and garlands in profusion, and much music characterised the funerals.
Following the funeral in point of time was the lunch at the house of the deceased, an institution made much of in those days. Oftentimes it was found upon opening the will that the deceased had left a great gift of money in order sumptuously to entertain the true friends who did him the honour to accompany him to the end of his last earthly journey. It is in Hamlet that we read (i. 2):
"The funeral baked meats
Did coldly furnish forth the marriage tables."
And at the supposed death of Juliet, the wedding cheer was changed "to a sad burial feast."
Immediately after the burial, if the deceased were a man of property, an official inventory of his goods and chattels was taken. These interesting lists give us many clues to the daily life and household furnishing of the Elizabethans that would otherwise be lost in the obscurity of the past.
