168

DOMESTIC MANNERS OF THE PKUSSIANS.

describing the monument of the Marechal,—"now that youhave contemplated death in its majesty—in all its monu-mental splendour—you can step into an ante-chamber atthe same cliurch, and see it turned into a mere show, andhuman remains that are generally held to be sacred ex-hibited with no more respect than if they were wax figuresor stuffed crocodiles."

At the moment when you are about to quit the Church ofSt. Thomas, the sacristan opens the door at the side, and invitesyou to enter,— "II ne coüte que 50 Centimes pour les Bourgeois; etMessieurs les militaires ne sont pas faxe's" he says. From thegreat drama of death you are about to pass to the mere parade.

Here you are shown two figures in zinc coffins, with glasslids. In the larger one of these you behold all that remains ofthe Count of Nassau-Saarwerden, with his brown sheepskin-face glazed and varnished, and his mouth and nostrils stoppedwith pitch. He is lying on his back, dressed in a piainbrown doublet—such as the Roundheads wore — with adove-coloured silk ribbon round his neck, and a large whitecollar edged with lace. He has a new pair of yellow ochregauntlets and knee breeches, with cotton stockings and high-heeled shoes—the latter spotted white with mildew.

The Corpse has been newly dressed (with the exception ofthe shoes) to tickle the diseased palates of strangers andvisitors. The varnish on his face, however, is recent, sothat the body may keep longer, and a few more sous be turnedout of the ghastly show.

The smaller glazed sarcophagus contains the dressedskeleton of a little girl, said to be the Count's daughter.Here the skull is all crumbling away like worm-eaten paper,and yet the wretched mouldering skeleton is dressed up in anold-fashioned silk gown and lace. and has a ring on the bonyfmgers, and a bracelet on the bony arm.

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