The Sun.
London, England, 1853-01-26 00:00:00

THE FRENCH E 11PIRE.

We have received the Paris journals of yesterday
in due course.

The civil marriage of the Emperor will be cele-
brated on the 29th instant, at the Tuileries. At
eight o'clock in the evening the Grand Master of
the Ceremonies, assisted by a master, will proceed
with two carriages to the residence of the Imperial
bride. The first carriage will be occupied by two
ladies of honour and by the Master of the Cere-
monies, and the second will receive the Imperial
bride, her Excellency the Countess de Montijo,
Duchess de Penaranda ; the Marquis de Valde-
gamas, Minister Plenipotentiary and Envoy-Extra-
ordinary of the Queen of Spain ; and the Grand
Master of the Ceremonies. The cortege will enter
by the gate of the pavilion of Flora. The Imperial
bride will be received at the foot of the staircase of
the pavilion by the grand chamberlain, the grand
equerry, two chamberlains, and the orderly officers
on duty, and conducted to the family salon, where
the Emperor will await her coming. At the en-
trance of the first salon, their Imperial Highnesses
Prince Napoleon and the Princess Mathilde will
receive the Imperial bride, and the party will pro-
ceed towards the family salon. The Emperor will
have near him his Imperial Highness Prince Je-
rome Napoleon, and such others of his family as
his Majesty shall have appointed. Around the
Emperor will stand the cardinals, the marshals and
admirals, the ministers, the grand-officers and officers
of his household, and the ambassadors and ministers
plenipotentiary of his Imperial Majesty now in Paris.
The grand master will receive the orders of the Em-
peror, and the cortege will proceed to the Salle des
Marechaux, where the ceremony of the civil mar-
riage will be accomplished. The persons invited
by his Majesty will have been placed by a master
of the ceremonies aided by two assistants. At the
end of the salle, next the garden, two similar chairs
of state will have been placed on an estrade, one on
the right for the Emperor, and the other on the
left for the future Empress. At the foot of the
estrade, on the left, will be placed a table, on which
will lie the civil register of the family of the Em-
peror. On the entrance of his Majesty and of the
future Empress, the ladies will rise and remain
standing as well as the persons present, to the end
of the ceremony. The Emperor being seated, the
Grand Master of the Ceremonies will call on the
Minister of State, exercising the functions of officer
of the civil state, attributed to him. by Art. 8 of
the Senatus-Consultum of the 25th of December
last, and assisted by the President of the Council
of State, appointed to that effect by his Majesty,
to proceed before the chair of the Emperor. The
Minister of State will receive the declarations of the
Emperor and of her Excellency Mile. Eugenie de
Montijo, Countes3 de Teba, and will declare them
united in marriage. The President of the Council of
State will present a pen to the Emperor, and next to
the Empress. The aet will be signed by their Majesties,
by her Excellency the Countess de Montijo, by the
Minister of Spain, the princes and princesses accord-
ing to their rank, and by the witnesses appointed
by his Majesty. After the ceremony the Empress
will be conducted back to the Elysee with the cere-
monial observed for her coming.
The Imperial cortege of the marriage will, on
quitting the Tuileries, pass through the Triumphal
Arch to the Place du Carrousel, and will afterwards
proceed along the Quays du Louvre, di rEcole, de
la Megisserie • and de Gevre • it will then cross the
Pont Notre Dame, and will reach the Cathedral
by the Quai Napoleon, the Rue d'Arcole, and the
Place du Parvis Notre Dame.

The decorations of the cathedral of Notre Dame
for the marriage of the Emperor and Mlle. de Mon-
tijo are proceeding rapidly under the direction of
MM. Viollet-Leduc and Lassus, the architects
charged with the repairs of the church. The high
altar, as already stated, is to be removed to the
entrance of the choir, and behind it will be a gallery
with ogives. A vast canopy in crimson velvet,
surmounted by a gigantic eagle bearing an imperial
crown will beplaced above it, and will be made to ex-
tend over the places to be occupied by their Maj esties.
From the crown velvet draperies will extend to the
pillars of the choir. The choir will not be occu-
pied, it having been determined to place the or-
chestra, which will be 500 strong, near the organ.
In the branches of the Latin cross will be wood-
work similar to that of the gallery at the entrance
of the choir, and there will also be recesses, painted
skyblue, in which will be placed on one side statues
of the kings of France, on the other the Arch-
bishops of the diocese of Paris. The pillars of the
choir and the nave will be decorated with green
velvet ornamented with golden bees, and with the
initials and arms of their Majesties. The coat-of-
arms of the house of Montijo has twenty-five guar-
terings, and is ornamented with a cross with Con-
stantines motto, In hoc sign() vinces. Flags bear-
ing the arms and colours of the departments of
Franco will be suspended in the choir, and the
roofs, both of the choir and the nave, will be decked
with banners and streamers of all colours, so as to
hide the nudity of the stone. Estrades will be
erected in the cross to the right of the altar of the
Senate and Diplomatic Body, to the left for the
Legislative Body and the Council of State..
Estrades will also be placed on each side of the nave
for the judges, the staffs of the army, and the prin-
cipal public functionaries. The middle of the nave
will be left free for the passage of their Majesties
and their households ; and they alone will
enter by the great door. The galleries looking on
the nave and choir will be occupied, and a portion
of them will be specially set apart for the ladies of
the court. The facade of the cathedral will be
decorated with banners and escutcheons bearing
the arms of the towns of France, with flags of all
colours, with green draperies strewed with golden
bees, and with wreaths of flowers. In front of the
great door will be a vast portico in which the car-
riage of the Emperor can enter. This portico will
be in the Gothic style, and will be elegantly decked
with draperies ; and similar porticos will be placed
in front of the other doors. From the arcades of
the porticos will be suspended escutcheons bearing
the initials L. (Louis) and E. (Eugenie). Above
the porticos will be equestrian statues of the Em-
peror Charlemagne and the Emperor Napoleon I.
In what is called the " Galerie des ibis," statues,
similar to those destroyed sixty years ago, will be
placed in the niches.. The balustrade of the " Ga-
lerie de la Vierge " will be decorated with gilt
eagles, escutcheons, and crowns, united by wreaths
of Rowers. In front of the great window will be a
group representing the Virgin and two angels
offering incense. The upper gallery will be deco-
rated with draperies of green and gold, and the ar-
cades in it with escutcheons, eagles, and flowers.
The towers will be ornamented in the same way,
and will be surmounted by sixteen gigantic eagles.
Since the Duchess of Teba has resided at the
Eiysee there is a military post there, as during the
residence of the Emperor.

...
The imperial household has at length been formed,
but with great difficulty. The office of grande
maitresse was proposed to several ladies of high
rank, but all of them found some excuse for de-
clining the proffered honour ; and the Emperor has
at length been obliged to make choice of a lady
who could not well refuse, as her husband already
occupies a place at court. The Duchess of Bassano
is appointed grande maitresse of the household of
the Empress. She is the wife of the Grand Master
of the Ceremonies, who in that capacity has apart-
ments allotted to him in the palace. The Duchess
of Bassano is to have a salary of 40,000 f. Four
ladies of honour are appointed, with salaries of
12,000 f. each, namely, Maclaine de Pierre, Madame
d'Essling, Madame Gustave de Montebello, and
Madame de Serrey. General Tascher de la Page-
rio has been appointed grand maitre of the court.
The witnesses who are to appear at the marriage
on the part of the future Empress are the Duke
d'Osuna and the Marquis de Bedmar, who are both
grandees of Spain.
The Archbishop of Paris will be assisted in the
service at Notre Dame on Sunday next by two suf-
fragan prelates. The metropolitan chapter, the
chapter of St. Denis, and deputations from the
clergy of Paris will also be present at the ceremony
of the marriage. The Bishop of Nancy, first chap-
lain to the Emperor, attended by his chaplains in
ordinal,, .y will take his household. place among the imperial
Da • The doors of the church of Notre
me Will be closed at noon. The -Emperor will
lean©
bY the
the_ gland at half-past 12, and will enter
tho moment 1 door, which will be only opened at
willconi of his Majesty's arrival. The mass
unio,e,ehat one o'clock.
The
munication rectaarstn article on the Emperor's com-
from the moseautliiiog his
marriage, which, coming
mists, ought to e ritative organ of the Legal-
so Zl:raassand attention, if only for
sake of seeing,
may be discovered through
necessarily-guardecl lan
le, what are the.opinions
and feelings of this pagilay
" The high gravity of
ptrheesens
peeech delivered on Satur-
day, at the Tuileries, in
will of the.
and the constituted' bodies, great dignitaries
no one's notice. Under the' actual form have escaped
with which
of government,
with the immense attributions
which
the State is invested, each word which falls the chief of
from that all-
powerful mouth, is destined in Ffaraent ce and in Europe
to have incalculable effects--
th, it may contain
the destinies of the country and
of the
world. The Emperor knows it ; ands' tPeace
sary to throw a glance over the career which he has
is only neces-
already run, to see what importance he has justly
attached to his speeches. All have been for him acts
of eclat ; all have marked the different
s.teps by which
he has ascended to the highest rank
on the eve of encircling his head with thAenTdmwp ehreina I
hbandeau, he wished to give pledges of his poll both at
ome and abroad, he delivered the fa_mouseSYpeech at
Bordeaux ' L'Empire, c'est la paix. Now the circum-
stance is, if we may use the remark, more imposing still.