Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1894-12-01
FOND OF FINE FUNERALS
trench People make the Last Rites IN ~
cssion for Great Display.

trench People make the Last Rites an en-
casion 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, 1t costs still more to
die" This IL. In measure, true,
and that 1t IL so, says the Baltimore
Sun, Is due to the fact
that the Governmet has a 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 rule the French are
fond of fine funerals. For statesmen
of the first rank the Government dc.
crees a State funeral, which Is an &c.
casion of great display and frequently
leads to political demonstrations. but
private funerals are also costly, and
many 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. corncred hats and long
crepe strcamers on their arms: the
horses for the hearse are caparisOned
with sweeping drapcries OF black anL
silver, and on the hearse itself are
pIumes and silver figures o. 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 NO.
tees are as elaborate and aselcvantiy
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 Of death,
and II must be buried In q :Otiiu
made of thin deal boards, unpainted,
unvarnished, and SO 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
hearsc which Is hardly better than d
dray. At the iOsse commune the
priest Is allowed to inc udc six tuner
ais In one service. Fully to explain
the necessity for the fOsse commune,
II Is necessary to say q word about
French nravcyards They are gov
erned entirely different from ours,
and their Object' seems TO be to ailO
graves to the millions who are dead,
without taking too much space from
ths millions who live. In certain
plrts OF the cemetery graves may be
bought outright, though ut enormous
pi ices, and remain forever In the pos
session OF family In other Sec
lions the graves are bought singiy fol
five years from the date Of burial,
and ut the end OF tho specified time
the boxes are taken up and buried Ia
the fOsse commune. The fosse com.
mune- the lowest grave OF all-is q
ditch twelve feet deep twelve fec,
wide, and as the size OF the grave
yard permits. Here the collins arc
put side by side In two rows, the
heads meeting IN the center. When
q certain number IRE In the ditch 1,
Is closed and on another layer OF earth
more collins are afterwurd laid
When the ditch Is oiled to the sur.
face another one alongside opened.
and SO until the available space !.
used up. Then the first ditch IL 70
opened and fresh coil rs are put II
place Of the old ones, which have dc
cayed.