History of Lynn, Essex County, Massachusetts, including Lynnfield ...

Miscellaneous Notes. 231
by being followed and stared at, by men and boys, that they
committed a breach of the peace, were taken before a magistrate's
court, and put under bonds. It came near becoming a
serious question how one could be punished by imprisonment,
should it come to that, if the other were innocent. The difficulty
vanished, however, when it appeared that both were guilty.
They died in North Carolina, in the winter of 1873, within two
hours of each other, aged 63 years.
Funeral Expenses. Much has been said, of late, and with
justice,
concerning the extravagance so commonly indulged in,
on the burial of the dead. The expenditures for casket, floral
decorations, carriages, and so forth, have become really burdensome
to persons of limited income. Many seem to think it mean
not to follow the fashion in these matters, and mean also to dispute
any charge of those who furnish the appliances, however
exorbitant such charge may be. But does not a sentiment
very different from love for the departed or grief for one's own
loss, rule here? Certainly it is not in ostentatious display that
the grieved heart most naturally seeks relief Of course we all
realize that no good can come to the departed by glitter and
parade, however costly they may be. Nor can they heal affection's
deeper wounds. It would be truly lamentable if the
time should ever come when heart-relieving ceremonials were
dispensed with at the burial of the dead ; but garish pomp is but
fast fading drapery about a grave.
In early New England times the dead were committed to their
last resting places with very little ceremony beyond the procession
of mourning friends ;
the coffin was rude ; and seldom was
a prayer offered, an omission, however, that
probably arose from
anxiety to avoid any thing that approached the popish custom
of praying for the dead. But before the beginning of the last
century, new and strange customs began to appear, and expenditures
were made for purposes more reprehensible than any
extravagance of this day. Indeed funerals were sometimes made
seasons of jollification. Especially when the deceased was a
minister or other prominent personage, spirituous liquors were
provided, and gloves and rings presented. And these customs
prevailed to some extent even down to times within the memory