Some even of the merchants, who had carried the coffin, were seen using their pocket-handkerchiefs.
It was really an extraordinary address.

Just at the commencement it had caused an uneasy feeling, when Martens began to speak about the great riches of the deceased.

There was some apprehension lest he should make some ill-timed application of the parable of the camel and the needle's eye; but the speaker had just managed to say the right thing.

There is nothing which gives the poor so much pleasure, as to hear how little power really belongs to earthly wealth, and how little there is to grudge when it comes to the last.

And so this allusion to "the six feet of earth" had a good effect throughout.
When the funeral discourse was over, Abraham came forward with the box which was to hold the earth to be thrown on the coffin.
Struggling with his inmost feelings, the pastor seized the box, filled it with mould, and uncovered his head.