he Empress to a tribune prepared for her
reception, opposite the Imperial throne which Napoleon alone occupied, to
the right of the altar. I was present at this ceremony, notwithstanding
the repugnance I have to such brilliant exhibitions; but as Duroc had two
days before presented me with tickets, I deemed it prudent to attend on
the occasion, lest the keen eye of Bonaparte should have remarked my
absence if Duroc had acted by his order.

I spent about an hour contemplating the proud and sometimes almost
ludicrous demeanour of the new grandees of the Empire; I marked the
manoeuvring of the clergy, who, with Cardinal Belloy at their head,
proceeded to receive the Emperor on his entrance into the church. What a
singular train of ideas was called up to my mind when I beheld my former
comrade at the school of Brienne seated upon an elevated throne,
surrounded by his brilliant staff, the great dignitaries of his
Empire--his Ministers and Marshals! I involuntarily recurred to the
19th Brumaire, and all this splendid scene vanished; when I thought of
Bonaparte stammering to such a degree that I was obliged to pull the
skirt of his coat to induce him to withdraw.

It was neither a feeling of animosity nor of jealousy which called up
such reflections; at no period of our career would I have exchanged my
situation for his; but whoever can reflect, whoever has witnessed the
unexpected elevation of a former equal, may perhaps be able to conceive
the strange thoughts that assailed my mind, for the first time, on this
occasion.

When the religious part of the ceremony terminated, the church assumed,
in some measure, the appearance of a profane temple. The congregation
displayed more devotion to the Emperor than towards the God of the
Christians,--more enthusiasm than fervour. The mass had been heard with
little attention; but when M. de Lacepede, Grand Chancellor of the Legion
of Honour, after pronouncing a flattering discourse, finished the call of
the Grand Officers of the Legion, Bonaparte covered, as did the ancient
kings of France when they held a bed of justice. A profound silence, a
sort of religious awe, then reigned throughout the assembly, and
Napoleon, who did not now stammer as in the Council of the Five Hundred,
said in a firm voice:

"Commanders, officers, legionaries, citizens, soldiers; swear upon your
honour to devote yourselves to the service of the Empire--to the
preservation of the integrity of the French ter