New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1860-10-31
Robbery of Notre Dame Cathedral.


Several weeks ago the Cathedral of Notre Dame,
at Paris, was burglariously entered and robbed of
Yauables to the amount of 1000 francs,
($l60OO0 and thus far no discovery has been
made of the burglars. The following extract from
letter written the day after the occurrence, de-
scribes the nature and extent of the robbery:
Every person who has donen Paris must have
visited the treasury of Notre Dame, which is kept
in the vestry-room, for it is one of the shows OF
Paris. While it is not comparable to the treasures
of Italian and Spanish churches, it is interesting
for the visitor sees the gorgeous vestments of the
metropolitan clergy at State ceremonies, some OF
which (such as the costumes given by Louis XVIII
upon the baptism of the Duke of Bordeaux, by
Napoleon /. on his marriage, by Louis Philippe
upon the marriage of the Duke of Orleans and the
return of Napoleon's ashes, and by Louis Napoleon
on the baptism of his child) are historical, and q
great variety of ecclesiastical ornaments: crozers,
taperhoders crosses, ETC.. in massive gold adorned
with the most precious stones. all of great ntrin-
sic and historical value, and many OF them impor-
tant by their great antiquity These treasures are
kept in an outlayng building connected with the
cathedral and built purposey for these treasures,
which are therein kept in iron closets secured by
massive DOORS As every person pays ten sous for
entering this place, considerable harvest Of half
francs must have been reaped every year from
this field which the burglars have despoiled
The large space of ground which lies between
the river Seine and the Cathedral has been for
a good many years past used as the work shop,
where the stones and other objects wanted in the
repairs of the fabric prepared for their places.
Yesterday morning, when the workmen went to
resume their Wonted abors, they were surprised to
see a good many ecclesiastical vases scattered
over the ground. They notified the officers of the
| church, and the latter instantly discovered that
| the treasury had been entered by burglars and al
| the golden sacred furniture it contained and est
mated, as | have said, at 100000 in value, had
| been carried of. The police were instantly sent
| for; their investigations led them to the parape
Iua1I IF tha lear ia w
| and looking towards the water, they discovered {
rope secured in an iron ring above the level of thu
water. Thinking it probable this rope had beer
used by the burglars, they entered a boat ant
attempted to detash it from the iron ring. They
| found it frightened by an object under water, and
pulling it out Of the water, they found large fish
| ing net filled with great many objects belonging
to the treasury, but all of them stripped of theii
| precious stones.
The police are now employing divers to search
| the rivers bottom This discovery has led the
| police to presume that the burglars, after having
secured their first portion of prizes in the net and
| sunk it in the river returned to the treasury tC
empty it of its contents, but were put to flight By
| some noise, probably the barking of watchdog
placed there, and in their haste let fall or threw
| away the ecclesiastical furniture found in the yard
and contented themselves with running off with the
diamonds, rnbies and other precious stones
| You may well conceive that a robbery of THU
importance, and the loss of such valuable objects
! has made deep impression upon us. The treas
| ury of Notre Dame was sacked at the Revolution
OF July and all the ecclesiastical yestments throw
| into the river, where they were discovered BY
some fishermen several months afterwards.