The free citizen. (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1874-1876, 1875-11-06
THE TOMB or CHARLEM ACNE.

S;c Saw Thcic. and H"n"it,i,'E OF its
We clip the following from Il Cologne
letter of Grace Greenwood to the New
York Times:
also made Il solitary pilgrimage to
the tomb Of CiElrlemagnc, leaving the
train ut Aix-la Cllappcllc, ON our WAY
from Brussels to Cologne 1t WAS the
first German town | had been in fornlanv
wears knew no German, and had little
French ut my command; it seemed an
adventurous thing 10 do, but accoutcrcd
rs was, plunged in" AS the Don. or
Munster, seemed near, | thought had
better walk it than try my lonely luck
with 4 German cab-drivcr, but soon got
involved in Il labyrinth of narrow streets,
orcrhung with quaint, Sombrc cd houses.
curious mis-shapcn cdificcs, which seemed
to come upon me round every corner, ont
"I the middle ages and was obliged to
call in the aid of both church and state
y priest and policeman before could
find the entrance Of the uI,,, old chapel
designed and erected by Gharlc:agnc for
his own grand burial place nearly a
thousand years ago. Around the chapel
later additions have been built, and there
Is y lofty modern choir, made almost en-
tircly OF beautiful stained glaSS, but these
things had little interest for me. only
felt that that monarch OF monarcils had
stood where | WAS standing, planning
royalty for his own scpulturc | only
saw on the marble slab at my feet the
brief great inscription, "Caro Mawno."
knew he was not resting beneath that
slab-that it only marked the spot where
once stood his tomb, which "drcaI
abode was broken into by otto ILL.,.
,,.,t
rrposin" in Il coiliu, but seated in 4 throne
like chair OF white marble, :rraycd in
royal robes, crowned sccptcrcd, and with
his familiar pilgrims pouch at his side.
On his knees rested 4 copy of the gospels,
and at hand, as though ready IL defend
1t, WAS his favortc sword .jay.usc.
There is something awt'ully grand in
such an cntombmcnt. He had sal there
III silence and il: night for nearly two
hundred years waiting for the rcS!lrrcc-
ton, which came all too soon The fra
GRANGE OF rare gums and spices used in
hiSpartial cmbammcntm must have tainted
III the mold, and cOlorS OF rich silk and
the sheen Of gold died out in the dark
ness; but II seems to me that the sleeping
li%ht OF those crown jewels must have
dreamed of the sun and the east soft
trcmulou' CLEANS downon the open pages
OF the word. He should have been left
there in state, while at least his Grand
chapel should endure, but the stone was
rolled AVA" from the scpulchrc. not by
angels, hut by hungry relic hunters and
saint-mongcrs, and they laid tlcsccrating
and dis~rting hands unon him-parted
not only his raimcmt, but his skeleton
took HIM to pieces bone by bone, and
have distributed him about ministers and
monaStcrlcS Il dead cmpcrOr of that
quality was too much for Il chapel of this
size to have all to itself. 1t preserves
however, his skull, the darkcncd she'll o
an extinct star Of ofSovcrcigntv-:l gigantic
t'5i1-thc real chair in which he sat
and which was attcrward used at the cor.
onation of cmpcrorS, and the parian sar,
cophagus in which rested his tired feet
all through that two hundred wears sit,
ing. ms church Is marvclouSly rich III
plate, Jewels, chaliccs, shrincs and rcliq.
i'frlcs OF rare and tcworkmanship
and i'll relics, the bare list Of which appal>
one rs an exhibition Of human crcdulitv
superstition and imposition. What an
idea Of Christ they have who ;ctmnll,
believe he can be pleased at seeing his
people redeemed from oldcn idolatry.
prostrnting themselves before the rod
wSach once smotc him, the cord that
bound him, the nail that pierced him,
and even the blackcncd and shrivclcd
arm OF poor old Simon-that arm which
bore the smiling infant Jesus in the
temple.
y very interesting building is the
kathhaus, which dates back to ;,:J3, and
was then built on the site of the old
palace i'll which ClarIcmagnc was born.
IN the Kaiser Saal, a sombrc, low-archcd
nall the coronation of the emperor,
used To take place. No lest than thirty
seven, they told me, had there received
me crown, seated on the mortuary chair
ci Charlemasnc, and swearing upon the
sacred relics, a curious and CHASTITY col
lection n-Christ's lcatlcrn girdIc, the
sponge once wet with vinegar for his dy-
ing lips, some blood and bones OF st.
stephen, some mamma from the wilder
ness, that arm Of old Simon, and a bit
OF .Aaron's rod There is grand new
staircase to this hall, and the old one
has fallen into decay and dcsuctu,lc.
me stone steps of this seemed to me
worn out by the tramping of many en-
pcrors and their mailed rct;incrs In
spite Of some bright modern trescocs,
giving the glorious incidents in Charlie,
magnc's life, the air Of this old saloon
was melancholy and oppressive to me,
filled with shifting pictures of history
more gloomy than grand-of those me
dIcvals monarcllS, coming and going,
with Il mighty clang of steel and surg
ing of banners, and stormy bursts Of
music, and taking holy names and awfi:l
oalhs upon their lips, now and then one
resolved on the reign OF Justice, burning
to DO them great, good work for God and