thousand sepulchres, bronze formed into funereal monuments, 

 and a thatched hut, furnishes a fond mother a protection for the 

 ashes of her sons ; finally, there exists such a variety in the forms 

 and arrangement of the three thousand stone monuments, that 

 there cannot be discovered, among one hundred and fifty-nine 

 small tombs, and more than six hundred mausoleums, or mortuary 

 structures, any which are exactly alike; nevertheless,' all the 

 productions of art, collected in this place, are not worthy of ad- 

 mitation; the fantastical, the ugly, and the deformed, are exhib- 

 ited near the beautiful and elegant ; but even their defects cause 

 those to be more fully appreciated, which are truly splendid, per- 

 fect, and admirable : thus disorder sometimes produces the sub- 

 lime ; art employs shadows to produce more splendor, by their 

 magical effects; and the great Artificer of the universe often ap- 

 proximates the most tremendous of the works, which are ioi med 

 by his almighty hands. 



Persons learned in the arts are much interested in the examina- 

 tion of the monuments of Abelard and Eloise, Count JMonge and 

 the family of Ilennecart ; the sepulchral chapels of Madame de 

 Bassano, the family of Marshal McDonald, M. Bazouin, and of 

 the families of Vigier, Houdaille and Morainville ; the monuments 

 of Duke de Decres, Count de Bourcke, Marshals Lefebvre, Mas- 

 sena, and Perignon ; of General Foy ; the imposing mausoleums 

 of Countess Demidoff; the marble cross which surmounts the 

 sepulchre of Messrs De Saulx-Tavannes ; the bronze monument 

 placed over the grave of M. Chagot, the proprietor of the foundry 

 of Creusot. Their refined taste will discover many beauties of 

 detail in the ornamental sculptures ; they will examine the effects 

 of similar monuments placed in different positions ; under trees, 

 upon inclined planes, on level surfaces, against steep declivities, 

 or in receiving peculiar beauties from the neighboring foliage. 

 They will be often surprised in discovering a chef d'ceuvre on the 

 most simple grave-stone, and they cannot fail to admire the exquis- 

 ite bas-reliefs, which decorate the sepulchre of Madame Heim, 

 situated on the top of the hill, near the chapel. They will be 

 pleased to discover a new career opened to artists by this estab- 

 lishment — a new route to mechanical industry, and a new aliment 

 to commerce. They will be persuaded that an opulent city can 

 alone give this illustrious example, and that its influence should 

 extend over the whole of France. 



The establishment of this funereal asylum — the last refuge of 

 the most exalted in reputation, of great renown, and of vast opu- 

 lence ; the final bourn of all classes of society ; the place of re- 

 pose of the most miserable, after long but unfruitful labor, has 

 produced an astonishing revolution in public opinion, and has 

 directed the attention of all Paris towards those persons, who, in 

 their presence, disappear from the world. Funerals are no longer 

 a mystery, of which the mourning families alone know tlie secrets 



