登陆注册
5383600000011

第11章

As for the Champs Elysees, there was no end to the preparations; the first day you saw a couple of hundred scaffoldings erected at intervals between the handsome gilded gas-lamps that at present ornament that avenue; next day, all these scaffoldings were filled with brick and mortar.Presently, over the bricks and mortar rose pediments of statues, legs of urns, legs of goddesses, legs and bodies of goddesses, legs, bodies, and busts of goddesses.Finally, on the 13th December, goddesses complete.On the 14th they were painted marble-color; and the basements of wood and canvas on which they stood were made to resemble the same costly material.The funereal urns were ready to receive the frankincense and precious odors which were to burn in them.A vast number of white columns stretched down the avenue, each bearing a bronze buckler on which was written, in gold letters, one of the victories of the Emperor, and each decorated with enormous imperial flags.On these columns golden eagles were placed; and the newspapers did not fail to remark the ingenious position in which the royal birds had been set: for while those on the right-hand side of the way had their heads turned TOWARDS the procession, as if to watch its coming, those on the left were looking exactly the other way, as if to regard its progress.

Do not fancy I am joking: this point was gravely and emphatically urged in many newspapers; and I do believe no mortal Frenchman ever thought it anything but sublime.

Do not interrupt me, sweet Miss Smith.I feel that you are angry.

I can see from here the pouting of your lips, and know what you are going to say.You are going to say, "I will read no more of this Mr.Titmarsh; there is no subject, however solemn, but he treats it with flippant irreverence, and no character, however great, at whom he does not sneer."Ah, my dear! you are young now and enthusiastic; and your Titmarsh is old, very old, sad, and gray-headed.I have seen a poor mother buy a halfpenny wreath at the gate of Montmartre burying-ground, and go with it to her little child's grave, and hang it there over the little humble stone; and if ever you saw me scorn the mean offering of the poor shabby creature, I will give you leave to be as angry as you will.They say that on the passage of Napoleon's coffin down the Seine, old soldiers and country people walked miles from their villages just to catch a sight of the boat which carried his body and to kneel down on the shore and pray for him.God forbid that we should quarrel with such prayers and sorrow, or question their sincerity.Something great and good must have been in this man, something loving and kindly, that has kept his name so cherished in the popular memory, and gained him such lasting reverence and affection.

But, Madam, one may respect the dead without feeling awe-stricken at the plumes of the hearse; and I see no reason why one should sympathize with the train of mutes and undertakers, however deep may be their mourning.Look, I pray you, at the manner in which the French nation has performed Napoleon's funeral.Time out of mind, nations have raised, in memory of their heroes, august mausoleums, grand pyramids, splendid statues of gold or marble, sacrificing whatever they had that was most costly and rare, or that was most beautiful in art, as tokens of their respect and love for the dead person.What a fine example of this sort of sacrifice is that (recorded in a book of which Simplicity is the great characteristic)of the poor woman who brought her pot of precious ointment--her all, and laid it at the feet of the Object which, upon earth, she most loved and respected."Economists and calculators" there were even in those days who quarrelled with the manner in which the poor woman lavished so much "capital;" but you will remember how nobly and generously the sacrifice was appreciated, and how the economists were put to shame.

With regard to the funeral ceremony that has just been performed here, it is said that a famous public personage and statesman, Monsieur Thiers indeed, spoke with the bitterest indignation of the general style of the preparations, and of their mean and tawdry character.He would have had a pomp as magnificent, he said, as that of Rome at the triumph of Aurelian: he would have decorated the bridges and avenues through which the procession was to pass, with the costliest marbles and the finest works of art, and have had them to remain there for ever as monuments of the great funeral.

The economists and calculators might here interpose with a great deal of reason; for, indeed, there was no reason why a nation should impoverish itself to do honor to the memory of an individual for whom, after all, it can feel but a qualified enthusiasm: but it surely might have employed the large sum voted for the purpose more wisely and generously, and recorded its respect for Napoleon by some worthy and lasting memorial, rather than have erected yonder thousand vain heaps of tinsel, paint, and plaster, that are already cracking and crumbling in the frost, at three days old.

Scarcely one of the statues, indeed, deserves to last a month: some are odious distortions and caricatures, which never should have been allowed to stand for a moment.On the very day of the fete, the wind was shaking the canvas pedestals, and the flimsy wood-work had begun to gape and give way.At a little distance, to be sure, you could not see the cracks; and pedestals and statues LOOKED like marble.At some distance, you could not tell but that the wreaths and eagles were gold embroidery, and not gilt paper--the great tricolor flags damask, and not striped calico.One would think that these sham splendors betokened sham respect, if one had not known that the name of Napoleon is held in real reverence, and observed somewhat of the character of the nation.Real feelings they have, but they distort them by exaggeration; real courage, which they render ludicrous by intolerable braggadocio; and I think the above official account of the Prince de Joinville's proceedings, of the manner in which the Emperor's remains have been treated in their voyage to the capital, and of the preparations made to receive him in it, will give my dear Miss Smith some means of understanding the social and moral condition of this worthy people of France.

同类推荐
  • 瑜伽金刚顶经释字母品

    瑜伽金刚顶经释字母品

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 益智录

    益智录

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • The Country Doctor

    The Country Doctor

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • Ban and Arriere Ban

    Ban and Arriere Ban

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • Of Commerce

    Of Commerce

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
热门推荐
  • 春风堂随笔

    春风堂随笔

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town

    Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 祸妃天降:冷魅王爷贪财妃

    祸妃天降:冷魅王爷贪财妃

    据说很是软弱又无能的王爷正在后院的凉亭里下棋。一青衣佩剑的侍卫前来,冷汗涔涔的开口:“主子,属下已经查清楚了,那个一毛不拔又处处跟您抢地盘的正是咱们府上那位。”至于是哪位,那还用得着明说么?下棋的动作依旧行云流水,那人头也不抬,淡淡的道:“无妨,抢回来便是。”“抢回来之后呢?”“以十倍的价格再卖给她。”青衣:“……”他以为主子会说给她送去,没想到……
  • 为政忠告

    为政忠告

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 阿乐的故事

    阿乐的故事

    一牌知天命,一手画乾坤。福祸皆天意,半点不由人。万般皆是命,何必提前知!且看阿乐,如何在这妖魔横行的都市,一步步化险为夷,最终成就自己的大道。这是天意如此还是早有人安排?
  • 生命在纸上行走

    生命在纸上行走

    瘫痪病榻,才感悟到散步阳光下的幸福;饥困荒漠,才渴望得到一滴水的幸福;身陷囹圄,才领会到获取自由的幸福。缺陷像一把钥匙,打开幸福之门,幸福在缺陷中找到答案。
  • 穿越之代妃出嫁

    穿越之代妃出嫁

    是死后重生,还是莫名穿越,是平凡最真,还是惊天动地……且看她如何代贵妃出嫁,活自我风风采!
  • 凌沧草

    凌沧草

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 让孩子受益终身的成功故事

    让孩子受益终身的成功故事

    世界上任何事情都要有付出才能有回报,所以人一定要勤奋。那么样付出,付出在哪里?这一点很重要。勤奋的道理也一样。所谓走捷径或找机会就是讲这个道理。因为一个人的时间有限、精力有限、脑力有限,你用在什么地方或一段时间内在什么地方付出,回报就会出现在哪里。
  • 限你3秒,快点滚

    限你3秒,快点滚

    千金大小姐一定要是淑女吗?哼,我就是例外!淑女?什么东西?“限你3秒,快点滚!”这句话一出来,保证马上有人遭殃,可是有人却偏偏要挑战她的极限!3个有黑道背景的迷人男子与宫穆研相识,会发生什么故事勒?