They went to the house about ten in the evening, and before
the relations went to bed each received a glass of spirits; about
midnight there was a refreshment of tea or ale and bread, and the same
in the morning, when the relations of the deceased relieved the
watchers. Although during these night sittings nothing unbefitting the
solemnity of the occasion was done, the circumstances of the meeting
gave opportunity for love-making. The first portion of the night was
generally passed in reading,--some one reading aloud for the benefit of
the company, afterwards they got to story-telling, the stories being
generally of a ghostly description, producing such a weird feeling, that
most of the company durst hardly look behind them for terror, and would
start at the slightest noise. I have seen some so affected by this fear
that they would not venture to the door alone if the morning was dark.
These watchings of the dead were no doubt efficacious in perpetuating
superstitious ideas.
The reasons given for watching the corpse differed in different
localities.
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