The Sun.
London, England, 1865-06-06 00:00:00

Funeral of Mr. Charles Waterton.

On Saturday last the eminent naturalist Charles
Waterton was buried in his ancestral grounds of
Walton Hall, near Wakefield, and the ceremony
was a very imposing one. It began about 9 a.m.
The entrance hall had been converted into a tem-
porary chapel, which was draped with black. Before
the door there was a catafalque, on which rested the
coffin containing the deceased, the coffin being of
polished oak. At the head of the coffin was a brass
plate, on which were engraved the arms of the
Waterton family, with their motto, " Better kinde
friend than friend kinde." On the breast was a
breastplate, on which was engraved, " Orate pro
anima Caroli Waterton, qui obiit die xxvii Maii,
anno MDCCCLXV, natus LXXXIII annos." On the
foot was a cross. There was an altar with crucifix,
and behind it was a cross in satin, and in other re-
spects the chapel was furnished in accordance with
the requirements of the Roman Catholic religion.
The service for the dead having been performed by
Bishop Cornthwaite, the coffin was carried to the
old watergate of the hall, famous in the chronicles
of Walton. The procession to this place was
marked with considerable ceremony, the clergy
and others taking part in it bearing tapers,
and the coffin was followed by Mr. Edmund Water-
ton, son of the deceased, and chief mourner. At the
water-gate the deceased " Squire" was placed on a
barge, and the gentlemen who joined the funeral
procession took their seats in the boats, and then the
remains of the deceased were borne towards their
last earthly resting place. At one point, on a rising
ground, a number of aged people were standing as
the boats passed, and these left behind, the waters
of the lake narrowed into river-like breadth, and
were shaded by thick woods, fringed at the shore
with drooping fronds of ferns, and brightened with
the flowers of the yellow iris. At length the grave
was reached. In his life Charles Waterton loved
the woods, and his resting place in death is in the
heart of a wood on the banks of a " still water."
The place is about a quarter of a mile from the
house, but on a reach of the lake on the south side,
and the mansion is therefore shut out from view. It
is not many yards from the spot where he met with
the accident which resulted in his death, and for
years it has been marked with a plain stone cross.

THE MORNY GALLERY.—The sale of the pic-
tures by the old masters continued on Saturday in
the presence of a great concourse of spectators. The fol-
lowing are some of the prices given :—The Rising Sun,
Claude Lorraine, 5,650 f.: Portrait of a Lady, Grouze,
6,100 f. ; Do. of a young girl, same, 7,000 f.; Portrait of
Maria-Teresa of Austria, Velasquez, 6,200 f. ; the Concep-
tion of the Virgin, Murillo, 6,600 f. ; The Peasant Girl,
Chardin, 8,300 f. ; the Shopkeeper, Ostade, 8,700 f. ; Cupid
and Psyche, Prudhon, 9,500 f. ; Landscape, Van de Velde,
10,000 f., the Wineshop, De lloogh, 10,000 f. ; Flemish
Scene, Teniers, 10,000 f. ; Scene in the Country, Watteau,
15,0001. ; the Salute, Guardi, 10,000 f. ; Church of San
Giorgio Maggiore, same, 20,000 f. ; the Doge's Palace,
same, 20,0001. ; the Rialto, same, 25,0001. ; the Square of
St. Mark, same, only 5,100 f. ; Cupid and the Graces,
Boucher, 19,000 f.; the Cattle Market, Karl Dujardin,
25,0001. ; the Stable, Wouvermans, 25,1001. ; Landscape,
Ruysdael, 30,100 f. ; the Souvenir, Fragonard, 35,000 f.
the Pleasures of the Ball, Watteau, 37,000 f. ; and the Lady
with the Dog, Metzu, 59,000 f. The whole amount of the
day's sale was a little over 446,000 f.

THE NEW lIOUSELESS POOR ACT.—Yesterday the
act of Parliament which received the royal assent on
Friday to make the Metropolitan Houseless Poor Act per-
petual was printed. The Poor-law Board is now empowered
to have the reception wards inspected, and make, revoke,
and renew a certificate. The board make an allowance for
providing wards, instead of a sum in respect of eachpauper.
The police are to take any destitute person, wayfarer,
wanderer, foundling, or other destitute person within the
metropolitan district, or the city of London, and obtain
admission, if there be room, in a ward. The reception
wards are to be opened for admission between 6 in the
evening and 8 in the morning from October to March, and
from April to September-from 8 o'clock in the evening to
8 o'clock in the morning, and the guardians are to be reim-
bursed for all relief administered in conformity with the
act during the hours mentioned.