Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1815-11-22

os The whole, being at equal disanees apart. This
uniformity 70 only Kept up as u the exterior Of the sc
wrlis, uSking IN some eases masses oi for sizes, in
otheis oval or o5losg, with the corners rounded OF
Within these walls the bones are thrown loosely
'huefs the hollow space is entirely f,,dup.
These Bones are perfectly dry, 4 free from smell
oitvcry kEd aod are. on ue exterior G, llc differ
ert masses, cemented together b. some glntinOus
suhstance which keeps them IA their proper places,
q gives ,h.m shining glossy appearance, var
mas ed. Ihough these gicomy walls, our route
now lay tor about hundred Yards, aud hue OH
porHniiy prcSentns itself for Getting Ga the yai-
" ans insig.iGcsnee OF that creature called man -
What lesson for human pride wa now before. us
We saw 40 distinction here. The wise man and the
nett; the christian a, the iuficl the most deli
cate ard amiahic OF the female Sex vith tas nnsta-
bandoacdi all lie here III enc prou,iscuous heap
fmt, perhaps only single holc Of one Frame
mixed wti the bttcs ii Il err, ;,d perhaps two Of
the most deadly enemies during life, thus mixed
together Here tl.sre Is no distinction, dill reice
pad to rank fortune. All are equal To an
observer, how little AID eoGtsmpthle appear tn
"x'eueS and disputes abou; precedence but, you
will say, these retlt ct0ns are coxnmon-p!acc an-
they will na,ursiy scour 10 YOU, without my ,na
.rS tlsm. VIII, therefore, continue my descrip-
ion ofoer ;pnpey.
The bones taken from the different buryinc plac
es are kept dituc iron 81 Others and the friends
and descendants g the deceas u, If not able to de
s'Sna;e the partcGl- flames, have the poor srtis-
factor q. X OWING, t12'. such n particular mass
OF bncs, are those ct thcG T. i. nis in WHOM thev
feel Interested. Those, Ior Example, taken out of
the b0ryiug ground Of the Irnceents arc u one mass
those irOu Phyllis, On st. Esprit in another
aud tiree from a. he Convent dies Rlancs Man
teauA" in another, &c over each collection AN
inscription describing from whence. AVID at Whit
une 'hey were taken up--Wisc and absolutely
necessary Was this plan, vet there is something
very rcVoi ing to p,rsun Of ling in this arrange
ment. For instance, the skull ofauy particular in
di' dua is separated great distance Ii ON any OF
uie other bones belonging 10 him ard perhaps TO
two homes which Formerly belonged To Que frame
are now nsar each other, but all ranks, sexes AID
characters are mixed together in one promiscunus
mass. Throughout the Whole range of these pc
m;.ins os mortality are Inscriptions, some OF which
are very appropriate, the reading ut which pr5ong-
cd our stay more tl,an otherwise would have been
tie case. Amongst them the following appeared
to clam particular notice. give them 10 you in
the original as the sreater part Of their beauty Is
lost by translation, viz
Lei dams lie silence de la pax, reposcnt no, nncestes"
IN de de et' 1res, lis reiocn attendant unc
L.tGmteau e,;rarcde triOnphe par Ton entire dams
Other inscriptions represent the dead as address
ing those whn are viewing their bones.
"cr,igreA als,i ctapi
I" Ellie 81 cutcS,
MortelS PGtpHrvL yuuS.'
la mort t. suit elaque pas, eeEine TOEibre dc
Crei,u que Ia soit loin de toi pcusse On &C
Voi'-tle sur Ia menac-,lle du coup fatal
The different inscriptions are very numerous,
but viii NOT respass on your time by inserting any
more.
In addition to the seventeen different coll ct.ons
OF bosses our conductor pointed out to US Sc ,esl
heaps OF earth, in which bodies not decayed we've
buried en- 7nQsse
One OF these contained the bodies of those unfcr
tnnaie people who were murdered on he 2St AID
29th August, 1885, by tie mob ii the Place de
Greve, pHotei d. Brenne, sc
Another contains the bodies of those W. were
hcd by the mob, M th,r attack Oh the Chateau lie
Ihuleries, 10Th August, I1g2
Another, those inas5ac ed by the hlood-thrsty
Jacobns IVA the different prisons on the 2d and 81
September, 1899, mcudin some of the most am.,h.
and respectable OF the rnysists, and some ns,lly
connected with the Bourbon family.
Others contained those bodies W len were taken
Ont Of the different grave yards before they had I'M
dergone a eomplete decay.
In one Oh those subterraneous apartments are
preserved such bones rs had any thing particular in
their appearance. We here saw many which, dur
ing the lives o! their Owners, appeared have been
fractured, and couid see IN what the bones
were knitted together; also thcse which appeared
to have belonged 10 deiormed persons, to persons
OF gigantic stature, &c.-asO many which our guide
i"formed us had heen selected by the physicians
aud surgeons of Paris, who, from their appearance
eoald tell OF what disease by what means the own
ei's came by their deaths.
Several s'sul!s we're shown 10 which appear
ed to have been perforated 10y masket or pistol balls
anu several Wf'S, from some peculiarly OF form,
were decided to have belonged to heots, Sc In
snort, ouT guide pretended To speak with as much
certainty Oh the subject if he lad been acquainted
with, OF present al The deaths oftIe several persons
who're bones were examining. This curious
s'1d Oh study occupied usa considerable time. In
Tie midst o!the diff, rent ranges of bones, we came
10 fountain cslsd In F0JltoRjie de III SdHla-itaiiIe
tie water OF Which is perfectly clear, and in which
are several goldfish. Asout two years sEcs our
guide put these fish into this fountain aud although
they are in the most profound darkness, except
! when an occasional taper shines upon tlem vet
they we're very active and perfectly healthy.
some years since, poor Erenchman, who des.
cended VITA party into these dismal mansions cot
somehow separated from his companions, and lost
amidst the mazes OF the catacombs He was sought
ior IN vain, and his skeleton was discovered ten
years Afterwards, at considerable distance from
the usual rone. 1t supposed that curiosity had
kept him too far behind, Or had led him to explore
some oi tue VENUES, that his light became ex-
tmSu!sned, AID prevented him FROM retracinc his
steps. A party Of English people, consisting oil five,
got also lost here the last year, and il was six hours
before the guide could find them. These were A.
monost the agreeable stories told by our conductor
While exploring with HIM these labyIintlis, which
you may SUPPOSE admirably calculated TO
keep up ON spirits. In the present instance we
Kept near each other, and IN spite OF our Utmost
caution, occasionally Oac Of our tapers would get
eXtinglished. When this occurred, immediate r.-
so'irse was had to the light of our neighbor Al.
tho entirely divese OF any childish or supeistitioas
lear, yet could not help shuddeung al the POSSIBLE
ny oil all three OF our tapers being extuguislcI az
Tie same Tune but our guide assured SHOULD this
be The case, he was convinced that he cOad gr0pc
las way out, although lie acknowledged that he lad
hO sat wish to volunteer the experiment.