p. 556 | Embalmed by the Soil

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Sep 9, 1886

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 12, No. 35.

Embalmed by the Soil.

HUMAN, bodies buried in limestone countries, are often turned to solid stone by the lime-water which penetrates the graves. In other soils there are elements which sometimes so embalm the buried dead as to preserve form and features unchanged. Many such cases are on record. Robert Burns's body was disinterred in 1815, to be removed to a new tomb. To the surprise of all his friends, the features were found to be as perfect as at burial.

The case of John Hampden, the famous English patriot and leader, was more surprising. His body was disinterred by Lord Nugent, two hundred years after burial, but form and features were as unchanged as if the corpse had been recently laid in the grave.

When General Washington's body was taken up at Mount Vernon, to be laid in a sarcophagus and removed to the permanent tomb, his face was found to be in a state of perfect preservation.

In all these cases, however, the process of decay had gone on internally, though arrested at the surface. After a brief exposure to the air, the body crumbled, and all resemblance to life passed away.—Sel.