Funerals In 1776

Finierais toucliod weddings at tlie point of feasting, and wero often very expensivc, showy, aud pornpous occasions. In soine parts of the country, especially among the Dutch of Long Island aud New ork, it was the cnstom for a young man to lay by his carnings af ter coming of age until a suffieient aum had acoumulated to provide for him a " respectable " funeral when he should come to die. Oftentimes the young burgher would reserve half of tho portion of wine which he had liberally )aid in for his niarriage, to be used at the funeral of himselt' or his wife. Special invitations wore sent out for funerals as for parties. The clergymen, pall-bearers, and physicians attending, were pro-vided with scarfs and gloveg and Bometimes each with a mourning ring ; while the feas.1; whioh f olio wed th intefment at the house of the relatives of the deceased, elabórate with cold roast meats, wines, liquors, and pipes, was not unfrequently an occasion of coarse excesses, sometimes descending into hilarious and noisy demonstrations. A " respectable " funeral of this discription might cost, perhaps, a thousand dollars ; while the funeral of the first wife of Hon. Stephen Van Bensselaer is said to have cost not less than $20,000.