Part 10 (1/2)
The _Moniteur_, in its number of June 9, 1811, the day of the King of Rome's baptism, spoke as follows: ”The happy event which, at the moment of writing these lines, is throughout this vast Empire the object of the thanksgivings which a great people can offer to Heaven; which inspire songs of happiness in our temples, our public places, our peaceful cities, our fertile fields, and in the camps of our invincible warriors; which fulfils at once the wishes of the people for the happiness of their Sovereign, and those of the Sovereign for the firm establishment of the inst.i.tutions he has consecrated to the prosperity of his people, ought more than any other to kindle the fervor of our poets and fill them with a lively and n.o.ble inspiration. Yet no one of them has been able to disguise the difficulty of his task; all have recognized that their greatest efforts would be required, not only to rise to the height of a subject of which its greatness is the first peril, but even to attune their lyre to the pitch of the enthusiasm that fires us, an enthusiasm of which the mighty voice, filling all France and heard in the remotest corner of Europe, is itself the grandest hymn of poetry and the most harmonious music. But no such obstacle has discouraged their muse; admiration, grat.i.tude, love, furnish a happy inspiration, and our poets have felt it; they have faithfully transcribed the language of the populace in the language ascribed to the G.o.ds.”
In proof of this we quote some of the verses inserted in the official organ:--
”Sion, rejoice! The voice of the prophets Announces again the days of the Eternal One.
Before a young child, dear hope of Israel, The cedars of Lebanon will bow their heads.
Of the oppressed he will become the support: He will punish crime, and will brand vice; His words will be the voice of justice, And the Spirit of the Lord will march before him.”
That is the Biblical style, which was used freely a few years later to celebrate the baptism of the Duke of Bordeaux. Mythology, too, was called in:--
”Do you see the leopard, weary of carnage, Sated with blood, towards his savage lair Run roaring?
Seized by an invincible, unknown terror, He announces his death, and flees at the sight Of a new-born Alcides.”
The poet Millevoye exclaimed:--
”With your head encircled with laurel and flowers, Come to reopen henceforth the progress of the year, Month long since consecrated to the lover of Venus!
Triumph, and seize again thy faded garland, Which the friend of Egeria placed On the double brow of Ja.n.u.s.”
M. Le Sur spoke about the Tiber in these terms:--
”The Tiber, too long drowsing on its urn, Lets grow in its bosom the silent reed.
It awakens at the resonant noise of bra.s.s, And with a proud wave was.h.i.+ng its sh.o.r.e'
Of its old heritage It offers the remains to the Young Sovereign.”
A poet who was destined to become famous, and at that time was a scholar in the Lycee Napoleon, Casimir Delavigne, tried his muse, a youthful muse, according to the _Moniteur_:--
”Receive, royal child, the vows of the country.
May thy father's laurel shadow thy cradle!
May glory and the arts, adorning thy life, Consecrate forever the happiest reign!
Child beloved of heaven, awaited by the earth, Promised to posterity, May thou, under the eyes of thy August father, Grow to immortality!”
A professor famous for his Latin verses, M. Lemaire, was so fired by his lyrical enthusiasm that he compared Marie Louise to another Mary, the Queen of Heaven. Of the two queens,--one, he said, rules in Heaven; the other on earth:--
”Haec coelo regina micat; micat altera terris.”
XXI.
THE BAPTISM.
The baptism of the King of Rome was celebrated with great pomp, Sunday, June 7, 1811, at Notre Dame. The festivities began the evening before, when, at seven o'clock, Napoleon and Marie Louise and their son arrived from Saint Cloud with a grand retinue. The courtyard of the palace, the garden, and the terraces were filled with applauding spectators. Free performances were given at all the theatres, at which songs referring to the event were loudly cheered. Paris was illuminated, and in all the public places food was given away to the populace. Wine flowed in the fountains, and everywhere was drunk the health of the young king and of his happy parents.
The baptism took place at seven o'clock the next evening; at two in the afternoon troops of the line and the Imperial Guard formed a double row from the Tuileries to Notre Dame. Many public buildings and private houses were decorated with tapestry, leaves, and designs.
At four the Senate started from the Luxembourg, the Council of State from the Tuileries, the Court of Appeal, the Court of Accounts, the Council of the University, from their respective places of meeting. From the Hotel de Ville started the Prefect of the Seine, the Mayors and the Munic.i.p.al Council of Paris, the Mayors and Deputies of forty-nine more or less important cities of the Empire. It was said that the Mayor of Rome and the Mayor of Hamburg happened to be placed side by side, and greeted one another with, ”Good day, neighbor!”
Before the facade of Notre Dame had been built a large, tent-shaped portal, supported by columns and decorated with draperies and garlands.