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NKW ENGLAND FARMER, 



September 12, 1832. 



Dining the reign of Louis XV. tlie Jesuits liav- ' ])ioduce the most imposing efl'ect, witliout giving 

 ing been expelled from France, the magnificent to tlie whole a too sombre and lonely appearance, 

 seat of I'cre La Chaise was directed to be sold, to This lie successfully acconi|)lished, by an appro- 

 pay the debts of that socieui. and was jiurchased . priate distribution of the grounds, to the various 

 by the guardian of the ^pns dcs Fontaines. ! objects for which they were destined ; and in the 



to be carried into effect, under the iiiiiiiediate di- 

 rection of the Inspector General of Cemeteries, 

 and to keep a register of the interments. 



The superintendent has under him a jirincipal 



^^ grave digger with assistants, an officer with assist- 



These noblemen held the "Estate for fortyseven judicious and tasteful arrangement of the public j ants, who has the charge of keeping the avenues. 



years, but having been reduced in futune by the 

 disasters of the revolution, they found the estab- 

 lishment too e.xpensive, and being rieglected, it fell 

 into ruin and became the retreat of owls. Its or- 

 namental plantations were gradually destroyed, 

 and the land was then cultivated as a common 

 farm. Divided into numerous lots, it no longer 

 resembled a park, and nothing remained in 1804, 

 to indicate its former magnificence. But the 

 beauty of the position, and its innumerable natural 

 advantages, saved it from imminent destruction. 

 At that time M. Frochet, Prefect of the Depart- 

 ment of the Seine, was desirous of finding an eli- 

 gible site for a large public cemetery. He consid- 

 ered it important that the location should he beau- 

 tiful, which was the reverse of the existing burial 

 ground of the French capitol. M. Broguiart, a 

 celebrated artist, was instructed to discover an a])- 

 propriate location, and he readily iierceived tliat 

 the ancient park of Pere La Chaise |iresented all 

 the requisites, and it soon became celebrated as a 

 cemetery throughout Europe. It was immediate- 

 ly purchased for the sum of 160,000 francs imder 

 the authority of the administration of Paris. It 

 then contained but fiftytwo acres, but has since 

 been extended to seventytwo. 



The ijompoiis denomination of Blont Louis was 

 abolished, and it was called by the administration 

 of the department, Cimf/if?T dcL'Est; but the 

 public, unchangeable in its old customs, imposed 

 tipcn it the name of the Cimttiere du Pure La 

 Chaise, to perpetuate the astonishing metamorpho- 

 sis of the garden of a Jesuit, and the confessor of 

 Louis XIV. being converted into a burial place. 



Heretofore all was confusion, disorder, and ir- 

 reverence towards the ashes of the dead, in the 

 burial places of Paris. Causes, adverse to the in- 

 dulgence of a recollection of our predecessors, 

 seemed to have combined in the accumulation of 

 everything which was capable of exciting terror 

 and disgust ; confined, foetid and liorrible situaTj 

 tions, where the rays of the sun scarcely appear- 

 ed — broad and deep pits into which the dead bod- 

 ies of the poor were thrown by hundreds, and 

 generally without being even inclosed in the mean- 

 est coffin; — surrounded by high walls, against 

 which were piled uj) thousands of bones that had 

 been removed from the earth before decomposi- 

 tion, to iTiake room for the remains of other un- 

 fortunate beings ; no monuments, or scarcely any 

 other indication of friendly recollection : such 

 were the revolting places to whii-h Paris gave the 

 name of cemeteries. The terror of the poor, who 

 scarcelj' dare to enter them even at the iiitermeiii 

 of a dear relative ; hideous to the rich, who could 

 not even look at thein without a shudder. But 

 order, decency and respect for the ashes of the 

 dead were induced by the perfect regulation, order 

 and management of the new cemetery, mider the 

 judicious and constant superintendence nf Count 

 Chabral de Volvic, the present prefect of the De- 

 partment of the Seine. 



Having selected for the principal funeral asylum 

 of the inhabitants, an incomparable site, M. Bro 

 guiart considered it incumbent upon him, to aval 

 of those natural advantages which it presented, to 



edifices, avenues, paths, and the infinitely various jiaths, garilens, and plantations around the monii- 

 and superb monuments. ments in perfect orrler, and the direction of all 



The grounds are inclosed by a vast an<l elegant excavations for the construction of perpetual se- 

 wall 2,400 toises in circuit. The principal en- pulchres, and a guard of seven men under the 

 trance is from the Boulevard d'Arliiny. On each command of a chief, which keeps watch night and 

 side of the great gate aie lodges for the officers of j day for the security of the monuments, the niain- 

 the cemetery. On the left pilasier is the follow- 1 tenance of the police, and the enforcement and ob- 

 ing sentence from St John the Evjmgclist, xi; 25. Uervance of the regulations, which are posted up 



" He that helieveih in me, though he icen dead, \ in various parts of the establishment. 



yet shall he live." 



On the front of the gate-way is this sublime 

 profession of faith from Job, xix. 



'• I know that my Redeemer liveih, and that he 

 shall stand at the latter day vpon the earth; and 

 though wonns destroy this body, yet in myjlesh shall 

 1 see God." 



On the right pilaster is the following sentence 

 from the Wisdom of Solomon, iii. 4. 



" Yet is their hope full of immortality." 



On the highest part of the inclosure, where 

 there is now a small chajiel, is to be reared a pyra- 

 mid 200 feet high, in the centre of which will be 

 a temple for religious ceremonies. An extensive 

 sipiare on the left of the main avenue is appropri- 

 ated as a common burial place for the poor, and 

 on the right the Jews have a large grave yard ; the 

 remainder of the land has been divide<l into fifty- 

 seven comi)arlments, by the intersection of the 



All inscriptions must be left at the office of the 

 superintendent for cxaniiiiation, before they can 

 be engraved on the monuments, and none are al- 

 lowed, which are in violation of the principles of 

 religion, morality, the government, language or 

 orthography. 



.\l the time this estalilisliment was commenced, 

 no one had conceived of the high public favor which 

 it was destined to acquire. It iircsented nothing 

 j)eculiar for a burying place. A disposition for 

 its embellishment was evinced with a tardiness, 

 then not common in the erection of public monii- 

 iiients. The inhumations commenced in the deep- 

 est and most remote ])art of the vale, which was 

 overlooked by the old habitation of Pere La 

 Chaise, then falling' in ruins. The entrance was 

 from a narrow street bordered with houses — the 

 interior edifices j)resented a hideous aspect, in 

 quencc of their antiquity, irregularity and di- 



niimerous avenues, wliicli have been formed in Japidaled state. On arriving at the place of inter- 



ihe style of modern landscape and iiicturesque 

 planting. . 



The poor arc buried at the pulilie expense; 

 but that numerous class of ]iersoiis who live com- 

 fortably, by their own continual industry, yet, not 

 having acquired an independency, were consid- 

 ered worthy of the kind attention of the govern- 

 ment, nevertheless it was not considered that they 

 were entitled to agratuitous interment, because the 

 procurement of a sepulchre was a debt of consan- 

 guinity, of relationship, of gratitude or friendship, 

 whi(rh lliose s-hoiild discharge who inheriithe prop- 

 erty of the deceased. Still their humble situation 

 prohibited an extravagant expenditure; but their 

 virtues, the usual companions of the middling and 

 laborious portion of society, and their sentiments 

 of affection imperiously prescribed that they should 

 not forget in the night of the tomb, those whom 

 they had always loved ; it was, therefore, necessa- 

 ry to etiable them to discharge this debt of the 

 eart. The administration, attentive to its duties, 

 prepared for them isolated i)laces of burial, where 

 they could be assured of an undisturbed sepulchre 

 Oil the payment of fifty francs for each successive 

 term of five years. The third class of jiersons 

 who are interred in the cemetery, are those a\ ho 

 purchase a perpetual possession in a site for a se- 

 pulchre; but not less than two square metres arc 

 conveyed for an adult's grave, and one for that of 

 a child under seven years of age. The price is 

 125 francs per square metre ; the cost therefore, 

 of a grave of two metres, is 250 francs, to which 

 are to be added the fees, amounting to 18^^^^ francs, 

 making the whole sum 2(i8-j?^5y francs. 



The special management of the establishment 

 is committed to a superintendent, who is charged 

 with the duty of causing the laws and regulations 



nicnt, it v\'as found to be without any point of 

 vie«'. The fir trees, which grew along the walls, 

 shaded a few grave stones, or merely wooden 

 crosses. A deep pit, aUv.nys open, was to be seen, 

 in which the remains of the |)oor were thrown. 

 All was sad and cheerless in this confined spot; 

 sfill it was visited by a few persons, who cherished 

 the memories of their friends ; filial piety traced 

 upon a humble monument the name of a virtuouB 

 father; a few widows came to shed tears over 

 the graves of their husbands; mothers formed 

 wreaths and crowns of myrtles and roses which 

 they placed upon the tombs of their children ; 

 such tributes of the heart were then not uncom- 

 mon. 



During eight years the temporary scpulclircs 

 were formed almost exclusively in the lowest part 

 of the grounds, and there weie but a few ])crpetu- 

 al monuments scattered over the top of the emi- 

 nence. When returning from an interment, no 

 one w;is tempted to ascend the sleep acclivity of 

 the hill, to behold more near a ruined mansion and 

 a few dispersed monuments, some small clumpg 

 of trees, an isolated gothic chapel, and grounds 

 without embellishment or cultivation. The per- 

 spective of Paris was very magnificent from this 

 point, but any other place than a cemetery, seem- 

 ed preferable for its contemjilalion. 



Public opinion, which subjects everything to 

 its laws, had not yet included in the number of 

 essential domestic virtues, a respect for the ashes 

 and memory of relations. A iieoplc intoxicated 

 with glory, satiated with victories and proud of 

 their power, repulsed far from them all melancho- 

 ly reflections ; everything which might induce 

 them to think of the fragility of human happiness. 

 The dead are immediately forgotten, when our 



