indebted to his sister, the Duchess of
Oldenburg, for "keeping him in the course by her judicious interposition
and observations." In 1808 Napoleon had wished for her as his bride,
but, as she says in a letter to her brother, the Czar, "her heart would
break as the intended wife of Napoleon before she could reach the limits
of his usurped dominions, and she cannot but consider as frightfully
ominous this offer of marriage from an Imperial Assassin to the daughter
and grand-daughter of two assassinated Emperors" (see "Letters of Two
Brothers," by Lady G. Ramsden). The marriage of the Grand Duchess
Catherine to the Duke of Oldenburg was hastily arranged to enable her to
escape the alliance. The Duke died in 1812, and she afterwards married
her cousin, the Crown Prince of Wurtemberg, to whom she had been
attached in early youth. The Duchess attracted great attention by
wearing a large bonnet, which afterwards became the fashion and was
called after her.

[31] Lady Caroline, daughter of the Earl of Bessborough, wife of Hon.
William Lamb, afterwards Lord Melbourne, authoress of "Glenarvon," &c.

[32] Mr. Morritt, of Rokeby.

[33] Lord Liverpool, 1770-1828. Prime Minister in 1815.

[34] Platoff, 1716-1818, Russian General.

[35] Frederick William III.

[36] The Duchess had been very fond of music, but since the death of her
husband it had affected her so deeply that she feared breaking down on
any public occasion.

[37] Rowland Hill. General Lord Hill, 1772-1842; distinguished in the
Peninsular War.

[38] The Prince Regent, afterwards George IV.

[39] "After the Restoration of the Bourbons several duels took place for
the most frivolous causes. Duels were fought even by night. The officers
of the Swiss guards were constantly measuring swords with the officers
of the old 'Garde Imperiale'" (Gronow's Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 22).

[40] The Colonne Vendome. This stood on the site of a statue to Louis
XIV. which had been melted down at the Revolution. It was made of
Austrian cannon taken during the years from 1806 to 1810.

[42] Madame de Stael had only returned to France after her long exile a
few weeks after Napoleon's abdication. Her rooms were in the Hotel de
Tamerzan, 105, Rue de Grenelle St. Germain.

[42] Stuart, Sir Charles, 1779-1845. Eldest son of Sir C. Stuart,
General, and Louisa, daughter and co-heiress of Lord Vere Bertie.
Minister at the Hague and Ambassador at Paris, and later on at St.
Petersburg. Brit