The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-07-09
An ITALIAN FUNERAL.
Scenes in the House Of Death De-
seribed by an Eye
Witness.
A Superstition Which Necessi-
tates Walking Twice Past
the Former Abode.
Every Cent an Italian Can Raise He VIII
Spend on n Birth, wedding or
Funeral.

Walking through the Italian quarter the
otEer day with an Italian banker | came
upon a GRO wd just around the Bend, in the
mids of which stood ten uniformed men,
bers of a brass band. wearing the Italian
colors. whats this?' l asked. A we'd
ding?'
almost the opposite" was the reply. cit
is the funeral of a baby. Would you like
to see it?"
replied in the affirmative, and the inter
prefer spoke to several of the bystanders
and soon found that the house which death
had chosen was a rear tenement two doors
above. Into tho long, low alley we turned,
and, after fighting our way through the
thrones of ill-smelllng Italians which
blocked it, succeeded in reaching the star
way. From one of the women on the
stairs we found that the ceremony was
being conducted on the third floor,
After pushing and struggling for nearly
five minutes, during which many Italian
i1nprecations were launched upon us for
coming SO late, We reached the door. The
priest was on the last PRAYER, but above the
low monotone rose the grief-stricken cry of
the mother, a tall, angular woman, with
1SdtuIeb lliSlc Oh tl5 OTuGT OF yle (Jreek
than on the type of nor native country.
Milo CAIRO, povero teglio, MIC yovero
feglio' (my dear, poor child; my poor
child, she cried, and although she shed no
tears, it could be easily seen that her heart
was full of deepest grief.
The little corpse, that of a baby about 10
months old, lay on a table near the head of
the room, and surrounding it were over
twenty little children with awe-gtricken
faces, and every little while one of them
would lean over and touch the lifeless hand
which hung over the edge OF the table. saw
the New YORK Commercial Adver tiser. Gath
cred behind them Wee their mothers. and
there was not a woman in the almost suffo-
eating room that did not hold in her arms II
baby. In TACT, there were only two men in
the loom beside the father. undertak ers md
the priest. hiany of the women and young
girls cried continually, but not Il sound came
from any Of thom. Many stood with their
large, lustrous, black eyes cast inward and
allowed the tears TO flow freely down their
faces, and any one of them would have made
the fortune of a painter could he have but
transferred her expression to canvass.
The payer over, the p lest uttered a fe W
wor 8 over the body Of the child and then
notloncdt to the uadsrtakels. They came at
once tothe table and quickly ylaced the bod
OF the child in a little white coffin that one of
them had brought III. They took away tho
candles that had been burning at the head
and foot of the bier, and then begnn to tear
down the white hangines with which the
walls and pictures had been decorated.
while they were engaged In this work the
friends of the reople were taking their las,
leave of the child. and as they took up the
cover, the mothe", who all the time hac
been continuing he. sorrowful cry, came te
the side of the coffin, and then b loke dow1
aud wept for the first time.
ON, my dear child.'' che cried in her ma.