Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1891-01-27
A PRISONER In A TOMB.
HE TR;eD TO STEAL THE JEW
ELS FROM A DEAD DUCHESS.

ELS FFO'd OGRD OOCttGSS.
He Thought That All the Ornaments That
Adorned the Corpse rs 1t Lay in state
Were BARRED with the E;ody-IHe Broke
Into the Tomb and Fell into = Trap
Only few weeks after her return from
Brussels where she had seen her son, re-
Gently crowned king OF the Belgiaus. did
the Duchess Augusta of S;chsen -Coburc
die in her sovcIty-sixth year, Nov Is, 1851
The admiration and love this aimira-
bic princess had inspired drew crowds to
visit the body. ~ it lay in state in the resi-
dcace at CoburG. prior TO the funeral.
which took place OIL tie l9.h, before day
break, by the l:rht of torches The funeral
was attended by men and women of all
classes. eager 10 express their attachment
To the deceased aud respect for the family
4 great deal WAS said and tabled con-
cerHinG this funeral. II vas told and be-
Ijeved that the dowager duchess had been
laid in the family vault adorned with her
diamond rings and richest pec,.llces. She
was t.:e mother OF kings, ana IL vulgar
Relieve. that every royal and princely
house with which she WAS allied had con
t.ibuted some jewel toward ,he decoration
q, her body
among taose who were present ut the
f.iHsral Of the Duchess -Ati-;:,,a va, "A
B&rariaH named AntiTeaS s,ty;57rraUch, an
artisan chen at Coburg. lie Was the son
Of all Grnorer, followed his f:,acrs pro.
tcSsion, and had settled at Cubur.:. Stubcn-
rauch had been one uf the crowd That had
passed by ne be,! ~ which tie duchess
lay in state, and had est ccyetons res at
the jeweiry with which the body was
adorned.
He had also ATTENDED! TIE fUaer:l, and
had come TO the conclusion chat the duch-
ess was buried with a! the precious arti-
cles he had noticed about her ~ exposed 70
view before the burial, and with Il great
deal more, which popular gossip as >erted
to have been laid in tie coiiu with her
The thought of all this waste Of wealth
chung to his mind, and Stubcurauch re
solved to enter the mausoleum and rob the
body
BREAkTEG INTO = TOMB
The position of the vault, far removed and
concealed from the palace sated his plans,
and lie made little account of locks and
bars, which were likely to prove small hin
derances to an accomplished locksmith.
To carry his plan into execution lie re-
solved on choosing the night OF Aug. Is
10, 1892. On this evening he sat Grin king
in a low tavern till 10 clock, when he left,
returned to his lodgings, where he collected
the tools he believed lac would require,
candle and flint and steel and then betook
himself to the TlaUsCleum. The tomb was
closed 10y an iron gate formed of strong
bars eight feet high, radiatins from a cen
ter in sort of samiCircle and armed With
sharp spikes.
He found it impossible to open the lock,
and he was therefore obliged to climb over
the gate. regardless of the danger Of tear
ing himself on the barbS. Here he found
a double stout oaken door in the floor chat
gave access to the vault. The two valves
were so closely dovetailed into one another
and fitted so exactly that he found the
utmost difficulty in getting n tool between
them. He tried his false keys in vain on
the lock, and for 4 long tirne his efforts to
prise the lock open with u lever were equal
ly futile. At length by means of a wedge
he succeeded in breaking way through
the junction of the doors into which he
could insert q bar and then he heaved ut
one valve with all his might, throwing his
weight on the lever
It took him fully an hour before he could
break open the door Midnight struck as
back. Then, leaning over the opening,
holding 4 pole in both hands, ne endeilv-
ored to feel the depth of the vault. In so
doing he lost his balance and the weight of
the pole dragged him down, and he fell be
tween two collins some twelve feet below
the floor of the upper chamber. There ne
lay for some little while unconscious,
stunned by his fall When he came to
himself lie sat UP, fe!t about with his hands
to ascertain where he was, and considered
what next should be done
IN TRAP
Stubenrauch was 10: the man to feel
either respect for the dead or fear OF auglt
supernatural. With both hands lie su5-
tanned the heavy lid of the coffin as lie
peered in, and the necessity for using both
TO support the weight prevented his pro-
fame hand from being laid on the remains
OF an august and pious princess. Stuben-
rauch did indeed try more than once to
sustain the lid with one hand that he
might grOpe with the other for the treas
ures he fancied must he concealed there
but the moment he removed one hand the
lid crashed down.
Disappointed in his expectations, Stu
benrauch now replaced the cover and be
gan to consider how be might escape. But
now, and now only, did he discover that it
was not possible for him to get out of the
vault into which he had fallen. The pole
on which he had placed his confidence was
too short to reach the opening above.
Every effort made by Stubenrauch to
scramble out failed. He was caught in Il
trap-and what trap! Nemesis had fallen
al the ruflian at once on the scene of his
crime and condemned him 10 betray him
self
Morning broke 1t was Sunday, and n
special festival at COburg, for it WAS the
twenty-ffth anniversary of the accession
of the duke, so that the town was in lively
commotion, and park and palace We're also
In a stir, Stubenrauch sat up and waited
in hopes of hearing some one draw near
who could release him. About o clock in
the morning he heard steps on the gravel
and at once began to shout for assistance.
The person who had approached ran
away in alarm, declaring that strange ana
unearthly noises issued from the ducal