Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1881-08-13
the "Marseillaise" which continually
reached your ear, and it appeared to have

the "Marseillaise which continually
reached your ear, and it appeared to have
an inspiriting effect on both the soldiers
and the audience. 1t seems almost incredi-
BILE that law had to be passed before that
beautiful and most patriotic hymn could be
sung by the French people. During the
Presidency of MacMahon any one who was
heard singing the Marseillaise, even in
solitary woods, was arrested, and although
permission was invariably demanded at
every public reunion for the muses. to play
it, or the audience to sing it, such was
never granted. / remember that at the
distribution of rewards during the last
great Exposition, the entire audience
begged for the "Marseillaise as fit ex-
preston of their Joy and patriotism, but it
was refused them on the grounds that it
might offend the august ears of the differ
emit monarchs present. Yet when the diff.
ferent monarchs return to France to day,
they do not in the least intimate that they
are scandalized, and it is safe to wager that
they esteem the French the more for their
courage and independence in protesting
what they feel. The fete in the day time
was certainly grand bnt what fairylike
SCCuC ~ PlOoCAgCo III uLC CNOhi1S
Every building belonging to the Govern
ment, including the churches, were illumin-
ated by rows and rows of gas jets, and the
of the most delicate leaves which seemed
to have been formed alone by fairy fingers.
Gambetta's residence was conspicuous for
its brilliancy and its numerous blazing de-
signs. The lights from these buildings
l. I.
night like day. Added to these were mill
ions and millions of Venetian lanterns, fill.
ing all windows, that one was fairly dazzled
with the colored rays. The principal part
of the fete in the evening was to be seen in
the Garden of the Tuilleries, the Place de
Ia Concorde, and the illuminations extended
all up the Champs Elysees to the Arc de
Triomphe, and from there down the Avenue
de Bots de Boulogne to the lake in the
Bots itself. There on the bosom of the
waters were myriads of small boats covered
with Venetian lanterns, and their oarsmen
decked in fancy costumes. Some of these
boats as they moved along represented
pantomimes of subjects belonging to the
first Revolution, or the taking of the
Bastiles. Later, magnificent fireworks were
sent off from the center of the lake, whose
effect was splendid, reflected again and
again in the waters around, at the same
time all the trees were hung with colored
lanterns, and one asked himself if he had
not been transported to some other and
more mysterious plant.
THE GARDEN oF THE TUILLERIEs
Was something marvellous. Forming
circle around the basin of the fountain
were numerous tall poles headed by flags,
and attached to these myriads of small
cups of different colors and filled with oil
in which burned taper. The colors and
lights were so blended that even at short
distance you would not learn their origin
they represented different designs, each
pole bearing an escutcheon of its own or a
harp with the letters " r. F." IN the GEN.
ter. The effect cannot be imagined, and
the whole was arranged with that exquisite
taste for blending shades and colors for
which the French are renowned. From
the blaze of these colored lights one en-.
tered the Place de la Concorde, where
festoons of gas lights covered with small
white globes were a new surprise, they
seemed so many garlands of beautifully
illuminated white flowers, and the effect
was most fairy-like. These festoons ex-
tended in every directions, over the Place
de La Concorde, and all the way up the
Champs Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe,
which was ablaze with uncovered gas jets.
The fine bronze fountains of the Place ap.
peared in that light grander than ever
as the waters dashed into the air to catch
the sparkle of the luminous bodies around
them. Friends and relatives all calmly
promenaded back and forth, expressing by
EXPLANATIONS the wonder of the beautiful
sight before them, or holding their breath
in awe, and it did seem very strange to see
the Place de la Concorde so metamor-
phosed and people only filling the space
where vehicles were accustomed to pass
with unusual speed. Fireworks were sent
off in four different parts of the city, of I'M
usual magnifcence, the chief piece being
figure of the Republic dressed in the ma.
tional colors and the Phrygian bonnet on
her head. A little boy said to me that it
was so grand, SO tall, that it reached to the
sky. Platforms were erected in every
quarter OF Paris for dancing, an estrada
higher up was placed for the musicians,
and wherever you might wander sounds of
the merry dance would meet your ear.
Everybody had his fill of enjoyment, and
of the two millions of people congregated
in the French capital to take part in the
national fete, not single accident or dis
turbance was recounted. VAL.