The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1935-02-06
SPENT
BY NAPOLEON IN
GREETING MARIE
Elaborate Ceremonies Are
Staged by CorSiCan for
New Wife.


omphe i'll Paris is famed Is the
symbol of victory in the World War.
But the event which marked the
Inauguration of that very same
arch was the celebration of a a
riage rather than a triumph at
arms, though armed conflict fol-
lowed in its wake.
The first procession to pass under
the arch, which was not then COM
pleted, was the wedding train of
the Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte
and his bride Marie Louise, Arch
duchess of Austria, in 1910. Napoleon
probably considered this a triumphal
occasion. He was determined that
the ceremonies attending the we'd
ding should be among the most
brilliant the world had yer wit
messed.
Napoleon had already been mar
ried to Marie Louise by proxy in
Vienna. Strangely enough, he had
selected for his proxy the Archduke
Charles of Austria, who had defeat
ed him at the battle of Aspern!
The Emperor received his bride at
Compiegne, and they proceeded then
to the palace at St. Cloud, outside
Paris, where they were received
with great pomp by the highest
dignitaries of Church and State,
attired in the colorful costumes Of
their office. There a civil wedding
ceremony was performed in the
presence of a brilliant gathering of
princes and princeSses of the realm.
Pass Under Arc de Triomphe
On the following day, the imperial
couple headed the magnificent pro-
cession that journeyed to the Palace
of the Tuileries for the ecclesiastical
ceremony. 1t was this procession
that passed beneath the Arc de
Triomphe.
Napoleon and his bride rode in
an elaborate carriage drawn by six
prancing horses with colorful trap
pings. Behind them came a long
line of carriages bearing court Off
Gals and members of the diplomatic
corps. The military escort consist
ed of select troops Of cavalry and
infantry, marching proudly in the
wake of the Emperor's glory.
Great crowds packed the broad
avenue of the Champs Elvsees.
cheering their sovereign and his
bride. Soon the procession passed
the Place de la Concorde, where only
a few years before Marie Antoinette,
Queen of France, had been behead-
ed. And Marie Antoinette was
Marie Louise's g%reat-aunt!
Decorated deliberately
In the palace, the special salon
where the marriage ceremony-the
third-Was to be performed, was
decorated deliberately. Three queens
and two ~princesseS carried the train
of the bride as she marched to the
altar where the solemn rites of the
Catholic Church were performed.
Next day, in another brilliant
ceremony, Marie Louise was crowned
Empress of France. Her husband
had had a diadem prepared for her,
and a diamond-studded crown
which was so heavy she could hard
ly carry it on her head!
Marie Louise was not yet finished
with these magnificent ceremonies
which must have made her royal
head swim. Next came a wedding
trip to Holland, where Napoleon
wished to impress the people with
the power and grandeur of imperial
France. So vast and splendid was
the honeymoon caravan that 600
horses were required to make the
changes at the stations along the
route.
More Festivities in Paris
The bridal pair returned to still
more festivities in Paris. There
were torchlight parades, fireworks,
gorgeous balls. banquets and feteS.
I'll O11S ONNdoIOl1, d llI1Il1dOQAC ACp44Nd
of Schonbrunn, Marie LouiSe'S home,
was built in the Neuilly gardens.
And the Austrian castle of Laxen-
burg was reproduced near a lake.
These festivities cost a fabulous
fortune, but Napoleon spared no ex-
penSe to delight his bride-and to
reflect glory on himself. Never per-
haps in history has there been such
festive pomp as attended the union
of the mighty Napoleon and this
daughter of the Caesars.
And never again perhaps has
there been a stranger romance.
In the letters which will be pub
lished for the first time in The In
dianapolis Times, starting Feb. Is,
the world will at last be able to see
in its true light the romance which
was surrounded by SO much of
grandeur-and so much of human
p%oignancy.
Copyright, 1885. by United Feature
Syndicate. Inc.)
The waterpower of the world is
now As, 600, OO0-horse power, an in