New-York tribune., 1912-08-30
only A BOGUS SCHILLER
His Body Elected from Wei
mars Royal MauSoIeum.


Every American who has been In Wei
mar has made a point Of visiting the
'beautiful "Furstengruft." or mausoleum
q. the rcigning grand ducal family. sit
uated In picturesque park in the sub
urbs Of the city. Among its features of
interest are the tombs of the great Ger
man poets. Goethe and Schiller. whose
bodles were placed there as a pOsthumous
tribute TO their genius by Grand Duke
Charles Augustus. It has been recently
ascertained beyond the possibility OF
doubt that in the case Of Schiller. who
died In 1906, and whose supposed body
was disinterred from It's first resting place
for removal to the princely vault, a mis-
take was made, and the bones of
stranger placed in the sarcOphagus bear
ing his name. The unknown stranger has
in consequence been elected from the
"Fursteusrutt," and the Schiller sarcoph-
agus removed; Tor the present grand
duke prudently takes the ground that
since the scientists Of Germany once be-
fore made mistake in the identity OF
schilcr's bones there Is no reason why
they should not do so again. So the body
believed 20 be that of Schiller is 70 he
placed IN a vault Of the Stadtkirche be-
meath a suitable monument
The whole question Of the identity turns
upon a skull. Schiller's body was carried
BY night by intimate friends TO the ST.
Jacobus cemetery and placed in a vault
which contained the bodies of a number of
relatives and friends. TWenty-one years
later part of the cemetery in which the
vault was situated was condemned 10 ue-
lnolition, for the purpose OF iusututnG
some public improvements, and 1t vas
rhen that the grand duke offered finN
isesting place Tor Schiller in his "Fursten-
gruft
Bursomaster Schwabe, the only one re-
naming OF those who had been present
at the original interment, visited the
,au)t In order to identify the body. but
found that the shelves had given way,
tho coffins in falling had broken open and
that there we're no fewer than twenty
three skeletons heaped upon the Aoor.
The only way of distinguishing that oi
Schiller was by means Of the skull, Whlch
vas Of peculiar shape. and by comparl-
Son with the death mask made after his
decease. Accordingly the Mayor carried
tlo twenty-three skulls, duly numbered
home in bags. and, marshalling them IL
order on table, spent several nlshtS
comparing them with the death mask.
Then he called IN several medical men ana
iueTsons who had known the poet, pre-
sented them with the results Of his inves-
2 their n.
Their views coinclded with his own. and
on the strength OF this unanimous YER
dict The selected relic was restored 10
!ts skeleton.
One further test was applied. Goethe
who had been an intimate friend of the
deceased. had some preteDsions 10 ana
romical knowledge. To him Accordingly
tue bones were dispatched contaihed IL
"a long box. and ACCOMPANIED BY note
from the burgomaster, which Is stlA III
existence: Herewith, Enclosed, your eX-
t-uency will find the entire skeleton or
schiller. lacking only some few bones
cf the hands and toes. which we dld not
wish to replace by any foreign material
Goethe pronounced the bones 70 be uh-
doubtedly these of his friend, and II was
while holding the skull In his hand that
he became fired with the poetic insplra-
ton of his famous ode. "On the SRnli oI
Schiller" which begins;
Mysterious vase whence oracles have sprung.
1t was after this clegiac effusion' ana
vith III. seal Of Goethe's approval upon
the bursomasters verdict. that the bones
were transferred to the FuerstenErutt'
but not before a plaster cast was made
of the skull
III the hands Of modern science. now
ever. the death mask and the cranial
cast have given rise to entirely different
opinions. and il has been shown that the
bones of the latter could never have un-
derlain the face Of the former. Professo"
Froreig. of the University OF Tubingen;
Dr. Neuhaus, Of the Berln University,
and Professor Welker. Of Heidelberg, all
Of European celebrity as osteologists'
agree that the skull declared In 1876 10
ho that Of Schiller could not have been
his but they do not concur in the selec-
ton of any other headpiece, each putting
Sorvard favorite of his own as the
only authentic one. Professor Froreig's
sAIsction has the largest following, espe-
pecially among the good people OF Wei
mar. and It il to be solemnly cEtombed
IN the Stadtkirchc. As to the remainder
OF the skeleton, IL has disappeared en-
tirely, 20 there Is nothing TO disagree