coin was placed in the mouth of the body to pay the ferryman (Charon)
in Hades, and the body was laid out on a couch in the vestibulum, with
its feet toward the door. In early times all funerals were held at
night; but in later times only the poor followed this custom, mainly
because they could not afford display. The funeral, held the ninth day
after the death, was headed by musicians playing mournful strains, and
mourning women hired to lament and sing the funeral song. These were
sometimes followed by players and buffoons, one of whom represented
the character of the deceased, and imitated his words and actions.
Then came the slaves whom the deceased had liberated, each wearing the
cap of liberty. Before the body were carried the images of the dead
and of his ancestors, and also the crown and military rewards which he
had gained. The couch on which the body was carried was sometimes made
of ivory, and covered with gold and purple. Following it were the
relatives in mourning, often uttering loud lamentations, the women
beating their breasts and tearing their hair.

The procession of the most illustrious dead passed through the Forum,
and stopped before the _Rostra_, where a funeral oration was
delivered. From here the body was carried to its place of burial,
which must be outside the city. Bodies were sometimes cremated, and in
the later times of the Republic this became quite common.


EDUCATION.

In early times the education of the Romans was confined to reading,
writing, and arithmetic; but as they came in contact with the Greeks a
taste for higher education was acquired. Greek slaves (_paedagogi_)
were employed in the wealthy families to watch over the children, and