The Second Funeral of Napoleon
Page: 35

still in the sky, where it seemed to be lingering as if it would
catch a peep of the commencement of the famous procession. The Arc
de Triomphe was shining in a keen frosty sunshine, and looking as
clean and rosy as if it had just made its toilette. The canvas or
pasteboard image of Napoleon, of which only the gilded legs had been
erected the night previous, was now visible, body, head, crown,
sceptre and all, and made an imposing show. Long gilt banners were
flaunting about, with the imperial cipher and eagle, and the names
of the battles and victories glittering in gold. The long avenues
of the Champs Elysees had been covered with sand for the convenience
of the great procession that was to tramp across it that day.
Hundreds of people were marching to and fro, laughing, chattering,
singing, gesticulating as happy Frenchmen do. There is no
pleasanter sight than a French crowd on the alert for a festival,
and nothing more catching than their good-humor. As for the notion
which has been put forward by some of the opposition newspapers that
the populace were on this occasion unusually solemn or sentimental,
it would be paying a bad compliment to the natural gayety of the
nation, to say that it was, on the morning at least of the 15th of
December, affected in any such absurd way. Itinerant merchants were
shouting out lustily their commodities of segars and brandy, and the
weather was so bitter cold, that they could not fail to find plenty
of customers. Carpenters and workmen were still making a huge
banging and clattering among the sheds which were built for the
accommodation of the visitors. Some of these sheds were hung with
black, such as one sees before churches in funerals; some were robed
in violet, in compliment to the Emperor whose mourning they put on.
Most of them had fine tricolor hangings with appropriate inscriptions
to the glory of the French arms.

All along the Champs Elysees were urns of plaster-of-Paris destined
to contain funeral incense and flames; columns decorated with huge
flags of blue, red, and white, embroidered with shining crowns,
eagles, and N's in gilt paper, and statues of plaster representing