much on that topic, and surprised the military men
present with the extent of his professional information.
In the evening a grand ball was given in his honour.
The managers conceived the idea of not allowing any
but ladies to enter the ball-room before his arrival:
when he entered the room, at a little after nine, he
found himself .surrounded by all the pretty women of
Metz. The gentlemen were then admitted, and dancing
immediately commenced. The President opened the
ball, and remained there until eleven o'clock. His progress
from Metz to Paris was highly satisfactory. At
Verdun, the streets were transformed into a garden, and
the enthusiasm of the people seemed greater and more
sincere than in any other town. At Rheims, he replied to
a flattering address with effective brevity:—"Our country
wishes for nothing but order, religion, and liberty.
Everywhere the number of the agitators is infinitely
small, but the number of the good citizens infinitely
great.'' "Entering this ancient city of Rheims, where
the kings, who also represented the interests of the
nation, came to be crowned, I wished that we could, in
the same place, crown not a man, but an idea of union
and conciliation, of which the triumph would restore
repose in our country."

On the 3rd, the President set out upon another provincial
excursion. He arrived that evening at Evreux,
where he entertained a large party to dinner. The
Socialists had summoned from Rouen a number of their
friends to get up a hostile demonstration, but it proved
a failure.

The President arrived at Caen on the evening of the
4th. He reviewed the troops and National Guards
on the morning of the 5th. He was received by the
troops, and by the immense population which crowded
on his way, with cries of "Vive Napoléon!" The
cries of "Vive la République!" were few at Caen.
Among the addresses delivered to the President at
Caen, was one from the President of the Council General
of the Department, in which it was remarked that Louis
Napoleon was addressed by the title of "Your Highness."
He left Caen immediately after the review, and
arrived the same evening at Cherbourg,

On the morning of Friday the 6th, the President
received the mayors and authorities of the neighbouring
arrondissements, and many Englishmen of distinction,
who had arrived at Cherbourg in yachts, paid their
respects to him. He then reviewed the National Guard
and the troops of the garrison, in the midst of a vast concourse
of people. Democratic cries were uttered by some
groups, and a midshipman who distinguished himself by
the violence of his gestures and his insulting language,
was taken into custody. A banquet was given to him by
the city of Cherbourg, at which seven hundred persons
were present. Many Englishmen were among the guests;
particularly Admirals Sir C. Napier, Sir Thomas Cochrane,
and Sir Edmund Lyons; Captains Pelham, Mundy,
Chads, Seymour, Mackinnon, Jones, and Hall; the Earl
Wilton Commodore of the Royal Yacht Club, the Earl
of Cadogan, Marquis of Ormond, Earl of Orkney, Viscount
Canterbury, Mr. Talbot the Vice-Commodore of
the Royal Yacht Club, and Captain Smith of the Royal
Engineers. After dinner the Mayor of Cherbourg gave
as a toast "The memory of the Emperor Napoleon, and
the health of the President of the Republic." The President,
in acknowledging the compliment, made several
noticeable remarks. "How did it happen," he said, " that
the Emperor, in spite of war, was able to cover all France
with imperishable works that are found at every step,
and are nowhere found so remarkable and so great as
here? It is that, independently of his genius, he lived
at a period when the nation, exhausted by revolution,
gave him the necessary power to crush anarchy, repress
faction, and secure the triumph by glory abroad, at
home by a vigorous impulse of the general interests of
the country." He proceeded to give as a toast, "The
City of Cherbourg," adding, "Yes! I propose this toast
in the very sight of the fleet that carried so nobly the
French flag to the East, and is still ready to carry it
with equal glory wlierever the honour of our nation calls
it. I propose this toast in the presence of those distinguished
strangers now our guests. They can convince
themselves of the fact that if we desire peace it is not
because we are weak. It is not because we are weak,
but rather from that community of interests and those
sentiments of mutual esteem which bind together the
two most civilised nations of the globe. I drink to the
city and port of Cherbourg!" These words were
followed by repeated shouts of "Vive I'Empereur! Vive
Napoléon!" After the banquet President visited the
Fort de Roules, which commands the harbour, but
which is not now occupied. At night a splendid ball
was given in his honour at which several thousand persons
were present. All the ships in the harbour were
illuminated, as also many of the private houses in the
town. On Saturday morning, the 7th, the President
visited the arsenal. He was cordially received by the
artisans in all the atéliers. At mid-day he proceeded to
the squadron, and visited the admiral's ship, the Friedland,
commanded by Vice-Admiral Parseval Deschênes.
He visited in turn each vessel of the fleet. In the course
of this day was repeated a beautiful display by the
yachts which the President's late arrival on Thursday
prevented him from witnessing. A squadron of thirty
of the largest yachts was formed into two lines under
the Commander of the Royal Yacht squadron, the Earl
of Wilton, and its Vice-Commodore, Mr. Talbot, M.P.;
and it sailed out of the roads for a cruise round the
digue. The vessels swept along, each with bated or
hastened speed so as exactly to preserve its place with
relation to all the rest; the whole body tacking, reaching,
and swelling along, with the simultaneous movements
of a flight of birds in the air. Their manœuvres beyond
all others engrossed the attention of the French. The
citizens and peasants marvelled agape at the exhibition
of such professional skill by the landsmen owners of the
craft; the sailors openly expressed their admiration—
the captain of the Jemappes exclaiming aloud, that the
manoeuvre was "superbe et très-délicieuse!" The day
terminated with a banquet, which took place at 7 o'clock.
A ball was given the same night in the great
hall of the Espadage. A brilliant and numerous assemblage
was present, and it is stated that 7000 applications
had been made for tickets. The President danced with
the lady of one of the representatives of the department.
On Sunday, the 8th, after hearing mass on board the
Friedland, the President proceeded to complete the inspection
of the vessels which he had not time to examine
in all their details the day previous. At two o'clock
the manœuvres commenced. The ships were cleared as
if for action; and not less than 4000 shots were fired,
after which fifty boats completely armed, and forming in
line, proceeded to exercise and sham fights, during which
a feigned attack was made on the steam-frigate Descartes.
The President then proceeded to the gun-room
of the Friedland, where a banquet had been prepared.
The table was in the form of a horse-shoe, and the small
arms of the ship, arranged in stars, &c., formed the
ornaments of the banqueting-hall: 112 persons sat down
to dinner. This number included the commanders of
the squadron, as well as the officers of every rank. The
English Admirals, Cochrane, Naipier, &c., Captains
Chads, Seymour, and Stopford, &c., were amongst the
number. When the dessert was placed on the table,
Admiral Parseval Deschênes rose, and in a firm tone of
voice proposed the President's health in the following
terms:—"To the health of the President of the Republic!
His presence in the squadron is the guarantee
for the future of the efficacious protection of the government.
'Vive le Président!' " This cry was taken up
and repeated by the Admiral and all the guests. The
President rose and returned thanks thus;—"I am happy
to have it in my power to propose, in turn, a toast to
the French Navy, on board the ship of which the
Admiral near me is the worthy chief,—”to that French
Navy whose devotedness to the country has ever been
proved in its brightest days as in its gloomy,—to that
Navy whose valour is so heroic, that even when fortune
turns against it, we may still apply to it the words of the
poet—'Her cypresses have been as glorious as her laurels'
(ses cyprès ont été aussi beaux que ses lauriers),—I
drink to the French Navy." This speech and toast
were, as will easily be supposed, followed by loud and
repeated applause. The President entered the hotel of
the Maritime Prefect at ten o'clock, after having spent
the whole day on board the fleet.

On Monday morning the President left Cherbourg,