Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1895-12-19
NAPOLEONs CORONATION.
A Gorgeous and Dramatic Ceremonial
in NOtre Dame.

The morning of Sunday, December
2, 1904, was cold and cloudy as the
gorgeous procession passed from the
Tuileries to Notre Dame The streets
were lined and the houses decorated:
but the people of Paris, stated with
cermonials, were, in spite of self-in-
terests, silent and critical On the
other hand, the presence of the Ger
man princes in the train, and the
glittering costumes of the court, threw
the provincial Populations, and the
throngs of office-holders who had come
up from all France, into a delirium of
enthusiasm. The irreverent Uttered
when the papal chamberlain ambled
by on a mule at the head of His Holt
ness's court, but Immediately fell on
their knees and received the papal
blessing. Clergy and choristers in
toned the hymn 'FTu es Petrus" as the
POntiff entered the majestic cathedral
from the transept, and proceeded to
his throne in the center of the choir to
the right of the high altar.
After an interval of an hour or more
appeared the emperor's attendants,
Murat leading at the head of twenty
squadrons of cavalry. Then followed
the imperial chariot, surmounted by a
crown, and drawn by eight superb and
richly caparisoned steeds. Facing the
emperor and empress sat Joseph and
Louis; the other brothers were in tenn
porary disgrace, and Madame Mere
remained stubbornly with Lucien at
Rome, Then, as the artillery salvos
resounded, there advanced eighteen
six-horse carriages with the court, all
moving to the sound OF triumphal
music. Passing in burst Of sunshine
to the archiepiscopal palace, and en-
tering the vestry, the emperor donned
his coronation robes and a crown of
laurel leaves. Thence, with the en-
press at his side, he proceeded in state
to the place prepared for them in the
lofty nave, facing the high altar. JOS
eph, Louis, Cambaceres, and Lebrun
were his pages, and supported the
train Of his mantle, heavy with gold
and Embroidery. The yet empty throne
lad been erected in the heart of the
choir From twenty thousand threats
burst the cry, Long live the en-
perorr' as the slow and stately march
proceeded.
At last the entrance of the choir
was reached, and the pope, descending
from his chair, began to intone, amid
the deep silence of the throng, the
majestic chant of F'Veni Creator"
This ended the personages of the
court found their appointed seats, the
regalia were laid on the altar, and
Plus, holding out q copy of the scrip
lures, demanded in the Latin tongue
whether the emperor would use all his
powers to have law, justice, and peace
reign supreme in the church and
among his people. The emperor laid
both his hands on the book, and
'tProfiteor'' came the solemn answer.
Pope, cardinals, archbishops, and
bishops began the litany, and the SOW
ereigns kneeled. AS the closing
strains sounded forth, the imperial
pair advanced under priestly conduct
to the steps of the high altar, and
kneeled again. The pope, pronounc-
ing the customary but long-disused
prayer, then solemnly anointed both
in turn with the triple JUNCTION on head
and hands. Returning to their chairs,
the two chief actors seated themselves,
and high mass began.
Midway in its solemn course there
was a pause; the emperor stepped for
ward to the altar as if to be invested
at the papal hands with all the in
sigma of power-Ting, mantle, and
crown. The last of the consecrated
baubIes to be lifted was the crown.
At the pregnant instant, just as the
holy father, doubling but hoping,
lifted it aloft, the emperor advanced
two PAGES downward, and, firmly seiz-
ing it in his own hands, set it on his
own brow. Without a movement Of
hesitancy he then crowned the en-
press, and the two, stepping upward
seated themselves in the great throne
Of the empire. The pope recovered his
self-control if, indeed, he had momen-
tarily lost it, and said, MAY God con-