PART III.

EMBALMING

Embalming

The central thought of the modern funeral director in the care of the dead and in all the arrangements of the funeral is to remove so far as may be all that is necessarily painful to those who must place out of sight the body through which the soul of the dear one has expressed itself, in all the ways that are prompted by affection. This does not seem to have been the case in the former days when the methods were in striking contrast to those of today and were such as would intensify the suffering of the living. Beginning with the arrangement of the body in the room made cold by nature in winter or by the ice box in the summer and ending by lowering the body into an unlined grave, each detail seems to have been made with little thought of lessening the pain caused by those things which necessarily have to be done. Perhaps the central thought in the old days was the same as that which was the comfort offered upon funeral occasions by a former local pastor which was “death is a horrible thing.” If this was not the controlling thought, it is certain that many details of former funeral customs would be considered horrible today. Today the aim is to lighten the burden and to cheer the hearts of those who mourn.

The introduction of embalming in the seventies has been of untold benefit in improving the environment of the dead prior to interment. Recollections of the use of the old ice box, the crude and cumbersome cooler, the ice water to be cared for and the thought of the chilled body are not pleasant now, and were far from pleasant then to those into whose homes death had entered in hot weather. In winter natural cold was depended upon, the body being placed in the coldest place possible. With the best of care the results were uncertain and far from satisfactory. Modern embalming has changed all this. Its results are with rare exceptions certain and satisfactory and the embalmed body may be dressed and placed in a warm and comfortable room.