English Funerals

nv on e walking through the streets of London latoly can hardly fail to havo been struck with the number of people of both sexeg who havo aopptpd the military styla of monrning, and wear a band of black oloth round the arm, tast above tba elbow, in place of the 'convent ional black broadcloth hatband for men and heavy swathings of crape woinen. Prob'ably no country in the world is more wedded to ol u-las hioned observárteos than this, and L havo been surprised, therefore, to sec liow rapidlv tlie new fashion has found favor 'which is, undoubtedly, largely owing to the efforts of the Church of England Funeral and Mourning Association to restrain the extravagance so frequently displayed by poor people 111 their met'hod oí burying and mourning for their deeeased frieuds. It is a singular faet that the lov.-er classes in this country consider it a far greater disu-raee to be buried by the parish after they are dead than to be supported by it vvhile they are living ; aad the way in whieh poor people will strip themselves of uvervthing, and run mto debt to boot, in order to "cut a show at the fuñarais of relations, is almost mcredibíe. An illusiration of this carne under my notice recenuv. -. m humble circumstances died, leaving a vvulow aml several ohildren. The relict, in order to honor the memory 01 her late hualjand, gav bh a fuaorjl described by a parochial relieving officer as "tit for a Duke." There was a heartte drawn by four coat-hlaok Bteeds, thi-ee pair-horso uiourning coaches, black velvet palls, nodding plumes, etc , etc. All the employés of the undertaker wore black kid gloves and soarves, for whioh the widow paid.- The dead man's incomc wlien he was alive was perhaps $10 per week- Certainly uot more. The expenses of hm funeral amountcd to over $lo(). Ut course all the family went inlo mournino- too, and, almost eijually of cour.se, went into the workhouse a week or two later. - Ènglish Correspoiulence. In the editorial rooms of Le Figaro, in Paris, a fenoing and boxing apartinrnt has been set apart. The editors lind invigorating exercisa with rapier and glovos, and the man who deinands explanations or retractions will beconie more and more rare as the staff beeome more proüeient in the manly art. Tn 1631 8t. raul's cathedral CLon(lon) was commenced, subject to Üic most cxtraordiiiary profaiiation. It appcars froni docuinemslati-ly printeil illnstmting its history, tliat "npon öuixlays and all festival days the boys and maydes and childiren of the two neighborilig parisliosafierdinner canio inlo the cnareb; the thcy play In' such inaniier as childjèn aro use.l to do till diuk, nndlience o niet! priaoipally tliat iiioidinate noise which nwnï times siitlërotl uot the preachor tw " I Leai-d in the choir.5