where it sat, in honor of the drawing up of the civil code. The day when
this statue was to be inaugurated was chosen for the festivity. The
Empress, followed by a magnificent suite, reached the Palace of the
Legislative Body at about seven in the evening. As she entered, musicians
intoned Glueck's famous chorus, which used to be sung on formal occasions
in the reign of Louis XVI., in honor of Marie Antoinette:--

"What charms! What majesty!"

Unanimous applause emphasized the allusions. Then on the President's
invitation, Marshals Murat and Massena raised the veils that covered the
statue, and all eyes beheld the figure of Napoleon, wearing on his brow a
laurel wreath, in which were mingled oak and olive leaves. Later, at the
time of his abdication at Fontainebleau, Napoleon expressed a regret that
he had permitted his statue to be made during his lifetime.

Then M. de Vaublanc ascended the tribune, and made a speech full of
extravagant praise; it ended thus: "You live, all of you, threatened by
the perils of the times; you live, and you owe your life to him whose
statue you behold. You return unfortunate exiles; you breathe once more
the delicious air of your own country; you embrace your fathers, your
children, your wives, your friends; all this you owe to him whose statue
you behold. There is no longer any question of his glory; I say nothing
about it; I invoke humanity on one side, gratitude on the other; I ask you
to whom you are indebted for this great, extraordinary, unexpected good
fortune. You all answer with me, It is to the great man whose statue you
behold." Throughout the whole speech, a perfect masterpiece of official
composition, adulation came in like a chorus. The President in his turn
uttered a similar eulogy: "Very few at the time," says Constant, who
describes this occasion, "found this praise extravagant; possibly their