This child was already, in their hearts, the selected heir
to the power of Napoleon. On the 15th of August, Paris magnificiently
celebrated the anniversary of the birth-day of the First Consul.
This was another introduction of monarchical usages. All the high
authorities of the Church and the State, and the foreign diplomatic
bodies, called upon him with congratulations. At noon, in all
the churches of the metropolis, a Te Deun was sung, in gratitude
to God for the gift of Napoleon. At night the city blazed with
illuminations. The splendors and the etiquette of royalty were now
rapidly introduced; and the same fickle populace who had so recently
trampled princes and thrones into blood and ruin, were now captivated
with re-introduction of these discarded splendors. Napoleon soon
established himself in the beautiful chateau of St. Cloud, which he
has caused to be repaired with great magnificence. On the Sabbath the
First Consul, with Josephine, invariably attended divine service.
Their example was soon followed by most of the members of the
court, and the nation as a body returned to Christianity, which,
even in its most corrupt form, saves humanity from those abysses
of degradation into which infidelity plunges it.
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