The fame of a great house of business like this rests more upon its integrity and the expedition with which commands are executed than anything else. To secure the very best goods, and to have them made up in the best taste and in the latest fashion, is one of the principal aims of the firm, which is not unmindful of legitimate economy. For this purpose, every season competent buyers visit the principal silk marts of Europe, such as Lyons, Genoa, and Milan, for the purpose of purchasing all that is best in quality and pattern. Immediate communication with the leading designers of fashions in Paris has not been neglected; and it may be safely said of this great house of business, that if it is modelled on a mediæval Italian principle, it has missed no opportunity to assimilate to itself every modern improvement. [Illustration: FIG. 60.--_Funeral of Earl Palmerston, in Westminster Abbey, Oct._ 27, 1865.] Private mourning in modern times, like everything else, has been greatly altered and modified, to suit an age of rapid transit and travel. Men no longer make a point of wearing full black for a fixed number of months after the decease of a near relation, and even content themselves with a black hat-band and dark-coloured garments. Funeral ceremonies, too, are less elaborate, although during the past few years a growing tendency to send flowers to the grave has increased in every class of the community. The ceremonial which attends our State funerals is so well known that it were needless to describe them. We, however, give, as "records," illustrations of the funerals of Lord Palmerston, Lord Beaconsfield, Mr. Darwin, and of the much-regretted Emperor Frederick of Germany, a function which was extremely imposing, as the etiquette of the German Court still retains many curious relics of bygone times. [Illustration: FIG. 61.--_Funeral of the Right Honourable the Earl of Beaconsfield, in Hughenden Church, April_ 26, 1881.] GENERAL Court mourning in this country is regulated by the Duke of Norfolk, as Earl Marshal, but exclusively Court mourning for the Royal Family by the Lord Chamberlain. The order for Court mourning to be observed for the death of a foreign sovereign is issued by the Foreign Office, and transmitted thence to the Lord Chamberlain. Here is the form of the order for general mourning to be worn on the occasion of the death of the Prince Consort: COLLEGE OF ARMS, Dec. 16, 1866. _Deputy Earl Marshal's Order for a General Mourning for His late Royal Highness the Prince Consort._ In pursuance of Her Majesty's commands, this is to give public notice that, upon the melancholy occasion of the death of His Royal Highness the Prince Consort, it is expected that all persons do forthwith put themselves into decent mourning. EDWARD C. F. HOWARD, D.E.M. The order to the army is published from the War Office: HORSE GUARDS, Dec. 18, 1861.