of the window, when I turned, were
the bare and lonely downs which had been peopled by that mighty host of
a hundred and fifty thousand men. To think that the Grand Army should
have vanished away like a shredding cloud upon a windy day, and yet that
every sordid detail of a bourgeois lodging should remain unchanged!
Truly, if man is not humble it is not for want of having his lesson
taught to him by Nature.

My first care after I had chosen my room was to send to Grosbois for
that poor little bundle which I had carried ashore with me that squally
night from the English lugger. My next was to use the credit which my
favourable reception by the Emperor and his assurance of employment had
given me in order to obtain such a wardrobe as would enable me to appear
without discredit among the richly dressed courtiers and soldiers who
surrounded him. It was well known that it was his whim that he should
himself be the only plainly-dressed man in the company, and that in the
most luxurious times of the Bourbons there was never a period when fine
linen and a brave coat were more necessary for a man who would keep in
favour. A new court and a young empire cannot afford to take anything
for granted.

It was upon the morning of the fifth day that I received a message from
Duroc, who was the head of the household, that I was to attend the
Emperor at the headquarters in the camp, and that a seat in one of the
Imperial carriages would be at my disposal that I might proceed with the
Court to Pont de Briques, there to be present at the reception of the
Empress. When I arrived I was shown at once through the large entrance
tent, and admitted by Constant into the room beyond, where the Emperor
stood with his back to the fire, kicking his heels against the grate.
Talleyrand and Berthier were in attendance, and de Meneval, the
secretary, sat at the writing-table.

'Ah, Monsieur de Laval,' said the Emperor with a friendly nod.
'Have you heard anything yet of your charming cousin?'

'Nothing, Sire,' I answered.

'I fear that her efforts will be in vain. I wish her every success, for
we have no reason at all to fear this miserable poet, while the other is
formidable. All the same, an example of some sort must be made.'

The darkness was drawing in, and Constant had appeared with a taper to
light the candles, but the Emperor ordered him out.

'I like the twilight,' said he. 'No doubt, Monsieur de Laval, after
your long residence i