New-York tribune., 1878-05-14

stepped into the tribune piece OF punctuahly
which is. purely military, If other people had
only been as punctual But you had to pass
inside the Trocad6ro palace haf-a-dozen yawnihg
chasms in the walls. half hid and half revealed Dy
soant hangings of tapestry, behind which were
hdeous masses of builders rubbish. And on the
very summit of the cupola which crowns the rooi,
inst beneath The single trl-color which Oated near
cst the sky there remained to-day as yesterday, a
fabric of caold and ladder the plain proof OF the
unreadiness of the building beneath; sc plain, so
obtrusiye as to be haft confession anC haf-brazen
impudence the public contradiction OF the
official pretence that the Exhibition was
completed. The ground which you walked
was fraud. New laid gravel, fair 10 look AT,
presently sank out of sight into the swamp OF
mud underneath, and the turf which was var
nished green, gave to the foot If you trusted IT,
and you found yourself ankle deep in fertile Dut
sticky soil.
Drums and trumpets struck MP as the mass oil
gilt uniforms and many cOlored feathers ehlefeu
the tribune and advanced TO the 'front.' vi inc
speeches / heard not word, and can't say
whether it was before or after NJ Iesserenc de
Bort's prose had been delivered that the grea'
guns from distant forts roaTed out their salute
took it 70 be the signal that TIE EXhl-
hilton was from that moment finished and
open to the public; kind OF dehant
lie. salvo of sputtcring salutes from
small pieces in the ground responded, and
every now and then ragged afresh, aPropos Of moth
ing that ono could see The pent-up force of waters
beneath the palace broke loose; a sheet Of flowing
crystal bent over the great basin beneath the
tribune flowed into pools and spacious stone baths
below waiting to receive it, and rose IN white
columns of spray high into the blue air. Nothing
was so lovely or pure as this Outburst OF the toun-
tans.
THE PROCESSION.
Not MANY minutes later retreat from the tribune
and a commotion III the gallery announced the
forming and starting of the procession. Ill luck
awaited il and attended it. Scarcely had the Mar
shall put hs foot on the path when fresh shower
came pouring down. The Prince of Wales, who was
near him. looked up and looked back as If not quite
sure whether he would go on or not. But the stout
old Marshal had no notion of giving in; he marched
straight through the rain. needless of the drenchng
be got. The Prince, with English practical pru-
dence spread his umbrella The Archbishop OF Paris
fairly tucked up his purple pettcoats over his arm
and strobe through the mud with much the
same gait YOU have seen in the heroine of bur-
lesoue when the heroine is a man. Not far behind,
the Chinese Ambassador waddled painfully along
ia his queer Junk shoes. Senators and scarfed depu-
been mentioned with him; for YOU are to remark
that the Legislative bodies had insisted on their
equal precedence with the Executive, and bad de-
clined to appear on the scene guests preferring
10 play the part of hosts conformity with the Presl-
dent of the Republic. The President of the Sen
nte, Due d. Audifret Pasquier, hated of the
Bonapartists, and the President of she Chamber OF
Deputies NJ Gr6vy once the predestinod successor
of Marshal MacMahOn in the chair Of the Republic,
each at the head of his colleagues, marched sturdly
forward on a line with the Marshal. The police
scattered about outside had thus far made feint
of keeping the public ON the paths and OIL the turf'
but curiosity broke all bounds as soon as this cor
tege appeared, and men and women rushed up 10
the very bayouets of the troops who formed the
tWowalls Of the alse along which this rather motley
throng of great men advanced
For while perhaps till they had got half way
down the HILL some sort of order was kept in the
official array Not for long, however. The foothold
was insecure beneath; the rain above was pitless,
and soon the column began to show gaps here and
there; stretching out into thin part-colored line
one moment, and the next all huddled into groups
and patches of men. 1t had no more semblance OF
order than the Exhibition it was Oh its way to open
1t became a scramble. The cheers of the people,
which were not very hearty nor loud, could
not lnspirit it, and the members Of 1t
who were not in uniform, but wore only the swal-
low-ta aud white tie of the civilian began to stray
away from the files and to mingle with the crowd ;
the soldiers readily opening their ranks to make way
for the fueitives BY the time it had reached the
bridge, it had lost half its strength. On the bridge
il wavcred to and fro. strip of red cloth divided
the floor of this structure, bat oddly enough the
Marshal would not walk on IT; he walked on one
side of it, and of his train on either side, as II
it were too sacred to be trodden by human
feet. soon the procession and the people became
confused and intormiugled. You could 10 Longer
distinguish from the heights in the rear even the
line Of red trousers; aud IN the Champ de Mars
all effort 10 keep order was abandoned, for time at
least. Here it was that the reporters broke H.
Here also the police a little later made a
desperate effort to rearrange matters, sue
ceeding only in shutting ont numbers OF OF
cia people, and shutting in numbers OF
the public, who enjoyed the joke. And N that
mixed and humiliating state the Marshal and his
retinue passed out of the sight Of those who were
standing, as was, on the slopes of the Trocadero
Hill.
CONFUSION At THE End.
There may as well leave them. A friend who
saw this remnant of straggIers well on in the
Avenue des Etrargers, tells me that they had
dwipdled to fftyl The rush to the entrance into
the avenue had been awkward, and had awkward
consequences. file of troops drove back the toe
eager sghtseers; there women among them
who suffered more than the men; and
there is horrid story, which may OF
may not be true, that one of the great
ladies of England. the Duchess of Manchester
received blow in the stomach from the butt-end OF
French soldiers musket hear from Mr.. Taylor
that he made his way with little difficulty to the
Porte Rapp where all carriages were to wait: that
the disorder and tumult were such as defy de-
scripton; that the police ordered of the very car
riages which had been ordered thltber ; and that
he was obliged to return 10 bis hotel on
foot amid crush Of people and vehicles which