room; all at once he stood still, to reproach the Queen
rather severely for signing all those papers without reading them, or, at
least, without running her eye over them; and he spoke most judiciously to
her upon the danger of signing her name inconsiderately. The Queen
answered that very wise principles might be very ill applied; that her
secretary, who deserved her implicit confidence, was at that moment laying
before her nothing but orders for payment of the quarter's expenses of her
household, registered in the Chamber of Accounts; and that she ran no risk
of incautiously giving her signature.

The Queen's toilet was likewise a never-failing subject for animadversion
with the Emperor. He blamed her for having introduced too many new
fashions; and teased her about her use of rouge. One day, while she was
laying on more of it than usual, before going to the play, he pointed out
a lady who was in the room, and who was, in truth, highly painted. "A
little more under the eyes," said the Emperor to the Queen; "lay on the
rouge like a fury, as that lady does." The Queen entreated her brother to
refrain from his jokes, or at all events to address them, when they were
so outspoken, to her alone.

The Queen had made an appointment to meet her brother at the Italian
theatre; she changed her mind, and went to the French theatre, sending a
page to the Italian theatre to request the Emperor to come to her there.
He left his box, lighted by the comedian Clairval, and attended by M. de
la Ferte, comptroller of the Queen's privy purse, who was much hurt at
hearing his Imperial Majesty, after kindly expressing his regret at not
being present during the Italian performance, say to Clairval, "Your young
Queen is very giddy; but, luckily, you Frenchmen have no great objection
to that."

I was with my father-in-law in one of the Queen's apartments when the
Emperor came to wait for her there, and, knowing that M. Campan was
librarian, he conversed with him about such books as would of course be
found in the Queen's library. After talking of our most celebrated
authors, he casually said, "There are doubtless no works on finance or on
administration here?"

These words were followed by his opinion on all that had been written on
those topics, and the different systems of our two famous ministers, Sully
and Colbert; on errors which were daily committed in France, in points
essential to the prosperity of the Empire; and on the refo