y slightly amusing to those at
whose expense they were made. The Grand Dukes themselves were not safe
from Frogeres's naughty pleasantries; in fact, after the death of
Paul, he did not venture to appear at the palace. The Emperor
Alexander, walking alone one day in the streets of Moscow, met him and
called to him. "Frogeres, why have you not been to see me?" the
Emperor asked him with affable air. "Sire," replied Frogeres, freed
from his fears, "I did not know Your Majesty's address." The Emperor
laughed a great deal over this piece of nonsense, and munificently
paid the French actor some arrears in salary which the poor man had up
till then not dared to claim.

After dealing for a long time with Paul, it was indeed natural that
Frogeres should dread the resentment of a sovereign, for Paul was so
vindictive that the greatest share of his wrongdoings was attributable
to his hatred for the Russian nobility, against whom he had had a
grievance during Catherine's lifetime. In this hatred he confused the
innocent with the guilty, detesting all the great nobles and taking a
delight in humbling any of them he did not exile. To foreigners, on
the other hand, and especially to the French, he showed remarkable
kindness, and I must here affirm that he always received and treated
well all travellers and refugees coming from France. Of these last
some were even generously assisted by him. I will mention as an
instance the Count d'Autichamp, who, finding himself in St. Petersburg
without any resources whatever, had hit upon the idea of making a very
pretty elastic shoe. I bought a pair, which the same evening I showed
to several women of the court at Princess Dolgoruki's. They were
pronounced charming, and this, together with the sympathy inspired by
the refugee, resulted in immediate orders for a large number of pairs.
The little shoe eventually came under the notice of the Emperor, who,
as soon as he learned the name of the workman, sent for him and gave
him a fine position. Unfortunately, it was a confidential post, and
the Russians were so offended that Paul could not leave the Count
d'Autichamp in it for long. But he made amends in such a way as to
secure him against poverty. Several facts of this kind, I confess,
made me more indulgent toward the Emperor than the Russians were,
whose peace was incessantly disturbed through the extravagant caprices
of an omnipotent madman. It would be difficult to convey an idea of
the fears, t