Fremont journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County [Ohio]) 1853-1866, 1856-05-02
EmbaImed Bodies.

A writer in the London Notes and Quer-
les furnishes the following interesting mar
rative:
ga few weeks ago, in clearing out an old
chapel at Nuneham Regis, Warwiekshire,
which had been pulled down, all but the
belfry tower, forty years since, we thought
it necessary to trench the whole space,
that we might moro certainly mark out the
secondaries of the building, as we wished
to restore it in some measures to its former
state. 1t had been used as stack-yard
and depository for rubbish by the tenants
of the farm on which it was, ever since its
dilapidation. We began to trench at the
west end, and came on a great many bones
and skeletons, from which the coffins had
crumbled away, till finding the earth had
been moved, we went deeper, and discover
ed a leaden coffin, quite, perfect, without
date or inscription of any kind. There
had been on outer wooden coffin, which
was decayed, but quantities of the black
rotten wood were all around it. We cut
the lead and folded back the top, so as not
to destroyed it; beneath was a wooden eof-
fin, in good preservation, and also without
any inscription.
"As soon as the leaden top was rolled
back, most overpowering aromatic smell
difnsed itself all over the place. We then
unfastened the inner coffin, and found the
body of man embalmed with great care,
and herbs of rosmary and aromatic leaves
piled over him. On examining the body
more closely, we found that he had been be-
headed. The head was separate wrapped
up in linen, and the linen shirt which COW
cred the body was drawn quite over the
neck where the head had been cut off,
The head was laid straight with the body,
and where the joining of tho head and
neck should have been it was tied round
with broad black riband His hands
were crossed on his breast, the wrists were
tied with black riband, and the the thumbs
were tied together with black riband. He
had peaked beard and quantity of long
brown hair, curled and clotted with blood,
round his neck. The only mark on any
thing about him was on the linen on his
chest just above where his hands were
crossed; on it were the letters at. B."
worked in black silk. ....-s
"On trenching towards the chancel, we
came on four leaden cofins, laid side by
side, with inscription on each. One con
tanned the body of Francis, Earl of Chi
chester, and Lord Dunsmure, 1858; the
next the body of Audery, Countess of Chi
chester, 1852; another the body of Lady
Audrey Leigh, their daughter 1860; and
the third the body of Sir John Anderson,
son of Lady Chichester by her first hus-
band. We opened the coffin of Lady
Audrey Leigh, and found her perfectly en-
balmed and in entire preservation, her
flesh quite plump, as if she were alive, her
face very beautiful, and her hands exceed
ingly small and not wasted. She was dress
cd in fine linen, trimmed all over with point
lace, and two rows of lace fiat across her
forehead. She looked exactly as if she
were asleep, and her beauty was very per
feet, even her eyelashes and eyebrows
were quite perfect, and her eyes were closed !;
no part of her face or figure was at all fall
en- in. We also opened Lady ChichesteFs
coffin but with her the embalming had
perfectly failed She was a skeleton, though
the coffin was filled with aromatic leaves
Her hair was however as fresh as if she
lived; it was long thick, and as soft and
glossy as that of child, and of perfect
auburn color.
"In trenching on one side, where the al
tar had been we found another leaden cof-
fin with an inscription. It contained the
body of Dame Marie Browne, daughter
of one of the Leighs and of Lady Marie,
daughter of Lord Chancellor Brackley.-
This body was also quite perfect, and en-
balmed principally with very small coffee
colored seed, with which the coffin was near
ly filled, and it also had so powerful per
fume that it filed the whole place. Tho
linen, ribbons, &c., were quite strong and
good in all these instances, and remain so
after exposure to the air. We kept a
piece out of each coffin, and had it washed
without its being at all destroyed. Young
lady Audrey had earrings in her ears,
black enamelled serpents. The perfume
of the herbs and gums used in ernbalming
was so sickening that we were all i'll after
it, most of the men employed in
digging up the cofins were i'll also. My
object in sending this is, if possible, to dis
cover who the beheaded man was. The
chapel is on the estate of Lord John Scott,
who inherited it from his paternal grand
mother, the Duchess of Bucleuch, daughter
of the Duke of Montague, into his family
Nuneham Regis, and other possessions in
Warwickshire came BY the marriage of his
grandfather with the daughter of Lord
Dunsmurs, Earl of Chinchester"
Terrible but Successful Surgical Opera.
tiOn.