LE DEUIL EN CHINE ET AU JAPON
Le Blanc est avec le Jaune la couleur de Deuil (les Chinois, et à la mort d'un parent, tous les objets de toilette doivent^être l'une de ces couleurs. Un Deuil moins profond s'observe par le bonnet et la ceinture de linge blanc, pour un Deuil très léger, on porte simplement en bleu les 80uliers et les rubans qui enserrent les cheveux. En Chine, le Deuil privé est obligatoire, ai ceux qui ne l'observent pas sont passibles d'une peine de 60 coups de lanière ou d'une année de bannissement. La durée des divers Deuils, selon les ^larentés, es't fixée par la loi. Pour un père ou une mère, il est de trois ans, mais pour les fonctionnaires publics, il est
réduit à 27 mois. Cette particularité s'explique par une autre particularité, qui veut qu'un Chinois en Deuil ne puisse remplir aucune charge publique. Pendant 30 jours après le décès, les plus proches parents ne doivent plus se raser, ni changer de vêtements. Lorsque l'empereur meurt, tous les sujets doivent laisser croître leurs cheveux pendant 100 jours.
Aux funérailles chinoises, il est d'usage que la famille du défunt présente à tous les assistants des vêtements de Deuil ; comme autrefois, dans la plupart des contrées de l'Europe, on s'offrait des gants et des cravates.
Les Chinois ont conservé la coutume d'employer des femmes pour pleurer aux funérailles.
Au Japon, la couleur de Deuil est aussi le blanc. Mais les parents en ligne ascendante et les aînés ne prennent pas le Deuil pour leurs parents plus jeunes et n'assistent pas non plus à leurs funérailles. Les Japonais en Deuil restent chez eux pendant 60 jours, s'abstiennent de toute nourriture animale et de la liqueur
favorite Saki, ils ne doivent pas, pendant ce temps, se raser la tête, ni se couper les ongles. A cette période de 50 jours, appelée imij succède la période appelée brikuj qui dure 13 mois et qui est une sorte demi-Deuil, pendant lequel il est interdit de porter de brillantes couleurs et de pénétrer dans un temple de Shinto. Ces périodes ne s'appliquent qu'à des Deuils de père ou de mère. Pour d'autres parents, le imi varie de 50 jours à 3 jours et le btiku de 13 mois à sept jours.
L'Etude suivante, duc à la plume d'un auteur moderne, célèbre dans la littérature anglaise, trouve ici naturellement sa place et ne sera pas lue sans intérêt:
To iiidite a complète, or even a tolerably compendious liistory of Mouniing Garments in ail âges and in ail countries, would be, obviously, a task verj slightly inferior in magnitude and difficulty to that of composing a complète chrouicle of Costume itself ; since, as the old Moraïist puts it, "a child is born and a child dies every moment ; " and, in the Universal Scheme, Mortality and Vitality must, to the end of Time, virtually remain in ultimately equal balance. Still, setting asîde the fact that we cannot express our thoughts conceming Life without immédiate récurrence to its cognate, Death, it must be borne in mind that the mère litcrary difficulties, in giving anything approaching an historical survey of Mouming, are immense, seeing that every nation has its own peculiar and tradi-
tîonal mourning costumes and mourning usages ;: and that even as regards colour, that which is generally recognized as the hue most suitable tosymbolîze the expression of grief in one country, is in another accepted as typical of cheerfulness and rairth. Thus, in China, the fashionable tincture ot mourning is yellow ; in France that colour — ^no antiquary can tell precisely why — ^is considered to be significant of jealousy ; and in England yellow is understood to be a jovial and festive tint— - "Remember who commended thy yellow stock»ings ! " Did not Malvolio assume those of that hue wlien he was mad enough to make love to Olivia ?
It would be perilous, however, looking at the limited space at our command, to trench upon the province of the Planchés, the Fairholts, the Quicherats, and the "Bibliophiles Jacobs" whohave written so leamedly and so exhaustively upon the annals of Dress. It will be sufficient for our purpose to mark thèse facts : — ^that what we term modem civilization has, so far as Western Europeis concerned, accepted three colours — ^Black, White, and Violet — as symbolical of the sorrow we feel for the departed. It may be again expédient to point out that, many centuries before Paris became the chosen metropolis of the world of fashion, the headquarters of the Mode were fixed at Milan in
Lombardj (the ancient Mediolanum), the tradition of whose ancient supremacy as respects féminine apparel still survives in our word " Millinery," and which to this day retains a faint tinge of her former sumptuary glories, in not very extensive but undeniably tasteful manufactures of black silks. The certainly ingénions idea of a Magasin de Deuil, or Emporium, specially afforded to the display and sale of Mouming Costumes, has long been held to be exclu sively and originally French ; but our refined and quick-witted neighbours hâve, to speak the plaiii truth, originated very few things (the father of French cookery was the German physician to Francis I., assisted by the Italian Cardinal Campeggio) ; and the Magasin de Deuil is but a brilliant and elaborate adaptation of the old Mercerie de Lutlo of the Italian cities. Continental ideas may be slow to reach this essentially conservative country ; but when they do find acceptance with us tbey rarely fail, within a brief period, to attain that vast extension of capacity and that solidity of magnificence which are so characteristic of the English people. Such extension and such development could scarcely be exhibited in a more marked degree than in the London General Mouming Warehouse, 243, 245, 247, 249 and 251, Régent Street ; an establishment which dates from so far back as the year 1841, and which, during the lengthened period
whicli bas clapsed «iucc its foundatioii, bas never ceased to enlarge its sphère of action, to extend its resources, to complète its scheme of orgaiiization so as to serve its patrons at once quickly, satisfactorily, tastefuUy and cheaply, imtil it bas become, of its kind, a mart well nigb unrivalled and unique, botb for tbe quality and tbe quantity of its commodities and tbe widely embracing nature of its attributes. Hère, indeed, we see tbe advantages of tbe union between Continental fancj, symmetry, and artistic perception, and Britisb keenness of piactical purvie w and liberality of cnterprise ; tbus tbe resuit bas naturally been tbat foreigners bave been tbe first to admit tbat Jay's London General Mourning Warebouse is in no sensé an imitation, or a replica, of even tbe most elaborate of tbe Magasins de Deuil on tbe Boulevards, but tbat it présents so many améliorations of former sçbemes and so many original and tborougbly Englisb amplifications of bygone ideas, as to stand alone : — to become a mart for mourning sui generis, and one tbe arrangement and ordonnance of wbicb tbe leading commercial bouses on tbe Continent mîgbt profitably imitate.
We find tbat tbe spacious and bandsomely decorated premises in Régent Street, occupîed by tbe Messrs. Jay, are divided for tbe requirements of business, tbe more efficient display of fabrics and tbe gênerai convenîence of patrons, into uumerous
sectional and distinctive Departments. For example, there is tlie section of Modes, or Millinery, properiy so termed, in whieb any variety of Mourning bonnet, liât, cap, or other headgear of the coiffure class can be viewed, cbosen, or tried on ; and herein not only deep mourning is found to be prédominant, but coiffures de demi-deuil are found to admit^ botb in tbe colour of tbe fundamental fabric, and in such accessories as fiowers, featbers, gauze, and ribbons, a délicate variation of tbe tone of grey, violet, mauve, lilac, and pensée. To tbis eection sueceeds tbe bigbly important Mantle Department, and tbe Atelier for Dressmaking. Tbere, superposed on tbe deepest mourning, or on tbe subordinate mourning bues, lace and otber ornamentations display tbeir graceful influence. It cannot be too empbatically pointed out tbat tbe article of Black Silks, being pre-eminently tbe speciality of tbe House, tbe Messrs. Jay bave always devoted, and continue to dévote tbeir very best énergies to secure an ample supply, for tbe use of tbeir patrons of a fabric at once elegaut and durable, and wbicb is always in seasoii and always in fasbion. No sooner does an altération take place in tbe Lyons market tban envoys of tbe House are at once despatcbed to tbe spot to take advantage of tbe cbange ; and in tbe commercial intelligence of Continental Journals tbe pbrase — " La Maison Jay de Londres a fait de
Jhrts achats** — frequently and significantly points to the influence of the extensive opérations of the Messrs. Jay on the French Silk Market, Their System is one from which they never swerve. It is to buy the commodity directly from the Manufacturers, and to supply it to their patrons at the very smallest modicum of profit, compatible wîth the legitimate course of trade. In their vast stock every grade in the Silk manufacture îs represented, from the cheaper fabrics to the superb productions of the famous House of Bonnet et 0^ ; and, in short, the most complète arrangements are made fully to «atisfy those who require that the Silks supplied to them should combine briUiancy of hue with durability of texture. In the class of Mantles must naturally be ranged the Mouming Shawls. The materials for mourning costumes must always virtually remain unchangeable ; and few additions can be made to the list of silks, paramattas, crapes, cashmeres, grenadines and tulles as fabrics. They and their modifications must be ever in fashionso long as it continues fashionable to wear mouming at ail ; but fashiou in design, construction, and embeïïishment may be said to change, not only every month, but well nigh every week. That which may be ail the rage to-day, may be discarded to-morrow ; the costume which shields the form of Beauty in July may be cast aside in August. It
wîll be sufficîent to observe that in this, perhaps the leading and most SQrviceable portion of Messrs. Jay's enterprîses, Dressmaking is regarded from four dîntinct points of view. First, the firm spare no endeavours, not only to adopt the most récent and the most highly patronized Paris fashions, but, by employing skilful artists of their own, who are continuously occupied in producing new designs, to lead as well as to foUow the prevailing mode, Secondly, their résolve is never to deviate from the principle of supplying the very best material and the very best workmanship that capital can secure, or that expérience and discrimination can sélect. Thirdly, they are as decided in relaxing no efforts, în order that the Mouming orders intrusted to them for exécution shall be completed with the utmost ^peed compatible with the requirements of taste and technical excellence. Fourthly and lastly, they hâve never, while purveying for the wealthier and the most refined classes of the community, ceased to bear in mind that their patrons are cosmopolitan, that they are bound to cater for many divergent grades of society ; and that to gratify ail their clients it is equally their duty and their interest to remember, as a standard rule, that strict modération in priées is not in the slightest degree in disaccordance with excellence in material, beauty in design, and skilfulness in confection. It is obvious
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that opérations so multifarious and so extended» embracing as tliey do correspondence or personal attendance on clients in every part of the United Kingdom, cannot be efficiently carried ont without the maintenance of a carefuUy trained staff of travelling représentatives — the récipients of orders for mouming, or the bearers of the required commodities themselves to distant patrons ; and it is bj no means infrequent to meet, in first-class railway carriages on our great lines, on the quarter-decks of steamers on the Scott ish ri vers and lochs— even to those of the remotest Highlands^ or on a retum voyage in one of the magnificent steamships of the Cunard Line^ the courteous and experienced employés of the House of Jay, ail bent on carrying ont their mission — which is, naturally " Mouming " — with celerity, with tact, and with discrimination.
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