never before witnessed such luxury and magnificence; car- 
Tiages glittered with gold and purple trappings, horses were 
proudly caparisoned, officers were in the richest uniforms and 
court dresses sumptuously embroidered, servants were in the 
most gorgeous liveries, while a waving sea of ostrich plumes 
bewildered the multitude with splendor. 
The imperial car- 
riage, which was constructed expressly for the occasion, was 
the most exquisite piece of workmanship Parisian ingenuity 
could devise, which was drawn by eight bay horses; the panel- 
ing of this carriage was entirely of glass. 
infa 
Double files of 
ntry lined the route of more than a mile and a half, ex- 
tending from the Tuileries to Notre Dame; ten thousand horse- 
men, in most gorgeous uniforms, attended the carriages; half 
a million of spectators thronged the way, crowding the win- 
dows and balconies, being clustered upon the housetops, filling 
every space from whence any view of the cortege could be 
geined, while the air was filled with the martial strains of a 
thousand bands, with the thunders of innumerable pieces of 
artillery, whereupon the enthusiastic acclamation of the vast 
multitude joined. The world has never witnessed such a sub- 
lime pageant before. 
Behold! A throne, hung with crimson velvet, overarched 
with a canopy of the same rich material, being ascended by 
twenty-two circular steps, which were covered with blue cloth, 
and studded with golden bees, sat Napoleon and Josephine, 
while the most illustrious officers of the empire crowded the 
Stairs; the religious ceremony, which occupied nearly four 
hours, was interspersed with the most soulstirring music from 
aa bands and more than thr 
ee hundred vocal performers. 
hen the pope was about to place the crown upon the brow of 
the emperor, Na 
1 poleon took it from him, and placed it, with 
his own hands, upon his head, then took it off and crowned 
the empress, also with his own hands, fixing his eyes proudly 
and tenderly upon her. The heavy crown was then laid upon 
a cushion, while a smaller diadem was placed upon the head 
of Josephine, whereupon she knelt before her illustrious consort 
as he placed the crown of France upon her brow. Hence, 
after remaining for a moment in silence in the posture of 
Prayer, with her hands folded over her bosom, she then grace- 
fully rose, her eyes swimming in tears, and turned to her hus- 
band with a look of gratitude and love, which the emperor 
feelingly recognized. It was a touching scene in the moments 
that clustered the memories of years. 
December 15th, 1809, one hundred and fourteen years from 
today, the day upon which I am writin being December 18th, 
1923, a divorce between Bonaparte an Josephine took place, 
which was in the grand salon of the Tuileries, whereupon the 
kings, princes, princesses, those who were members of the 
26 
