first the bones were heaped up without any kind of order except that
those from each cemetery were kept separate, but in 1810 a regular
system of arranging them was commenced, and the skulls and bones were
built up along the wall. From the main entrance to the catacombs,
which is near the barriers d'Enfer, a flight of ninety steps descends,
at whose foot galleries are seen branching in various directions. Some
yards distant is a vestibule of octagonal form, which opens into a
long gallery lined with bones from floor to roof. The arm, leg and
thigh bones are in front, closely and regularly piled, and their
uniformity is relieved by three rows of skulls at equal distances.
Behind these are thrown the smaller bones. This gallery conducts to
several rooms resembling chapels, lined with bones variously arranged.
One is called the "Tomb of the Revolution." another the "Tomb of
Victims," the latter containing the relics of those who perished in
the early period of the revolution and in the "Massacre of September."
It is estimated that the remains of 3,000,000 human beings lie in this
receptacle. Admission to these catacombs has for years been strictly
forbidden on account of the unsafe condition of the roof. They are
said to comprise an extent of about 3,250,000 square yards.


HISTORY OF THE TELEPHONE.--The principle of the telephone, that sounds
could be conveyed to a distance by a distended wire, was demonstrated
by Robert Hook in 1667, but no practical application was made of
the discovery until 1821, when Professor Wheatstone exhibited his
"Enchanted Lyre," in which the sounds of a music-box were conveyed
from a cellar to upper rooms. The first true discoverer of the
speaking telephone, however, was Johaun Philipp Reis, a German
scientist and professor in the institute at Friedrichsdorf. April 25,
1861, Reis exhibited his telephone at Frankfort. This contained all