The Savannah morning news., 1904-05-08
BURIAL CUSTOMS.
Going TO FuneraIs-The Hight of
styIe-Funerals in Paris.

The habit Of going TO funerals grows
upon one so that il becomes virtually
| ineradicable if properly encouraged.
Such funerals as those Of Grant and
Sherman are grandly solemn. Mourn
| ing gives place 10 morbid curiosity to
witness the spectacle and listen to the
! lofty strains of brass bands in dead
marches. There is something deeply
impressive about military funeral. As
for the everyday funeral, with its real
Grape and, grief. nothing is so grew
some. I hope ! never shall be obliged
10 attend any but my own, and the
thought of doing that is not cheering.
l am willing TO leave funerals TO those
who dearly love them.
It is the fashion in New York to
have a house on the Highlands of Fifth
avenue and family vault IN Green
wood or WoOdlaWn. In Pans one 70
be in the higher style must have a
house in the Champs Elysees and
mausoleum in Pere La Chaise. The
three important cemeteries Of the City
OF Light are Montrhrnasse, Mont
martre and Pere La Chaise. They are
now reserved for the inhabitants of
the city who have permanent cOnces-
siOns. The cemeteries outside the walls
-Bagneux. Batignolles Ivry. Pantin.
St. Ouen and others-are used for or
binary burials, and also give a last
resting place 10 the destitute in the
'fosse commune" or general grave,
gratuitously. Pere La Chaise is part
of the high life of Paris.
Parisians incline 10 sumptuous fun
erals. The collins of persons Of the
most modest means are often entirely
hidden by wreaths and bouquets. No
visitor fails TO notice in the streets
those long, lugubrious professions of
ark-like coaches, blacker within and
without than crows, drawn by heavy
| black horses in coal black harness and
plumes, and guided by drivers in the
| same sombre livery; the tout ensem-
BILE" affording the greatest conceivable
| contrast to the brilliant equipages so
| rapidly circulating about them. As
| they trail through the streets with slow
| and solemn pace they appear to be so
! many clumsily-carved masses Of jet.
| OVerspread with pals and animated
with just sufficient life to grope their
way blindly back to the dark mine
| whence they issued.
In their presence the sunlight seems
| to scowl and shine askant. The gay
crowd look at them as birds Of evil
| omen; but respectfully make. as they
pass, the only bows that do not call
| for a return. At all hours they are
| to be seen. sometimes singly, standing
| like solitary crows in a coTnfield be-
| fore the entrance of some poverty
| marked habitation; a others in long
and pompous files stretching from be-
| fore a church door draped with cost
| ~ tokens of death far down the neigh
boring street. In the first instance a
poor man has died, and the under
taker for a few francs only gives a
| few francs worth of conventional re-
spect TO the mortal remains he un-
| tremendously hurries to its cheap
| grave. In the second instance the de-
ceased has left enough to pay for a
pompous funeral which law and Gus
tom force the family TO accept from
the sole company that has the mono
| poly of interment in the city of Paris
The name of the funeral trust is
! 'Compagnie des Pompes Funebres,''
with headquarters at No. 104 d'Auber-
| VillierS. Its charges are regulated by
| law. II pays a handsome sum for
| the burying privilege, and in return
/ can make dying a very expensive af-
! fair in Paris. The corpse belongs,
/ not to friends. but to this company,
| until the worms claim their preroga-
/ tive. A funeral in France is always
| a spectacle, and dismal spectacle too.
| The black is an intensified black, and
the skull and crossbones are of the
most appalling patterns and colors. All
| that can make the ceremony chilling
and hollow is literally provided.
In al there are seven classes of
| burials, the largest and most expensive
| requiring an outlay of not less than
| $4,000 for the journey from the church
| to the cemetery. The third class is
| most in vogue. The charges are made
| in the shape of a printed bill half the
| size of page of the Press, with the
| price affixed to each article or person
required, with blank spaces for the
4 70
| gious c monies" is divided into thir-
| ty-one distinct charges. embracing a
total of $50 for the church, which drives
| a pretty good bargain with the dead
| The company's share amounts to S247.
| The charges are about as follows
| Expenses to the dead-house, Us
| francs; to the church, 715 francs; for
the cortege. 404 francs. Tolling the bell
costs five francs. A deacon and sub
! deacon cost twelve francs The black
| cloth over the entrance of the house
! costs ten sous a yard; thirty mourn
! ing chairs cost a franc and a half
| each; black foot-carpet is ten sous a
| yard; eight men in mourning are eight
! francs each; twelve torches cost three
francs each; the hearse, with mourning
for the horses, fringed with silver.
| plumes, etc, is 120 francs and each
1 Dlack coach costs fifteen francs There
are twenty-nine distinct charges at the
| dead-houSe Of from one to fifty francs.
| II Is cheaper TO live than die in
/ Paris. Among the charges are four
| allegoricaI statues representing religion
| and the theological virtues-20O francs.
Cockades, grand liveries, a war horse.
! equeIrles for war horse, dress for do
mestics. pair of women weeping in
fine linen, pair of fine Grape, a pair
in comomn Grape. escutcheons and eli
piers in velvet and silver. crowns and
nF y
the poor, stand for holy water, en-
| bracing candles, sepulchra! lamps
clerks, chanters, red-capped boys, bea-
| dies, Suisses. carriers of the cross and
long list of other articles swell the
expense and pageantry Wears cost
three francs each and priests two and
| one-quarter francs each.