Knoxville journal. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1874-1986, 1876-01-27
4 ROYAL BurJing-Place.

nc the most ancient places of inter-
AM. re have been to lately is the town
esa 80 t,enis. about f1ve miles from Paris,
OF ca 60. ~ NE beautiful old abbey found
p ecaa n 632 by Dagobert /. Since then
Gu had additions ana -enovations by
Ia S;aerent reigning monarchs, accord
inc their fancy. From the sixth cen
IN mil the year 1859 all the Kings and
.nIy as n France were buried there The
Iiaa hat took us through was queer.
gua,v.looking old man. The day was dark
Iarainv and the church was full of
.rmen whose hammers resounded
.srough the gloom and space with ciang
W., gTated on my ears. 1t was so late in
.hs day that we were obliged to visit all
.hs .onIhs and chapels with lights. There
hefore us lay the Kings and Queens who,
- doubt. were glad TO rest when their
,.,ne came. After all, even seeing as
,aanv tombs as we have of those noble
sau,ilies. one cannot help quiet thought
Of the pomp and splendor in which they
i;ved and their littleness now. These
French are such spasmodic people that
rronder there is one stone left on another
after such an outburst as they had during
the late war. At one time in '93 they con
cIuded 10 tear down this ancient Abbey of
q Denis. and, indeed, the work OF de-
s.ruction commenced. They opened
me vault of the Bourbons and re-
moved the bodies of Henry XIV. and
Iouis XIII. and XIV, andMarie de
Nedicis, Anne OF Austria and Maria
Theresa. Some of the bodies werein such
state of preservation that the collins
we're opened and exhibited. In the coffin
OF Henry III. two hearts were found, but
nothing to identify them. The monu-
ments are-many of them-badly defaced,
and some of them ludicrOusly so. For
instance: Here lies King and his royal
consort side by side. On the tomb lies
marble efiigies of the same, with an
ear Clipped off and nose completely fiat
tened, and the angels at their feet
minus toes and thumbs and fingers here
and there. The finest monuments are OF
Louis XII. and Anne of Brittany and Hen
ry III. and Catherine de Medicis. The for
mer is in white marble. Both are marvels
of beauty. 1t is on pedestal covered
with an arched roof, and under each
arch an apostle, twelve in all. The figures
of Henry and Catherine are represented
as kneeling-the whole enriched with bas-
reliefs of the wars in Italy, etc. The
stained glass windows we could not well
see as the church is undergoing extensive
repairs and they were hid by the scatiold-
ing. We were conducted finally into the,
caves of the church, where il was as cold
and. gloomy as you could imagine such
place to be--where, in fact, il was pleas
ant To take a companions arm. In
tomb which the late Emperor caused to
be walled completely up, and into which
we saw by the aid of two candles through
grated windows on either side, lay the
veri,able collins containing the remains
OF Louis XVI. and the beautiful, unfort.
innate Marie Antoinette, the Due de Berri
and his two children, and many others.
They are entirely draped in black and
the glistening silver is now mass OF
rust and the cloth in tatters. Some OF the
lids have cracked and fallen in, and all
have a sad look of neglect and desolation.
Poor little Marie Antoinette! felt as If
she must know how, through the years
since she was cruelty forced into
another world, her story still lived,
and many heart had ached in
sympathy with hers. In the sacristy we
saw most wonderful ancient paintings
and next to that the treasurc-chamber
containing the relics of early French
monarcbs, a fac -simile of Charlemagne's
crown ard two splendid silver caskets con-
tanning the hearts of Louis XIII. and XIV.
The stained glass in the clerestory win
dows forms an illustrated historical series
of the principal events connected with
the rulers OF France, fifty-six in number,
and seventy-two Popes and Abbots. There
are several beautiful statues in the
church, one lovely one, kneeling, of Marie
Antn;Dette In is an abbey as tuil of in
terest as any here, and fully merits a
visit from all tourists.-Pdrfs Cor NeU
Hacen Register.