Houses of the Dead, which, while frankly declaring their purpose, were yet beautiful and impressive as an expression of religious and communal feeling. The older civilisations, as we know, attached great importance to their burial places, making imposing temples of them. But in this, as in so many other things, individual and family vanity and private property feeling had completely obstructed the development of what might have been one of the noblest expressions of communal feeling.
The John Knox obelisk monument, a large Doric column surmounted by a statue of the famous reformer, is the most prominent feature of the Necropolis. I expected Morris would poke fun at it, but he was only gently satirical. 'He does look as though he were the Lord of Sabaoth up there, don't he? Or shall we say, Shepherd of the Dead? But he was something of a hero—and that too despite the fact that Carlyle said so, my friend. He was, in his own way, a great reformer. He had a big idea of making the people upright and self-respecting and intelligent, concerning not only the affairs of the Church but the public weal—according to his lights. He was not such a narrow-minded zealot as were so many of your respected presbyters of later date. You see, Dr. Glasse of Edinburgh has been coaching me up on your kirk history. He read me parts of the "Book of Discipline," which I think most sensible stuff.'
I mentioned that the Jewish burying-ground, which was situated in the upper corner of the Necropolis, had inscribed on its gateway the lines from Byron's 'Hebrew Melodies,' beginning:
'Oh, weep for those that wept by Babel's stream,'—
one of the few tributes to the Jewish race in Christian literature.
Morris, however, showed no desire to see the inscription. He remarked, 'Byron's "Hebrew Melodies" were a bit "put on," don't you think? although there was something
