minutes i only with my heels upon the hall floor which being of polished oak was fortunately and shouted at the top of my voice for my and peaceful conduct shone out flatter myself by contrast with that of my companion if would come said i all would be forgotten and forgiven but otherwise they must take the consequences the commotion connected with jones lights and shadows at last communicated itself throughout the residence the cry for penetrated into the four reception rooms old himself came down in an awful state of excitement but i did not pay the slightest attention to him i wanted my and at last my came then i reproached him with his conduct in coming to dinner that day and leaving his old friends to come in the evening till i think he looked rather ashamed of himself as for of my last memorable words to him were these now don t you go asking my friend jones again nor me to come to any of these after dinner parties of yours for we don t like em so let this be a warning to you and i suppose that it was a warning to him for the of have never asked either of us to come in the evening from that day to this sap of london life chapter ix last homes of the years ago the last home of even a � wealthy was a crowded vault beneath some church hemmed in by houses while that of the poorer could hardly be called a resting place since sooner or later their bones had to make way for the more recently deceased and were thrown to left and right by the grave higher and higher grew the half human churchyard shutting out window after window of the many peopled houses round from outlook and air and for the one a wall of rank rich grass whose speaks not of life and spring time but of death and corruption and for the other the that in the and the lights and shadows night alike even in the of so called fashionable churches not only were no pains taken to render death less but it was positively made more hideous by circumstance the pomp of and of horses and nodding and all the hired of sorrow went no further than the grave s mouth i remember being present at a certain funeral in those days � a first class it was called in the of the � where all the outward respect that could be provided for the sad occasion had been purchased without regard to expense gentlemen in dusky pairs and overcome with costly emotion preceded the long procession each furnished with what looked like a folded as though they would have followed with their bodily eyes the supposed direction of the late flight of the fashionable spirit then a dusky gentleman alone bearing a board upon his head with feathers on it exactly the italian image boys carry their frail wares then another group of then a sort of muffled of london life major in the deepest mourning and despondency after him the itself with a gentleman more than dusky � for he was a genuine black man � sitting beside the driver the appearance of this person was calculated to excite sympathy even from the most spectator he was bowed no less with rs than with grief and his short hair � which still retained the curl peculiar to his race � was as white as wool i inquired of a relative of the deceased person who this individual was for i did not remember ever to have seen him in that gentleman s household i dare say not returned he for the fact is i never set eyes on him myself before to day mr however assured us that it would be the correct thing to engage him an ancient and valued of the family said he is indispensable on such occasions as these and a black man for purpose is invaluable he is set down in the estimate at � s exclusive of the handkerchief � which to do him justice lights and shadows he applies to his eyes as as is consistent with exhibiting his complexion to the general public after the came of course the mourning and a long train of private carriages full perhaps of grief � for there was nothing else in them at the mouth of the vault we were all arranged in a certain order while mr distributed among us little of coloured paper which i took at first to contain sugar but which in reality held gravel refined to the delicate of at the words ashes to ashes dust to dust whispered be to each of us with a solemn you will be so kind as to the contents upon the and yet i remember when the grim was over and the were packed away and the hired including the ancient themselves for their in the neighbouring public house the coffin of the deceased person s late wife who had been buried but of london life a few years back with the like magnificence and next to which he had wished his own to be laid could nowhere be found the relative before alluded to and myself had remained behind to see that this request was carried out and but for us it would certainly have been disregarded we descended into the vault and only after several hours discovered what we sought all the without the least regard to the relationship of their inmates were bound up in bundles of half a dozen each and fastened together by means of huge black chains how wretched was such a contrasted with a grave that takes the sunshine and the rains such as the very can command in a village churchyard it is true that there are some few quiet and suitable spots for even in 