Lyon County times. [volume] (Silver City, Nev.) 1874-1907, 1875-06-13
bon. Every man-they were all men

nat. A single glance round served to show
that only small proportion wore their
own garments. No tailor, however inge-
niously awkward, could have contrived
such extraordinary insists. Twas told that
the custom of borrowing clothes is quite
common among the fishermen and 'hinds"
OF Northumberland, where few possess an
entire suit of black, and where any other
color would be regarded as highly i'm
proper-not to say offensive-at a funeral
As each guest entered the door his hat was
taken by the joiner and handed to the two
Servers" who forthwith swathed it in
black Grape, leaving two ends to fall down
at the back. Some, with respectful con-
sideration, had brought Grape bands in
their pockets, but the majority were fur
nishe from the hired funeral goods The
four ''underb bearers were supplied with
new bands and gloves; and the two wo-
men-servers with black-kid gloves and
black bonnet ribbons. They also wore
borrowed white shawls, crossed over the
breast and tied round the waist
A cold collation. that amounted almost
to banquet was served to the guests in
an adjoining cottage. There was ham, a
round of corned beef, cold chicken, salmon,
and cheese in abundance, with ale and por-
ter in buckets full. The apartment was
too small to accommodate ne-fourth the
number Of guests, so they fed in squads
and talked and laughed, and joked as if a
fu neral were altogether an enjoyable and
hill irious event When every one had eaten
his fill, the two servers went round-one
with a tray containing wine glasses, the
other with pieces of rich funeral cake"
from an Alnwick confectioner's. Every
one drank from the tray one or more
glasses Of rum, whisky, gin or brandy, and
every one took one or more pieces of cake
| from the other-under the influence of
which the talk grew louder and the laugh
ter more indecent. The expense of the
guzzling must have been considerable;
while the parade was altogether inappro-
pirate, and the conversational such bois-
ferrous levity could be called such--was
highly unbecoming.
After every one who had taken "last
look" the coffin was screwed down and
covered with black velvet pail furnished
by the joiner. 1t was so broad, that when
the four under-bearers mounted the coffin
upon their shoulders, their bodies were
quite concealed by it down to their waists.
The one-horse hearse now received the
corpse and the procession was formed.
First walked the two women-servers-the
only women who attended the obsequies-
then the joiner in hat band and scarf; then
the hearse, with two under-bearers on each
side, followed on foot by the mourners in
the order Of relationship to the deceased
then came the guests, talking and joking
as before. | observed that whenever any
person met the procession or a horseman
passed it, each reverently lifted his hat;
and even little girls, strangers to the de-
ceased, removed their bonnets and cOurte-
sled as the hearse passed them. At Long
| houghton the minister of the Established
| Church met the hearse at the church-yard
gate, the coffin was again mounted on the
bearers shoulders, and to the solemn words
q am the resurrection and the life, saith
the Lord; he that believeth in me, though
he were dead, yet shall he live; and who
soever liveth and believeth in me shall
never die''--the procession slowly entered
the ancient church. Afterward, the usual
services were held at the grave, and all
that was perishable of poor old Isaac Gair
was quickly hidden from mortal sight.
1t was curious idiosyncrasy of the de-
ceased that he had his tombstone prepared
and erected twenty years since, when his
wife died The then vicar pointed out the
absurdity of the proceeding, but, like most
of his class, he was obstinate, and insisted
on the "headstone' standing. 1t is now
green with lichens, yet the inscription is
perfectly legble, and is as follows:
TO THE MEMORY OF
ISAAC GAIR, OF BOULMER, AND ESTHER,
HIS WIFE,
THE LATTER OF WHOM DIED
APRIL 10, 1858.
AGED 40 YEARS.
THE ABOVE ISAAC GAIR DIED
...........
Boreas' blasts and Neptunes waves
Have tossed me to and fro,
Yet, spite of all but Gods decree,
[ harbor here below.
Now here at anchor do lie,
With many of our fleet.
In hopes to sail the judgment-day
Our Savior Christ to meet
The reader will agree that the poetry, if
not quite elegant or even correct, was not
altogether inappropriate. Appleton' sJour-
nal