rbred tone of the speaker showed me at once
that it was one of the old generals of the Republican army, who never
could endure the descendants of aristocratic families in the service,
and who were too willing always to attribute to insolence and
premeditated affront even the slightest breaches of military etiquette.

Meanwhile the Emperor mounted, and accompanied by the officers of his
staff, rode forward towards the Champs Elysees, while all of lesser note
followed at a distance. From the garden of the Tuileries to the Barriere
de l'Etoile the troops were ranged in four lines, the cavalry of the
Guard and the artillery forming the ranks along the road by which the
convoy must pass. It was a bright day, with a clear, frosty atmosphere
and a blue sky, and well suited the brilliant spectacle.

Scarcely had the Emperor issued from the Tuileries, when ten thousand
shouts of "Vive l'Empereur!" rent the air; the cannon of the Invalides
thundered forth at the same moment; and the crash of the military bands
added their clangor to the sounds of joy. He rode slowly along the
line, stopping frequently to speak with some of the soldiers, and giving
orders to his suite concerning them. Of the officers in his staff that
day, the greater number had been wounded at Austerlitz, and still bore
the traces of their injuries. Rapp displayed a tremendous scar from a
sabre across his cheek; Sebastiani wore his sword-arm in a sling; and
Friant, unable to mount his horse, followed the Emperor on foot, leaning
on a stick, and walking with great difficulty. The sight of these brave
men, whose devotion to Napoleon had been proved on so many battlefields,
added to the interest of the scene, and tended to excite popular
enthusiasm to its utmost. But on Napoleon still all eyes were bent. The
general who led their armies to victory, the monarch who raised France
to the proudest place among the nations, was there, within a few paces
of them. Each word he spoke was sinking deeply into some heart, prouder
of that moment than of rank or riches.

So slow was the Emperor's progress along the ranks that it was near
three o'clock before he had arrived at the extremity of the line. The
cavalry were now ordered to form in squadrons, and move past in
close order. While this movement was effecting, a cannon-shot at the
_barriere_ announced the approach of the convoy. The cavalry were halted
in line once more, and the same moment the first wagon of the train
ap