Daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1865, 1864-12-13
Tbs Honea of ths .BourbOrns.

The Bones OF the BOurbOFnS.
"No man." says the Koran, "knows the
spot on earth where his grave shall be
made" The Bourbons thought they knew,
but, like meaner folks, they were ont in their
reckoning; so far, at least, ss related to
their fnal place ofsepulture. In vain they
built themselves mighty mausoleum.--
For eleven hundred years the abbey church
consecrated to st. Denis held the bones Of
Capets, Carlovingians, and the descendants
of tsthe good king Dagobert," but the reVo.
lutionary. stotm Of 1T92 swept away all
before it, and scattered these aud all other
relics till then held sacred. There are few
events of that!terrible time more complete
| ly demonstrating the snbversion OF the
royalty which had endured 80 long, than
the decree of the convention OF the 6th OF
August, 1892, six months after the execu-
ton of Lonis tho Sixteenth, which sent the
rabid populace of Paris trooPing to St.
| Denis to obliterate the recollection OF the
kings of France by destroying their very
tombs and burying their remains in the
common fosse. In the tombs OF followed
stone of the earlier mouarchs, very little
worth notice was found. In that OF King
Pepiu there was a small quantity OF gold
wire, nothing more, but each coffin bore the
simple inscription of the name of its inmate
| on q leaden plate, and the greater part OF
these plates were much oxydized, and In a
very bad condition, 80 that the names were
| in many instances, nearly illegible. The
plates, however, were not wanted for pres
vation, but together with the leaden cot-
fms of Philippe. le- Hardi, aud Isabella OF
Aragon. and the leaden roof OF the ABBEY
church, were taken to the Hotel dc Vllle OF
Paris and there melted down, and cast
| into musket balls. The most remarkable
object discovered was silver seal OF oglve
form, belonging to Constance OF CASTLE,
the second wife OF Louis the Seventh, who
died 10 1l60. 1t weighed three ounces
and half, and, silver money being out OF
fashion. was not converted into either cash
lor bullets, but found it's way to the mu-
nicipal strong hold, and was thenoe
transferred to the cabinet of atiquities
of the National (not the ImperiaU Libra
| ry, Though only turee days labor were
actually bestowed, the work Of demoli:
| ton was, from various Causes, suspended
from August till October, but ON the
twelfth OF that month it WAS resumed, and
with renewed vigor the destroyers forced
their way into the vaults of the Bouroons'
The first coffiu they met with, was one
which might have demanded torbearance,
had there been any fOrbearing spirit IN the
midst of so much unhalIowed rutianlsmi
it was that of Henry Quatrel His body
was in good state of preservation, aud
his features were perfectly recogntEablei
the winding sheet by which he Was enyel-
oped was also in good condition. For two
days his remains were exposed to PuollC
view, and then they fwere rem0rselessly
cast into the yawning trench which await
ed them. The same fate awaited the
lbopes of Louis the Thirteenth and his de-
lscendants, The drst named monarch was
recognized by his moustachesI and Louis
the Fourteenth by his prominent features
but his face, that face which had received
SO much alteration in his lifetime was
now black as ink. To this comple1lou
lhad IL come at last The bodies of bis
immediate family, aud especially tnat o,
the Grand Dauphin-0h, grandeur l-were
in q state Of liquid putrefachon' The
hearts of some of the princes were found
under the coflns, epGssed in lead with en-
amelled inscriptions; the lead was care
fully taken away, the CWithered hearts
were tossed With heWls and eEeeratlons
lihto the common fosse. On the fifth day
after having taken all the bodies, which
lwere regularly inferred in the royal vault
1.-The depTedators came. at the further END
20 another coaiu, placed on q stone Denct
about two feet from the ground, IN fe'
cess formed in the thickness of the wall
The situation of this coffin showed tnat u
was that of the last king who had died
which always occupied the recess IN ques'
tion till his successor came TO replace him
10 this instance, the successor never came
As if open day were necessary TOR taiIJ
satisfying the vengeance of the revelations
4 sry mob, eager to wreak their brutal fury
4 on all the BourbOns, in the person OF l9G
!, one; ill.called, "Le bien uime," the cofir
of Louis the Fifteenth was dragged from
1.-THE cIypt TO the brink Of the trench anC
NJ there opened The body taken out of IL
Ileaden case, and swathed like the mummy
appeared to be 10 good preserVsttoni bul
tie instant the abandages- were removed
!, 1.-The royal corpse took It's reFspge on tbs
, surronuaiug multitude SIt Wss, as nigh
have been expected, consideriog the DIS
j ease of which the profiigate hing died, II
q state of tie dtFest putretaetioOs aud trou
tho loathsome 7carcass came go perniciou'
i an odor that all present fed from u II
dismsy. At length, in order that the Jao
obiu body. suatchers might complete thei
l purpose, recourse was had to the firing o
! muskets, and burning of gunPoWder q
purify the air, and when the fumigatiol
D he'd tasted long enough the blackene
1 fragments of royalty were hurled into tn
/ Dit on bed of quick ime-sousWha
. | different that from the sumptuous c0ncl
at Versailles land quickly concealed tor
a human senses.-AH The Year Round.