o emperors made their entry into the decorated city of Weimar
amidst pealing bells, and the cheers of the people. The Duchess of
Weimar, just as she had done two years before, received the French
conqueror at the head of the palace staircase; this time, however, she
was not alone, but her husband, whom the emperor had formerly hated and
reviled so bitterly, stood at her side. Napoleon greeted the ducal
couple with his most winning smile.

The events of those terrible days of the past had been well-nigh
forgotten. A short time had sufficed to veil their memory, and Napoleon
was a welcome and highly-honored guest two years after the battle of
Jena. No vestige of the former distress remained; but the laurels of the
victor had not withered.

A vast number of carriages, horsemen, and pedestrians, filled the
streets. The whole country had sent its representatives to greet the
emperors. All the houses were ornamented with flags, festoons, busts,
and laudatory inscriptions. But no one cared to stay at home. The
inhabitants and strangers hastened to the forest of Ettersburg, to
witness the great chase which the Duke of Weimar had arranged in honor
of the imperial guests.--Several hundred deer had been driven up and
fenced in, close to the large clearing which was to be the scene of this
day's festivities. In the middle rose a huge hunting-pavilion, the roof
of which rested on pillars twined with flowers. Here the two emperors
were to witness the chase, and the two wings of the structure were
assigned to the kings, dukes, and princes. All eyes and thoughts,
therefore, were turned in that direction; and yet no one noticed
particularly two youthful forms, wrapped in cloaks and leaning against
an oak near the gamekeepers. The merry clamor and the bugle-calls of the
hunters drowned the conversation of these young men. No one was
surprised at seeing rifles in their hands; they might be hunters or
gamekeepers--who could tell?

"I believe," said one of them, in a whisper, "we shall accomplish
nothing. My rifle does not carry far enough to hit him, and we are not
allowed to approach nearer."

"It is impossible to take a sure aim from here," replied the other. "My
eye does not reach so far; I could fire only at random into the
pavilion."

"The order says, however, to strike him alone, and not to endanger other
lives," said the first speaker. "The president said, if we kill him, it
would be an act of justice; but if we are so unfortu