luttered the cloak
more dextrously. Napoleon rushed on. No coalition should daunt him: he
could overpower any number of men--everything except the cold of
Russia--and the losses of that campaign had been made good. He then
diverged into stories about that war, varied by digressions as to his
exact knowledge of Austria's armaments, details of which were sent to
him daily. To end this wandering talk, Metternich reminded him that
his troops now were not men but boys. Whereupon the Emperor
passionately replied: "You do not know what goes on in the mind of a
soldier; a man such as I does not take much heed of the lives of a
million of men,"--and he threw aside his hat. Metternich did not pick
it up.

Napoleon noticed the unspoken defiance, and wound up by saying: "When
I married an Archduchess I tried to weld the new with the old, Gothic
prejudices with the institutions of my century: I deceived myself, and
this day I see the whole extent of my error. It may cost me my throne,
but I will bury the world beneath its ruins." In dismissing
Metternich, the Emperor used the device which, shortly before the
rupture with England in 1803, he had recommended Talleyrand to employ
upon Whitworth, namely, after trying intimidation to resort to
cajolery. Touching the Minister on the shoulder, he said quietly:
"Well, now, do you know what will happen? You will not make war on
me?" To which came the quick reply: "You are lost, Sire; I had the
presentiment of it when I came: now, in going, I have the certainty."
In the anteroom the generals crowded around the illustrious visitor.
Berthier had previously begged him to remember that Europe, and
France, urgently needed peace; and now, on conducting him to his
carriage, he asked him whether he was satisfied with Napoleon. "Yes,"
was the answer, "he has explained everything to me: it is all over
with the man."[328]

Substantially, this was the case. Napoleon's resentment against
Austria, not unnatural under the circumstances, had hurried him into
outbursts that revealed the inner fires of his passion. In a second
interview, on June 30th, he was far more gracious, and allowed Austria
to hope that she would gain Illyria. He also accepted Austria's
mediation; and it was stipulated that a Congress should meet at Prague
for the discussion of a general pacification. Metternich appeared
highly pleased with this condescension, but he knew by experience that
Napoleon's caresses were as dangerous as his