Morning journal and courier., 1894-06-07

tered over her body and along the line or the procession, while the pail bearers were such inveterats snuff takers that they readily fulflled their part of the not very select arrangement It is even stated that the minister, In order to earn an exceptionally large fee, took snuff throughout the entire ceremony, though 1t is to be hoped that this latter state ment Is what Poohbah would describe ss mere corroborative detail" and not s re- cord of actual facts.
 A very interesting account wss pub- lished In London newspaper more than forty years sgo of the funeral of George Williams, described as the king of t6e chimney sveepers. He died just before the first great International Erposition was opened, and his funeral was attend ed by several hundred chimney cleaners. including an immense number of little boys, who earned @ few pence per day by climbing up fuss and removing soot snd oostructione. As tribute of respect to a profession which in the days of large open grates and historical chimney corners was very important one, and partly because or Williams dying request, these little sweepers worked as usual during the early daylight hours, and reported for the fune. ral with faces, hsnds and clothing covered with soot. As banners they carried the brushes used in their hazardous and lung aestrosing work, and the s,sx ade was one Of th. lost grotesqus on record.
 The proceedings were calculated to an- noy people of refined sentiment, for the trade obsequies were continued up to the grave itselt, snd the utensils owned by the chimney cleaner were buried with him. But the reeults of the funeral were emil nsntly satisfactory. It had not been gen orally recognized that boys of six and eignt summers were employed to climb up nues and knock out obstructions, but the number of the dlmInutiye specimens of humanity called attention to the acts of cruelty which were psrpetrsted ln the small hours of the morning before ordinary mortais were sftir. Inquiries were made, and It was ascsrtaiDed thA: the boys were frequently whipped into obedience and forced into ehimneys which were some times hot enough to blister their little hands and feet Thus 1t was that this De- culisr funeral resulted in sn syitssten which finally liberated at leAst & thousand boys from tyranny and slavery
 A New Englsnder who had sought in vain for uotorlety if not fame for more than half century, took strange pTecau- uons to insure e large attendance at his funeral. He had no near relatives, and when convinced that death wac approach ing he turned over to 6 trusted friend the few hundred dollsrs he had saved, with instructions thst 1t should be spent on his funeral. No carriages or conveyAnces were to be used and the coffin was to be carried to the sonewhst distant burial ground by relays of men to be changed every one hundred yards. Each carrier was 10 re- cs!ve liberal doucsur, sni in addition small sum of money was To be handed 10 every person who entered the graveyard while the ceremony was being performed. There was no need to advertise the fune- ral, for before the ccfsn hsd been made the singular arrangements were the subject of general comment. Three times as many bearers as could be employed applied for petitions, and when the cortegs reached the cemetery the crowd was 60 large that 1t was difficult 10 force an opening for the procession. Every one present received & cash present, ss stipulated, but the good minister who read the service made the sp- plicants wait long enough to hear some very timely remarks ou the evil of ayarice and the unseemlinens of desecrsting c sA- cred place in order to obtain A few pence.
 In the days when dustmtn Hourished sf- ter the manner described by Dickens in '1Our Mutual Friend" a member of the fraternity died in the suburbs of London. He had smassed c nics little fortune, ss fortunes ran in thoss days. and arranged for q funeral whose eccsntricities would be pardoned In view of tho number and size of ths legacies. The processiOn was a very singular one. First came twelve boys, each carrying 6 link, enhlematIcAl Of the chain of circumstances which had led up 10 the prosperity of the deceased. Then came twelve men, each with & whip csr- ried handle upward, followed by twelve more, each with a shovel bsld upside down. For he4rse, the dessassd's favor ite dust cart was used. and & very ancient looking horse which had drawn the cart for more than twenty years was led after 1t. After it came 8 number of dust carts, with several dczsn members of the dust collecting and kindred professiOns; and a detachment of cInder slflers brought up the rear. There was something grotseque about the arrangements, but there was nothing to com plain of in the matter of decorum or good order, and TO hitch of any kind appears to have taken place.
 But perhaps the most extraordinary funeral on record took place in Siam about eighteen months sgo. There were in that country four sscrei white sle- plants, and one of these dying st the sd- vsuced age of one hundred and twenty two, 1t was given a funeral grsnder thsn that accorded to princes of royal blood. One hundred Buddhist priests oficiated, and tue three surviving white elephants led the procession. TIumpeters herSlded its advance and thousands of dsvout Si amese men and women followed. The king and his court reosived the remains at the Menam river, down which thousands of bsrges and moveable houses were hoated. Flags of sll kinds were used, and reliable estimates placed the attendance at more tbsn twenty thousand- The king bowed his knee to the funeral car in recog- niiion of the alleged divinity of the de- ceased and the proceedings were contin- ued we'll into the night. The jewels sLd offerings hrried with the elephant repre- sented quite a respectable fortune.