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
in this new and more sumptuous abode, which we are told was seven
feet in length, and bore at its upper end the name
SCHILLER
in letters of cast-iron.
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