32. Cemetery of Montparnasse.
This cemetery, the third of the great Parisian burial-grounds,
is intended for all the interments which take place in the S.
portion of the city, on the l. bank of the Seine. It was first
laid out in 1824, when it consisted of a space of about 30 acres;
its present extent is nearly five times greater. Compared with
the cemetery of Père Lachaise, and even that of Montmartre, it
presents few features of interest; the stranger may, however, conveniently
visit it either before or after an excursion to Versailles,
the railway-station for which (rive gauche) is in the vicinity.
Near the entrance, to the r., is the burying-ground of the
sisters of charity, where one of the most conspicuous crosses indicates
the grave of Sœur Rosalie Rendu, who was presented
with the cross of the Legion of Honour in recognition of her unwearied
and disinterested labours in the Crimea. That her name
is still regarded with reverence is indicated by the fresh flowers
and wreaths placed on her grave at intervals by soldiers of the
French army. A short distance farther, to the l. as the principal
avenue is entered, is the monument of a Mlle. Leontine Spiegel,
remarkable for the beauty of the statue in white marble which
adorns it.
A cross to the l. in the principal walk, leading from N. to S.,
indicates the grave of Henri Grégoire (d. 1832), "ancien évêque de
Blois", one of the first of the clergy who swore fidelity to the
new constitution in 1790, and in 1795 a member of the council
of the Five Hundred. In 1815 he was deprived of his bishopric
by Louis XVIII. and excluded from the Institut of which he was
a member. On his death the archbishop of Paris refused his remains
Christian burial.
In the preceding adjacent walk the visitor will perceive the
names of several men of letters: Mongez, Thurot, Duval etc.
Beyond these: Ottavi, "orateur, parent de Napoléon".
In the rotunda, to the l.: Mazois (d. 1826), an eminent architect;
Orfila, the physician; Boyer, the celebrated surgeon, with
a bust. — Farther on, to the l.: Champagny, duc de Cadore,
minister of the exterior from 1807 to 1811.
To the r. in the principal walk: Duval (d. 1842), the dramatist.
In the W. avenue, to the r. when entered from the rotunda:
Admiral Count Dumont d'Urville, who with his wife and only
son lost his life by a railway accident in 1842 (comp. p. 169),
with gaudy representations of his principal voyages.
In the E. avenue: General Henri de Mylius (d. 1866), who
entered the army in 1800 and was thrice wounded in the campaigns
of Napoleon, a large monument with a bust in bronze.
Then: Boulay, de la Meurthe (d. 1840), member of the Five
Hundred and president of the legislative commission under Napoleon
I.
In the vicinity (opposite) the singular monument of Aug.
Dornès, "représentant du peuple, mort pour la République".
In the N. E. avenue: Jacques Lisfranc (d. 1847), an eminent
military surgeon and professor; one of the reliefs on the sides
represents a scene from the battle of Leipsic, the other a lecture
attended by numerous pupils.
