e buried without religious
rites, according to his will. No priest is to profane the sanctity of
death by mumbling idle words over his grave concerning what he is
as ignorant of as the corpse at his feet. In death, as in life, the
Freethinker would confront the universe alone from the impregnable rock
of his manhood, convinced that

There is no danger to a man that knows
What life and death is: there's not any law
Exceeds his knowledge: neither is it lawful
That he should stoop to any other law.

Not only did Victor Hugo will that no priest should officiate at his
burial, he ordered that none should approach his bed. But the carrion
crows of the death-chamber were not to be deterred by his well-known
wishes. The Archbishop of Paris offered to visit the dying heretic
and administer to him the supreme unction on behalf of the Church.
M. Lockroy, the poet's son-in-law, politely declined the offer. Our
newspapers, especially the orthodox ones, regard the Archbishop's
message as a compliment. In our opinion it was a brazen insult. Suppose
Mr. Bradlaugh wrote to say that he would gladly attend the sickbed
of Canon Wilberforce for the purpose of receiving his confession of
Atheism; would the orthodox regard it as a compliment or an insult?
We fail to see any difference in the two cases, and we know not why
impertinence in an Atheist becomes civility in a Christian. Fortunately,
Victor Hugo's death-chamber was not intruded upon by impudent
priests. His relatives respected his convictions the more as they were
Freethinkers themselves. No priest will consecrate his grave, but it
will be hallowed by his greatness; and what pilgrim, as he bends over
the master's tomb, will hear in the breeze, or see in the grass and
flowers, any sign that a priest's benison is wanting to his repose?

DESECRATING A CHURCH.

There was a Pantheon at Rome, which was a monument of the religious
tolerance of the Empire. It was dedicated, as appears from the
inscription on the portico, by Agrippa, son-in-law to the great
Augustus, to Jupiter and all the other gods, with the same generosity
that prompted the Athenians to erect an altar to the gods that might
be unknown. A niche was afforded within its walls to every deity of the
provinces whose devotees were willing to accept the hospitality; and
Christ himself might have figured with the rest, if his worshippers did
not scorn all other gods but their own.

The old Pantheon