The Second Funeral of NapoleonThackeray, William Makepeace
History
The Second Funeral of Napoleon
Thackeray, William Makepeace
Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, 1769-1821 -- Death and burial
After this little procession had passed away--you may laugh at it, but
upon my word and conscience, Miss Smith, I saw nothing in the course of
the day which affected me more--after this little procession had
passed away, the other came, accompanied by gun-banging, flag-waving,
incense-burning, trumpets pealing, drums rolling, and at the close,
received by the voice of six hundred choristers, sweetly modulated to
the tones of fifteen score of fiddlers. Then you saw horse and foot,
jack-boots and bear-skin, cuirass and bayonet, National Guard and Line,
marshals and generals all over gold, smart aides-de-camp galloping about
like mad, and high in the midst of all, riding on his golden buckler,
Solomon in all his glory, forsooth--Imperial Caesar, with his crown over
his head, laurels and standards waving about his gorgeous chariot, and a
million of people looking on in wonder and awe.
His Majesty the Emperor and King reclined on his shield, with his head
a little elevated. His Majesty's skull is voluminous, his forehead
broad and large. We remarked that his Imperial Majesty's brow was of a
yellowish color, which appearance was also visible about the orbits of
the eyes. He kept his eyelids constantly closed, by which we had
the opportunity of observing that the upper lids were garnished with
eyelashes. Years and climate have effected upon the face of this great
monarch only a trifling alteration; we may say, indeed, that Time has
touched his Imperial and Royal Majesty with the lightest feather in his
wing. In the nose of the Conqueror of Austerlitz we remarked very little
alteration: it is of the beautiful shape which we remember it possessed
five-and-twenty years since, ere unfortunate circumstances induced him
to leave us for a while. The nostril and the tube of the nose appear to
have undergone some slight alteration, but in examining a beloved object
the eye of affection is perhaps too critical. Vive l'Empereur! the
soldier of Marengo is among us again. His lips are thinner, perhaps,
than they were before! how white his teeth are! you can just see three
of them pressing his under lip; and pray remark the fulness of his
cheeks and the round contour of his chin. Oh, those beautiful white
hands! many a time have they patted the cheek of poor Josephine, and
played with the black ringlets of her hair. She is dead now, and cold,
poor creature; and so are Hortense and bold Eugene, than whom the world
"never saw a curtier knight," as was said of King Arthur's Sir Lancelot.
What a day would it have been for those three could they have lived
until now, and seen their hero returning! Where's Ney? His wife sits
looking out from M. Flahaut's window yonder, but the bravest of the
brave is not with her. Murat too is absent: honest Joachim loves the
Emperor at heart, and repents that he was not at Waterloo: who knows
but that at the sight of the handsome swordsman those stubborn English
"canaille" would have given way. A king, Sire, is, you know, the
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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