THEIK FUNEKAL CEKEMONIES.

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will, perhaps, be an announcement, saying that those friends

of the late A------B------who may wish to follow his body

to the grave, are invited to assemble at the "house of death"on such-and-such an afternoon at such-and-sach an hour.

As our apartments look towards the " Mainzer-thor"(Mayence Gate), which leads to the cemetery outside the town,scarcely a day passes but we notice one or two funeral pro-cessions stealing slowly towards some poor creature's lasthome. Indeed, we can see one emerging from the "Schloss-strasse" as we write, and as this is the most fashionable streetin the town, the mo urners, of course, are many, and theappointments of the train are of the showiest character.

As the procession turns the corner of the street, the chantof the " Misericordia" comes floating down the road, borne inmournful gusts along the avenue of trees. That large, bright-coloured silk nag, which is seen immediately behind the silvercross at the head of the procession, and keeps flapping like aheavy sail in each passing breeze, is the emblem of one of thecity companies, to which the deceased belonged. Then, as thefuneral dirge grows louder, we see, between the stems of thetrees that skirt the roadway, the three lace-robed priests con-ducting the ceremony, their forms half-filmed over with thewhite cloud of incense that rises from the silver censers, asthe boys flash them to and fro in the sunbeams. On eithcrside of the priests are the church-choristers and the Orphan-School boys (the latter being there to mark that the deceasedwas a patron of the charity); and these, as they draw near,mako the air moan again with their chanting. Next comesthe tiny-looking hearse, that is hardly bigger, and of the sameshape, as our tilted carts. This is covered with a hugeblack velvet pall, ornamented with an immense yellow andwhite cross, and reaching nearly to the ground. On eitherside of the hearse walk a number of the nearest friends of