Arizona weekly enterprise., 1889-10-19

publication in Philadelphia newspaper of number of interviews with under takers in that city. In recently pub lished death notice of a woman in Phila- delphia this sentence was embodied Male members of the family only are invited to attend" This notice was pub lished in accordance with the wishes of the dead woman. She had been of practical and sensible turn of mind. Her object was to prevent the attendance at her funeral of women who might, if it were bad weather, contract disease of a serious nature
 IN PHILADELPHIA.
 Until very recently numerously at tended funerals had been very common in Philadelphia. Scores of carriages fol- lowed the deceased man or woman to the grave, and men and women stood around on the damp ground in all kinds of weather while the coffin was lowered into it's last resting place. Philadelphia is gradually awakening to the fact that this sort of thing is dangerous. Strange to say, it appears to be due to the under takers of that city that these changes are being made. Evidently they are not so calculating and selfish as various writers of fiction have portrayed them. The more carriages there are at funeral the bigger the undertaker's bill is, yet the Philadelphia members of the profession seem to view this fact with indifference Said MT. R. R. Bringhurst, one of the most prominent of these gentlemen:
 EsrTho in horo of lo,.r concourse of friends and relatives at tending funerals is a very foolish one. Male members of the family only should accompany the hearse to the burial ground, and I am glad to see that this plan is being adopted by several fam flies of this city. Ladies should not be taken to the burial ground, for more than one reason, either in good or bad weather. It subjects them to great nervous strain to see the body of some member of their family or some relative lowered into the ground. and time and time again 1 have seen ladies faint from this excitement.
 Sometimes there is a hitch in the dropping of the coffin, so that considera- ble difficulty is occasioned in getting it strengthened out. Accidents of this na- ture are very prolific of nervous pros tration, and women should not be sub jected to them.
 "It Is striking fact that half of our funerals take place on stormy days, when it is positively dangerous for any man, not to mention ladies, to stand for a long time on the wet ground until the interment is finished. This city is, how ever, getting to be somewhat enlighten- ed on the subject of funerals A few years ago there were forty or fifty car riages to every funeral, but now this number is reduced to about eight. Of course, the more people attend funerals | the better it is for the undertaken. His business is advertised, and he comes in for the burial of those who are taken sick and die because of the exposure at the burial ground. But we undertakers have sympathetic souls like other classes l of humanity, and for one advise all my patrons to have the funeral ceremony at the house, and then let only few gen. tlcmen of the family accompany the body to the cemetery"
 Undertaken J. R Knowles expressed the same sentiments and added:
 "The exclusion of ladies and friends at funerals is an admirable policy tc adopt. This city is just awakening to the fact that big funeral is big folly. AS a rule every large funeral is the cause of the death of at least one person who attends it."-
 New York adopted the new custom some time since. Save in the case oi men of great official prominence, few funerals, with the exception of those oi foreigners and persons of the poorer class, who accept innovations in suct matters slowly, are largely attended even by men. Nowadays there are rare ly more than three or four carriages al rank, and five seems to be the maxi mum. The more fashionable the fam fly the simpler the arrangements are At large proportion of such funeral. that have taken place lately there have been only one or two carriages beside! the hearse. Undertaken Edward M. Sc nior said yesterday:
 "At three-quarters of the funerals
 nave had in charge lately, no womer have been present. As rule they d. not even sit in the same room with tn, body of the dead. The body is usually placed in the parlor, and some male rel ative remains there to receive visitor and do whatever is needed, while tn, women stay upstairs. They may com down to be present at services in tn house, but they rarely follow the bod, to the grave. Even when they do this !, they do not leave their carriages"
 It is not uncommon now for person l. to provide minutely for their burials il their wills, and many prudent ones ex pressly request that no woman be al lowed to follow their bodies. When tn late actor, Chanfrau, died, the funera at Long Branch was largely attended
 The pail bearers were all old men, ant they dropped one end of the coffin il l going out of the house. The widov
 fainted at the sight, and painful seen was the result. The new rule is to hay the coffin carried by hired assistants while the pail bearers walk on eithe , side.-New York Sun.
 Sir Edwin Arnold, the author of "Th Light of Asia" has been made com mander of the Imperial Order of the Liol
 and the Sun by the shah of Persia.
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