PROVINCE OF RIO DE JANEIRO. 



67 



other stuffs, and ornamented with looking-glasses, and a great portion of the 

 furniture which the house contains, not of the most elegant sort, and generally 

 not over abundant. A procession of padres, and numerous others belonging 

 to the parish, takes place during the evening, drawing together an immense 

 concourse of people, while the females, who spend the last penny to procure a 

 gay dress for these occasions, appear at the balconies in a profusion of finery. 

 The houses are illuminated, not with any transparent or appropriate devices, 

 but with wax and common tallow candles ; some placed in the front of looking- 

 glasses, in order to produce a double brilliancy at half price. 



The funeral processions are rather singular ; and the interment of a child par- 

 ticularly would appear to be the season of rejoicing rather than grief On these 

 occasions the musical performers are the most choice and costly. The corpse is 

 never kept more than one day from the time of the demise, and the funeral rites 

 are usually celebrated after dark ; every one that chooses enlisting into the proces- 

 sion by the acceptance of a wax-light. At a funeral which I saw at the Carmo, 

 a large and handsome church adjoining the royal chapel, two lines of persons 

 were ranged along the body of the building, from the entrance towards the altar, 

 facing each other, every one holding a wax-light, nearly six feet high, in the 

 light hand, and projected rather forward. Some of the individuals of this 

 assembly might be friends of the deceased, but the major part consisted of 

 persons casually met with in the streets, or such as were led by curiosity into 

 the church. The acceptance of a light is deemed an honour done to the friends 

 of the dead, and the agents of the padres are not very scrupulous in forcing 

 them, if possible, into the hands of every one they see ; the motive for doing 

 this is ascertained on knowing that the remainder of all candles which are used 

 become the perquisite of those very worthy brethren. At the head of the two 

 lines, amounting to perhaps from one hundred to one hundred and fifty persons, 

 the corpse was placed upon a table or elevated platform, with the head exposed 

 to view, while its last vestments displayed the ill-founded notion of importance 

 which its survivors attach to outward and meretricious show. The ceremony 

 of itself not being calculated to impress the mind with awe, none of those feel- 

 ings of respectful gravity were visible, which so solemn an occasion ought to 

 have produced. When it was finished, the body was conducted, with no 

 regular procession, through some outer avenues of the church, to the catacombs, 

 situated in a passage opposite to the jesuitical library. On arriving at an inner 

 cemetery of the catacombs, the lights of those who followed were extinguished 

 and taken from them by the persons whose duty it was to secure this perquisite ; 



K 2 



