The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1893-10-06
THE ROYAL BONES OF FRANCE
Agitation Over the Bodies of the Ancient
Kings that Now Lie on Storage Only.

bones of the Kings and Queens OF
France were left neglected in the store.
rooms of one Of the public buildings ot
Paris, and the Figaro was the first to
call, in the name of decency, for their
respectful reinterment. The Vie Con
temPordine now takes up the subject,
and gives the first detailed account OF
the violation Of the royal tombs during
the Reign of Terror.
In the vaults Of the Church of Saint
Denis, resting under the statues which
represented them, fifty Kings Of France
end fifty Queens slept the eternal sleep
in the religious peace Of the basilica.
From Dagobert l down to Francis l.
Henry lV, Louis XIII and XIV, the
Kings all reposed there in the ancient
vaults. The tombs in the chapels and
IN the crypt became so numerous that
there was no longer any room for one
more royal corpse when the revolution
burst out
The Convention at first ordered the
destruction of the tombs and afterwards
the violation of the coffins. On the 9th
OF August, 1898, conducted by the
Mayor, the populace entered the
basilica. This Mayor was formerly
priest, and sang the Cadet Rousselle"
and the flynn to Mars in the pulpit
in which a short time previously he
preached the word of God.
They were supplied with cords and
ladders and were assisted by a consider
able number of workmen. The troop
advanced up to the altar, and at first
appeared somewhat surprised at the act
that they were about to commit, not
having as yet lost all respect for the
sanctity of the place They entered
the chapel called the Chapel of the
Charles" where by the side of Du
Guesclin and Louis de Saucorne were
the remains of Charles V. and his wife.
Charles vi. and Charles VII. They
struck with heavy hammers the "dc
tested faces of the tyrants," and they
saluted with shouts of Joy the skiIful
blows that shattered the marble to
pieces
They would not break the momu-
ment Cf Turenne because it had no,
been raised to the glory Of an upstart
king But they did not spare that of
Du Guesclin. When they had finished
smashing the stones, when they had
sufficiently, amid roars of laughter.
broken the noses, the fingers, and the
heads of the statues, they resolved to
open the coffins, because, according to
the legends, several of them contained
treasures. All that they found, how
ever, consisted of a few threads of
bogus gold in the coffin of Pepin, and
the seal Of Constance de CASTLE.
Upon each coffin there was an in.
criptlon upon plate of lead or copper.
They were torn of. One Of them, that
of Louis XIV, was found again in
1890, in the shop Of a brazier, who used
t as saucepan Some Of the bones
were thrown into the cemetery, but the
greater portion Of them remained in
the collins, In three days, the 9th, 9TH
and 9th of August, tifty-one tombs were
destroyed. The news was announced
all over the country and the event was
celebrated by the feast of the 10th of
August For all that, it was considered
that this revenge" was not sufficient
They had broken the images Of the
kings now they determined to attack
their remains.
a crowd Of citizens of Saint Denis.
IJoined by several politicians from Paris.
stopped flrst before the tomb of Tu.
renne. They found the coffin in a
vault placed immediately under the
marble monument. They opened it
The features Of the hero of Salzbach
were unchanged. The body presented
the appearance of dry mummy. |,
was placed in the care of msn NAMED
Host. He placed it in an oak box anc
deposited It in the Sacristy, and fol
eight months he exhibited it as q
curious relic and charged fee of ad.
mission. Not being satisfied with his
profits in the exhibition line, he took
ont the teeth of the great Turenne anc
sold them one by one. When thi.
, outrage was discovered the body wa.
sent to the Jardin des Plantes, and two
years afterwards it was placed in the
Temple OF Mars, fora erly the Church
OF the lnvalides.
In the afternoon Robespierre ar
rived. He would not have any non
sense over the tyrants of the middle
ages. What he wanted was to find the
vault of the Bourbons At last the
entrance was found. 1t was situatec
= before the altar and little to the right
They descended into the crypt, anc
near the door they diScov, red tn,
coffin OF Louis XIV. Further on
ranged side by side, were twenty-tw,
tombs at the left, and on the righ
were those Of Henry ~ and of Mari,
de Medicis.
The popular Imagination was still
: iuIl Of the souvenirs left by that gooc
king. 1t was he whom they exhumec
the hrst. According to the record,
4 that have been left To rs n certai,