hanks are sent.

As the appointed time for the funeral draws near, the organ plays softly,
the congregation gradually fills the church. The first pews on either side
of the center aisle are left empty.

=THE PROCESSIONAL=

At the appointed time the funeral procession forms in the vestibule. If
there is to be a choral service the minister and the choir enter the
church from the rear, and precede the funeral cortege. Directly after the
choir and clergy come the pallbearers, two by two, then the coffin covered
with flowers and then the family--the chief mourner comes first, leaning
upon the arm of her closest male relative. Usually each man is escort for
a woman, but two women or two men may walk together according to the
division of the family. If the deceased is one of four sons where there is
no daughter, the mother and father walk immediately behind the body of
their child, followed by the two elder sons and behind them the younger,
with the nearest woman relative. If there is a grandmother, she walks with
the eldest son and the younger two follow together. If it is a family of
daughters who are following their father, the eldest daughter may walk
with her mother, or the mother may walk with her brother, or a son-in-law.
Although the arrangement of the procession is thus fixed, those in
affliction should be placed next to the one whose nearness may be of most
comfort to them. A younger child who is calm and soothing would better be
next to his mother than an older who is of more nervous temperament.

At the funeral of a woman, her husband sometimes walks alone, but usually
with his mother or his daughter. A very few intimate friends walk at the
rear of the family, followed by the servants of the household. At the
chancel the choir take their accustomed places, the minister stands at the
foot of the chancel steps, the honorary pallbearers take their places in
the front pews on the left, and the coffin is set upon a stand previously
placed there for the purpose. The bearers of the coffin walk quietly
around to inconspicuous stations on a side aisle. The family occupy the
front pews on the right, the rest of the procession fill vacant places on
either side. The service is then read.

=THE RECESSIONAL=

Upon the conclusion of the service, the procession moves out in the same
order as it came in excepting that the choir remain in their places and
the honorary pallbearers go first. Outside the church, the coffin is