The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1894-08-10
PARIS BURIALS.
Rules Governing Interments in " inch
Grayeyards.

| Rules Governing Interments in Y7ench
Grayeyards.
Apropos Of the imposing funeral of
the late President Carnot of France,
and the depositing of his remains in
/ the Pantheon at Paris, the love of the
| French for display in burial ceremonies
! has been pointed out as characteristic
| of the nation. 1.-The people," says a
contemporary, ''have pathetic way of
( saying although it costs much to live
/ in Paris, it costs still more to die
/ This Is, in a measure, true, and that it
/ Is so is due to the fact that the govern
ment has a monopoly of the work of
| burying the dead, and has established
| q scale Of prices by which the STYLE Of
| funerals is regulated, from that costing
| hundreds of dollars to the one which
opens the fosse commune common
/ grave.
As rule the French are fond of fine
| funerals. For statesmen of the first
rank the government DEGREES a state
funeral, which is an occasion of great
display, and frequently leads to polit-
zeal demonstrations; but private flu
| nerals are also costly, and many man
| who has lived with the utmost mean
ness all his life is laid to rest with
princely pomp. The door of his resi-
dence is hung with black curtains,
embroidered with silver; his mono
gram, in silver, is on all the mourning
coaches which follow the hearse; the
drivers are dressed in black. with knee
/ brooches, high boots, three-cornered
hats and long crepe Streamers on their
arms; the horses for the hearSe are
cgparisoned with sweeping draperies
OF black and silver. and on the hearse
itself are plumeS and silver figures of
/ angels and cherubS. Then. too. the
custom of sending out notices of the
death and invitations to the funeral is
very common. and sometimes those
notices are elaborate and as elegantly
engraved as the most expensive we'd
ding cards or invitations.
In striking contrast with the deco
rous funerals Of the rich are the scene
when the body of a very poor person is
TO he laid in the grave. The city is
strict in regard to them. The body can
only be kept twenty-four hours from
the time Of death. and ii must be buried
in a coffin made Of thin deal boards. I'M
painted. unvarnished and so slight that
it Is always wrapped up and fastened
with ropes leStit should come to pieces.
1t Is taken TO the grave in a hearse
which is hardly better than draw. At
the fosSe commune the priest is al
lowed 10 include six funeral in one
service.
Fully to explain the necessity for the
fosSe commune, it is necessary to say
word about French graveyards. They
are governed entirely different from
ours, and their object seems to be to
afford graves 70 the millions who are
dead. without taking too much space
from the millions who live. In certain
parts of the cemetery graves may be
bought outright. though az enor-
nous prices. and remain forever in the
possession OF a family. In other sec
tions the graves are bought singly, for
five years from the date of burial, and
at the end of the specified time the
bones are taken up and buried in the
fooSe commune.
The foSse communicate lowest grave
Of aIl-is ditch twelve feet deep,
twelve feet wide, and as long as the
size Of the graveyard permits Here
the collins are put side by side IN two
rows, the heads meeting in the center.
When a certain number are IN the ditch
1t Is closed, and on another layer OF
earth more cotfins are afterward laid.
When the ditch is filed TO the surface
another one alongside is opened, ana
SO until the availa ole space Is used up.
Then the first ditch Is reopened. and
fresh collins are put in place Of she I'D
Onss which have decsyed.