THE SONG OF A DEATH MAN DREAMED BY AN ALIVE ONE

Reading Birket-Smith´s book about Inuit people I have found this pretty song which apparently was sang once by Copper Eskimos. 

"The song of a death man dreamed by an alive one"

Tell me, Was the life in Earth so beautiful? 

Here hapinness fills me

every time aurora raises over the Earth

and the great Sun

slides up in the sky.

But the rest of the time I lie, anxious and afraid 

covered by larva and worms

which quenched in the clavicle cavity 

and pierce my eyes

Aji, jai, ja

I found it creepy and beautiful at the same time, it would be the perfect epitaph to be carved in my gravestone. Any knowledge about its origins would be welcome.

BREAKING A MYTH: SOPHIE CRACROFT'S PORTRAIT DOESN´T BELONG HER ANYMORE

I am not the kind of people who likes to break myths, but in this case I am afraid someone has unmasked an impostor.

It seems that the only known portrait of Sophie Cracroft, (you know who she is, Lady Franklin´s niece who accompanied her untiringly all around the world), doesn´t belong her. Through a searching I was conducting through Pinterest I have stumbled upon this picture which gives us information about the true name of the pretty girl depicted in that allegedly Sophie´s portrait.

Ex-Sophie Cracroft.

Apparently the woman in the portrait is called Alphonsine Plessis and it was painted by Édouard Viénot. She was a French courtesan born in 1824  ans was the mistress of some important men of the time. She was too the inspiration who embodied Marguarite Gautier from The Dame aux Camelies by Alexander Dumas. 

If you "Googleized" the name Alphonsine Plessis in The Internet, then other portraits will appear with women on them whose countenances coincide with our Sophie.

Alphonsine PlessisFrom Scandolous woman blogspot

Alphonsine Plessis
From Wikipedia

It seems that behind our Sophie was hidden Alphonsine and behind Alphonsise was hidden The Dame aux Camelies. Interesting, isn´t it?

So, this adds a little bit more mystery to her already enough mysterious character. If this is true, which it seems to be, then the only known portrait of her is that photo oon which she appears with Lady Franklin. That one which Russell Potter identified some time ago. 

Alphonsine´s body lies in Montmartre´s cemetery far from Kensal Cemetery, the place where the actual Sophie was buried. Hers was a much shorter life than Sophie´s and judging from what I have read about her infinitely much less interesting.