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 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
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 OONCERNINa 
 
 GREEN- WOOD; 
 
 ITS 
 
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 BY 
 
 N. OLEAVEIiAND 
 
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 PUDNEY & RUSSELL, PRINTERS 
 
 

 Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1853, 
 
 BY THE G-REEN-WOOD CEMETERY, 
 
 in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, for the 
 
 Southern District of New- York. 
 
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 ^^ 
 
 HINTS 
 
 CONCERNING 
 
 GREEN-WOOD, &c 
 
 •wwvvw' 
 
 It is ten years since Green-wood was opened 
 for purposes of interment. At that time a few 
 of tlie principal avenues had been made, and 
 this was all. The beauties and capabilities of 
 the place were perceptible at a glance. A 
 little of its future might, perhaps, be antici- 
 pated ; yet few, it is believed, even dreamed 
 of the results which we now behold. 
 
 Within the period named, the cemetery has 
 doubled in extent : nearly seven thousand lots 
 have been disposed of: more than twenty- 
 five thousand interments have been made. A 
 multitude of beautiful inclosures, and several 
 hundred tombs and monuments, involving a 
 vast aggregate expense, may now be seen 
 there — pleasing memorials, in the main, of 
 
2 HINTS COXCEENING GREEN-WOOD. 
 
 taste and wealth — or, certainly, of grief and 
 pious love. 
 
 Mucli as lias been done towards tlie adorn- 
 ment of tliese grounds by individual owners, 
 we contemplate with a deeper iriterest those 
 improvements whicL. have been made by 
 the Institution itself. A judicious system was 
 early adopted, and has been steadily carried 
 out, by the government of the cemetery. To 
 this, chiefly, does it owe its acknowledged su- 
 periority over all similar institutions. 
 
 Of this system, one most important feature 
 is the fact, that the grounds are com|)letely 
 graded before they are sold, and that no altera- 
 tion of the surface, injurious to the neighbor- 
 ing lots, or to the general aspect, is, in any 
 case, permitted. By this means every natural 
 grace has been retained, and even new charms 
 have been added to the landscape. Broad 
 and durable roads have been made, resting 
 upon thick, absorbent beds of cobble-stone, 
 and with paved gutters on all the slopes. 
 Hard, clean footpaths, often shaded, invite 
 
HINTS CONCERNING GREEN-WOOD. 3 
 
 the meditative and tlie sad — and give access 
 to every occupied spot. Manuring, and tilling, 
 and seeding, — tlie constant use of tlie rake and 
 roller, the scytlie and tlie weeding-hook, liave 
 converted a large portion of the surface into a 
 beautiful green sward. Neatness, order, care 
 — tke results of a constant and efficient super- 
 vision, are every where perceived ; and hence? 
 these grounds present a scene of rural beauty 
 rarely surpassed, even by princely lawns. 
 
 How desirable it is that this character should 
 be preserved ! If there be any one paramount 
 consideration that would influence me in the 
 selection of a cemetery, it would be the ques- 
 tion of suph probability. Present eligibility 
 may exist — but is it likely to last ? Will de- 
 cency and decorum continue to reign ? Can I 
 feel a comfortable and reasonable assurance, 
 that neatness and order, and a kindly protect- 
 ing care, will keep these places as they now 
 are? 
 
 That there is danger on this head, particu- 
 larly in large cemeteries, experience already 
 
4 HINTS CONCERNING GREEN-WOOD. 
 
 sliows. In more than one may even now be 
 seen tlie squalidness of neglect. The system 
 thus far pursued in Green-wood — its ample pe- 
 cuniary means, already secured, or likely to ac- 
 crue — the provision made in its charter for the 
 permanent care and adornment of the grounds, 
 together with the disinterested and enduring 
 nature of the Institution, as made sure with 
 the utmost stability of law, give us good reason 
 to hope that here, at least, the occasion for 
 such reproach will not come. While the pre- 
 sent management continues, we feel safe. 
 When, at length, it shall pass into other hands, 
 may they prove no less faithful — no less skill- 
 ful! 
 
 But it should be remembered, that the good 
 looks and the high reputation of Green- wood 
 depend not for continuance upon its officers 
 alone. The owners of lots — those who plant, 
 and those who build upon this grounder- by 
 the exercise of a good, or of a mistaken taste — 
 by the display of intelligence, or of ignorance 
 — may greatly modif}^ the character of the 
 
HINTS CONCERNING- GREEN-WOOD. 5 
 
 place. A cursory inspection of tlie inclosures 
 and monuments in Green-wood will furnisli 
 numerous illustrations of tliis remark, in botli 
 kinds. The directors have, indeed, wisely re- 
 served to themselves a discretionary power 
 over tlie improvements or changes wkicli may 
 be made in the lots sold. Any serious annoy- 
 ance to others — any great enormity in mattery 
 of taste and propriety will, doubtless, be pte- 
 vented or removed under this authority. Be- 
 yond this, it is an affair of difficulty and deli- 
 cacy to interfere. To advise, or to dissuade, is 
 about all that can be done in ordinary cases. 
 The subject is important, and must commend 
 itself to all who feel an interest in Green-wood. 
 While there are some, whose own good sense 
 and taste are a sufficient guide in matters of 
 this sort, it is certain that far the greater 
 number rely, mainly, on opinions (not always 
 judicious) derived from others. Many are 
 content with blindly copying some fanciful or 
 quaint conceit, which has caught their eye — 
 tolerable, perhaps, while it stood alone, but 
 
6 HINTS CONCERNING GEEEN-WOOD. 
 
 odious wlien oft repeated. Others visit tlie 
 stone-cutter's yard, look at Ms ready-made spe- 
 cimens, and listen to advice whicli not even 
 charity herself can suppose to be alivays dis- 
 interested. Or anxious, perhaps, to have 
 something very expressive and original, they 
 concoct, with his aid, some outre design, and 
 then perpetrate in marble the long-enduring 
 folly. 
 
 It is not very strange that there are numer- 
 ous violations of good taste in the adornments 
 of our burial grounds. In the great majority 
 of cases, attention is first turned to this sub- 
 ject when a lot is purchased, or when the 
 death of some friend calls for a memorial. 
 Upon a point which has received no previous 
 consideration, the idea first presented, however 
 crude, will probably be accepted. It is with 
 the hope of preventing, at least, in some in- 
 stances, action so inconsiderate, that thS fol- 
 lowing suggestions are offered. They claim 
 no weight but such as they may derive from ap- 
 peals to a simple taste, and to common sense. 
 
HINTS CONCERXINa GREEN-WOOD. 7 
 
 For greater convenience in reading and re- 
 ference, they will be given under separate 
 heads. 
 
 In grounds secured and guarded like those 
 of Green-wood, interior fences are not abso- 
 lutely necessary. Still they furnish a seeming 
 protection, and, at least, serve to define and 
 preserve the limits of the lots. Accordingly, 
 most purchasers choose to place something of 
 the kind around their little domains. Some 
 are content with a live hedo^e. Others have 
 posts connected by chains or by bars. The 
 most common fence is of iron-pale fashion, with 
 posts of the same material, or of stone. There 
 are a few marble fences, in imitation of the 
 wooden rail. 
 
 The quickset hedge has the charm of sim- 
 plicity and of nature, and when formed of 
 ever-greens, its beauty is perennial. On ac- 
 
8 HINTS CONCERNING GREEN-WOOD. 
 
 count of the room wliicli it occupieSj it is best 
 fitted for a large lot. It has tlie advantage of 
 needing no paint. But it should be remem- 
 bered that the injuries to which hedges are 
 subject, are not easily repaired; and that, if 
 not constantly and closely pruned, they soon 
 become an obtruding and unsightly mass of 
 bushes. 
 
 To the chain fence, there is one decided ob- 
 jection. The chain furnishes a tolerable seat 
 and a favorite swing. The consequence is that 
 the posts are soon drawn out of place. 
 
 For small rectangular plots, posts of iron or 
 stone, connected by one or two plain hars^ 
 form a simple and not expensive inclosure. 
 There are two or three large circles in Green- 
 wood, which are surrounded by low posts, held 
 together by massive bars. There are j)robably 
 no fences there which were more expensive. 
 Their beauty I should estimate in the inverse 
 ratio of their cost. 
 
 The marhle imitation of the wooden rail- 
 fence, being neither strong nor handsome, has 
 
HINTS CONCERNING GREEN-WOOD. 9 
 
 nothing to recommend it but its expensiveness. 
 There is, as yet, no instance in Green-wood of 
 the stone parapet. In some situations, a low 
 battlemented wall of sand-stone would have, 
 it is believed, a fine effect. The first cost 
 would be considerable, but it would take care 
 of itself ever after. 
 
 Of the iron fences, there is an endless diver- 
 sity. It is perhaps to be regretted, though, I 
 suppose, unavoidable, that the more graceful 
 and artistic wrought iron is fast being sup- 
 planted by the rigid but cheaper castings. 
 As to the style, you must choose for yourself 
 The varieties are as numerous as the patterns 
 of calico on a shopman's counter. Look at 
 these varied specimens of Yulcanian ingenuity. 
 Compare the more elaborate and complicate 
 forms with those of a simpler character. If 
 your eye does not return from all those figures, 
 and coils, and quirks, and symbolic devices, to 
 rest, with sensible relief, on the simplicity of 
 straight lines and unencumbered curves, — I 
 can only say, it differs from mine. 
 
10 HINTS CONCERNING GREEN- WOOD. 
 
 A word now in regard to posts. There 
 seems to be a strange rage for these articles. 
 In some parts the ground is covered with them. 
 So numerous are they, and so glaring in their 
 prominence, that they seem to leave little 
 room for anything else. Particularly objec- 
 tionable are those white marble or granite 
 abominations, which stick up so thickly in cer- 
 tain places. As a general thing, for an iron 
 paling, a few well-proportioned posts of the 
 same material, answer every purpose, and look 
 incomparably better than stone. By the gate- 
 way of a large inclosure, or round some massive 
 monument, posts of stone, properly adapted in 
 size and form, have an excellent effect. But 
 in most cases, they only belittle the lot and 
 the structure which they guard, and injure 
 the general appearance. 
 
HINTS CONCEKNING GREEN-WOOD. 11 
 
 The fear has already been expressed, tliat 
 Green-wood is in danger of suffering serious 
 injury from a universal tree-planting. The 
 Cemetery owes no small share of its unrivalled 
 beauty to its admirable alternation of wood- 
 land and glade. The opening, and the thicket, 
 are made doubly charming by mutual reflec- 
 tion and contrast. But as things are now 
 going on, this charm will soon be gone. Each 
 lot-owner on the open spaces thinks he must 
 line his small plat with trees. These, so ra- 
 pid is their growth, will soon leave little else 
 in si^ht. In Mount Auburn, such a change 
 has already taken place, and greatly to its 
 disadvantage. 
 
 Is there no remedy ? Yes. Let those who 
 are so fond of shade, seek it where it already 
 exists — beneath noble trees of nature's own 
 sowing — and thus leave the green lawn to 
 others who love the sun and sky. Or, if the 
 
12 HINTS CONCERNING GREEN-WOOD. 
 
 luxury of planting must be indulged, let tlie 
 trees selected be those of a dwarfish type, and 
 of attenuated foliage ; and, let even these be 
 ' few and far between.' After all, our fears are 
 stronger than our hopes. The change, unless 
 arrested by some general regulation, wdll go 
 on, — -and these avenues, now so open and 
 bright, will, in a few years hence, wind dark- 
 ling along through dense groves of spruce, and 
 pine, and larch. 
 
 The custam of rearing flowering shrubs and 
 plants is not exposed to the objection just 
 raised. It is one, indeed, which, with most 
 persons, commends itself favorably to the sen- 
 sibilities and the taste. Even allowing that 
 often it is a piece of affectation, or of imitative 
 display — still, in many cases, it doubtless helps 
 to soothe the first anguish of bereavement. 
 We would not forbid the pious care. Let 
 nature bloom above the still precious dust, and 
 shed upon it her fragrant offerings. But surely 
 there should be a limitation here. I like to 
 see the rose bending over the humble mound, 
 
HINTS CONCERNING GREEN-WOOD. 13 
 
 or lovingly twining about tlie lettered stone. 
 A few flowers, appropriate in their lines and 
 associations, scattered liere and there in the 
 grass, and growing, as it were, spontaneously, 
 are very becoming. Not so these artificial 
 beds, these gravelled walks, these trim par- 
 terres, filled but too often with flaunting 
 exotics. 
 
 0minttnfe mii^ Mtwmmk 
 
 Six years ago, I presented in Greenwood 
 Illustrated, some general considerations on 
 monuments. I have reason to think that they 
 have been approved by the judicious. The 
 managers of the institution have given them 
 their sanction, by according to them a j)lace in 
 their annual pamphlet. Having seen in the 
 interim no occasion to change those opinions, 
 but, on the contrary, much that confirms them, 
 I shall here give, in brief, the substance of the 
 article, with some additional suggestions. 
 
M HINTS CONCERNINa GREEN-WOOD. 
 
 The erection of monuments for tlie dead is 
 a custom sanctioned by all experience, and not 
 less rational than natural. In cities and 
 crowded churchyards, it has from necessity 
 been often laid aside, but it revives in the 
 rural cemetery. Here, as reason and nature 
 dictate, the dead are, for the most part, con- 
 signed singly to the bosom of our mother earth. 
 Each separate mound may have its own me- 
 morial. Such grounds, from their general 
 attractiveness, as well as their numerous ob- 
 jects of individual interest, become places of 
 resort. Their monuments draw attention and 
 scrutiny. The flat, low-lying, undecipherable 
 slab — the thin, unbraced, and too often lean- 
 ing headstone ; and the more ambitious, but 
 transitory pile of wretched masonry, which 
 have so long deformed our burial-places, now 
 yield, or should yield, to a more enlightened 
 taste, to more massive, and better proportion- 
 ed, and far more durable erections. 
 
 In matters of this sort, no one would wish 
 to see unvarying uniformity. There may be, 
 
HINTS CONOERNINa GEEEN-WOOD. 15 
 
 and tliere ouglit to be, an endless variety. 
 But let taste, if possible, reign tlirougliout. 
 Assuredly tliere is such a principle, and its 
 general laws are fixed and known. 
 
 Of all monuments, a dah^ laid upon the 
 ground, is tlie most simple and least costly. 
 But these are its only merits. To read the in- 
 scription, one must stand over it. The letters, 
 even when deeply cut, are soon filled with 
 lichens and dirt, and become illegible. The 
 stone itself is liable to be buried in the grass, 
 if not in the earth. Finally, it looks low and 
 mean. 
 
 When this same horizontal tablet is put on 
 legs, and raised a little from the ground, it be- 
 comes more dignified. I cannot, however, re- 
 commend the form. The foundation is sel- 
 dom of uniform firmness, and the slab, conse- 
 quently, soon loses its level. The lettering 
 also, as in the case above, quickly fills up. 
 
 The vertical lieadstone also combines sim- 
 plicity and economy. To keep it vertical, it 
 must have a substantial base. It allows con- 
 
16 HINTS CONCERNING GREEN- WOOD. 
 
 siderable variety in form, and is susceptible, to 
 a certain extent, of becoming ornament. But 
 tbis limit is often overstepped. Tbe money- 
 expended in covering such monuments with 
 coarsely sculptured wreatbs and roses, or with 
 caricatures of infants and angels, would often 
 tell to far better account, if employed in aug- 
 menting tbe size and massiveness of tbe stone. 
 By giving it beigbt, and tbickness, and artistic 
 form, tbe beadstone may be made a graceful 
 and even imposing structure. 
 
 During tbe last :^Ye and twenty years, our 
 monumental arcbitects bave seemed to be 
 strangely enamored of pyramidic forms. Tbe 
 obelisk is seen every wbere. It is not denied 
 tbat a monument of tbis figure, wben large 
 and monolitbic, bas a certain degree of dignity. 
 But even tbe original Egyptian model, (as 
 tbose wbo bave seen can testify,) is indebted 
 for its impressiveness mostly to its antiquity 
 and its associations. Tbe tall and costly pile 
 on Bunker Hill, is far from being wbat it 
 ougbt to bave been, a striking feature in tbe 
 
HINTS CONCEKNING GEEEN-WOOD. l7 
 
 landscape. Sucli a structure can boast no par- 
 ticular elegance of form, or skill of art. It is 
 simply a towering, tapering heap of stone. In 
 shape, in height, in effect, it differs not essen- 
 tially from the ambitious chimney, that soars 
 by its side. We regret the attempted repeti- 
 tion of this experiment at Washington. A 
 hundred thousand dollars have already been 
 sunk in rearing a gigantic frustum — an un- 
 meaning mass of marble and mortar. For less 
 than this monument will cost, should it ever 
 be completed, (an event far from probable,) 
 we might have a colossal, equestrian statue of 
 Washington in bronze, surrounded by the 
 forms of his fellow warriors and statesmen, 
 with relievo representations of Eevolutionary 
 scenes, not inferior to that remarkable group 
 in the Unter den Linden, of which Berlin and 
 Prussia are so justly proud. In such a work, 
 what gratification for the eye ! What in- 
 struction and excitement for the mind and 
 heart! What encouragement, and what re- 
 nown for native, deserving, struggling art ! 
 
18 HINTS CONGEENING GEEEN-WOOD. 
 
 If there be so little to commend in the 
 larger and better specimens of the obelisk, we 
 cannot say much of the miniature imitations. 
 Their narrow surfaces leave but scant room for 
 inscriptions. Their geometric form scarcely 
 allows variety. The sameness, where they are 
 numerous, becomes extremely tiresome. Thus 
 far. Green-wood has suffered less in this re- 
 spect than some other cemeteries. 
 
 I have said that this class is not susceptible 
 of variety. This refers to the genuine, antique 
 obelisk, in which the angular measures, and 
 relative proportions of base and pyramid, are 
 nearly uniform. Departures from these are 
 often seen in our grave-yards and stone-yards ; 
 but they are, for the most part, varieties of 
 ugliness. Those who select the obelisk, should 
 be particular as to its shape, and should place 
 it, if possible, where it will contrast advanta- 
 geously with other forms. 
 
HINTS CONCEENING GREEN-WOOD. 19 
 
 When copied from tlie best examples of tlie 
 ancients, the sarcophagus is not nnpleasing. 
 For proper effect it requires a greater eleva- 
 tion than is generally given to it. 
 
 ij\t Cffhtmit* 
 
 The round column^ as we generally see it in 
 our burying-grounds, is quite too small for im- 
 pressive effect. It looks slender ; it lacks dig- 
 nity ; it does not fill the eye. 
 
 There are in Green-wood several square and 
 poh/gonal pillars, rising from high and large 
 bases, and crowned sometimes with fantastic 
 caps. These monuments, some of which are 
 incumbered with costly ornaments, make con- 
 siderable show. We think the taste which 
 they gratify may well be questioned. 
 
20 HINTS CONCERNING GREEN-WOOD. 
 
 The altar-form monument, witli a coped 
 top, occurs repeatedly in these grounds. These 
 vary much in size, and style of ornament. 
 Some of them are large and elegant, and have 
 an interior space for temporary interment. 
 ScJienck^ on Bayside Avenue, and the Cornell 
 tonib^ on Ocean Hill, are examples of this class. 
 
 There is a form of monument, which may 
 be called, for convenience, the coped oblong, 
 A specimen may be seen over the grave of 
 William Bell, in the Pierrepont inclosure. 
 Lawn-girt Hill. The Livingston memorial, 
 near the Tour and Central Avenue, is of the 
 same genus, though on a much larger scale. 
 This monument admits of considerable diver- 
 sity in form. It is well adapted to inscriptions. 
 It is not costly, unless it be large. It is modest, 
 simple, and solid. 
 
 There is another, and very important class 
 of monuments, for which we have no recog- 
 nized, distinctive name. It is a short pillar. 
 It is round, or square, or hexagonal. The 
 sides are vertical, or slightly inclined, or some- 
 
HINTS COJSrCERN'ING GREEN-WOOD. 21 
 
 what curved. It is coped, and surmounted 
 generally by an urn. That this monument is 
 susceptible of many modifications in size, and 
 shape, and ornament ; that it is adapted to a 
 frugal, or to a liberal expenditure ; that 
 whether it be small and simple, or large and 
 dignified and decorated, it may alike possess 
 true beauty, is shown, I think, by numerous 
 specimens in Green- wood. Look at Benedict, 
 on Ocean Bluff; Harper, on Butternut Hill; 
 Smith, near Lawn-girt Hill ; and at Leonard, 
 Buchanan, l^orris, Kingsland, Cleaveland, and 
 Atwater, on Ocean Hill. 
 
 Fault has been found with some of these. 
 "They were too bulky — clumsy, in short." 
 We half thought so too. Attempts were 
 made to avoid this error. Pillars of the same 
 general style, but far more slender, showed 
 themselves on the ground. Hardly had we 
 looked at the whittled, tapered imitations, ere 
 we fled back in haste to the substantial and 
 respectable originals. 
 
22 HINTS CONCEBNING GEEEN-WOOD. 
 
 We liave no partiality for tlie cliarnel Tiouse^ 
 wlietlier below or above ground. The grave 
 seems decidedly preferable. Let tlie dead be 
 interred. Let earth conceal them from our 
 sight, and kindly, gradually, resolve them to 
 herself Against future desecration, all would 
 secure 
 
 "The mould 
 Once hallowed by the Almighty's breath." 
 
 La what other way can we do this so effec- 
 tually ? The vault may, indeed, be fast, and 
 strong, and durable. But what will protect its 
 contents, when, in the inevitable course of 
 events, it shall pass into the possession of those 
 who will care nothing for the builder or his 
 kindred ? 
 
 But the necessities and habits of city burial 
 have made the tomb seem natural and familiar 
 to many. An aristocratic feeling may possibly 
 
HINTS CONCERNING GREEN-WOOD. 23 
 
 influence some, wlio would fain be select in 
 tlieir associations, even under ground. In 
 others, doubtless, the preference springs from 
 a tenderer and better motive. Not a few pre- 
 fer the tomb, and will have it. 
 
 The steep slopes of Green-wood are favor- 
 able to such structures, and show many ex- 
 amples of neat and excellent architecture. 
 The features a23propriate to the tomh-fagade^ 
 are an appearance of perfect security and 
 strength — symmetrical proportions- — and that 
 air of quiet solemnity which becomes the en- 
 trance to a house of the dead. The following 
 may be referred to as good exemplifications : 
 Cairns, Unkart and Kobbe, Meade, Shiff, Tag- 
 gart, Bunting, Fletcher, Morgan, and Wood. 
 
 In naming these and other examples with 
 commendation, let it not be imagined that we 
 advise any to copy them. To this, there are 
 weighty objections. Toward the sculptor or 
 the architect who conceived the beautiful de- 
 sign, such a course is meanly piratical. It in- 
 vades also the rights of the proprietor, who 
 
2tl: HES'TS CONCERNING GREEN- WOOD. 
 
 lias paid liberally tliat lie miglit have some 
 thing peculiar and unique. 
 
 A copy made by common workmen (and no 
 others will attempt the wrong) is rarely suc- 
 cessful. Often it is only a caricature. To 
 copy is slavish, as well as mean. It discour- 
 ages originality, and creates that monotony 
 which is a positive vice in the province of 
 taste. If you see a design which you like, ap- 
 ply to the artist who produced it. If he de- 
 serve the name, he will give you, not a repe- 
 tition of his own idea, but another conception, 
 perhaps a happier one. Surely this is far 
 more honorable than the course of those who 
 employ mere artisans to steal the property of 
 genius. 
 
 There are several structures in Green-wood, 
 which must be classed among its tombs, al- 
 though wholly above the surface. Here may 
 be seen Egyptian, Grecian, Gothic architec- 
 ture. Some of them are large, elaborate and 
 costly. So far as structures like these are 
 merely ambitious in their character or aspect, 
 
HINTS CONCERNING GREEN-WOOD. 25 
 
 indications of wealth, rather than of sorrow, 
 or of taste, we cannot but regret to see them 
 rising. Such erections can do nothing for art, 
 nothing for sentiraent. They teach no high 
 lessons, they awaken no emotions of beauty, 
 of tenderness, or of hope> All sm^ely will ac- 
 knowledge that the rivalry of wealthy display 
 should never invade the sacred precincts of the 
 grave. The costly offerings which are brought 
 there, like those of Nicodemus and the pious 
 Arimathsean, should excite no envious or 
 emulous desires. Let them be such as reason, 
 and taste, and religion can approve. To this 
 subject reference will again be made. 
 
 Symbols, in monumental sculpture, if hap- 
 pily conceived and well executed, are always 
 gratifying. The rareness of success shows the 
 dijB&culty of the undertaking. On the other 
 
26 HINTS CONCERNING GREEN- WOOD." 
 
 hand, in no department of art, perliaps, is 
 failure so glaring, or so shocking. It is painful 
 to be forced to smile at objects which are de- 
 signed, and which ought to compose and to 
 elevate our thoughts. Let the man who con- 
 templates such a work, remember that he is 
 about to invite scrutiny, and to challenge 
 criticism. Let it be well considered, lest, 
 peradventure, he record some expensive folly, 
 in a material whose durability would then be 
 its greatest objection. Such a work should 
 call into requisition the choicest talent and 
 the highest skill. Genius and piety should 
 furnish the design ; judgment and taste should 
 superintend the task. 
 
 On a point of this nature, our suggestions 
 must, of necessity, be generaL ISTot a few de- 
 rive their symbolism from the ancients. The 
 lachrymatory, the mutilated column, the in- 
 verted torch, are very frequent. To be classic 
 is the highest ambition of some. With them, 
 appropriateness and consistency are matters 
 of small importance. Were there no other 
 
HINTS CONCERNING GREEN- WOOD. 27 
 
 olbjection to the class of objects in question, 
 it would, in my mind, be sufficient, tliat imita- 
 tion and rej)etition are fatal to sentiment, and 
 nullify, if they do not reverse, the intended 
 effect. Let it also be considered that these 
 symbols are pagan, not only in origin, but in 
 purport. They are the mute language of a 
 grief, to which consolation was unknown — 
 the sad hieroglyphics of despair. They say 
 nothing of faith, or hope, or immortality, or 
 heaven. What have Christians to do with 
 such emblems? 
 
 One other kind of mortuary memorial asks 
 our attention, and it is the highest of all. I 
 refer to personal representations in the form 
 of statues and rehefs. These may be copies 
 from nature, or ideal forms; they may be 
 human, angelic, or allegorical. They all be- 
 long to the province of sculpture, and many 
 of her best triumphs have been won on this 
 field. Would that it were far more common 
 to resort to this mode of adorning the tomb 
 and commemorating the dead. 
 
28 HINTS CONCERNING GREEN- WOOD. 
 
 To those who have the desire and the means 
 of securing these most beautiful and expres- 
 sive of all memorials, our advice is summed up 
 in a word. Employ the sculptor. The term 
 IS sufficiently definite, and certainly does not 
 include all who have learned to chip and hew 
 in stone. Here, as in poetry, to fall short of 
 excellence, is to be nothing, or worse. When 
 commissions in sculpture shall be confined to 
 able and educated artists, we shall, at least, 
 be spared some gross absurdities. Cherubs, 
 with babies in their arms, will no longer be 
 seen in downward flight ; and marble seraphs 
 will cease to weep^ and Ireak their liarps^ be- 
 cause a mortal has exchanged the woes of earth 
 for heavenly bliss. 
 
 There is, however, a difficulty connected 
 with the employment of sculpture for sepul- 
 chral purposes. Statuary marble is ill fitted 
 for exposure to the severities of our climate. 
 It seems little less than cruel, to subject its 
 snowy whiteness and chiseled delicacy to the 
 rude assaults of storm and frost. The occa- 
 
HINTS CONCEENING GREEN- WOOD. 29 
 
 sional humidity of our atmospliere, so favor- 
 able to tlie growth of licliens ; its liability to 
 frequent and extreme changes of temperature ; 
 its winds, charged sometimes with dust, and 
 sometimes with emanations from shrubs and 
 trees, alike pernicious whether in bloom or 
 decay ; these constitute a series of deforming 
 influences, which the hardest and finest mar- 
 ble cannot long resist. Statues thus exposed 
 are so rare among us, that these effects have 
 not been often witnessed. But they are in- 
 evitable, as thousands of examples prove in 
 other countries, which resemble ours in climate, 
 where many a chiseled Apollo and Adonis 
 have come to look little better than chimney- 
 sweeps. 
 
 But the difficulty is not insurmountable. 
 Carrara marble is not the only material for 
 statuary. We believe that our best sand- 
 stones will yet, to some extent, be used for 
 this purpose. Some of them are very Hght 
 colored, and withal so compact and fine, that 
 they may be wrought with almost the same 
 
30 HINTS CONCEENING GREEN-WOOD. 
 
 sharpness and delicacy as marble itself. Let 
 tliem be tried. They would, at least, have a 
 hardier aspect, and even the stains of weather 
 and time' would more become them. 
 
 Or, better still, emjDloy bronze. It is adapt- 
 ed equally to statues and reliefs. It heeds 
 not the weather ; it almost defies the touch of 
 carelessness and malice. To its imperishable 
 shapes you may entrust the form and features 
 which you would fain embalm, or the sym- 
 bolic story of love and faith, and send them 
 down to ages far remote. 
 
 In this respect, happily, we are no longer 
 dependent on Paris or Munich. We have, at 
 length, among ourselves, the artists, the means, 
 and the material. Green- wood itself, will soon 
 possess specimens of monumental bronze, of 
 which we may, as Americans, be proud. 
 
 But we need not forego the marble : only 
 let the creations of the artists in that beauti- 
 ful material be protected. For a purpose so 
 worthy, we would gladly see the little temple 
 go up. Let the lifeless body moulder beneath. 
 
HINTS CONCEKNIISa GREEN-WOOD. 31 
 
 In tlie room above, let us "behold tlie sculp- 
 tured form standing life-like, or reposing as 
 did the original in the first sleep of death. 
 Or there let the angel of the resurrection 
 stand, and remind each beholder of that great 
 day when all the sleepers of the grave will 
 wake. Here, too, might the sister art of paint- 
 ing find an appropriate place, while imparting 
 beauty and solemn meaning to the frescoed 
 wall. Against the action of the elements, and 
 of rude hands, all this might be fully defended 
 by means of glass, and yet be seen by every 
 visitor. 
 
 We would intercede with those who can 
 afford to mourn expensively ; who build costly 
 mausoleums, or rear the tall, and florid, and 
 meaningless column. The heap of masonry, 
 which tells of nothing but pride; the ill- 
 shapen and flower-incumbered pillar, which 
 looks so tawdry, may indicate a poverty of 
 mind and taste quite as much as they evince 
 pecuniary ability. We regret to see money 
 thus worse than wasted. The structures re- 
 
82 HINTS CONCERNING GREEN-WOOD. 
 
 ferred to, liowever elaborate in finish, or arcH- 
 tectural in their form, make, as objects of sight, 
 scarcely any impression. They are in fact 
 mere imitations — large-sized models — and 
 we give to them the same passing glance of 
 indifference, that we should bestow on a hand- 
 some Grecian dog-kennel, or Gothic bird- 
 house. 
 
 But how different the case, were the inte- 
 rior of such structures made receptacles of 
 works in the highest line of art. Have we 
 not painters and sculptors- blessed with na- 
 ture's own inspiration, and laboriously trained 
 in the best schools of the world ? Shall they 
 languish, and only the stone-hewer flourish? 
 Why not enlist in your service that rare and 
 glorious skill ? Why not spread before all, a 
 banquet for the eye, and mind, and heart? 
 Thus may you have the privilege of speaking 
 in beauty and power to the present and the 
 future. Thus may you associate your own 
 names with the patronage and the immortal 
 life of genius. 
 
HINTS CONCEKNING GREEN-WOOD. 83 
 
 I cannot leave this topic without allusion to 
 another mode in whicli it is hoped that sculp- 
 ture will yet find a safe home in the shades of 
 Green-wood. The idea of a large building, 
 erected for this purpose, and specially adapted 
 to it, has, from the first, been cherished by the 
 founders of the institution. An object so de- 
 sirable will not, we trust, be long delayed. A 
 structure, such as this ought to be, would add 
 ornament and dignity even to those delightful 
 grounds. In every season, and in all weathers, 
 it would furnish a sheltered and comfortable 
 walk. And, best of all, here the pencil and 
 the chisel might contend in friendly rivalry, 
 and both would bid us bless an 
 
 " Art that can immortalize.'^ 
 
 In view of what has been accomplished in 
 Geeen-wood, it is not presumptuous to hope, 
 that we shall yet behold on one of its fair 
 eminences, a commanding and spacious edifice, 
 with chapel, and halls, and corridors, and ar- 
 cades, not unworthy of comparison with the 
 
V, 
 
 34: HINTS CONCERNING GREEN-WOOD. 
 
 as yet unmatclied cemetery of tlie Certosa in 
 tlie environs of Bologna. It asks no stretcli 
 of fancy to imagine tlie inviting and instruc- 
 tive spectacle, wliicli a place like tliis must, in 
 tke course of time, exhibit. 
 
 For monumental purposes, apart from sculp- 
 ture, tlie materials in general use are marble, 
 granite, sandstone. Of tkese, the first-named 
 seems to be, on the whole, the most popular. 
 This is not strange. It is brilliant and showy. 
 It contrasts strongly with the dark ground, 
 and with surrounding verdure. It is easily 
 wrought. Its blackened inscriptions are so 
 plain, that " he who runs may read." Finally, 
 it asserts something like a prescriptive claim 
 to such employment from usage immemorial. 
 
 These qualifications will always commend it 
 — especially to that large class who care mainly 
 for present appearance and immediate effects. 
 But there are some who look farther. They 
 have noticed that marble is injuriously affected 
 by moisture and cold. That it is liable to 
 crack, and even exfoliate. That it soon be- 
 
HINTS CONCERNING GREEN-WOOD. 85 
 
 comes stained, and in that state looks dirty 
 and bedaggled. Tliat inscriptions on this sub- 
 stance, to be read witb ease, must be blackened, 
 and tkat the pigment soon washes out, rarely 
 to be renewed. They have remarked, espe- 
 cially in the case of our own limestones, that 
 lichens find on them a congenial soil, and 
 often require but a few years to make all let- 
 tering illegible. This is a serious objection, 
 and all the more, as no " Old Mortality" can 
 now be looked for, with pious mallet and 
 chisel, to keep fresh the tomb-stone memory 
 of modern saints. Finally, in burying-grounds 
 filled with marble monuments, their eyes have 
 soon grown weary of the monotonous white- 
 ness, or have been pained by its glare. 
 
 With some, granite is the favorite. It is 
 certainly hard; it is believed to be durable. 
 It has a stern, cold look. It is well adapted 
 to a particular style of monument, perhaps, 
 also, of men. It shows best in massive struc- 
 tures, and in simple forms. Of ornament, it is 
 almost wholly incapable. 
 
8Q HINTS CONCERNING GREEN-WOOD. 
 
 8ienite is a kindred rock, and, in some re- 
 spects, more suited to monumental purposes. 
 There are in Green-wood several obelisks of 
 tlie dark Staten Island stone. They are finely 
 cut, and highly polished, and look strong, and 
 dignified, and indestructible. 
 
 The fine, compact sandstone claims, on the 
 whole, our preference. The light-brown free- 
 stones of New-Jersey, Virginia, &c., are now 
 well known and much employed. For monu- 
 mental uses they are admirably fitted. Allu- 
 sion has already been made to the ease and 
 delicacy with which this material can be 
 worked. Its good looks are not fleeting. 
 Even its stains are not unbecoming. If any 
 doubt its superior duration and fitness for the 
 purpose now in question, . let them examine 
 and compare the headstones and tablets in St. 
 Paul's and Trinity church-yards. Let them 
 note the difference (especially in the inscrip- 
 tions) between the marble of thirty years' 
 exposure, and the sandstone which has been 
 there fiYQ times as long. With the issue of 
 
HINTS CONCERNING GKEEN-WOOD. 87 
 
 such a comparison, we would readily leave tlie 
 decision. 
 
 When stratified rocks are used in building, 
 each piece should invariably be laid on its 
 plane of lamination. If the strata are set on 
 their edges, they are liable to slough off, in 
 consequence of the interpenetration and ex- 
 pansion of water. In monuments of moderate 
 size, vertical joints should be avoided. Let 
 each stone, if possible, reach quite across. 
 Use only the best of water-proof cement. Be 
 sure that the bed of concrete on which the 
 structure rests, extends below the upheavings 
 of frost, and the undermining labors of the 
 grave-digger. These precautions are not idle. 
 If disregarded, the monument, which you have 
 reared to transmit your memory, may decline? 
 or fall even sooner than yourself. 
 
 The rise and progress of Green- wood Ceme- 
 tery has been watched with deep interest by 
 
 Sot a few. We have had the satisfaction of 
 — , ■ .• 
 
 seeing it steadily advance in substantial pros- 
 perity and public regard. A vast expenditure 
 
so HINTS CONCEENING GREEN- WOOD. 
 
 in improvements and monuments, has given it 
 importance as mere property. Twenty-five 
 thousand kindred bodies now sleeping there, 
 have bound it to our affections, and have izn- 
 pressed on it a value which no arithmetic can 
 estimate. We respect the pubHc spirit and 
 disinterested motives which led to its forma- 
 tion, and which have continued, with equal 
 taste and judgment, to direct its affairs. We 
 have seen it attain a rank inferior in no re- 
 spect to others ; and in some particulars, far 
 surpassing every similar institution in the Old 
 World and the New. We feel an honest pride 
 in its fair fame. We are jealous for Green- 
 wood. Should a lavish and senseless display 
 become general — should violations of pro- 
 priety in the design, the execution, or the in- 
 scription of monuments be frequent — should 
 an idle rage for planting convert those sunny 
 glades into gloomy thickets ; in a word, should 
 Taste, and Beauty, and Intelligence, cease to 
 reign there. Green-wood would lose its best, 
 if not its only charm. If Fashion and Ambi- 
 
HINTS CONCEENING GEEEN'-WOOD. 89 
 
 tion are to invade this home of tlie dead, It 
 may yet become as vulgar and lieartless a 
 place as tlie living city itself. 
 
 A careful walk througli the grounds, will 
 show that we are not without reason for ap- 
 prehension. The more recent monuments 
 seem to evince a growing tendency to mere 
 show. There is a superabundance of orna- 
 ment. The beauty of form — the grace that 
 may be expressed in mere lines — the impres- 
 sive effect of a massive simplicity, are not ap- 
 preciated as they deserve to be. The head- 
 stone covered with marble roses, the pillar 
 stuck all over with wreaths and emblems, de- 
 mand and receive the same admiration as we 
 bestow on her, who endeavors to compensate 
 for want of beauty, by overlaying her person 
 with jewelry, and lace, and flowers, and 
 flounces. 
 
 Of sculpture, or what was meant for it, we 
 have many unfortunate specimens. To this 
 evil, and its proper remedy, I have already 
 alluded. In most cases, probably, those who 
 
40 HINTS CONCEKinNG GREEN-WOOD. 
 
 have set up these monstrosities for public in- 
 spection, are to be regarded as victims, rather 
 than as offenders. May others be saved from 
 like impositions. Surely, he who can spend 
 hundreds or thousands of dollars on a monu- 
 ment, might afford to pay some skillful artist 
 for a chaste design ; some man of lettei^ for a 
 decent epitaph; and some schoolboy, to see 
 that it is not misspelt on the stone. 
 
 A monument on one of the avenues of 
 Greenwood is yearly seen by many thousand 
 persons. The ill-conceived emblem — ■ the ill- 
 executed sculpture — the ungrammatical in- 
 scription, and the unpoetical lines, are inevi- 
 tably subjected to criticism. Were it not well 
 to consider this — ye, who are about to build 
 in stone, and to write your names where they 
 will be read when you shall be no more ? 
 
 I must say a reluctant word in regard to 
 another class of memorials. I refer to the 
 glazed niches, the glass show cases, filled with 
 small images, with artificial flowers, and some- 
 times with playthings. We understand and 
 
HINTS CONCERNING GREEN-WOOD. 41 
 
 appreciate the feeling wliicli dictates these ex- 
 hibitions. We reverence a mother's grief. 
 We can look, but with pity, even on its excess. 
 Weep, afflicted parent, but spread not out 
 thy sorrows before a hard, cold world. Look, 
 sometimes, if thou canst bear it, on those 
 touching mementoes of childish pleasures and 
 endearments, but let them remain in their own 
 little cabinet. The grave is no place for toys, 
 and as to the artificial flowers, they belong to 
 Canal-street. 
 
 Eight years ago we wrote a plea for monu- 
 mental inscriptions. It was first printed, and 
 may still be found in the Comptroller's annual 
 pamphlet. From various causes, some of 
 which are there suggested, epitaphs had gone 
 greatly out of use. They had become un- 
 fashionable. A wish was expressed for the 
 
42 HINTS CONCERNING GREEN-WOOD. 
 
 revival of a custom so old and so rational. It 
 was hoped that in Green- wood, tlien just start- 
 ing — we miglit be allowed to read with 
 quickened sensibilities, the modest, tender, and 
 pious inscription, — and that there the " Muse," 
 whether learned or ' unlettered,' might strew 
 the holy texts, which alone can teach us how 
 to die. 
 
 The wish and the hope have not been dis- 
 appointed. There are many neat and beauti- 
 ful epitaphs in Green-wood. But with the 
 good, as usual, has come also the evil. Though 
 we never expected perfection, we did not an- 
 ticipate quite so large a measure of the oppo- 
 site extreme. Surely, in an age and land of 
 vaunted refinement and general education, our 
 tomb-stone literature ought to be free from 
 gross violations of syntax and orthography. 
 
 An inscription for the dead should be sim- 
 ple in style, sparing of words, modest in eulogy. 
 The long and labored epitaph is seldom read. 
 Glowing encomiums are received with distrust. 
 Excessive praise — fulsome always •— seems 
 
HINTS CONCERNING GREEN-WOOD. 43 
 
 especially so, wlien heaped on tlie dead. 
 These are principles generally acknowledged 
 — though, in practice, so often disregarded. 
 Indeed, we have seen specimens of epitaphian 
 laudation, which indicated that their authors 
 had resolved into an affirmative, the intense 
 negation of the poet : 
 
 ' Can Honor's voice provoke the silent dust, 
 Or Flattery soothe the dull cold ear of death?" 
 
 There is in Green-wood a class of inscrip- 
 tions — getting now to be very common — 
 which, at first thought, may seem to violate 
 no rule of propriety. "Father:" "Mother:" 
 "Dear Johnny :" " Our sweet Emmie :" and 
 " Our little Bobby ;" — when first seen, seem 
 very simple and tender ; — the unstudied ut- 
 terance of filial or parental grief, which could 
 vent itself only in passionate exclamation. 
 But not so, when the once solitary specimen 
 has become the fashion, and stares at us with 
 every turn. The expediency of such expres- 
 sions on the tomb-stonCj under any circum- 
 
44 HINTS CONCERNING GREEN-WOOD. 
 
 stances, may well be questioned. While the 
 heart of our friend i^ yet bleeding under some 
 recent bereavement, we listen sympathisingly 
 even to his extravagance of sorrow or of 
 praise. But sooner or later the time comes, 
 when such language is heard no longer; or 
 when, if uttered, it only grieves and offends 
 the ear of Friendship. Surely that which may 
 not be spoken occasionally in the ear, ought 
 not to be obtruded unceasingly on the eye. 
 Terms of fond endearment (if ever proper) 
 should be reserved for the sacredness of do- 
 mestic privacy. When forced upon the indif- 
 ferent by-stander, they are always disgusting ; 
 and equally so, whether lavished on the living 
 or the dead. Fond mourner — confine your 
 passionate utterances to the friendly bosoms 
 that share your grief; or, still better, breathe 
 them only in your secret sighs. 
 
 Q^ 
 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
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