Wednesday, Dec. 5, three days after the coronation, the Emperor made a
distribution of the colors on the Champ-de-Mars.
In front of Ecole-Militaire a balcony was erected, covered with awnings,
and placed on a level with the apartments on the first floor. The middle
awning, supported by four columns, each one of which was a gilded figure
representing Victory, covered the throne on which their Majesties were
seated. A most fortunate precaution, for on that day the weather was
dreadful; the thaw had come suddenly, and every one knows what a Paris
thaw is.
Around the throne were ranged princes and princesses, grand dignitaries,
ministers, marshals of the Empire, grand officers of the crown, the
ladies of the court, and the council of state.
This balcony was divided on the right and left into sixteen compartments,
decorated with banners, and crowned with eagles, these divisions
representing the sixteen cohorts of the Legion of Honor. Those on the
right were occupied by the Senate, the officers of the Legion of Honor,
the court of appeals, and the chiefs of the national treasury, and those
on the left by the Tribunate and the Corps-Legislatif.
At each end of the balcony was a pavilion. That on the side next the
city was styled the imperial tribune, and intended for foreign princes,
while the diplomatic corps and foreign personages of distinction filled
the other pavilion.
From this gallery an immense staircase descended into the Champ-de-Mars,
the first step of which formed a bench below the tribunes, and was
occupied by the presidents of the cantons, the prefects, the
sub-prefects, and the members of the municipal council. On each side of
this staircase were placed the colossal figures of France making peace
and France making war. Upon the steps were seated the colonels of
regiments, and the presidents of the electoral colleges of the
department, holding aloft the imperial eagles.
The cortege of their Majesties set out at noon from the chateau of the
Tuileries, in the same order adopted at the coronation: the chasseurs of
the guard and the squadrons of mamelukes marching in front, the Legion
d' Elite and the mounted grenadiers following the municipal guard; while
the grenadiers of the guard closed up the line. Their Majesties having
entered l'Ecole-Militaire, received the homage of the diplomatic corps,
who were stationed for this purpose in the reception-rooms. Then the
Emperor and Empress, having donned their insignia of royalty, took their
seats upon the throne, while the air was rent with reiterated discharges
of artillery and universal acclamations. At a given signal the
deputations of the army, scattered over the Champ-de-Mars, placed
themselves in solid column, and approached the throne amid a flourish of
trumpets. The Emperor then rose, and immediately a deep silence ensued,
while in a loud, clear tone he pronounced these words, "Soldiers, behold
your standards! These eagles will serve you always as a rallying point.
They will go wherever your Emperor may judge their presence necessary for
the defense of his throne and of his people. Will you swear to sacrifice
even your lives in their defense, and to keep them always by your valor
in the path to victory? Do you swear it?"--"We swear it," repeated all
the colonels in chorus, while the presidents of the colleges waved the
flags they bore. "We swear it," said in its turn the whole army, while
the bands played the celebrated march known as "The March of the
Standards."
This intense enthusiasm was communicated to the spectators, who, in spite
of the rain, pressed in crowds upon the terraces which surrounded the
enclosure of the Champ-de-Mars. Soon the eagles took their designated
places, and the army defiled in divisions before the throne of their
Majesties.
Although nothing had been spared to give this ceremony every possible
magnificence, it was by no means brilliant. It is true, the object of
the occasion was imposing; but how could an impressive ceremony be held
in a deluge of melted snow, and amid a sea of mud, which was the
appearance the Champ-de-Mars presented that day? The troops were under
arms from six in the morning, exposed to rain, and forced to endure it
with no apparent necessity so at least they regarded it. The
distribution of standards was to these men nothing more than a review;
and surely it must strike a soldier as a very different matter to brave
the weather on the field of battle, from what it is to stand idle,
exposed to it for hours, with shining gun and empty cartridge-box, on a
parade-day.
The cortege returned to the Tuileries at five o'clock, after which there
was a grand banquet in the gallery of Diana, at which the Pope, the
sovereign elector of Ratisbonne, the princes and princesses, the grand
dignitaries, the diplomatic corps, and many other persons were guests.
Their Majesties' table was placed in the midst of the gallery, upon a
platform, and covered with a magnificent canopy, under which the Emperor
seated himself on the right of the Empress, and the Pope on her left.
The serving was done by the pages. The grand chamberlain, the grand
equerry, and the colonel-general of the guard stood before his Majesty;
the grand marshal of the palace on his right, and in front of the table,
and lower down, the prefect of the palace; on the left, and opposite the
grand marshal, was the grand master of ceremonies; all these also
standing. On either side of their Majesties' table were those of their
imperial highnesses, of the diplomatic corps, of the ministers and grand
officers, and lastly that of the ladies of honor. At night there was
given a reception, concert, and ball. The day after the distribution of
the eagles, his imperial highness Prince Joseph presented to his Majesty
the presidents of the electoral colleges of the departments; and the
presidents of the colleges of the arrondissements and their prefects were
next introduced, and received by his Majesty.
The Emperor conversed with the greater part of these officials on the
needs of each department, and thanked them for their zeal in assisting
him. Then he recommended to them especially the execution of the
conscript law. "Without conscription," said his Majesty, "we should have
neither power nor national independence. All Europe is subject to
conscription. Our success and the strength of our position depend on our
having a national army, and it is necessary to maintain this advantage
with the greatest care."
These presentations occupied several days, during which his Majesty
received in turn, and always with the same ceremonial, the presidents of
the high courts of justice, the presidents of the councils-general of
departments, the subprefects, the deputies of the colonies, the mayors
of the thirty-six principal cities, the presidents of the cantons, the
vice-presidents of the chambers of commerce, and the presidents of the
consistories.
Some days later the city of Paris gave, in honor of their Majesties, a
fete whose brilliance and magnificence surpassed any description that
could possibly be given. On this occasion the Emperor, the Empress, and
the princes Joseph and Louis, rode together in the coronation carriage;
and batteries placed upon the Pont-Neuf announced the moment at which
their Majesties began to ascend the steps of the Hotel de Ville. At the
same time, buffets with pieces of fowl and fountains of wine attracted an
immense crowd to the chief squares of each of the twelve municipalities
of Paris, almost every individual of which had his share in the
distribution of eatables, thanks to the precaution which the authorities
took of distributing to none except those who presented tickets. The
front of the Hotel de Ville was brilliant with colored lamps; but what
seemed to me the finest part of the whole display was a vessel pierced
for eighty cannon, whose decks, masts, sails, and cordage were distinctly
outlined in colored lights. The crowning piece of all, which the Emperor
himself set off, represented the Saint-Bernard as a volcano in eruption,
in the midst of glaciers covered with snow. In it appeared the Emperor,
glorious in the light, seated on his horse at the head of his army,
climbing the steep summit of the mountain. More than seven hundred
persons attended the ball, and yet there was no confusion. Their
Majesties withdrew early. The Empress, on entering the apartment
prepared for her at the Hotel de Ville, had found there a most
magnificent toilets-service, all in gold. After it was brought to the
Tuileries it was for many days her Majesty's chief source of
entertainment and subject of conversation. She wished every one to see
and admire it; and, in truth, no one who saw it could fail to do so.
Their Majesties gave permission that this, with a service which the city
had presented to the Emperor, should be placed on exhibition for several
days, for the gratification of the public.
After the fireworks a superb balloon was sent up, the whole circumference
of which, with the basket, and the ropes which attached it to the
balloon, were decorated with countless festoons of colored lights. This
enormous body of colored fire rising slowly and majestically into the air
was a magnificent spectacle. It remained suspended for a while exactly
over the city of Paris, as if to wait till public curiosity was fully
satisfied, then, having reached a height at which it encountered a more
rapid current of air, it suddenly disappeared, driven by the wind towards
the south. After its disappearance it was thought of no more, but
fifteen days later a very singular incident recalled it to public
attention.
While I was dressing the Emperor the first day of the year, or the day
before, one of his ministers was introduced; and the Emperor having
inquired the news in Paris, as he always did of those whom he saw early
in the morning, the minister replied, "I saw Cardinal Caprara late
yesterday evening, and I learned from him a very singular circumstance."
--"What was it? about what?" and his Majesty, imagining doubtless that it
was some political incident, was preparing to carry off his minister into
his cabinet, before having completed his toilet, when his Excellency
hastened to add, "Oh, it is nothing very serious, Sire! Your Majesty
doubtless remembers that they have been discussing lately in the circle
of her Majesty the Empress the chagrin of poor Garnerin, who has not
succeeded up to this time in finding the balloon which he sent up on the
day of the fete given to your Majesty by the city of Paris. He has at
last received news of his balloon."--"Where did it fall?" asked the
Emperor. "At Rome, Sire!"--"Ah, that is really very singular."--"Yes,
Sire; Garnerin's balloon has thus, in twenty-four hours, shown your
imperial crown in the two capitals of the world." Then the minister
related to his Majesty the following details, which were published at the
time, but which I think sufficiently interesting to be repeated here.
Garnerin had attached to his balloon the following notice:
"The balloon carrying this letter was sent up at Paris on the evening of
the 25th Frimaire (Dec. 16) by Monsieur Garnerin, special aeronaut of his
Majesty the Emperor of Russia, and ordinary aeronaut of the French
government, on the occasion of a fete given by the city of Paris to the
Emperor Napoleon, celebrating his coronation. Whoever finds this balloon
will please inform M. Garnerin, who will go to the spot."
The aeronaut expected, doubtless, to receive notice next day that his
balloon had fallen in the plain of Saint-Denis, or in that of Grenelle;
for it is to be presumed that he hardly dreamed of going to Rome when he
engaged to go to the spot. More than fifteen days passed before he
received the expected notice; and he had probably given up his balloon as
lost, when there came the following letter from the nuncio of his
Holiness:
"Cardinal Caprara is charged by his Excellency Cardinal Gonsalvi,
Secretary of State of His Holiness, to remit to M. Garnerin a copy
of a letter dated Dec. 18. He hastens to send it, and also to add a
copy of the note which accompanied it. The cardinal also takes this
occasion to assure Monsieur Garnerin of his highest esteem."
To this letter was added a translation of the report made to the
cardinal, secretary of state at Rome, by the Duke of Mondragone, and
dated from Anguillora, near Rome, Dec. 18:
"Yesterday evening about twenty-four o'clock there passed through
the air a globe of astonishing size, which fell upon Lake Bracciano,
and had the appearance of a house. Boatmen were sent to bring it to
land; but they were not able to do so, as a high wind prevailed,
accompanied by snow. This morning early they succeeded in bringing
it ashore. This globe is of oiled silk, covered with netting, and
the wire gallery is a little broken. It seems to have been lighted
by lamps and colored lanterns, of which much debris remains.
Attached to the globe was found the following notice." (Which is
given above).
Thus we see that this balloon, which left Paris at seven o'clock on the
evening of Dec. 16, had fallen next day, the 17th, near Rome, at
twenty-four o'clock, that is to say, at sunset. It had crossed France,
the Alps, etc., and passed over a space of more than three hundred
leagues in twenty-two hours, its rate of speed being then fifteen
leagues (45 miles) per hour; and, what renders this still more
remarkable, is the fact that its weight was increased by decorations
weighing five hundred pounds.
An account of the former trips of this balloon will not be without
interest. Its first ascension was made in the presence of their Prussian
Majesties and the whole court, upon which occasion it carried M.
Garnerin, his wife, and M. Gaertner, and descended upon the frontiers of
Saxony.
The second ascension was at St. Petersburg, in the presence of the
Emperor, the two Empresses, and the court, carrying Monsieur and Madame
Garnerin; and it fell a short distance off in a marsh. This was the
first balloon ascension ever seen in Russia.
The third trial was also at St. Petersburg, in the presence of the
imperial family. M. Garnerin ascended, accompanied by General Suolf;
and the two travelers were transported across the Gulf of Friedland in
three-quarters of an hour, and descended at Krasnoe-selo, twenty-five
versts from St. Petersburg. The fourth trial took place at Moscow, and
Garnerin ascended more than four thousand toises [24,000 ft.] He had
many harrowing experiences, and at the end of seven hours descended
three hundred and thirty versts [200 miles] from Moscow, in the
neighborhood of the old frontiers of Russia. This same balloon was
again used at the ascension which Madame Garnerin made at Moscow with
Madame Toucheninolf, in the midst of a frightful storm, and amid flashes
of lightning which killed three men within three hundred paces of the
balloon, at the very instant of the ascension. These ladies descended
without accident twenty-one versts from Moscow.
The city of Paris gave a gratuity of six hundred francs to the boatmen
who had drawn out of Lake Bracciano the balloon, which was brought back
to Paris, and placed in the museum of the Hotel de Ville.
I was a witness that same day of the kindness with which the Emperor
received the petition of a poor woman, a notary's wife, I believe, whose
husband had been condemned on account of some crime, I know not what, to
a long imprisonment. As the carriage of their Imperial Majesties passed
before the Palais-Royal, two women, one already old, the other sixteen or
seventeen years of age, sprang to the door, crying, "Pardon for my
husband, pardon for my father."
The Emperor immediately, in a loud tone, gave the order to stop his
carriage, and held out his hand for the petition which the older of the
two women would give to no one but him, at the same time consoling her
with kind words, and showing a most touching interest lest she might be
hurt by the horses of the marshals of the empire, who were on each side
of the carriage. While this kindness of his august brother was exciting
to the highest pitch the enthusiasm and sensibilities of the witnesses of
this scene, Prince Louis, seated on the front seat of the carriage, also
leaned out, trying to reassure the trembling young girl, and urging her
to comfort her mother, and count with certainty on the Emperor's
favorable consideration. The mother and daughter, overcome by their
emotion, could make no reply; and as the cortege passed on, I saw the
former on the point of falling in a swoon. She was carried into a
neighboring house, where she revived, and with her daughter shed tears of
gratitude and joy.
The Corps Legislatif had decreed that a statue, in white marble, should
be erected to the Emperor in their assembly hall, to commemorate the
completion of the Civil Code. On the day of the unveiling of this
monument, her Majesty the Empress, the princes Joseph, Louis, Borghese,
Bacciochi, and their wives, with other members of the imperial family,
deputations of the principal orders of the state, the diplomatic corps,
and many foreigners of distinction, the marshals of the empire, and a
considerable number of general officers, assembled at seven o'clock in
the evening at the palace of the Legislative Corps.
As the Empress appeared in the hall, the entire assembly rose, and a band
of music, stationed in the neighboring stand, rendered the well-known
chorus from Gluck, "How many charms! What majesty!" Scarcely had the
first strains of this chorus been heard than each one was struck with the
happy coincidence, and applause burst forth from all sides.
By invitation of the president, Marshals Murat and Massena unveiled the
statue; and all eyes were fixed on this image of the Emperor, his brows
encircled with a crown of laurel, and entwined with oak and olive leaves.
When silence had succeeded to the acclamations excited by this sight,
M. de Vaublanc mounted the tribune, and pronounced a discourse, which was
loudly applauded in the assembly, whose sentiments it faithfully
expressed.
"Gentlemen," said the orator, "you have celebrated the completion of the
Civil Code of France by an act of admiration and of gratitude; you have
awarded a statue to the illustrious prince whose firmness and
perseverance have led to the completion of that grand work, while at the
same time his vast intelligence has shed a most glorious light over this
noble department of human institutions. First Consul then, Emperor of
the French to-day, he appears in the temple of the laws, his head adorned
with a triumphal crown as victory has so often adorned it, while
foretelling that this should change to the diadem of kings, and covered
with the imperial mantle, noble attribute of the highest of dignities.
"Doubtless, on this solemn day, in presence of the princes and the great
of the state, before the august person whom the Empire honors for her
beautiful character even more than for the high rank of which her virtues
render her so worthy, in this glorious fete in which we would reunite all
France, you will permit my feeble voice to be raised a moment, and to
recall to you by what immortal actions Napoleon entered upon this
wonderful career of power and honor.
"If praise corrupts weak minds, it is the nourishment of great souls;
and the grand deeds of heroes are ties which bind them to their country.
To recapitulate them is to say that we expect from them a combination of
those grand thoughts, those generous sentiments, those glorious deeds, so
nobly rewarded by the admiration and gratitude of the public.
"Victorious in the three quarters of the world, peacemaker of Europe,
legislator of France, having bestowed and added provinces to the Empire,
does not this glorious record suffice to render him worthy at one and the
same time both of this august title of Emperor of the French, and this
monument erected in the temple of the laws? And yet I would wish to make
you forget these brilliant recollections which I have just recalled.
With a stronger voice than that which sounded his praises, I would say to
you: erase from your minds this glory of the legislator, this glory of
the warrior, and say to yourselves, before the 18th Brumaire, when fatal
laws were promulgated, and when the destructive principles proclaimed
anew were already dragging along men and things with a rapidity which it
would soon have been impossible to arrest--who appeared suddenly like a
beneficent star, who came to abrogate these laws, who filled up the
half-open abyss? You have survived, each one of you, through those
threatening scenes; you live, and you owe it to him whose image you now
behold. You, who were miserable outlaws, have returned, you breathe
again the gentle air of your native land, you embrace your children, your
wives, your friends; and you owe it to this great man. I speak no longer
of his glory, I no longer bear witness to that; but I invoke humanity on
the one side, gratitude on the other; and I demand of you, to whom do you
owe a happiness so great so extraordinary, so unexpected? . . . And
you, each and all, reply with me--to the great man whose image we
behold."
The president repeated in his turn a similar eulogium, in very similar
terms; and few persons then dreamed of thinking these praises
exaggerated, though their opinions have perhaps changed since.
After the ceremony the Empress, on the arm of the president, passed into
the hall of conference, where her Majesty's table had been prepared under
a magnificent dais of crimson silk, and covers for nearly three hundred
guests had been laid by the caterer Robert, in the different halls of the
palace. To the dinner succeeded a brilliant ball. The most remarkable
thing in this fete was the indescribable luxury of flowers and shrubs,
which must doubtless have been collected at great expense, owing to the
severity of the winter. The halls of Lucrece and of La Reunion, in which
the dancing quadrilles were formed, resembled an immense parterre of
roses, laurel, lilac, jonquils, lilies, and jessamine.