Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1879-03-20

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1 of funeral pageantry have already re-
ceived that intelligent attention which
onIy . New York public can give. II
vas once the custom IN this city to hire
an sndIe@ train Of carriages to attesld
The funeral Of any poor person who
/ might have lett ambitious relatives. We
/ have known Of one instance where the
remains or child Eve years old were
carried 10 the grave followed by f9rty-
leehf haekiker coaches. a poor Irish
/ g6...s.ls oni.E scent 80 u snG 690
which her lIusband left her 70 give him
ssa dacent burial" It was once FASH
ionabIe to hire empty carriages to swell
funeral train, as mark OF respect TO
the dead. When this custom fell into
disuse among the wealthier classes,
poorer people took il up, and they beg
CARED themselves to honor the memory
Of the departed and advertise then own
ostentstion. Finally, il came to pass
that when people saw a long cOrtege Of
alleged mourners passing through the
streets, they said, "This Is an Irish fu-
weral," Just as they would say, "a lit
tie German band" when the sound Of
the plaintive cornet and the blare Of the
trombone reached them from the next
square. The priests preached against
this wicked extravaganza, the news
papers having first moved in the mat
ter by referring to ''the long parade and
pageantry Of death in suitably sarcas-
| tic terms.
The flower business at funerals was
next overdone when people began to
retrench IN the matter Of carriages. A
few flowers on the bier illuminate the
darkness Of the closing scene, sweeten
the heavy air, and suggest pleasant
thoughts in the midst Of gloom. Fool
ish people, however, squandered their
substance in elaborate ''foral designs"
more or less ugly and too often given in
such profusion as to destroy the beauty
and simplicity OF the effect which hOw-
ers produce when judiciously used. So
odious did this fashion finally become
that people who were called by be-
reavement to make ready their friends
for the grave were obliged to add ''no
| flowers" to the funeral notice, precise
Iy as 'sno cards" was put after q mar
rage notice when card etiquette was
more severe than now. In majority
of instances, friends are now requested
not to send flowers 10 funerals. The
ssaanx oaIicg &C FIaning ! last tEibute OF
| affection on the bier is lett, as il should
be. 20 the few nearest and dearest friends
Of the dead.
In the matter Of giving presents gen.
orally, there has grown upa gross abuse.
The original intent and meaning OF the
gift have been destroyed. Holiday pre-
sents too often are not the loving Offer
ings which they should be. They are
either given as bribes or because they
are expected. Now and then some
body receives a gift which brings the
giver so delightfully."- to the mind Of the
receiver that il is a real joy. Or some
company OF employees present to their
employer or associate token Of their
respect and affection which is so genu-
inc that il needs neither apology nor
explanation. But the whole business
OF giving presents is so overdone that
most of our readers will sympathize
with that courageous Boston girl who,
being about to be married TO "a man ot
limited income" as they say in Boston,
requested her dear friends not to send
any wedding presents. She was afraid
that she might not be able to recipro-
cate in kind. This wise girl of Boston
struck the keynote of the bridal pres
ent movement. She would be expec-
ted 10 keep an inventory Of gifts re-
ceived, and q list of the donors, and
when any Of these had wedding in
their family, she must give something
at least nearly equal in value to those
which she had, in each instance, re-
ceived. We have heard OF young
lady, who was endowed on her we'd
ding day with fourteen silver butter
knives. Reserving two Of these, she
put the rest away ''in lavender" and
when her turn came to contribute to the
general ioy of her friends, she faithful
" returned the twelve butter-knives "a
the twelve families from which they
came. In this case we suppose there
was nothing said about the loss Of InteF-
est on the. original investment. This
incident suggests, also, The nuisance en-
dured by those who receive promiseu-
Gus gifts from Fromiscuous friends, sc
that they are embarrassed with duplica-
ton and reduplication Of articles Which
often are, at best. mere superfuities,
| Young people, who begin life in mod
est boarding-house, are sometimes load
ed down with tableware and Furnishings
4 g r. a ...~fl hcNel
i There was time when Il was more
blessed to give than TO receive. But
this cannot be the case with Mrs. SPrig-
gins, who says TO her spouse, "Now
there's that tiresome Mary Ann BIif.
kins going TO be married, and suppose
we shall have TO give her something
because she gave our Arabella Jane that
confoundeG old sugar-dish." How much
sweetness and light is there in Mrs
Spriggins's chrome after thats Never.
tkeIess. we cannot doubt that the Spng
| gins family view with pride the arraJ
Of wedding gifts spread oct on the piano
in the back parlor, what time the ma
ternaI Blifkins falls on the neck Of heI
newIy-married Mary Ann, and bursts
into . food Of fond and foolish tears
Possibly, too, We can understand WIZ
the custom Of giving wedding presents
survives underso many Encouragement
five reflect that the -paternai Blifkini