Tbe Opettator, augit0 20tb, 1853
FRANCE.—The fete-day of " Saint Napoleon," the 15th August, has been kept in Paris this year with magnificence unequalled. The Emperor, it is said, dictated the programme to the architect Visconti: the fête cost 700,000 francs. A great body of soldiers paraded on Sunday, and a galaxy of lamps blazed on Monday night.
Early on Sunday morning, troops began to pour into Paris, and assemble in the avenue running from the Tuileries to the Barriere de l'Etoile. Crowds of people flocked to the same point, or took up their stations on the line of the general proceedings. About one o'clock the Empress arrived from St. Cloud, attended by four general officers, and followed by Prince Jerome and the Princess Mathilde. The Empress, dressed in white, took her seat on the balcony of the Pavilion of the Horloge. Half an hour afterwards, the Emperor, dressed as a General of Division, rode along the avenue, thirty paces in advance of his staff and escort. Two Arab chiefs, mounted on pure Arabian horses, rode with the staff. As the Emperor approached the balcony where the Empress was seated, he bowed, and took his station iu front of the balcony. The troops then defiled before him. They consisted of about 120,000 men, including National Guards. After thanking Marshal Magnan for the discipline of the troops, the Emperor and Empress retired.
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