The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1860-07-18
Rirhmuah q!spatth.
WEDNESDAY MORNING. July Is. 1860.
Qualifications.

The Moors in that land of gross darkness
the Interior Of Africa, celebrate their funeral
with dismal howlings and wailinEs. Thes'
hideous noises ease when their dead are ou
ried out of their sight, and the nearest re
lative OF the departed then plants certaif
kind of evergreen At the graves head. Thi'
shrub is sacred TO that solemn use, ana th'
stranger who pluoks leaf of the holy plant
or even touches IL with his fingers, Is instantl,
and speedily punished. While the sad pro
cession is on the way 10 the ohnrchyard, the
women in the South OF France call out tbs
name OF the person on sne o'ea, IN pia aa
the unconscious tenant OF the ccfiiu by name
as they carried him 10 the burial, and uporaid
him for having forsaken his wife and chill
dren, and given mp the delights of the chase
aud the glory of the battlefield
In the county OF Durham. those who carry
out the funeral invitations pionsiy refrain
from touching the knockers on the doors, au y
summon the friends by striking GER
number OF times with key. Inc siHk. 80
custom comes down from a very ismo'. -
Rod, SO far distant that the years nn,I =,
- ous,nmsry for the company TO recite the
Iord,s PRAYER. with bowed heads ana SUBJ
dned voices while the pail bearers are oring-
ing the bier out Of the house, IN Noran " ass
IL IS the special privilege OF the nearest OF Kin
10 the decaased 10 carry the cofhn. There are
spots on the road to every churchyard called
.resting- places" There the bearers lay the
b,ar and rehearse over il the Lords Prayer
The train is preceded by a man with little
bell. who rings it the entire way from the
house to the tomb. The officiating minister
throws the first spadeful of earth ON the cof-
fin.
In some parts of Scotland the nearest rela-
tiyes of the dead lower the coffin into the
grave. The cords used are sacred to this SOL
emn service and are called "mourning cords. f"
The coffin having been let down, uhey VINO
hold the cords remove their hats, and imme-
diately the whole company uncover. There
is no prayer made, no service read, no hymn
sung; but there they stand, with barred heads,
and all silently looking down into the ready
grave for about ten minutes. This solemn
pause must be inconceivablv impressive. This
awful silence, we fancy, is more affecting than
the utterhnce of the most appropriate words
III the most becoming manner.
We have the following account of pretty
superstition of the Seneca Indians Nv hen u
maiden dies, they imprison young bird until
IL first begins 10 try its powers OF song, ana
then loading II with kisses and caresses, they
loose its bonds over her grave, in the belief
that il will not fold its wings nor close its eyes
until it has flown to The spirit lanu, ana de-
liyered its precious burden of affection TO this
loved and lost. 1t is not unfreq uent TO see
twenty or thirty loosed at once over one
grave"
The Greeks buried those who fell under the
shaft of death in their bloom while the day
was chasing away the shadows and msls of
the twilight The Welsh bless the clouds that
rain upon them on their way to the burial
They look upon the shower as an announce
with the spirit OF the departed
The tender and solemn office of pall-bearer
was performed in the early days ofChristifnity
by the highes Church officials, even Bishops
considered il not beneath their honorable po-
sition TO bear upon their shoulders the body
OF Il departed brother. Up to Il recent period
the bier was carried by those most nearly
connected with the deceased. TINS last ser
vice was regarded as the privilege of those
whose tears flowed most freely tor the sleeper.
Crosses are erected on the highways in Spain,
to mark the spot stained by the oIood OF tnose
who fell 10y the hand OF the assassin IL Is =
custom thai has come down from "A remote an
tiquity tor the traveller TO cast stone upon
these solitary graves. 1t Is rare for any one
TO pass these nameless tombstones without
laying his simple tribute on the melancholy
heap. While performing this touching act for
the unfortunate unknown, the lips OF some
move in prayer tor the repose of the soul sud-
denly and cruelty ushered INTO Inc presence
of its God.
The rustics in Devonshire believe that the
spirit cannot leave the body So long as "A door
in the house is shut Vainly supposing That
the locks and bolts and latches have TO do with
the agony of the death struggle, the moment
these simple people perceive that The sufferer
is pierced by the mortal arrow, they throw
every door wide open.
Funeral feasts are OF hign antiquity, ana
they were common throughout England till
near the close of the last century. This re-
voting custom, along with many DINERS inul-
catiye of gross tastes and loose manners, Is no
longer prac ticed even in the most remote ana
ignorant sections. After these entertainments
were abolished, 1t was customary In some
places 10 send a small loaf of white bread TO
every house. These doles, as they Were called,
served at once as invitations to the funeral
and donations TO the poor. In place OF the
little loaves, pieces of money were sometimes
given TO the poor on these occasions. These
coins were handed TO the needy across the bier,
by the nearest female relative of the departed.
/ used to be customary in some parts OF Scot
land to distribute large sums OF money among
the poor at the obseQues of persons of posi-
ton and wealth .-fharleStOn Courier.