The Sun.
London, England, 1854-09-13 00:00:00

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TEE FRENCH EMPEROR'S VISIT TO'd 41*
BOULOGNE.
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BOULOGNE, Monday.—The Emperor is so well got up
himself when on horseback, and is followed by so splendid
a retinue, that it is almost worth while to cross the Chan-
nel to Boulogne to see him pass through the town. He
did so several times yesterday, and has already made an
easy conquest of the good opinion of our fair countrywomen
sojourning here in such numbers. His suite, reduced in
size by the departure of the Prince and his attendants,
gains considerably in picturesque effectiveness; nor can
one well conceive a more admirable arrangement than that
displayed in the turn-out, with the outriders leading
the way, then the Emperor alone, gravely yet gracefully
acknowledging the salutations of the humblest passer-by ;
then the officers of his household in close order, behind
them a small party of the Guides, and last of all the
" CcnkGardes," a magnificent termination to the caval-
cade. •In this order they went yesterday morning to hear
military mass celebrated at the camp of Honvault. 11
o'clock is generally the time at which the celebration
takes place, brit on this occasion it was an hour earlier,
and in consequence many of the sight-seers were disap-
pointed. Those who were present were greatly impressed
with the spectacle. 10,000 armed soldiers worshipped
God under the great vault of Nature, knelt down toge-
ther like one man at the elevation of the host, and joined
their voices in the sublime music with which the Romish
Church knows so well how to heighten the effect of her
religious services. It was impossible to witness such a dis-
play without feeling the heart moved by it. The perform-
-3-ateefl'hree-fsffeessilit.ary -bands, the presence of the Ern
parer, and the remarkable view commanded from the spot
with the English Channel in front, and, beyond that again,
the morning sun upon the chalk cliffs of our own coast—
all added greatly to the imposing character of the spectacle.
In front of each encampment small chapels have been con-
structed by the troops; though rather roughly put up, they are
servenot w itothpciouitnat coeurtait a no
uarri
oc
si tesc
differencet architectural effeicut itvheen eso
rsg,
sanni (sal they
of the French army and ours. At Chobham we had no
sheltered space of any, kind devoted to religious services,
and
twhento
wohhe y
thetoo kpopmlapceof the
they were marked by a simpli-
citymilitary mass yesterday
was in striking contrast.
tadeverretiert4tothheeareasonimpeethhainpgelosi the emcaaympbseint
resting
nto
them-
selves. I have as yet only visited those of Honvault and
Equihem, but they are all constructed much in the same
manner, and what is said of one may be taken as applying
to the rest. ' The first thing that strikes a visitor with
gard to them is, that they are intended to be pennament,
or, at least, to be used summer and winter for several
years. The huts, which constitute their main feature, are
quite as good, if not better habitations for human beings
than those in -which the Highland peasant shelters himself
from the storms of his native mountains, or which the
Irishman shares with his pig. As for the kitchens, the
new ones which are being constructed at Honvault are
substantial enough to last out a very long war. They
are built of brick, on the military pattern, with a chimney
shaft in the centre, and places for cooking radiating there-
from in a complete circle. Provisions can be cooked by each
for upwards of 500 men at a time. As may readily
be conceived, the number of these chimney shafts,
extending like one side clan avenue
of small obelisks along
the line of an immense encampment of mud huts, has a
vary singular effect. But the important point which they
establish is the permanent character of the arrangements
which the Emperor is making, as if he contemplated a
protracted war. Next to this first and deepest impression
produced by a visit to the camps comes that of their apti-
tude for the purposes for which they are intended. The
mud huts are, of course, not very luxurious habita-
tions to dwell in, but soldiers in all times have been
obliged •to fare hard, and these structures show an
amount of ingenuity in the cheap use of materials for
making them which is highly instructive. The side
walls are of clay, held together by a rough lathing of wood
internally, and a thick coating of whitewash on the exter-
nal surfaces. The frame of the roof, roughly put together,
is well thatched with straw. The tie beams of the rafters
form a convenient open loft on which to stow away arms
and accoutrements. From the entrance a passage way
is kept clear to the opposite wall of the hut, thus bisecting
it in two equal halves, and on each of these a sloping
platform of planks, and supported from the ground
by a very simple staging, gives room for six men to lie
down. The hut therefore accommodates 12 men, 6on one
side and 6 on the other, with their feet towards the centre,
and their heads towards the end walls. An aperture above
door, and another directly opposite, afford ample facilities
for ventilation in summer, and may be more or less en-
tirely closed up in winter. The cost of the whole structure
must be very trifling, and if any part gives way it can be
readily repaired. As the full strength of the company in
French regiments is 120 men, it takes 10 huts to house
that number, and, accordingly, in the arrangement of the
ca;ep at. Honvault it may be observed that the huts of each
company stand in double rows of five each, with streets
between and behind, as in our own service, those of the
officers in regular order. A broad street, running the
whole length of the encampment, separates the officers' huts
from those of the men, the latter being in front and the for-
mer behind. Allthe rectangular distributions of an Ames kart
city.are faithfully observed. The French army, however,
does not satisfy itself with the Republican use of numbers
in its camp directory, but appropriately leaves soldiers or
visitors to find or fight their way through the camp by the
names of the great battles which it won under the first
Napoleon. Any adventurous stranger who finds his way
out to Equihem will see as he passes along the lines ample
evidences of the extent to which the glorious traditions of
each corps are preserved. Besides the cheap and excellent
shelter of their huts, the orderly manner in which they
are arranged and the systematic plan upon which the
streets of the different camps are laid out, it is worthy of
remark that the telegraph is ceeried through them all--
not expensively put up, but still perfectly efficient, and
placing each in instantaneous communication with the
Emperor. From his hotel in the Capecure he can issue,
without a moment's previous notice, any order that he de-
sires to see executed, and it is this power which he pos-
sesses and exercises of coming down upon people unex-
pectedly which keeps everybody around him perpetually
on tho qui rive, It should b 3 stated that many of the mud
huts not being finished, a considerable number of canvas
tents are still used. These are of two kinds —one, the
small one (capable of holding six), which the soldiers now
carry about with them, and bivouac in, the other; a large
oval-shaped tent, used before this bas introduced, in which
16 -men sleep, and which, of course, forms part of the bag-
gage on the march. Both are interesting to examine,
partly as suggesting comparisons With our own bell tents,
but still more as helping to form an opinion whether it would
not be possible to improve greatly upon all existing arrange-
ments of the sort. Knowing what we do of cholera, and
squeezing together so many men at night into small unven-
tilated tents, it seems hardly wonderful that the morta-
lity of that disease should recently have been so lament-
ably great in the East.
As yet, neither at Honvault nor at Equihem have the
troops had much time to decorate their encampment ; but
they are-beginning to do so, and there is no want of amuse-
ments to keep them occupied. The strict religious feeling
of the English people will be rather scandalised to hear
that Sunday afternoon and evening are devoted in the
camp of their allies to gaiety. Some play at bowling,
others at " loto," and as the evening closes in officers and
men repair to largo ball-rooms behind the lines, where
(leucitg is kept up till 10 o'clock with great spirit, and,
it is edilyefedr to add, with perfect propriety of manner.
Excellent regimental bands perform in the orchestras, sen-
tinels stand at the different entrances, and officers are ap-
pointed special), to see that decorum is strictly pre-
served. There seems to be no lack of fair partners ou
these occasions, and among them, or at least looking ap-
provingly on, may nearly always be seen parties of our
own countrymen and women, whose friends at home
would doubtless be much scandalised at knowing the fact.
The Emperor's movements are somewhat uncertain, but,
as at present arranged, he will remain at Boulogue during
the ensuing week, unless the promised visit to King Leo-
pold should bring him to the Belgian frontier. About the
ISth Napoleon will leave Paris for Bordeaux, to which
city the Empress will repair after leaving Biarritz. The
Emperor then will bring the Empress to Paris, and will
leave her at Compiegne, after which be will again visit the
camp of the north and manoeuvre the troops.
To-day, at 12 o'clock his Majesty rode out to the camp at
Equihem, and
inspected
the troops there. It is stated
that there will be a grand feigned battle in the immediate
neighbourhood of Boulogne in the course of two or three
days,which the attacking army will be supposed to
ill
carry the town by storm.
The Emperor's splendid stud of horses excited the admi-
ration of the Prince's suite, and is not unworthy of notice
in connection wiih the Emperor's well-directed efforts to
improve the breed of horses in France. 'rho cavalry horses
of the French ariny are mostly bred in Normandy, except
the horses of the light cavalry, which come from Tarbes,
near the Pyrenees, and which have a mixture of Arab
blood. With many excellent qualities of endurance, the
horses of the French cavalry are capable of great improve.
ment in point of blood and bone, and Napolon's attention
is unceasingly directed to this object. Large purchases of
English horses are frequently made by his agents, and,
seeing the prices which arc given for good steeds, and the
rivalry which exists between the buyers for the French
and German Governments to secure the best animals,
some astonishment is expressed that English farmers
do not more generally avail themselves of the facilities
they possess for rearing first-rate horses for
,ain and so good a market. Besides the louseso
°w.f.
the Emperor, he has a stud and breeding u o
establish-
ment at St. Cloud, at which colts of d.
value are veered from a mixture of Is l.extra extraordinary
ng ish and Arab
blood. The Imperial stables at Boulorme which are in
close proximity to the Hotel B • rpylaton the Emperor's
residence, are an extempore construction'
of wood, erected
in 15 days, but'extreweiy convenient and well-arranged,
and covering nearly
half an acre They contain
36 English saddle-ho for the use round .
horses
suite, and visitors ; 36 carriage-horses for the Emperor's
caleches, char-a-bancs, and other vehicles, and 30 post"
horses. The Emperor's chargers, reserved for his exclusive
use at reviews and in the field, are six in number. They
are all English, as are, indeed, the greater part of the
saddle and carriage horses, and as their former names are
retained, and every stall has the horse's name painted over
the animal's Lead, the English visitor might forget that he
was in a foreign country, and imasine that he was walk-
ing through the stables of some Englieli bl
m hramasil. called
Emperor's favourite steed is 2s dark chestnut • e
Phillips, after Mr. Phillips, of Knightsbridge, of whom.
hint. He is a noble and spirited
the Emperor purchased -lul.
animal, and is usually ridden by Emperor when he
reviews the troops, w the
here he distinguishes himself by
by his habit of bowing and
his beautiful action and
prancing when he approaches the col ours of a regi-
ment. As the Emp
at the same moment raises his
to l t th
a end the rider appear sa n e e colours
hat, the horse and the rider appear to salute the COlours
together, to the
great delight of the' troops. Both
together, to ,
t d and establishment at St. Cloud and
the Emperor s s u
Boulogne are under the superintendence of the pre-
that at
Q his Majesty, Mr. Gamble, whose thorough
knowledge piqueur of , orough
ledee of the points and 'treatment of the animals un-
know 0
dor his care is well known to the English sporting world.
The general control of the stud is confided by the Emperor
to Colonel Floury, Premier Ecuyer to his Majesty. In
the saddle room are seen two gorgeous saddles aed bridles,
presented to the Emperor by the Sultan, the saddle-cloths
of which are most richly embroidered with- gold, all
the mountings being of solid gold, and the bit of
silver gilt. One of these saddles, Sec., was- used by
Emperor when riding out one day with the Prince Consort.
Its value is estimated at two hundred and fifty thousand
francs. Anothersplendid saddle; with crimson velvet seat,
was a present-from Abd ebKuder, with th • lee Arab horses.
The Imperial carriages and liveries are of dark green ; the
former are all manufactured in Paris.things grieved
Few
Louis Napoleon more than being obliged, when President,
to break up his stud and dispose of his horses ; but now
that his exalted position supplies him with the requisite
resources he loses no occasion of obtaining the best Eng-
lish horses that money can pro Cure.