Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1886-01-24
AT A FRENCH FUNERAL.
HOW THE LAST DUTIES TO THE
DEAD ARE DISCHARGED.
The Young Lady at the Mourning shop
Visit Of the Omcisl Physician-The
Chesterfield who L. Master Of
90 Ceremonies.

The French way OF discharging the last
duties to the dead are, on the whole, bet
ter for the living than the English. Those
relatives of the deceased person who have
most cause for grief are Obliged TO fight
against it in playing the leading par: in
the funeral ceremonies. Before these
come Of there is the business of ordering
mourning, and in the case Of a lady or
ladies', getting it tried on. This seems
fearfully harsh necessity. But it draws
out, by the exertion it imposes, moral
energy, and helps to chase oppressively
lugubrious ideas. The mourning shop
sends its most clever and well-mannered
young lady to take the orders and the
measurements, and then a dressmaker TO
do the fitting on who has practiced the
art of not making herself a nuisance, Of
getting through her work rapidly and
deftly, and Of acting really as balm to
harrassed nerves.
VISIT OF THE OFFICIAL DOCTOR
THE young lady is -aussi bien stylee,"
and acts on the touch-and-g go principle.
I dare say that she has ascertained al the
concierge's the paying power Of the per
son or persons to whom she has been
sent to take orders, SO as to lie able 10
raise her prices without forcing them to
demonstrate. She abates them readily
when she finds she has gone too far. and
her suggestions As to stuffs and fashions
to be ordered, sound like the merest hints.
One feels that everything will be well
done and to the moment, rs the clock
strikes. The only occasion on which the
French are strictly punctual is in sup
plying mourning and conducting fu-
nerals. A dreadful ordeal is the receiv
ing the visit Of the official doctor sent by
the mayoralty Of the reimbursement to
register the death in the house in which
It has taken place. On inspection of the
paper that he fills up the order for burial
Is given.
This medical offlcer is generally a man
who became what he is because he could
not do anything better. He has seen SO
much Of mortusry- houses as to be insen-
sible rs q stock or stone. Being func-
tionary, he Is overbearing, and, being .
mere nobody, he stands on his dignity.
II he mislays paper ne fusses and fumes
until he finds it. He is irritatingly nett
culeux, from which ii does not follow
that he is exact in his inscriptions. The
number Of questions he asks is endless.
He has to be shown the last prescription
Of the doctor who attended the defunct,
and the name Of the chemist who made
up the medicine. II it be . widow who
has to answer, she tells where she was
born. her age, how many children she
has had, and whether they are all alive.
The birthplace Of the dead person is de-
manded, and the medical officer asks,
when 1t is in q foreign land, how it is
spelt, but does not spell it properly and
would resent any attempt made to cor
rect him. As he writes the name it
might as well be in Thibe. as in Eng
land
THE POLITE MASTER OF CEREMONIES
! shall not go into any of the details
which precede the arrival of the COM
pany invited to the funeral A widow
and her children when she has any are
expected to receive those that come, and
to reply to compliments suitable to the
occasion. Though family affection is
perhaps stronger in France than in any
other country, French people go through
this ordeal without clamorous grief. The
signal for departure to the church where
the obsequies are to be held is given by a
master Of the ceremonies who is part of
the general arrangements. can't think
in what school Of manners he graduated.
There is wonderful style in the manner
In which he enters, with his mantle
slightly thrown back and his three
cornered hat in hand, and says: "Quand
celia fera plaisir Ia famille" never
saw lord chamberlain with q more
courtly air. He is an artificial creature,
but flexible and at his ease, his art hav-
ing become a second nature. Chester
field, l should imagine, had just such an
air when he entered a room. The limbs
are clad in tights and silk stockings, and
the feet shod in neat pumps, with
buckles. II there be any hitch, the
courtliness is lost In An expression Of
impatience.
When lads are chief mourners they are
apt to get sway from the reception to
hide grief. II they are not back at the
nick Of time the master of the ceremonies
breaks out, and hurries of any other
members Of the family he can find, as if
to execution. He places the ladies ac-
cording to their degrees of relationship
In the mourning coaches, determines the
distance which should separate the chief
mourners who walk nearest to the hearse
from it and the general company, and
when there are no coSches places the
ladies in the rear, where they keep to-
gether. In the church he marshals the
family to the seats nearest to the chancel,
showing the ladies to the left and the
gentlemen to the right Of the catafalco.
He also shows them out, and tells them
In what order they are to stand near the
door in order to receive the salutations Of
those who are to follow them out. All
the mise-en-scene Il salutary for those
who are grief-harrcwed. The homely
1Move on" Of the policeman expresses
central law. There is no time
when 1t il better to prendre son courage
dams les deux mains, and fight against
sorrow, than when one suffers from a
cruel bereavement. Pangs in such q case
are less sharp when borne bravely than
wen the sufferer does not keep stiff
;:Duer uu.-Paris Cor London Tr1lth
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