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Show Krapolltnn Iteaprct for tho T)nd. In Naples All Suiils' day is regarded aa a holiday, and the visit of the families to the churchyard for the purjiose of decorating decor-ating the graves degenera' s into a pleasure pleas-ure party. Metal garlands are chiefly used for the purpose, and. though they are more durable, they hardly possess the charm of real leaves and flowers. They may, however, be regarded as symiiohc of the behavior, if not always of the feelings, of those who oiler them. On the way to the cemetery a decent sobriety is olwerved, and the various families usually remain separate; but on the return re-turn general sociability and mirth are the rule. Tho roadside is lined with inns, 1 which are better filled on this than any ; other day in the year, and from all of . them the sound of singing and dancing may be heard. Indeed, it is by no means uncommon for a young Neapolitan to say to a friend: "We are going to visit our mother's grave to-morrow, and on our way back we shall stop at such or such an inn;" which means, if you like to come there you can dance with my sister. To an Englishman no celebration of the day seems a better thing. If we forget our dead we do not make their memory the excuse for a jollification. It is not, however, in tliis point alone that a difference of sentiment exists. Tho whole way in which the Neapolitans treat the bodies of the dead fills us with disgust. To exhume a corpse a year or two after it has been buried, to have the skeleton taken to pieces and tho bones carefully cleaned, would seem to us a wanton outrage; the wealthy Neapolitan who neglects to have this done for his kindred is regarded as heartless. To carry about the prepared bones of a pet child, and to place them in a sealed casket on the drawing room mantelpiece, seems to us simply shocking; in southern Italy it has been regarded as a most 1 pathetic expression of sorrow. But the ; height of what appears to us grotesque honor has been reached by a widower, who has the embalmed corpse of his wife dressed anew once a year in fresh and gorgeous apparel, and seizes the opportunity opportu-nity to present it with a new ring or bracelet. Saturday Review. |