Year: 1871

larger than that of the Strasbourg
Cathedral. In the Church of st.
Peter, is the famous sltar-piece OF
the crucifixioD of that Saint, with
his head downward, BY the great
master, Rubens, who presented it to
the church in which he was baptized.


The fount in which Ruhens was
baptized still exists in this church,
and here it was that the obsequies
of the Lady Shredder were perform
ed according to the custom of that
age, when death inspired feelings OF
piety and confidence rather than OF
terror. The body of the deceased
was dressed in white silk, covered
with white flowers. A coronet was
placed on her head, and her thin
white fingers were adorned with the
same rings she had worn during her
life time. She was put in collin
lined with looking glass, and laid in
a little chapel built in vault be-
meath the choir. Several of her an
cestors had preceded her thither.
Her name, title, together with the
date of her birth and death, were
engraved on the plate in the lid OF
the coffin. The inscription conclud
ed with these solacing words: "Shc
is not dead, but sieepeth,'


Baron EselWicke followed her to
her last home. The enormous bell,
weighing ten tons, placed in the
steeple of the cathedral, had made
the great city resound with its fu-
neral kneil. Pale and lifeless the
Lady SHREDDER reposed in her coffin,
the devout monks had chanted her
requiun and the immense clock
which is only wound up once year,
a nd which points out the hours OF
the day, and the course of the stars
was the soul object that moved
under the solitary and silent vault
The monotonous 1oise of it's pendu
lum rcsounds above the mute tombs
and images of saints discolored BY
time.


Itw at the close of the evening
of q day in the month of December
the weather being cheerless and
gloomy, that Heintz Wherart, sex.
ton of the Church of St. Peter, re.
turned home after this splendid fu
neral; but he could not rest. His
mind was absorbed with but ono
idea-he yearned to possess himself
of the jewels which had glittered Sc
temptingly before his avaritious
eyes. Wherart had always been es
teemed a plain dealing, honest sort
of fellow. one who was incapable oil
committing q theft. He was char.
liable, well meaning man enough
but he could not comprehend or ap
precia-e the sentiments which or
dained those love tokens to lie in
impossible immovability on hal
lowed breast. In his opinion, it was
q silly waste of treasure, and he ar.
gued that no harm could come oil
of his appropriating it; and he
therefore, determined upon return
ing to the church for the purpose ol
opening the coffin, that he might
possess himself of the jewels.


Upon his entering the sacred edi-
flee on his guilty errand, he trem,
bied like an aspen leaf The hand
in which he held the lantern was ag
itatsl by so violent and convuIsive
a movement, that he was more than
once afraid the light would 90 out
and IpaVn him IN ,,ftor Jo,.I-.-
but the nature Of his Office had given
him familiarity with the building,
every obscure corner of which he
was very we'll acquainted with. He
was not, however, dead 10 a sense
OF its sacredness. If the sight of a
temple inspires every pious man
with respectful, fear, what must no,
be felt al that time of the night by
one WHO came to trouble its solitude
with the intention of committing an
odious sacrilege?


AS he took his way along the
gloomy aisles, the tombstones OF
the walls glared as it were reproach
fully upon him one by one, and his
perturbation was increased by the
dart of bat close to his face. A
thousand marvellous tales returned
to his memory as he passed into the
Lady Shroeder's sepulchre He re.
yived his heart as best he could
LAID down his lamp in a niche in the
wall and proceeded with his instru.
ments to take off the lid of the cof.
lin which contained the body of her
who had been consigned to her last
resting place on the morning Of that
day.


Heintz Whereat took off the lid
then the sight of the corpse living
there by that dim light in the heavy
stiffness of death, with its white and
placid countenance, made his heart
beat violently and his nerves trcm-
BILE. The sublimity of the sight
made his heart beat violently and
his nerves tremble. The sublimity
ofthe sight made him feel the mean
ness of his action with double force.
Heavy drops ofperspiration bedewed
his forehead and temples, he felt
faint, and returned into the body OF
the church. The GOODNESS of the
air refreshed him, and he made up
his mind to abandon his wicked
project; but upon recollecting that
the lid of the coffin should be re-
placed, he mustered an air of intre-
pidity to his brow, and went again
Into the vault to replace the lid.


But the sight of the corpse was
not nearly so awful to him as it had
heen before, and his original inten
ton seemed to suddenly move him
to action. By, quick effort he lif-
ted the body, drew the chain over
the hand, disengaged the locket
from under the hand, and then low
cred the corpse into its place. AS
he did this, the arm, which before
lay upon the breast, fell with a
strange flexibility over the side OF
the coffin, and a faint sigh came
from the body.
At this moment he thought he