Historical records of the 91st Argyllshire ... - waughfamily.ca

HISTORICAL94 .RECORDS OF THE1840. L'Abbe Coquereault then performed an appropriateservice, after which, the necessary medicalprecautions having been taken, thepartyof the91st on guard raised and bore the coffin into atent erected close by, where another service wasgone through, the " Levee du Corps."The body was deposited within four coffins, oneof tin, one of lead, and two of mahogany ;thesewere all found perfectly closed, but it was thoughtnecessary to openthem to ascertain the actualcondition of the remains.The coffins were thereforeopened, and the satin cloth which coveredthe body, when removed, disclosed the remains ina state of preservation almost perfect.Captain Ward of the 91st, who had been atSt. Helena with the 67th Regiment in 1821, atthe time of the emperor's death, and had beenpermitted to see the body as it lay in state, hadthen taken a pencil sketch of the face. Strangeto say, he was again on the island, and waspresent at the exhuming of the body,and had theopportunity of comparing the sketch taken twentyyears previously. He found it a perfect likeness(a copy of it appearedin one of the illustratedpapers some years ago).The coffins were closed again, after remaining a