Wilmington daily commercial. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1866-1877, 1875-04-23
FIRST EDITION.
A chat w,.h A shroud-Maker.

| &hAAt WIN "a
soMETHIso Anour HER BusINEss--How PEOPLE
| DIE-FAsHIoNs IN DEATH DREssEs-LAYINa OUT
| 1HE DEAD.
From the Rea,iiay Daily Eagle.
Laying out and dressing the dead is trade
that must be learned the same az anything else;
aud there are few people, especially families
that know anything about it until they once
have death in the house. When person dies
no matter what time, we are sent for. We gen.
orally 60 with an undertaken. Dead bodies must
| be washed and dressed, after which they are
placed in an ice box, if they are'to be kept any
| time, or buried III this CITY,"
"How does person die y was the next ques-
| tion.
gans Of sense and notion said the shrond-
maker. 1.-The muscles become stiff, coldness
| and paleness spread over the whole body; the
eye loses ts brightness and the flesh Its elias
| ITCHY yet then, with all these it is not certain
whether person is dead not. All these
things may take place, yet the doctors say that
1t is no sure thing to say that person il dead.
They may have asphyxia which il q sort of
| trance, yet never heard of any such case i'll
Reading. We are generally sure Of death by
| the commencement of putrefaction, and the un-
dertakers in Reading generally make sure that
| person is actually dead before he is buried. The
places busters show themselves blood be-
comes thinner and sometimes discharges itself
| from the mouth, nose, eyes and ears"
"How about the shroudsy'
SIN majority of instances we are ordered to
get the material at the stores and make the
death dresses. We use different material.
have made slroud Of white satin that cost
nearly fifty dollars. Ordinarily they are made
out OF white merino white cashmere, faced
with repped or stamped satin, that is figured
diamond shaped. This satin is used for facing
fronts. Then the shrouds are lined with mus
lin, trimmed with white gimp and white cord
and taHsel generally goes with it. White ribbon
generally goes along and We buy stockings,
gloves cotton laps and such other things rs peo-
pie may want"
"White shrouds for men are getting out Of
style. are they not y was next asked.
'Well, yes, we seldom dress men in white
shrouds. their coffin wardrobes either their
citizens dress il black or it is a shroud made
out of black satin. For my part like to see
man dressed in black silk shroud. 1t is natural
for us to approve of shrouds, but laying aside
all business affairs, am of the opinion that all
dead bodies should be dressed in shrouds, and
for men nothing is more appropriate than black
silk. They come little expensive, but the diff
ference is not much"
'' How should women be dressed y
g In white shrouds all the time, parti ,ularly
old women and young children. l have seen
them dressed in their best clothes, however,
and one time buried a woman dressed III a
black silk velvet wrapper, as they called it,
Sometimes people when they die want to be
buried in their wedding dresses. l know OF two
Cdeeb OI Uulb kluu tlelf WSuullib uTtbbeh VI
satin were put under their shrouds. One time
| know of young woman that WAS buried in
her wedding dreas, but it would not do to men,
ton names. She died two years after her mar
riage, and when she was dead she was dressed
just the same as the-day when she was united to
her husband in the holy bonds of wedlock
Orange blossoms and flowers were entwined IN
her hair, and she looked like bride. The hus-
dand nearly broke his heart over her coffin.
81 presume you are called upon to do much
that Id distasteful" continued the reporter.
~ should think 80 But it is subject that
the least said about it id the better. We all
must die, and we don't know in what manner.
They may have to pick us up piece by piece in a
bushe basket or We may die of smallpox, or be
bed ridden for years and not be called to the
other world before half the body is worn to the
bone from long and continued prostration. Or
we may linger with consumption, or die slow
death with fever, or be stricken with paralysis
and compelled to lay for years before death
comes to relieve us, or worse than all spinal
disease, hip disease, or broken joints may over
take us, and thus lingering on a bed Of pain we
may be reduced to skeletons. No wonder then,
that at times dead bodies apt to fall to pieces
when being prepared for the grave, especially
those who have been sick for long time.
Drowned people are the very worst to handle,
especially if they have been in the water any
length OF time.n
~ have frequently heard tell of the agonies
of death. What do you understand by it y con-
tnued the reporter.
"Agonies of death is when person is dying,
when life aud death are struggling with each,
other Sometimes dying people are completely
exhausted; sometimes they struggle violently,
which Ill short time ends them; sometimes
people are unconscious before they die, while
at other times they perfectly conscious up to
tho moment of death. Such people have the
appearance of corpses even before death. The
face is pale and aallow; the eyes are sunken the
skin of the forehead s damp and the nose is
pointed and white. When the breathing through
the throat rattes then death il near. Sometimes
in minute it will be over, and at other times
days go around before they did. Dying people
should be soothed and comforted, and by calling
attention to the fact of the early union of those
who have gone before. Sometimes very queer
statements are made by dying people, They
generally talk OF hearing music, as having
me that there is Heaven. Dying people should
be given wine or other cordial as long they
are able to swallow it. No matter how violent
the death struggle may be, the face settles back
to its usual shape, and the corpse looks very
natural. After the spirit has departed the body
is given III our CHARGE and We prepare it
for burial Some people have ideas of
their how they want their friends
dressed, while others leave that entirely to us.
Children are always robed in white. Elderly
people also look well in white. Sometimes, but
very rarely, they are dressed in black. or
course, in this general way of talking, l mean
such funerals as die by the ordinary causes.
Contagious diseases at all times dangerous,
and we risk good deal We are paid accord
ingly Shrouds cost all the way up from two
dollars to as high as fifty dollars. The common
est kinds are OF muslin, and the best kinds are
of silk. The cost is increased according to the
kind of trimmings used. Like the undertakers,
there is great deal of money lost. We have to
l,,.tt la