The Station; The Party Fight And Funeral; The Lough Derg Pilgrim: Traits And Stories Of The Irish Peasantry, The Works of; William Carleton, Volume ThreeCarleton, William
General
The Station; The Party Fight And Funeral; The Lough Derg Pilgrim: Traits And Stories Of The Irish Peasantry, The Works of; William Carleton, Volume Three
Carleton, William
Ireland -- Social life and customs -- Fiction
The order of the funeral now was as follows:--Foremost the women--next
to them the corpse, surrounded by the relations--the eldest son, in deep
affliction, “led the coffin,” as chief mourner, holding in his hand the
corner of a sheet or piece of linen, fastened to the mort-cloth, called
moor-cloth. After the coffin came those who were on foot, and in the
rear were the equestrians. When we were a quarter of a mile from the
churchyard, the funeral was met by a dozen of singing-boys, belonging to
a chapel choir, which the priest, who was fond of music, had some time
before formed. They fell in, two by two, immediately behind the corpse,
and commenced singing the Requiem, or Latin hymn for the dead.
The scene through which we passed at this time, though not clothed with
the verdure and luxuriant beauty of summer, was, nevertheless, marked
by that solemn and decaying splendor which characterizes a fine
country, lit up by the melancholy light of a winter setting sun. It was,
therefore, much more in character with the occasion. Indeed--I felt it
altogether beautiful; and, as the “dying day-hymn stole aloft,” the
dim sunbeams fell, through a vista of naked, motionless trees, upon
the coffin, which was borne with a slower and more funereal pace than
before, in a manner that threw a solemn and visionary light upon the
whole procession, this, however, was raised to something dreadfully
impressive, when the long train, thus proceeding with a motion so
mournful, as seen, each, or at least the majority of them, covered
with a profusion of crimson ribbons, to indicate that the corpse they
bore--owed, his death to a deed of murder. The circumstance of the sun
glancing his rays upon the coffin was not unobserved by the peasantry,
who considered it as a good omen to the spirit of the departed.
As we went up the street which had been the scene of the quarrel that
proved so fatal to Kelly, the coffin was again laid down on the spot
where he received his death-blow; and, as was usual, the wild and
melancholy keene was raised. My brother saw many of Grimes's friends
among the spectators, but he himself was not visible. Whether Kelly's
party saw then or not, we could not say; if they did, they seemed not to
notice them, for no expression of revenge or indignation escaped them.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account