" The Prince de Joinville, and the persons of the expedition,
embarked immediately in the flotilla, which arrived the same day at
Rouen.
At Rouen salutes were fired, the National Guard on both sides of the
river paid military honors to the body; and over the middle of the
suspension-bridge a magnificent cenotaph was erected, decorated with
flags, fasces, violet hangings, and the imperial arms. Before the
cenotaph the expedition stopped, and the absolution was given by the
archbishop and the clergy. After a couple of hours' stay, the expedition
proceeded to Pont de l'Arche. On the 11th it reached Vernon, on the 12th
Mantes, on the 13th Maisons-sur-Seine.
"Everywhere," says the official account from which the above particulars
are borrowed, "the authorities, the National Guard, and the people
flocked to the passage of the flotilla, desirous to render the honors
due to his glory, which is the glory of France. In seeing its hero
return, the nation seemed to have found its Palladium again,--the
sainted relics of victory.
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