MM. Isabey and Moreau were entrusted with the plans and preparations for the ceremony. In accordance with the emperor’s wish, the former displayed the greatest magnificence, and that funereal pomp inseparable from the obsequies of kings. In the centre of the old Basilica there stood a baldachin sixty feet high, and ornamented with all the insignia of royalty. Four colossal statues, placed at the four corners of a cenotaph, represented respectively France, dissolved in tears; Europe, contributing its meed of regret; Hope, guiding the soul of the virtuous monarch to the abode of everlasting bliss; and Religion, holding in her hand that last will, the sublime model of charity and pardon. The nave of the cathedral was entirely covered with one immense hanging of black, richly embroidered with silver. From each pillar was suspended the scutcheon of the House of France. Numberless wax candles and tapers shed a dazzling light across those sombre walls, closed to the orb of day. A stand, entirely draped with black velvet, embellished with silver fringe, had been prepared for the sovereigns. The nave and the choir were reserved for the specially invited guests, and the lateral parts of the sacred building for the public. Long before the hour fixed for the ceremony an immense crowd blocked up the approaches to the Gothic fane. Every Frenchman in Vienna, no matter what his rank, had received an invitation, and not one failed. The Knights of the Golden Fleece and the ambassadors in full Court dress occupied the foremost rows of the choir. Behind them were all the notabilities, all the princely guests, and the authorities of the city of Vienna. A detachment of the regiments of the Guards and another of the Hungarian Nobiliary Guard were on duty round the catafalque, as at the funeral of emperors. Emperor Francis himself intended this as the highest expression of his personal sentiments. In the nave stood a considerable number of ladies attired in mourning and wrapped in long crape veils.