339 CEREMONIES ATTENDING THE FUNERAL OF 
must die of hunger. When then shall the light of the gospel 
cause the thick darkness to disappear from the Chinese 
empire, as it has dissipated it in the greater part of the other 
countries of the globe, and above all in Europe, for our fathers 
were plunged in superstitions as gross as those of the people 
of Asia, before they were enlightened by the torch of the faith ! 
We ought to give perpetual thanks to God, for having rescued 
us from ignorance and crime 
On the 2lst of the 5th moon, the coffin containing the body 
of the king, was carried to a house built for the occasion near 
one of the gates of the city, not far from a stream. Upon 
the stream were collected all the vessels which were to act as 
a convoy. The road which the corpse was to pass over in 
order to arrive at the vessel was covered with mats, carpets 
and Indian tapestry of silk. The two banks of the river, on 
which the corpse was to be carried to the tomb, were also 
adorned with silks. An edict had commanded the mayors 
and old men of all the villages of the royal province to erect 
each an altar along the side of the river, to bring incense, to 
burn was tapers, and when the corpse passed before the altar 
the mayor and old men were to make three great cries. 
Each bank of the river was also lined with soldiers. The 
tomb is distant about a league from the city, but three days 
were allowed to arrive there, for they went very slowly and 
they had three stations. At each station there was a very 
large altar on which were burned wax tapers and perfumes, 
and the corpse rested there one day in order to receive the 
sacrifices which were made to it. These sacrifices consisted 
of buffaloes, swine and other animals, who were first strangled 
and then offered entire. There were also prepared meats, 
betel nut, tobacco &c. When the offering was finished the 
animals were divided and distributed to live mandarins and 
soldiers who accompanied the funeral. The coffin remained 
then one day in a house placed near the gate of the city, and 
this day 35 large animals, oxen, buffaloes, and swine were 
sacrificed. On the next day they put themselves in motion 
to go to the boats The coffin was carried by soldiers, at the 
rear came the new king who conducted the mourning as chief 
of the family. He walked on foot clothed in mourning robes, 
that is, he wore a long dress of white cotton with large 
sleeves, upon his head he had a straw bonnet and carried in 
his hand a stick of dry bambu. Then came the other children 
of the deceased king, and of his parents, wearing white dresses 
and white turbans, the mourning costume of these countries, 
and after them the attendants. When they had arrived at 
the river the corpse was deposited in a magnificent bark 
