gent husbands; but his mistresses are nearly as
numerous as Madame Murat's favourites. He has a young aide-de-camp of
the name of Flahault, a son of Talleyrand, while Bishop of Autun, by the
then Countess de Flahault, whom Madame Murat would not have been sorry to
have had for a consoler at Paris, while her princely spouse was
desolating Germany.

LETTER XXIII.

PARIS, October, 1805.

MY LORD:--Since Bonaparte's departure for Germany, the vigilance of the
police has much increased: our patrols are doubled during the night, and
our spies more numerous and more insolent during the day. Many suspected
persons have also been exiled to some distance from this capital, while
others, for a measure of safety, have been shut up in the Temple, or in
the Castle of Vincennes. These 'lettres de cachet', or mandates of
arrest, are expedited during the Emperor's absence exclusively by his
brother Louis, after a report, or upon a request, of the Minister of
Police, Fouche.

I have mentioned to you before that Louis Bonaparte is both a drunkard
and a libertine. When a young and unprincipled man of such propensities
enjoys an unrestrained authority, it cannot be surprising to hear that he
has abused it. He had not been his brother's military viceroy for
twenty-four hours before one set of our Parisians were amused, while
others were shocked and scandalized, at a tragical intrigue enterprised
by His Imperial Highness.

Happening to see at the opera a very handsome young woman in the boxes,
he despatched one of his aides-de-camp to reconnoitre the ground, and to
find out who she was. All gentlemen attached to his person or household
are also his pimps, and are no novices in forming or executing plans of
seduction. Caulincourt (the officer he employed in this affair) returned
soon, but had succeeded only in one part of the business. He had not
been able to speak to the lady, but was informed that she had only been
married a fortnight to a manufacturer of Lyons, who was seated by her
side, jealous of his wife as a lover of his mistress. He gave at the
same time as his opinion that it would be necessary to employ the police
commissary to arrest the husband when he left the play, under some
pretext or other, while some of the friends of Prince Louis took
advantage of the confusion to seize the wife, and carry her to his hotel.
An order was directly signed by Louis, according to which the police
commissary, Chazot, was to arrest the