What, more? The furniture of the narrow chamber of death we had just

visited weighed six millions of francs in ounces and carats alone,

without a penny thrown into the account for the costly workmanship

bestowed upon them! But we followed into a large room filled with tall

wooden presses like wardrobes. He threw them open, and behold, the

cargoes of "crude bullion" of the assay offices of Nevada faded out of my

memory. There were Virgins and bishops there, above their natural size,

made of solid silver, each worth, by weight, from eight hundred thousand

to two millions of francs, and bearing gemmed books in their hands worth

eighty thousand; there were bas-reliefs that weighed six hundred pounds,

carved in solid silver; croziers and crosses, and candlesticks six and

eight feet high, all of virgin gold, and brilliant with precious stones;

and beside these were all manner of cups and vases, and such things, rich

in proportion. It was an Aladdin's palace. The treasures here, by

simple weight, without counting workmanship, were valued at fifty

millions of francs! If I could get the custody of them for a while, I

fear me the market price of silver bishops would advance shortly, on

account of their exceeding scarcity in the Cathedral of Milan.

The priests showed us two of St. Paul's fingers, and one of St. Peter's;

a bone of Judas Iscariot, (it was black,) and also bones of all the other

disciples; a handkerchief in which the Saviour had left the impression of

his face. Among the most precious of the relics were a stone from the

Holy Sepulchre, part of the crown of thorns, (they have a whole one at

Notre Dame,) a fragment of the purple robe worn by the Saviour, a nail

200

The Innocents Abroad