" Sweet, innocent flowers of victory! there they are, my
dear, sure enough, and a pretty considerable hortus siccus may any man
examine who chooses to walk to the Invalides. The burial-place being
thus agreed on, the expedition was prepared, and on the 7th July the
"Belle Poule" frigate, in company with "La Favorite" corvette, quitted
Toulon harbor. A couple of steamers, the "Trident" and the "Ocean,"
escorted the ships as far as Gibraltar, and there left them to pursue
their voyage.
The two ships quitted the harbor in the sight of a vast concourse of
people, and in the midst of a great roaring of cannons. Previous to the
departure of the "Belle Poule," the Bishop of Frejus went on board,
and gave to the cenotaph, in which the Emperor's remains were to
be deposited, his episcopal benediction. Napoleon's old friends and
followers, the two Bertrands, Gourgaud, Emanuel Las Cases, "companions
in exile, or sons of the companions in exile of the prisoner of the
infame Hudson," says a French writer, were passengers on board the
frigate.
Pages:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25