is lui ont
infligees." He was an honest, upright soldier, abrupt and self-willed,
but kindly withal, and plainly perceived the faults of Louis-Napoleon's
policy and of his frequently misplaced generosity--above all, of his
system of conciliating the sovereigns of Europe by fetes and
entertainments. "Quand l'autre leur donnait des fetes et des
representations de theatre, c'etait chez eux, et pas chez nous, ils en
payaient les frais." More of him in a little while.

At the Queen's first visit to Versailles--the second took place on the
Saturday before she left--she had been deeply moved at the sight of the
picture representing her welcome at Eu by Louis-Philippe, to which
ceremony I alluded in one of my former notes. But even before this she
had expressed a wish to see the ruins of the Chateau de Neuilly, and the
commemorative chapel erected on the spot where the Duc d'Orleans met
with his fatal accident. "La femme qui est si fidele a ses vieilles
amities au milieu des nouvelles, surtout quand il s'agit de dynasties
rivales, comme en ce moment, et quand cette femme est une reine, cette
femme est une amie bien precieuse," said Jerome's son. Both the Emperor
and the Empress found that their cousin had spoken truly.

Saturday, the 25th, had been fixed for the fete at Versailles. In the
morning, the Queen went to the palace of Saint-Germain, which no English
sovereign had visited since James II. lived there. She returned to
Saint-Cloud, and thence to the magnificent abode of Louis XIV., which
she reached after dark--the Place d'Armes and the whole of the erstwhile
royal residence being brilliantly illuminated.

The Imperial and Royal party entered by the Marble Court, in the centre
of which the pedestal to the statue of Louis XIV. had been decorated
with the rarest flowers. The magnificent marble staircase had, however,
been laid with thick purple carpets, and the balustrades almost
disappeared beneath masses of exotics; it was the first time, if I
remember rightly, that I had seen mosses and ferns and foliage in such
profusion. The Cent Gardes and the Guides de l'Imperatrice were on duty,
the former on the staircase itself, the latter below, in the vestibule.
At the top, to the right and left, the private apartments of the Empress
had been arranged, the Queen occupied those formerly belonging to
Marie-Antoinette. I was enabled to see these a few days later; they were
the most perfect specimens of the decorative art that fl