The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1855-01-10
Enbalmed Bodies.

Embalmed Bodies.
A writer in the London Notes and
Queries furnishes the following interest
ine account: -
4 few weeks ago, in clearing ont an
Old chapel at Nuneham Regis, Warwick
shire. which had been pulled down, all
but the bclfry tower, forty years since.
wc thought it necessary to trench the
whole space. that we might more Ger.
| tainly mark out the boundaries Of the
| building as we wished to restore it in
some measure to its former state II
had been used as n stack yard and a de-
p }sitory for rubbish by the tenants Of
the farm on which it was ever since its
,li]apidation. We began to trench at
the west end and came on great many
bones and skeletons, from which the C f.
fiu+ had crumblel away, till, finding the
earth had been moved. we went deeper
and discovered lcadcn coffin. quite per
feet. without date or inscription of any
kind. There had been an outer wooden
coliiu which was deeaycd. but quantities
Of he black rotten wood were all around
it, We cut tho lead and folded back
the top, 30 as not to destroy it beneath
was a wooden coffin in good preservation,
and also without my inscriptions.
As soon as the icaden top was rolled
back. Il most empowering smell dilTu>ed
itself all over the place We then un-
fastened the inner coffin. and found the
body of man cmbalmod with great
care.and heaps Of rosemary and aromatic
leaves piled over him On examining
the body more closely. we found that he
had been bchcadcd The head was
separately propped up in linen, anl the
linen shirt which covered the body was
drawn quite over the neck where the
head had been cut of The head was
laid straight with the body, and where
'ho joining Of the head and neck should
have been, it was tied round with
broad black ribbon His hands were
crossed on his breast. the wrists were
tied with black ribbon, and the thumbs
were tied together with black ribbon
lie had a peaked beard and quantity
Of long brown hair, cuiled and clotted
with blood, round his neck. The only
mark on anything about him was on the
lluen on his chest, just above which his
hands were crossed on it We're the let
terS T. b. worked in black silk
Ga trcnchng towards the chancel, VIC
came on four lcadcn coflps. laid side by
side, with inscriptions on each. One
contained the body Of Francis Earl Of
Chichester. and Lord Dunsmorc, 653
the next the body Of Audrey, Countess
of Chichester, 1862 another the body
of Lady Audrey Leigh their daughter.
1910 aud the fourth the body of Sir
John Anderson. son Of Lady Chichester
by her first husband. We opened the
coffin of Lady Audrey Leigh, aud found
her perfectly cmha'mod and in outire
preservation, her flesh quite plump. as if
she were alive. and face very beautiful
and her hands exceedingly small aud not
wasted. She was dressed in fine linen
trimmed all over with point lace. and
two rows of lace fat across her forehead
She looked exactly as if she were lying
asleep. and her beauty was very perfect
even her eyelasheS and eyebrows were
quite perfect and her eyes were closed
no part of her face or figure was at all
Rllon in. We also opened Indy Chi
chesters coffin. but with her the en-
balming had perfectly failed She was
a skeleton, though the coffin was filed
with aromatic leaves Her hair, how
ever. was fresh as if she lived it was
long. thick, and as soft aud glossy as
that of child. and of perfect auburn
color
In trcnching on one side whor2 the al
tar had been, we found another leadcn
coffin with an inscription 1t contained
the body of Dame Mario Browne.
daughter of one of the Leighs, and Of
the Lady Marie, daughter Of Lord
Chancellor Brackley. This body was
also quite perfect, aud embalmed prin
cipally with a very small coiiee-c olored
seed, with which the coffin was nearly
filled, and it also had so powerful per-
fume that it filled the whole place. The
linen, ribbons, sc, were quito strong
and good in all these instances, and re-
maned so after exposure to the air
We kept piece out of each coffin, aud
had it washed without its being at all
destroyed Young Lady Audrey had
earrings in her cars, black onamelled
serponts The perfume of the herbs and
gums used in embalming them was so
sickening that we were all i'll after in
haling it, and most of the men employ
al a., Iiooino, m tho oofina wara i'll a lsn