Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1888-07-15
STRANGE SCENES
AT THE EXPLANATION OF BBBTRoGBS.s
REMAINS
How the Great Composers Bones Looked Ahr
Many Ysars-fhs Story Of his
Ampuatsd Ears.
VIENNA Or. London nma.

Vienna ObT. London 7fziI.
I was present this afternoon OF the PHI
yate exhumation of Beethoven's remains
the pretty suburban cemetery Of Wahring.
The composer died in 1927, and his tomb
ia close TO that of Franz Schubert, who
died in the following year at the age Of
~twenty-one. Tive graves removed from
B~sethoyen's is that o fan English nobleman,
yiscount Ingestre, who was drowned in
the Danube in 1926.
B~sethoyen's remains have not lain I'M
disturbed since their first interment, for,
in 1868 some Of his admirers, having sub
scribed to place q monument over his
grave, obtained leave to transfer his body
from the wooden coffin in which 1t had
been buried into q new coffin OF
zinc On that occasion the fragments OF
linen and some trinkets that were
discovered in the moldy wooden she'll were
collected and placed in q wooden box,
wbieh was inclosed in the new coffin, and
was found intact to-day. Beethoven was
deaf during the greater part Of his Life, and
at his death q distinguished anatomist OF
the period, Prof Wagner, was allowed to
amputate his ears, with the whole OF the
two sural cavaties, in order to investigate
the causes of the deafness.
The ears were placed in two glass jars
full of spirits of wine; but Wagner died
before he had finished his examination Of
them, and soon afterward the jars mys-
teriously disappeared, The story goes
thst they were bought of Wagner's ser
want by an English doctor, and removed
to England.
The ceremony of to-day was rendered
necessary by a scheme of municipal altera-
tions, under which the cemetery o. Wahr-
ing is to be cleared away altogether. In
Beethoven's lifetime and for many years
after his death Wahring was a village out
side the Notifications of Vienna, but un-
broken rows of streets now connect it with
tho W The destruction of the ceme-
terry is nevertheless to be much regretted,
for il is o beautiful place, full of trees and
flowers, and containing many tombs OF
historical interest.
Very few persons witnessed the exhuma-
ton, and most of these were officials. At
four o'clock q sanitary commissioner, who
directed the proceedings, gave the word to
some workmen, who loosened and raised
the heavy flsgstone that covered the grave.
The stone had long ago been cracked in
the middle, and came up in two pieces.
Beneath it was o grave bricked to a depth
of twelve feet, and at the bottom of this
lay the zinc coffin with a faded laurel
crown upon it, and q handful of ashes
which had been thrown down by the
priest who oficiated at the second burial
twenty-five years ago.
All heads were barred as the coffin was
lifted and placed on a settle, where the
metal lid wa at once pried open and re-
moved. The skeleton then became ex.
posed to view. The bones were damp and
Of q brown color, showing that moisture
must have penetrated into the coffin. The
Uranium had become detached from the
face of the skull, and one of the bystan-
ders took it up in his hand. 1t looked I'M
usually large. The entire lower row OF
teeth was complete, and very fine, strong
teeth they were, but all the front teeth OF
the upper row had fallen out. The leg
bones were long; the hands had quite
crumbled into dust.
The skeleton remained exposed for less
than ten minutes, but already a gentleman
who held a portable camera had taken q
phntosraph, while another gentleman.
society, entered into an sfterca:
ton with the officials, who refused
to let him take some Measurement
and q plaster cast Of the skull. The mate
rails for a plaster cast were all at hand in a
carpet-bag, and the anthropologist looked
deeply Disguised at having to walk away
with them unused.
The lid having been replaced the coffin
was transferred to an iron shell, and
slowly borne toward the chapel of the
cemetery by six undertaker's men in black
uniforms, with cooked hats. The officials
and other persons present followed in a
procession, two and two. The public had
been kept out Of cemetery, but by this
time there was a crowd of faces peeripg
through the gates.
The chapel is very small, and to-day it
was quite full Of bouquets and floral
wreaths sent by different musical societies
in Austria. Tomorrow the composers re-
mains will be carried to the Central Gene
terry of Vienna, and there reinterred with
great pomp; and soon q new monument
worthy of Beethovan's fame will be erected
over his grave. The monument in Wahr-
ing Cemetary wa Of q very common de-
scription, consisting merely of a fiat sand
stone obelisk. 1t wa adorned with o gilt
Tyre, and with the pagan symbol Of eter-
nifty, a serpent with its tail in its mouth.
There was no inscription but the name