The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-08-24
PORTUGUESE FUNERAL CUSTOMS.
Collins With Red Leather and Brass
Nails That Have Many Tenants.
From the New York Sun.

NallS lhat have Many tenants.
From the New York Sun.
"The burial customs of the Spanish as
seen in cuba are in some respects much
like those of Portugal" said former res
ident of Portugal. 1.-THE poor there, like
the poor in Spain, economic on funeral
expenses by making one coffin serve for
number OF funerals in succession. In
Lisbon at least the coffin is usually a very
substantial piece of work, covered with
red leather and freely studded With brass
nails. Its lid is attached with hinges, so
that the coffin opens and shuts like large
trunk. OF course, the selling price of an
article like this would be beyond the
means of any poor family, but the rent for
one day is comparatively small.
when a funeral procession reaches the
grave in the great PraZeres cemetery, just
outside of Lisbon, the undertaker's men,
instead of lowering the coffin, open its lid,
take out the corpse and lower il into it's
last resting place. The empty coffin is
left there until a Gallego takes it back to
its owner, after the mourners have retired
These Gahegos, by the way, natives of
Galicia in Spain, do all the work of por-
tiers in Lisbon. If you ask a native Por-
tuguese servant to carry a parcel or a va
iAoe bLAOuSil the streets, ne VIII answer
you in tone of offended dignity: You
chamar um Gallego' (I Will go and call
GallegoO, for no native Portuguese would
be seen carrying a load of any kind in
public.
''These Gallegos have no objection 10
carrying a load, even when the load is a
recently vacated coffin. That is the kind
of work they come to Lisbon for so that
in their old age they may go across the
frontier to Gallicia and live on their saw
ings. And one little incident that hap
pened while l was in Lisbon showed how
little impression superstitions regarding
death make on the Gallego mind The city
of Lisbon collected toll on goods brought
within its limits, and there were guards
at the different gates of the city to see
that nothing was struggled in. One very
rainy afternoon the guard at the Pra-
zeres gate glanced along the road that
leads TO the cemetery and saw suspicious
looking package lying on the ground
close under the wall on one side. There
was not a living being in sight. The
guard thought he had detected a plot. He
thought that that package, whatever 1t
might be, had been left there under the
wall by smugglers, who were no doubt
sheltered somewhere in its neighborhood
and watching their opportunity to rush 1t
through the gate as soon as the rain held
up a little. So the active and intelligent
officer got his little sword ready 10 draw
at a moments notice and regardless of the
downpour advanced along the road to sur
prise and apprehend the smugglers, or, at
leastt their goods.
"When we got to within twenty yards
of the suspicious object he made out
through the rain that the case on the
ground was of a red color and studded
all over with brass nails. That discovery
startled him little, but the next moment
I. 1T q
lid of the coffin fly open and dshevelled
head thrust itself out, its eyes starting
wildly. Without waiting to draw his
sword or challenge the apparition, the
guard faced about and retreated at run.
When he reached the gate he called his
comrades to come and see the abandon
ed corpse that had burst open its coffin
on the wayside. The force seized their
carbInes and paraded under shelter of the
archway, but what they saw was only
very bedraggled Gallego tramping toward
them, carrying an empty coffin on his
back
ION examination the Gallego deposed
that being overtaken by the rain on his
way from the cemetery, he had shut him
self up in the coffin to keep dry and wait
for fairer weather, but when he heard
footsteps stealthily approaching he began
to be afraid that some one was coming TO
play a trick and lock him up. That was
why he had so suddenly thrust his head
out and stared He was no corpse, but
an honest, Woodworking CALICO. As for
the coffin. the Senores guards might look
for themselves and see that it was empty.
"There seems TO be a certain morbid
fondness for what may be called playing
with the dead in Portugal They seem to
take a peculiar delight In dressing up their
dead and exposing Them to public view.
l happened to be present at the solemn re-
col .fvs. Of Z iuIR1
when the corpse, dressed in fun canonicals
was placed in a half-sitting posture to face
the crowd in the nave of the Cathedral,
and 1 thought at the time that the inter-
ment ought to have taken place sooner.
zone fine Sunday afternoon in spring,
was strolling along one of the main thor
oughfares Of Lisbon when the shouts and
merry chatter of lot Of little boys and
girls attracted my attention to a side
street The children all nicely dressed,
were coming down the side street at
brisk walk, evidently interested in some
thing that was being carried along by
three or four of them. When they reached
the corner / saw that the center Of inter-
est was a very small brass-studded coffin.
The ia was open, and / could see the little
lower-decked and bedizened corpse IN
side OF IT,
Another time mistook the corpse OF a
child on its way 10 the grave for a waxen
image OF the Madonna being carried In
procession. il was a little dead girl beau
tifully dressed IN white satin and wearing
"a white veil and white flowers. The little
Dody had been made 10 Nc up In a chair
which four boys were carrying on their
shoulders The bearers ana the other chill,
dren boz the procession wore white ribbons
and white hOWefH. all embiematlc OF inno-
conee ana hnpuy confidence that the soul
% their liilo friend was Ia paradise"