corpse was buried in Melbourne. O n e day in November, 1838, the remains of a m a n recently dead, were found in a hut a short distance from the intersection of Collins and Queen Streets. N o one knew w h o he was ; and there was no one to care what became of him. But, to permit his body to remain in a scorching hot wind was out of the question. At length three or four of the townsmen wrapped the poor corpse in some old bagging, placed it on a chair, and so chaired it away to the cemetery. Arriving there, there was no official to render any help ; the buryers had to turn grave-diggers, and the ceremony perfunctorily got through was soon over. For some years the conveyance of coffins to the grave was a carriage on men's shoulders, and for the best of reasons, viz.—there was no other town m o d e available. There has been a controversy more than once raised as to the identity of thefirstperson obliging enough to undertake professionally for the becoming disposal of the dead, and more than one claim has been advanced, for a distinction posthumous in every sense. T h efollowingadvertisement (ioth January, 1839) to m y mind effectually settles the question :— CARPENTER, JOINER, AND UNDERTAKER. R O B E R T F R O S T begs to inform the inhabitants at Port Phillip generally, that he has commenced business in the above branches, in Collins Street, Melbourne, and assures those persons w h o m a y honour him with their patronage, that all orders entrusted to his care will be promptly executed on moderate terms. 8 3 " Funerals attended on the shortest notice.
This bill of mortality did not promise much for fortune making in the particular line, because as before stated, there were only 20 deaths in the province during 1838, 67 in 1839, though the rate rose in 1840 to 198, T h e luxury of a hearse was unknown until the arrival of Mr. Samuel Crook, w h o opened a "Cabinet and upholstery warehouse," in William Street, near the wharf. In January, 1840, he issued a trade manifesto, concluding with the consolatory intimation that " Funerals would be furnished punctually, and conducted in the neatest manner possible ; and a hearse is in course of building and will be let out on hire." Crook soon after removed his coffin factory to the site of the present Victoria Coffee Palace, adjoining the T o w n Hall, in Collins Street, where he worked his mortuary appliances for many years. A year after, M r . T h o m a s Croft endeavoured to improve on Crook's announcement for he " Combines the office of sexton and undertaker, and performs funerals on the shortest notice, and on the most reasonable terms." A s an N.B. he adds " A mourning hearse if required." There was also a well-known undertaker for a long time recognized as a Melbourne identity. H e was Mr. T h o m a s Jennings, who, in his day, saw many of the residents of the Melbourne cemeteries quietly disposed of, and it was not until 1884 that he followed them. Formerly burial-grounds were identical with church-yards, and under denominational control. As a consequence, the parish clerk was a small pluralist as to his duties, commencing with his various ecclesiastical attentions to the pastor and other sacred belongings, and ending with grave-digging. All his functions were covered by his appointment as sexton, a term of m u c h comprehension, and thus it came, that, when the grave-yards were placed apart from the religious edifices, the sexton's vocation m a d e him as m u c h at h o m e in the cemetery as in the vestry. But the march of time and the change of circumstances rendered it incompatible with the dignity of the clerkship, that the amalgamation of the " professions" should continue, and it was so divided that, the grave-digger was declared to be a separate, though not an independent functionary.
RESURRECTIONISM AND GHOSTS.
For several years the Old Graveyard (cemetery it was never called) was quite outside the town. Northward the town in reality did not extend beyond Lonsdale Street, and the suburban residences
