File:Dalecarlia, a funeral, Harper's 1883.png

• A funeral in Dalecarlia, Dalarna, Sweden.
• Scanned in from Harper's new monthly magazine. Volume 67, Issue 401, October 1883

Quote:

Popular excitement in Leksand is apparently gauged by the importance of the funerals on Sunday. Otherwise these holidays are repetitions of solemn assemblies under the birch-trees and devout attendance at the church service. When, as sometimes happens, only one coffin is brought to the church-yard, and that containing perhaps only a small child, the disappointment of the old women is not concealed. On such occasions they shake their heads and whisper to one another as the bier passes, “Only a small affair, after all.” This entertainment was more emotional than amusing, and we found it so depressing after a while to have human mortality so constantly forced upon our consideration that we systematically forbore assisting at any assemblage of peasants on the Sabbath, sure that a funeral or something equally solemn would be the attraction.

-p.686

	This media file is in the public domain in the United States. This applies to U.S. works where the copyright has expired, often because its first publication occurred prior to January 1, 1929, and if not then due to lack of notice or renewal. See this page for further explanation.
	This image might not be in the public domain outside of the United States; this especially applies in the countries and areas that do not apply the rule of the shorter term for US works, such as Canada, Mainland China (not Hong Kong or Macao), Germany, Mexico, and Switzerland. The creator and year of publication are essential information and must be provided. See Wikipedia:Public domain and Wikipedia:Copyrights for more details.