ground is raised 4 or 5 ft. by fresh earth, and interments begin again. For 50 francs a gave can be leased for 10 years; but when permanent monuments are desired the ground must be purchased in fee.
In English cities, about 1S40, the people to discuss the dangers to public health arising from the condition of the grave-yards surrounding, and the vaults within and underneath, the great churches. In London, these receptacles were litenilly entrained with coffins, and the surrounding air was infected to a dangerous degree. Coffins were piled upon each other until they came within a few inches of the surface of the ground, and then the ground was raised from time to time until its level came nearly up to the lower windows of the church. To make room for new burials, old bones were thrown
out, and this led to systematic robbing of graves for the sake of the coffin plates and the pretty ornaments sometimes buried with the bodies. The result of this action and dis cussion was an entire change in the system. Burials within the limits of cities and vil lages were prohibited, and as a necessity rural cemeteries were founded. The chief cemeteries of Loudon at present are: Kcnsal Green, on the Harrow road, 21 m. from Paddington; Highgate, on a slope of Highgate hill; Abney Park; the Norwood and Nunhead cemeteries, on the s.; the west Loudon C., at Brompton ; Ilford and Leystone cemeteries in Essex; the Victoria and Tower Hamlets cemeteries in e. London; while farther from the city- were the cemeteries of Woking and Colney Hatch.
The dead-houses (Leichenhauser)of Frankfort and Munich form a remarkable feature of the burial customs of those cities. The objects of the founders were to obviate the remotest danger of premature interment, and to provide a respectable place for the recep tion of the dead, in order to remove the bodies from the often confined dwellings of the friends. At Frankfort, the dead-house is at the entrance to the cemetery. It consists of a warder's room, where an attendant is always on duty; on each side are five rooms, well ventilated, and kept at even temperature, and each one is furnished with a bier, on which a corpse can be laid. On one of the fingers of a corpse is placed a ring, to which is attached a light cord, connecting with a bell which hangs outside of the attendant's room. Bodies deposited here are inspected at regular intervals by a medical officer, and the warden is always on the watch for the ringing of the bell. The importance of this care was once proved at Frankfort by the revival of a child. The attendants are required to receive and treat the dead with all respect, and no interment is permitted until signs of decomposition appear. The relations are then notified, and a funeral is held. Similar mortuaries have been established in many English towns.