f Cleves and Berg; Bernadotte, Prince of Ponte-Corvo;
M. de Talleyrand, Duke of Benevento; and his two former colleagues,
Cambaceres and Lebrun, Dukes of Parma and Piacenza. He also gave to his
sister Pauline, a short time after her second marriage with the Prince
Borghese, the title of Duchess of Guastalla. Strange events! who could
then have foreseen that the duchy of Cambaceres would become the refuge
of a Princess of Austria, the widowed wife of Napoleon Bonaparte?
In the midst of the prosperity of the Imperial family, when the eldest of
the Emperor's brothers had ascended the throne of Naples, when Holland
was on the eve of being offered to Louis, and Jerome had exchanged his
legitimate wife for the illegitimate throne of Westphalia, the Imperial
pillow was still far from being free from anxiety. Hostilities did not
actually exist with the Continental powers; but this momentary state of
repose lacked the tranquillity of peace. France was at war with Russia
and England, and the aspect of the Continent presented great uncertainty,
while the treaty of Vienna had only been executed in part. In the
meantime Napoleon turned his eyes towards the East. General Sebastiani
was sent to Constantinople. The measures be pursued and his judicious
conduct justified the choice of the Emperor. He was adroit and
conciliating, and peace with Turkey was the result of his mission. The
negotiations with England did not terminate so happily, although, after
the first overtures made to Lord Yarmouth, the Earl of Lauderdale had
been sent to Paris by Mr. Fox. In fact, these negotiations wholly
failed. The Emperor had drawn enormous sums from Austria, without
counting the vases, statues, and pictures. With which he decorated the
Louvre, and the bronze with which he clothed the column of the Place
Vendome,--in my opinion the finest monument of his reign and the most
beautiful one in Paris. As Austria was exhausted all the contributions
imposed on her could not be paid in cash, and they gave the Emperor bills
in payment. I received one for about 7,000,000 on Hamburg on account of
the stipulations of the treaty of Presburg.

The affairs of the Bourbon Princes became more and more unfavourable, and
their finances, as well as their chances of success, were so much
diminished that about this period it was notified to the emigrants in
Brunswick that the pretender (Louis XVIII.) had no longer the means of
continuing their pensions. This produced great