"Schwabe's idea of a monument in the new cemetery was, after a
while, revived by the Grand Duke, Carl August, but with an important
alteration, which was, that on the spot indicated at the head of the
rising ground there should be erected a common sepulchre for Goethe
and Schiller, in which the latter's remains should at once be
deposited--the mausoleum to be finally closed only when, in the
course of nature, Goethe should have been laid there too. The idea
was, doubtless, very noble, and found great favour with Goethe
himself, who entering into it commissioned Coudray, the architect,
to sketch the plan of a simple mausoleum, in which the sarcophagi
were to be visible from without. There was some delay in clearing
the ground--a nursery of young trees had to be removed--so that at
Midsummer, 1827, nothing had been done. It is said that the
intrigues of certain persons, who made a point of opposing Goethe at
all times, prevailed so far with the Grand Duke that he became
indifferent about the whole scheme. Meanwhile it was necessary to
provide for the remains of Schiller. The public voice was loud in
condemning their present location, and in August, 1827, Louis of
Bavaria again appeared as a Deus ex machina to hasten on the last
act. He expressed surprise that the bones of Germany's best-beloved
should be kept like rare coins, or other curiosities, in a public
museum. In these circumstances, the Grand Duke wrote Goethe a note,
proposing for his approval that the skull and skeleton of Schiller
should be reunited and 'provisionally' deposited in the vault which
the Grand Duke had built for himself and his house, 'until
Schiller's family should otherwise determine.' No better plan
seeming feasible, Goethe himself gave orders for the construction of
a sarcophagus. On November 17th, 1827, in presence of the younger
Goethe, Coudray and Riemer, the head was finally removed from the
pedestal, and Professor Schroter reconstructed the entire skeleton