About the end of July (1804), the Emperor left Boulogne in order to make

a tour through Belgium before rejoining the Empress, who had gone direct

to Aix-la-Chapelle. Everywhere on this tour he was welcomed, not only

with the honors reserved for crowned heads, but with hearty acclamations,

addressed to him personally rather than to his official position. I will

say nothing of the fetes which were given in his honor during this

journey, nor of the remarkable things which occurred. Descriptions of

these can easily be found elsewhere; and it is my purpose to relate only

what came peculiarly under my own observation, or at least details not

known to the general public. Let it suffice, then, to say that our

journey through Arras, Valenciennes, Mons, Brussels, etc., resembled a

triumphal progress. At the gate of each town the municipal council

presented to his Majesty the wine of honor and the keys of the place.

We stopped a few days at Lacken; and being only five leagues from Alost,

a little town where my relatives lived, I requested the Emperor's

permission to leave him for twenty-four hours, and it was granted, though

reluctantly. Alost, like the remainder of Belgium at this time,

professed the greatest attachment for the Emperor, and consequently I had

hardly a moment to myself. I visited at the house of Monsieur D----, one

of my friends, whose family had long held positions of honor in the

government of Belgium. There I think all the town must have come to meet

me; but I was not vain enough to appropriate to myself all the honor of

this attention, for each one who came was anxious to learn even the most

insignificant details concerning the great man near whom I was placed.

On this account I was extraordinarily feted, and my twenty-four hours

passed only too quickly. On my return, his Majesty deigned to ask

innumerable questions regarding the town of Alost and its inhabitants,

and as to what was thought there of his government and of himself. I was

glad to be able to answer without flattery, that he was adored. He

appeared gratified, and spoke to me most kindly of my family and of my

own small interests.

We left the next day for Lacken, and passed through Alost; and had I

known this the evening before, I might perhaps have rested a few hours

longer. However, the Emperor found so much difficulty in granting me

even one day, that I would not probably have dared to lose more, even had

I known that the household was to pass by this town.

The Emperor was much pleased with Lacken; he ordered considerable repairs

and improvements to be made there, and the palace, owing to this

preference, became a charming place of sojourn.

This journey of their Majesties lasted nearly three months; and we did

not return to Paris, or rather to Saint-Cloud, until November. The

Emperor received at Cologne and at Coblentz the visits of several German

princes and princesses; but as I know only from hearsay what passed in

these interviews, I shall not undertake to describe them.

CHAPTER XIX.

Nothing is too trivial to narrate concerning great men; for posterity

shows itself eager to learn even the most insignificant details

concerning their manner of life, their tastes, their slightest

peculiarities. When I attended the theater, whether in my short

intervals of leisure or in the suite of his Majesty, I remarked how

keenly the spectators enjoyed the presentation on the stage, of some

grand historic personage; whose costume, gestures, bearing, even his

infirmities and faults, were delineated exactly as they have been

transmitted to us by contemporaries. I myself always took the greatest

pleasure in seeing these living portraits of celebrated men, and well

remember that on no occasion did I ever so thoroughly enjoy the stage as

when I saw for the first time the charming piece of The Two Pages.

Fleury in the role of Frederick the Great reproduced so perfectly the

slow walk, the dry tones, the sudden movements, and even the

short-sightedness of this monarch, that as soon as he appeared on the

stage the whole house burst into applause. It was, in the opinion of

persons sufficiently well informed to judge, a most perfect and faithful

presentation; and though for my own part, I was not able to say whether

the resemblance was perfect or not, I felt that it must be. Michelot,

whom I have since seen in the same role, gave me no less pleasure than

his predecessor; and it is evident that both these talented actors must

have studied the subject deeply, to have learned so thoroughly and

depicted so faithfully the characteristics of their model.

I must confess a feeling of pride in the thought that these memoirs may

perhaps excite in my readers some of the same pleasurable emotions which

I have here attempted to describe; and that perhaps in a future, which

will inevitably come, though far distant now perhaps, the artist who will

attempt to restore to life, and hold up to the view of the world, the

greatest man of this age, will be compelled, in order to give a faithful

delineation, to take for his model the portrait which I, better than any

one else, have been able to draw from fife. I think that no one has done

this as yet; certainly not so much in detail.

On his return from Egypt the Emperor was very thin and sallow, his skin

was copper-colored, his eyes sunken, and his figure, though perfect, also

very thin. The likeness is excellent in the portrait which Horace Vernet

drew in his picture called "A Review of the First Consul on the Place

du Carrousel." His forehead was very high, and bare; his hair thin,

especially on the temples, but very fine and soft, and a rich brown

color; his eyes deep blue, expressing in an almost incredible manner the

various emotions by which he was affected, sometimes extremely gentle and

caressing, sometimes severe, and even inflexible. His mouth was very

fine, his lips straight and rather firmly closed, particularly when

irritated. His teeth, without being very regular, were very white and

sound, and he never suffered from them. His nose of Grecian shape, was

well formed, and his sense of smell perfect. His whole frame was

handsomely proportioned, though at this time his extreme leanness

prevented the beauty of his features being especially noticed, and had an

injurious effect on his whole physiognomy.

It would be necessary to describe his features separately, one by one, in

order to form a correct idea of the whole, and comprehend the perfect

regularity and beauty of each. His head was very large, being twenty-two

inches in circumference; it way a little longer than broad, consequently

a little flattened on the temples; it was so extremely sensitive, that I

had his hats padded, and took the trouble to wear them several days in my

room to break them. His ears were small, perfectly formed, and well set.

The Emperor's feet were also very tender; and I had his shoes broken by a

boy of the wardrobe, called Joseph, who wore exactly the same size as the

Emperor.

His height was five feet, two inches, three lines. He had a rather short

neck, sloping shoulders, broad chest, almost free from hairs, well shaped

leg and thigh, a small foot, and well formed fingers, entirely free from

enlargements or abrasions; his arms were finely molded, and well hung to

his body; his hands were beautiful, and the nails did not detract from

their beauty. He took the greatest care of them, as in fact of his whole

person, without foppishness, however. He often bit his nails slightly,

which was a sign of impatience or preoccupation.

Later on he grew much stouter, but without losing any of the beauty of

his figure; on the contrary, he was handsomer under the Empire than under

the Consulate; his skin had become very white, and his expression

animated.

The Emperor, during his moments, or rather his long hours, of labor and

of meditation, was subject to a peculiar spasmodic movement, which seemed

to be a nervous affection, and which clung to him all his life. It

consisted in raising his right shoulder frequently and rapidly; and

persons who were not acquainted with this habit sometimes interpreted

this as a gesture of disapprobation and dissatisfaction, and inquired

with anxiety in what way they could have offended him. He, however, was

not at all affected by it, and repeated the same movement again and again

without being conscious of it.

One most remarkable peculiarity was that the Emperor never felt his heart

beat. He mentioned this often to M. Corvisart, as well as to me; and

more than once he made us pass our hands over his breast, in order to

prove this singular exception. Never did we feel the slightest

pulsation. [Another peculiarity was that his pulse was only forty to the

minute.]

The Emperor ate very fast, and hardly spent a dozen minutes at the table.

When he had finished he arose, and passed into the family saloon; but the

Empress Josephine remained, and made a sign to the guests to do the same.

Sometimes, however, she followed his Majesty; and then, no doubt, the

ladies of the palace indemnified themselves in their apartments, where

whatever they wished was served them.

One day when Prince Eugene rose from the table immediately after the

Emperor, the latter, turning to him, said, "But you have not had time to

dine, Eugene."--"Pardon me," replied the Prince, "I dined in advance!"

The other guests doubtless found that this was not a useless precaution.

It was before the Consulate that things happened thus; for afterwards the

Emperor, even when he was as yet only First Consul, dined tete-a-tete

with the Empress, except when he invited some of the ladies of the

household, sometimes one, sometimes another, all of whom appreciated

highly this mark of favor. At this time there was already a court.

Most frequently the Emperor breakfasted alone, on a little mahogany

candle-stand with no cover, which meal, even shorter than the other,

lasted only eight or ten minutes.

I will mention, later on, the bad effects which the habit of eating too

quickly often produced on the Emperor's health. Besides this, and due in

a great measure to his haste, the Emperor lacked much of eating decently;

and always preferred his fingers to a fork or spoon. Much care was taken

to place within his reach the dish he preferred, which he drew toward him

in the manner I have just described, and dipped his bread in the sauce or

gravy it contained, which did not, however, prevent the dish being handed

round, and those eating from it who could; and there were few guests who

could not.

I have seen some who even appeared to consider this singular act of

courage a means of making their court. I can easily understand also that

with many their admiration for his Majesty silenced all repugnance, for

the same reason that we do not scruple to eat from the plate, or drink

from the glass, of a person whom we love, even though it might be

considered doubtful on the score of refinement; this is never noticed

because love is blind. The dish which the Emperor preferred was the kind

of fried chicken to which this preference of the conqueror of Italy has

given the name of poulet a la Marengo. He also ate with relish beans,

lentils, cutlets, roast mutton, and roast chicken. The simplest dishes

were those he liked best, but he was fastidious in the article of bread.

It is not true, as reported, that he made an immoderate use of coffee,

for he only took half a cup after breakfast, and another after dinner;

though it sometimes happened when he was much preoccupied that he would

take, without noticing it, two cups in succession, though coffee taken in

this quantity always excited him and kept him from sleeping.

It also happened frequently that he took it cold, or without sugar, or

with too much sugar. To avoid all which mischances, the Empress

Josephine made it her duty to pour out the Emperor's coffee herself; and

the Empress Marie Louise also adopted the same custom. When the Emperor

had risen from the table and entered the little saloon, a page followed

him, carrying on a silvergilt waiter a coffee-pot, sugar-dish and cup.

Her Majesty the Empress poured out the coffee, put sugar in it, tried a

few drops of it, and offered it to the Emperor.

The Emperor drank only Chambertin wine, and rarely without water; for he

had no fondness for wine, and was a poor judge of it. This recalls that

one day at the camp of Boulogne, having invited several officers to his

table, his Majesty had wine poured for Marshal Augereau, and asked him

with an air of satisfaction how he liked it. The Marshal tasted it,

sipped it critically, and finally replied, "There is better," in a tone

which was unmistakable. The Emperor, who had expected a different reply,

smiled, as did all the guests, at the Marshal's candor.

Every one has heard it said that his Majesty used great precautions

against being poisoned, which statement must be placed beside that

concerning the cuirass proof against bullet and dagger. On the contrary,

the Emperor carried his want of precaution only too far. His breakfast

was brought every day into an antechamber open to all to whom had been

granted a private audience, and who sometimes waited there for several

hours, and his Majesty's breakfast also waited a long time. The dishes

were kept as warm as possible until he came out of his cabinet, and took

his seat at the table. Their Majesties' dinner was carried from the

kitchen to the upper rooms in covered, hampers, and there was every

opportunity of introducing poison; but in spite of all this, never did

such an idea enter the minds of the people in his service, whose devotion

and fidelity to the Emperor, even including the very humblest, surpassed

any idea I could convey.

The habit of eating rapidly sometimes caused his Majesty violent pains in

his stomach, which ended almost always in a fit of vomiting.

One day the valet on duty came in great haste to tell me that the Emperor

desired my presence immediately. His dinner had caused indigestion, and

he was suffering greatly. I hurried to his Majesty's room, and found him

stretched at full length on the rug, which was a habit of the Emperor

when he felt unwell. The Empress Josephine was seated by his side, with

the sick man's head on her lap, while he groaned or stormed alternately,

or did both at once: for the Emperor bore this kind of misfortune with

less composure than a thousand graver mischances which the life of a

soldier carries with it; and the hero of Arcola, whose life had been

endangered in a hundred battles, and elsewhere also, without lessening

his fortitude, showed himself unequal to the endurance of the slightest

pain. Her Majesty the Empress consoled and encouraged him as best she

could; and she, who was so courageous herself in enduring those headaches

which, on account of their excessive violence, were a genuine disease,

would, had it been possible, have taken on herself most willingly the

ailment of her husband, from which she suffered almost as much as he did,

in witnessing his sufferings. "Constant," said she, as I entered, "come

quick; the Emperor needs you; make him some tea, and do not go out till

he is better." His Majesty had scarcely taken three cups before the pain

decreased, while she continued to hold his head on her knees, pressing

his brow with her white, plump hands, and also rubbing his breast. "You

feel better, do you not? Would you like to lie down a little while? I

will stay by your bed with Constant." This tenderness was indeed

touching, especially in one occupying so elevated a rank.

My intimate service often gave me the opportunity of enjoying this

picture of domestic felicity. While I am on the subject of the Emperor's

ailments, I will say a few words concerning the most serious which he

endured, with the exception of that which caused his death.

At the siege of Toulon, in 1793, the Emperor being then only colonel of

artillery, a cannoneer was killed at his gun; and Colonel Bonaparte

picked up the rammer and rammed home the charge several times. The

unfortunate artilleryman had an itch of the most malignant kind, which

the Emperor caught, and of which he was cured only after many years; and

the doctors thought that his sallow complexion and extreme leanness,

which lasted so long a time, resulted from this disease being improperly

treated. At the Tuileries he took sulphur baths, and wore for some time

a blister plaster, having suffered thus long because, as he said, he had

not time to take care of himself. Corvisart warmly insisted on a

cautery; but the Emperor, who wished to preserve unimpaired the

shapeliness of his arm, would not agree to this remedy.

It was at this same siege that he was promoted from the rank of chief of

battalion to that of colonel in consequence of a brilliant affair with

the English, in which he received a bayonet wound in the left thigh, the

scar of which he often showed me. The wound in the foot which he

received at the battle of Ratisbonne left no trace; and yet, when the

Emperor received it, the whole army became alarmed.

We were about twelve hundred yards from Ratisbonne, when the Emperor,

seeing the Austrians fleeing on all sides, thought the combat was over.

His dinner had been brought in a hamper to a place which the Emperor had

designated; and as he was walking towards it, he turned to Marshal

Berthier, and exclaimed, "I am wounded!" The shock was so great that the

Emperor fell in a sitting posture, a bullet having, in fact, struck his

heel. From the size of this ball it was apparent that it had been fired

by a Tyrolean rifleman, whose weapon easily carried the distance we were

from the town. It can well be understood that such an event troubled and

frightened the whole staff.

An aide-de-camp summoned me; and when I arrived I found Dr. Yvan cutting

his Majesty's boot, and assisted him in dressing the wound. Although the

pain was still quite severe, the Emperor was not willing to take time to

put on his boot again; and in order to turn the enemy, and reassure the

army as to his condition, he mounted his horse, and galloped along the

line accompanied by his whole staff. That day, as may be believed, no

one delayed to take breakfast, but all dined at Ratisbonne.

His Majesty showed an invincible repugnance to all medicine; and when he

used any, which was very rarely, it was chicken broth, chicory, or cream

of tartar.

Corvisart recommended him to refuse every drink which had a bitter or

disagreeable taste, which he did, I believe, in the fear that an attempt

might be made to poison him.

At whatever hour the Emperor had retired, I entered his room at seven or

eight o'clock in the morning; and I have already said that his first

questions invariably were as to the hour and the kind of weather.

Sometimes he complained to me of looking badly; and if this was true, I

agreed with him, and if it were not, I told him the truth. In this case

he pulled my ears, and called me, laughing, "grosse bete," and asked for

a mirror, sometimes saying he was trying to fool me and that he was very

well. He read the daily papers, asked the names of the people in the

waiting-room, named those he wished to see, and conversed with each one.

When Corvisart came, he entered without waiting for orders; and the

Emperor took pleasure in teasing him by speaking of medicine, which he

said was only a conjectural art, that the doctors were charlatans, and

cited instances in proof of it, especially in his own experience, the

doctor never yielding a point when he thought he was right. During these

conversations, the Emperor shaved himself; for I had prevailed on him to

take this duty on himself, often forgetting that he had shaved only one

side of his face, and when I called his attention to this, he laughed,

and finished his work. Yvan, doctor-in-ordinary, as well as Corvisart,

came in for his share in the criticisms and attacks on his profession;

and these discussions were extremely amusing. The Emperor was very gay

and talkative at such times, and I believe, when he had at hand no

examples to cite in support of his theories, did not scruple to invent

them; consequently these gentlemen did not always rely upon his

statements. One day his Majesty pulled the ears of one of his physicians

(Halle, I believe). The doctor abruptly drew himself away, crying,

"Sire, you hurt me." Perhaps this speech was tinged with some

irritation, and perhaps, also, the doctor was right. However that may

be, his ears were never in danger again.

Sometimes before beginning my labors, his Majesty questioned me as to

what I had done the evening before, asked me if I had dined in the city,

and with whom, if I had enjoyed myself, and what we had for dinner. He

often inquired also what such or such a part of my clothing cost me; and

when I told him he would exclaim at the price, and tell me that when he

was a sub-lieutenant everything was much cheaper, and that he had often

during that time taken his meals at Roze's restaurant, and dined very

well for forty cents. Several times he spoke to me of my family, and of

my sister, who was a nun before the Revolution, and who had been

compelled to leave her convent; and one day asked me if she had a

pension, and how much it was. I told him, and added, that this not being

sufficient for her wants, I myself gave an allowance to her, and also to

my mother. His Majesty told me to apply to the Duke of Bassano, and

report the matter to him, as he wished to treat my family handsomely.

I did not avail myself of this kind intention of his Majesty; for at that

time I had sufficient means to be able to assist my relatives, and did

not foresee the future, which I thought would not change my condition,

and felt a delicacy in putting my people, so to speak, on the charge of

the state. I confess that I have been more than once tempted to repent

this excessive delicacy, which I have seen few persons above or below my

condition imitate. On rising, the Emperor habitually took a cup of tea

or orange water; and if he desired a bath, had it immediately on getting

out of bed, and while in it had his dispatches and newspapers read to him

by his secretary (Bourrienne till 1804). If he did not take a bath, he

seated himself by the fire, and had them read to him there, often reading

them himself. He dictated to the secretary his replies, and the

observations which the reading of these suggested to him; as he went

through each, throwing it on the floor without any order. The secretary

afterwards gathered them all up, and arranged them to be carried into the

Emperor's private room. His Majesty, before making his toilet, in

summer, put on pantaloons of white pique and a dressing-gown of the same,

and in winter, pantaloons and dressing-gown of swanskin, while on his

head was a turban tied in front, the two ends hanging down on his neck

behind. When the Emperor donned this headdress, his appearance was far

from elegant. When he came out of the bath, we gave him another turban;

for the one he wore was always wet in the bath, where he turned and

splashed himself incessantly. Having taken his bath and read his

dispatches, he began his toilet, and I shaved him before he learned to

shave himself. When the Emperor began this habit, he used at first, like

every one, a mirror attached to the window; but he came up so close to

it, and lathered himself so vigorously with soap, that the mirror,

window-panes, curtains, his dressing-gown, and the Emperor himself, were

all covered with it. To remedy this inconvenience, the servants

assembled in council, and it was decided that Roustan should hold the

looking-glass for his Majesty. When the Emperor had shaved one side, he

turned the other side to view, and made Roustan pass from left to right,

or from right to left, according to the side on which he commenced.

After shaving, the Emperor washed his face and hands, and had his nails

carefully cleaned; then I took off his flannel vest and shirt, and rubbed

his whole bust with an extremely soft silk brush, afterwards rubbing him

with eau-de-cologne, of which he used a great quantity, for every day he

was rubbed and dressed thus. It was in the East he had acquired this

hygienic custom, which he enjoyed greatly, and which is really excellent.

All these preparations ended, I put on him light flannel or cashmere

slippers, white silk stockings, the only kind he ever wore, and very fine

linen or fustian drawers, sometimes knee-breeches of white cassimere,

with soft riding-boots, sometimes pantaloons of the same stuff and color,

with little English half-boots which came to the middle of the leg, and

were finished with small silver spurs which were never more than six

lines in length. All his, boots were finished with these spurs. I then

put on him his flannel vest and shirt, a neck-cloth of very fine muslin,

and over all a black silk stock; finally a round vest of white pique, and

either a chasseur's or grenadier's coat, usually the former. His toilet

ended, he was presented with his handkerchief, his tobacco-box, and a

little shell bog filled with aniseed and licorice, ground very fine. It

will be seen by the above that the Emperor had himself dressed by his

attendants from head to foot. He put his hand to nothing, but let

himself be dressed like an infant, his mind filled with business during

the entire performance.

I had forgotten to say that he used boxwood toothpicks, and a brush

dipped in some opiate. The Emperor was born, so to speak, to be waited

on (homme d valets de chambre). When only a general, he had as many as

three valets, and had himself served with as much luxury as at the height

of his fortunes, and from that time received all the attentions I have

just described, and which it was almost impossible for him to do without;

and in this particular the etiquette was never changed. He increased the

number of his servants, and decorated them with new titles, but he could

not have more services rendered him personally. He subjected himself

very rarely to the grand etiquette of royalty, and never, for example,

did the grand chamberlain hand him his shirt; and on one occasion only,

when the city of Paris gave him a dinner at the time of his coronation,

did the grand marshal hand him water to wash his hands. I shall give a

description of his toilet on the day of his coronation; and it will be

seen that even on that day his Majesty, the Emperor of the French, did

not require any other ceremonial than that to which he had been

accustomed as general and First Consul of the Republic.

The Emperor had no fixed hour for retiring: sometimes he retired at ten

or eleven o'clock in the evening; oftener he stayed awake till two,

three, or four o'clock in the morning. He was soon undressed; for it was

his habit, on entering the room, to throw each garment right and

left,--his coat on the floor, his grand cordon on the rug, his watch

haphazard at the bed, his hat far off on a piece of furniture; thus with

all his clothing, one piece after another. When he was in a good humor,

he called me in a loud voice, with this kind of a cry: "Ohe, oh! oh!"

at other times, when he was not in good humor, "Monsieur, Monsieur

Constant!"

At all seasons his bed had to be warmed with a warming-pan, and it was

only during the very hottest weather that he would dispense with this.

His habit of undressing himself in haste rarely left me anything to do,

except to hand him his night-cap. I then lighted his night-lamp, which

was of gilded silver, and shaded it so that it would give less light.

When he did not go to sleep at once, he had one of his secretaries

called, or perhaps the Empress Josephine, to read to him; which duty no

one could discharge better than her Majesty, for which reason the Emperor

preferred her to all his readers, for she read with that especial charm

which was natural to her in all she did. By order of the Emperor, there

was burnt in his bedroom, in little silver perfume-boxes, sometimes aloes

wood, and sometimes sugar or vinegar; and almost the year round it was

necessary to have a fire in all his apartments, as he was habitually very

sensitive to cold. When he wished to sleep, I returned to take out his

lamp, and went up to my own room, my bedroom being just above that of his

Majesty. Roustan and a valet on service slept in a little apartment

adjoining the Emperor's bedroom; and if he needed me during the night,

the boy of the wardrobe, who slept in an antechamber, came for me. Water

was always kept hot for his bath, for often at any hour of the night as

well as the day he might suddenly be seized with a fancy to take one.

Doctor Yvan appeared every morning and evening, at the rising and

retiring of his Majesty.

It is well known that the Emperor often had his secretaries, and even his

ministers, called during the night. During his stay at Warsaw, the

Prince de Talleyrand once received a message after midnight; he came at

once, and had a long interview with the Emperor, and work was prolonged

late into the night, when his Majesty, fatigued, at last fell into a deep

slumber. The Prince of Benevento, who was afraid to go out, fearing lest

he might awaken the Emperor or be recalled to continue the conversation,

casting his eyes around, perceived a comfortable sofa, so he stretched

himself out on it, and went to sleep. Meneval, secretary to his

Majesty, not wishing to retire till after the minister had left, knowing

that the Emperor would probably call for him as soon as Talleyrand had

retired, became impatient at such a long interview; and as for me, I was

not in the best humor, since it was impossible for me to retire without

taking away his Majesty's lamp. Meneval came a dozen times to ask me if

Prince Talleyrand had left. "He is there yet," said I. "I am sure of

it, and yet I hear nothing." At last I begged him to place himself in

the room where I then was, and on which the street-door opened, whilst I

went to act as sentinel in a vestibule on which the Emperor's room had

another opening; and it was arranged that the one of us who saw the

prince go out would inform the other. Two o'clock sounded, then three,

then four; no one appeared, and there was not the least movement in his

Majesty's room. Losing patience at last, I half opened the door as

gently as possible; but the Emperor, whose sleep was very light, woke

with a start, and asked in a loud tone: "Who is that? Who comes there?"

"What is that?" I replied, that, thinking the Prince of Benevento had

gone out, I had come for his Majesty's lamp. "Talleyrand! Talleyrand!"

cried out his Majesty vehemently. "Where is he, then?" and seeing him

waking up, "well, I declare he is asleep! Come, you wretch; how dare you

sleep in my room! ah! ah!" I left without taking out the lamp; they

began talking again, and Meneval and I awaited the end of the

tete-a-tete, until five o'clock in the morning.

The Emperor had a habit of taking, when he thus worked at night, coffee

with cream, or chocolate; but he gave that up, and under the Empire no

longer took anything, except from time to time, but very rarely, either

punch mild and light as lemonade, or when he first awoke, an infusion of

orange-leaves or tea.

The Emperor, who so magnificently endowed the most of his generals, who

showed himself so liberal to his armies, and to whom, on the other hand,

France owes so many and such handsome monuments, was not generous, and it

must even be admitted was a little niggardly, in his domestic affairs.

Perhaps he resembled those foolishly vain rich persons, who economize

very closely at home, and in their own households, in order to shine more

outside. He made very few, not to say no, presents to members of his

household; and the first day of the year even passed without loosening

his purse-strings. While I was undressing him the evening before, he

said, pinching my ear, "Well, Monsieur Constant, what will you give me

for my present?" The first time he asked this question I replied I would

give him whatever he wished; but I must confess that I very much hoped it

would not be I who would give presents next day. It seemed that the idea

never occurred to him; for no one had to thank him for his gifts, and he

never departed afterwards from this rule of domestic economy. Apropos of

this pinching of ears, to which I have recurred so often, because his

Majesty repeated it so often, it is necessary that I should say, while I

think of it, and in closing this subject, that any one would be much

mistaken in supposing that he touched lightly the party exposed to his

marks of favor; he pinched, on the contrary, very hard, and pinched as

much stronger in proportion as he happened to be in a better humor.

Sometimes, when I entered his room to dress him, he would run at me like

a mad man, and saluting me with his favorite greeting, "Well, Monsieur le

drole," would pinch my ears in such a manner as to make me cry out; he

often added to these gentle caresses one or two taps, also well applied.

I was then sure of finding him all the rest of the day in a charming

humor, and full of good-will, as I have seen him, so often. Roustan, and

even Marshal Berthier, received their due proportion of these imperial

tendernesses.

CHAPTER XX.

The allowance made by his Majesty for the yearly expenses of his dress

was twenty thousand francs; and the year of, the coronation he became

very angry because that sum had been exceeded. It was never without

trepidation that the various accounts of household expenses were

presented to him; and he invariably retrenched and cut down, and

recommended all sort of reforms. I remember after asking for some one a

place of three thousand francs, which he granted me, I heard him exclaim,

"Three thousand francs! but do you understand that this is the revenue

of one of my communes? When I was sub-lieutenant I did not spend as much

as that." This expression recurred incessantly in his conversations with

those with whom he was familiar; and "when I had the honor of being

sub-lieutenant" was often on his lips, and always in illustration of

comparisons or exhortations to economy.

While on the subject of accounts, I recall a circumstance which should

have a place in my memoirs, since it concerns me personally, and moreover

gives an idea of the manner in which his Majesty understood economy. He

set out with the idea, which was, I think, often very correct, that in

private expenses as in public ones, even granting the honesty of agents

(which the Emperor was always, I admit, very slow to do), the same things

could have been done with much less money. Thus, when he required

retrenchment, it was not in the number of objects of expense, but only in

the prices charged for these articles by the furnishers; and I will

elsewhere cite some examples of the effect which this idea produced on

the conduct of his Majesty towards the accounting agents of his

government. Now I am relating only private matters. One day when

investigating various accounts, the Emperor complained much of the

expenses of the stables, and cut off a considerable sum; and the grand

equerry, in order to put into effect the required economy, found it

necessary to deprive several persons in the household of their carriages,

mine being included in this number. Some days after the execution of

this measure, his Majesty charged me with a commission, which

necessitated a carriage; and I was obliged to inform him that, no longer

having mine, I should not be able to execute his orders. The Emperor

then exclaimed that he had not intended this, and M. Caulaincourt must

have a poor idea of economy. When he again saw the Duke of Vicenza, he

said to him that he did not wish anything of mine to be touched.

The Emperor occasionally read in the morning the new works and romances

of the day; and when a work displeased him, he threw it into the fire.

This does not mean that only improper books were thus destroyed; for if

the author was not among his favorites, or if he spoke too well of a

foreign country, that was sufficient to condemn the volume to the flames.

On this account I saw his Majesty throw into the fire a volume of the

works of Madame de Stael, on Germany. If he found us in the evening

enjoying a book in the little saloon, where we awaited the hour for

retiring, he examined what we were reading; and if he found they were

romances, they were burned without pity, his Majesty rarely failing to

add a little lecture to this confiscation, and to ask the delinquent "if

a man could not find better reading than that." One morning he had

glanced over and thrown in the fire a book (by what author I do not

know); and when Roustan stooped down to take it out the Emperor stopped

him, saying, "Let that filthy thing burn; it is all that it deserves."

The Emperor mounted his horse most ungracefully, and I think would not

have always been very safe when there, if so much care had not been taken

to give him only those which were perfectly trained; but every precaution

was taken, and horses destined for the special service of the Emperor

passed through a rude novitiate before arriving at the honor of carrying

him. They were habituated to endure, without making the least movement,

torments of all kinds; blows with a whip over the head and ears; the drum

was beaten; pistols were fired; fireworks exploded in their ears; flags

were shaken before their eyes; heavy weights were thrown against their

legs, sometimes even sheep and hogs. It was required that in the midst

of the most rapid gallop (the Emperor liked no other pace), he should be

able to stop his horse suddenly; and in short, it was absolutely

necessary to have only the most perfectly trained animals.

M. Jardin, senior, equerry of his Majesty, acquitted himself of this

laborious duty with much skill and ability, as the Emperor attached such

importance to it; he also insisted strongly that his horses should be

very handsome, and in the last years of his reign would ride only Arab

horses.

There were a few of those noble animals for which the Emperor had a great

affection; among others, Styria, which he rode over the St. Bernard and

at Marengo. After this last campaign, he wished his favorite to end his

days in the luxury of repose, for Marengo and the great St. Bernard were

in themselves a well-filled career. The Emperor rode also for many years

an Arab horse of rare intelligence, in which he took much pleasure.

During the time he was awaiting his rider, it would have been hard to

discover in him the least grace; but as soon as he heard the drums beat

the tattoo which announced the presence of his Majesty, he reared his

head most proudly, tossed his mane, and pawed the ground, and until the

very moment the Emperor alighted, was the most magnificent animal

imaginable.

His Majesty made a great point of good equerries, and nothing was

neglected in order that the pages should receive in this particular the

most careful education. To accustom them to mount firmly and with grace,

they practiced exercises in vaulting, for which it seemed to me they

would have no use except at the Olympic circus. And, in fact, one of the

horsemen of Messieurs Franconi had charge of this part of the pages'

education.

The Emperor, as has been said elsewhere, took no pleasure in hunting,

except just so far as was necessary to conform to the usage which makes

this exercise a necessary accompaniment to the throne and the crown; and

yet I have seen him sometimes continue it sufficiently long to justify

the belief that he did not find it altogether distasteful. He hunted one

day in the forest of Rambouillet from six in the morning to eight in the

evening, a stag being the object of this prolonged excursion; and I

remember they returned without having taken him. In one of the imperial

hunts at Rambouillet, at which the Empress Josephine was present, a stag,

pursued by the hunters, threw himself under the Empress's carriage; which

refuge did not fail him, for her Majesty, touched by the misery of the

poor animal, begged his life of the Emperor. The stag was spared; and

Josephine placed round its neck a silver collar to attest its

deliverance, and protect it against the attacks of all hunters.

One of the ladies of the Empress one day showed less humanity than she,

however; and the reply which she made to the Emperor displeased him

exceedingly, for he loved gentleness and pity in women. When they had

hunted for several hours in the Bois de Boulogne, the Emperor drew near

the carriage of the Empress Josephine, and began talking with a lady who

bore one of the most noble and most ancient names in all France, and who,

it is said, had been placed near the Empress against her wishes. The

Prince of Neuchatel (Berthier) announced that the stag was at bay.

"Madame," said the Emperor gallantly to Madame de C---- , "I place his

fate in your hands."--"Do with him, Sire," replied she, "as you please.

It is no difference to me." The Emperor gave her a glance of disapproval,

and said to the master of the hounds, "Since the stag in his misery does

not interest Madame C----, he does not deserve to live; have him put to

death;" whereupon his Majesty turned his horse's bridle, and rode off.

The Emperor was shocked by such an answer, and repeated it that evening,

on his return from the hunt, in terms by no means flattering to Madame

de C----.

It is stated in the Memorial of Saint-Helena that the Emperor, while

hunting, was thrown and wounded by a wild boar, from which one of his

fingers bore a bad scar. I never saw this, and never knew of such an

accident having happened to the Emperor. The Emperor did not place his

gun firmly to his shoulder, and as he always had it heavily loaded and

rammed, never fired without making his arm black with bruises; but I

rubbed the injured place with eau de Cologne, and he gave it no further

thought.

The ladies followed the hunt in their coaches; a table being usually

arranged in the forest for breakfast, to which all persons in the hunt

were invited.

The Emperor on one occasion hunted with falcons on the plain of

Rambouillet, in order to make a trial of the falconry that the King of

Holland (Louis) had sent as a present to his Majesty. The household made

a fete of seeing this hunt, of which we had been hearing so much; but the

Emperor appeared to take less pleasure in this than in the chase or

shooting, and hawking was never tried again.

His Majesty was exceedingly fond of the play, preferring greatly French

tragedy and the Italian opera. Corneille was his favorite author; and he

had always on his table some volume of the works of this great poet. I

have often heard the Emperor declaim, while walking up and down in his

room, verses of Cinna, or this speech on the death of Caesar:

"Caesar, you will reign; see the august day

In which the Roman people, always unjust to thee," etc.

At the theater of Saint-Cloud, the piece for the evening was often made

up of fragments and selections from different authors, one act being

chosen from one opera, one from another, which was very vexatious to the

spectators whom the first piece had begun to interest. Often, also,

comedies were played; on which occasions there was great rejoicing in the

household, and the Emperor himself took much pleasure in them. How many

times have I seen him perfectly overcome with laughter, when seeing

Baptiste junior in 'les Heritiers', and Michaut also amused him in 'la

Partie de Chasse de Henry IV'.

I cannot remember in what year, but it was during one of the sojourns of

the court at Fontainebleau, that the tragedy of the Venetians was

presented before the Emperor by Arnault, senior. That evening, as he was

retiring, his Majesty discussed the piece with Marshal Duroc, and gave

his opinion, adducing many reasons, in support of it. These praises,

like the criticisms, were all explained and discussed; the grand marshal

talking little, and the Emperor incessantly. Although a poor judge

myself of such matters, it was very entertaining, and also very

instructive, to hear the Emperor's opinion of pieces, ancient and modern,

which had been played before him; and his observations and remarks could

not have failed, I am sure, to be of great profit to the authors, had

they been able like myself to hear them. As for me, if I gained anything

from it, it is being enabled to speak of it here a little (although a

very little), more appropriately than a blind man would of colors;

nevertheless, for fear of saying the wrong thing, I return to matters

which are in my department.

It has been said that his Majesty used a great quantity of tobacco, and

that in order to take it still more frequently and quickly, he put it in

a pocket of his vest, lined with skin for that purpose. This is an

error. The Emperor never took tobacco except in his snuff-boxes; and

although he wasted a great quantity of it, he really used very little, as

he took a pinch, held it to his nose simply to smell it, and let it fall

immediately. It is true that the place where he had been was covered

with it; but his handkerchiefs, irreproachable witnesses in such matters,

were scarcely stained, and although they were white and of very fine

linen, certainly bore no marks of a snuff-taker. Sometimes he simply

passed his open snuff-box under his nose in order to breathe the odor of

the tobacco it contained. These boxes were of black shell, with hinges,

and of a narrow, oval shape; they were lined with gold, and ornamented

with antique cameos, or medallions, in gold or silver. At one time he

used round tobacco-boxes; but as it took two hands to open them, and in

this operation he sometimes dropped either the box or the top, he became

disgusted with them. His tobacco was grated very coarse, and was usually

composed of several kinds of tobacco mixed together. Frequently he

amused himself by making the gazelles that he had at Saint-Cloud eat it.

They were very fond of it, and although exceedingly afraid of every one

else, came close to his Majesty without the slightest fear.

The Emperor took a fancy on one occasion, but only one, to try a pipe, as

I shall now relate. The Persian ambassador (or perhaps it was the

Turkish ambassador who came to Paris under the Consulate) had made his

Majesty a present of a very handsome pipe such as is used by the

Orientals. One day he was seized with a desire to try it, and had

everything necessary for this purpose prepared. The fire having been

applied to the bowl, the only question now was to light the tobacco; but

from the manner in which his Majesty attempted this it was impossible for

him to succeed, as he alternately opened and closed his lips repeatedly

without drawing in his breath at all. "Why, what is the matter?" cried

he; "it does not work at all." I called his attention to the fact that

he was not inhaling properly, and showed him how it ought to be done; but

the Emperor still continued his performances, which were like some

peculiar kind of yawning. Tired out by his fruitless efforts at last, he

told me to light it for him, which I did, and instantly handed it back to

him. But he had hardly taken a whiff when the smoke, which he did not

know how to breathe out again, filled his throat, got into his windpipe,

and came out through his nose and eyes in great puffs. As soon as he

could get his breath, he panted forth, "Take it away! what a pest! Oh,

the wretches! it has made me sick." In fact, he felt ill for at least an

hour after, and renounced forever the "pleasure of a habit, which," said

he, "is only good to enable do-nothings to kill time."

The only requirements the Emperor made as to his clothing was that it

should be of fine quality and perfectly comfortable; and his coats for

ordinary use, dress-coats, and even the famous gray overcoat, were made

of the finest cloth from Louviers. Under the Consulate he wore, as was

then the fashion, the skirts of his coat extremely long; afterwards

fashion changed, and they were worn shorter; but the Emperor held with

singular tenacity to the length of his, and I had much trouble in

inducing him to abandon this fashion, and it was only by a subterfuge

that I at last succeeded. Each time I ordered a new coat for his

Majesty, I directed the tailor to shorten the skirts by an inch at least,

until at last, without his being aware of it, they were no longer

ridiculous. He did not abandon his old habits any more readily on this

point than on all others; and his greatest desire was that his clothes

should not be too tight, in consequence of which there were times when he

did not make a very elegant appearance. The King of Naples, the man in

all France who dressed with the most care, and nearly always in good

taste, sometimes took the liberty of bantering the Emperor slightly about

his dress. "Sire," said he to the Emperor, "your Majesty dresses too

much like a good family man. Pray, Sire, be an example to your faithful

subjects of good taste in dress."--"Would you like me, in order to please

you," replied the Emperor, "to dress like a scented fop, like a dandy, in

fine, like the King of Naples and the Two Sicilies. As for me, I must

hold on to my old habitudes."--"Yes, Sire, and to your 'habits tues',"

added the king on one occasion. "Detestable!" cried the Emperor; "that

is worthy of Brunet;" and they laughed heartily over this play on words,

while declaring it what the Emperor called it.

However, these discussions as to his dress being renewed at the time of

his Majesty's marriage to the Empress Marie Louise, the King of Naples

begged the Emperor to allow him to send him his tailor. His Majesty, who

sought at that time every means of pleasing his young wife, accepted the

offer of his brother-in-law; and that very day I went for Leger, King

Joachim's tailor, and brought him with me to the chateau, recommending

him to make the suits which would be ordered as loose as possible,

certain as I was in advance, that, Monsieur Jourdain [a character in a

Moliere comedy] to the contrary, if the Emperor could not get into them

easily, he would not wear them. Leger paid no attention to my advice,

but took his measure very closely. The two coats were beautifully made;

but the Emperor pronounced them uncomfortable, and wore them only once,

and Leger did no more work for his Majesty. At one time, long before

this, he had ordered a very handsome coat of chestnut brown velvet, with

diamond buttons, which he wore to a reception of her Majesty the Empress,

with a black cravat, though the Empress Josephine had prepared for him an

elegant lace stock, which all my entreaties could not induce him to put

on.

The Emperor's vest and breeches were always of white cassimere; he

changed them every morning, and they were washed only three or four

times. Two hours after he had left his room, it often happened that his

breeches were all stained with ink, owing to his habit of wiping his pen

on them, and scattering ink all around him by knocking his pen against

the table. Nevertheless, as he dressed in the morning for the whole day,

he did not change his clothes on that account, and remained in that

condition the remainder of the day. I have already said that he wore

none but white silk stockings, his shoes, which were very light and thin,

being lined with silk, and his boots lined throughout inside with white

fustian; and when he felt an itching on one of his legs, he rubbed it

with the heel of his shoe or the boot on the other leg, which added still

more to the effect of the ink blotches. His shoe-buckles were oval,

either plain gold or with medallions, and he also wore gold buckles on

his garters. I never saw him wear pantaloons under the Empire.

Owing to the Emperor's tenacity to old customs, his shoemaker in the

first days of the Empire was still the same he employed at the military

school; and as his shoes had been made by the same measure, from that

time, and no new one ever taken, his shoes, as well as his boots, were

always badly made and ungraceful. For a long time he wore them pointed;

but I persuaded him to have them 'en bec de canne', as that was the

fashion. At last his old measure was found too small, and I got his

Majesty's consent to have a new one-taken; so I summoned the shoemaker,

who had succeeded his father, and was exceedingly stupid. He had never

seen the Emperor, although he worked for him; and when he learned that he

was expected to appear before his Majesty, his head was completely

turned. How could he dare to present himself before the Emperor? What

costume must he wear? I encouraged him, and told him he would need a

black French coat, with breeches, and hat, etc.; and he presented himself

thus adorned at the Tuileries. On entering his Majesty's chamber he made

a deep bow, and stood much embarrassed. "It surely cannot be you who

made shoes for me at the l'ecole militaire?"--"No, your Majesty, Emperor

and King, it was my father."--"And why don't he do so now?"--"Sire, the

Emperor and King, because he is dead."--"How much do you make me pay for

my shoes?"--"Your Majesty, Emperor and King, pays eighteen francs for

them."--"That is very dear."--"Your Majesty, Emperor and King, could pay

much more for them if he would." The Emperor laughed heartily at this

simplicity, and let him take his measure; but the Emperor's laughter had

so completely disconcerted the poor man that, when he approached him,

his hat under his arm, making a thousand bows, his sword caught between

his legs, was broken in two, and made him fall on his hands and knees,

not to remain there long, however, for his Majesty's roars of laughter

increasing, and being at last freed from his sword, the poor shoemaker

took the Emperor's measure with more ease, and withdrew amidst profuse

apologies.

All his Majesty's linen was of extremely fine quality, marked with an "N"

in a coronet; at first he wore no suspenders, but at last began using

them, and found them very comfortable. He wore next his body vests made

of English flannel, and the Empress Josephine had a dozen cashmere vests

made for his use in summer.

Many persons have believed that the Emperor wore a cuirass under his

clothes when walking and while in the army. This is entirely false: the

Emperor never put on a cuirass, nor anything resembling one, under his

coat any more than over it.

The Emperor wore no jewelry; he never had in his pockets either purse or

silver, but only his handkerchief, his snuff-box, and his bonbon-box.

He wore on his coat only a star and two crosses, that of the Legion of

Honor, and that of the Iron Crown. Under his uniform and on his vest he

wore a red ribbon, the ends of which could just be seen.

When there was a reception at the chateau, or he held a review, he put

this grand cordon outside his coat.

His hat, the shape of which it will be useless to describe while

portraits of his Majesty exist, was-extremely fine and very light, lined

with silk and wadded; and on it he wore neither tassels nor plumes, but

simply a narrow, flat band of silk and a little tricolored cockade.

The Emperor purchased several watches from Breguet and Meunier,--very

plain repeaters, without ornamentation or figures, the face covered with

glass, the back gold. M. Las Casas speaks of a watch with a double gold

case, marked with the cipher "B," and which never left the Emperor. I

never saw anything of the sort, though I was keeper of all the jewels,

and even had in my care for several days the crown diamonds. The Emperor

often broke his watch by throwing it at random, as I have said before, on

any piece of furniture in his bedroom. He had two alarm-clocks made by

Meunier, one in his carriage, the other at the head of his bed, which he

set with a little green silk cord, and also a third, but it was old and

wornout so that it would not work; it is this last which had belonged to

Frederick the Great, and was brought from Berlin.

The swords of his Majesty were very plain, with gold mountings, and an

owl on the hilt.

The Emperor had two swords similar to the one he wore the day of the

battle of Austerlitz. One of these swords was given to the Emperor

Alexander, as the reader will learn later, and the other to Prince Eugene

in 1814. That which the Emperor wore at Austerlitz, and on which he

afterwards had engraved the name and date of that memorable battle, was

to have been inclosed in the column of the Place Vendome; but his Majesty

still had it, I think, while he was at St. Helena.

He had also several sabers that he had worn in his first campaigns, and

on which were engraved the names of the battles in which he had used

them. They were distributed among the various general officers of his

Majesty the Emperor, of which distribution I will speak later.

When the Emperor was about to quit his capital to rejoin his army, or for

a simple journey through the departments, we never knew the exact moment

of his departure. It was necessary to send in advance on various roads a

complete service for the bedroom, kitchen, and stables; this sometimes

waited three weeks, or even a month, and when his Majesty at length set

out, that which was waiting on the road he did not take was ordered to

return. I have often thought that the Emperor acted thus in order to

disconcert those who spied on his proceedings, and to baffle their

schemes.

The day he was to set out no one could discover that fact from him, and

everything went on as usual. After a concert, a play, or any other

amusement which had collected a large number of people, his Majesty would

simply remark on retiring, "I shall leave at two o'clock!" Sometimes the

time was earlier, sometimes later; but he always began his journey at the

designated hour. The order was instantly announced by each of the head

servants; and all were ready at the appointed time, though the chateau

was left topsy-turvy, as may be seen from the picture I have given

elsewhere of the confusion at the chateau which preceded and followed the

Emperor's departure. Wherever his Majesty lodged on the journey, before

leaving he had all the expenses of himself and of his household paid,

made presents to his hosts, and gave gratuities to the servants of the

house. On Sunday the Emperor had mass celebrated by the curate of the

place, giving always as much as twenty napoleons, sometimes more, and

regulating the gift according to the needs of the poor of the parish. He

asked many questions of the cures concerning their resources, that of

their parishioners, the intelligence and morality of the population, etc.

He rarely failed to ask the number of births, deaths, marriages, and if

there were many young men and girls of a marriageable age. If the cure

replied to these questions in a satisfactory manner, and if he had not

been too-long in saying mass, he could count on the favor of his Majesty;

his church and his poor would find themselves well provided for; and as

for himself, the Emperor left on his departure, or had sent to him, a

commission as chevalier of the Legion of Honor. His Majesty preferred to

be answered with confidence and without timidity; he even endured

contradiction; and one could without any risk reply inaccurately; this

was almost always overlooked, for he paid little attention to the reply,

but he never failed to turn away from those who spoke to him in a

hesitating or embarrassed manner. Whenever the Emperor took up his

residence at any place, there were on duty, night and day, a page and an

aide-decamp, who slept on sacking beds. There was also constantly in

attendance, in an antechamber, a quartermaster and sergeant of the

stables prepared to order, when necessary, the equipages, which they took

care to keep always in readiness to move; horses fully saddled and

bridled, and carriages harnessed with two horses, left the stables on the

first signal of his Majesty. These attendants were relieved every two

hours, like sentinels.

I said above that his Majesty liked prompt replies, and those which

showed vivacity and sprightliness. I will give two anecdotes in support

of this assertion. Once, while the Emperor was holding a review on the

Place du Carrousel, his horse reared, and in the efforts his Majesty made

to control him, his hat fell to the ground; a lieutenant (his name, I

think, was Rabusson), at whose feet the hat fell, picked it up, and came

out from the front ranks to offer it to his Majesty. "Thanks, Captain,"

said the Emperor, still engaged in quieting his horse. "In what

regiment?"--"Sire?" asked the officer. The Emperor, then regarding him

more attentively, and perceiving his mistake, said to him, smiling, "Ah,

that is so, monsieur; in the Guard."

The new captain received the commission which he owed to his presence of

mind, but which he had in fact well earned by his bravery and devotion to

duty.

At another review, his Majesty perceived in the ranks of a regiment of

the line an old soldier, whose arms were decorated with three chevrons.

He recognized him instantly as having seen him in the army of Italy, and

approaching him, said, "Well, my brave fellow, why have you not the

cross? You do not look like a bad fellow."--"Sire," replied the old

soldier, with sorrowful gravity, "I have three times been put on the list

for the cross."--"You shall not be disappointed a fourth time," replied

the Emperor; and he ordered Marshal Berthier to place on the list, for

the next promotion, the brave soldier, who was soon made a chevalier of

the Legion of Honor.

CHAPTER XXI.

Pope Pius VII. had left Rome early in November, 1804; and his Holiness,

accompanied by General Menou, administrator of Piedmont, arrived at Mont

Cenis, on the morning of Nov. 15. The road of Mont Cenis had been

surveyed and smoothed, and all dangerous points made secure by barriers.

The Holy Father was received by M. Poitevin-Maissemy, prefect of Mont

Blanc, and after a short visit to the hospice, crossed the mountain in a

sedan chair, escorted by an immense crowd, who knelt to receive his

blessing as he passed.

Nov. 17 his Holiness resumed his carriage, in which he made the remainder

of the journey, accompanied in the same manner. The Emperor went to meet

the Holy Father, and met him on the road to Nemours in the forest of

Fontainebleau. The Emperor dismounted from his horse, and the two

sovereigns returned to Fontainebleau in the same carriage. It is said

that neither took precedence over the other, and that, in order to avoid

this, they both entered the carriage at the same instant, his Majesty by

the door on the right, and his Holiness by that on the left.

I do not know whether it is true that the Emperor used devices and

stratagems in order to avoid compromising his dignity, but I do know that

it would have been impossible to show more regard and attention to the

venerable old man. The day after his arrival at Fontainebleau, the Pope

made his entrance into Paris with all the honors usually rendered to the

head of the Empire. Apartments had been prepared for him at the

Tuileries in the Pavilion of Flora; and as a continuation of the delicate

and affectionate consideration which his Majesty had shown from the

beginning in welcoming the Holy Father, he found his apartments, in

arrangement and furniture, an exact duplicate of those he occupied at

Rome. He evinced much surprise and gratitude at this attention, which he

himself, it is said, with his usual delicacy, called entirely filial;

desiring thus to acknowledge the respect which the Emperor had shown him

on every occasion, and the new title of eldest son of the Church, which

his Majesty was about to assume with the imperial crown.

Every morning I went, by order of his Majesty, to inquire after the

health of the Holy Father. Pius VII. had a noble and handsome

countenance, an air of angelic sweetness, and a gentle, well modulated

voice; he spoke little, and always slowly, but with grace; his tastes

were extremely simple, and his abstemiousness incredible; he was

indulgent to others and most lenient in his judgments. I must admit that

on the score of good cheer the persons of his suite made no pretense of

imitating the Holy Father, but, on the contrary, took most unbecoming

advantage of the Emperor's orders, that everything requested should be

furnished. The tables set for them were abundantly and even

magnificently served; which, however; did not prevent a whole basket of

Chambertin being requested each day for the Pope's private table, though

he dined alone and drank only water.

The sojourn of nearly five months which the Holy Father made at Paris was

a time of edification for the faithful; and his Holiness must have

carried away a most flattering opinion of the populace, who, having

ceased to practice, and not having witnessed for more than ten years, the

ceremonies of the Catholic religion, had returned to them with

irrepressible zeal. When the Pope was not detained in his apartments by

his delicate health in regard to which the difference in the climate,

compared with that of Italy, and the severity of the winter, required

him to take great precautions, he visited the churches, the museum, and

the establishments of public utility; and if the severe weather prevented

his going out, the persons who requested this favor were presented to

Pius VII. in the grand gallery of the Museum Napoleon. I was one day

asked by some ladies of my acquaintance to accompany them to this

audience of the Holy Father, and took much pleasure in doing so.

The long gallery of the museum was filled with ladies and gentlemen,

arranged in double lines, the greater part of whom were mothers of

families, with their children at their knees or in their arms, ready to

be presented for the Holy Father's blessing; and Pius VII. gazed on these

children with a sweetness and mildness truly angelic. Preceded by the

governor of the museum, and followed by the cardinals and lords of his

household, he advanced slowly between these two ranks of the faithful,

who fell on their knees as he passed, often stopping to place his hand on

the head of a child, to address a few words to the mother, or to give his

ring to be kissed. His dress was a plain white cassock without ornament.

Just as the Pope reached us, the director of the museum presented a lady

who, like the others, was awaiting the blessing of his Holiness on her

knees. I heard the director call this lady Madame, the Countess de

Genlis, upon which the Holy Father held out to her his ring, raised her

in the most affable manner, and said a few flattering words complimenting

her on her works, and the happy influence which they had exercised in

re-establishing the Catholic religion in France.

Sellers of chaplets and rosaries must have made their fortunes during

this winter, for in some shops more than one hundred dozen were sold per

day. During the month of January, by this branch of industry alone, one

merchant of the Rue Saint-Denis made forty thousand francs. All those

who presented themselves at the audience of the Holy Father, or who

pressed around him as he went out, made him bless chaplets for

themselves, for all their relations, and for their friends in Paris or in

the provinces. The cardinals also distributed an incredible quantity in

their visits to the various hospitals, to the Hotel des Invalides, etc.,

and even at private houses.

It was arranged that the coronation of their Majesties should take place

on Dec. 2. On the morning of this great day all at the chateau were

astir very early, especially the persons attached to the service of the

wardrobe. The Emperor himself arose at eight o'clock. It was no small

affair to array his Majesty in the rich costume which had been prepared

for the occasion; and the whole time I was dressing him he uttered

unlimited maledictions and apostrophes against embroiderers, tailors, and

furnishers generally. As I passed him each article of his dress, "Now,

that is something handsome, Monsieur le drole," said he (and my ears had

their part in the play), "but we shall see the bills for it." This was

the costume: silk stockings embroidered in gold, with the imperial

coronet on the clocks; white velvet boots laced and embroidered with

gold; white velvet breeches embroidered in gold on the seams; diamond

buckles and buttons on his garters; his vest, also of white velvet,

embroidered in gold with diamond buttons; a crimson velvet coat, with

facings of white velvet, and embroidered on all the seams, the whole

sparkling with gold and gems. A short cloak, also of crimson, and lined

with white satin, hung from his left shoulder, and was caught on the

right over his breast with a double clasp of diamonds. On such occasions

it was customary for the grand chamberlain to pass the shirt; but it

seems that his Majesty did not remember this law of etiquette, and it was

I alone who performed that office, as I was accustomed. The shirt was

one of those ordinarily worn by his Majesty, but of very beautiful

cambric, for the Emperor would wear only very fine linen; but ruffles of

very handsome lace had been added, and his cravat was of the most

exquisite muslin, and his collar of superb lace. The black velvet cap

was surmounted by two white aigrettes, and surrounded with a band of

diamonds, caught together by the Regent. The Emperor set out, thus

dressed, from the Tuileries; and it was not till he had reached

Notre-Dame, that he placed over his shoulders the grand coronation mantle.

This was of crimson velvet, studded with golden bees, lined with white

satin, and fastened with a gold cord and tassel. The weight of it was at

least eighty pounds, and, although it was held up by four grand

dignitaries, bore him down by its weight. Therefore, on returning to the

chateau, he freed himself as soon as possible from all this rich and

uncomfortable apparel; and while resuming his grenadier uniform, he

repeated over and over, "At last I can get my breath." He was certainly

much more at his ease on the day of battle.

The jewels which were used at the coronation of her Majesty the Empress,

and which consisted of a crown, a diadem, and a girdle, came from the

establishment of M. Margueritte. The crown had eight branches, which

supported a golden globe surmounted by a cross, each branch set with

diamonds, four being in the shape of palm and four of myrtle leaves.

Around the crown ran a band set with eight enormous emeralds, while the

bandeau which rested on the brow shone with amethysts.

The diadem was composed of four rows of magnificent pearls entwined with

leaves made of diamonds, each of which matched perfectly, and was mounted

with a skill as admirable as the beauty of the material. On her brow

were several large brilliants, each one alone weighing one hundred and

forty-nine grains. The girdle, finally, was a golden ribbon ornamented

With thirty-nine rose-colored stones. The scepter of his Majesty the

Emperor had been made by M. Odiot; it was of silver, entwined with a

golden serpent, and surmounted by a globe on which Charlemagne was

seated. The hand of Justice and the crown, as well as the sword, were of

most exquisite workmanship, but it would take too long to describe them;

they were from the establishment of M. Biennais.

At nine o'clock in the morning the Pope left the Tuileries for Notre

Dame, in a carriage drawn by eight handsome gray horses. From the

imperial of the coach rose a tiara surrounded by the insignia of the

papacy in gilt bronze, while the first chamberlain of his Holiness,

mounted on a mule, preceded the carriage, bearing a silver gilt cross.

There was an interval of about one hour between the arrival of the Pope

at Notre Dame and that of their Majesties, who left the Tuileries

precisely at eleven o'clock, which fact was announced by numerous salutes

of artillery. Their Majesties' carriage, glittering with gold and

adorned with magnificent paintings, was drawn by eight bay horses

superbly caparisoned.

Above the imperial of this coach was a crown supported by four eagles

with extended wings. The panels of this carriage, which was the object

of universal admiration, were of glass instead of wood; and it was so

built that the back was exactly like the front, which similarity caused

their Majesties, on entering it, to make the absurd mistake of placing

themselves on the front seat. The Empress was first to perceive this,

and both she and her husband were much amused.

I could not attempt to describe the cortege, although I still retain most

vivid recollections of the scene, because 1 should have too much to say.

Picture to yourself, then, ten thousand cavalry superbly mounted,

defiling between two rows of infantry equally imposing, each body

covering a distance of nearly half a league. Then think of the number of

the equipages, of their magnificence, the splendor of the trappings of

the horses, and of the uniforms of the soldiers; of the crowds of

musicians playing coronation marches, added to the ringing of bells and

booming of cannon; then to all this add the effect produced by this

immense multitude of from four to five hundred thousand spectators; and

still one would be very far from obtaining a correct idea of this

astonishing magnificence.

In the month of December it is very rare that the weather is fine, but on

that day the heavens seemed auspicious to the Emperor and just as he

entered the archiepiscopal church, quite a heavy fog, which had lasted

all the morning, was suddenly dissipated, and a brilliant flood of

sunlight added its splendor to that of the cortege. This singular

circumstance was remarked by the spectators, and increased the

enthusiasm.

All the streets through which the cortege passed were carefully cleared

and sanded; and the inhabitants decorated the fronts of their houses

according to their varied taste and means, with drapery, tapestry,

colored paper, and some even with garlands of yew-leaves, almost all the

shops on the Quai des Orfevres being ornamented with festoons of

artificial flowers.

The religious ceremony lasted nearly four hours, and must have been

extremely fatiguing to the principal actors. The personal attendants

were necessarily on duty continually in the apartment prepared for the

Emperor at the archiepiscopal palace; but the curious (and all were so)

relieved each other from time to time, and each thus had an opportunity

of witnessing the ceremony at leisure.

I have never heard before or since such imposing music: it was the

composition of Messieurs Paesiello, Rose, and Lesueur, precentors of

their Majesties; and the orchestra and choruses comprised the finest

musicians of Paris. Two orchestras with four choruses, including more

than three hundred musicians, were led, the one by M. Persuis, the other

by M. Rey, both leaders of the Emperor's bands. M. Lais, first singer to

his Majesty, M. Kreutzer, and M. Baillot, first violinists of the same

rank, had gathered the finest talent which the imperial chapel, the

opera, and the grand lyric theaters possessed, either as instrumental

players or male and female singers. Innumerable military bands, under

the direction of M. Lesuem, executed heroic marches, one of which,

ordered by the Emperor from M. Lesueur for the army of Boulogne, is still

to-day, according to the judgment of connoisseurs, worthy to stand in the

first rank of the most beautiful and most imposing musical compositions.

As for me, this music affected me to such an extent that I became pale

and trembling, and convulsive tremors ran through all my body while

listening to it.

His Majesty would not allow the Pope to touch the crown, but placed it on

his head himself. It was a golden diadem, formed of oak and laurel

leaves. His Majesty then took the crown intended for the Empress, and,

having donned it himself for a few moments, placed it on the brow of his

august wife, who knelt before him. Her agitation was so great that she

shed tears, and, rising, fixed on the Emperor a look of tenderness and

gratitude; and the Emperor returned her glance without abating in the

least degree the dignity required by such an imposing ceremony before so

many witnesses.

In spite of this constraint their hearts understood each other in the

midst of the brilliancy and applause of the assembly, and assuredly no

idea of divorce entered the Emperor's mind at that moment; and, for my

part, I am very sure that this cruel separation would never have taken

place if her Majesty the Empress could have borne children, or even if

the young Napoleon, son of the King of Holland and Queen Hortense, had

not died just at the time the Emperor had decided to adopt him. Yet I

must admit that the fear, or rather the certainty, of Josephine not

bearing him an heir to the throne, drove the Emperor to despair; and I

have many times heard him pause suddenly in the midst of his work, and

exclaim with chagrin, "To whom shall I leave all this?"

After the mass, his Excellency, Cardinal Fesch, grand almoner of France,

bore the Book of the Gospels to the Emperor, who thereupon, from his

throne, pronounced the imperial oath in a voice so firm and distinct that

it was heard by all present. Then, for the twentieth time perhaps, the

cry of 'Vive l'Empereur' sprang to the lips of all, the 'Te Deum' was

chanted, and' their Majesties left the church in the same manner as they

had entered. The Pope remained in the church about a quarter of an hour

after the sovereigns; and, when he rose to withdraw, universal

acclamations accompanied him from the choir to the portal.

Their Majesties did not return to the chateau until half-past six, and

the Pope not till nearly seven. On their entrance to the church, their

Majesties passed through the archbishop's palace, the buildings of which,

as I have said, communicated with Notre Dame by means of a wooden

gallery. This gallery, covered with slate, and hung with magnificent

tapestry, ended in a platform, also of wood, erected before the principal

entrance, and made to harmonize perfectly with the gothic architecture of

this handsome metropolitan church. This platform rested upon four

columns, decorated with inscriptions in letters of gold, enumerating the

names of the principal towns of France, whose mayors had been deputized

to attend the coronation. Above these columns was a painting in relief,

representing Clovis and Charlemagne seated on their thrones, scepter in

hand; and in the center of this frontispiece were presented the arms of

the Empire, draped with the banners of the sixteen cohorts of the Legion

of Honor, while on each side were towers, surmounted by golden eagles.

The inside of this portico, as well as the gallery, was shaped like a

roof, painted sky-blue, and sown with stars.

The throne of their Majesties was erected on a stage in the shape of a

semicircle, and covered with a bluff carpet studded with bees, and was

reached by twenty-two steps. The throne, draped in red velvet, was also

covered by a pavilion of the same color, the left wing of which extended

over the Empress, the princesses, and their maids of honor, and the right

over the two brothers of the Emperor, with the arch-chancellor and the

arch-treasurer.

Nothing could be grander than the bird's-eye view of the garden of the

Tuileries on the evening of this auspicious day, the grand parterre,

encircled by illuminated colonnades from arch to arch of which were

festooned garlands of rose-colored lights; the grand promenade outlined

by columns, above which stars glittered; the terraces on each side filled

with orange-trees, the branches of which were covered with innumerable

lights; while every tree on the adjoining walks presented as brilliant a

spectacle; and finally, to crown all this magnificent blaze of light, an

immense star was suspended above the Place de la Concorde, and outshone

all else. This might in truth be called a palace of fire.

On the occasion of the coronation his Majesty made magnificent presents

to the metropolitan church. I remarked, among other things, a chalice

ornamented with bas-reliefs, designed by the celebrated Germain, a pyx,

two flagons with the waiter, a holy-water vessel, and a plate for

offerings, the whole in silver gilt, and beautifully engraved. By the

orders of his Majesty, transmitted through the minister of the interior,

there was also presented to M. d'Astros, canon of Notre Dame, a box

containing the crown of thorns, a nail, and a piece of the wood of the

true cross, and a small vial, containing, it was said, some of the blood

of our Lord, with an iron scourge which Saint Louis had used, and a tunic

which had also belonged to that king.

In the morning Marshal Murat, Governor of Paris, had given a magnificent

breakfast to the princes of Germany who had come to Paris in order to be

present at the coronation; and after breakfast the marshal-governor

conveyed them to Notre Dame in four carriages, each drawn by six horses,

accompanied by an escort of a hundred men on horseback, and commanded by

one of his aides-de-camp. This escort was especially noticeable for the

elegance and richness of its uniforms.

The day after this grand and memorable solemnity was one of public

rejoicing. From the early morning an immense crowd of the populace,

enjoying the magnificent weather, spread itself over the boulevards, the

quays, and the public squares, on which were prepared an infinite variety

of amusements.

The heralds-at-arms went at an early hour through all the public places,

throwing to the crowd, which pressed around them, medals struck in memory

of the coronation. These medals represented on one side the likeness of

the Emperor, his brow encircled with the crown of the Caesars, with this

motto: Napoleon, Empereur. On the reverse side was the figure of a

magistrate, with the attributes of his office around him, and that of an

ancient warrior, bearing on a shield a hero crowned, and covered with the

imperial mantle. Above was written: The Senate and the People. Soon

after the passage of the heralds-at-arms the rejoicings commenced, and

were prolonged far into the evening.

There had been erected on the Place Louis XV., which was called then the

Place de la Concorde, four large square rooms of temporary woodwork, for

dancing and waltzing. Stages for the presentation of pantomimes and

farces were placed on the boulevards here and there; groups of singers

and musicians executed national airs and warlike marches; greased poles,

rope-dancers, sports of all kinds, attracted the attention of promenaders

at every step, and enabled them to await without impatience the

illuminations and the fireworks.

The display of fireworks was most admirable. From the Place Louis XV.

to the extreme end of the Boulevard Saint-Antoine, ran a double line of

colored lights in festoons. The palace of the Corps-Legislatif, formerly

the Garde-Meuble, was resplendent with lights, and the gates of

Saint-Denis and Saint-Martin were covered with lamps from top to bottom.

In the evening all those interested betook themselves to the quays and

bridges, in order to witness the fireworks which were set off from the

Bridge de la Concorde (now called Bridge Louis XVI.), and which far

surpassed in magnificence all that had ever been seen.

CHAPTER XXII.

Wednesday, Dec. 5, three days after the coronation, the Emperor made a

distribution of the colors on the Champ-de-Mars.

In front of Ecole-Militaire a balcony was erected, covered with awnings,

and placed on a level with the apartments on the first floor. The middle

awning, supported by four columns, each one of which was a gilded figure

representing Victory, covered the throne on which their Majesties were

seated. A most fortunate precaution, for on that day the weather was

dreadful; the thaw had come suddenly, and every one knows what a Paris

thaw is.

Around the throne were ranged princes and princesses, grand dignitaries,

ministers, marshals of the Empire, grand officers of the crown, the

ladies of the court, and the council of state.

This balcony was divided on the right and left into sixteen compartments,

decorated with banners, and crowned with eagles, these divisions

representing the sixteen cohorts of the Legion of Honor. Those on the

right were occupied by the Senate, the officers of the Legion of Honor,

the court of appeals, and the chiefs of the national treasury, and those

on the left by the Tribunate and the Corps-Legislatif.

At each end of the balcony was a pavilion. That on the side next the

city was styled the imperial tribune, and intended for foreign princes,

while the diplomatic corps and foreign personages of distinction filled

the other pavilion.

From this gallery an immense staircase descended into the Champ-de-Mars,

the first step of which formed a bench below the tribunes, and was

occupied by the presidents of the cantons, the prefects, the

sub-prefects, and the members of the municipal council. On each side of

this staircase were placed the colossal figures of France making peace

and France making war. Upon the steps were seated the colonels of

regiments, and the presidents of the electoral colleges of the

department, holding aloft the imperial eagles.

The cortege of their Majesties set out at noon from the chateau of the

Tuileries, in the same order adopted at the coronation: the chasseurs of

the guard and the squadrons of mamelukes marching in front, the Legion

d' Elite and the mounted grenadiers following the municipal guard; while

the grenadiers of the guard closed up the line. Their Majesties having

entered l'Ecole-Militaire, received the homage of the diplomatic corps,

who were stationed for this purpose in the reception-rooms. Then the

Emperor and Empress, having donned their insignia of royalty, took their

seats upon the throne, while the air was rent with reiterated discharges

of artillery and universal acclamations. At a given signal the

deputations of the army, scattered over the Champ-de-Mars, placed

themselves in solid column, and approached the throne amid a flourish of

trumpets. The Emperor then rose, and immediately a deep silence ensued,

while in a loud, clear tone he pronounced these words, "Soldiers, behold

your standards! These eagles will serve you always as a rallying point.

They will go wherever your Emperor may judge their presence necessary for

the defense of his throne and of his people. Will you swear to sacrifice

even your lives in their defense, and to keep them always by your valor

in the path to victory? Do you swear it?"--"We swear it," repeated all

the colonels in chorus, while the presidents of the colleges waved the

flags they bore. "We swear it," said in its turn the whole army, while

the bands played the celebrated march known as "The March of the

Standards."

This intense enthusiasm was communicated to the spectators, who, in spite

of the rain, pressed in crowds upon the terraces which surrounded the

enclosure of the Champ-de-Mars. Soon the eagles took their designated

places, and the army defiled in divisions before the throne of their

Majesties.

Although nothing had been spared to give this ceremony every possible

magnificence, it was by no means brilliant. It is true, the object of

the occasion was imposing; but how could an impressive ceremony be held

in a deluge of melted snow, and amid a sea of mud, which was the

appearance the Champ-de-Mars presented that day? The troops were under

arms from six in the morning, exposed to rain, and forced to endure it

with no apparent necessity so at least they regarded it. The

distribution of standards was to these men nothing more than a review;

and surely it must strike a soldier as a very different matter to brave

the weather on the field of battle, from what it is to stand idle,

exposed to it for hours, with shining gun and empty cartridge-box, on a

parade-day.

The cortege returned to the Tuileries at five o'clock, after which there

was a grand banquet in the gallery of Diana, at which the Pope, the

sovereign elector of Ratisbonne, the princes and princesses, the grand

dignitaries, the diplomatic corps, and many other persons were guests.

Their Majesties' table was placed in the midst of the gallery, upon a

platform, and covered with a magnificent canopy, under which the Emperor

seated himself on the right of the Empress, and the Pope on her left.

The serving was done by the pages. The grand chamberlain, the grand

equerry, and the colonel-general of the guard stood before his Majesty;

the grand marshal of the palace on his right, and in front of the table,

and lower down, the prefect of the palace; on the left, and opposite the

grand marshal, was the grand master of ceremonies; all these also

standing. On either side of their Majesties' table were those of their

imperial highnesses, of the diplomatic corps, of the ministers and grand

officers, and lastly that of the ladies of honor. At night there was

given a reception, concert, and ball. The day after the distribution of

the eagles, his imperial highness Prince Joseph presented to his Majesty

the presidents of the electoral colleges of the departments; and the

presidents of the colleges of the arrondissements and their prefects were

next introduced, and received by his Majesty.

The Emperor conversed with the greater part of these officials on the

needs of each department, and thanked them for their zeal in assisting

him. Then he recommended to them especially the execution of the

conscript law. "Without conscription," said his Majesty, "we should have

neither power nor national independence. All Europe is subject to

conscription. Our success and the strength of our position depend on our

having a national army, and it is necessary to maintain this advantage

with the greatest care."

These presentations occupied several days, during which his Majesty

received in turn, and always with the same ceremonial, the presidents of

the high courts of justice, the presidents of the councils-general of

departments, the subprefects, the deputies of the colonies, the mayors

of the thirty-six principal cities, the presidents of the cantons, the

vice-presidents of the chambers of commerce, and the presidents of the

consistories.

Some days later the city of Paris gave, in honor of their Majesties, a

fete whose brilliance and magnificence surpassed any description that

could possibly be given. On this occasion the Emperor, the Empress, and

the princes Joseph and Louis, rode together in the coronation carriage;

and batteries placed upon the Pont-Neuf announced the moment at which

their Majesties began to ascend the steps of the Hotel de Ville. At the

same time, buffets with pieces of fowl and fountains of wine attracted an

immense crowd to the chief squares of each of the twelve municipalities

of Paris, almost every individual of which had his share in the

distribution of eatables, thanks to the precaution which the authorities

took of distributing to none except those who presented tickets. The

front of the Hotel de Ville was brilliant with colored lamps; but what

seemed to me the finest part of the whole display was a vessel pierced

for eighty cannon, whose decks, masts, sails, and cordage were distinctly

outlined in colored lights. The crowning piece of all, which the Emperor

himself set off, represented the Saint-Bernard as a volcano in eruption,

in the midst of glaciers covered with snow. In it appeared the Emperor,

glorious in the light, seated on his horse at the head of his army,

climbing the steep summit of the mountain. More than seven hundred

persons attended the ball, and yet there was no confusion. Their

Majesties withdrew early. The Empress, on entering the apartment

prepared for her at the Hotel de Ville, had found there a most

magnificent toilets-service, all in gold. After it was brought to the

Tuileries it was for many days her Majesty's chief source of

entertainment and subject of conversation. She wished every one to see

and admire it; and, in truth, no one who saw it could fail to do so.

Their Majesties gave permission that this, with a service which the city

had presented to the Emperor, should be placed on exhibition for several

days, for the gratification of the public.

After the fireworks a superb balloon was sent up, the whole circumference

of which, with the basket, and the ropes which attached it to the

balloon, were decorated with countless festoons of colored lights. This

enormous body of colored fire rising slowly and majestically into the air

was a magnificent spectacle. It remained suspended for a while exactly

over the city of Paris, as if to wait till public curiosity was fully

satisfied, then, having reached a height at which it encountered a more

rapid current of air, it suddenly disappeared, driven by the wind towards

the south. After its disappearance it was thought of no more, but

fifteen days later a very singular incident recalled it to public

attention.

While I was dressing the Emperor the first day of the year, or the day

before, one of his ministers was introduced; and the Emperor having

inquired the news in Paris, as he always did of those whom he saw early

in the morning, the minister replied, "I saw Cardinal Caprara late

yesterday evening, and I learned from him a very singular circumstance."

--"What was it? about what?" and his Majesty, imagining doubtless that it

was some political incident, was preparing to carry off his minister into

his cabinet, before having completed his toilet, when his Excellency

hastened to add, "Oh, it is nothing very serious, Sire! Your Majesty

doubtless remembers that they have been discussing lately in the circle

of her Majesty the Empress the chagrin of poor Garnerin, who has not

succeeded up to this time in finding the balloon which he sent up on the

day of the fete given to your Majesty by the city of Paris. He has at

last received news of his balloon."--"Where did it fall?" asked the

Emperor. "At Rome, Sire!"--"Ah, that is really very singular."--"Yes,

Sire; Garnerin's balloon has thus, in twenty-four hours, shown your

imperial crown in the two capitals of the world." Then the minister

related to his Majesty the following details, which were published at the

time, but which I think sufficiently interesting to be repeated here.

Garnerin had attached to his balloon the following notice:

"The balloon carrying this letter was sent up at Paris on the evening of

the 25th Frimaire (Dec. 16) by Monsieur Garnerin, special aeronaut of his

Majesty the Emperor of Russia, and ordinary aeronaut of the French

government, on the occasion of a fete given by the city of Paris to the

Emperor Napoleon, celebrating his coronation. Whoever finds this balloon

will please inform M. Garnerin, who will go to the spot."

The aeronaut expected, doubtless, to receive notice next day that his

balloon had fallen in the plain of Saint-Denis, or in that of Grenelle;

for it is to be presumed that he hardly dreamed of going to Rome when he

engaged to go to the spot. More than fifteen days passed before he

received the expected notice; and he had probably given up his balloon as

lost, when there came the following letter from the nuncio of his

Holiness:

"Cardinal Caprara is charged by his Excellency Cardinal Gonsalvi,

Secretary of State of His Holiness, to remit to M. Garnerin a copy

of a letter dated Dec. 18. He hastens to send it, and also to add a

copy of the note which accompanied it. The cardinal also takes this

occasion to assure Monsieur Garnerin of his highest esteem."

To this letter was added a translation of the report made to the

cardinal, secretary of state at Rome, by the Duke of Mondragone, and

dated from Anguillora, near Rome, Dec. 18:

"Yesterday evening about twenty-four o'clock there passed through

the air a globe of astonishing size, which fell upon Lake Bracciano,

and had the appearance of a house. Boatmen were sent to bring it to

land; but they were not able to do so, as a high wind prevailed,

accompanied by snow. This morning early they succeeded in bringing

it ashore. This globe is of oiled silk, covered with netting, and

the wire gallery is a little broken. It seems to have been lighted

by lamps and colored lanterns, of which much debris remains.

Attached to the globe was found the following notice." (Which is

given above).

Thus we see that this balloon, which left Paris at seven o'clock on the

evening of Dec. 16, had fallen next day, the 17th, near Rome, at

twenty-four o'clock, that is to say, at sunset. It had crossed France,

the Alps, etc., and passed over a space of more than three hundred

leagues in twenty-two hours, its rate of speed being then fifteen

leagues (45 miles) per hour; and, what renders this still more

remarkable, is the fact that its weight was increased by decorations

weighing five hundred pounds.

An account of the former trips of this balloon will not be without

interest. Its first ascension was made in the presence of their Prussian

Majesties and the whole court, upon which occasion it carried M.

Garnerin, his wife, and M. Gaertner, and descended upon the frontiers of

Saxony.

The second ascension was at St. Petersburg, in the presence of the

Emperor, the two Empresses, and the court, carrying Monsieur and Madame

Garnerin; and it fell a short distance off in a marsh. This was the

first balloon ascension ever seen in Russia.

The third trial was also at St. Petersburg, in the presence of the

imperial family. M. Garnerin ascended, accompanied by General Suolf;

and the two travelers were transported across the Gulf of Friedland in

three-quarters of an hour, and descended at Krasnoe-selo, twenty-five

versts from St. Petersburg. The fourth trial took place at Moscow, and

Garnerin ascended more than four thousand toises [24,000 ft.] He had

many harrowing experiences, and at the end of seven hours descended

three hundred and thirty versts [200 miles] from Moscow, in the

neighborhood of the old frontiers of Russia. This same balloon was

again used at the ascension which Madame Garnerin made at Moscow with

Madame Toucheninolf, in the midst of a frightful storm, and amid flashes

of lightning which killed three men within three hundred paces of the

balloon, at the very instant of the ascension. These ladies descended

without accident twenty-one versts from Moscow.

The city of Paris gave a gratuity of six hundred francs to the boatmen

who had drawn out of Lake Bracciano the balloon, which was brought back

to Paris, and placed in the museum of the Hotel de Ville.

I was a witness that same day of the kindness with which the Emperor

received the petition of a poor woman, a notary's wife, I believe, whose

husband had been condemned on account of some crime, I know not what, to

a long imprisonment. As the carriage of their Imperial Majesties passed

before the Palais-Royal, two women, one already old, the other sixteen or

seventeen years of age, sprang to the door, crying, "Pardon for my

husband, pardon for my father."

The Emperor immediately, in a loud tone, gave the order to stop his

carriage, and held out his hand for the petition which the older of the

two women would give to no one but him, at the same time consoling her

with kind words, and showing a most touching interest lest she might be

hurt by the horses of the marshals of the empire, who were on each side

of the carriage. While this kindness of his august brother was exciting

to the highest pitch the enthusiasm and sensibilities of the witnesses of

this scene, Prince Louis, seated on the front seat of the carriage, also

leaned out, trying to reassure the trembling young girl, and urging her

to comfort her mother, and count with certainty on the Emperor's

favorable consideration. The mother and daughter, overcome by their

emotion, could make no reply; and as the cortege passed on, I saw the

former on the point of falling in a swoon. She was carried into a

neighboring house, where she revived, and with her daughter shed tears of

gratitude and joy.

The Corps Legislatif had decreed that a statue, in white marble, should

be erected to the Emperor in their assembly hall, to commemorate the

completion of the Civil Code. On the day of the unveiling of this

monument, her Majesty the Empress, the princes Joseph, Louis, Borghese,

Bacciochi, and their wives, with other members of the imperial family,

deputations of the principal orders of the state, the diplomatic corps,

and many foreigners of distinction, the marshals of the empire, and a

considerable number of general officers, assembled at seven o'clock in

the evening at the palace of the Legislative Corps.

As the Empress appeared in the hall, the entire assembly rose, and a band

of music, stationed in the neighboring stand, rendered the well-known

chorus from Gluck, "How many charms! What majesty!" Scarcely had the

first strains of this chorus been heard than each one was struck with the

happy coincidence, and applause burst forth from all sides.

By invitation of the president, Marshals Murat and Massena unveiled the

statue; and all eyes were fixed on this image of the Emperor, his brows

encircled with a crown of laurel, and entwined with oak and olive leaves.

When silence had succeeded to the acclamations excited by this sight,

M. de Vaublanc mounted the tribune, and pronounced a discourse, which was

loudly applauded in the assembly, whose sentiments it faithfully

expressed.

"Gentlemen," said the orator, "you have celebrated the completion of the

Civil Code of France by an act of admiration and of gratitude; you have

awarded a statue to the illustrious prince whose firmness and

perseverance have led to the completion of that grand work, while at the

same time his vast intelligence has shed a most glorious light over this

noble department of human institutions. First Consul then, Emperor of

the French to-day, he appears in the temple of the laws, his head adorned

with a triumphal crown as victory has so often adorned it, while

foretelling that this should change to the diadem of kings, and covered

with the imperial mantle, noble attribute of the highest of dignities.

"Doubtless, on this solemn day, in presence of the princes and the great

of the state, before the august person whom the Empire honors for her

beautiful character even more than for the high rank of which her virtues

render her so worthy, in this glorious fete in which we would reunite all

France, you will permit my feeble voice to be raised a moment, and to

recall to you by what immortal actions Napoleon entered upon this

wonderful career of power and honor.

"If praise corrupts weak minds, it is the nourishment of great souls;

and the grand deeds of heroes are ties which bind them to their country.

To recapitulate them is to say that we expect from them a combination of

those grand thoughts, those generous sentiments, those glorious deeds, so

nobly rewarded by the admiration and gratitude of the public.

"Victorious in the three quarters of the world, peacemaker of Europe,

legislator of France, having bestowed and added provinces to the Empire,

does not this glorious record suffice to render him worthy at one and the

same time both of this august title of Emperor of the French, and this

monument erected in the temple of the laws? And yet I would wish to make

you forget these brilliant recollections which I have just recalled.

With a stronger voice than that which sounded his praises, I would say to

you: erase from your minds this glory of the legislator, this glory of

the warrior, and say to yourselves, before the 18th Brumaire, when fatal

laws were promulgated, and when the destructive principles proclaimed

anew were already dragging along men and things with a rapidity which it

would soon have been impossible to arrest--who appeared suddenly like a

beneficent star, who came to abrogate these laws, who filled up the

half-open abyss? You have survived, each one of you, through those

threatening scenes; you live, and you owe it to him whose image you now

behold. You, who were miserable outlaws, have returned, you breathe

again the gentle air of your native land, you embrace your children, your

wives, your friends; and you owe it to this great man. I speak no longer

of his glory, I no longer bear witness to that; but I invoke humanity on

the one side, gratitude on the other; and I demand of you, to whom do you

owe a happiness so great so extraordinary, so unexpected? . . . And

you, each and all, reply with me--to the great man whose image we

behold."

The president repeated in his turn a similar eulogium, in very similar

terms; and few persons then dreamed of thinking these praises

exaggerated, though their opinions have perhaps changed since.

After the ceremony the Empress, on the arm of the president, passed into

the hall of conference, where her Majesty's table had been prepared under

a magnificent dais of crimson silk, and covers for nearly three hundred

guests had been laid by the caterer Robert, in the different halls of the

palace. To the dinner succeeded a brilliant ball. The most remarkable

thing in this fete was the indescribable luxury of flowers and shrubs,

which must doubtless have been collected at great expense, owing to the

severity of the winter. The halls of Lucrece and of La Reunion, in which

the dancing quadrilles were formed, resembled an immense parterre of

roses, laurel, lilac, jonquils, lilies, and jessamine.

CHAPTER XXIII.

It was the 2d of January, 1805, exactly a month after the coronation,

that I formed with the eldest daughter of M. Charvet a union which has

been, and will I trust ever be, the greatest happiness of my life. I

promised the reader to say very little of myself; and, in fact, how could

he be interested in any details of my own private life which did not

throw additional light upon the character of the great man about whom I

have undertaken to write? Nevertheless, I will ask permission to return

for a little while to this, the most interesting of all periods to me,

and which exerted such an influence upon my whole life. Surely he who

recalls and relates his souvenirs is not forbidden to attach some

importance to those which most nearly concern himself. Moreover, even in

the most personal events of my life, there were instances in which their

Majesties took a part, and which, from that fact, are of importance in

enabling the reader to form a correct estimate of the characters of both

the Emperor and the Empress.

My wife's mother had been presented to Madame Bonaparte during the first

campaign in Italy, and she had been pleased with her; for Madame

Bonaparte, who was so perfectly good, had, in her own experience, also

endured trials, and knew how to sympathize with the sorrows of others.

She promised to interest the General in the fate of my father-in-law, who

had just lost his place in the treasury. During this time Madame Charvet

was in correspondence with a friend of her husband, who was, I think, the

courier of General Bonaparte; and the latter having opened and read these

letters addressed to his courier, inquired who was this young woman that

wrote such interesting and intelligent letters, and Madame Charvet well

deserved this double praise. My father-in-law's friend, while replying

to the question of the General-in-chief, took occasion to relate the

misfortunes of the family, and the General remarked that, on his return

to Paris, he wished to meet M. and Madame Charvet; in consequence of

which they were presented to him, and Madame Bonaparte rejoiced to learn

that her protegees had also become those of her husband. It had been

decided that M. Charvet should follow the General to Egypt; but when my

father-in-law arrived at Toulon, Madame Bonaparte requested that he

should accompany her to the waters of Plombieres. I have previously

related the accident which occurred at Plombieres, and that M. Charvet

was sent to Saint-Germain to bring Mademoiselle Hortense from the

boarding-school to her mother. On his return to Paris, M. Charvet

searched through all the suburbs to find a country-seat, as the General

had charged his wife to purchase one during his absence.

When Madame Bonaparte decided on Malmaison, M. Charvet, his wife, and

their three children were installed in this charming residence.

My father-in-law was very faithful to the interests of these benefactors

of his family, and Madame Charvet often acted as private secretary to

Madame Bonaparte.

Mademoiselle Louise, who became my wife, and Mademoiselle Zoe, her

younger sister, were favorites of Madame Bonaparte, especially the

latter, who passed more time than Louise at Malmaison. The condescension

of their noble protectress had rendered this child so familiar, that she

said thou habitually to Madame Bonaparte. One day she said to her, "Thou

art happy. Thou hast no mamma to scold thee when thou tearest thy

dresses."

During one of the campaigns that I made while in the service of the

Emperor, I wrote to my wife, inquiring about the life that her sister led

at Malmaison. In her answer, among other things, she said (I copy a

passage from one of her letters): "Sometimes we take part in performances

such as I had never dreamed of. For instance, one evening the saloon was

divided in half by a gauze curtain, behind which was a bed arranged in

Greek style, on which a man lay asleep, clothed in long white drapery.

Near the sleeper Madame Bonaparte and the other ladies beat in unison

(not in perfect accord, however) on bronze vases, making, as you may

imagine, a terrible kind of music. During this charivari, one of the

gentlemen held me around the waist, and raised me from the ground, while

I shook my arms and legs in time to the music. The concert of these

ladies awoke the sleeper, who stared wildly at me, frightened at my

gestures, then sprang up and ran with all his might, followed by my

brother, who crept on all fours, representing a dog, I think, which

belonged to this strange person. As I was then a mere child, I have only

a confused idea of all this; but the society of Madame Bonaparte seemed

to be much occupied with similar amusements."

When the First Consul went to live at Saint-Cloud, he expressed his high

opinion of my father-in-law in the most flattering manner, and made him

concierge of the chateau, which was a confidential position, the duties

and responsibilities of which were considerable.

M. Charvet was charged with organizing the household; and, by orders of

the First Consul, he selected from among the old servants of the queen

those to whom he gave places as porters, scrubbers, and grooms of the

chateau, and he gave pensions to those unable to work.

When the chateau took fire in 1802, as I have related previously, Madame

Charvet, being several months pregnant, was terribly frightened; and as

it was not thought best to bleed her, she became very ill, and died at

the age of thirty years. Louise had been at a boarding-school for

several years; but her father now brought her home to keep house for him,

though she was then only twelve years old. One of her friends has kindly

allowed me to see a letter which Louise addressed to her a short time

after our marriage, and from which I have made the following extracts:

"On my return from boarding-school I went to see her Majesty the

Empress (then Madame Bonaparte) at the Tuileries. I was in deep

mourning. She took me on her knee, and tried to console me, saying

that she would be a mother to me, and would find me a husband. I

wept, and said that I did not wish to marry. Not at present,'

replied her Majesty, I but that will come; be sure of it. I was,

however, by no means persuaded that this would be the case. She

caressed me a while longer, and I withdrew. When the First Consul

was at Saint-Cloud, all the chiefs of the different departments of

the household service assembled in the apartments of my father, who

was the most popular, as well as the eldest, member of the

household. M. Constant, who had seen me as a child at Malmaison,

found me sufficiently attractive at Saint-Cloud to ask me of my

father, subject to the approval of their Majesties; and it was

decided that we should be married after the coronation. I was

fourteen years old fifteen days after our marriage.

"Both my sister and I are always received with extreme kindness by

her Majesty the Empress; and whenever, for fear of annoying her, we

let some time pass without going to see her, she complains of it to

my father. She sometimes admits us to her morning toilet, which is

conducted in our presence, and to which are admitted in her

apartments only her women; and a few persons of her household, who,

like us, count among their happiest moments those in which they can

thus behold this adored princess. The conversations are almost

always delightful, and her Majesty frequently relates anecdotes

which a word from one or another of us recalls to her."

Her Majesty the Empress had promised Louise a dowry; but the money which

she intended for that she spent otherwise, and consequently my wife had

only a few jewels of little value and two or three pieces of stuff.

M. Charvet was too refined to recall this promise to her Majesty's

recollection. However, that was the only way to get anything from her;

for she knew no better how to economize than how to refuse. The Emperor

asked me a short time after my marriage what the Empress had given my

wife, and on my reply showed the greatest possible vexation; no doubt

because the sum that had been demanded of him for Louise's dowry had been

spent otherwise. His Majesty the Emperor had the goodness, while on this

subject, to assure me that he himself would hereafter look after my

interests, and that he was well satisfied with my services, and would

prove it to me.

I have said above that my wife's younger sister was the favorite of her

Majesty the Empress; and yet she received on her marriage no richer dowry

than Louise, nevertheless, the Empress asked to have my sister-in-law's

husband presented to her, and said to him in the most maternal tone,

"Monsieur, I recommend my daughter to you, and I entreat you to make her

happy. She deserves it, and I earnestly hope that you know how to

appreciate her!" When my sister-in-law, fleeing from Compiegne, in 1814,

went with her husband's mother to Evreux for her confinement, the Empress

sent by her first valet de chambre every thing necessary for a young

woman in that condition, and, even reproached her with not having come to

Navarre.

My sister-in-law had been reared in the same boarding-school as

Mademoiselle Josephine Tallien, god-daughter of the Empress, who has

since married M. Pelet de la Lozere, and another daughter of Madame

Tallien, Mademoiselle Clemence Cabarus. The school was conducted by

Madame Vigogne, widow of the colonel of that name, and an old friend of

the Empress, who had advised her to take a boarding-school, and promised

to procure for her as many pupils as she could. This institution

prospered under the direction of this lady, who was distinguished for her

intelligence and culture; and she frequently brought to the Empress these

protegees, with other young persons who by good conduct had earned this

reward; and this was made a powerful means of exciting the emulation of

these children, whom her Majesty overwhelmed with caresses, and presented

with little gifts.

One morning just as Madame Vigogne was about to visit the Empress, and

was descending the staircase to enter her carriage, she heard piercing

cries in one of the schoolrooms, and, hastening to the spot, saw a young

girl with her clothing on fire. With a presence of mind worthy of a

mother, Madame Vigogne wrapped her pupil in the long train of her dress,

and thus extinguished the flames, not, however, until the hands of the

courageous instructress had been most painfully burned. She made the

visit to her Majesty in this condition, and related to her the sad

accident which had occurred; while her Majesty, who was easily moved by

everything noble and generous, overwhelmed her with praises for her

courage, and was so deeply touched that she wept with admiration, and

ordered, her private physician to give his best services to Madame

Vigogne and her young pupil.

CHAPTER XXIV.

The Empress Josephine was of medium height, with an exquisite figure; and

in all her movements there was an airiness and grace which gave to her

walk something ethereal, without detracting from the majesty of the

sovereign. Her expressive countenance portrayed all the emotions of her

soul, while retaining the charming sweetness which was its ruling

expression. In pleasure, as in grief, she was beautiful, and even

against your will you would smile when she smiled; if she was sad, you

would be also. Never did a woman justify better than she the expression

that the eyes are the mirror of the soul. Hers were of a deep blue, and

nearly always half closed by her long lids, which were slightly arched,

and fringed with the most beautiful lashes in the world; in regarding her

you felt yourself drawn to her by an irresistible power. It must have

been difficult for the Empress to give severity to that seductive look;

but she could do this, and well knew how to render it imposing when

necessary. Her hair was very beautiful, long and silken, its nut-brown

tint contrasting exquisitely with the dazzling whiteness of her fine

fresh complexion. At the commencement of her supreme power, the Empress

still liked to adorn her head in the morning with a red madras

handkerchief, which gave her a most piquant Creole air, and rendered her

still more charming.

But what more than all else constituted the inexpressible charm of the

Empress's presence were the ravishing tones of her voice. How many times

have I, like many others, stopped suddenly on hearing that voice; simply

to enjoy the pleasure of listening to it. It cannot perhaps be said that

the Empress was a strictly beautiful woman; but her lovely countenance,

expressing sweetness and good nature, and the angelic grace diffused

around her person, made her the most attractive of women.

During her stay at Saint-Cloud, the Empress rose habitually at nine

o'clock, and made her first toilet, which lasted till ten; then she

passed into a saloon, where she found assembled those persons who had

solicited and obtained the favor of an audience; and sometimes also at

this hour, and in the same saloon, her Majesty received her tradespeople;

and at eleven o'clock, when the Emperor was absent, she breakfasted with

her first lady of honor and a few others. Madame de la Rochefoucauld,

first lady of honor to the Empress, was a hunchback, and so small that it

was necessary, when she was to have a place at the table, to heighten the

seat of her chair by another very thick cushion made of violet satin.

Madame de la Rochefoucauld knew well how to efface, by means of her

bright and sparkling, though somewhat caustic wit, her striking elegance,

and her exquisite court manners, any unpleasant impression which might be

made by her physical deformity.

Before breakfast the Empress had a game of billiards; or, when the

weather was good, she walked in the gardens or in the inclosed park,

which recreation lasted only a short while, and her Majesty soon returned

to her apartments, and occupied herself with embroidery, while talking

with her ladies, like herself, occupied with some kind of needlework.

When it happened that they were not interrupted by visits, between two

and three o'clock in the afternoon the Empress took a drive in an open

barouche; and on her return from this the grand toilet took place, at

which the Emperor was sometimes present.

Now and then, also, his Majesty surprised the Empress in her saloon; and

we were sure to find him, on those occasions, amusing, amiable, and in

fine spirits.

At six o'clock dinner was served; this the Emperor frequently forgot, and

delayed it indefinitely, in consequence of which dinner was more than

once eaten at nine or ten o'clock in the evening. Their Majesties dined

together alone, or in the company of a few invited guests, princes of the

imperial family, or ministers, after which there was a concert,

reception, or the theater; and at midnight every one retired except the

Empress, who greatly enjoyed sitting up late, and then played backgammon

with one of the chamberlains. The Count de Beaumont was thus honored

most frequently.