avourite, probably because of the
difficulties attending the other.

_Breton Burials_

An ancient Breton funeral ceremony was replete with symbolic meaning
and ritual, which have been carried down through the Middle Ages to
the present time. As soon as the head of the family had ceased to
breathe, a great fire was lit in the courtyard, and the mattress upon
which he had expired was burned. Pitchers of water and milk were
emptied, for fear, perhaps, that the soul of the defunct might be
athirst. The dead man was then enveloped from head to foot in a great
white sheet and placed in a description of funeral pavilion, the hands
joined on the breast, the body turned toward the east. At his feet a
little stool was placed, and two yellow candles were lit on each side
of him. Then the beadle or gravedigger, who was usually a poor man,
went round the country-side to carry the news of death, which he
usually called out in a high, piping voice, ringing his little bell
the while. At the hour of sunset people arrived from all parts for the
purpose of viewing the body. Each one carried a branch, which he
placed on the feet of the defunct.

The evening prayer was recited by all, then the women sang the
canticles. From time to time the widow and children of the deceased
raised the corner of the shroud and kissed it solemnly. A repast was
served in an adjoining room, where the beggar sat side by side with
the wealthy, on the principle that all were equal before death. It is
strange that the poor are always associated with the griefs as with
the pleasures of Breton people; we find them at the feast of death and
at the baptism as at the wedding rejoicing.

In the morning the rector of the parish arrived and all retired, with
the exception of the parents, if these chanced to be alive, in whose
presence the beadle closed the coffin. No other member of the family
was permitted to take part in this solemn farewell, which was regarded
as a sacred duty. The coffin was then placed on a car drawn by oxen,
and the funeral procession set out, preceded by the clergy and
followed by the female relations of the deceased, wearing yellow
head-dresses and black mantles. The men followed with bared heads. On
arriving at the church the coffin was disposed on trestles, and the
widow sat close by it throughout the ceremony. As it was lowered into
the tomb the last words of the prayer for the dead were repeated by
all, and as it touched the soil beneat