Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1894-12-01
FOND OF FINE FUNERALS


french People Make the Last Rites an &c.
casi0n for Great Display.
The love Of the French for display
In burial ceremonies has been pointed
out as characteristic Of the nation.
The people have a pathetic way OF
saying 'although IL costs much to
live in Paris, IL costs still more to
die" This is. in measure, true,
and that IL il so, says the Baltimore
Sun, is due to the fact
that the Government has mon.
opoly OF the work Of buying
the dead, and has established a scale
of prices by which the style OF funeral
IL regulated, from that costing hun.
dreds of dollars to the one which
opens the iosse commune common
gravaA. AS u rule the French are
fond of fine funerals. For statesmen
of the first rank the Government de.
crees a State funeral, which Is an &c.
CasiOn of great display and frequently
leads to political demonstration. hut
private funerals are also costly, and
many a man who has lived with the
utmost meanne.s all his life Is laid to
rest with princely pomp. The dooi
of his residence Il hung with black
curtains, emb. oidcred with silver:
his monogram, in silver Is on all tho
mourning coaches which follow the
hearse; the drivers are dressed In
black, with knee breechcs, high
bUots. three corncrcd hats and long
crepe strcamcrs on their arms: the
horses for the hearse are caparisOned
with sweeping drapcries OF black anL
silver, and on the hcarse itself are
plumes and silver figures o. angels
and chcrubs. Then. too, the custom
OF sending out notices OF the death
and invitations to the funeral Is very
common, and sometimes those no.
tees are as elaborate and as elcgantiy
engraved as the most expensive invi
tatiOns to a ball.
In striking contrast with the dc.
corous funerals Of the rich are the
scenes when the body OF a very pool
person Is to be laid 10 the grave
The city Is strict In regard to them.
The body can only be kept twenty.
four hours from the time Ut death,
and IL must be buried In q -otiiU
made of thin deal boards, implanted,
unvarnished, and 50 slight that IL is
always wrapped up and fastened
with ropes lest 1t should come to
pieces 1t Is taken to the grave In q
hearse which Is hardly better than a
dray. At the iOssc commune the
priest Is allowed to Inc ude six tuner.
ais In one service. Fully to explain
the necessity for the fOsse commune,
It Is necessary to say u word about
French eraveyards They are gov.
erned entirely different from ours,
and their objects seems TO be to ailO d
graves to tho millions who are dead,
without taking too much space from
tn, millions who live. In certain
plrts OF the cemetery graves may be
bought outright, though ut enormous
prices, and remain fore yer In the pos.
session of U family. In other sec.
lions the graves are bought singiy fol
five years from the date of burial.
and ut the end OF the specified time
the boxes are taken up and buried In
the fOsse commune. The fosse com.
munc- the lowest grave OF all--is q
ditch twelve feet deep twelve feet
wide, and rs the size OF the grave
yard permits. Here the collins are
put side by side In two rows, the
heads meeting IN the center. When
q certain number IRE In the ditch Il
IL closed and on another layer OF earth
more collins are afterward laid
When the ditch Is Oiled to the sur.
face another one alongside opened.
and SO until the available space l.
used up Then the first ditch Is re
opened and fresh coil ms are put Ia
place Of the old ones, which have dc
cayed.