ne.
At the marriage of the daughter of a notorious politician not long since,
the wedding presents were valued at more than $250,000. Efforts have
been repeatedly made to put a stop to the giving of such costly presents,
but the custom still continues.

As it is the ambition of every one of the class we are discussing to live
fashionably, so it is their chief wish to be laid in the grave in the
same style. The undertaker at a fashionable funeral is generally the
sexton of some fashionable church, perhaps of the church the deceased was
in the habit of attending. This individual prescribes the manner in
which the funeral ceremonies shall be conducted, and advises certain
styles of mourning for the family. Sometimes the blinds of the house are
closed, and the gas lighted in the hall and parlors. The lights in such
cases are arranged in the most artistic manner, and everything is made to
look as "interesting" as possible.

A certain fashionable sexton always refuses to allow the female members
of the family to follow their dead to the grave. He will not let them be
seen at the funeral, at all, as he says, "It's horribly vulgar to see a
lot of women crying about a corpse; and, besides, they're always in the
way."

The funeral over, the bereaved ones must remain in the house for a
certain length of time, the period being regulated by a set decree. To
be seen on the street within the prescribed time, would be to lose caste.
Many of the days of their seclusion are passed in consultations with
their _modiste_, in preparing the most fashionable mourning that can be
thought of. They no doubt agree fully with a certain famous _modiste_ of
the city, who once declared to a widow, but recently bereaved, that
"fashionable and becoming mourning is _so comforting_ to persons in
affliction."

Well, after all, only the rich can afford to die and be buried in style
in the great city. A lot in Greenwood is worth more than many
comfortable dwellings in Brooklyn. A fashionable funeral entails heavy
expenses upon the family of the deceased. The coffin must be of
rosewood, or some other costly material, and must be lined with satin. A
profusion of white flowers must be had to cover it and to deck the room
in which the corpse is laid out. The body must be dressed in a suit of
the latest style and finest quality, and the cost of the hearse and
carriages, the expenses at the church and cemetery, and the fees of the
undertaker, are