New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1871-06-25

sg nal that the funeral procession had lcf
The palace of the archbishop was given b.
the fresh tolling out of the deep-toned bour
DON or great bell of Notre Dame: ant
through the heavy boom, to which the oil,
walls seemed to vibrate, came sharply-an,
even as it seemed with relative gaiety-
the clangor of the bells of all the villag,
churches, appointed to ring at the sam,
time. The minutes passed with no sound
within the vast buildhg beyond arustlns
of draperies occasional football, d. adj
| ened by reverence-Or a movement here
and there as some belated seatholder o.
note stole halt abashed toward his place, OF
new component of the receptive mass OF
| clergy hustled with half offensive sense OF
importance. -,rryr ..,, r-.s.-.,,...-.
At this crisis Of expectancy the minutes
seemed to drag like hours; one was only
| conscious of dull, distant booming, utterly
Cancelled at fixed intervals by a heavy
booming-almost, as it seemed, overhead;
and a sense of the awful and the infinite
seemed to be settling down upon the great
black building and all the sombre crowd it
contained. Half an hour had passed thus
when sudden sas,0rus of new interest
passed over the assemblage. Sad, but vet
striking in their novelty, the strains of mill
tary music were caught through the weari-
led and filled the edifice as the band of the
republican guard stationed behind the altar
played welcome to the officers of the army
and the navy, and other official persons
who had only now arri ved. Soon, while the
new arrivals were settling into their places
a hustle beneath informed the spectators
within that the cortege had arrived on the
open space before the cathedral known as
the Place du Parvis de Notre Dame.
Il
the mass of clergy m the area beneath.
First was borne the cross of the chapter;
then followed the ,prebendary and honorary
canons and the cures of the diocese, along
with the members of the metropolitan chap
ter. Behind the priests followed a stream
of deputies, who had come from Versailles
to do homage to men who are not less
martyrs to the cause of political order than
the cause of religious faith. The procession
streamed grandly down the nave toward
the great doors to meet the corpse, and here
new effect of light added itself TO those
which have already described. Through
the open doors the daylight. gray though it
was with the unusual fchillness of this
strange unjoyous June, streamed on the
golden crosses of the priests and their rich
vestments, battling with the green flames
on the pedestals, and the Overpowering
sense of blackness thrown back by every
artists of old and their far-off imitators had
so successfully obscured. The effort of
daylight to enter the shrine of mourning
was felt as almost Dissertation by those
whose eyes had been for hours accustomed
only to the ghastly, artificial unnatural
lights of the ceremonial.
AT quarter past eleven the collins of the
two superior ecclesiastics were borne into
the church. Each was carried by eight
a hot = NJ
Surat, covered with plain black velvet, and
bearing on the breast a SIMPLE brass plate.
Behind was the coffin OF the archbishop,
upon which had been deposited the insignia
that had accompanied the procession in the
carriages from the Rue de Grenelle The |
procession of clergy and deputies now re-
turned from the western entrance along the |
nave toward the transept, preceded by |
priests bearing the cross, with the arch |
bishops crozier, white mitre, etc. Immedi- |
ately began the chanting of the ''otfice," |
which continued for a considerable time. |
few minutes after it had begun, yet be- |
fore midday, sudden CLEAN of sunshine !
broke through the windows, and lent new |
to the varying effects of light
which our eyes had been for hours pain
ully constrained to study The ''ofice"
vent mournfully on. Without the cannon
'oared, slowly and duly, as beftting the
,SCosioh' AHO waning Cudut COulluueU III
initely.
After the "office had been chanted, the
'emains of Monseigneur Surat, Monsei-
gneur Duguerry, Monsieur Becourt, and
Monsieur Sabatier were removed for pri-
ate interment, dissolution having been
previously pronounced on all the five
,odies by the canons and cures of the
liocese, who surrounded the corpses, and
ook part in throwing holy water upon
hem. Until three O'clock, however. the
otin of the archbishop remained on it's
atafalque; but then the "Vespers of the
Dead were chanted, and the body of the
bird martyred prelate of Paris was lowered
lto the tomb of all the archbishops. The
ceremonies. were conducted in chief by
lonseigneur Aleu-, Bishop of Meaux, the
ldest of the French bishops; who was
ssisted by Monsignor Chigi, the Pope's
'uncio, and several other dignitaries of the
hurch. The arrangements of the occasion
Tere under the charge of the Chanoine
the cathedral decorations be-
lg carried out under the care of NJ Levy I
atfiard, manager, and NJ. Godon, architect,
the Compagnie des Pompes Funebres.
lay mention that the company has never
Undertaken the conduct Of a more sump-
lous funeral observance, excepting that
II the Duke of Orleans, which cost one
undred thousand francs. On the present
;casion the normal charge would have
cen seventy thousand francs; but as the
tate has voted only forty thousand francs
II the purpose, the company has under
ken to do its work for that sum. 4