New Orleans daily crescent., 1860-07-12
Famous Cemetery OF the capuee,.s.

Tie cemetery is beneath the church, but entirely
above ground, and lighted by row Of iron grated
windows without glass. corridor runs along be-
side these windows, and gives access to three OF
four yauIted Pecesses or chapels, of considerable
breadth and hight, the floor of which conssts of
the eonsecrated earth of Jerusalem. It is smooth
ed decorously over the deceased brethren OF the
convent and is Kept quite free from grass OF
weeds, such as would grow even in the gloomy re-
cesses il pains were not bestowed to root them up.
But, as the cemetery is small, and IL IS precious
privilege to sleep in holy ground, the brotherhood
are in1memorially accustomed, when one of their
number dies, to take the longest-nuried skeleton
out of the oldest grave, and lay the new slnmberer
there instead Thus each Of the good frars, in bis
turn enjoys the luxury of a conseerated bed, at
tended with the slight drawback Of being forced
to get up long before daybreak,s asit were, and
make room for another ledger.
The arrangement Of the unearthed skeleton -
what makes the special interest Of the ceraetry-
The arched and vaulted walls of the burial recess
es are supported by massive pillars and piasters
| made of thigh bones and skulls the whole mate
rial of the structure appears to be OF similar klnd
and the knobs and embossed ornaments of this
strange architecture are represented by the joints
Of the spine and the delicate tracery by the
| smaller bones of the human frame. The summits
! Of the arches are adorned with entire skeletons
locking as they were wrought most skiifully in bas
| relief. There is no possibility of describing how
ugly and grotesqne is the effect, combined with q
4 certain artistic merit, nor how much perverted in
genuity has been shown in this queer way, nor ma
| q multitude of dead monks, through how many
4 hundred years. must have contributed their bons
| framework to build up these great arches Of NOR
! tality. On some of the skulls there are inscrip
tions, purperting that such monk, who formerl.
made use Of that particular head-piece, died o.
| such day and year; but vastly the greater mum
ber are piled up indistinguishably into the archi
tectural design like the many deaths that make NJ
the one glory of a victory.
On the side walls of the vaults are nitches where
1 skeleton monks sit or stand, clad in the brown
habits that they wore in life, and labeled with the
names and dates of their decease. Their skulls
some quite bare, and others still covered with vel
low skin and hair that has known the earth damp
look out from beneath their hoods, grinnins
hideousIy repulsive. One reverend father had hi
mouth wide open, as if he had died in the midst 9
a howl of terror and remorse, which, perhaps, i
even now screeching through eternity. As gene
raj thing, however, these frocked and hooded skee
tons seem to take more cheerful view of thei
position and try with ghastly smiles to turn it int,
i Jest But the cemetery of the Capuchins is n,
place to nonrish celestial hopes; the soul sink
forlorn and wretched under all this burden of DUST
death; the holy earth from Jerusalem, so imbuet
is it with mortality, has grown as barren Of TIL
flowers of paradise as it is of earthly weeds an.
grass. Thank heaven for its blue sky. Itneeds
long, upward gaze to give us back our faith. No
here can we feel ourselves immortal, where TIL
very alters in these ehapels of horrible consecra
| ton are leaps of human bones.