processes of the tomb were found to have made greater advances than
met the eye. Hardly anything would bear removal, but fell to pieces
at the first touch. Search was made for plates with inscriptions,
but even the metal plates crumbled away on being fingered, and their
inscriptions were utterly effaced. Two plates only were found with
legible characters, and these were foreign to the purpose. Probably
every one but the Burgermeister looked on the matter as hopeless.
They reascended the ladder and closed the vault.

"Meanwhile these strange proceedings in the Kassengewolbe began to
be noised abroad. The churchyard was a thoroughfare, and many
passengers had observed that something unusual was going on. There
were persons living in Weimar whose near relatives lay in the
Gewolbe; and, though neither they nor the public at large had any
objection to offer to the general 'clearing out,' they did raise
very strong objections to this mode of anticipating it. So many
pungent things began to be said about violating the tomb, disturbing
the repose of the departed, &c., that the Burgermeister perceived
the necessity of going more warily to work in future. He resolved
to time his next visit at an hour when few persons would be likely
to cross the churchyard at that season. Accordingly, two days later
he returned to the Kassengewolbe at seven in the morning,
accompanied only by Coudray and the churchyard officials.

"Their first task was to raise out of the vault altogether six
coffins, which it was found would bear removal. By various tokens
it was proved that none of these could be that of which they were in
search. There were several others which could not be removed, but
which held together so long as they were left where they lay. All
the rest were in the direst confusion. Two hours and a half were