THE HERO’S FUNERAL.

The following account of the ‘Hero’s’ funeral is taken, unabridged, from The Eastern Morning News.

All that was mortal of John Ellerthorpe, ‘The Hero of the Humber,’ was on Sunday consigned to the grave. Well did his many noble actions entitle him to the proud and distinguished title by which he was so familiarly known. It may be questioned whether his career has any individual parallel in the world’s history. The saviour of forty lives from drowning, during sixty-one years’ existence, could not fail to be exalted to the position of a great hero, and the worship which was paid to his heroism assumed no exaggerated form, though it was intense and abiding. He bore his honours meekly, and his funeral partook of the character of the man, unpretending, simple, earnest. No funeral pomp, no feverish excitement, but a solemn, subdued spectacle was witnessed. The highest tribute which could be paid to departed worth was accorded to the memory of the Hero of the Humber. Thousands of his fellow-townsmen followed the funeral cortege on its way to the Cemetery, and when the procession reached the last resting-place of the deceased, the number swelled into vast proportions, and a perfect consciousness of the solemnity of the event appeared to influence the conduct of the vast multitude. The silence was deep, and almost unbroken by any sound save the frequent exclamations of sincere regret. No man, however distinguished, has had more solemn homage paid to him than John Ellerthorpe. There were many features of resemblance in the burial of Captain Gravill, and in the Cemetery, not far from each other, now lie the remains of two men whose moral attributes and actions will ever stand conspicuous in the history of men.

The announcement that the cortege would leave the residence of the deceased at half-past twelve drew many hundreds to the house, anxious, if possible, to obtain a look at that which contained the body of him whose acquaintance numbers of them had esteemed it an honour to possess. At the time appointed the body was placed in the hearse, and the family and friends of the deceased, as they entered the coaches, were watched by hundreds who sympathised in no common degree with their deep affliction and irreparable loss. The coaches were followed by the gatemen of all the docks and others who had been associated with the deceased. Mr. Dumbell, the Secretary of the Dock Company, Mr. Dale Brown, Superintendent Dock Master, and Mr. Gruby, headed the procession, thus evincing the deep respect they entertained for Mr. Ellerthorpe. Contrary to expectation, the procession proceeded to the Cemetery by the following route: Railway-street, Kingston-street, Edward’s-place, Waverly-street, Thornton-street, Park-street, and Spring-bank. It had been expected that the procession would have gone along the Market-place and Whitefriargate, and thence to the place of interment, and the streets were thronged with an anxious multitude. The disappointment was very great.

When the cortege reached Thornton-street, part of the congregation of the Primitive Methodist chapel at which the deceased had been in the habit of worshipping when in health, joined the procession, and at once began to sing. Nothing could exceed the impression of the scene from this point. As the lowly strains arose tears were trickling down many a hard, rough face, whilst a spirit of holy quietude appeared to pervade others. Few funerals have been characterised by greater impressiveness. All the avenues at the cemetery were crowded, and hundreds had been waiting or a long time to meet the procession.

The funeral service was conducted by the Rev. George Lamb, for whom the deceased had long cherished a great affection, and it is needless to say the reverend gentleman was greatly affected. The coffin having been laid in the grave, and the burial service having been read, Mr. Lamb spoke as follows, amidst profound silence:

’We have come here to-day, my friends, to perform the last duties over the body of the dear friend who has passed away, we doubt not, to a brighter and a better world. The Hero of the Humber, the man who has saved a large number of human beings from a watery grave, who has made many a family rejoice by his heroism, has himself succumbed to the hand of death. But, through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ he was not afraid to die. I have been frequently comforted as I have conversed with him during his last illness, and have heard him rejoice in the prospect of that hour, and seen his anxiety yes, his anxiety to leave the present world because he had blooming hope of a brighter and better inheritance. My dear friends, you and I will soon finish our course. The great question we ought to ask ourselves individually is “Am I prepared to die? If my corpse were here, where John Ellerthorpe lies, where would my soul be? Am I prepared for entering the mansions of everlasting bliss?” Many of you know he lived a godless, prayerless and sinful life for many years, but by the gospel of the grace of God his heart became changed. He abandoned his evil ways, consecrated himself at the foot of the cross, to be the Lord’s for ever, and by God’s saving mercy, he was enabled to hold on his way to the last, rejoicing in the prospect of that hour when he should leave the bed of affliction and this sinful world, to be carried into that clime and those blessed regions where he would be with the saved for ever. That God can change your hearts, my dear friends. Oh, by the side of this open grave, may some here to-day be yielded to God; may you now consecrate yourselves and become the saved of the Lord. God grant his blessing may rest upon the mourning widow and the bereaved family, and that they after the toils of the warfare of earth, may with their dear husband and father be found before the throne of God. May those who have long enjoyed the friendship of our departed brother be ultimately numbered with the blessed in in the kingdom to come.’

Before the mourners departed, the beautifully affecting hymn, beginning with

‘Farewell, dear friends, a long farewell,’

was sung.

We may state that most of the ships in the docks indicated respect by hoisting colours half-mast high. Eastern Morning News.