Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1890-07-11
QUEER FUNERAL NOTIONS.
Eccentric Men Who Have Left Peculiar In
structions for Their InIermsnt

The story is told of a certain Frenchman.
says Casselfs Journal, who had been
great collector of coins. BY his will he
dlrec ed that his obsequies should be per
formed with every accompaniment alculat-
ed TO inspire mirthful feelings His body
was TO be wrapped In tanned pigskin and
buried cothnleSs IN a standing position up
on pile of charcoal. Laurel branches
were to be carried by the mourn
ers, and on returning from the church
they were TO throw open the chambers in
which his treasures were deposited, and all
corners were welcome to help themselves as
they pleased to the contents. Itwas a sore
disappointment to the public, however. to
ind that before they were admitted the
servants of the deceased had decamped
with everything portable.
The wishes of curious character. who
was named Hilkington. better known as
Squire Hawley, were fully carried out
few years ago at a place near Doncaster.
He was buried in his own garden. amid
the graves of the dead cattle, which had
been stricken down by rinderpest. He
was lald out IN full hunting costume. in
Gliding spurs and whip, and was placed
IN coffin weighing upward OF a ton.
which had to be lowered into the grave by
means OF a crane. His old pony was shot
and buried at his feet, and at his head
were lald the bodies of his favorite dog
and an old fox. All his property was left
to his groom on condition that these funer-
al obserVanceS were fully carried out; in
default the estate was to go to the priest
of Doncaster for the benefit of the
Roman Catholic church. The groom. how
ever, did not suffer the bequest to himself
to lapse
1t is related that certain crotchety old
lorkShireman some years since left direc-
tons that on the day of his burial great
! public breakfast should be given in the
| town where he might die. and that his
coffin. slung upon towels knotted together.
should be born upon the relays of men and
bumped three times upon a particular
heap of stones, and that the "Lamentation
OF Sinner should then be sung. A still
more important provision was made re-
gardlng the presence of mourners in the
churchyard. Every man. woman of child
who entered the ground with or after the
procession had to receive a dole of six
pence. Never before or since. we are told.
was that churchyard so full of people.
A Sussex gentleman named Jack Fuller
| ordered his executors to bury him in a
pyramidal mausoleum in Brightling
churchyard. His reason for desiring to be
inclosed in stone above ground was his I'M
willingness to be eaten by his relatives-a
process he considered inevitable, if buried
in the ordinary way. The worms" he
declared, would eat me, the ducks would
eat the worms and my relatives would eat
the ducks"
A gentleman named Underwood left
f6, 900 to his sister on condition. that she
had him buried in a particular fashion.
Six gentlemen were appointed to follow
| him to the grave, where they were TO sing
the last stanza of the twentieth ode of the
second Book of Horace. Mourning was
forbidden TO be worn; no bell had to be
| tolled, and no relation vas to follow the
corpse. The six chosen gentlemen were
to be the only mourners. The coffin was
painted green, and the deceased was buried
with his clothes on. Three copies of Hor-
ace were placed in the grave with him, to-
gether with Bentleys Milton and d
Greek Testament. After supper the six
mourners sang the ode-alI- beng in
ctrict accordance with the will of the de-
| Seased