SPECIFIC DUTIES OF THE FIRST ASSISTANT.
1st.—To see that the specific duties of the other assistants are promptly and well performed.
2d.—To attend to mail orders from dealers in the country; select the goods to be packed up and sent out; to wait on customers, etc., that the two other assistants may not be hindered in the performance of their duties.
3d.—He is to attend to the laying out of bodies; and in the absence of the proprietor, or if the pressure of business should require it, he is to take charge of the funerals, with the assistance of the second assistant.
4th.—In case of the absence of either of his juniors, to take the place of the second assistant.
5th.—He is to take charge of the books, collections, etc., should the proprietor wish him to do so.
6th.—He is to take knowledge of and properly note any articles that may be needed for the store, including goods to be purchased and work to be attended to.
7th.—To see that the stock of goods is well supplied with those items which are generally kept by the quantity. Should the place of business be remote from any manufacturing firm of undertakers’ goods, such as coffins, hardware, caskets, etc., he is to keep a faithful and strict account of the sizes, styles and grades of caskets and coffins on hand, as also of the needful requirements in that line; he should also call the attention of the proprietor to the quality, style, etc., of the goods needed, and place in the hands of his employer a list of the goods to be ordered, or likely to be called for.
8th.—To keep a note book of what is necessary to be done in the ordinary business of the store, and to designate employment for the other assistants.
9th.—He is to superintend, and if need be to help, in the lining and trimming of coffins, and, in the absence of the proprietor, to attend to the embalming and preserving of bodies.
10th.—In short, he must, during the absence of the proprietor, take entire charge of the store, and be alone responsible for its business.