Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1890-04-16
TOLD BY AN UNDERTAKEN.
Srotesoue Incidents of the Funeral
Directors Grave Calling.

1HAuA u sire 10 say that ninety-nIne
out or every hundTeI persons have, and
express a preference OF some kind OF
another as To tile disposition TO be made
OF their bodies after Ceath- Sometimes
their requests are complied with and
sometimes they are not Generally the
preference relates only 10 some minor
detail either Of the colin, of the grave
or OF the burial ceremnny. Some p-o-
PIE want plain WOO len cJfIiu m lh Dg-
any, walnut OF ebony. Some want a
metal cisket- Some want their cAsket
covered with black cloth, some with
VII te- The desire for a certain style of
iIstndle Is often expressed, aud women
are frequently concerned about the lin
iHs, wanting 1t OF a color TO suit their
! complexion Some people, too. want their
o.hns large and rOomy, Others u fit
| exactly.
"Ne-y often people want 10 lie buried
a particular spot, and give express
| Instructions Is To the direction in
which the grave is TO lie and how deep
u must be. Then, too, some persons
want quiet, private funeral, while
o,hers are uue.'sy until promised that
they Will b given a grand and costly
/ burial
All these are matters that can be
Sst,ily attended to, ana they generally
are But there are requests made by peO-
pie in regard To their obsequies that are
extraordinary and IN some instances
ridiculous. Ill tell you about few
cases that have come under my own
| notice.
'rhere was an old lady died few
| years ago who had a new and very
| costly Set of teeth made juS- before her
| last illness. When she learned that
death WAS imminent, hec greatest la
ment seemed tO lie that she should
never have an opportunity 10 wear
/ those teeth. Finally 4 bright idea
/ struck her, and calling her husband to
her bedside she begged him To have her
| lips 50 arranged after death that her
| friends would Os able to see and admire
| her beautiful teeth The old man
| promised. ana almost with her dying
! breath size reminded him of it. We
were summoned 10 perform the neccS-
sary duties after death, and the widow
/ er, having explained the mater of the
teeth, declared that his wife's request
must be carried out. He had promised
| and could not think of GeceivIng her.
We did the best We could. The result
was rather startling, but the te e-ih
showed, and the old mIu WAS satisfied
1 50 ~ NAAAAA Z nave eAAAN AAA4AA- ~ SsAs tA
| course.
Il remember another case of a md
lle-aged siugle man who had been a
| great dresser regular dandy, in fact
lie left directions that he should be
buried in the last suit of clothes he had
bought As he WAS 1 Inau of consider
able wealth, and had left some very
! generous Jequests 10 his friends. they
decided 10 comply with his request, and
| n 5 valet WAS told to bring the suit.
| When he returned lie carried the loud
est SUIT Of Clothes ! ever saw. II was
| Of plsIld two Or three Inches broad, aud
| green, blue and yellow Ii color WIKI
1t came sE.rt covered with pictures
Of ballet dancers IN every conceivable
| attitude, and necktIe to match The
| JppedTIuCe Of :heSe unexpected articles
caused some CUusterIiaTlou, but The
dead mans friends finally decided 20
let INN lave his way, and bury him as
he had requested. The body was ac-
cOrdingly TUbeI in the flashy shirt and
suit, i dog head pin stuck in the tie, a
single eyegIass placed over the staring
=ye, and the dandy WAS really for his
.a,t resting place
| Il WAS once called upon to bury a
man who had at some previous period
| AlNs AtAA NAA N-lE Va AAAo NAtsAA w. - Aa1N
| - WAS about TO screw down the cover
# the ctsket his weeping widow came
! o me with small jar, and said that
her husband had expressly desired her
70 bury this with him. looked at it and
| Ound that il was the missing toe, neatly
Iud carefully preserved IL alcohol.
Il never buried any one who had
| made his own coffin, but l have heard
% such cas-s. Several times, however,
nave sold people their own cufflus,
md IN some instances two or three
years or longer before they died. Some
lines the boxes were left with me until
eeled, and sometimes they were taken
home at once. The most peculiar case
II this kind | e~ had was that OF al
trtist who lived N a couple of rooms by
himself IN the weSrSTn part of the city.
lie had plenty of money, and his rooms
we're elegantly furnished. but all in the
| most SombTe colOTS. One day he came
To me AID ordered a coffin made. Ii
WAS to BE- black inside and out, and was
to be large enough to l,eiu comfortably.
4 Another thing he WAS explicit about
was that it WAS To be linel throughout
with spring cushions. | made 1t and
S.nt 10 to his rooms as he directed,
Four years later | was called 20 bury
him. 1 then found that during all that
time lie had used his coffin for a bed =
} -Ieepiug in 1t always-aud he had left a
O., quest to be buried in il He sail ht
!ad grown used to IL, and did not think
te would sleep well IN any other.
II once had Il man w.o was about e
lie send for Inc and Order a coffin lie
was a very small man, not more tEar
Euur feet high, but said lie wanted Ia:
.uffin six feet long. The law said he.
.EiyeS every man six feet OF earth, and
Am going to have my full share
II frequently have people try x
rive bargains with me for caskets fol
) .lrir dead friends. About the bes
c.sSe of economy in that line
, yer hal. however, was that OF I
, .aunG widow who gave orders that hel
ulshaui's coffin should be placed In th'
ground perpendIcularly. y year and ;
IE,lf later she had another husband L
bury, and his coffin was placed side by
) SIDE with that of No. l. At intervals
a she nad more husbands to bury, anC
5 finally when No. ) was PLACED unde
a the sod, no more space had been takeI
THAN is usually occupied with one grave
q She sand IL saved trouble because sh'
3 eaIly had only one grave II attend Z
now. whereas if they had been buried
g lin the ordinary manner she would hav'
q had i've"
FRIGHTENED BY a GHOST
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