not decently excuse themselves from attending the funeral. But if it should be deferred till Monday, it might interfere with their secular business. And so the Sabbath being a leisure day with all, the majority are in favour of proceeding with the obsequies at once, and the preparations are hastened accordingly. The man is in his grave, before the fever of which he died has time to cool, and it is thought a fortunate circumstance, that he made his exit just in time to be put out of the way, when nothing else could be done. Now is this right? Or is it robbing God under the garb of sympathy and piety in performing the rites of sepulture. 3. Is it right, I would ask, even when the nature of the disease, or extreme heat of the season, renders it necessary to hasten the burialis it right to spend the Sabbath, or any part of it, in making up mourning? Might not the relatives in almost every case obtain the loan of apparel suitable for the occasion, or in failure of this, would they not better secure those divine consolations which they then especially need, by appearing without some of the customary badges of mourning than by causing them to be prepared on the Lord's day? 4. The tyranny of custom in some places, or I know not what strange anxiety to have the dead safely lodged in their narrow house, sometimes hastens them to it, I will not merely say before they are cold, but perhaps ere the soul has actually left the body. This unnatural precipitancy, carries the appearance at least, of wishing to have the deceased laid away out of sight as soon as practicable. But ought not surviving friends to consider well what is due to propriety, in taking their final leave of the dust which was once so dear? And above all is it not their solemn duty to guard against that haste of interment, which might bury a fellow creature while yet alive, and leave him to the horrible agonies of waking up a few hours after in his coffin. 5. It is not very uncommon, perhaps, for bereaved friends to go into the opposite extreme, and put off the burial, till the busy attendants of death have carried the work of dissolution so far as seriously to annoy, and in some cases endanger, all who attend the funeral. Pestilential and suspicious diseases seem always to forbid unnecessary delay in the interment of their victims, and never can there be any good reason for long keeping back a mouldering form, however much it may have been loved, from the dust to which the decree of God has consigned it. 6. The custom which prevails to some extent, of handing round spirituous liquors among the carriers at funerals, has long struck me as extremely reprehensible. I am not ignorant of the common excuses for this practice-that it is a needful precaution against contagion-that the weather is warm, and the corpse heavy, and the carriers few-or that the weather is cold and it is a duty to guard against unnecessary exposure. exposure. But how futile are all such excuses! It will not be questioned I presume, by any competent judge in the case, that there are other and better defences against infection than ardent spirits. A vial of chlorine, for example, applied to the corpse when there is real danger, is worth more than any quantity of rum or brandy which can be swallowed by the whole procession. And as to the rest, has it come to this, that the sons of the pilgrims cannot endure a little heat or cold, or fatigue, in carrying a neighbour to his long home, without the stimulus of brandy? Let it not be told anywhere among the graves of our sturdy and abstemious ancestors, that when it is cold, we must have spirits to warm us, and when it is hot we must have spirits to cool us; and to guard against being over-heated, must lay in a generous quantity of liquid fire from the the distillery. 7. It seems to me highly improper for the pall-bearers to return, as they not unfrequently do to the house of mourning, there to take their wine, or brandy and water, and in this way to reciprocate the ill-timed civilities of an afflicted family. Is it time to bring out decanters and fill the sparkling glass, when the head and prop of a family has just been buried, and the widow's heart is breaking with anguish? Surely none of the ordinary accompaniments of festivity are in keeping with tears and sobs, and badges of such recent bereavement. Besides, it is a bad and mischievous example. If the more wealthy bring out their Madeira and Cogniac for the refreshment of the pall-bearers, the lower class will either feel themselves obliged to go to the same expense, or to provide something cheaper, and equally cheering for the occasion. And who does not know, that some in every place will drink to excess, even at a funeral, if they can obtain the means of intoxication? 8. The custom which extensively prevails, of standing by the side of the grave in damp and cold weather, till it is entirely filled up, and even turfed over by the sexton, cannot, I think, be justified, on any principle of reason, or religion. Why should the living, many of whom are in feeble health, stand shivering and expose themselves to almost certain injury, when by retiring as soon as the coffin is lowered into its final resting place, they might avoid the danger? For my part, I believe that thousands have caught very distressing colds, and that many have laid the foundation of consumptions and other fatal diseases, by this kind of exposure. It cannot be right thus to trifle with health and life itself, in obedience to a custom which is incapable of being defended by a single intimation of scripture, or by any consideration of respect, either for the living, or the dead. 9. The tyranny of custom, does, to a great extent, in all parts of our country, impose funeral expenses upon the bereaved, which they are often unable to bear. Thus a poor widow, who has seen better days, would hardly obtain credit for a decent regard to the memory of her husband, if she did not expend the one half he has left for the support of herself and children, in buying mourning and providing a mahogany coffin. How preposterous, how sinful this species of prodigality is, needs no showing. But such improvidence it must be admitted, is not always chargeable upon custom. Some are extremely lavish of the little which will remain when debts are paid, as if they either wished to excite particular attention, or thought themselves in duty bound to expend liberally for the dead, though they should have nothing left for the living. And it is well if they do not contract debts which they have no prospect of being able to pay, by purchasing expensive mourning. Many a merchant could turn to such charges, which were made, when refusing to give credit would have been counted almost inhuman, but which even then it was little expected would ever be cancelled. Verily, it is no time to be dishon est, when death is in the house, and the sexton is gone to the graveyard. A. MISCELLANEOUS COMMUNICATIONS. ON THE MORALITY AND PUBLIC (Continued from page 79.) THUS, by the simplest principles of mind, and maxims of political reasoning, have I examined the effect of lottery-institutions upon individual character and national prosperity; and found them, in the one case, dangerous, and in the other, not to be endured. I have considered man in his only proper course of enterprise; and have shown that these divert him from it. I have looked at human society as a bond for mutual benefit, creating and diffusing advantage by its operations of industry and benevolence; and shown that these hang as a dead weight upon both. My objections have been founded on the results of experience, abroad and at home; and my dissuasives drawn from evils which a common observation will detect; objections and evils that would seem sufficient to discredit the system in the view of every man who understands the value of public virtue, or loves the welfare of his fellow-beings. There remains a subject of inquiry, not less important than the others; the consistency of lottery-adventures with the duties of men relative to each other and their Maker: through which we may perhaps come to the root and spring of many of those unhappy influences that have already been argued from. It will seem a very sufficient account of the ruinous effects of lotteries, if it be found, that, in addition to encroaching upon public good, in this direction, and deranging human society in that, they contravene those principles of moral action on which the public good rests, and which had their existence before society was formed. necessary to wander far in search of moral distinctions; nor need we reason very deeply concerning the nature of good and evil: I call those practices immoral which of necessity violate acknowledged obligations. And as to lotteries, the immorality will have been set forth with all distinctness, when it shall be made to appear, that the spirit which indulges in this kind of adventure is forbidden by the laws of God. It matters not whether the laws of God be gathered from his word, or inward monitions of the moralsense--every man who has arrived at the belief in a Divinity can tell, that he has not given thought and money to be wasted. And if not wasted, then certainly not to be laid out in efforts which shall form a bar to the equal benefit of others. The duties of men in respect to each other's interests are written on the circumstances in which they stand related; and enforced by their common powers of conferring benefit or harm. It stands to reason, in the eye of all sobriety, that, in the midst of that vast apparatus set up throughout the known universe as the means of beneficence to sensitive beings, man-endowed with the noblest means of all, rational faculties and a heart to feel-is not to rest inactive, and less, to stop the springs of happiness within the circle of his power. Surely the mind whose region of active enjoyment exceeds the limits of its view, is not to spend its being on itself, in the indulgence of solitary gratifications, like the lamb in yonder field, who crops the grass, or takes repose at pleasure. These obligations, which reason can conjecture, the law of God enforces in more definite forms. There, all morality, that respects For this purpose it will not be the mutual transactions of men, is made to rest upon an equal regard for ourselves and others, which would unite the action of individ. uals in a system of general advantage. There it is made plain, that from the disregard of that principle spring all the wrongs which are in the community-all theft, all fraud, all violence. From that law, therefore, may we gather infallible means for judging of the morality of any system which proposes the advantage of one man or class of men, at the expense of all others. Now let a person whose moral feelings are regulated by the rules of right, become acquainted, for the first time, with a lottery-scheme; and, having never reflected upon its public effects, let it be proposed to him to engage as an adventurer ;what may we suppose to be his course of thought while looking at its lawfulness for himself, as an individual. As he would not wish to engage in an enterprise so evidently novel, without reflecting first upon its proper character, he would naturally inquire, "What object do you propose to me, and from what principle among my motives, shall I act?" The answer must be, plainly, the acquisition of property, and that desire of riches which all men have. "Well," he would say, "but the desire of riches may be covetous, and can never be innocent except when indulged with moderation and the prospect of being useful. Your proposal would induce me either to gain nothing, or, possibly, an abundance; and I do not see that a system which would make us rich without our labouring for it has any great accordance with those principles on which God conducts his providence in this world. I should fear to step aside from the established course of nature, in search of a fortune which there is no evidence that my Maker designs me to have; and should dread the danger of meeting temptations which, as he has not called me to, he may not have armed me against. Besides, I am not the only man whose happiness is of consequence, and, in case I am to enjoy my fortune, I am bound to inquire what I render to my fellow-men for the sums which I take from them.” "But my friend," his tempter might say," you have certainly forgotten one part of the system. Your neighbours will have the same opportunity with yourself, for the premium. Some, among you all, will gain advantage; and certainly it is worth the while to pay a trifle for the chance of enlarging your estate, by only taking from the multitude a sum which, divided among all, will never be felt." 66 'Nay then, I do not see but it is the many who must suffer loss for the one ;-who might, with as good reason, suffer loss for them. And why should my neighbor wish to gain a trifle from me? If he ought to have it, I can give it with a better grace than so. Your plan is not a just one. It would make us each willing to deprive the rest of what he can, without returning an equal benefit; which none but a covetous man would consent to." "Why, at this rate," the lottery advocate might perhaps return, "there is hardly any thing that would escape your censure; for how few are the persons who in dealing, act upon such principles at all. Look to that merchant, across the way, displaying his stock for the admiration of buyers, his eye sparkling with the expectation of profit; do you believe that he cares, more than I do, for the equivalent he renders? Observe in all the crowd that move along in this tide of business; how many can be found who have any thoughts beyond their own advantage? To be consistent, then, carry your objection through, and say, that trade and commerce had better be reduced to inaction." To this the inquirer would doubtless make reply: "I own, that many follow an honourable calling with unsuitable desires; but I discern, nevertheless, a wide distinction between their pursuits and yours. Yonder merchant, whatever he be thinking of, does certainly give the value of his bargain; and the useful end of his actions is one reason for trusting the goodness of his intentions, which on your behalf cannot be urged. The distinction is, that, while other occupations may admit the inducements of cupidity, this excludes all others; and that, while those compel pernicious motives to a measure of usefulness, yours would render the purest unprofitable. No man can innocently join in such a scheme, which acts upon unlawful passions, and rests upon the unmingled desire for rich es." Among these reflections, which, to a conscientious man, would be apt to present themselves at once, and cloud the scheme with an air of suspicion, almost as soon as developed, there are two that deserve particular notice. One of these respects the desire of getting the property of other men into possession, without reciprocal benefit; and if this be compared with the tenth commandment, it must appear directly hostile. The other relates to the disposition of gaining sudden wealth without the trouble of labour;-a disposition containing the seeds, if not the elements, of discontent and immoderate cravings. Let the word of God be here, as every where, our guide. "He that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent." What temper does this warning set us on our guard against, if it be not that of discontent with the common gifts of Providence and a restlessness to better our condition by sudden and darge accessions? And how may one define the "love of money"—the fertile source of mischief, but as a kind of abstract aspiring, which has gained an ascendency so great, that the subject of it will catch at almost every means for promoting his object? Now, although it may be difficult to describe the blameable desire for property in any form of words which shall define it from that which is unavoidable and proper, still it is known to be a besetting evil; and every man may suspect it of himself who, with his means of comfort tolerably supplied, cannot rest easy without more. If lottery-adventure does not imply this spirit, already existing, it conducts to it. If that be doubtful, ask yourself;-why has a man admitted the design of seeking his fortune in the wheel, if he have not already fixed his eye upon it? And, if he have embarked only a few desires, is it not the quality of imagination to blow them up, till desires are kindled into longing? And if he have gone only so far as to cherish a willing hope of receiving at the hands of chance benefits which do not belong to him, and which he has not merited by any labour, or industry, or invention, has he not transgressed the terms of that great prohibition which stands the barrier, on this subject, between crime and innocence? Or, if example should be thought more forcible than conclusions from general principles, very practical illustrations of the doctrine are at hand, from exhibitions which every day among us witnesses. Here is a man betting on his neighbour's horse,-here is his neighbour who takes up the bet :-between them is the spirit of lottery-adventure displayed in all the characters which have been mentioned. The exhibition of the spirit, in this case, will hardly gain the epithet of moral, beyond the circle of the parties and their associates. This leads me to remark, that o on |
