NOTES ON BRAZIL. 



57 



feet of that immediately below it, and in this manner the black unre- 

 flecting and insensible Sextons proceed, until the trench is nearly filled ; 

 earth is then thrown in, and raised above. It is almost needless to add, 

 that at these Cemeteries the most disgusting scenes were sometimes 

 beheld by those who chose to explore them, that the offensive smell was 

 almost intolerable, and until a reform took place they seriously threatened 

 the health of the city. 



The inhumanity of some of these funeral customs may, perhaps, 

 seem to be, in a small measure, redeemed by another, in which I was 

 involuntarily made a party. While standing at the gate of one of the 

 chapels, the corpse of what had been a lovely girl was brought by four 

 persons on a bier, gaily dressed, and fully exposed as usual. As the first 

 bearer on the left passed by me, he seized my right hand, and put into it 

 the handle which he had held ; the thing was done so suddenly that I 

 found myself one of the supporters of the body, almost without knowing 

 it. Being then ignorant of their ceremonies, and unwilling to give 

 offence by not complying with them exactly, I gladly took advantage of 

 some embarrassment, occasioned by the door-post, as we entered, to 

 surrender the handle of the bier to a person withinside the chapel. Had 

 I proceeded, however, it afterwards appeared, it would have been deemed 

 a compliment to the deceased, and a gratification to her friends. 



It may not be improper to add here that, in subsequent years, the 

 common harshness of the proceedings at funerals was much softened. It 

 is become customary, among genteel people, to use a lid upon the bier, 

 which is loose, and may be taken off ; the body is not publicly exposed 

 in the streets, and if seen at all, it is by the priests only in the church. 

 They receive the corpse on the day of death, conduct it to the grave, and 

 consign it to interment ; a day or two afterward a lofty altar is erected in 

 the church, on which an empty coffin is placed, covered with a pall, 

 embroidered with a cross ; around it the requiem is sung, and the greater 

 Ceremonies performed. 



To return to the parish of St. Joz^, — it is extensive, and includes 



H 



