Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1886-11-17

crazv quit. A splI 1 funeral Is one that Is
made up with some regard to symmetry
of construction. like the one that Just
passed here or urse, YOU didn't take
In the fine points, but that was a funeral
any man mi..h be proud TO have. First
cn1e the hearse, then the double car
riages, then the few single vehicles; the
lest end most elaborate conveyances at
the head and the smaller ones IA the rear
exs tly on the same principle that skill
ful mason, Luil ing n pyrimid, puts the
largest ilocks at the base ami tapers of
In gradual anl regular layers to the
smallest fact That's one important
fact. Then II you hal known my
thing al out weil-regulateI funerals
you would we noticed that all the We
hicles In that funeral were the same dis
lance apart That's another important
point. Only funeral director who knows
his business thinks OF those little things.
They are Just a. much q part OF bis duties
nowadays as preparing the body and fur
nishing the coffin. Every carriage has TO
lie assigned to its place in the line by num-
Ter befOrehan !, and the drivers all have to
lie inst ucted To keep the same distance
between the carriages. That events the
procession from having a struggling, dis
connected look. When there are bands OF
delegation from societies or secret orders,
they must, Of course. ls properly located
In the line, generally preceding the hearse.
This atten ion TO details 10 what gives n
funeral the DIR OF artistic symmetry and
solilitY without which q funeral is q truly
mournful spectacle.
"And, speaking al'Out the d nerences in
funerals, let NO tell you a good deal de-
ponds on the nationality Of the deceased.
There's as much character in Funerals as
Their Is in faces. An Irish funeral Is just
as different from n German funeral as the
shamrock is from sauerkraut. A German
funeral usually has a tendency 10 lie solid.
1t is compact and ,low going. An Irish
funeral Is Just the rsve, 20. 1t moves
briskly, almost jnun' lily, comp ared with
the German procession. Us surrounding
atmosphere Is one Of hnpe rather than OF
morbid depressi'n. The same spirit which
makes the beSt Of mourning at . wake 10
noticeable Ia the Irish funeral. Then, too,
Irish funerals nre not marked by soil iity
The vehicles are generally tossed In, as IL
were, haphnEarl. first come, first served;
and they will frequently be Of every
known style an I make, from the most ele
CANT landau 10 tha ram shackle express
wagons, with occasionally . man on
horseback hero r. nd there in the line. This,
Of course, doesn't apply to the funerals
under the auspices Of the Catholic Church
or the various HibeTnian societies.
Irish funerals Of that class are always
carefully, even el4bora'ely conducted.
SO, also, are high grade German funerals,
In VIII ch the best banis are often to be
tounI. The Germans Ere particularly
fond Of tho somher music of the dead
marches on Gush occasions, while Irish.
men care moro for banners and insignia.
French funerals are Ordin irily small, and
the CO emonies are performed with a.
much hasie as decsncy will permit ltal-
iaus have little more patience or the de-
tails OF death than the French. Their
fun rails, In this country mt least, nrs usu-
ally inst niAcant an comm onplacs.
1.-THE typical American funeralI The
American funeral Is the hardest q all to
classify. Sometimes it 10 one thing,
sometimes another. The solId funeral
which passed. here q few moments ago
was an American funeral. or late years
the American funeral has been growing
more and more symmetrical and artistic.
The advance in methods and change in
customs have lone mu Oh 10 improve the
American funeral, AMI will even ually re-
suit In W n-regulated funerals for all
classes"
"WhRt are the advance in methods and
change In customs to which your referi"
"The advanced methods Of handling the
dead, and the change from the old-fash-
toned Gust ON OF having one or more OF the
immed late relatives supervise the ar
rangemonts, sometimes even SO far as pre-
pairing the body ani buying the ccffln.
Now all that Is left to the funeral director,
In fact, every thing connected with the
funeral, from furnishing The coffin to fur.
nis5ing the carriages, and from dressing
the deceased to ordering the grave dug.
Thus, the family is relieved of all the
painful cares Of preparation and better
results are obtained in every respect fr. IN
leaving oil the arrangements in the han!s
OF one person; provided always that he 10
Intelligent and competent. Nor Is It
enough that he should be efficient In q
strictly business sense. He must be O man
OF education and experience wi b human
naiu as we'll as with the deal. Such Q
man will win res, ect and confidence and
bling an uncon ,cious lut genuine solace
to the bereaved, while furnishing them the
most approved style OF funeral to be had
for the money"