At the barrier
of La Villette there had been erected amphitheatres and a
triumphal arch. The streets were hung with white flags and the
arms of the sovereign, with the inscription: "Long live Charles
X.! Long live our well-beloved King!" The Rue Saint Denis, the Rue
du Roule, the Rue Saint Honore, presented a picturesque spectacle.
The merchants of these business streets had converted the facades
of their houses into an exposition of the rich tissues of their
shops, and the cortege was thus to traverse a sort of bazaar. What
a pity if the rain was going to spoil so many fine preparations!
By a good luck, on which every one congratulated himself, the
weather in the morning ceased its gloomy look, and a merchant of
the Rue Saint Denis inscribed on his balcony these two celebrated
lines,--
"Nocte pluit tota, redeunt spectacula mane,
Divisum imperium cum Jove Caesar habet."
At 1 P.M. a salvo of one hundred and one guns announced the
arrival of the monarch at the barrier of La Villette. The Prefect
of the Seine addressed him an allocution and presented him the
keys of the city. The King responded: "I feel a great satisfaction
in re-entering these walls. I always recall with lively emotion
the reception given me eleven years ago when I preceded the King,
my brother. I return here, having received the holy unction that
has given me new strength.
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