Raines, clad in shroud and grave-clothes, and the head resting on a pillow. In order to overcome the difficulty accruing from the bent and contorted condition of the body and limbs of the deceased, which would not assume a straight position, even in death, a light panel door, taken from an unoccupied room, had been put on top of the defunct and loaded down with rocks and a heavy piece of iron, the latter being, apparently, part of a cylinder to a disabled coal-breaker. This, it was hoped, would relax the contracted muscles, and the curved spine and limbs, so that, on the morrow, there would be no trouble in placing the corpse in its casket. The remainder of the scene was peculiarly striking only to those who had never beheld its counterpart. The men from Shenandoah, though just as welcome as others, were left, as is the custom, to look out for themselves. They did not uncover their heads, but, squatting on their heels, or any other convenient seat by the wall, proceeded to smoke a pipe with the rest. It was not, and is not to this day, the etiquette of the miners of this nationality to get up from their chairs and offer them to strangers, nor for visitors to remove their caps, or hats, upon entering a neighbor’s house, no more than it is to knock at the door—excepting it be at night—before opening it. McKenna looked on in silence, while the mourners proceeded with their wailing, crooning hymns to the dead, and the men helping themselves to _lashins_ of poteen, while the _bonneens_ stuck their faces in at the door and joined in the _keene_, or _caoina-song_. The eldest lady of the party raised her hands and cried out: “_Foreer! Foreer! Mo-vrone! Mo-vrone! Ochone! Ochone!_” Then the _keene_ would be raised to a higher pitch, and the wail for the dead resumed, louder and more piercingly mournful than before. This was kept up until midnight, when an incident occurred which bid fair to terminate this portion of the funeral ceremonies with a fight. One young lad, named Flaherty, a slouchy, shock-headed fellow, as full of mirth and rascality as he well could be, growing weary of the ordinary solemnities, fired by having taken more of the liquor than was needful—and many more were by that time in a similar predicament, from the same cause—determined to vary the monotony somewhat and have some sport, and made his arrangements accordingly, as it turned out, only perceived by the agent, who placed no obstacle in his way. All at once, when the attention of those present was centered upon the drink and the table for tobacco, etc., there was heard an unearthly yell, as of horror, the weights rolled, with the thin, little door, off the corpse, and the vital flame seemed to have returned to the dead, as old Mr. Raines started up, whirled quickly and mechanically about, and fell headlong to the floor. [Illustration: “_There was heard an unearthly yell, as of horror._”]