When Charlemagne died, he was buried at Aix la Chapelle,
“keeping royal state and semblance still.” The purple robe was
around him, the crown glittered on his pallid brow. The sword of
state lay near him, and the scepter rested in his hand. Seated
on a chair of state, with all these insignia of royalty upon him
and around him, he was left in the chamber of death. A century
afterward, that silent chamber was opened by the barbarian Otho.
And now the purple robe was dust and ashes. The crown was a
faded spangle, the sword of state corroded metal, and all that
remained of Charles the Great, a ghastly skeleton.
(1227)
=Glory in Duty=--See DUTY MORE THAN GLORY.