CLOSING THE CASKET
In churches of two denominations it is not customary to have the coffin opened to the public gaze. It is a pity that this law is not universal, but it is becoming more common to have the casket left closed through the entire service. It certainly spares the mourners the agonizing period during which the long line of friends, and strangers who come from vulgar curiosity, file past and look on the unshielded features of the dead. Some one has said that the custom of allowing the curious who did not know the deceased, and who cared nothing for him, to gaze on his face after death, seems to be taking an unfair advantage of the dead.
Many persons prefer a quiet house funeral for one they love, for there are few persons vulgar or bold enough to force themselves into the house of mourning, where only those who knew and loved the departed are welcome. But the method of personal invitation makes the presence of such people impossible.
At a house funeral the clergyman stands near the head of the coffin while he reads the service, the audience standing or sitting as the custom of the special service used demands.
THE CHURCH FUNERAL
At a church funeral, the clergyman meets the coffin at the door and precedes it up the aisle, reading the burial service. As he begins to read, the congregation rises and stands as the procession moves forward. When, after the services, the coffin is lifted by the bearers, the congregation again rises and remains standing until the casket has been taken from the church. A private interment, or one at the convenience of the family, is now almost universal. Unless invited, no outsider, even if he be a friend of the family, will go to the cemetery under such circumstances.