The Sun.
London, England, 1858-08-19 00:00:00

selves with singing some new chant—for all were
singing to the same tune—and the spirit of their
modern favourite ballad singers be inferred from the
words with which each stanza concluded—the un-
ceasing "Vive l'Empercur !"
At Loemine, the prettiest village on the day's
route, there were great preparations made to wel-
come the Emperor. There was a really splendid
triumphal arch, covered on the top with white satin,
and these words in letters of gold, " Vive l'Empe-
reur ! Vivel'Emperatrice !" and close to it an asylum
for young children, with a beautiful decoration of
green leaves and flowers clustering around the large
entrance-gate, with these words at the top, " Homage
leur M jestes !" Here, there was observable a
new and great change in the habiliments of the dis-
trict. The black dress had entirely disappeared, and
in its place the men appeared, it might be said, all in
white, with broad flapping straw hats edged with
black velvet, white jackets, and the seams and bor-
ders and pockets bound with black. This was the
dress of all, whether horse or foot, for here, too,
there liras a peasant cavalry to welcome their
Majesties.

It was in this place that I saw a man going about
the town, beating a drum, and whenever what he
considered a sufficient group gathered around to
address, he told them the joyful tidings—that " the
Maire had received a despatch announcing that their
Majesties the Emperor and Empress;.would be there
at 12 o'clock"—a declaration that was received with
loud cheers; those who were as yet unprepared
hurrying away, and those at that moment in a
state of satisfactory completion, smoking their pipes
with increased vigour and satisfaction.
At Arten there was another triumphal arch, and
near to it a large processional group of young girls
all dressed in white. At other places the name of
which I could not collect, there were triumphal
arches, with the same mottos expressive of the same,
wishes.

One spirit appeared to animate the people on the
entire road. All were plainly engaged in a manner
that was most agreeable to them—in showing their
attachment to the Emperor—all were, therefore, in
good humour, and they were pleased with every-
thing that presented itself to their view—even the
carriages which carried the servants and the luggage
of the Imperial household were cheered by them on
the road ; but beyond all other classes, these who
took a most persecuting mode of manifesting their
zeal were the humble men, the cantonniers, who
have to look to the roads, and keep them in proper
order. These poor fellows were so desirous to force
the Emperor to admire them for the manner in
which they performed their duty in keeping the
roads quite clean, that they were indefatigably en-
gaged in sweeping them, and so they covered every
traveller who came ,in their way with a frightful
dust.

I had passed by so many peasant-horsemen on the
road, and seen such quaint dresses, that I did not
expect to behold more of the one nor capable of
being surpassed by the other at Napoleonville. I
had very little notion of the wonderful spectacle that
Napoleonville was to afford to the Emperor. I
never fancied having seen the deputation of
Croatians to the Emperor of Austria in 1848—that
I should again look upon costumes so curious, so
strange, or so fantastic worn by human beings as I
had beheld on that occasion ; and yet I must own

that to-day--and at such a little distance from
England—Brittany can, when it chooses, surpass
Croatia. Here is the dress of one man of
which I took a note whilst he was standing before
me. An old man with a broad-leafed white hat, a
full, round-skirted white coat, with pink buttons,
and bound with pink, a white waistcoat deeply em-
broidered with red, and flaring with red ribbons, red
knee-buckles, and white gaiters. Here is another—
black coat and waistcoat, and long black pantaloons,
all fitting tightly to the figure, and covered all over
with white mother-of-pearl buttons. Here is another
a woman's drc., blaolc oloth, with a girdle of silver
lace two inches broad at the least, and the skirts of
the dress a thick embroidery of silver lace. Here is
a man's dress—white jacket, waistcoat, and trowsers
and with pockets fantastically ornamented, and placei
so high up under the alms that what is under the

left arm can only be reached by the right, and wha

is under the right prehensible only by the left hand.
Then there:were deputations all in black, bound round
with brown, and others with red bands. But I find

it impossible to give a notion of the infinite variety
of the men's costumes ; whereas that of the women
was still more strange—as, for instance, caps the
same shape as those worn by students in our univer-
sities, dresses of scarlet cloth, crossed back and front
with broad pink ribbons, girdles of heavy, rich gold
lace, and the bottom of the dress a band, some two,
some three inches in depth, composed of the richest
gold lace. Of such dresses as these—the wedding-
festive dresses—the value varies from 1,500 to 2,000
francs. These rich dresses, I may remark, were
alone worn by women on horseback, and no women
appeared alone on horseback—all were behind their
husbands or fathers, with one hand clinging around
the waist. In these magnificent habiliments,
red and brown, green and blue, they literally
came in hundreds, and formed a most magni-
ficent spectacle. The number of horsemen was
actually astonishing. Troop after troop came
pouring into " the Place Napoleon" for hours before
the arrival of the Emperor ; so that I suppose there
would not be less than from three to four thousand
farmer horsemen drawn up before the Emperor, and
of these, the women with their husbands formed
the first line.
The spectacle was not merely :remarkable for its
beauty, but there was the proof in those dresses that
there was a great deal of wealth amongst those ad-
herents of the Emperor—that in Brittany he had
not only the hearts of the poor and working classes,
but also of the wealthy and independent farmers.
I have dwelt on those incidents as showing how
Brittany has voluntarily moved to greet its Em-

peror ; and that the nephew of Napoleon is beloved
by this part of France.

By these persons, and by the multitude around
:hem, the Emperor and Empress were received with

enthusiastic acclamations, and the day's proceedings,
as peculiar to Napoleonville, concluded with all the
horseriders—women and men—defiling before their
Majesties, and breaking away with loud cries. of
" Vive l'Empereur 1"
There were illuminations, fireworks, and the usual

rejoicings, as in other places during the evening.

FRANCE.

PARIS, AUG. 18.

The Plenipotentiaries of the Conferences will to-
morrow put their signatures to the convention for
the organization of the Danubian Principalities. These
documents will then have to be ratified, a process
which may occupy a month. The convention will
be officially published and the public will learn the
results of the meetings at the Hotel of Foreign
Affairs. The French Government has certainly
maintained its original views regarding the union ;
but being in a minority has, as you are already
aware, confined itself to obtaining an administration
which will certainly improve the condition of the
Roumans if it does not satisfy the views of their
more advanced politicians.

The Imperial Governor of Lombardy is certainly
the "fast " young man of the Austrian Imperial
family. His exerttions to reconcile the Lombards
apraiseworthy ; but unless the people are
veryrc mostmuch changed since I knew them, his endea-
vours will fail The Archduke Nvill assuredly be
thwarted at Vienna, and 1 fear his good intentions
and reforms will not be carried out. At all events
he is doing all he can to introduce a new policy at
Milan and Venice.

La Presse yesterday published an article, which
set forth an awkward comparison between the Pope
and the Sultan. The latter was represented as mere
favourable to progress than the guardian of St.
Peter's keys. But, in point of fact, what is a Pope
of Rome in our day ? Pio Nono, with all the good in-
tentions of a good man, failed in 1848 to create a better
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