“Some object to cremation on the ground of its inconsistency with the Christian doctrine of the resurrection. We do not see any force in that. No particle of matter is destroyed by fire; it is merely changed in form and reduced to primitive elements, or in their direction, for it is not clear that the action of fire extends so far as to resolve organized matter into its primal atoms. The same power that can call forth from the tomb a body that has decayed and gone to dust can quicken the dried ashes and draw from the elements the gases that have been dispersed by the flames of the crematory. How much of the actual particles that are seen now by the natural eye is necessary to the reformation of the human frame into a spiritual body with flesh and bones does not at present appear. But this is certain: the power that can resurrect the body from the grave or from the sea can bring it forth from any place or condition in the universe. Belief in the resurrection implies belief in God, and with him all things are possible.” Kate Field, who of all Americans probably is best acquainted with Mormon life and doctrines, points out that when the literal Mormon abjures literalness, it is high time for orthodox Christians to cast away the above-mentioned sacrilegious objection. How, by the way, about those who fall overboard and are swallowed by the fishes, or those who are blown up by an explosion? Are they to be consigned to eternal damnation simply because they happened to meet with an accident? Are they not to be raised hereafter? The absurdity and unreasonableness of this erroneous notion was tersely and happily expressed by the Earl of Shaftesbury during a conversation with an eminent (Sir T. Spencer Wells, I believe) promoter of the present cremation movement. He said:— “What would in such a case become of the blessed martyrs?” Many of them have been reduced to ashes, and still these are held sacred. I would advise the person who holds the opinion that the resurrection cannot take place after cremation to seek quickly the nearest physician who makes a speciality of insanity. I wonder if such persons are conscious that they commit a sacrilege in doubting that God is omnipotent. From a purely catholic point of view it is urged that incineration would destroy the relics of individuals who might afterward be canonized. This is the most ridiculous objection of the whole lot! Are not the ashes of a saint as venerable as his bones? When such ashes are kept in a sealed urn, we may be certain of the genuineness of the relics. Today, there is no guarantee whatever of their genuineness—many cities claiming to possess the only real relics of this or that saint. [Illustration: THE PORTLAND VASE. (Originally a Cinerary Urn.) ]