city churches,
one by the consistory of the Reformed Church, one by the consistory of
the Confession d'Augsbourg, and one by the Israelite consistory. This
conseil represents the _fabriques_--that is to say, the revenues and
property--of the parochial churches, divided into ten circonscriptions,
and the consistories of the non-Catholic churches of the city. There is
also a vicar-general, delegated by the Archbishop of Paris, who is a
member of the conseil, and ranks next to the president.

[Illustration: DEATH.

Alabaster statuette, one metre high, kept in the charniers of
Saint-Innocent; uncovered on All-Saints'-day.]

The expense of a funeral, of course, varies very greatly. An ordinary
coffin costs from eight francs to forty-four. The municipal tax, which
brings in to the city treasury annually some eight hundred and sixty
thousand francs, is included in the cost of each class of funeral, and
varies from forty francs for the first and second classes to six francs
for the ninth. For the _convois catholiques_, the expense is from eight
thousand to ten thousand francs for the first class; for the _convois
protestants_, four thousand two hundred to seven thousand five hundred
for first class; for the _enterrements israelites_, two thousand nine
hundred at the most. The ninth, or cheapest, class of funeral, of all
these may be had for eighteen francs seventy-five centimes for the
Catholic, nine francs for the Protestant, and three francs for the
Israelite. These figures vary according to the parish, the size of the
church or temple, etc., but they generally include the decoration of the
residence, the draping of the place of worship in which the service is
held, the payment for this religious service, etc., but not the cost of
the coffin, of the land in the cemetery, of the tickets of invitation or
notices of death, and other details. In the Jewish service, there is an
item of a thousand francs for the choir, either at the dwelling or in
the cemetery. For the _convois civils_, where there is no official
religious service, the price varies from eighteen hundred and fifty to
twenty-four hundred francs for the first class to nine francs for the
ninth. For incinerations, the cost is about the same, adding the tax to
be paid the city,--three hundred francs for the first class, and fifty
for the sixth, seventh, and eighth. A permit for a gratuitous interment
may be obtained by presenting at the Mairie a certificate of indigen