The Second Funeral of Napoleon
Page: 25

stretched down the avenue, each bearing a bronze buckler on which
was written, in gold letters, one of the victories of the Emperor,
and each decorated with enormous imperial flags. On these columns
golden eagles were placed; and the newspapers did not fail to remark
the ingenious position in which the royal birds had been set: for
while those on the right-hand side of the way had their heads turned
TOWARDS the procession, as if to watch its coming, those on the left
were looking exactly the other way, as if to regard its progress.
Do not fancy I am joking: this point was gravely and emphatically
urged in many newspapers; and I do believe no mortal Frenchman ever
thought it anything but sublime.

Do not interrupt me, sweet Miss Smith. I feel that you are angry.
I can see from here the pouting of your lips, and know what you are
going to say. You are going to say, "I will read no more of this
Mr. Titmarsh; there is no subject, however solemn, but he treats it
with flippant irreverence, and no character, however great, at whom
he does not sneer."

Ah, my dear! you are young now and enthusiastic; and your Titmarsh
is old, very old, sad, and gray-headed. I have seen a poor mother
buy a halfpenny wreath at the gate of Montmartre burying-ground, and
go with it to her little child's grave, and hang it there over the
little humble stone; and if ever you saw me scorn the mean offering
of the poor shabby creature, I will give you leave to be as angry as
you will. They say that on the passage of Napoleon's coffin down
the Seine, old soldiers and country people walked miles from their
villages just to catch a sight of the boat which carried his body
and to kneel down on the shore and pray for him. God forbid that we
should quarrel with such prayers and sorrow, or question their
sincerity. Something great and good must have been in this man,
something loving and kindly, that has kept his name so cherished in
the popular memory, and gained him such lasting reverence and
affection.

But, Madam, one may respect the dead without feeling awe-stricken at
the plumes of the hearse; and I see no reason why one should