Mr. Bentham was perfectly aware that difficulty and even obloquy
might attend a compliance with the directions he gave concerning the
disposal of his body. He therefore chose three friends, whose firmness
he believed to be equal to the task, and asked them if their affection
for him would enable them to brave such consequences. They engaged
to follow his directions to the letter, and they were faithful to
their pledge. The performance of the first part of this duty is thus
described by an eye-witness, W. J. Fox, in the _Monthly Repository_ for
July, 1832:--
"None who were present can ever forget that impressive scene. The
room (the lecture-room of the Webb Street School of Anatomy) is small
and circular, with no window but a central sky-light, and capable
of containing about three hundred persons. It was filled, with the
exception of a class of medical students and some eminent members of
that profession, by friends, disciples, and admirers of the deceased
philosopher, comprising many men celebrated for literary talent,
scientific research, and political activity. The corpse was on the
table in the middle of the room, directly under the light, clothed
in a night-dress, with only the head and hands exposed. There was no
rigidity in the features, but an expression of placid dignity and
benevolence. This was at times rendered almost vital by the reflection
of the lightning playing over them; for a storm arose just as the
lecturer commenced, and the profound silence in which he was listened
to was broken and only broken by loud peals of thunder, which continued
to roll at intervals throughout the delivery of his most appropriate
and often affecting address. With the feelings which touch the heart
in the contemplation of departed greatness, and in the presence of
death, there mingled a sense of the power which that lifeless body
seemed to be exercising in the conquest of prejudice for the public
good, thus co-operating with the triumphs of the spirit by which it
had been animated. It was a worthy close of the personal career of the
great philanthropist and philosopher. Never did corpse of hero on the
battle-field, 'with his martial cloak around him,' or funeral obsequies
chanted by stoled and mitred priests in Gothic aisles, excite such
emotions as the stern simplicity of that hour in which the principle of
utility triumphed over the imagination and the heart."
The skeleton of Bentham, dressed in the clothes which he usually wore,
and with a wax face, modelled by Dr. Talrych, enclosed in a mahogany
case, with folding-doors, may now be seen in the Anatomical Museum of
University College Hospital, Gower Street, London.
The Marquis of Anglesey's Leg.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account