The weekly Thibodaux sentinel and journal of the 8th Senatorial District. [volume] (Thibodaux, Lna. [i.e. La.]) 1875-1898, 1888-10-13
. Last Internlent Of Napoleon.

The "HOteI des In~caliles," in Paris,
Is that refuge for the worn and the
weary, founded by Napoleon, and with
In whose sheltering walls he now
sleeps his last sleep.
At the beat of the drrm, were seen
congregating from all parts of the
building MANY of Napoleon's tried and
faithful followers. Some bending be-
meath the weight of years. others sup
porting their feeble limbs Oh crutches,
and all, apparently, glorying in their
| sears.
The Chapel St. jerome, in which
the sarcophagus was placed, was hung
with rich velvet, studded with silver
bees; the bee was Napoleon's favorite
emblem.
kneeling beside the coffin was Ma
dame Bertrand, in deep mourning-it
being her constant habit to offer up
her prayers near the ashes of him
whose last moments she solaced by her
untiring tenderness and devotion.
1t was a sad and moving spectacle
The gorgeous rays of the sun streamed
through the easement as if in mockery
OF the sadness within. Garlands Of
flowers, mute, though eloquent tri-
butes of affection, were hung around.
And the air was filled with the frag-
rance Of incense, and the murmur OF
prayer.
With slow and faltering steps the
aged band drew near to receive from
the Duke de Reggie the colors which,
not many years before, they had seen
proudly waving in the field Of battle,
and grazing Il c%onqueror's triumph.
| From their melancholy eo%untenan-
ces, III would have imagined they
were laboring under a personal grief.
But they had shared his joys and his
sorrows. They had been with him in
the memorable passage of Mount st.
Bernard! when, exhausted with fati-
| que, he threw himself Oh the snow and
slept. And each soldier, for they were
obliged to pass in single file, stopped
and gazed upon him with the warmest
devotion and affection.
| WAS particularly struck with an
old man whose task it was to bear the
crown and ermine robe. His thin gray
locks were floating loosely over lis
wasted temples, and down his furro,s-
ed checks the tears were coursing!
Memory carried him back to the
days of his youth. Perchance that
magnificent pageant then enacted at
Notre Dame was before him. He saw
his beloved general taking that very
crown from the hands of the Pope, and
placing it himself on his own legal
brow, in the presence of an admiring
multitude! But in a moment the
scene had changed. He sawt he hero
whom a nation had delighted to honor.
pining in the lone ocean isle, like a
Gagged eagle, far from his kindred and
| his belorea France.
The laurel wreath with which Napo-
leon was crowned Emperor, the sword,
and last Of all, the hat he wore at the
battle of Austerlitz, were at length re-
moved. Those sacred relics of the
"mighty dead" conveyed with reli-
gious 1--WE to a place of safety, until
the magnificent tomb is completed,
where his body will repose, till the
last trumpet shall sound, and the
graves give up their dead!
This solemn pageant gave rise to
many reflections on the mutability of
human events, and the insufficiency of
worldly grandeur, and my thoughts
turned to that bright land where there
are immortal wreaths, and crowns of
joy forever at the right hand of God
Our Candidate for President.
He will be nominated by the con
v~ention and will be elected by the