Inthesucceedingdebates，then，variousopinionsweregivenwithregardtotheplacetobeselectedfortheEmperor\'ssepulture。
\"Somedemanded，\"saysaneloquentanonymousCaptainintheNavywhohaswrittenan\"ItineraryfromToulontoSt。Helena，\"\"thatthecoffinshouldbedepositedunderthebronzetakenfromtheenemybytheFrencharmy——undertheColumnofthePlaceVendome。Theideawasafineone。Thisisthemostgloriousmonumentthatwaseverraisedinaconqueror\'shonor。Thiscolumnhasbeenmeltedoutofforeigncannon。Thesesamecannonshavefurrowedthebosomsofourbraveswithnoblecicatrices;andthismetal——conqueredbythesoldierfirst，bytheartistafterwards——hasallowedtobeimprintedonitsfrontitsowndefeatandourglory。Napoleonmightsleepinpeaceunderthisaudacioustrophy。But，wouldhisashesfindasheltersufficientlyvastbeneaththispedestal？AndhispuissantstatuedominatingParis，beamswithsufficientgrandeuronthisplace:whereasthewheelsofcarriagesandthefeetofpassengerswouldprofanethefunerealsanctityofthespotintramplingonthesoilsonearhishead。\"
Youmustnottakethisdescription，dearestAmelia，\"atthefootoftheletter，\"astheFrenchphraseit，butyouwillherehaveamasterlyexpositionoftheargumentsforandagainsttheburialoftheEmperorundertheColumnofthePlaceVendome。Theideawasafineone，granted;but，likeallotherideas，itwasopentoobjections。Youmustnotfancythatthecannon，orratherthecannon—balls，wereinthehabitoffurrowingthebosomsofFrenchbraves，oranyotherbraves，withcicatrices:onthecontrary，itisaknownfactthatcannon—ballsmakewounds，andnotcicatrices（which，mydear，arewoundspartiallyhealed）;nay，thatamangenerallydiesafterreceivingonesuchprojectileonhischest，muchmoreafterhavinghisbosomfurrowedbyascoreofthem。No，mylove;nobosom，howeverheroic，canstandsuchapplications，andtheauthoronlymeansthattheFrenchsoldiersfacedthecannonandtookthem。Nor，mylove，mustyousupposethatthecolumnwasmelted:itwasthecannonwasmelted，notthecolumn;butsuchphrasesareoftenusedbyoratorswhentheywishtogiveaparticularforceandemphasistotheiropinions。
Well，again，althoughNapoleonmighthavesleptinpeaceunder\"thisaudacioustrophy，\"howcouldhedosoandcarriagesgorattlingbyallnight，andpeoplewithgreatironheelstotheirbootspassclatteringoverthestones？NorindeedcoulditbeexpectedthatamanwhosereputationstretchesfromthePyramidstotheKremlin，shouldfindacolumnofwhichthebaseisonlyfive—and—twentyfeetsquare，asheltervastenoughforhisbones。Inaword，then，althoughtheproposaltoburyNapoleonunderthecolumnwasingenious，itwasfoundnottosuit;whereuponsomebodyelseproposedtheMadelaine。
\"Itwasproposed，\"saysthebefore—quotedauthorwithhisusualfelicity，\"toconsecratetheMadelainetohisexiledmanes\"——thatis，tohisboneswhentheywerenotinexileanylonger。\"Heoughttohave，itwassaid，atempleentire。Hisgloryfillstheworld。
Hisbonescouldnotcontainthemselvesinthecoffinofaman——inthetombofaking！\"InthiscasewhatwasMaryMagdalentodo？
\"Thisproposition，Iamhappytosay，wasrejected，andanewone——
thatofthePresidentoftheCounciladopted。Napoleonandhisbravesoughtnottoquiteachother。UndertheimmensegildeddomeoftheInvalideshewouldfindasanctuaryworthyofhimself。A
domeimitatesthevaultofheaven，andthatvaultalone\"（meaningofcoursetheothervault）\"shoulddominateabovehishead。HisoldmutilatedGuardshallwatcharoundhim:thelastveteran，ashehasshedhisbloodinhiscombats，shallbreathehislastsighnearhistomb，andallthesetombsshallsleepunderthetatteredstandardsthathavebeenwonfromallthenationsofEurope。\"
Theoriginalwordsare\"sousleslambeauxcriblesdesdrapeauxcueillischeztouteslesnations;\"inEnglish，\"undertheriddledragsoftheflagsthathavebeenculledorplucked\"（likerosesorbuttercups）\"inallthenations。\"Sweet，innocentflowersofvictory！theretheyare，mydear，sureenough，andaprettyconsiderablehortussiccusmayanymanexaminewhochoosestowalktotheInvalides。Theburial—placebeingthusagreedon，theexpeditionwasprepared，andonthe7thJulythe\"BellePoule\"
frigate，incompanywith\"LaFavorite\"corvette，quittedToulonharbor。Acoupleofsteamers，the\"Trident\"andthe\"Ocean，\"
escortedtheshipsasfarasGibraltar，andthereleftthemtopursuetheirvoyage。
Thetwoshipsquittedtheharborinthesightofavastconcourseofpeople，andinthemidstofagreatroaringofcannons。Previoustothedepartureofthe\"BellePoule，\"theBishopofFrejuswentonboard，andgavetothecenotaph，inwhichtheEmperor\'sremainsweretobedeposited，hisepiscopalbenediction。Napoleon\'soldfriendsandfollowers，thetwoBertrands，Gourgaud，EmanuelLasCases，\"companionsinexile，orsonsofthecompanionsinexileoftheprisoneroftheinfameHudson，\"saysaFrenchwriter，werepassengersonboardthefrigate。Marchand，Denis，Pierret，Novaret，hisoldandfaithfulservants，werelikewiseinthevessel。ItwascommandedbyhisRoyalHighnessFrancisFerdinandPhilipLouisMaried\'Orleans，PrincedeJoinville，ayoungprincetwo—and—twentyyearsofage，whowasalreadydistinguishedintheserviceofhiscountryandking。
Onthe8thofOctober，afteravoyageofsix—and—sixtydays，the\"BellePoule\"arrivedinJamesTownharbor;andonitsarrival，asonitsdeparturefromFrance，agreatfiringofgunstookplace。
First，the\"Oreste\"Frenchbrig—of—warbeganroaringoutasalutationtothefrigate;thenthe\"Dolphin\"Englishschoonergaveherone—and—twentyguns;thenthefrigatereturnedthecomplimentofthe\"Dolphin\"schooner;thensheblazedoutwithone—and—twentygunsmore，asamarkofparticularpolitenesstotheshore——whichkindnessthefortsacknowledgedbysimilardetonations。
Theselittlecomplimentsconcludedonbothsides，LieutenantMiddlemore，sonandaide—de—campoftheGovernorofSt。Helena，cameonboardtheFrenchfrigate，andbroughthisfather\'sbestrespectstohisRoyalHighness。TheGovernorwasathomeill，andforcedtokeephisroom;buthehadmadehishouseatJamesTownreadyforCaptainJoinvilleandhissuite，andbeggedthattheywouldmakeuseofitduringtheirstay。
Onthe9th，H。R。H。thePrinceofJoinvilleputonhisfulluniformandlanded，incompanywithGeneralsBertrandandGourgaud，BaronLasCases，M。Marchand，M。Coquereau，thechaplainoftheexpedition，andM。deRohanChabot，whoactedaschiefmourner。AllthegarrisonwereunderarmstoreceivetheillustriousPrinceandtheothermembersoftheexpedition——whoforthwithrepairedtoPlantationHouse，andhadaconferencewiththeGovernorregardingtheirmission。
Onthe10th，11th，12th，theseconferencescontinued:thecrewsoftheFrenchshipswerepermittedtocomeonshoreandseethetombofNapoleon。Bertrand，Gourgaud，LasCaseswanderedabouttheislandandrevisitedthespotstowhichtheyhadbeenpartialinthelifetimeoftheEmperor。
The15thOctoberwasfixedonforthedayoftheexhumation:thatdayfive—andtwentyyears，theEmperorNapoleonfirstsethisfootupontheisland。
Onthedaypreviousallthingshadbeenmadeready:thegrandcoffinsandornamentsbroughtfromFrance，andthearticlesnecessaryfortheoperationwerecarriedtothevalleyoftheTomb。
Theoperationscommencedatmidnight。Thewell—knownfriendsofNapoleonbeforenamedandsomeotherattendantsofhis，thechaplainandhisacolytes，thedoctorofthe\"BellePoule，\"thecaptainsoftheFrenchships，andCaptainAlexanderoftheEngineers，theEnglishCommissioner，attendedthedisinterment。HisRoyalhighnessPrincedeJoinvillecouldnotbepresentbecausetheworkmenwereunderEnglishcommand。
Themenworkedforninehoursincessantly，whenatlengththeearthwasentirelyremovedfromthevault，allthehorizontalstrataofmasonrydemolished，andthelargeslabwhichcoveredtheplacewherethestonesarcophaguslay，removedbyacrane。Thisoutercoffinofstonewasperfect，andcouldscarcelybesaidtobedamp。
\"AssoonastheAbbeCoquereauhadrecitedtheprayers，thecoffinwasremovedwiththegreatestcare，andcarriedbytheengineer