CEMETERIES. 
275 
outspread fan ; and an old man, witli spectacles on 
nose, who, accompanied by two timid shrinking 
girls, was carrying his umbrella over his shoulder 
like a sword, gave him a look of cynical contempt 
as he passed him. 
I was much struck by the very cheerful and 
even gay aspect of the cemeteries of this peculiar 
people. These cities of the dead are usually 
situated near the living city, in most picturesque 
localities, and are planted with clusters of ca- 
mellia and hibiscus trees. We entered one, and 
strolled up the noble avenue of fir trees, tall, 
sombre, and funereal. The great gong in the belfry 
of the temple had just been sounded, exciting in 
our minds a feeling of awe, combined with a senti- 
ment of respect for the sacred ‘‘ Dead.” All around 
us were placed enormous blocks of unhewn granite, 
arranged with an eye to the picturesque, and 
havinof one side smoothed for the name of the de- 
parted. We noticed many four-sided monuments, 
and one with a four-sided conical apex. There 
were also tablets with semicircular tops, like our 
