The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1895-07-29
ST. HELENA TO PARIS
THE REMOVAL OF NAPoLEoN's BODY
TO ITS LAST RESTING PLACE.

Church of the InvAlidsH-
The grave in the valley Of Napoleon.
on st. Helena. as the place had come 60
be called. was surrounded by an iron
railing set in n heavy stone curb. Over
the grave was n covering of G inch stone
which admitted 90 n vault II feet deep,
feet long and 4 feet s inches broad and
was apparently filled with earth. but
digging down some seven feet layer Of
Roman cement was found This broken
laid bare layer Of rough hewn stoue 10
inches thick and fastened together by
iron clamps. Il took ( - hours 20 remove
this layer. The stone up. the slab form
ing the lid of the interior sarcOphagus
was exposed, inclosed in a border Of Ro-
man cement strongly attached to the
walls OF the vault so stOutly had all
these various coverings been sealed with
cement and hound by iron bands that it
took tho large party of workers ten
hours To- reach the coffin.
'The outcrmost coffin was slightly in
jured, - says am eyewitness. ''Then came
one Of lead, which was in good condition
and incloSed two others-one Of tin and
one Of wood. Tho last coffin WAS lined
inside with white satin, which. having
become detached by the effect Of time.
had fallen upon the body and envelopcd
IL like winding sheet and had become
slightly attached to il.
1T i difficult to describe with what
anxiety and emotion those who were
present waited for the moment which
was To expose To them all that was left
Of the Emperor Napoleon Notwith-
standing the singular state IL preserva-
tion of the tomb and collins. we could
scarcely hope 20 find anything hut some
misShapen remains Of the least perish
able part of the costume TO evidence the
identity of the body. But when Dr.
Guillard raised the sheet of satin. AN in-
descrihable feeling Of surprise and afTcc-
tiun was expressed 10y the spectators.
many Of whom burst into tears The
emperor himself was before their ewes.
The features of the face. though cllan..ed.
were perfect " recognized; the hands eN-
I tremely beautiful: his well known COS
tune had suffered but little. and the
colors were easily distinguished The nt-
titude itself was full ~ eslse. and but for
the fragments Of satin lining which GOV
/ cred, as with fine gauae. several parts ~
7 the uniform. we might have believed
we still saw Napoleon lying on his bed
Of state. "
The climax 81 the pageant in Paris
was the temple of the Invalides- The
spacious church WAS dripcd in the most
magnificent and lavish fashion and
adorned with perfect bewilderment uf
Il ~. n.
ont by hangings IL violet velvet: tripods
blazing with Culurcd flames. and thou
sands upun thousands ~ waNcn cs,ndi,s
in brilliant candclahra lighted the tenn
pie. Under the dome. in the place Of thc
altar. stood the c.ttaf,,lquc which wsls
20 receive tine coffin.
II was 3 O'Clock in the afternoon when
the archbishop ~ Paris. preceded by a
splendid CrUsS bearer. and followed hy
i6 incense buys and lnng ruws II white
clad priests. left the church To- meet the
procession They returned soon. Fol
lowing them was the Prince de Joinville
and a select few from the grand curtege
without In their midst Napoleou's cuf-
fin.
The king descended from his throne
and advanced to meet the ourtcge
''Sire, said the Prince dc Juinville. Il
present 10 you the body of Napoleon.
which. in accordance with your COM
mands. have brought back tn France -
Il receive IL in the name ~ France. -
replied Louis Philippe
Such at least is what the ''Moniteur'
aflirms was said The Prince de join
willie gives different version: 1t APP
pears that little spccCh which was 70
have delivered when met my father.
and also the answer he was to give me.
had been drawn up in council. only the
authorities had omitted to inform me
concerning IL. so when / arrived sim
ply salutcd with my sword, and then
Stood aside. / saw indeed that this silent
salute. followed by retreat. had thrown
something out, but my father. after q
moments hesitation, improvised some
} appropriate Scn'ence. and the matter
was afterward arranged in the 'Moni.
teur. p"
Beside the king stood an officer. bear.
, ing cushion. On it lay the sword II
! Austerlitz Marshal SOult handed il q
the king, who. turning TO Bertrand.
! said:
General, l commission you to place
: the emperor's glorious sword on the
! bier. "
And Bertrand. trembling with emo.
tion. laid the sword reverently on his
J idols coffin. The great audience watch.
Cd the scene in deepest silence. The only
! sound which broke the stiffness was the
half stified sobs Of Che gray haired sol
: diers II the Invalides. who stood in
J places " honor near the catafalque.
: The king and the procession returned
to their palaces. and then followed a
= majestic funeral mass.-Ida NJ Tarbel
in McClure's Magazine