The Pioche weekly record. [volume] (Pioche, Nev.) 1877-1900, 1890-09-27
OUR FUNERAL CUSTOMS.

y. 0Ou FONGHAI COSIVmos
I eY0 Gus 70 the Health as Well sss-,-
There is no reason why reform
should not be made. In the first place,
why should ladies follow body to the
gravel. 1t is not so in England. IT.
certainly not in good tasts. . The
trouble Is that there is a good deal OF
the circus in the American nation. We
are fond Of pomp and glitter and all the
hollow shams that our noble ancestors
fed from Europe to escape. We per-
petuate these mockeries in all sorts OF
petty ways-funerals, for instance.
Some wretched Italian dies who never
in his lifetime had ten dollars to-
gether, but as he was member of some
society for the purpose of giving grand
funerals be is borne to the grave with
as much ceremony as If he were the
savior Of his country or the martyr OF
lost cause. If he belongs to military
organization, all the more pomp and
fanfarronade. But we do not speak
about public funerals, but about pri-
vate. Ave carry good deal Of humbug-
gerry into them. There is no necessity
Of making dress-parade of funeral,
and displaying grief in an inordinate
line of carriages, and asking personal
friends to expose themselves to chill
winds with every chance in their favor
of catching deathly cold while acting
as pall-bearers. The undertaken should
provide the pall-bearers, and only few
Of the family should follow the body to
the cemetery. If there are to be re-
ligious services, let them be held in the
house. What more cruel words are
there than what the preacher says at
the grave: "Dust to dust" and what
more narrowing sounds than the shovel
ing in of the earth and stones upon the
coffin Of some loved friend whom we
have just consigned to that narrow
earthly home? 1t is sickening and
brutal to compel women and children to
be present at such a horrid spectacle.
Men have to be buried, 1T Is true. Well,
then, let the burial ceremony be per-
formed in mortuary chapel, and lot the
actual burial take place when none are
present There is urgent need for re-
form in the management of our funer-
ais, and, till such time as there is, we
may expect deaths to follow in family
from having pursued our present idiotic
fashion Of burying our dead. San Fran
cisco Newsletter.
"A NOTABLE CRAFTSMAN.
Ono Loaf from the Memoirs of BILLY Por-
wNo1urs ter, Bank Burglar. ~ s2ssN
The Anglo-Saxon race produces all
the eminent burglars. The daring of
American burglars and Of their brethren
in the allied profession Of train-robbing
has worldwide fame. Englishmen,
In their slow, conservative way, show
but little less ability, though perhaps
less brilliancy. Whenever on the conti-
nent mail bags are stolen, banks or great
jewellers robbed, Englishmen do the
work. The famous robbery Of French
nails which took place about year ago
was q joint effort Of Englishmen and
Americans. ss sSsagSessw+wsS
, In many cases these artists are Anglo
Americans. Every now and then a
theft, usually successful, is made of
postal packages passing between the
diamond merchants OF Hatton garden.
London, and the diamond euttors OF
Amsterdam. Dutchmen are the losers
by the theft, and some Dutchmen doubt
less profit by it, but Englishmen carry
out the effective part Of the work. The
conclusion to be drawn from all this is
that only members Of the great, world
enveloping, Anglo-Saxon race possess
the resourceful courage required in this
method Of gaining wealth. ss-s-~~s~s
u Probably the most perfect type Of the
modern burglar is Billy Porter, who has
been engaged in bank-robbing in every
part Of this country. He has several
other names Of course, His American
record is too we'll known to need repeat
ing. 1 He made very interesting ap-
pearance in London some time ago,
however, about which people may not
have read SO much. Billy and an &C.
complete entered the premises OF rich
ieweler at Munich, and carefully se-
cured all the stones and jewels Of I'M
usual size and value. What they took
was worth $4,000 marks at the lowest
estimate. Entrance to the jewelers.
premises was effected in the most in
genious manner, and the thoughtful
burglars left ropes, displaced flooring,
ETC., just as they used them, so as to
provide an invaluable object-lesson for
any OF the German youth who might
wish to emulate them. Then thew
calmly travelled back to England In first
class carriages and berths. The English
detectives succeeded in tracing them
and found Porter living with his wife.
baby and mother-in-law in a nice house
IN quiet suburb Of London. Thew
found the booty there, too. Porter and
his accomplice were accordingly taken
to the Bow street police court and their
extraditon to Germany demanded 49,.
% Porter Is . typical gentlemanly bur-
glar OF meloerama, only a little less
nAshy. He came into court dressed in a
black cutaway coat, trousers Of dark ma
terial. patent-leather boots and a dairy
red scarf. His chin was shaven, and he
wore carefully-trimmed mustaohe, He
carried silk hat in his right hand and
apair Of gloves in his left Although
ne was repeatedly remanded from week
70 week, and passed the intervals in
prison, he always came into court with
the hat and gloves. He is short, rosy.
faced and Of medium height and he
looked like an everyday middle-class
Engiishman. <11nss.-~ss,.ssex2rrnnu