New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1860-05-28
Famous Cemetery OF the capues,n,.

The cemetery is beneath the church, bat 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 or
TOUR vaulted recesses or chapels of considerable
breadth and hight, the floor Of which consists Of
the consecrated earth of Jerusalem. 1t is smoothed
oecorousiy over the deceased brethren of the cou-
vent, and is kept quite free from grass or weeds
such as would grow even in the gloomy recesses if
pains were not bestowed to root them up. But, as
the cemetry is small, and il is precious privilege
70 sleep IN molly ground, the brotherhood are i'm
memorially accustomed, when one of their number
DIES TO take the longest buried skeleton out of the
oldest grave, and lay the new slumberer there in.
stead. Thus each Of the good friars, in his turn,
ealpys tne INJURY Of consecrated bed attended
with the slight drawback of being forced to get up
long before daybreak, as it were, and make room
for another ledger.
The arrangement of the unearthed skeleton is
What makes the special interest of the cemetery.
Ihe arched aud vaulted walls OF the burial recesses
are supported BY massive pillars and pilasters made
q thigh bones and skulls; the whole material of
the structure appears to be of a similar Kind; and
the knobs and embossed ornaments of this strange
architecture are represented by the joints of the
spne and the more delicate tracery by the smaller
bones OF the human frame. The submits of the
arehes are adorned with entire skeletons, looking
az they We're wrought most skillfuliy in bas-relief
There IS no possibility of describing how ugly and
grelesque is the effect combined with certain ar
tlstlc merit, nor how much perverted ingenuity has
peeh SHOWN IN this queer way, nor what a multi
s>NeS - 0esA itolhS, tHiOubE uOW Aiuilp eu
years, must have contributed their bony Frame
WORK 10 build up these great arches of mortality.
On some OF the skulls there are Inscriptions pur-
porting that such monk, who formerly made use
oil That particular head.piece, died on such day
and year but vastly the greater number are piled
up lndistinguishably into the architectural design
Ike the many deaths that make up the one glory OF
a victory.
On the sidewalks of the vaults are inches where
skeleton monks sit or stand, clad in the brown hab
us that they wore in life, and labeled with their
names and dates of their decease. Their skulls
some quite bare, and others still covered with yell
low skin and hair that has known the earth-damps
look out from beneath their hoods, grinning
hideously repulsiYe. One reverend father had his
mouth wide open, if he had died in the midst of
howl of terror and remorse, which perhaps is
even now screeehing through eternity. As gem
eral thing, however, these frocked and hooded
skeletons seem to take more cheerful view of
their position, and try with CHASTITY smiles to turn
it into a jest. But the cemetery of the Gapuchins
is no place to nourish celestial hopes tile soul
sinks fororn and wretched under all this burden of
dusty death the holy earth from Jerusalem SO
imbaed is ii with mortality has grown as barren
of the flowers of paradise as ii is Of earthly weeds
and grass. Thank heaven for its blue sky It
needs long, upward gaze to give us back our
faith. Not here can we feel ourselves immortal,
where the very affairs in these chapes of horrible
are heaps of human bones.
marble Faun.