MONUMENTS RICHARD CŒUR DE LION, ETC. ABBEY OF ST. OUEN PALACE OF JUSTICE JOAN OF ARC CORNEILLE ENGLISH CHURCH VISITORS. DURING my stay at the Hotel de Windsor, I enjoyed much pleasure in the society of an English clergyman also resident in the hotel, the Rev. J. R. Peake, of Whitchurch, in Shropshire. This gentleman was a most pleasant companion in my city rambles, and we both had many views and opinions in common, though belonging to different pales of the Christian church. Mr. Peake, like myself, is engaged in the education of lads, and was now passing his vacation on the continent. I really hope that we may meet again, and am disposed to believe that the desire is entertained by my friend and brother. Mr. Peake joined our entire party in visiting the Hotel des Invalides, for the purpose of seeing Napoleon's tomb. This required some management, as the great work was not quite finished, and the public were not admitted. All difficulties being removed, we made our visit. The remains of the emperor were brought to France in triumph, in 1840, in a frigate commanded by the Prince de Joinville. A noble procession of steamboats conveyed the body to Neuilly. On a car thirty feet high, and drawn by sixteen black horses, it was carried to the Invalides. Galleries were erected to accom NAPOLEON'S TOMB THE CRYPT. 189 modate nearly thirty thousand persons. Candelebra of vast size adorned and illuminated the church, and in front of the altar was a magnificent catafalque, covered with violet-colored velvet, and this adorned with imperial emblems to receive the sarcophagus. The pall-bearers were Bertrand, Gourgaud, and the surviving marshals of the empire. The king and his family were present. How much Louis Philippe was accessory to his own dethronement, is a question that may well be pondered. The body was then placed in a chapel of this church, which was itself elaborately fitted up. But the government immediately addressed itself to the preparation of a tomb befitting the greatest man who ever ruled in France. It would take a volume to describe the gorgeous arrangements for this unrivalled sepulchre. I have, therefore, preferred to give a good engraving of the entrance to the crypt; and through the door-way is seen the tomb itself, and the monuments of Duroc and Bertrand are seen on either side. The tomb is surmounted by a marble balustrade breast-high, and the entrance-door is guarded by two colossal funeral genii. This engraving shows the high altar of the church, as you enter the edifice. The other side, towards the tomb, is still more elaborate. The altar, the balustrade around it, the hand-rail and the pedestals which support the candelebra, are formed of black marble from the Pyrenees and green marble from the Alps. Over the door-way leading to the tomb is Bonaparte's dying request: "I DESIRE THAT MY ASHES MAY REPOSE ON THE BANKS OF THE SEINE, IN THE MIDST OF THE FRENCH PEOPLE, WHOM I LOVED SO WELL." The crypt is a circular gallery, of about seven or eight feet wide, with a central space, formed by twelve marble arches, and the before-named balustrade connecting them with each other; and between these arches are twelve caryatides, fifteen feet high. The sarcophagus stands in the centre, with the ends towards the doors. 190 MOSAICS BAS-RELIEFS SARCOPHAGUS. This gallery around is paved with mosaics, and its wall is thrown into divisions, which correspond with the arches of the centre work. The doors of the crypt and reliquary occupy two of these divisions, and the other ten are devoted to marble basreliefs. Twelve bronze lamps are suspended from the roof of this circular gallery. The bas-reliefs are the exquisite production of Simard, and are allegorical representations of the great acts and institutions of the emperor's reign. The subjects are the Institution of the Legion of Honor, Encouragement of Commerce and Industry, Public Works, Establishment of the Audit Office, Establishment of the University of France, the Concordat, the Civil Code, the Foundation of the Council of State, Organization of Public Administration, Pacification of Civil Troubles. The mosaics in the passage leading to the tomb are very rich, and here are two of them. A larger one is an eagle surmounted by the imperial diadem. Each of the caryatides, with the pillar against which it stands, is formed of a single block of marble. The sarcophagus is very imposing from its simplicity. It is composed of quartz gritstone, and was procured from a quarry in Russia. The cover is of one slab. The coffin, of tin, is enclosed in mahogany; this has two cases of lead, and over all is an ebony coffin. The sarcophagus itself is lined with gray Corsican granite. Here, then, will lie the remains of Na |