The Sun.
London, England, 1822-11-18 00:00:00

MOURNING.

A French Arriter giv is: a ,neat summary of the different ob-'
servances arnong rpaykin,cl, relative ,to Mourning and Funeral
Ce,remonies. AlPthe Weed, 'says he, 'is acquainted with. the
rnagnifiCendeOf-the'Rornan'obsequies and funeral games. The
Greeks, also burnt the corpses of distinguished individualS, with
funeral feasts, and the lamentations of hired weepers, though 1
,they generally displayed a less sumptuous grief and a better 1
regulated piety. The Persians buried the bodies of the dead ;
the Scythians ate_thern ; the Indians enveloped them, for pre- •
serya.tion's sake, in a sort oflacker; the Egypti -ins embalmed and
dried them, exhibited them'on festival days, placed them at table
among their guests, guarded them as their most precious pos- •
sessions, and lent and borrowed' money upon these strange
pledges, In our time, the custom of dancing at funerals is only
practised in India and among some savage nations ; but funeral
eaitertainnients still prevail in many European countries. Among
Others, the ceremony of interment is solemn and silent, which
nevertheless does not interefere with the wish that all may be
forgotten as speedily as possible. We observe more ostenta-
tious rites for -Persons of consequence : their carriages follow
• them to the grave, and sometimes their horse is paraded, which
having been made to fast, seems to partake of the affliction of
the occasion. The Orientals from whom we borrowed this
custom, went further :,--They. made the horsit in funeral
procession weep; by blowing a particular powder up their
nostrils !
In Italy, the mourning was formerly white for women and
brown for men ; .41 China it is white ; in Turkey, Syria, and
Armenia, it is blue ; in Egypt yellow ;, in Ethiopia grey.
Each of these .colours had originally its mystical signification.
White is the emblem of purity ; celestial blue indicates the
space where the soul ranges after death ; yellow, or the tinge
• of dead leaves, exhibits death as the end of all human hope, and
man falling like the leaf of Autinn ;"' grey presents the coldar
of the•earth, our common mother ; and black, the funeral cos-
tume now adopted throughout Europe, is an -allusion_to the
eternal night. •
~1.11 Engand, the King never wears black. He is clothed in
red, as mourning. Till the reign of Charles VIII. white was
the funeral garb in France. The Emperor Leopold, who died
in 1705, usedp suffer his beard to grow in disorder during
the 'whole period of mourning. In this he imitated the Jews.
The dowager Empress never left off weeds, and their apart-
. meats were hung with black till their death.-
The Chancellor of France is the only person in the king-
dom who never wears mourning. The brothers, nephews, and
cousins of Popes never wear it ; . the happiness of having a
Pope in the family is too great to allow them to be afflicted
even by his death.
But the most remarkable of all these usages is perhaps that
of the people of those ancient nations who dressed themselves
as women when they.lost their relations, in order, it is said,
that the ridicule attached to their vestments might make them
ashamed of their grief:

'The 44 Passing Bell," so called from its denot-
ing the Fusing or departing of any one from life. o death, was
anginal y intended to invite the prayers of the faithful for the
person who was dying, but was not yet dead ; and. though in
some instances superstitiously used, has its meaning clearly
pointed out in a clause in the " Advertisements for Due Or-
der," &c. in the seventh year of Queen Elizabeth, which en-
joins " that who anye Christian bodie is in passing, that the
bell be toled, and that the Curate be speciallie called for to com-
fort the sicke perlon ; and after the time of his passing, to
ringe no more but one short peale • and one before the buriall,
and another short peale after the buriall." Grose, referring to
the old Catholic belief on this subject, treats it rather ludicrous-
ly, though its intention, as just described, was evidently serious.
" The Passing Bell," says he, " was anciently rung for two
purposes ; one to bespeak the prayers of all good Christians for
a soul just departing ; the other, 'to drive away the evil spirits
who stood at the -bed's foot, and about the house, ready to seize
their prey, or at least to molest and terrify the soul in its pas-
sage ; but by the ringing of that bell (for Durandus, a writer of
the 12th century, informs us evil spirits are much afraid of
bells) they were Dept aloof ;, and the soul, like a hunted hare,
gained' the start, or had what is, by sportsmen, called law."

A numerous meeting of the county of Glamor-
gan
was held at Pyle Inn, on the Ist inst. to take into consid-
eration the contemplated alteration in the convenience of the
Irish Mail from Milford to Waterford, the High Sheriff in the
chair. The Marquis of BUTE, the Lord Lieutenant, stated
that the object which the meeting had in view met his hearty
concurrence, and that he would give every assistance to the
county, to secure to them, and the Principality, the privilege
which they had for a series of years enjoyed. Sir C. Cole said,
he felt the greatest pleasure in communicating, that, whilst he
was in London, he had several interviews with the Lords of his
his Maj,!sty's Treasuyy on the subject, and he was proud to
say, that this statement was received wit ii marked attention.—
Mr. Blakemore rose and after making many judicious remarks
upon the incalculable inquiry which would result to the county
of (ilamorgan, if the projected alteration-took place, proceeded
'to submit a series' of resolutions for the consideration of the
meeting, which were unanimously adopted.—Meetings of the
county and of the borough of Carmarthen were also held last
week, when resolutions_ in favour of the retention of the Packet
• establishment at Milford were unanimusly agreed to.

BIRTHS.
On Saturday, the 6th inst., in Airimpole-street, the Lady of
Capt. Patterson, of the Honourable Company's ship Canning,
of a son.
At Edinburgh, on the 9th instant, Mrs. Burn Murdoch of
Gartincaber, of a son.