The Sun.
London, England, 1841-08-18 00:00:00

-FETES-AT BOULOGNE. -

THE COLUMN AND STATUTE OF NAPOLEON.
SUNDAY, AUG. 15.—At seven o'clock this morning
the sound of cannon in the port announced to the inha-
bitants of Boulogne that the day had at length arrived
which had so long been looked forward to—the day
upon which their darling column, after numberless vicis-
situdes, was to be consecrated to the object for which it
was originally intended. On this very day, in the year
1804, and upon the very site of this column, Napoleon
distributed the crosses of the Legion of Honour to some
thousands of his bravest troops, and thus a double inte-
rest was given to a ceremony which commemorated a
bright day registered in the heart of many a time-
honoured veteran. Not a few of the soldiers decorated
by Napoleon on the occasion above referred to have
been in the town during the progress of the present pro-
ceedings, and their enthusiasm can be better imagined
than described. They were the only persons who were
indiscriminately admitted without tickets to inspect the
statue before it was put up, and it is said that they have
availed themselves of the permission as a privilege of the
highest consideration, throwing themselves on their
knees before the effigy of their beloved General, and kiss-
ing its cold bronze cheek, whilst tears streamed down
their bronzed and furrowed cheeks.
There was some expectation that the King would ho-
nour this interesting ceremony with his presence. In
this, however, we have been disappointed. It was also
still more confidently reported that Marshal Soult would
have presided at the ceremony of the inauguration of the
column, of which he was the chief original projector.
But here, again, we reckoned without our host. The
Marshal did not come ; but he sent as his deputy Ge-
neral Corbineau, a brave soldier, one of Napoleon's aide-
de-camps, and who on more than one occasion had done
material service in the cause, and, indeed, towards the
personal safety of his august master, by the discovery of
the pass of the Beresina, which the Emperor made use of.
The troops congregated to take part in this ceremony
were under the command of General Letang, the Coin-
mandant of the Department, another of Napoleon's
bravest officers, and who was decorated by him with the
insignia of the Legion of Honour, after the battle of
Dresden.
The programme of the proceedings was drawn up by
the Mayor and authorities of the town, and submitted to
the Minister of the Interior for his approval. The only
points in which any alterations in the scheme were
deemed necessary or advisable were the two following :
First, it had been proposed to announce the event by a
salvo of a hundred and one guns, but this was reduced to
twenty-one, etiquette sanctioning the larger number on
three occasions only, namely, the birth of a prince, the
presence of a Sovereign, or the news of a victory. Se-
condly, it had been proposed that four discourses should
have been pronounced at the foot of the column ; the
first, by General Corbineau, on the part of the army ; the
second, by Vice-Admiral Rosamel, on the part of the navy;
the third, by the Prefect, on the part of the department;
and the fourth, by the Mayor, on the part of the town of
Boulogne, but these worthy orators were spared the exe-
cution of a very difficult task.
A splendid scene of gaity, parade, and bustle, has oc-
cupied the livelong day since seven o'clock this morning,
but at that hour the salvos of artillery awoke all who
were not already on the qui vice to the actuality of the
solemnity which was to distinguish the town of Boulogne
in the annals of history. The abrupt and noisy signal
was not long in working its effect ; despite a pelting
shower of rain, which had fallen earlier in the morning,
and the still threatening aspect of the atmosphere, every
door, every window, was opened throughout the town,
and the streets and quays were swarmed with spruce
buckish fellows of all ages, and gaily dressed fair ones,
radiant in smiles, light of step, and lavish in recognitions
and congratulations, as they passed and re-passed their
innumeable friends. Indeed all the world seemed to be
friends with all the world. The sky now, partaking of
the general feeling of cheerfulness, began to sweep away
its few straggling clouds, promising a bright sunny day,
and kept its promise. I heard it remarked, by the bye,
that Napoleon, whenever he gave any grand fete, was
always fortunate in respect of weather.
To return to the port. On the firing of the cannon
the ships in the harbour were all decked out with an ex-
tra supply of flags and streamers.
The various troops destined to form part of the pro-
cession now began to march down the port towards the
sands, each regiment preceded by its band. The appear-
ance of the wale body was most imposing.
At about nine o'clock, all being at length in readiness,
the various civil authorities assembled in the order of
procession, in the grounds of the Etablissement des
Bains. After which the Generals Corbineau and Letang
and the other general officers, with a numerous staff,
came down to meet them, when, after the ceremony of
salutation, the procession began to move on. The gilded
car fell into rank a few hundred yards higher up, at the
Custom-house, where it had been located. The National
Guards including, besides that of Boulogne, deputations
from Calais, Montreuil, and other places in the depart-
ment, together with the deputations of the Mayors from
the 100 communes of which the arrondissement consists,
fell into rank more in advance of the procession. The
number of troops of the line of all arms engaged in this
procession is said to have been about 1,800 or 2,000; that
of the National Guards at from 3,000 to 3,500 ; making
a total of between 5,000 and 6,000 men ; besides the civil
authorities, which amounted to at least 300 or 400.
This immense body of men began to move forward in the
following order, at about two o'clock:—
ORDER OF PROCESSION.
Glens d'Armes.
Cavalry of the Line, with their standard and bands. .
Half a battery of Artillery of the Line, preceded by
trumpets.
Infantry of the Line, of various regiments, headed by
their respective bands.
First_ battalion of the National Guard of Boulogne, with
their band.
Deputations of the National Guards in towns in the
department.
First section of the Artillery of the National Guard of
Boulogne.
Deputations from the Hundred Communes of the Arron-
dissement, with their respective banners.
A body of Sailors belonging to the Saumon and the other
ships of war in the harbour, commanded by their
respective Captains and Ifirst Lieutenants.
Old Officers of the Grand Army, and retired OffiCers of
Land and Sea Forces.
group of Members of the Legion of Honour.
THE TRIUMPHAL CAR.
The General presiding at the Ceremony with his staff.
Various Civil and Military Authorities, according to the
order of precedence.
Deputations of National Guards, with their respective
bands.
Infantry of the Line.
Half a Battery of Artillery of the Line.
Second Battalion of the National Guard of Boulogne,
with drums.
Detachment of Custom-house Officers, preceded by their
Commandant and drums.
Second section of the Artillery of the National Guard of
Boulogne.
Cavalry of the Line.
Subdivision of the Cavalry of the National Guard of
Boulogne, with trumpets.
The procession proceeded up the Port, the Rue de
L'Ecu, the Grande Rue, through the High Town, and
out at the Calais Gate. On its return its course was
slightly varied, taking the Rue Siblequin and theltueNeuve
Chausse, and so to the church of St. Nicholas. The en-
tire line of route was adorned with festoons of foliage
suspended across the streets, from posts which bore
shields commemorating Napoleon's various battles, and a
cluster of four tri-coloured flags. At a short distance
outside the Calais gate, just at the top of the hill, an
enormous triumphal arch was erected, gaily studded with
appropriate insignia, and under which the procession
passed.

Some anxiety had existed as to whether the statue
would be put up in time after all, the late boisterous
weather having rendered this process one of great labour,
attended by considerable danger. In truth, it seems it
was a very near thing, and we heard of even betting in
more than one quarter that the statue would have to be
inaugurated on mother earth, or at best, in mid air, on
its way to its last elevated abode. However, Napoleon's
lucky star again prevailed ; and at a few minutes after
eleven o'clock, " a long pull and a strong pull" landed
him safely on the capital of the pillar. It was quite
gratifying to hear the exclamations of heartfelt joy which
burst from the multitudes, who were now flocking to-
gether from all sides on this happy discovery.
I had hardly time to look about me, when the confused
sounds of the various drums, trumpets, and bands of
music, mingled with the booming of the deep-toned bell
of the High Tower, announced that the procession had
issued from the gate on the Calais road. The effect was
very striking. One might almost fancy oneself on the
site of an intended encampment. The appearance of the
immense line of troops as they made their way along the
road, which was a little better than a mile in length,
and all exposed to view from this spot, gave one some
idea of the great extent of the procession, and of what
an armyfof twenty times its bulk, some hundred thousand
men, for instance, would look like !
The pillar is certainly a very fine work of art ; chaste,
yet sufficiently ornamented, and built of excellent mate-
rials. It starts boldly out of the ground, upon a site
itself sufficiently imposing. Tri-coloured flags and
streamers floated around it on all sides. Two temporary
wooden erections had been raised, one on either side, for
the accommodation of the ladies. There were also some
reserved seats on the steps of the column, for a privi-
leged few of the other sex.
The entire cortege had entered the area by about half
an hour from the time when the procession first emerged
from the ramparts of the high town ; the triumphal car
drawing up to the steps of the column. A laurel wreath
was all the precious burden it bore; and this was destined
to crown the effigy of the great Napoleon ; as if he had
not already laurels enough of his own gatering in the
storehouse of history; as if his brow needed at this day
to be crowned with anything but the memory of his
achievements !
Arriving at this lofty plateau or mountain plain
around the column, where the statue stands, the troops
and other bodies in the procession taking up their posi-
tions, while around the square of the enclosure galleries
were erected of ample size, fn. the reception of the ladies,
exactly as the clock struck two, the figure of the Empe-
ror enveloped in its veil,
was suddenly revealed to the
gaze of the million, looking with a severe yet benign
aspect on that France which, in his latest moments, he
declared he loved so well. The shouts of nearly ten
thousand troops, and at least double the number of
spectators, at this moment rent the air, and with the
reverberations of artillery from every point, formed a
most imposing scene. " Vive l'Empereur I" " Vive Na-
poleon !" became from this moment legitimate cries—
abstract, perhaps, in sentiment, but still expressive of a
great and glorious epoch in the history of France, and a
distinct policy in its governnient. A Grand
,Cantata
was then sung in hoilour of the ceremony with striking
effect, after which the whole of the troops deplopd round
tile column, and the procession retired in the order it