The Nevada journal., 1852-06-05
From tie Cor. Nat Intelliyencer.
THE CATAC0MBS OF PALERMO.

Chief among the wonders Of Pa
lcrmo are the Catacombs of the
Capuciin Convent, near the Porta
dOssuna 1t is said to be a place Of
great antiquity /; many Of the bodies
have been preserved in il for centuries,
and still retain much of their original
freshness. have heard of these cat
acombs in Paris, and my visit to Pa
lermo was induced chiefly by the ex-
traordinaly account given of them.--
Entering the ancient and ruinous court
of the Convent, distant about q mile
from the city, we were conducted by
ghostly looking monk, through some
dark passages to the subterranean
apartments of the dead. 1t was not
my first visit TO place of this kind,
but must confess tho sight was rather
startling. 1t was like the rcvel of the
dead--a horrible grinning, ghastly ex-
hibition Of skeleton forms, sightless
eyes, and shining teeth, jaws distended,
and bony hands out-stretched; heads
without bodies, and bodies without
heads-the young, the old, the brave,
the once beautiful and gay, all min
gled with the ghastly throng. We
walked through long subterranean
passages, lined with the dead on both
sides; with a stea!;hy and measured
tread We stepped, for they seemed to
stare at the intrusion, and their skele-
ton figures vibrated as if yearning to
grasp the living in their embrace
Long rows of upright inches are cut
into the walls on each side; in every
niche a skeleton form stands erect as
in life, habited in robe of black the
face, hands, and feet naked, withered,
and Of an ashy hue; the grizzled
boards still hanging in tufts from the
jaws, and in the recent cases the hair
still hanging to the skull, but matted
and d,y. To each corpse is attached
lnbel upon whichis written the name
and date Of decease, and a cross or the
image ofthe'Saviour. enaStsN
Soon recovering from the shock of
the first impression, I was struck with
the wonderful variety of marked ex-
preston Of characted in the faces and
forms around me. There were pro-
gressive dates of death, extending from
remote centuries up to the present pc
riod, the inches being SO arranged as
to admit of a regular order Of deposit.
Many Of the bodies stood erect, as il
just lifted from the death bed; the fa-
ces colorless, and the horrible agonies
Of dissolution stamped upon the fea-
lures the lower jaws hanging upon
the breast; the teeth grinning and
glistening between the parched lips,
and the black hue of sickness about
the mouth and around the sunken sock
els Of the eyes; and in some the sight
less orbs were open and staring with a
wild glare of alright, as if peering into
the awful mysteries of the unknown
bourne from whence none return
while others wore grotesque laugh Of
derision still more appalling, with the
muscles of the mouth drawn up, the
eycballs lifted, the head Tilted know.
ingly on one side, the hair matted in
hoary tufts, the bare spots on the skulls
like the piebald wig Of harlequin
the skeleton arms stretched, and the
bony fingers spread as if to clutch the
relentless destroyer, and wrestle will,
him to the last. These, fancied, were
lively fellows, who were carried of
suddenly, after midnight carouse. I
sat down on box containing dead
child, and looked up at row Of bodies
opposite that attracted my attention to
particular degree. In the middle