Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1883-10-04

Sometimes q s6alt must BE opened
and beautiful floral pieces placed in
side upon particular collins. The ut
most care is exercised to make sure
that these commissions are never neg
lected. Many people visit with great
regularity the graves OF their lost ones.
One gentleman, q wealthy business
man in New York, resident in Brook
lyn, has for nineteen years come here
regularly every Sunday, when he was
not confined to his bed by illness, to
lay an offering Of flowers upon the
grave of his wife. | have seen him
come in winter, when the snow was
up TO his knees in the cemetery paths;
10 November days. when the rain was
pouring; in summer, when the heat
was most intense. Ii he ever missed
Sunday we knew that he was laid up
with the rheumatism
Another gentleman has for nearly
five years had floral wreathes placed
by us, once a week, upon the collins
of his wife and mother, 10 vAult,and
upon all special days-Decoration Day,
Christmas, Easter, aud the anniver-
saries of his wife's and mother &
deaths-exceptionally large and costly
pieces. Another gentleman, the son-
in-lsw of city railway President, has
had flowers placed by us weekly on
the grave of his wife for twelve years
past, and still another, for almost as
long a time, has had bouquet placed,
upon q certain day in every week, on
the coffin Of his siie, in vault.
"Women2 Well, yes; they do, now
and then. show very strong remem-
brance of their dead. One lady ex-
ponds $500 year in decorating her
husbands grave. In addition to
keeping il belutifed by growing pl .nts
and decorated weekly with cut flowers,
she has floral pieces, costing $50 each
put on it at Easter and upon the ami
versaries of his birth and death. This
she has done since 1876, aud not only
does she go to this expense, but she
makes a weekly visit to the grave
herself in all weathers. | don't mean
to measure the depth of the love of
either men or women by the sums OF
money they expend. There are sew
eral women, whom | know by sight,
who come here regularly on Sundays
and buy fifty cent bouquets to lay on
some grave. That little sum is,
without doubt, to some Of them as
great as the $50 that the rich widow
spends for her floral piece is to her.
My sales of grave bouquets, of all
prices, from fifty cents up to 50, ire
quently amount to as many as 100 in
single day On Sundays this trade
is greatest, for that is the only day
that many persons can afford to come
here. Generally these bouquets are
made fat,to lie on the grave, but often
parties buy large cast iron bouquet
holders, bronzed and lily shaped, in
which tall pyramid bouquets are
placed. People who are most demon
stratiVc in their first grief seem to
forget easiest. We see them come,
for while, every week, aud buy flow
ers for the graves Then their visits
become rather less frequent and their
purchases smaller. In a year or two
they cease coming,
81 have heard a Spanish story Of a
widow whose cynical husband on his
death bed asked Of her a pledge that
at least she would not marry ag ,in
until the surface of the clay over his
grave should become dry. She gave
the pledge, but the morning after his
burial was found sitting by the grave
tanning it. that the moisture of the
earth might evaporate the more quick
ly. | have never known case 60 bad
as that, but have seen some widows
who got over affection very quickly,
"A leading florist said: Beyond
supplying flowers for funerals we de,
rive little profit from death Some Of
the orders for funerals which we fill
are very costly, amounting to as much
as 800 frequently, and sometimes tC
double that amount. But lavish ex,
penditure in that direction is less
common now than it used to be. New
designs are not frequent. The most
novel one that | was ever called upon
to fill was for a magnificent pillow
sent by a young man to the funeral o
his dead chum, upon which he haC
worked in the letters IS. Y. L.,
which being interpreted, signi6et
See you later.
One Of the cemetery florists said
II sell a good many plants to pool
people who cannot afford to constantly
put cut flowers on the graves Of thei
relatives or friends, yet want them Z
look we'll. they plant them them
/ aalvae from tima N Tina -