AN IMPOSING CORTEGE.

Northern Advocate, 2 December 1916, Page 3

AN IMPOSING CORTEGE.

(Press vYssn.-

—Reed. 10 p.m.)

LONDON, December 1

A wireless message from Berne says that at Franz Josef's funeral on Thursday afternoon the procession left the Chapel Royal, where the coffin '••ad lain since Monday, and traversed Vienna by a circuitous route to St. Stephen's Cathedral. The hearse \v t ;s drawn by eight black horses and surrounded by forty-eight soldiers of the Imperial Guard, eight torch-bearers, and eight pages carrying crucifixes. Cavalry and infantry closed the cortege. Troops lined the route, and tens of thousands of spectators we/c on the pavements and roofs and /t the windows. Meanwhile the Kmperor Charles drove from the Palace direct to the Cathedral, where The congregation v.-as the coffin. There were present the Empress Zita, the Kings of Bulgaria, Bavaria, Saxony, and Wurtemburg, fifty archdukes and archduchesses, and forty other princes and princesses. The Cardinal-Archbishop of Vienna officiated, with four cardinals, ten bishops, and 5S priests assisting:. .After the service the Emperor Charles, other Royalists, and the whole congregation followed the coffin to the Capuchin Church, which :s .so small that only the Royalties and a few privileged persons were admitted. After the Benediction in the church the coffin was deposited in the crypt, which only the Emperor, the Grand-Master of the Court, and two chamberlains entered. Franz Josef's remains were formally transferred to •he custody of the Capuchin monks, the Grand-Master handing a golden key for the coffin. As the Emperor Charles re-ascend-ed the steps the boom of artillery was heard in the distance.