The Argosy — page 126: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

112 Two Days in the Life of the late Emperor. Dunkerque ; a day that its inhabitants are recalling now with sad regret— for it brought the Emperor and his gracious wife, only a few months married, within its strongly fortified walls. This visit had been expected for some weeks, and various alterations were made in anticipation at the sous-prefecture. That the Emperor and Empress would stay at least a night in the town was taken for granted. The municipal council of Dunkerque met to consider in what manner they could best show their loyalty; their ladies did the same. Twenty of these French-Flemish dames and twenty demoiselles were selected to form “fa court ” for the Empress, and they spared no expense to get themselves up accordingly. In the midst of it some terrible news arrived—the Empress was notcoming. The ladies rushed to the Sous-Prefecture in wild commotion. ‘Ts it true?” they gasped. ‘Mon Dieu, oul! On craint que c’est vrai,” responded madame, the wife of the sous-prefet. The dames were in despair; the demoiselles shed tears. ‘ All our expensive robes ! They’ll not be of any use to us: we can never hope for another occasion of wearing them. Court dresses in Dunkerque! Ma foi! Point d’espérance!” “ Our lovely white costumes, our wreaths, our flowers !” groaned the “ demoiselles d’honneur” in prospective. ‘‘ Look here! can’t we form a court for the Emperor ? ” But soon another despatch arrived. The Empress was coming. All the preparations went on. For the decorations of the streets, for the ball at the theatre in the evening, for the music and fireworks of the second day. Everybody expected an invitation to the ball, and everybody got it; all the French and all the English. The streets presented a pretty sight. No two were decorated alike. Some were a succession of green bowers—and where the trees and the boughs and the shrubs came from, remained a puzzle always ; for the flat country around was not fertile in such. Wreaths, festoons, and flowers were drooped from pole to pole, from window to window: and large street-chandeliers, peculiar to Dunkerque, composed of little pieces of thick glass, which wave and rattle pleasantly in the breeze, were sus- pended in the streets. The air was a perfect mass of flags, mostly of the tri-colour, not only flying from the poles and the cords and the festoons, but waving from every window. From three or four houses, inhabited by loyal Englishmen, the glorious British flag, large and pow- erful, waved out. In the Place Jean Bart tn-coloured draperies of calico, blue, white, and red, were hung round the walls of the houses: flags flew in abundance, and coloured lamps were with them, side by side. No end of eagles, in all the colours of the rainbow, and as brazen as gilt could make them, were hoisted atop'of ‘the houses-and at the corners of streets. A beautiful triumphal arch, with a colossal. (CO) in —_)