Burying People in Home Wall.

Te Aroha News, Volume V, Issue 212, 23 July 1887, Page 4

Burying People in Home Wall.

Tiijj stubborn, prejudica, which . still exists in all parbs against a burial in anew cemetery or churchyard is duo to the fact that' in pagan limes the first to be buried was the victim, and in medueval times was held to be the perquisite of the Devil,, who stepped into the place of the pagan doity. The latest instance with which, we are acquainted, and which is well authenticated, of a human being having been immured alive, was that ot Geronimo of Oran, in the wall of the fort near the gate of Bab-el-oved, of Algiers, in 1568. The fort is composed ot blocks of pise, a concrete made of stones, lime and sand, mixed in certain proportions, trodden down and rammed into a mould, and exposed to dry in the sun. When thoroughly baked and solid, ifc is turned out of the mould, and is then ready for use. Geronimo was a Christian, who had served in a Spanish regiment ; he was taken by pirates and made over to the Dey of Algiers. When the fort was in construction, Geronimo was put into one oithe moulds, and the concrete rammed lound him (18th September, 15G0), and then the block was put into the walls. Don Diego de Haedo, the contemporary author ot the "Topography of Algiers." says — "On examining witli attention the blocks of pise which form the walls of the fort, a block will be observed in the north, wall oi which the surface has sunk in, and lookb as it it had been disturbed ; for the body in decaying left a hollow in the block, which has caused the sinkage." On December 27th, 1833, tr.e block was exhumed. The old iort was demolished to, make room for the modem " Foro dcs vingfcquatre - heures," under the direction of Captain Susoni, when a peiard which had been placed beneath two or three courses of pi.se near the gi ound, exploded, and exposed a cavity containing a human skeleton, the whole of which was visible, fiom the neck tothe knees, in a perfect slate of preservation. The remains, the cast of the head, and the broken block ot pise, are now in the Cathedral of Algiers. The walk, of Scutari are said also to contain the body of a victim ; in this case of a woman, who was built in, but an opening -was left tbiough which her infant might be passed in to be suckled by hei, as long as life remained in the poor cieature, after "which the hole was closed. At Aila, in the vilajct of Janina, also a woman was walled into the foundation of the budge. The gravelly soil gave way, and it was decided that the only means by which the .substructure could be consolidated was by a human life. One of the mason's wives brought her husband a bowl with his dinner, when he dropped his ling into the hole dug for their pier, and asked her to seal eh for it. When she descendad into the pit, the masons threw in lime and stones upon her, and buried her. The following story is told of; several, churches of Europe. The masons could nob get the walls to stand, and they resolved among themselves to bury under them thefiist woman or child that came to their works. They took oath to this effects The tir.it to arrive was the wife of the master-mason, who came with the dinnerThe men at once fell on her and walled hei; iufo the foundations. One A'eision of the Moiy is less gruesome. The masons had. pro\ided meat for their work, and the master had dealt so carelessly with the pro- \ ision that it ran out befoie the buildingwas much advanced. She accordingly put the remaining bones into a cauldron, and made a soup of vegetables " When she brought it to the mason, he ilow into a rage, and built the cauldron and bones into the wall, as a perpetual caution to improvident wives. Thi>s i-< the story of Llie church of ]\ T otrc "Dame at Bruges, where the cauldron and bones are supposed still to be seen in the wall. At Tuckebrande are two basins built into the wall, and various legends not agreeing with one another are told to account for their presence. Probably these cauldrons contained the blood ot victims oi somo sort, hummed to secure the stability of the edifice. A very curious usage prevails in Roumania and Transylvania to the present day, which is a reminiscence of the old interment in the foundations of a house. When masons are engaged on a new dwelling, they endeavour to catcli. the shadow of a stranger passing by and wall it in, and throw in stonesand mortar whilst his shadow rests on the w alls. If no one goes by to cast his shade on tho stones, the masons go in quest of a woman or child, who does nofc belong to the place, and, unperceived by the person, apply a reed to the shadow, and this reed is then immured ; and it is believed that when this is done, the woman or child thus measured will languish and die, but luck attaches to the house. In this we see the survival of the old confusion between soul and shade. The Manes are the shadow s of the dead. In some places it is said that a man who has sold his soul to the Devil is shadowless, because soul and shadow are one. But there are other instances of substitution hardly less curious. In Holland have been found immured in foundations curious objects like ninepins, but which are rude imitations of babes in their swaddling-bands. When it became unlawful to biu*y a child, an image representing it was laid in the wall in its place. Anothor usage was to immure an egg. The egg had in it life, but undeveloped life, so that by walling it in the principle of sacrificing a life was maintained without any 3hock to human feelings. Another form of .substitution was that of a candle. From an early period the candle was burned in place of the sacrifice of a human victim. — Habine Baring Gould, in " Murray's Magazine."

Wood Pulp u. Plaster of Paris.— An important discovery has just been made at the Sognedal Pulp Factory in Norway, after several years' experimenting, wood pulp being used for the manufacture of the kinds of building ornaments which are generally made in plaster of Paris. The pulp is first ground from wood, and then, by a machine, pressed into any kind of ornament, such as ceilings, fiiezes bas-reliefs, rosetts, &c, which are quite as well finished as similar articles of plaster of Paris. Another feature is that the articles made from the pulp show painting or gilding to great advantage. Tests have also been made with regard to their strength, by dropping them from various heights or hurling them against stone walls, the results being highly satisfactory. Naturally, too, this material is far lighter than plaster of Paris, an important advantage, is no great harm would be caused to a person by ornaments made from it falling upon him, which is otherwise with those made from plaster of Paris. It should aleo be mentioned that pulp ceilings, friezes, &c, are, by the hardness and compactness of the material, impervious to wet, and that they may,, if desired, be fastened by nails or screws. Finally, the inventors state that ornaments made from . this material cost only half the price of similar ones made from plaster of Paris. —Bisder. There are lots of people who mix tjieir religion with business, , but forget \o stirtib up well. The business invariably rises,> to the top as a result.