nce and heir to the French throne. It was not because Paris
was or is devoted to the present Napoleonic dynasty, not because the
birth of an heir to Louis Napoleon was or is regarded with any
remarkable enthusiasm, but simply for this reason: Paris loves gayety,
and above all things is fond of a public _fete_.

Louis Napoleon well knew how to make the day memorable. All that was
wanting was money--a prodigious pile of Napoleons. With this he could
easily make a pageant.

The young baby-prince was baptized in the ancient church of Notre Dame,
which was fitted up in a magnificent style expressly for the occasion.
On each side of the grand nave, between the main columns hung with gold
and crimson drapery, a series of seats were erected, also covered with
crimson velvet and gold decorations. Around the altar seats were erected
for the legislative body, the senate, the diplomatic corps, and officers
of state. Above these, galleries were formed, hung with drapery, for the
occupation of ladies. The appearance of the interior was grand in the
extreme, but it needed the splendid concourse soon to be present, to add
a wonderful beauty to it.

A few minutes past six o'clock a burst of drums announced the arrival of
the grand cortege in the ancient city, and the archbishop of Paris, with
his assistants, went to the door or grand entrance of Notre Dame, to
receive Napoleon and Eugenia. The princes and princesses had already
alighted, and were ready with the clergy to receive the emperor and
empress.

The procession was in something like the following order: First came the
cross, followed by the archbishop and his vicar-generals. Next came the
military officers of the imperial household. Then what are called the
honors of the imperial infant, as follows--the wax taper of the Countess
Montebello; the crimson cloth of Baroness Malaret; and the salt-cellar
of the Marquess Tourmanbourg. Then came the sponsorial honors. These
ladies all walked in couples, and were dressed in blue, veiled in white
transparent drapery. The grand duchess of Baden and Prince Oscar of
Sweden immediately preceded the prince.

The royal babe wore a long ermine mantile, and was carried by a
gouvernante with two assistants, one on each side of her. The nurse
followed, clad in her native costume--that of Burgundy. Marshals
Canrobert and Bosquet followed the infant, and their majesties next
appeared under a moving canopy.

The cardinal-legate had appeared and