832 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



V 



duty and virtue. The ancient Egyptians, so far as their monuments 

 have revealed them to us, lived in constant view of death, and made 

 the preparation for it, both for the care of their bodies and the salva- 

 tion of their souls, the most important work of their lives. No other 

 people seem to have paid so paramount attention to it ; but few if any 

 tribes have ignored it or relegated it to an insignificant place. 



The ideas about death and the customs associated with it are as 

 various as are the tribes. They have been formed under the influence 

 of the surroundings and local circumstances among which the people 

 have lived, have been molded by religious beliefs and institutions, and 

 have been affected by historical changes. A substantial sameness in 

 reference to them prevails at this time among civilized nations, particu- 

 larly in the higher and more cultivated classes ; but, even in these na- 

 tions, we have to go only a little way into the rural districts, among 

 the peasantry, to find the most quaint and curious customs still in 

 vogue, coming down from the times cf heathenism and barbarism, 

 before conventionality had become the potent social force that it is. 

 Very interesting illustrations of these survivals of old-time notions 

 may be found in the provinces of Hungary, whose polyglot nationali- 

 ties of various origin and history have hardly yet begun to feel the 

 influences that have nearly reduced the busy population of the cities 

 to a European homogeneity. A few of the most striking customs of 

 these peoples have been studied by Herr Hugo Klein and described by 

 him in " Das Ausland," and from his article is derived what follows \y\ 

 that division of our subject. 



A characteristic of the funeral ceremonies of the Magyars is the 

 feast which is eaten by the relatives and friends of the deceased after 

 the burial, and is frequently accompanied by religious songs. The 

 custom is beautifully illustrated in Palota, where the hymns are sung 

 as the guests separate. The singing is continued on the streets, and 

 the soft, clear tones of the, dirge can be heard in all parts of the town. 

 In Agard, fruit-trees are planted around the graves, to mark them in 

 the years to come after time and the elements have removed the 

 wooden crosses that are set at their heads. In Bonghad, the dead 

 were formerly escorted with torches to their eternal rest. 



The funeral pomp formerly displayed by the Magyars in Transyl- 

 vania reached a mark that defies description. The cofiin was covered 

 with gold-embroidered velvet fastened with silver nails bearing the 

 arms of the deceased. The man's weapons and the woman's jewels 

 and dresses, frequently to the value of many thousands, were deposited 

 in the grave. If the deceased was a great land-holder, the bells were 

 tolled twice a day from the time of death till the burial, and all the 

 families within the circle of his acquaintance were invited to witness 

 the ceremonies, so that sometimes the village could hardly contain all 

 who came. Special ofl[icers were appointed to direct the proceedings, 

 and these, with the magnificent catafalque and the two armored knights 



