The Sun.
London, England, 1866-08-28 00:00:00

THE FETES AT BOULOGNE.

(From the Special Correspondendent of the Times.)
BOULOGNE, Monday.
It is not often that any public procession fulfils
its programme. That, at least, is our experience in
England, but I don't think any English visitor to
Boulogne could have anticipated that the procession
generale of yesterday would have been so splendid
and imposing an affair as it proved to be. With a
large number of separate bodies coming from
parishes, some of which are at a great distance from
each other, and bearing in mind that at least the
half of the procession were youths, young girls,
and children, it might naturally have been supposed
that there would have been some evidence of a want
of uniformity in giving effect to a ceremony which
was to be gone through by many hundreds of the
laity as well as a numerous body of ecclesiastics, to
be performed over at least three miles of ground,
and which occupied nearly three hours from the
time it commenced till it was brought to a close ;
but, although there was an entire absence of ob-
trusive marshalling, not the slightest hitch occurred
anywhere. Every guild or association was in its
appointed place, each was more than as good as
its word, and not a movement seemed to have been
forgotten by those who took part in the proceed-
ings. The offices of the day commenced with a
grand Pontifical High Mass in the Cathedral of
Notre Dame, at which the Roman Catholic Bishop
of Northampton was celebrant. The vast building
was densely crowded in every part ; even the
galleries which surround the interior immediately
under the ceiling and the dome, though not in-
tended for any portion of the congregation on
ordinary occasions, bad many occupants, and as
the great bell announced that the mass was about
to begin, as the organ pealed forth in swelling
tones of deep music, and the monsignores and
bishops, in all the blaze of purple, violet, scarlet,
and cloth of gold, issued forth from the sacristy, the
scene was one such as could have been witnessed in
none other than a Roman Catholic church. Besides
the Roman Catholic Bishop of Northampton, five
Bishops, and as many Canons, and other dignitaries
took part in the functions, or were within the choir
while the Mass was being celebrated.
The music was very fine, the Gloria, the Credo,
and the AgnusDei, all being given with much effect.
The most solemn, and, to Protestants, the most
striking part, of the proceedings was the elevation
of the Sacramental elements. Just as this was about
to take place the Hosannah, which the musicians
had been performing, was brought to a sudden close,
a sharp tinkling of small bells was heard coming
from the altar steps, the big bell outside responded
with one great vibration, which must have been
heard over the whole town, the worshippers, both lay
and ecclesiastical, fell upon their knees and pros-
trated themselves en masse ; and amid clouds of in-
cense, the " Sacred Host" was held aloft above the
heads of the congregation. The same incidents
attended the elevation of the chalice. The sermon
was preached by the Bishop of the diocess, Monsig-
nor Lequette. High Mass concluded about half-
past 12 o'clock, and from that time till 4, the hour
named for the procession to start from Notre Dame,
Boulogne was busy in preparations. The triumphal
arches had, of course, been raised previously, and the
tricolour and other flags had been waving from
lofty poles set up in every street ; but the decora-
_ _ e • ,1 - -
pfished. -Between half-past 12 and 4 o'clock lad-
ders were raised before almost every door, wreaths
of artificial flowers were being curved and twisted,
about every balcony and across the showboards of
all the shops, the whole of the lower stories of many
houses were being draped in white and blue, and the
episcopal escutcheon of the diocesan wasmultiplying
itself with a rapidity and to an extent which made
one wonder that such a number of them could have
been turned out by the painters of a provincial
town. All along the line of the port, streamers,
depending from poles placed at either side, spanned
the carriage way ; most of the ships, of which there
was an unusually large number in the port, displayed
all their bunting, and chairs appeared like magic
in a continuous line almost from the Douane to the
corner of the Rue Napoleon, which is a length of
nearly half a mile. By 3 o'clock every one of these
chairs had an occupant, but how the persons who
sat upon them endured the roasting heat of the sun
was not the least extraordinary matter connected
with the doings of the day. The weather was bril-
liant ; but the temperature was of a melting heat.
Excursion boats from London, Ramsgate, and other
places, arrived last night and this morning, and the
state of the town, as regards crowding, may be
judged from the fact that this afternoon there was
not a single bed to be procured in any of its hotels
or lodging-houses. To get a public conveyance to
carry you about was a matter of nearly as great
difficulty. Before the procession had commenced
every one of them had been hired. This, however,
did not prevent the pavements from being crowded
by a miscellaneous multitude bent on performing a
promiscuous procession on their own account.

Such was the state of the leading thoroughfares
when the pilgrims set out from Notre Dame to carry
relics round the town and celebrate the formal
opening of a cathedral which, after woks extending
over 40 years, has just been sanctified by the rite
of consecration. Proceeding from the main en-
trance of the church, the cortege, headed by a de-
tachment of the 3d Chasseurs, set out in the dire?,-
tion of the Rue St. Jean, a street to the right of
the building, a dense crowd of spectators lining
the streets, but, without the slightest interference
from the pol;ce or any other authority, keeping
a space clear for the procession. After the mili-
tary came the pilgrims from the perish of Portel,
a quaint old fishing village, which forms a suburb
of Boulogne. The lead was taken by a cross-
bearer, haNfing an acolyte on each side of him, the
latter being habqed in bright scarlet cassocks
and white surplices, or cottas ; then followed a
fine body of fishermen, clothed in the uniform of
the French navy. As these lads, like all other
French seamen, have to serve for stated periods in
the national sea force, they are entitled to wear the
costume des nzarins de l'Etat, and accordingly they
did so on this occasion. In their midst was held
aloft a banner of Notre Dame de Boulogne, whom
they have chosen for their protectress ; next fol-
lowed a band of still younger boys in plain clothes,
one of whom carried a banner, having on it a pic-
ture of the infant Saviour. A number of little girls
with a beautiful basket of flowers followed, and
groups of maidens, one half of whom were in red
dresses and the other in white, came after them,
bearing little emblems of the different prerogatives
attributed to the Virgin Mary in " the Rosary" and
" the Litany of Loretto" ; then more girls, dressed
in blue, followed by as picturesque a group as any
which appeared in the procession. It was composed
of the married fisherwomen of Porte], in the ancient
costume of their guild, which is a bright scarlet
dress, with shawl-pattern handkerchief across their
shoulders, white stockings and low shoes, a cap of
spotless whiteness, and long gold earrings. After
more standards, and a choir chanting the Litany,
the cure and two vicaires of the parish brought up
the rear, the former clothed in an elaborate cope or
cloak worked in gold, and wearing his biretta or
square black cap, and the two latter in biretta,
cassock, and surplice. The parish of St. Francois
de Sales was next in order. It, like all the succeed-
ing parishes, was headed by its suisse, or beadle
as we should call him in England. The make-up
of these functionaries is something that would put
one of our Bumbles completely out of counte-

nance. They have a cocked hat of enormous pro-
portions and wonderful in the amount of its
plumage ; their coats are more than military in
the size of the epaulettes and the quantity of
gold lace on the pockets and cuffs ; their knee-
breeches are equal to anything of the kind ever
seen on a Lord Mayor's footman ; they have stock-
ings and shoes quite as showy as those worn by a
cardinal ; and in their right hand they carry a spear,
with the pole of which they are perpetually making
a warlike noise upon the ground. One of these
elaborately bedecked personages wore a scarlet uni-
form yesterday which cost 1,200 f., or £4B. The
appearance of the parish of St. Francois de Sales
was different as to details from that of Portel, but
its general characteristics were the same in respect
of the groups of girls, boys, laymen, women, and
the clergy. Many of the parishioners of St. Fran-
cois being gardeners, the banner of the Saint was
borne by a body of gardeners, and a grand basket
of flowers carried by les dames jardiniCres was an ob-
ject of general admiration. The relics of St. Fran-
cois, enclosed in a gold reliquary, were placed on a
bearer covered with crimson velvet, which was car-
ried on men's shoulders. The parish of St. Peter,
in which the fishermen of Boulogne mostly reside,
had the next place in the procession. There again
matelotes formed a group that would have made a
capital picture. They were radiant in bright colours
and jewellry, and, being a remarkably fine set of
women, presented an exceedingly good appearance in
the procession. There was another group also in this
portion of the procession which was not a little re-
markable. It consisted of 14 women, all of whom
have become widows within the last 12 months.
They wore black dresses, with a coloured sash across
their shoulders. Some of them were young, and
their young husbands had perished at sea ; but one
was very old, and walked with the assistance of a
stick. Among the representatives of the parish of St.
Vincent de Paul, the next in the order of the proces-
sion,a choir of boys, sang hymns:with exquisite sweet-
ness, and occasionally the spectators took up the
chant, and it was wafted through the air with touching
effect. In intervals between these choral hymns the
baud of the 3d Chasseurs performed instrumental
music. The parishes of St. Joseph and St. Nicholas
respectively entered a dignified and graceful appear-
ance. In these parishes there are several convent and
other schools, and the young ladies of these estab-
lishments, many of whom are English girls, sent over
here for their education, imparted a peculiar inte-
terest to the proceedings. They were dressed either
in white or blue, wore white gloves and veils, and
a wreath of choice flowers encircled each of their
heads. Many of them carried emblems of the Notre
Dame, or of the Passion of the Redeemer, and so
multifarious were these corbeilles des fleurs that it
may be said there was not a group without one or
more of them. Several little companions of orphans,
boys and girls, were marched after the standard of
St. Nicholas. All the banners in the procession
were handsome ; there was not a shabby one among
them, the entire number, large as it was, while most
of them were richly embroidered or painted on silk
or satin. Following these emblematic inscriptions
were carried, to symbolise, " the five joyous, the
five sorrowful, and the five glorious mysteries of the
Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary." By several of
the parishes the instruments used in the torturing
and crucifixion of the Redeemer were represented by
little models, some gilt and some covered with
silver paper. In these instances one young lady
carried two scourges, another a hammer and nails,
another a crown of thorns, and so on. There was
a tolerably large model of the stable at Bethlehem
also, with a little infant lying in a manger. In one
case au angel was represented in the flesh by
a pretty little girl clothed in white, and furnished
with a pair of large blue wings. There were
several instrumental bands in the cortege, and
sacred music was performed during every portion of
the route. Perhaps no one fast in connexion with
the whole affair is more significant of the perfection
with which it was organised than that the dress of
every single individual in the long line was re-
spectable and scrupulously neat, while those of
all the girls and little children were even elegant.
They were of some light material, the prevailing
colonrgl,.pir,,, N 1,1141, d
srourst wore the colour of the group of which she
formed part. No hat or bonnet was worn by any
one with the exception of the Suisses, the men and
lads who wore the naval uniform, and the military
who accompanied the pilgrims ; but every girl had
a veil or a wreath of flowers. By an exceedingly
pretty arrangement a bevy of girls in each parish
carried what may be described as a canopy of ribanda.
In the centre walked a young lady who held up a
decorated standard. From the top of the pole to
which the little flag or banner was affixed there
descended a profusion of long ribands, of colours
various as the hues of the rainbow ; the end of each
of these ribands was held by a young lady in such a
manner as that when the group moved a perfect little
tent was formed by these many-coloured streamers.
After all the parishes came the Cortege ,Speciale de
Notre Dame in the following order :—An associa-
tion of ladies devoted to the work of administering
comfort and assistance to the &ck poor, ladies of a
society for aiding poor churches, and " the associa-
tion of the Holy Family." Those were all lay
ladies. They were followed by these religious con-
gregations—the Little Sisters of the Poor, the
Daughters of St. Vincent de Paul, the Sisters of St.
Joseph, the Sisters of Good Help, the Augustinian
Nuns, and the Christian Brothers. The Little Sisters
of the Poor devote themselves to providing food for
a number of old and infirm people who are unable
to do so for themselves ; and it is a rule of the order
that no sister may break her own fast until she has
provided the day's food for the poor people imme-
diately under her charge. The sisters call at the
different houses, and carry away any broken victuals
that may be given to them. Next came a group of
young ladies in robes and tunics of white, spangled
and fringed with gold, and veils and diadems of
white and gold ; a group of young ladies in blue
robes and white tunics spangled with silver, their
veils and diadems being white and silver. " The
hand of the miraculous statue," enclosed in a highly
ornamental reliquary, was carried on a bearer in a
space between the two bodies of young ladies,
four ladies from each group carrying it in turns.
Then came a large model of the statue itself, con-
sisting of a boat, in which stood a figure of the
Virgin carr3:ng the infant Savioer. This was borne
by seamen of the port clad in the uniform of the
Imperial Navy. A body composed of the singers
from the different choirs'of Boulogne followed the
'seamen, and the rear of the procession was brought
up by a body of ecclesiastics. Two-and-two came
the clergy of the diocess in black cassock, surplice,
and biretta, all carrying prayer-books and chaunting
the hymns of Notre Dame de Boulogne ; next, in
the same order, the canons, looking every inch
Churchmen, as they passed in their purple cassocks,
white fur hoods, and birettas distinguished by a red
tassal ; after them four Roman prelates—Monsignor
Scott, Monsignor Boudomi, Monsignor Le Roy,
and Monsignor Cataldi—in cassocks of violet satin
and black biretta, but without surplices. Abbe
Haffreingue and Father Felix followed, and then
appeared the bishops in single file, the first of them
being the Hon. and Right Rev. Dr. Clifford of
Clifton; the second, the Right Rev. Dr. Amherst,
of Northampton ; the third, Monseignor Boudinet,
Bishop of Amiens ; the fourth, the Right Rev. Dr.
Moriarty, of Kerry ; the fifth, Monsignor Gignoult,
Bishop of Beauvais, and sixth and last., Monsignor
Lequctte, Bishop of Arras. All the bishops wore
mites and magnificent copes, and each carried his
crozier or shepherd's staff. As they walked along the
people everywhere on the route rushed forward, and
on bended knee prayed their benediction. Even the
little children did this, and mothers held out their
babes that they might receive the episcopal blessing.
As Dr. Clifford was the first of the bishops be had
to go through much more than his share of the la-
bour of bestowing benedictions, and to the bishop
of the diocess the labour must have been extremely
severe, for he was giving individual blessings un-
ceasingly during his whole progress. The procession
came down to the port by not the most leading
streets. These it took on returning. On the port
it passed under a lofty arch, on which was the in-
scription—Les Marius a .Notre Dame. On its way
back it came through the Rue Napoleon and up the
steep meent a the Graiale Rue. Here, opposite