FUNERAL OF THE VICTIMS OF THE REVOLUTION.

New Zealander, Volume 4, Issue 223, 19 July 1848, Page 2

FUNERAL OF THE VICTIMS OF THE REVOLUTION.

Paris, March s.— The funeral honours decreed by the Republic to the victims of the. conflict that Ims destroyed the dynasty of the Uourbons were performed yesterday with all the splendour that could he given to such a spectacle. It is difficult to define the impression it produced ; it \wv> too biilhunt for solemnity; it expressed no sorrow for tho dead, for all wua cxultition; tfu re were no emblems of grie 1 " — iio moniaos save the few who weep in secret for a loss nothing can supply, und they aie scarcely thought of in the absorbing excitement of the hour. The pomp, the maitial music, the songs Mid shouts, amidst which the pt'ocecaion pasics along, leave IHund the idea of a irjotcing, of the celebration ot a victory. It was indeed a popular triumph ; an ovation such as we can i:nag<ne the march of a Roman general mny have been to the Capitol. la thai, too, death w«w mingled with the pomp, und the living captives led to their doom in the train of the conqueior wne probably as little thought of by the muss, whose pride was flattered by the display of power, as the du3t of those who were borne to-day to the silence of the tomb with such magnificence. Th s impression is created, perhaps, liy a'l the religious part of t! c Ceremony buvjng passed uiiicen by the populace. To the public eye little or nothing was visible indic«y«ng lho occasion. The funeral cm with the roli/ura that will soon waive ab efdily over the itvels of tho lul matjue; military splendour is the 'arne at all tinier, and ihe-c was no attempt to give the cortege the solemnity winch is so impressive in a soldiers ioncial, though, as the victims died in comb it, this had been fiily done. All the authorities attended as they would any civic or political ceremonial. The chariot of the Republic, the most prominent feature in the display, and the emblem 1 ) of iti power, fhe classic fasces, will faervo as appro] ri.itely for the inauguration of the fust president — when he is elected. And, lastly, the masses of the people, the crowd that* fioni i s> immensity, cave something of kublime to the scene, whs n.n exulting one. From the moment the bodies weic canied from the chmch the procession took the character of a public triumph. Long before noon the people begun to 'assemble about the Mudelainc; the Doulevauls were thronged by thousands prefacing on to this Lculi'y. The hotel of the Minister of Foreign Affairs is on the Boulevards dcs Copucins (a name now erased) ; and it was in front of this edifice the fatal vollies were fired that precipitate 1 the revolution. Not far from this is the church whete the service of the dead was to be perfoimed over those who fell beneath ihem. The beginning and the end of the grand catastrophe are in close proximity. Hie hotel where M. Gui/.ot resided is decidedly the uK'ießt public building in Paris, and now certainly the associations connected with it in the minds of the people are as disagrecuble as its aspect. It is one of the many fatalities which seem to have attended the fall of the monarchy of Ju'y, that the great imptilie to the revolt which dcstriyed it hhonld have been given from the office of its chief instrument Mort a Guizot is still legii le on the walls, in rude red letters ; hut I satisfied myself that they are not traced with blood. Along the whole Ine of the Boulevards, from the Madelainc to the Column of July, with a few interruptions, a Iricolourcd band was c\Und'd on each from tree to tree, or lamp to lamp; at intei vals, black, lozengo-6haped shields were phced, with the inscription, " llespect aux manes dcs vietimes dea 22, 23, Ct 24 Fevrier. ' The exterior walls and portico of the church were hung with black cloth, with decorations of ttijolourcd flags and funeral wreaths. Over the dooiway was inscribed, " Aux Citoyens morts pour la L berte." A portion of the steps to the right of the eutrance w.is fitted up as a choir ; no other preparations were visible. From 10 to 12 o'clock the space around it began to fill, and the crowd was fully occu« pied in watching the frequent passing and repassing of the tioops, now a detachment of the National Guards, or a body of tho newly enlisted citizens, in their blouses* with numbered cards in their hats, all that distinguishes them aa iniHtaircs at present ; a detachment of the regular cavalry* Cuirassiers, that rode along with their bund playing the Chant de Depart (nearly the aame air as our • Death of Nelson'), caused the firot sensation. As time wore on the crowd grew mote dense, till the whole space for some distance down the Boulevard to the right, and in front almost V) the Place de la Concorde, with a compact mass of people. So dense was the crowd by twelve o'clock, that way could scarcoly be made through itforthe magistrates, the officials, and the families of the victims, who alone were allowed to enter the church. The movement of portions of the mass to and fio resembled currents in an ocean setting d.fferent ways ; hut there was no disorder, no violence of any kind. Nor was any expression mule of a feeling of enuniy to tl>« authority i>|; they could uol have escaped it M it existed, lor they

walked through the whole of the crowd in full costume The day was beautiful, and a luillmnt f>uti ihiuing on the sharp, clear outlines of the white Grecian chinch, on the lofty old fashioned houses arrund ii, so picturesque in their complete contrast with it, and glancing from the forest of bayonets bristling among hundreds of tricolouted flags, above the surface of the motley and closely packed crowd, of which no end whs to be seen as far ns the eye could reach, formed a spectacle that no city save Paris could furnish, and Pai is only on Buch an occasion. There was something awful in thai, mass of human life ; it was easy to imagine how armies fall in collision with such myiiads; yel it was but a fraction of the boat the city poured forth from every street into the main channel, in which flowed the business of the day. While the authorities were with difficulty pushing their way into the church, the choir under the portico, drawn from the three operas, and conducted by MM. Girardy and Laty, contributed its patt to the proceedings. The arrival of the Provisional Government was hailed by the M.irseillaisc, splendidly sung, with the accompaniment of a military band. The instrumental Hiic-e that lollowed, a funeial march by Chcrubini, was comparatively weak ; little of it was heard above the hum of the ciowd. Thiß was succeeded by the " Oath." chorut from Guillaumc Tell, a piece from the Crention (" The Heavens are telling"), and the " Prayer" from Moiaein Egito. The selection seemed to alternate mourning and supplication with the notes of triumph ; the effect was .sublime. As tho music ceased, the funeral cais on which the coffins, fifteen in number, hnri been placed, were ready to proceed ; as the first of the six moved onward, the Marseilles was repeated ; one ver>>c was &ung by the female voices nlonc, the men taking up the chorus, nux armies. Ab the spirit-stirring strain arose, the whole crowd uncovered and remained bo till the last of the cars, which were open, nhowing the form of the coffins under the black pauls, had passed. The dramatic eflfecUt that moment, the homage of the people, the fierce invocation to battle, the stillness of death, all uniting made the hearts of all beat quicker with excitement. The scene for that moment was grand, almost overpowering; but from this point it iank, and for the five hours the ceremony lasted it did tot rise again above a spectacle. I borrow a description of the interior of the church during the solemn service :— lt was hung with black, and lit by fifteen funeral lamps- Between the choir and the nave was placed an immense sarcophagus, in the Egyptian style, on a platform with eight steps ; in this weie deposited the fifteen coffins ; on the iide of flic sarcophagus was inscribed, " Morts pour la fatrie 1" Several bodies had been placed in the vaults beneath the column during the previous night. Those claimed by the families or friends had of course been given up for private interment. At half past twelve o'clock the National Guard and volunteer who had assembled on the Place Vendomc, moved roiward and proceeded to take the stations assigned to them on the Boulevard dcs Ituliens and Montmaitre, wlrch they lined on both sides. Nothing could surpass tha order observed by the people, and the absence of the police and Municipal Guards was nowhere felt. The bands of the first six legions of the National Ciuauls came next, and weie iollowcd by 4S companies of the Line and National Gnauls marching alternately lkliind these advanced a numerous body of volunlecis, the awKjilcsof Belgian patriots, with their national flag — black, ml, and yellow —and a motley multitude, among whom weie the letter cai tiers, dressed in their unifoiin. Then came the female relatives of the victims, altucdiu deep mourning, sunounded and cscoiteu" by National Guards, piuccding five mourning carriiges, containing the clcipy of the Church of the Madeline. Four hcaises, each drawn by two horses, and decorated with tri coloured banners, came next, accompanied by relatives of the deceased, amongst whom was an old Gencial, covered with decorations, whose ton had fallen in the collision. Everywhere on the passage of tho hearses the people took oil' their hats, and many stepped forward to deposit bunches aud crowns of immortelles on the coffins. After the hcirses advanced the Orphtbnistes and the musical bands of the different theatres of Paris, and the members of the Musical Society, singing in turns veißea of the Marseillaise and of tho Occur dcs Gironclins. A fifth hearse was likewise followed by the families of the victims, and a numeiou* band of fie Enfuns do Pans singing the Chant dv Depart. Next rode a equadron of National Guardi, and behind them marched abreast the eleven members of the Provisional Government, the Ministers, and the civil authoiities of the capital. The members of the Government were drtsscd in black, and wore tri-coloured sashen. Their pi esenceeveiy where exciled the liveliest enthusiasm, and they were saluted with the deafening cries of 41 Vive la Republiquc," to which they iesponded by waving their hats' After them advanced the patriots condemned for political offences under the reign of Louis Philippe, amidst whom was the celebrated Hubert, who being ill from long confinement, was unable to walk, oud had hired an open carriage to accompany his friends. Those were escorted by a company of Naiional Guards dressed in blouses, and after them came an immense miss of citizens of every class of society ; old soldiers attired in the uniforms of the republic aud empire ; deputations, from the Northern, Rouen, and Havre, and other railroad compuniei ; piofessois of the university in their coßtume ; clergymen rnernbeis of literary and scientific societies, the btaff and pupils of the Polytechnic School, members of the National Institute, judges of the Court of Cassation, of the Courts of Appeal, and other tribunals, preceded by their maces ; general officers and their aides-de-camp ; the freemasons of Paris ; the directors nnd servants of the in-urancc compauies, deputations from all the trades, &c. Next marched several lines of men, bearing the faßceß of the Republic, and behind them was a car, drawn by eight while horns, simply caparisoned, and bearing the symbol of the Republic, decked with crowm of laurel and tricoloured banuers. The corners of the pall were borne by representatives of the labouring classes, the National Guards, the press, the army, the invalids, schoo B, &c. Behind the car, which was everywhere saluted with eniliubiastiu acclamations, moved another multitude of citizens. National guards, pupils of the Lyceums, and workmen, singing the Chocur dcs Girondins, aud L crymg " Vive la Republl«pic !" ' The Polish emigrants came next, carrying their na. ttoiml banner (red and white) united with the tricoloured ling, and tho enthusiasm which their piesencc excited among the crowd cannot be described. A body of about five thousand volunteers, marching in admirable order, followed and tLc procession ivhs closed by 24 companies of Hie National Guard, a body of horse aitillery without their guns, a squadron of dragoons, another ot cuirassiers, and a detachment of the cavahy ot the National Guard, H»vmg seen the roUcgc set out from the Madelame I piocecded to the Plai c de la liastile, its destination. The place round the column was kept clear by Hoops From its b'unimt diooped two flags of black crape, neaily as long a« the column itself, spangled with silver attir, iyn.bjlic of mQUrjmig <xnd leais, Uetoic the

ontrnnce to the vault bonouth it were ercrtnd two immense pillars or nit.irs, each bui mounted by a tripod nnd hung with black cloth. It wat> nearly five o'clock cro the funeral cars arrived at the column ; the coffins were ihen bourne into the vault, while the " snored firo'.was kindled on the altars. The rest of the procession then slowly filed past, and the people dispersed,'; all was over. Every part of the Houlcvards was as crowded as that from which the procession started ; nil the windows and balconies, the paiapcts of tic houses, every •' buttress and coin of vantage" were occupied. The people at all points uncovered as the bodies p.isscd; at intervals the Marseillaise was sung by the people joining t\ic proccßsion.and the militiuy bands playeJ ; but to watch the filing past of troop 3, hour after hour, becomes somewhat monotonous. Mili'ai y pnra'lc has a preat sameness of splendour. There was a manifest d-.flcrcncc'in expression between the k)ldicis of the army, both cavalry and infantry, and the nalionul guards ; the former looked serioui and icserved, as if under a 6hndow or cloud. Th* Nationals were in excellent bpirits, though thoir duty at preicnt is very severe. On no part of the route wai public peace or order for a moment distui bed.