have not forgotten that map!"

"Sire, you not only read in my eyes, but you look also into my heart!"
exclaimed Alexander; "like a magician, you lay your hands on the secrets
of my thoughts, that never found words; you teach them to assume a
definite shape, and impart the faculty of speech to them."

"I show you the way of glory, which your allies had taken pains to
conceal," said Napoleon, smiling. "Your majesty anxiously desires to
see it, and those perfidious men tried to mislead you. The portal opens
to you now, sire, and I already behold the noble Alexander entering it."

"Oh," murmured Alexander, placing his hands on his head, "my brain turns
dizzy; it seems to me as though it were on fire."

"Sire," exclaimed Napoleon, in a powerful voice, "we are destined to
give everlasting peace to the world, and woe to those who try to hinder
us! England would like to do so as to myself, and Turkey desires as much
in regard to you. Sire, let us unite, therefore, against these two
enemies, and give efficiency to our alliance. We must enlarge our
territory. I see in the north an obstacle to your progress; Sweden is
watching your majesty with a jealous eye, and will regard an alliance
with me as a declaration of war. Well, then, wage war against Sweden!"

"Sire," said Alexander, in dismay, and confused by those novel ideas
passing so brilliantly before him, "the King of Sweden is my
brother-in-law and ally!"

"For that reason, let him follow the changes of your policy," replied
Napoleon, "or let him take the consequences. Sweden may be an ally for
the moment, but she is your geographical enemy. St. Petersburg is too
near the frontiers of Finland. The fair Russians of St. Petersburg must
not again hear from their palaces the cannon of the Swedes. Proclaim war
against the Swedish king, and take Finland as a compensation. And as you
must be strong in the south as well as in the north, take also at once
some portion of the provinces of the Danube. However, as it is probable
that the Turks will not give up any thing, let us wage war against them.
I will assist you, and afterward the partition will take place. Look
here," added Napoleon, quickly, drawing with his finger a line across
the map, "this is the inheritance that Turkey will leave us. You take
Bessarabia, Moldavia, Wallachia, and Bulgaria, as far as the Balkan. I
should naturally wish for the maritime provinces, such as Albania,
Thessaly, Morea, and Candia. It is true Au