MR. GATTY'S observations (Vol. iii., p. 499.) regarding the funeral of an Irish labourer, have reminded me that while on a visit some years ago to a brother in the city of Hamburgh, we one Sunday spent the day with a worthy pastor of a small village a few miles from that city, where we went early enough to attend morning service in the village church; and in the afternoon, while indulging with our pipes and coffee in an alcove in the pastor's garden, I observed a funeral approach the churchyard gate, and understanding that the ceremony was different to what I had been accustomed to, I laid down my pipe and walked into the churchyard to observe what passed, and my movement induced my brother and another or two to become spectators also. The funeral party having arranged themselves at the entrance, the ceremony commenced as follows. The parish clerk or verger walked first, having a lemon in one hand and a bunch of evergreen in the other; he was followed by six choristers or singing boys, then six men as bearers carrying the coffin, and after them the mourners and other attendants. As soon as the cavalcade moved off, the clerk or verger gave out a strophe of some psalm or hymn, which he and the boys chanted while moving round the churchyard; and thus chanting they followed a green path, which I discovered was kept close mown for the purpose; and I observed our worthy pastor had joined the cavalcade, though alone, and at some little distance from the mourners. I understood it was customary thus to move three times round, but being a very sultry afternoon, the party made two turns serve, when coming to the open grave the bearers let down the coffin into it, and then another strophe was chanted, which ended, the mourners took a last look at the coffin, and silently dropped their sprigs of evergreen upon it; the bearers then each took a spade, already provided for them, and quickly filled up the grave, and adjusted its form, when the funeral party returned silently home as they came. The pastor had now retreated again to the alcove in his garden, where we soon joined him, and he told me that as we had gone to witness the ceremony, it would have been thought disrespectful had he not also shown himself, though it did not appear that his attendance was necessary. The general practice here observed of the bearers filling up the grave, shows that the Irish labourers had some more general custom for their practice than MR. GATTY appears to be aware of. W. S. HESLEDEN. FOLK LORE. _The Baker's Daughter._--_Ophelia_ (Act IV. Sc. 5.) says that "The owl was a baker's daughter." This reminds me of a Welsh tradition concerning the female who refused a bit of dough from the oven to the Saviour "when He hungered," and was changed into _Cassek gwenwyn_, תיִליִל, _lilish_[TR: Lilith], _lamia_, _strix_, the night spectre, _mara_, or screech-owl. G. M.