the kingdom to witness so grand and interesting a ceremony, this estimate does not appear very improbable. The place destined for the reception of Napoleon's body was the Hotel des Invalides, a spacious edifice erected by Louis XIV. as a residence for veteran soldiers, and a view of which is given in our preceding number. It is beautifully situated on the river Seine, with a spacious esplanade in front. In the chapel of this building, preparations had been made for the funeral service over the body. The walls were hung with black draperies bordered with silver, and large lustres were placed between the pillars, contrasting their brilliant lights with the dark draperies around them. The pillars were ornamented with gilded trophies, with the names of Napoleon's victories, Marengo, Austerlitz, Wagram, &c. The galleries above, thronged with countless multitudes of spectators, were also hung with black, with silver and gold emblems, laurels, and golden letters commemorating the principal acts of the Emperor's life. Above were hung an immense number of standards, taken from the enemy in different battles. In front of the altar was erected a tomb, standing on pillars and surmounted by an eagle. This structure was of gilt wood, and only temporary; it is to be replaced by one of the same shape in marble. Here were assembled the king, the royal family, and the chief personages of the court, the Archbishop of Paris and other dignitaries of the church, and a great number of generals and veterans of Napoleon's wars. At two o'clock the procession arrived, and the body of Napoleon was brought into the chapel. This was the most impressive part of the whole ceremony. The steps leading to the choir were lined on both sides by the military and the veteran invalids, so many of whom had fought under the deceased Emperor. The whole of the aisle was filled with troops, and the whole body of the clergy stood in religious silence, waiting to perform the last offices of religion. The drums rolled, the cannons roared, and the muffled drums announced the approach of the body. At the sight of the coffin, surmounted with the imperial crown of Napoleon, the whole body of spectators appeared to be struck by a sudden thrill. Every one rose up and bent forward, but not a word was uttered; a religious silence and awe pervaded the whole multitude! Mass was then said over the body according to the forms of the Roman Catholic religion, after which Mozart's celebrated requiem was sung by a choir of musicians. The coffin was then sprinkled with holy water by the Archbishop, and the ceremony concluded. The crowd remained long in the chapel to satiate their curiosity by gazing on the splendid decorations of the place and the long vista of funeral pomp. At length the military succeeded in clearing the chapel of the throngs of spectators; the people dispersed; and the body of Napoleon lay once more in the silence of the tomb! Our Ancestry. If you were to visit England, you would hardly imagine that the people there were descended from a variety of nations, some of them as savage and wild as our American Indians. The English people have now a pretty uniform appearance, as if they all descended from one father and mother: they are generally stoutly made, with ruddy cheeks, light skin, light hair, and full blue eyes; though black eyes and brown skins are not uncommon. The people talk one language too—and at first view they seem one great family, descended from one parentage. Europe were occupied by them. The southern portions of that quarter of the globe, Spain, Italy, and Greece, were during this same period filled up by colonists from Asia and Africa. But if we visit different parts of the country, we shall begin to remark diver- Thus the whole of Europe was setsities in the appearance of the people, tled, but by very different classes of and especially in their mode of speech. nations. Those who dwelt along the Though they all speak English, yet in border of the Mediterranean sea, were one part they use many strange words acquainted with the arts of civilization ; that are not used in another part, and accordingly they settled down in cities, so singular is the mode of speaking in and carried on commerce. But those some places that an American cannot who entered Europe across the mounwell understand the people. Thus in tains, and who occupied Germany, Lancashire, which includes Liverpool France, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and the vicinity, the people speak very Russia, and Britain, were of a very difdifferently from what they do in York- ferent character. They were somewhat shire; and yet in both counties the like the present Tartars of Asia, half speech of the common people cannot be warriors and half husbandmen. They understood, till you become accustomed seldom built permanent towns, but usuto it. ally wandered from one place to another, taking large flocks of cattle with them, upon which they chiefly subsisted. Different tribes or nations often met each other in their migrations, and, as a matter of course, entered into conflict, the strong robbing and making slaves of the weak. All this is easily explained when we look into the early history of England; for we then find that the present English people are in fact descended from several different tribes and nations, that settled upon the island in ancient times. This subject is very interesting in itself, and it becomes more so to us from the fact that we too are descended from the English nation, as nearly all our forefathers, who settled America, came from England. Let us therefore give a little attention to this subject. It appears that the first human beings were created in the valley of the Euphrates, in Asia. Here they increased, and soon spread themselves in various directions over the earth. About two thousand years before Christ, they began to cross the Uralian mountains, which separate Asia from Europe, and to people the latter country. Like our western settlers who are now pushing farther and farther into the wilderness, these Asiatic emigrants continued to spread to the north and west, until the whole northern and middle portions of The number of these rude tribes that came from Asia into Europe appears to have been great, and the individuals must have amounted to many millions. Though of one general cast, still they were divided into separate tribes, and spoke different languages, and in some respects differed in religion, manners, and customs. Of all these Asiatic emigrants, the Celts appear to have been the most numerous. These were the first settlers of ancient Gaul, now France, Spain, Belgium, and the British isles. When Julius Cæsar, the Roman general, made war upon Gaul, about sixty years before Christ, he found the nation to consist wholly of Celts. In general, they were a barbarous people, rude in their mode of life, superstitious in religion, and savage in their feelings. They were divided into three classes: the nobles or warriors, who were the despotic masters of the common people; the Druids or priests, whom we have described in a former number; and the mass of the nation, who performed the common labor of the community. Among the nobles, there were many claiming to be princes, and these held the first rank; the people at large had no acknowledged rights, and were wholly dependent upon their superiors for protection. There appears to have been no other government than that of the chiefs of the several tribes, though in important expeditions they chose a common leader. The Druids, male and female, exercised supreme authority in religion, and governed to some extent in civil matters. They possessed some knowledge of astronomy and other sciences, which they used to secure their power over the minds of the people. Among the Celts of France at the time of Cæsar, duels and drunkenness were common; there were many villages and few cities; the houses were circular in form, and made of beams, being laid upon stone, and covered with thatch; the household utensils were few and poor. Few of the people tilled the soil, the greater part subsisting upon their flocks. Their beverage was a kind of beer or mead; the cultivation of the vine was unknown. The rich had gold, obtained from mines and the sands of rivers. In battle, the rich wore checked or plaid cloaks over their shoulders, but no other garment. The common soldiers were almost naked. They were of high stature and savage features. Their hair was yellow, long, and matted-giving them a terrible aspect. Their blind, headlong courage; their immense numbers; the stunning noise which proceed ed from their numerous wild horns and trumpets; their terrible devastations in passing through a country; their sacrifice of captives to their deities; their using the skulls of the slain as trophies and as drinking-cups, all contributed to render them the terror of the western world. On one occasion, 389 B. C., the Celts or Gauls entered Italy, advanced towards Rome, sacrificed in battle the flower of the Roman youth, sacked and burnt the city, and laid siege to the capitol, which was only delivered by a Roman army under Camillus. At the period of which we speak, Cæsar found these Gauls a most formidable people. For nine campaigns they resisted him; but their long swords of copper could not withstand the steel swords of the Romans; and besides, their soldiers wanted discipline, harmony, and unity of action. Cæsar overcame them at last; and then he turned his armies against the island of Britain. The people there were Celts, and generally resembled the Gauls. They were, however, in a still more rude and savage state. Along the southern border of the island they were most civilized. Here they wore a dress of their own manufacture, consisting of a square mantle, which covered a vest and trowsers, or a plaited shirt or tunic. Their houses, like those of their Gallic neighbors, were of circular beams, reared upon stone foundations, and covered with straw thatch. They manured their lands with marl; raised abundance of wheat, which they kept in dry pits; and were skilful in training horses, especially for war-chariots. Farther north, the Britons were much more wild and savage. They either went naked, or were only clothed in skins; they had no bread, and lived entirely on the milk or flesh of their flocks. Marriage was not practised, and children knew not their parents. Such was the state of things in the year 55 B. C., when Cæsar first crossed the British channel from Calais, and made his descent on Britain. As he approached the cliffs of Dover and Deal, he saw them crowded with armed men, and therefore stood northward and entered Pegwell bay. He was obliged, however, to land in the face of the natives, who had watched his motions, and were here ready to receive him. They filled the air with their hostile arrows; they approached the water's edge, and rushing into the waves, met and struggled furiously with the Roman soldiers in the sea. But their courage and strength were vain; Roman discipline prevailed, and Cæsar made good his landing. This first attack was followed by other expeditions, and Rome, having taken possession of the island, held it for nearly five hundred years. During this long period, the manners of the Britons were greatly changed. The arts of Rome were adopted in the country; towns and cities were built; Christianity was introduced; and civilization, to a certain extent, was spread over the island. Thus the original Celtic Britons became mixed with the Romans, and were partially Romanized. But the Roman empire at last became weakened, and tottered to its fall. The Roman soldiers were called home for the defence of the capital, and Britain was once more left to herself. The Romans quitted England about the year 410, and for a time, the Britons continued in a feverish state of independence, divided into small republics. But soon these became subject to ambitious leaders, who involved the people in repeated struggles. Constant inroads were also made by the Scots and Picts from the north. To aid in defending the people from these, fifteen hundred Saxons, who came accidentally to the coast from Sweden and Norway, were employed by a British chief named Vortigern. In a few years more Saxons arrived, and in about one hundred and fifty years the whole island was subjected to these intruders. The Britons fought bravely for their liberties, but they were divided among themselves, and were sacrificed piece-meal by the hordes of Saxons that came like successive waves to overspread the country. The Saxons, though a brave and war like race, were savage and cruel in the extreme. They drove such of the Britons as resisted, to the mountains of Cornwall and Wales, and the adjacent islands, making slaves of those who submitted. Thus they established their dominion, and became not only the ruling people in the country, but the stock which was to give a distinctive character to the nation ever after. They were a mixture of Angles, Picts, and Saxons, and were, taken together, called AngloSaxons. It is from this race, chiefly, that the English people, as well as ourselves, derive existence. |