The Lambertville press. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1858-1???, 1860-10-17
Burial Customs.

lngs and Waillngs. These hidlOus n0is-
es cease when their dead are buried OF
out of sight, and the nearest relative
of the departed then plants certain
kind Of evergreen at the graves head
This shrub is sacred to that solemn use
and the stranger who plucks a leaf o.
the holy plant, or even touches it with
his fingers, is instantly and speedily
punished. While the sad procession
is on its way to the churchyard, the
women in the south of France call out
the name of the person on the bier, in
a plaintiYe tone and voice The In
dians used to address the unconscious
tenant of the coffin, by name, as they
CARED him to the burial, and upbraid
him for having forsaken his wife and
children, and given up the delights Of
the chase and the glory of the battle
field.
In the county of Dwham, England,
those who carry out the funeral invi-
tations piously refrain from touching
the knockers on the doors, and sum-
mon the friends by striking a-certain
number of times with a key. The
singular custom comes down from a
very remote period, SO far distant that
the years leave no trace of its origin
In Flintshire it is customary for the
company to recite the Lords Prayer,
with bowed heads, and subdued voices
while the pall-bearers are bringing the
bier out of the house. In North
Wales it is the special privilege of the
nearest of kin to the deceased to carry
the coffin. There are spots on the
road to every churchyard called rest
ing places" There the bearers lay
the bier and reherse over it the Lords
Prayer. The train is proceed 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 coffin.
In some parts of Scotland the near
est relatives of the dead lower the cof-
fin into the grave. The cords used
are sacred to this solemn service, and
are called mourning cords" The
coffin having been let down, they who
hold the cords remove their hats, and
Immediately the whole company I'M
cover. 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 inconceiVably
impressive. This awful silence, we
fancy, is more affecting than the ut
terance of the most appropriate words
in the most becoming manner
We have the following account of
pretty superstition of the Seneca In
dians When maiden dies, they
imprison young bird until it first be-
gins to try its powers of song, and
loading it with kisses and caresses,
they loose its bonds over her grave, in
the belief that it will not fold its
wings or close its eyes until it has flown
to the spirit land, and delivered its
precious burden Of affection to the
loved and lost. It is not unfrequent
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 mists of the twilight.
The Welsh bless the clouds that
rain upon them on their way to the
burial They look upon shower as an
announcement from the blissful sphere
that it is well with the spirit of the
departed.
The tender and solemn Office of pail
bearer was performed in the early days
of Christianity by the highest Church
officials, even Bishops considered it
not beneath their honorable position
to bear upon their shoulders the body
of departed brother. Up to a re-
cent period the bier was carried by
those most nearly connected with the
deceased. This last service was re-
garded as the privilege Of those whose
tears flowed most freely for the sleep
er
Crosses are erected on the highways
in Spain to mark the spot stained by
those who fell by the hand of the as
sassin 1t is a custom that has come
down from remote antiquity for thu
traveller to cast stone upon these
solitary graves. 1t is rare for any on
to pass these nameless tombstone
without laying his tribute on the mel
encholy heapf While performing thi
touching act for the unfortunate IN
known, the lips of some move in pray
err for the repose of the soul suddenl.
and cruelty ushered into the presenc
of its God.
The rustics in Devonshire, England
believe that the spirit cannot leave TIL
body SO long as the door in the hous
: is shut. Vainly supposing that th
locks and bolts and latches have to d
with the agony of the death struggle
the moment these simple people per
! ceiye that the sufferer is pierced b,