Holmes County Republican. [volume] (Millersburg, Holmes County, Ohio) 1856-1865, 1861-01-31
The CatacOmbS.

r So peculiar, so striking were the Cata
, combs of Paris, that although upwards o
quarter of a century has passed away sine
l visited them, still find them wildly re
flected on the mirror of my memory; ane
as they have now been shut up for th'
last twenty years, and will probably nevel
again be thrown open, q short sketch o.
my visit to them may, perhaps, be moi
wholly uninteresting. As l have already
said, it was some thirty years since, one
fine morning, We drove forth to see the
catacombs.
Shortly after We passed the barrier our
carriage came to halt, and we all alighted
Within few yards of the road We found
the entrance to the catacombs. Here we
were met by guide, who distributed two
or three unlit tapers amongst the gentle
men of the party. This was mere pre-
cautionary mere; but more than one rose
faded from fair cheek, as this hint Of
possibility of danger was communicated
to the party.
We now made tedious descent down a
cork-screw flight of steps, about one hun
dred and twenty or one hundred and tbir-
ty in number. our only light being the
lighted torch carried by our cicorone. The
tail of the party (for we only walked two
abreast) were left wholly 10 the dark. On
ordinary occasions, such circumstance
would have elected fun and frolic; but at
the present moment not litter was heard,
not joke was uttered. The rear kept as
close as they could to the leading persons,
apparently deeply awed at the idea Of thus
approaching the most extensive place of
human sepulcbre existing in the known
world.
In five minutes we had all descended,
and as we gathered into circle at the
foot of the stairs, the guide held his torch
on high, and waved it to and fro, the bet
ter to display the scene around us.
We were in chamber Tor rather CELLAR
hewed out of the solid rock, which was
somewhat elaborately arched over our
heads. The height in the centre might
have been about ten feet; the walls from
which the rock sprung, not more than six.
The whole of this portion was covered in
by humane bones; white skulls framed a
border or cornice, and every here and there
were so arranged as to produce an orna-
mental pattern. At the first glance even
some of the gentlemen shuddered, not
from feeling of fear, but from an instinct
i've horror they could not repress. Indeed,
that man must have wholly divested of
feeling who could thus find himself in an
undisguised charnel house, some eighty
feet beneath the surface of the earth, with
out a sensation of disgust and awe-too
closely, yet strangely mingling with
throbs.
"Look up" cried the guide; "look at
the black line in the centre of the roof;
should any accident befall you, and you
have the misfortune TO get separated, fol-
low it till you arrive at this spot, and then
ring yonder bell; it will bring you succor;
There is a much thinner bar in in
another branch, which three British Off
GERS followed by mistake when the British
army was here, and got so entangled that
their bodies were not found for three weeks.
They expired under one of the wells
which led to the surface; they probably
perceived daylight and died shouting for
assistance; but no one heard them"
This was not pleasing prologue to our
days entertainment, and the ladies did
not hesitate to express their fears, at which
the guides laughed heartily; there was no
responsive echo on our part.
We followed our leaders through sever
al branches extending nearly quarter of
mile, and at length came to circular
opening, where there was erected an altar
entirely formed of deformed spinal bones;
and then went on between two rows of
grinning skulls, Till we arrived at chamber,
in the centre of which was basin of live
fish that seemed to live in health and hap
piness in this strange spot; above us was
one Of the wells spoken of by our guide.
"Wbat is the supposed origin of these
catacombs?" asked Miss NJ i
"Oh," replied our cicerone, without hes
itation, "lhey are the great quarries from
which the stone was taken by King Clovis
to build Paris; they extend in three differ
ent branches, nine miles, and one passage
leads under the river almost to Montmatre."
"But how came they SO well finished" :"
"Oh they were arched and ornamented
by the monks who first lived in them, and
only left them when the brigands and Sc
cret societies cleared them away and took
up their quarters in them"
Little Mary Smith who is always asking
little foolish questions, naively demanded:
Ibid they bring all these bones?"
"Not at all, Madamoisell, not at all
they were turned out or rather hunted out,
about three or four centuries ago, and the
king who then reigned had all these bones
collected and brought here. Ittook fifteen
years to arrange them."
"And whose bones are theyi"
"Tbat's the question, no one can tell;
some say the bones of the Innocents
brought over here; some say that they are
those of the Protestants who were killed in
the ST. Bartholomew affair; and Others de- |
clare that they were taken out of every
church yard; while Others believe them to
be the skeletons of those who perished in
the Great Plague"
This was the most unpleasant sugges-
a. r III W.