The Belle Poole frigate ' commanded. by the Prince de Joinville,
mut which has brought back to France the remains of the Emperor Napoleon, came to anchor at Cherbourg on the 30th November, at five in the morning. The report of the Prince to the Minister of Marine gives an account of the exhumation at St. Helena. The operation commenced on the 15th October, at midnight ; and at ten next morning the coffin was found in the grave- " After having, raised it intact, it was opened; and the body was found in an unhoped-for state of preservation. At this solenm moment, at the sight of the easily-recognized remains of hint who had done so much for the glory of France, the emotion was deep and unanimous. " At half-past three o'clock the guns of the fort announced to the ships and vessels in the roadstead that die funeral procession bad commenced its march towards James Town. The militia and the troops of the garrison preceded the car, which was covered with a pall, the corners being borne by Generals Ber- trand and Gourgaud, and Messrs. it Lascases and 31urelland, the authorities and a crowd of the inhabitants following,. The guns of the frigate having answered those of the fort, she continued to fire minute-guns. From the morning the yards were slung and the flags hoisted half-mast high, assigns of mourning; in which the foreign ships and vessels joined. When the procession appeared on the quay, the English troops formed a double line, through which the car passed slowly to the shore. " At the water's edge, where the English lines had terminated, I had col- • lected all the officers of the French division, waiting, in deep mourning and heads uncovered, the approach of the coffin. When within twenty paces of us, it stopped ; and the Governor, advancing to me, delivered up to me, in the the name of his Government, the remains of the Emperor Napoleon.
" As soon as the coffin was loitered into the boat of the frigate prepared to receive it, the general emotion was again renewed : the dying wish of the Em- perm. Napoleon began to be accomplished ; his remains reposed under the national flag.
" All sign of mounting was from that time abandoned; the same 1:onours which the Emperor would have received hml he been living were paid to his mortal remains ; and it was amidst salutes from the ships, dressed out in their colours and their yards manned, that the cutter, escorted by the boats of all the ships, pursued its way slowly towards the frigate."
It is at present arranged the funeral is to take place on the 15th in- stant; but it is supposed that the preparations are not hi a sufficient state of forwardness for so early a day.
An official report of the proceedings at the exhumation has since been published, which gives the following more detailed description of the state of the coffin and the appearance of Napoleon's body-
" Towards eleven o'clock, the undersigned French Commissioner having been assured that his Excellency the Governor had authorized the opening of the coffin, the exterior wooden coffin was carefully removed; when a leaden coffin was discovered, in good preservation, which, was placed in the coffin brought from France. His Excellency the Governor, accompanied by the officers of his Staff, then arrived at the tent: the upper part of the lead coffin was removed with the greatest care; when a wooden coffin appeared in good preservation and answering the description given by persons present at the funeral. Tlie cover of the third coffin having been removed, a tin ornament, slightly rusted, was seen, which was removed, and a white satin sheet was per- ceived, which was removed with the greatest precaution by the doctor, and Napoleon's body was exposed to view. His features were so little changed that his face was recognized by those who had known him when alive. The different articles which had been deposited in the coffin were found exactly as they hod been placed. The !tends were singularly well preserved. The uniform, the orders, the but, were very little changed. His entire person presented the appearance of one lately interred. The body was not exposed to the external air longer than two minutes at utmost, which were necessary foe the surgeon to take measures to prevent any alteration, according to his instructions."
Previous page
