The Greenville journal. [volume] (Greenville, Ohio) 1850-1918, 1912-06-06


plate and so forth. hidden by
some barbaric lord In the wild
days that are lost to history. No one knew Of
any stony cave, but of the peasants opined
that a certain old quarry that had been abandoned
for hundreds Of years might possibly be the spot
Since the pair Of them were idling, why not go
look at it?
On arrival at the quarry they soon found
recess blocked with earth and stone, and pulling
this away with their hands, came upon ancient
1ron-bound casks by the dozen piled within Some
Of these had rotted open and showed the treasure
running out.
Great Britain and the continent are thickly
dotted with localities in which treasures are re-
ported to lie, treasures offering an equal bet
ter chance Of recovery.
Foremost and by all odds the greatest treasure
story Of the world is the famous Rouver quest,
which has often stirred all France and remains to-
day the prime mystery Of all history. / hope,
however, to add strong hint that may be of aid
In the next furor Of search
Louis the Pious abstemious and
profigate man and had absolute control of the
Golfers Of France in Of her richest periods.
He had so much money that he did not know
what to do with it other than lavish 1t on church
and sacred works. His greatest gift was the
set Of gigantic statues Of the Twelve Apostles
placed in Sainte Chapelle. To avoid public con-
demnation it was given out that they were mere
ly gilded, but the private archives Of the church
SNOW ADunQanIy Inat tney were OF SOl0 BOlu.
Even a conservative estimate of their value
makes staggering figure
Generation after generation passed away and
still the great golden saints stood in Sainte
Chapelle, classed among the art wonders Of the
world Then came dark days for royalty in
France Rebellious mobs sacking other
churches and the high dignitaries called some
noted royalist gentlemen into council 1t was de-
ciGed to remove and hide the statues. This was
done with complete secrecy. The rising wave
rolled higher and nobility and clergy were wiped
out or dispersed. The guillotine exile claimed
them. When quiet came again twelve gilded
wooden figures were placed in Sainte Chapelle
and there they stand today. There
nouncement Of the loss of the huge bulk of gold;
there could be no announcement, considering the
previous deception.
At last, some forty years ago, an imperial re-
corder, nosing around in the Tower Of London
cataoging rummage there came across a small
casket hidden away in corner among lot Of
stuff captured by the Duke Of Wellington after
Waterloo and brought by his commissaries to
England.
The casket was secured by twelve seals and
one of these the imperial recorder recognized
that of the Marquis de Rouvier then at the
French embassy to the court of st. James. The
young marquis said that the other seals were
those of great families in France prior to the
Revolution but that many had been wiped out in
the Reign of Terror. Securing permission, he
took the casket and its custodians to France,
sembled the heads Of any of the families with q
living representative and the seals broken.
Within was found the true history of the golden
saints figures written out in detail, signed by the
archbshops and by the twelve royalist noblenren.
The document stated that twelve statues had
been inferred by workmen who were ignorant Of
their character in spot in France where the
lines of latitude and longitude cross"
The British government transferred the casket
A. ~ phOIR npfafu uvoe VN,yfn
official basis The young marquis and his friends
of the other families joined in association
sworn to return the golden figures and fulfill the
obligations of their grandfathers and great grand
fathers. The young marquis and two OF his
friends journeyed to the district near Neuily and
by the aid of scientific instruments located the
crossing of the lines of latitude and longitude In
great open field. To their surprise they discov-
cred that the field belonged to an estate that was
Of the former properties Of the Marquises de
Rouvier. A peasant was plowing in the field and
the searching party noticed that he and his preds
cessors had left In the center an oval spot now
grown up with trees and brush. As there was no
pile Of stones there no marsh the young marquis
said to him:
"Why do you leave that spot of fine ground un.
cultivated?"
Because, sir, my father and grandfather both
bade me never to plow disturb that spot
as long as l held this land and to so instruct my
sons or those who should come after me, because
In that soil there Is great holiness"
The Joy Of the searching party can be imagined.
There was no question in their minds but that
they had found the chosen hidingplace with very
little effort Arrangements were at once made
with the proper authorities to begin excavation,
and force Of picked men and guards was assem-
bIed. To the terror Of the peasants. the trees
and underground were cut away and the first lay
er Of soil removed. When the excavation had
reached the depth of three feet the experts with
the party announced that they were working In
soil which had never been disturbed since it was
deposited by nature, but the Marquis de Rouvier
insisted that the excavation continue
1t was sent down to depth Of twenty feet and
broadened in all directions for large area. But
wherever spade struck even the unframed