Durango semi-weekly herald., 1901-12-23
HOLDS ROYAL HEARTS.
Church of Augustine Friars Thus
Used for Centuries for Austria's
Dead

Curtis in Chicago Record y
Down in gloomy little crypt in tn,
church OF the Augustine friars, tn,
sacristan, if you will give him kro
men will let you look through graf
ing in the door. and see the forty
seven cans upon a shelf that encir
cles a whitewashed wall. They lool
like an assortment of timed meats
or vegetables, but contain the hearts
OF the members OF the imperial house
of Austria.
For centuries. when an emperor or
an empress. or any of the royal fam
lily dies, it has been the custom to
cut the heart out of the body, seal it
up in little silver urn and deposit it
In this church, which contains also a
beautiful monument to the archduch-
ess, Maria Christina daughter of Ma
ria Theresa-and the most beautiful
sepulcher / have ever seen. 1t was
carved by Canovas and represents the
face of a pyramid with an open door
through which a procession of life.
size marble figures is passing into the
Ntomb-the poor. the lame, the halt
and the blind-bearing offerings of
affection and gratitude. while the an
gel OF the resurrection leans upon the
back OF lion and watches them.
IL Is an ugly old church and was
puilt away back in 1888. but it is ia.
nous for being the court chapel and
having one of the finest ehoirs In the
world. An appointment to this choir
ID the highest prize offered by the
Imperial Conservatory of Music. and
although the salaries are not larx.
compared with those paid by fashion.
able churches In the United States
the appointment is for life and com
mands pension when the singer has
outsung herself
The little crypt or closet In which
the hearts are kept is semi-circular
In shape with radius of about six
feet, and looks as If 1t might orig
inally been built for a shrine The
shelf Is merely ledge of wall which
was whitewashed once, but is badly
discolored by dampness. There is a
little window near the ceiling about
foot square, proteeted by heavy iron
, gratipgs, and 1T is cold and cheer
less and forbidding. You wonder
why 5O IlCu I'LL ellDITe us AuSUTld
should allow the hearts of its rulers
to be kept in such a shabby place
The doors open from a little chapel
as dark as q dungeon, The altar is
tingy. the gilt has peeled off the
wood work, and in places it sadly
needs repair. The sacristan told us
that the emperor remetimes came
there to pray, and there is more dan
ser of his catching cold than of hav-
Ing his attention distracted by orna-
ments. The walls are covered with
moisture, and dust has gathered in
places where the surface is uneven.
The tiles on the floor are loose and
rattle as you walk over them, and in
one place boards have been laid down
TO cover those that are broken. In
0ne corner thrawn carelessly upon a
chair, are the "habiliments of VICE.
a bundle of cheap black cotton cloth.
made up into festoons and rosottes,
and pastehoard shields and crosses
with deep black borders, which the
sacristan said were used to drape the
walls of the church when some rich
man or member Of ths royal family
prdsred 4 REQUIEM mass. 1t would
ba difficult to find a more inappropri-
ate or unsuitable place Tor the pur
pase for which 1t is used,
In an urn somewhat larger than the
rest. standing at the apex of the semi
circle, is the great heart Of Maria
Thefesdr All its lassion and its am
pitidn must have evaporated by this
tins, and 1t is Undoubtedly reduced
to dust, The heart of her husband,
the Duke of Tuscany, is in a similar
urn beside it, which is appropriate,
because abe was fhs mare nohGe and
famous of'the twb, Around at the
right end OF the row is a new urn, but
fashioned like the rest, without the
Slightest bit Of ornament, pnburnish-
I'D Ani easily mistaken Tor tin, Is the
heart of the late empress Elizabeth,
who was assassinated at Geneva in
the mest brutal mannar tws years ago
And by It's side is the urn of Rudolph,
her wayward son, who loved woman
more than his honor and his life. On
tho pppesite end Of the shelf. SO far
that II is almost out of the range OF
vision, Is the urn Of Marie Louise, the
wife of Napoleon the Great, and that
beside 1t contains the heart of her
Son. Z Aiglon. i
One is strongly tempted to stand
thers shd mpransei there is a text
fbt a Sermon In every one of these
urps,' but the air Is too cold and too
damp. and you inquire of the sexton
why they don't rub up the urns with
a little silver polish once in awhile,
ssna pass out lHtq ne sraletd' Sun
IN big cellar under the monas'
terry Of the Capuchin monks, in the
busiest part ef tha bqsiness SECTION
af Vienna, within three minutes
walk Of the United States consulate
and the fashionable shopning district
liz the bones af the imperial family
as far back as Matthias, who reign
I'D In the fifteenth century, It is a