Funeral of a Gypsy Queen.
Gannie Jeffers, queen of the gypsies of the United States, died at Greenfield, Tenn., on March 10, and was buried at Dayton, Ohio, April 27. The gypsies were encamped all about the city to the number of about 1,500, traveling by wagon from all parts of the country. The queen was embalmed and laid out in Nashville, Tenn., immediately upon her death, and when brought to this city, where her tribe own considerable property and a large lot in Woodland Cemetery, where lies buried a former queen and king of the gypsy tribes in this nation, she looked beautiful indeed. She was in a handsome casket made of the finest wood, lined with the finest silks and satins, and decorated with gold and jewels. In the cemetery, where she was buried to-day amid the most touching and imposing ceremonies, the lot belonging to the gypsies is marked by an exquisite monument of granite, shipped here from Greece. The funeral procession, which was composed entirely of gypsies, formed in the northern section of the city and marched to the southern extremity of the city, where the cemetery is located. The crowd of people was immense. At the grave a rope was stretched around it, leaving an inclosure large enough for the mourners to stand. The crowd surged up against this rope, bending it almost to breaking. The mounds in the vicinity were trodden on; boys and men sat on tombstones and filled the trees and every place that would afford an opportunity of seeing what was going on. The funeral services were Christian, being conducted by one of the leading pastors of this city with the choir of his church. The wife of the reverend gentleman accompanied the mourning husband. The grave was sunk in the ground about ten feet. It was a square pit about ten by eight feet in dimensions. At the bottom was a box made of stone slabs and in this box the coffin was laid by the side of another, that of a daughter of the deceased. She was only ten years old and died in 1866, but the body had been exhumed to be placed beside the mother. There were stifled cries and sobs as the mourners gathered about the grave, and several broke out in loud cries as the coffin was lowered. The preacher referred to the deceased, whom he had known personally in life. She had been a Christian, he said, and the Bible she had worn with reading was placed at her feet now that she was dead. At the conclusion of his remarks the choir sang "The Sweet By-and-By," and the services closed. But the most affecting scene was when the great stone was about to be lifted by means of a derrick close at hand and the stone box containing the coffin closed. The sons and daughters climbed down to the coffin to take their last farewell, the latter being lifted into the grave. Their sobs and cries filled the air and were echoed by the mourners that stood on the brink of the grave. They threw themselves prostrate on the coffin, kissing the wood, and it was only with great difficulty they were prevailed on to come out of the grave, and they were assisted out finally after much entreaty. By means of the derrick the stone lid was then put into position and the dirt thrown upon it. A huge monument will be erected over the grave—a life-size statue of white marble of the dead gypsy queen.