Cincinnati daily press. [volume] (Cincinnati [Ohio]) 1860-1862, 1860-06-06

Hawthorne in his Marble Fdun, thus de-
scribcs the famous cemetery Of the Capuccint
The cemetery Is beneath The church, but |
entirely above ground, and lighted by row |
of iron-qrated windows without glass. A
corridor runs along beside these windows
and gives access to three OF four vaulted re- !
cesses or chapels, Of considerable breadth
and hight, the floor Of which consists OF the
consecrated earth of Jerusalem. II IS
smoothed decorously over the deceased breth-
gen of the convent, and Is kept quite iree
from grass or weeds, such as would grow
even in the gloomy recesses, II pains were
not bestowed to root them up. But, as tne
cemetery is small, and IL is a precious PRIV,
lege to sleep in holy ground, the prothernooa
| are immemorially accustomed, when one Q,
| their number dies, to take the longest-burled
slkeleton out of the oldest grave, and lay the
new slumberer there instead. Thus each OF
the good friars, in his turn, enjoys the luxury
of a consecrated bed, attended with the slight
/ drawback of being forced TO get up long be-
fore daybreak, as Il were, and make room Tor
another lodIer.
The arrangement of the unearthed skeleton
is what makes the special interest OF the GEM
etery. The arched and vaulted walls OF the
burial recesses are supported by massive pill
lars and pilasters made of thigh bones and
skulls; the whole material Of the structure
appears to be of o similar kind; and the knobs
and embossed ornaments of this strange
architecture are represented by the joints OF
the spine, and the more delicate tracery by
the smaller bones of the human frame. The
SUBMITS of the arches are adorned with en-
tire skeletons, looking as they were wrought
most slSillfully in bas-relief. There Is no pos
sibility of describing how ugly and grotesque
is the effect, combined with certain artistic
merit, nor how much perverted ingenuity
| has been shown in this queer way, nor what
q multitude of dead monks, through how
, many hundred years, must have contributed
their bony framework to build up these grea
= arches of mortality. On some of the skull
there are inscriptions, purporting that such
; monk, who formerly made use OF that par
: ticular head-piece, died on such day ant
c wear: but vastly the greater number are pilet
IS up indistinguishably into the architecture
design like the many deaths that make VI
= the one glory of a victory.
n On the side walls OF the vaults are niche
a where skeleton monks sit or stand, clad IL
j. the brown habits that they wore in life, ant
labeled with their names and dates OF thei
!" decease Their skulls-some quite bare, ap,
J. others still covered with yellow skin and mai
that has known the earth-damps-look ou
from beneath their hoods, grinning hldeous
repulsive. One reverend father had HI
mouth wide open, as if he had died in tn
if midst of a howl of terror and remorse, whic
1t perhaps is even now screeching throug
eternity. As general thing, however, thes
ID frocked and hooded skeletons seem to take
ID more cheerful view of their position, and tr
n with ghastly smiles to turn it into les
10 But the cemetery of the Capuchins is no plaC
to nourish celestial hopes; the soul sinks fol
lorn and wretched under all this burden {
in dusty death; the holy earth from Jerusalem
ID SO mbued is it with mortality, has grown
le barren of the flowers of paradise as it is I
earthly weeds and grass. Thank Heaven ft
r its blue sky. II needs long, upward ga7
to give us back our faith. Not here can "
feel ourselves immortal, where the very a
tars in these chapels of horrible consecr
zy ton are heaps of human bones.