The Middlebury register and Addison County journal. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1883-1885, 1884-12-19

In past ages piece of money was put
into the mouth of the corpsc-a survival
of the fare which Charon was bound TO
receive. \ virgin has palm branch
and crown in her colin; a child a gar
land of flowers. 1t is the worst possible
omen Tor a bridal procession to meet
funeral. 1t has TO be averted by making
the "horns''-or "le iiChc" (thrusting the
thumb between the first two fingers), or
by putting promegranate before the
door or in the window. At Piano de-
Grcci certain little loaves or bread cakes
in the form of cross are given to the
poor on the day Of death. In G1acosa,
behind the funeral procession comes an
ass laden with food, which, after the
burial, is distributed either here in the
open or under cover in some house. The
Sicilian- Albanians do not sit on chairs
during the first days of mourning, but on
the dead man mattress. In some houses
all is thrown into intentional confusion
| turned upside down to mark the pres
ence of death. Others put out the
mattress to show that the invalid
is dead; others again remake the
! bed as for marriage, placing on
it the crucifx which the sick man had held
in his hand when dying. Woe to those
who let the candle go out while burning
at the foot of the bed On the first day
of mourning there is only one of these
corpse lights: on the second day two
on the third three. Men and women sit
round-the men covered up in their
cloaks with black ribbon around their
throats-the women with their black
mantles drawn closely over the head,
all in deep mourning. For the first nine
days, friends, also in strict deep mourn
ing, throng the house to pay their formal
visits of coincidence. The mourners do
not speak nor look up but sit there like
statues, and talk of the dead in solemn
phrases and with bated breath, but en-
tering into the minute and sometimes
most immodest details. The mourning
lasts one or two years for parents, hus.
band or wife, and brothers and sisters
six months for grandparents and uncles
and aunts; three months for a cousin.
Babies are buried in white with a red
ribbon as a sash, or disposed over the body
in the form of a cross. They lie in Q
basket on the table, with wax candles sci
around, and their faces are covered with
fine veil They are covered will
flowers, and on the little head is also ;
garland of flowers. No one must weeI
for the death of an infant. 1t would bt
an olIense against God who had com
passion on the little creature and took it
to make of it an angel in Paradise beGor,
it had learned to sin. The announce
mcnt Of its death is received with CRY
of "Glory and Paradise" and in som,
places the joy.bells are rung as for
fiesta. When taken to the Campo San
) to, it is accompanied with music anG
. singing.
The soul of the dead is to be seen as
butterfly dove, an angel. The soul o
murdered man hovers about the eros
, raised to his memory on the place of hi
murder; the soul of one righteousl
executed by the law remains on earth t.
, brighten the timid; the soul of tie sui
eide goes plump to hell, "casald.avoir,
unless the poor wretch repents al til
| supreme moment Judas is condemne,
to hover always over the "tamariX CALI
ca, >" on which he hanged himself, anC
8 which still bears his name; children g
to the stars while certain women be
lieve that their souls will 90 up tn
''stairs of St. Japicu di Galilia,n wnic
plain people call the Milky Way.-Yem
pie Bar.