Omaha daily bee., 1886-09-12

noticed that all the vehicles in
that funeral were the same distance
apart. That's another important
point Only a funeral director
who knows his business thinks of those
little things. They are just rs much
part of his duties nowadays as preparing
the body and furnishing the coffin. Every
carriage has to be assigned to its place in
| the line by number beforehand, and the
drivers all have to be instructed to keep
the same distance between the carriages.
That prevents the procession from hav-
ing a Struggling, disconnected look.
When there are bands or delegations,
societies or secret orders, they must, o
course. be properly located in the line,
generally proceeding the hearse. This
attention to details IS what gives a
funeral the air of artistic symmetry and
sOidity without which funeral is a
truly mournful spectacle. Some funerals
with plenty of material for u creditabe
turnout have seen absolutely ruined by
lack of proper direction. For really
stylish funeral there should be at least a
/ dozen double carriages and eight or ten
single carriages, rs many more of each
number as can be had the better, es-
pecially double carriages. Some d.
rectors now insist that all shall be double,
but most of us haven't got so particular
as that yet. A funeral of the kind l de-
scribe, properly conducted, wouldn't look
Hill. No mourner, however fashionable,
need be ashamed of it.
And, speaking about the differences in
funerals, let me tell you a good deal de-
pends on the nationality of the deceased.
There's as much character in funerals as
there is in faces. An Irish funeral is just
| rs different from German funeral as the
| shamrock is from sauerkraut. Ger.
man funeral usually has a tendency to be
| solid. 1t is compact and slow going.
| An Irish funeral is Just the reverse. 1t
! moves brskly, almost jauntily, compared
| with the German procession. Its sur
rounding atmosphere is one of hope
rather than of morbid depression. The
same spirit which makes the best of
mourning at wake is noticeable in the
Irish funeral. Then, too, Irish funerals
are not marked by solidity. The vehicles
are generally tossed in, as it were, hap
hazard, first come, first served,
of every known style and max e,
from the most elegant landau to the ram
shackle eXpresS.wagon, with occasionally
a man on horseback here and there in the
! line. This, of course, doesn't apply to
the funerals under the auspices OF the
Catholic church or the vaaions Hibern-
ian societies. Irish funerals of that class
are always carefully, even elaborately
conducted. So also, are high-grade
| German funerals in which the best bands
| are often to be found. The Germans are
| particularly fond of the sombre music of
| the dead marches on such occasions,
| while lrishmen care more for banners
| and insignia. French funerals are or
| dinarily small, and the ceremonies arc
| performed with rs much haste as decency
| will permit. Italians have little more
| patience for the details of death than the
| French, Their funerals, in this country,
at least, tare usually insignificant and
commonplace.
'The typical American funeral9 The
American funeral is the hardest of all to
| classify Sometimes it is one thing, some-
times another. The solid funeral which
passed here few moments ago WAS an
American funeral. OF late years the
American funeral has been growing
more and more symmetrical and artistic.
The advance i'm methods and change in
customs have done much 10 improve the
American funeral and will eventually
result in well-regulated funerals for all
classes"
"What are the advance IN methods
and change in customs to which you
refer?"
"rhe advanced methods of handling
the dead, and the change from the old
fashioned custom OF having one or more
of the immediate relatives supervise the
/ arrangements, sometimes even so far as
preparing the body and buying the cof-
lin Now all that is left to the funeral
dlrector--in fact, everything connected
| with the funeral, from furnishing the
coffin to furnishing the carriages, and
from dressing the deceased to- ordering
gave dug Thus, the family is relieved
OF all the painful cares OF preparation and
better results are obtained in every re-
spect from leaving all the arrangements
in the hands Of one person; provided
always that he is intelligent and compe-
tent, Nor is IT enough that he should ne
efficient in a strictly business sense. He
must be a man of education and eNpem-
ence with human nature rs well rs With
the dead. such n man will win respect
and confidence and bring an unconscious
but genuine solace 10 the brrGaYcd VIII 10
furnishing them the most approved style
OF funeral TO be had for the money.
DIX j ii MCLEAN'S Liver and Kidney
PlllptS are a rtniply and sDpcilie tar