The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1873-07-28

with regard to the beauty and splendof Of the
pageant Is It lay before the spectators in the
tribunes, girdled BY Its setting of greenery.
THE ADVENT OF THE SHAH
a. accompanied BY Marshal MacMahon and fol-
lowed BY very large and brilliant cohort OF
mounted star Of1cers he rode on TO the field, was
greeted rom the drums and bugies with che - Dat
aasr champs" the traditional salute OF French
army on parade. The cortege swept down the
broad avenue between the Fifth and the Fourth
corps, the men OF the former. which had fronted
the other way, having come right about In order
that both sides OF the avenue should be lined with
faces Passing along to the distant flank, near the
trees surrounding the village OF Boulogne, the
tege wheeled and came up toward the pavilion
along new avenue formed OF the Fifth and First
corps, facing inwards. In few moments the bril-
liant procession was passing along the front Of the
tribunes. MacMahOn rode noble chestnut charger
with that dashing grace OF horsemanship which
is one OF the chief causes OF his popularity In the
army. The Shah came ON his left, Q little behind,
mounted on his white Arab stallion with the
famous mauve tail HIS Majesty wore the
diamond coat" in the front OF his kulah blazed
tall feather spray Of briliants, and the rich
housings OF his horse equipment literally blazed
with jewels On the Shah's left rode L'Admirault,
almost fat as but without the phlegm Of Bazaine
while on the right hand OF MacMahon was the Duke
d'Aumale. The Shah rode to the back OF the
pavilion, and, dismounting, took his seat in the
chair of state under the canopy, whence, in the
company OF M. BUFFET, he Witnessed the scene and
the march past MacMshon, with LAdmirault, the
Duke d'Aumale, the mounted Pcrsians, with the
exception OF the Shah, and the rest of the horse
men, wheeled to one side and took up position
opposite to and facing the pavilion, leaving an
interval between, along which the troops marched
past.
great deal OF nonsense has been written, both
In French and English papers, as to the direction
In which the troops saluted. and political card
houses have been constructed on erroneous and,
indeed, untruthful premises. In many quarters 1t
has been asserted that the of1cers saluted,
not the President Of the Republic, who sat
on his horse on the right Of the regiments they
passed. but that they saluted to their left accord
ing to sOme the tribune Of the Assembly, said to
have contained chiefly royaist occupants; accord
to others the chief pavilion on which sat the Shah
and M. Buffet These statements are either blum
ders lies In either case rubbish Troops of every
European army for the most part march past from
right so that the Oflcers' sword arms, with which
they deliver the salute, are on the side next the
saluting point. You may change
THE sALUTING POINT
yen please, but in this you must invert also
the order OF marching past, so that the sword
arm shall always be next the saluting point.
Owing to tactical considerations the troops on
Thursday marched past, not from right to left but
from left to right, and, therefore, the saluting
point, where sat Marshal MacMahOn and his star,
had to be fixed the right Of the stream of troops
on the "sword arm sde' and opposite the tribunes.
The officers, as they successfully passed, saluted
and turned "eyes right, " without exception. TO
have done anything else would have been worse
than q military soicism-it would have been u
military impOssibility. The salute, In technical
language, was "taken" by Marshal MacMahon in
virtue of his superior military rank TO any other
officer on the ground. The attempted Importation
OF political considerations into of the simplest
and most matter OF details at indicates
a surprising degree Of ignorance and furnishes an
illustration of the nlusOry foundation on which
specious canards are for the most part based.
The infantry marched past in columns OF double
companies, each double company being about
seventy-nve fes strong. First came the gen.
darmery, the municipal guards and the nremen-
all picked men, mostly veterans and marching
with considerable show OF steadiness The First
corps followed, then the Fourth, then the Second,
and the Fifth came last, having served until the
end as screen to enable the other corps to defle
behind it into the marching part position. The
detail OF the First division will apply to all. The
General commanding the army corps having
passed with his stan, there came next the Divis
iOnal General with his star, then the regiment OF
chasseurs belonging to the army corps, then the
massed bands and pioneers OF the First brigade,
then the general officer commanding that brigade,
then the two infantry regiments OF that brigade,
then the two batteries OF artillery OF the division,
and lastly, the Second brigade OF the division,
headed by its chief. Each regiment consisted of
three battalions, which, including the regiment or
chasseurs, made up the thirty nine batta!ions,
which Is the complement OF an army CORDS The
chasseurs, as rule, marched better than any
other infantry OF the line, and wore smarter and
more sOldierly aspect in their serviceabe, dark blue
uniform. The red breeches had still good many
of the faults that characterized the French army
under the Empire. In the rear ranks there were
some very little men. The dressing was imperfect
the step was often badly kept; many men souched
rather than marched; there was "a
DEFICIENCY OF MARTIAL CARRIAGE,
and there was a great lack OF uniformity in the
angle OF slope OF the rles. But, while all this Is true
none the less true Is 1t tnat there were apparent
the results OF aspirations after better things and
EFFORTS to overcome that lO0seness Of formation
which long practice has made second nature. 1t
temned all attempts at rigdty OF formation.
Dressing was ostentatiously dIsregarded. Men
were absolutely encouraged to disregard the
''touch" and the maintenance Of "the step.r
1--WE are supple, mobile, agile" was the boast.
1--WE have outgrown your stif, formal drillings;
your practising of the goose step, your antiquated
notion that an army is machine. We march to
get over the ground, not to resemble moving
wall. Let the bugle sound and see how dexter
ously we should scatter into skirmishing order;
with what elan we should spring forward in the
charge. All your stin formalities are for igno-
rant clowns, without military instincts. We are
intuitively soldiers, and dispense with trouble OF
which we do not see the use." The fashion was
catching. Everywhere new-fangled snatchers at
al captandum notions argued impulsively that the
careful, labored drill OF the armies OF other nation
alities was q gigantic blunder. One OF Britain's
best reputed army reformers Sir Garnet Wolsey,
hoa mt into prtnt his conviction that for Gall