and came to anchor at Val de
la Haye on the Seine, three leagues below Rouen.

Here the next morning (10th), it was met by the flotilla of steamboats
of the Upper Seine, consisting of the three "Dorades," the three
"Etoiles," the "Elbeuvien," the "Pansien," the "Parisienne," and the
"Zampa." The Prince de Joinville, and the persons of the expedition,
embarked immediately in the flotilla, which arrived the same day at
Rouen.

At Rouen salutes were fired, the National Guard on both sides of the
river paid military honors to the body; and over the middle of the
suspension-bridge a magnificent cenotaph was erected, decorated with
flags, fasces, violet hangings, and the imperial arms. Before the
cenotaph the expedition stopped, and the absolution was given by the
archbishop and the clergy. After a couple of hours' stay, the expedition
proceeded to Pont de l'Arche. On the 11th it reached Vernon, on the 12th
Mantes, on the 13th Maisons-sur-Seine.

"Everywhere," says the official account from which the above particulars
are borrowed, "the authorities, the National Guard, and the people
flocked to the passage of the flotilla, desirous to render the honors
due to his glory, which is the glory of France. In seeing its hero
return, the nation seemed to have found its Palladium again,--the
sainted relics of victory."

At length, on the 14th, the coffin was transferred from the "Dorade"
steamer on board the imperial vessel arrived from Paris. In the evening,
the imperial vessel arrived at Courbevoie, which was the last stage of
the journey.

Here it was that M. Guizot went to examine the vessel, and was very
nearly flung into the Seine, as report goes, by the patriots assembled
there. It is now lying on the river, near the Invalides, amidst the
drifting ice, whither the people of Paris are flocking out to see it.

The vessel is of a very elegant antique form, and I can give you on the
Thames no better idea of it than by requesting you to fancy an immense
wherry, of which the stern has been cut straight off, and on which a
temple on steps has been elevated. At the figure-head is an immense gold
eagle, and at the stern is a little terrace, filled with evergreens and
a profusion of banners. Upon pedestals along the sides of the vessel are
tripods in which incense was burned, and underneath them are garlands of
flowers called here "immortals." Four eagles surmount the temple, and a
great scroll or garland, held in their beaks, su