This imposing ceremony was performed on the 2d of December, 1804, in the
Cathedral of Notre Dame, in the midst of all that was splendid and
illustrious in the Capital of France. With a view to show his power
rather than to acknowledge the jurisdiction of the Pope, either temporal
or spiritual, Napoleon summoned Pius VII. to be in attendance on the day
of his inauguration at Paris. In compliance with this, the unresisting
Pope left Rome on the 5th of November, and blessed the Emperor and
Empress, and also consecrated the diadems. Napoleon, however, placed the
crown on his own head, and then on the head of Josephine, who received
it kneeling on a cushion at the foot of the altar steps. We are told
that “throughout the ceremonial his aspect was thoughtful; it was on a
stern and gloomy brow that with his own hands he planted the symbol of
successful ambition and uneasy power, and the shouts of the deputies
present, sounded faint and hollow amidst the silence of the people.”
[Illustration: THE CORONATION OF NAPOLEON.]