The Sun.
London, England, 1859-07-16 00:00:00

his horse. --When the-two -parties had .come near,-
the escorts stopped short, and the Emperors ad-
vanced into the centre of the unoccupied space.
The escort of the Emperor Napoleon was composed
of Marshal Vaillant, General Martimprey, General
Fleury, the officers of the Imperial household and
of his staff, and of a squadron of the Cent Guardes
and one of the Guides, all in their splendid full
dress uniforms. His Majesty rode the fine bay
horse which he has used since the commencement
of the campaign. He wore the undress uniform of
a general of division, with the kepi. The Emperor

Austria wore an undress cap, and blue uniform
frock coat, and was followed by his staff, a squadron
of his body-guard, composed of nobles, and a squad-
ron of hulans. It is said that he was much struck
with the martial bearing of the French cavalry, and
that in presence of the Cent Gardes and the
Guides, the Austrian body-guard and the hulans
did not appear to advantage. On the two Sove-
reigns meeting in the mid-space they courteously
saluted and shook hands. The Emperor of Austria
appeared pleased with the cordial welcome and
open manner of the Emperor Napoleon. The two
Emperors remained for a moment alone in the
middle of the road and exchanged a few words.
They then reciprocally presented the officers of
their staffs ; and the moment after the several
officers were intermingled, and Marshal Vaillant
was seen in conversation with Baron de Hess.
Napoleon 111. and the Emperor Francis Joseph
then advanced side by side towards Villafranca,
the Cent Gardes giving the precedence to the
body-guard of Austria, who led the way, but
the Guides passing before the hulans. At Villa-
franca, the house of M. Carlo Morelli, situated in
the principal street of the town, had been pre-
pared to receive the two Sovereigns. The Em-
peror of Austria had passed a night there before
the battle of Solferino. It is a habitation comfort-
able, but simple, and not remarkable for any extra-
ordinary attraction. I had visited it early in the
morning, and saw, in addition to the bedroom of
the Austrian Emperor, the sitting room in which
the conference was to take place some hours later.
The furniture and curtains were green; and the
walls painted in distemper. There were several
seats of various kinds, but only two arm chairs.
In the centre was an oblong table covered with a
green cloth, and On it was placed, just as I entered,
a vase of freshly gathered flowers which quite per-
fumed the room. It was there that for upwards of
an hour and a half the two Emperors were seated
discussing the highest interests, and without any
one being present. From a feeling of delicacy,
the King of Piedmont was not invited to the
interview. It cannot but be allowed that the
presence of a successor is always more annoy-
ing and intolerable than that of a rival or of a
conqueror. Whilst the interview was going
on, I was outside in the street, whence I could see
the escorts, some remaining seated on their horses,
while others had dismounted. But not the slightest
sound was heard; every kind of conversation was
suspended, and all seemed dominated voluntarily
by a certain emotion produced by the importance
of the incident which was passing. As to what
took place inside,l cannot say anything ; all that I
know is that when the two Sovereigns issued forth
from the conference, they seemed both perfectly
satisfied. The word to mount was then given, and
in an instant all were in the saddle. The Emperor
of Austria uttered a few words expressive of the
admiration he felt for the French army, and did
Marshal Vaillant and Generals Martimprey and
Fleury the honour of shaking hands with them.
The two Sovereigns then took leave of each other
with the greatest cordiality, and the next moment
each splendid cortege was on the way back to the
place from which it had started. The Emperor of
the French entered Valeggio a little after eleven."