HPB-SB-4-32

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vol. 4, p. 32

H. P. Blavatsky Scrapbooks

from Adyar archives of the International Theosophical Society

vol. 4 (1875-1878)

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< Broiled Baron (continued from page 4-31) >

patents proving his right to the titles of Prince of the Roman Empire, Grand Gross Commander of the Sovereign Order of Holy Sepulcher at Jerusalem, Knight of St. John of Malta, and Ex-Chamberlain to His Majesty the King of Bavaria. The certificate of membership of the Holy Sepulcher is in Latin. It gives an historical account of the origin of the Order, and declares that the following privileges are granted to Knights of the Order, viz: Precedence over all others, of whatever Order or army, except the Knights of the Golden Fleece: power to legitimatize those not born in lawful wed lock; to change the Christian name; grant coats of arms, and create notaries; exception from all taxes and tributes, and in time of war guard duty and hospital work. They also granted a remarkable privilege, of which the following is a literal translation: “If they should find a corpse hung up to a gibbet, having unsheathed their sword, they may cut the rope, and order that the body be buried.” The Knights of the Sepulcher are bound by the of oaths of their professions to fulfill a number of obligations in response to the privileges, among which was the hearing of mass every day, the protection of the Church against infidels, and the promotion of the Catholic faith and religion. The document is dated at Jerusalem on the 20th day of January. 1815, and is countersigned at Rome in June of the following year by Aloysious a Laureto. Minister-General of the Papal See.

The Baron has left the whole of his property to Colonel Olcott, as a mark of gratitude for the kindness of the Colonel and his family to him during his residence with them. The property chiefly consists of mining stocks and real estate in the West. It is believed that Baron owned considerable property in Europe, but no definite information on the subject has yet been obtained. A will which was found among his papers, bearing date of 1859, referred to his proprietorship of the Castles of Old and New Wartersee, which are situated on the borders of Lake Constance, in Switzerland. He his no other papers, however, which relate to his property, and it is therefore highly probable that he disposed of them at some time prior to his death.

A remarkable sect.

To an outsider it is somewhat difficult to comprehend what are the real objects of this Society. From what I can gather from Colonel Olcott, however, it seems that the members of the Society believe that a knowledge of the nature and attributes of the Supreme Power, and also the higher spirits, can be obtained by physical processes. They further believe that by investigating further than modern scientists have hitherto done into the esotoric philosophy of ancient times they will ultimately prove the existence of another universe and ascertain the relations of its inhabitants to this world. The members of the Society are theogists in their views of the progress of the soul alter death. The precise time at which Baron von Palm renounced the above views is not known, but that he had done so is evident from the fact that he was at his death a member of the Theosophical Society, an organization which was formed in New York in the winter of 1875, and of which Colonel Olcott is President the late Baron and Judge Westbrook were Councillors. The members of the Society are also firm believers in the same doctrine of evolution which was held by the ancients. They hold that the human soul emanated from the Deity, descended into matter by slow, successive stages of existence antecedent to the earthly life, and after death, by a regular process of evolution, freed itself and was finally brought to its original matter of pure spirit. Although these ideas may have a Pantheistic appearance, the fact is that the exoteric meaning of the whole system religious myths and symbols which this Society has copied from the ancients may be summed up in the belief that there is one supreme first cause of all things, having countless attributes. The Theosophical Society does not differ in its organization or by-laws from other Societies, but it is a secret body, and only publishes to the world those portions of its proceedings which it thinks fit. The members of the Society investigate in scientific spirit odic force, pschyometry, together with mesmerism, the properties of universal ether, and all its unfamiliar branches of physical science. Colonel Olcott claim that the Society is organized in the interest of religion, science and good morals, and that they aid each according to its needs. He says that, having been baffled in every attempt to get the desired information by other means, they have turned their faces toward the Orient, from whence all systems and philosophies are derived.

A remarkable funeral.

It might have been expected, that dying in the faith of such a creed (?), the funeral ceremonies of the Baron would differ from those of an ordinary character. The Theosophs include among their ritual a service for their dead, and the Baron, before dying, expressed a wish that he should be buried according to the rites of the Society, that no Christian should allowed to officiate over his remains. His request was strictly complied with, and the ceremony, which took place in the Masonic Hall, comprised ideas concerning the notions of the Theosophists respecting human responsibility for offenses in this life which combined in making it one of the most remarkable funeral ceremonies which has ever been seen in this country. The casket containing the remains, which had previously been embalmed, was placed in the center of the center aisle. On the coffin were seven candles of red, white, green and blue colors. Beside it was a sword and hour-glass with the send exhausted. At the head was cross with a twining serpent, emblematic of the symbol of the creative power, while at the foot was an urn from which fire and smoke escaped, an emblem of the fire-worship of the Egyptians. On the altar was a dish of incense, serpent biting his own tail, emblematic of astral light and the evolution of matter, together with the Tau, or masculine cross, encircled with a serpent. The funeral ceremonies, which consisted of incarnations, chants, &c., were performed by seven priests of the Society, six of whom were robed in black and the other (Colonel Olcott) in white. Between the ceremonies, addresses relating to the objects of the Society were delivered by Colonel Olcott and a Mrs. Harding, the former defining Theosophy as “intercourse with God and superior spirits, and the consequent attainment of superhuman knowledge by physical processes,” while the latter declared that she had spoken with the spirit of the Baron after his soul had passed the gates of heaven! After the ceremony, the remains were interred in a vault of the Lutheran Cemetery, no service being performed at the grave.

The cremation.

The arrangements for the cremation, the last act of the drama in which the most illustrious and most valorous Baron Von Palm has been the leading figure, have been under the control of his executor, Colonel H. F. Olcott. Washington, from which I write, is an outlandish country town, with scarcely four thousand inhabitants. Pittsburg is twenty-five miles east of here, and the Chartens Valley Railroad, which is the only means by which Pittsburg can be reached, is leased by the Pittsburg, Cincinnati and St. Louis Railroad. This place is inconveniently situated for travel, time occupied in traversing the twenty five miles being trifle over two hours, but it was selected chiefly on account of its being the residence of Dr. Julius Le Moyne, who is the inventor and proprietor of the crematory. Dr. Le Moyne is an old resident of Washington and is possessed of considerable wealth, which he devotes to the gratification of his scientific tastes. In his time he has been a lending politician in Western Pennsylvania, and at one time ran for Vice-President on the Abolition ticket, and on another occasion as Governor of the State. He has long been a warm advocate of cremation, and when it was finally decided that the Baron's remains should be disposed of by that means the arrangements were placed in his hands.

dr. le moyne’s cremating furnace.

The crematory which he has erected at his own expense is one story in height and built of brick. It has a corrugated iron roof, fitted with three chimneys. The interior consists of two rooms only, one of which is furnished with accommodation for spectators, which is about twenty feet square, and the other contains the furnace and retort. In the center of the visitors’ room is a cataufalque upon which to rest the body. Egress from the visitors’ room to that containing the furnace is had by a doorway about ten by twenty feet in size. The retort in which the remains will be placed in somewhat similar in shape to an ordinary gas retort, and is in size about seven and a half feet in length, twenty inches high and twenty-eight in wide. The furnace underneath the retort, and the whole is inclosed in a wall of brickwork. By this process the body is not required to touch the fire, but is entirely consumed by the hot air produced by the furnace. The furnace was lighted with coke at 6 o’clock this morning, and it is calculated that by 8 a. m. to-morrow the furnace will have attained the necessary heat of 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit, when the remains will be placed in the retort, and by 1 o'clock all that will remaining of the noble Baron will be represented by limited quantity of dust. A number of scientific men have already arrived here, and large numbers more are expected by the night and early morning trains. The body was removed from the vault in the Lutheran Cemetery on Monday morning, the order for its removal having previously been obtained from the Brooklyn Board of Health. Prior to its conveyance to the depot the coffin was opened and the corpse exposed to view. It had shrunken appearance, and presented an ashy color from the effects of a coat of powder with which it had previously been covered. The eyes were sunk in their sockets, and to the touch the body felt similar to ordinary parchment. The hair of the head had remained firm but the whiskers on one side of the face had fallen off. A cut which was made in the face showed that the muscles were comparatively dry, and it was also ascertained that the joints had remained flexible. The smell which came from the body was not unpleasant, but, bore strong resemblance to carbolic acid, and if the same treatment had been continued for a little time longer the body would have become as hard and dry as an Egyptian mummy. What is to be done with the ashes of the Baron after the cremation has not been definitely settled. Some of the members of the Theosophical Society are in favor of their being placed at the disposal of any branch of the family which may exist on this Continent, while others propose that they should be placed in a vase and become part and parcel of the worldly goods of the Society. The embalmer believes that the ashes will be distributed among the Theosophists, who will wear them in locked-in their watch-chains, and he is very emphatic in the opinion that in the distribution he should not be forgotten.

The other cremation which have referred to as having taken place in this country was that of a South Carolina planter, who died in that State about half a century ago, leaving in his will a provision that his heirs should not inherit his property until his body was burned. The modern ideas of cremation, however, were not then in vogue, and his body was accordingly destroyed by the old Pagan process by being placed upon a pile of burning wood in the open all. The affair created a considerable sensation at the time, but was not of a character which was calculated to be of any value or interest to science.

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Special Dispatch to the Enquirer.

Washington, Penn., December 6.–The cremation of the Late Baron Palm was successfully accomplished here to-day. The body arrived at noon on Tuesday in charge of Colonel Olcott and H. F. Newton, the executors of the deceased, and several members of the Theosophical Society. It was at once conveyed to the crematory on Gallows Hill, and, after being enveloped in linen, was placed in the iron cradle, which reposed on the catafalque.

During the afternoon it was visited by large numbers of people.

The furnace was lighted at 2 a. m. on Tuesday, but no register was kept of the heat which was attained. The body remained during the night in charge of the cremator.

At 8 o'clock this morning a large number of newspaper correspondents, accompanied by Colonel Olcott, Dr. Le Moyne and Dr. Drisdale, of the Pittsburg Board of Health ; Otterson, President of the Brooklyn Board of Health ; Dr. Fulsom, of the Massachusetts State Board of Health ; Dr. Hupp, of the Wheeling Board, and several physicians from different parts of the country, assembled at the crematory. A cavity in the body was filled with myrrh, frankincense, cinnamon and other spices, by Colonel Olcott, and it was then wrapped in a winding-sheet, and the top covered with sprays of hemlock, together with roses, primroses and other flowers. The sheet was saturated with alum-water, for the purpose of rendering it anti-combustible.

At 8:20 the two executors of the Baron and Drs, Le Moyne and Asdale conveyed the iron crib into the furnace-room. The iron-lid covering of the mouth of the retort having been removed, the cradle was placed on the lid and pushed in by the combined efforts of the four bearers, and a cold lid <... continues on page 4-33 >

Editor's notes