fortigu out( tulninal.

FHA:WT.—The 10th of May was a great day for Louis Napoleon Bo- naparte, but he was not proclaimed Emperor by prretorian acclamations. All Paris was alive early, and soon abroad upon or hastening towards the Champ de Mars, that unequalled platform for great military displays. Ile immense field had been specially prepared for the evolutions upon it.

"The whole of it had been carefully examined in the morning, and every- thing removed, even to the size of a small pebble, that could in any way im- pede the movement of the troops. It had besides been copiously watered at an early hour, and before the troops entered had all the appearance of the neatly-arranged sweep before an English gentleman's country-house."

At the end farthest from the river is the Ecole Militaire a stately pile erected in the middle of the last century, and now used as barracks. The front of the building was masked by an elegant theatre of structures erected for the President, his family and court, the great bodies of the state, and their families, the Diplomatic Corps, and persons of mark having no public function. The President's tribune was "a magnificent pavilion, whose floor, on a level with tire first story of the Ecole, formed an arched portico, fifty feet in height, and the same number of feet wide." "It was hung inside with crimson velvet, sprinkled with gold stars, and in front curtains of the same rich material were looped back with gold cords. The architectural decorations of this tribune were covered with symbols of the Empire. Above, in the centre of the entablature of the arch, shonelhe grand cross of the Legion of Honour, supported on either hand by winged Victoriee. Groups of banners spread from the spandrils. The side pieces were adorned with two stories of Corinthian columns, supporting gilded eagles with niche's between, filled with trophies, and surmounted by the cipher of 'L.N.' A broad carpeted staircase, which widened at each of its two laud- ing-places, and was adorned on either hand with three statues, fepresenting Force, Justice, and Victory, descended into the champ. Upon the crimson velvet curtain were embroidered the President's arms. -The shield bore a spread-eagle upon a field azure. Round tlie-escuthhecin ran a Card suspending the grand cross of the Legion of Honour between two branches of ask and olive, with entwined stems ; the whole surmounted by a casque with vizor barred and white plume. The tricoloured flag floated over the tribune, above whose roof towered the dome of the edam of Louis XV."

In the "tribunes of honour" a great many English gapers and gazers were mingled. Among the foreigners, were several Russian and Austrian princes Prussian noblemen, Polish and Hungarian exiles of note, and some

princes, officers and civilians.

Exactly in the line of sight between the Bridge of Jena and the Ecole Militaire, and about one-third of the distance from the Ecole, was erected a chapel, seventy-five feet from base to summit; and on a platform, twenty-three feet high, was raised an altar. "Four pilasters with arches over them corresponding to the four sides of the Champ de Mars, and surmounted by cornices, supported the dome, which was covered with gilded scale-work ; and high over all those emblems of peace or war rose the cross. Above the arches, four golden eagles occupied the angles of the cornices, and at each pilaster rose a column with a statue on the capital, and with velvet veils supported from the outside by lances. These veils were of alternate crimson velvet and gold. The altar was as- cended by three platforms turned towards the Ecole Militaire. The decora- tions were of white ground, ornamented with golden stars and flowers."

From the summit of every dome, roof, and mound, floated tricolour flags ; and, parallel with the rising ground on both sides, and within it, extended a long array of lofty poles, seventy or eighty feet in height, with gilded tops, and dressed with streamers. The general view was bounded on each side by a fringe of green trees, intermingled with tents and tricoloured flags, and tribunes filled with gaily-dressed occupants. Far away in the front, at the other side of the Pont de Jena, the thick masses of foliage on the hill of the Trocadero, with groups of spectators interspersed, formed an admirable background to the animated scene in front. Every place fronting the river was alive with human beings ; who, however, all moved about without confusion or the slightest dis- order. The Seine itself, in the direction of the Invalides and bridge of Jena, was covered with boats conveying passengers, male and female, to the South bank ; while countless booths established in every alley of the Champs Elysees afforded refreshments for the weary.

The troops began to arrive at half-past ten.

"They were formed in two lines down the length of the Champ de Mars ; the infantry on the right entering by the Pont de Jena and the cavalry on the left; the first of these lines being composed of bodies of infantry drawn up in close battalion, and the other of bodies of cavalry in dense aquadrons. The number of troops present are variously stated at from 80,000 to 80,000. There were forty-eight battalions of the line, fifty-six njaadrons of cavalry, and sixty guns. This mass, however, does not include the Gendarmerie, mounted or on foot, the Republican Guard, the Chasseurs de Vincennes, the deputations from the general army, the Invalidea, &c. The whole mass of people is computed to have been probably not far short -of half a million."

The ecclesiastics advanced to the chapel and altar, with the Archbishop of Paris in their midst

"A long line of white surplices led the way, accompanied at intervals by soldiers, constabulary, a guard of honour ; next came the higher clergy, the -Ylearg, canons, &c. and lastly, to close the long ecclesiastical cortege, ap- Pear ed the black soutanes of the pupils of the religious ceremonies. The whole was preceded by drums and military music, as if to intimate that even ire the religious part of the proceedings the ceremony of the day was strictly military.' President Bonaparte reached the Pont de Jena punctually at noon. His entrance into the Champ de Mars was announced by a falute of twenty-one guns, and by acclamations which were drowned in the peal of the artillery. N. " First, he galloped down between the lines ; acknowledging, by eat- edly taking off his cocked hat, the chorus of acclamations uttered by lift% troops. On passing the altar the President and his suite uncovered. When hereached the front of the Ecole Militaire, he wheeled to the left, and gal- loped back along the front of the cavalry regiments. The cries were evi- dently reserved for the filing-off. He then crossed before the artillery, and passed a second time down the front of the infantry. The rapid passage of the mounted staff was one of the prettiest features of the entire sight. No- thing could be more telling than the rapid rush of the cavalcade—all one Vision. of bright colours, glittering arms, and prancing horses, along the line ; while drums, human voices, and the peal of military music, all rose to- gether in one mingled roar of gratulation. A picturesquely garbed body of Arabs kept in the rear, in a sort of ruck of their own ; and their flaunting passage, the white, red, and blue mantles waving as the horses caracolled, with the wild and eager gestures of the riders, forcibly recalled one of Ho- race Vernet's battle-paintings, illustrative of late Algerian campaigns. There was one lady among the group, a little woman, whose bunchy dress,

gave her the appearance of being deformed, but who rods as gallantly as the rest, and in the same fashion so far as seat is concerned. They were in ge- neral handsome seen, of about the middle age, of good stature, with short black beards and white burnouses. They bore their part in the ceremony with an unimpassioned indifference nearly approaching to apathy, mikes when by chance some point of the proceedings awakened a sympathetic feel- ing in their minds, and then all at once they started for an instant into life —only to make the subsequent quiescence into which they subsided the more striking." " When the President reached the foot of the staircase leading up to his tribune, he dismounted, and ascending saluted, by taking off his cocked hat, the Ministers and high dignitaries, who came forward to meet him down to the first landing-place. He then took his seat in the arm-chair set for him. On his right stood the ex-King Jerome, in the uniform of Marshal of France. On either aide and behind were ranged the ten Ministers, the Marshals, and Admirals, the French Ambassadors present in Paris, and the military house- hold of the Prince.

"At the back of the platform where Louis Napoleon was seated, were set the stands of colours to be distributed. The flags and standards were sot up- right in frames of woodwork, called by the French ifs (yew-trees) so as to

form groups. The top of each flag-staff is surmounted by a gilt eagle, with wing!' displayed, about a foot in height. The model is exactly that of the Empire ; but the three colours of the flag are not arranged as the tricolour was under Napoleon, for then the bands were perpendicular to the staff, (as in fact the colours of the Lancers' flags are now,) whereas the colours are now parallel to the staff, and come in the order of blue next the staff, white in the middle, and last red. On the white portion is inscribed the name and number of the regiment, and the battles in which it has been distinguished. -On the red and blue are four crowns, encircling the cipher of Louis Napoleon." The standard-bearers advanced, each in his turn, and received a standard from the President. When the distribution was completed, the President delivered this address— "Soldier, ! The history of nations is, in a great measure, the history of armies; on their success or reverse depends the fate of civilization and of the country. If -conquereuslie-resnic is invasion or anarchy; if victorious, it is glory and order. Thus, nations, like armies, entertain a religious veneration for those emblems of military honour which sum up in themselves a past history of struggles and of trials.

" The Roman eagle, adopted by the Emperor Napoleon at the commencement of this century, was the most striking signification of the regeneration and of the grandeur of France. It disappeared in our misfortunes ; it ought to return when France, recovered from her defeats and mistress of herself, seems not any longer to repudiate her own glory. "Soldiers, resume then these eagles, not as a menace against foreign powers, but as the symbol of our independence, as the souvenir of an heroic epoch, and as the sign of the nobleness of each regiment. Take again these eagles which have so often led our fathers to victory; and swear to die, if necessary, in their defence." The standard-bearers then marched to the chapel and altar to have their insignia blessed. Arrived there, the commencement of the religious cere- mony was signalled by the boom of artillery.

"The Archbishop, arrayed in full canonicals, commenced the mass of the Holy Ghost. At the moment of the elevation, another salute was fired ; the drums beat to arms ; the trumpets sounded the advance • sixty thousand men presented arms, the whole of the infantry kneeling, and the officers not in command bent on one knee to the earth, with head uncovered. The mul- titude on the mounds took off their hats. When mass was over, the Arch- bishop, surrounded by the officiating clergy, proceeded to where the eagles were arrayed round the altar. He raised his voice to chant the prayer, Ad- jutorium nostrum in nomine Domini,' and the clergy responded 'Amen!' After the Oremus, Omnipotens sempiternus Deus,' the Prelate sprinkled the flags with holy water, and blessed them ; and then took his seat on a throne, and assumed the mitre. The standard-bearers advanced separately ; knelt on the ground, each with the eagle in his hand ; and the Archbishop spoke the following prayer- " Accipite vexilla ccelesti benedictions sanctilicata, sintque inimicis populi Chris- tiani terribilia; et dat vobis Dominus gratiam, ut, ad ipsius nomen et honorem, cum Rio hostium cuueos potenter penetretis mcolumes et securi.' " The Archbishop pronounced a short address to the standard-bearers, justi- fying the ceremony of blessing the insignia of war. He gave for the whole army the kiss of peace, with the words "Pax tibi." The foremost stand- ard-bearer, rising from the ground, pressed to his lips the Pontifical ring, and then all resumed their places. The musical mass followed. "This mass was composed by M. Adolphe Adam. The effect produced was exceedingly fine. The bands of twenty-one regiments of infantry, of nine regiments of cavalry, one hundred and fifty-four pupils of the musical school of the army, and the performers on M. Sax's gigantic instruments in the Jul/Errant, made a body of more than 1500 musicians. It was but of short duration— as brief, in fact, as used to be the St. Hubert's of old : the parts performed by the band were only three—the Kyrie,' the Salutaris,' and the 'Sane- tea." After the mass, the Archbishop stood erect, arrayed in mitre and cope, and holding the crosier, raised his hand aloft, and gave a universal blessing to the army and the people. A salute of a hundred guns from the cannon of the Bridge of Jena then announced that the religious ceremony was c,omplete.

The Colonels, to whom the standards were delivered by the Archbisho?, descended, and defiled round the chapel. They then proceeded to their respective regiments, delivered the eagles to the ensigns, and had them recognized by the corps in the usual manner. At this moment cries of "Vies FEmpereur ! and "Viva Napoleon ! " were uttered ; the former with much enthusiasm by the cavalry. At two o'clock the President de- scended from his pavilion, mounted his horse, and took up his position in front. The defile commenced, and cries of " Vive Empereur !" "Viva Napoleon!" were again heard. The filing off occupied an hour and a half; it was not finished till three o'clock. The cries of "Vive l'Empereur i" were now very marked. One London correspondent says that each regiment raised them as it passed before the President. "On this you may rely, for I waited on the ground, where this despatch was written until the last regiment, the Second Carabineers, had passed. I heard the cry distinctly every tune the colours of the regiment passed and were lowered before the Prince. There was only one exception to this rule, but that was a highly important one : none of the artillery regiments cried at all. The regiments that cried loudest 'Viva l'Empereur!' were the cavalry, particularly the Cuirassiers." The filing off commenced with the schools Polytechnic and St. Cp. "When the pupils of St. Cyr ran by the President at the pas gymnas- tique, they cheered him loudly ; and then, on the word being given, they turned down the Champ de Mars, right shoulder forward, with such extra- ordinary precision, that the spectators burst forth into involuntary applause. Then came the Invalides, in blue, all decorated, holding lances with tri- coloured flags, who made their exit by the gate leading to their fine hospi- tal. Next followed the dark masses of the famous Chasseurs de Vincennes, at a trot; who were loudly cheered. Another sight, which drew applause, was the phalanx of deputations, crowded with colours to be taken to the re- giments of the departments. They also passed out at the Invalides gate. Twelve battalions of Chaaseurs of Vincennes passed. Then the lively note of the trumpet corresponding to the pas gymnastique, ceased, and the drums began to beat as the infantry marched by. The President removed his hat to the colours as the regiments passed by. At this moment, a lady, holding a petition, threw herself at the feet of Louis Napoleon ; who received it, and handed it to his aide-de-camp. The deputations of engineers, the municipal guards, pompiers, gendarmes, and deputations of gendarmes (much applaud- ed) passed in turn. Next came the artillery, whom complete silence pro- duced a deep sensation. Last the cavalry, with the Arab Sheiks, the Spaiis, Zouaves, and the new regiments of guides, in their fur bonnets and green coats, with orange embroidery." The military deputations, when leaving the Champ de Mars after the defile, returned to the Ecole Militaire through the cavalry gate. They deposited their respective colours in a hall prepared for that purpose ; whence they are Immediately to be despatched to their regiments. A salute of twenty-one guns was fired as Louis Napoleon quitted the Champ de Mars. The clergy, who were including the ecclesiastical seminaries, upwards of eight hundred in number, remained on the ground to the last. A guard of honour of tbe Gendarmerie Mobile was assigned to them ; and they were conducted in procession to the Church of the Gros-Caillou ; the Archbishop delivering his blessing to the multitude through whom he passed, and who received it with uncovered heads and with indications of deep respect.

A remarkable letter has been addressed by General Changarnier to the Minister of the Interior, in reply to the demand made of him to take the oath of allegiance to Louis Napoleon. It makes the following avowal- " Louis Napoleon Bonaparte has several times attempted to make me deviate from the right line which I had traced to myself, in order to deter- mine me to serve his ambition. He has offered me, and made other persons offer me, not only the dignity of Marshal, which France would have seen con- ferred upon me without considering itself fallen, but another military digni- ty, which since the fall of the Empire has ceased to dominate our hierarchy. He wished to attach to that dignity enormous pecuniary advantages, which, thanks to the simplicity of my habits, I had no merit in disdaining. Having perceived, when very late, that personal interest had no influence on my conduct, he endeavoured to gain me over by pretending that he was resolved to prepare for the triumph of the cause of the Monarchy, to which he supposed that I was devoted by my predilections. All these kinds of seduction were powerless. I never ceased to be, when in the command of the army of Paris and in the Assembly, ready, as I once stated during a sitting of the Commit- tee of permanence after the reviews at Satory, to defend with energy the legal powers of Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, and to give every opposition to the illegal prolongation of those powers. "It is not to you that it is necessary to tell how those powers have been established under a new form, and what iniquitous and violent acts have accompanied his installation. "Persecution has not cooled my patriotism. The exile which I have un- dergone in solitude and silence, which now you force me to break, has not ()hanged in my eyes my duties to France. Were it to be attacked, I would solicit with ardour the honour of fighting in its defence. "The only French journal which I here see has just informed me of the decree which determines the mode of taking the oath—which is to be de- manded from all military authorities. A paragraph, evidently drawn up in order to be applied to the proscribed Generals, gives them a delay of four months. I have no need of deliberating so long upon a question of duty and honour. This oath, exacted by the perjured man who has failed to corrupt me—this oath I refuse."

The venerable astronomer Francois Arago also refused to take the oath of allegiance. Ile signified his resignation by a letter which the Journal des Dards had the courage to publish, containing these passages-

" Circumstances rendered me, in 1848, as member of the Provisional Go- vernment, one of the founders of the republic. As such, and I glory in it at present, I contributed to the abolition of all political oaths. At a latter period, I was named by the Constituent Assembly President of the Executive Committee: my acts in this last-named situation are too well known to the public for me to have need to mention them here. You can comprehend, Monsieur le Ministre, that in presence of these reminiscences my conscience has imposed on me a resolution which perhaps the director of the Observatory would have hesitated to come to. I had always thought that by the terms of the law an astronomer at the Bureau of Longitude was appointed for life ; but your decision has undeceived me. I have therefore, M. le Ministre, tore- quest you to appoint a day on which I shall have to quit an establishment which Ihave been inhabiting now for nearly half a century. That establishment— thanks to the protection given to it by the Governments which have succeeded each other in France for the last forty years—thanks, above all, may I be al- lowed to say, to the kindness of the Legislative Assemblies in regard to me- haerisen from its ruins and its insignificance, and can now be offered to stran- gers as a model. It is not without a profound sentiment of grief that I shall separate from so many fine instruments, to the construction of which I have more or less contributed ; it is not without lively apprehension that I shall behold the means of research created by me passing into malevolent or even inimical hands ; but my conscience has spoken and I am bound to obey its dictates. I am anxious that in this circumstance everything shall pass in the most open manner; and in consequence, I hasten to inform you Monsieur le Ministre, that I shall address to all the great academies of Europe and Amenca—for I have long had the honour of belonging to sham-5 circular which will explain my removal from an establish- aen. t with which my name had been in some sort identified, and as for me a second country. I desire it to be known every- where that

the motives

for which my children can ever blush. I owe these explanatioes, above elk to the most eminent sevens who honour me with their friendship such as Humboldt, Faraday, Brewster, Melloni, &c. I am anxious also the's these illustrious personages may not be uneasy. concerning the great change which this determination of mine will produce in my existence. My health has without doubt been much impaired in the service of my country. A man cannot have passed a part of his life going from mountain-peak to mountain_ peak in the wildest districts of Spam, for the purpose of determining the pre- cise figure of the earth—in the inhospitable regions of Africa, comprised be- tween Bougie, and the capital of the Regency—in Algerian corsairs—in the pi &DEB of Majorca, of Roses, and of Palamos—without profound traces being left behind. But I may remind my friend, that a hand without vigour can still hold a pen, and that the half-blind old man will always find near him persons anxious to note down his words."

The publication of this letter was "withheld by IL Arago till the last moment," in order that his colleagues might follow the dictates of their own consciences unembarrassed by his example. Immediately after it appeared, he received a notification from the Minister of Public Instruc- tion, that the Government had already determined not to require the oath of him—the President had authorized the Minister to admit an exception in favour of a savant whose works had thrown lustre on France, and whose existence he would regret to embitter ; and the publication of M. Arago's letter would not change the determination in his favour.

GERMANY.—The Emperor of Russia arrived at Vienna on the 8th in- stant, on a visit to the young Austrian Emperor ; and he is expected at Potsdam on the 16th instant, on a visit to the King of Prussia.

INDIA.—The overland mail from Bombay, of the 17th Apnl, arrived at Marseilles on Thursday. The last portion of the expedition against Bur- mah left Madras on the 31st of March. It was expected that Rangoon would have been ours by the 10th of this month. "The forces would then advance as speedily as possible further up into the country before the rainy season, and would then await reinforcements and the return of more favourable weather." [This plan is once more different from any yet an- nounced beforehand : the telegraphic message will need to be "con- firmed" on this point.] The expedition under Sir Colin Campbell returned to Peshawnr on the 27th of March. Three days afterwards, however, new outbreaks upon the frontiers were reported, and it was expected the troops would again be sent off.