They have a singular custom here of not burying all their dead in the church-yard, many bodies being placed, at an additional expense, in the church itself.  For this purpose, there are, in every church, particular chambers, with catacombs formed in the walls.  The corpse is strewed with lime, and laid in a catacomb of this description, where, after a lapse of eight or ten months, the flesh is completely eaten away.  The bones are then taken out, cleaned by boiling, and collected in an urn, on which is engraved the name, birth-day, etc., of the deceased.  These urns are afterwards set up in the passages of the church, or sometimes even taken home by the relations.

On All-souls’ day, the walls of the chambers are hung with black cloth, gold lace, and other ornaments, and the urns are richly decorated with flowers and ribbons, and are lighted up by a great number of tapers in silver candelabra and chandeliers, placed upon high stands.  From an early hour in the morning until noon, the women and young girls begin praying very fervently for the souls of their deceased relations, and the young gentlemen, who are quite as curious as those in Europe, go to see the young girls pray.

Females on this day are dressed in mourning, and often wear, to the great disgust of the curious young gentlemen before mentioned, a black veil over their head and face.  No one, by the way, is allowed to wear a bonnet at any festival of the church.

But the most brilliant of the public festivals I saw here, was the christening of the imperial princess, which took place on the 15th of November, in the Imperial Chapel, which is connected with the palace.

Towards 3 o’clock in the afternoon a number of troops were drawn up in the court-yard of the palace, the guards were distributed in the corridors and the church, while the bands played a series of pleasing melodies, frequently repeating the National Anthem, which the late emperor, Peter I., is said to have composed.  Equipage after equipage began to roll up to the palace, and set down the most brilliantly attired company of both sexes.

At 4 o’clock the procession began to leave the palace.  First, came the court band, clothed in red velvet, and followed by three heralds, in old Spanish costume, magnificently decorated hats and feathers, and black velvet suits.  Next walked the officers of the law, and the authorities of every rank, chamberlains, court physicians, senators, deputies, generals, and ecclesiastics, privy councillors and secretaries; and, lastly, after this long line of different personages, came the lord steward of the young princess, whom he bore upon a magnificent white velvet cushion, edged with gold lace.  Immediately behind him followed the emperor, and the little princess’s nurse, surrounded by the principal nobles and ladies of the court.  On passing through the triumphal arch of the gallery, and coming before the pallium of the church, the emperor took his little daughter {23a} into his own arms, and presented her to the people; an act which pleased me exceedingly, and which I considered extremely appropriate.