ludicrous image which he often presents of himself, in his perplexities, expedients, extreme exposures and miraculous deliverances. His coach and his special attendants, "as peaceably inclined as himself," disappeared within a very few days. His horses were eaten by the troops, at Pniewo: at Smolensk, the gout conspired atrociously with the frost and dearth of food, to diminish his chances: a cart took him from Smolensk, wrapped in straw;-the cold being at the ne plus ultra, he kept his face uncongealed, by means of a wax candle end, which he lighted with a phosphoric match, providently kept about him, and which he moved close to his ruddy cheeks: a few bottles of brandy, hidden in the cart, served as a bribe to straggling grenadiers, to push his vehicle up some of the glazed hills: he contrived to alight, from time to time, and hobble to every fire that blessed his longing eyes. Now and then he was left on foot, completely derelict, but some compassionate general or colonel picked him up, en passant, and thus snatched him from the jaws of death. After getting through one cruel night of the kind, and trudging a little in the morning, in order to restore the circulation of the blood, he discovered that there was wrought in him, what we would call-if the phrase were more tuneful or less grating—a podagrical prodigy, such as he had experienced in Spain. "Je sentis avec une surprise agréable que ma goutte n'existait plus, et qu'aucune souffrance ne gênait mes mouvemens. Je marchai fièrement. Je livre cette observation à messieurs les medecins. Un grand froid, une grande anxiété morale, me rendirent les forces et la santé." He owed his final rescue to the baggage-wagons, and a well stored purse which he carried in his pocket. The gold Napoleons accomplished more for him, than could have been effected by the flying Cæsar himself, who probably never thought of his affectionate Prefect during the whole race.

The pestilent Cosacks, with their houra! houra! kouli! kouli! pacho! pacho!" annoyed our author's fancy nearly as much as the universal congelation. He observes that their name alone, even when none were present, created a sudden and involuntary terror, and that he saw more than twenty thousand men in a body fly helter-skelter at the cry of a coward-"there are the Cosacks!" It was not always, however, a mere panic, even for the pacific Prefect. Once, he actually engaged in a skirmish with them, or rather helped to frighten them off. "Moi," he says, "qui n'avais point de chevaux, attendu que depuis longtemps on les avoit mangés, je mis pied à terre, et vins me mêler, mes pistolets bien chargés, parmi les braves de la jeune garde, qui voulurent bien recevoir l'intrus qui se présentait à eux avec une allure assez hétéroclite ** notre bonne contenance empêcha les indiscrets de nous approcher: pour moi, c'est la seule fois dans ma vie que je me sois senti saisir de l'envie d'atteindre

un ennemi." This is an honest confession, preferable to the fanfaronade of old Jack Falstaff, and the pretensions of the oriental Pistol, whom Sir John Malcolm has so graphically depicted in his inimitable Sketches of Persia. We feel almost as much concern for the escape of the Prefect, as for that of Marshal Ney, the true hero of the retreat, le brave des braves. There is an incidental remark of our author, suggested by the preservation of one of his occasional companions, of a very feeble temperament, which conveys a particularly impressive lesson. The valetudinary fugitive, M. de Meneval, possessed, in a weak body, a courageous, strongly tempered soul-une âme courageuse et fortement trempée-which sustained him against shocks and privations, to which the stoutest animal constitutions succumbed. "And I am more than ever convinced," adds M. de Bausset, "that, in a situation such as ours, the greatest advantage was that of being endowed with a firm and decided character."

At length, the fortunate Prefect reached Wilna, strangely habited, it is true, and with a beard more than an inch long, and a shirt that had not been removed from his back for fifty days. We may judge of his delight as he seated himself, the day after, at the table of the hospitable governor,-a table spread with a fine cloth, beautiful silver plate, and exquisite ragouts,-une table couverte de beau linge, d'une belle argenterie, et d'excellens ragouts. At night followed the luxuries of a good bed, and fine Holland sheets; in which, however, he was too deliciously placed to sleep soundly. "Je dois l'avouer,-le plaisir de me sentir renaître dans une si douce position me tint agité toute la nuit. Je dormis moins bien dans ces draps blancs que se ne l'avais fait dans le voisinage des Cosaques ** et sur la terre." This can readily be conceived by any one whose experience of the change has been only in the difference of a rough sea voyage, or two or three consecutive nights' tossing and nodding in a mail-coach. Napoleon had much outstripped his prefect in getting to Paris. The latter, two days after his auspicious return, presented himself at the imperial levee; and the meeting was truly characteristic for both parties. "He asked me," says M. de Bausset, "many questions, as to the time and manner of my quitting the army; and exclaimed, smiling bitterly, (en souriant avec amertume,) that I was, probably, the only one who had not grown thin in that long retreat." God preserve the fat and the florid! This undimi nishable personage was not suffered to rest long; the Emperor put him in requisition for the next northern campaign; and we should be glad to extract more of his memorabilia for the occasion, than can be now embraced within our limits. The following must suffice:

"In the month of January, on an evening appointed for one of those great court-circles where so much magnificence was displayed, Napoleon, on sitting VOL. III.NO. 5.

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down to table, put into my hand some written papers, telling me to read them aloud while he dined, because as he was to hold his court in the evening he should not have time to do it himself. These papers were translations of English journals, which were constantly sent him by the Duke of Bassano. At first I began with much confidence; I soon however lost it, in reading the many harsh and disagreeable expressions which were employed in speaking of him. I was much embarrassed, because I saw the quick and piercing eye of Napoleon, and his sarcastic smile. My situation was rendered still more painful, because I read these papers in the presence of the Empress, the pages, the stewards, and a great quantity of footmen of all descriptions. Read on,' said Napoleon, when I stopped as if to take breath or use my handkerchief; read on, you will find plenty more.' I endeavoured to excuse myself, assuring him that I was afraid of being disrespectful. He took no notice, but laughing, ordered me to go on reading. Glancing as well as I could, over the lines which I was about to read, in order that I might take from them the violence of their expression, I arrived at a word for which I substituted quickly enough the title of Emperor. Bungler that I was, I had given him a title which the English papers had never yet allowed him. He desired me to hand him the manuscript, and read aloud the word which I had so studiously avoided, returned the paper to me, and desired me to read on. Fortunately I met with no more embarrassing passages. On the same What would you have night I related my adventure to the Duke of Bassano.

me do? The Emperor desires me to place before him a rigorous and literal translation of the English papers. I must obey him, since he insists on seeing every thing himself."

"The battle of Lutzen was gained principally by the young conscripts. The intrepid Ney said to the Emperor, Sire, give me some of those young and valiant conscripts. I will lead them whither you please. Our old warriors know as much as we do; they judge of positions and difficulties; but these brave youths are afraid of nothing, they foresee no obstacle, they look neither to the right nor the left, but always forward. It is glory that they seek."

"We arrived at Dresden on the 16th of May. The next morning I conversed with the Duke de Frioul on the success of the commencement of the campaign, and we paid a just tribute of regret to the memory of Marshal Bessière. I shall never forget the last words of this conversation: We have had rather too much of this,' said he, we shall all be carried off.'

"Some days after this, he was mortally wounded by a random shot, as the Duke of Istria had been. He lived some hours, carrying with him the consolation of having witnessed the profound grief of Napoleon, who would not leave him until he earnestly intreated him to do so."

"The congress at Prague was a mere diplomatic show. The real discussions took place at Dresden, whither the Prince of Metternich and the Count de Bubna repaired. I am quite ignorant of what passed in the ministerial conferences; I only know that the last, the most important, and the most decisive, took place at the palace, between the Emperor and the Prince of Metternich, in the presence of the Prince of Neufchâtel and the Duke of Bassano. This conference lasted seven hours, and during this long space of time, the King of Saxony and the King of Naples awaited its result either in the ante-room or in the garden. On quitting this audience, M. de Metternich appeared angry. He waited in silence at the palace gate, until the Emperor, who left the apartment at the same time as himself, had mounted his horse. I was placed accidentally close to the Prince, from the expression of whose countenance I endeavoured to gain some information, when he, having known me a long time, seized my hand, as it were, mechanically, pressed it violently, and even retained it for some minutes without uttering a single word. This dumb and almost convulsive adieu distressed me, and appeared to hint the fate of the empire. M. de Metternich set off the same night with the Count de Bubna, who forgot to take with him his wife, who had accompanied him to Dresden."

Of the posterior scenes also, until the departure of Napoleon from Fontainebleau, after his abdication, our author could say--

quorum magna pars, &c. He bore the last letter of Maria Louisa to her husband, stopping, on his way, a few days, at Paris, where he remarked, that the individuals whose devotion and enthusiasm for the imperial family he had frequently admired, were precisely those who placed in their hats the largest white cockades; and where he came to the conclusion, that Talleyrand contributed more than any man to the downfal of Napoleon, and the re-establishment of the Bourbon family on the French throne. The Emperor, however, was undoubtedly the chief artificer of his own ruin, as he had been the chief architect of his own fortunes. Our Prefect found him at Fontainebleau, "calm and decided," and consoling himself with the consideration that the air of Elba was pure, and its population excellent. He talked of the unsuitableness of suicide for one of his principles and career, and repeated to Bausset the proverb-" a living ass is worth more than a dead lion," with an air which caused his hearer to think that he meant the other adage,-Il n'y a que les morts qui ne reviennent pas. As a last quotation, we shall copy a part of our author's delineation of him, in the concluding chapter of the Memoirs :

"At this period of his life, Napoleon was forty-six years old. He was about five feet five inches in height; his head was large; his eyes of a clear blue; his hair dark chestnut; his eyelashes were lighter than his eyebrows; which were like his hair, of a deep chestnut; his nose was well-shaped, and the form of his mouth pleasing and extremely expressive; his hands were remarkably white and beautiful; his feet were extremely small, but his shoes were not calculated to show them off to advantage, because he would not endure the smallest restraint. On the whole he was well made and well proportioned. I have particularly remarked a habit which he had of reclining, by a sudden movement, his head and the upper part of his body to the right, and of applying his arm and elbow to his side, as if he wished to make himself taller; this mechanical movement was very slight, and only remarkable when he was conversing as he walked. It did not at all detract from the imposing ensemble of his appearance.

"Genius and power were expressed on his large high forehead. His forehead alone was sufficient to form a physiognomy. The fire which flashed from his eyes, expressed all his thoughts and feelings. But when the serenity of his temper was not disturbed, the most pleasing smile lighted up his noble countenance, and gave to it an undefinable charm, which I never beheld in any other person! At these times it was impossible to see him without loving him.

"I have already said, in speaking of his tastes, that his only nicety consisted in extreme cleanliness, and that his dress was not at all remarkable. One day, wishing to set the example of a useful encouragement to the manufacturers of Lyons, he appeared at one of Maria Louisa's parties in a dark coloured velvet coat, with diamond buttons. He was not at all himself, and seemed quite uncomfortable in his new dress.

"One day, during the Spanish campaign, at Aranda, he sent for me at seven in the morning, to give me some Spanish papers which he was in a hurry to have translated. He was standing shaving himself near a window; Roustan held a large glass; when he had shaved on one side of his face, he changed sides, and Roustan replaced himself in such a manner that the side not shaved was towards the light. Napoleon used only one hand in this operation."

"Much has been said of Napoleon's passionate taste for women. Appreciating as he did their merit and beauty, it is not to be supposed that he was free from those amiable weaknesses which constitute the charm of life, and to which

all men pay the same homage. It is certain that the young man who is just entering on life, and who trembles at each moment lest his secret should be betrayed, is less reserved on this point than Napoleon was. It was never he, but the women themselves, that made these transitory inclinations public; and I think their number has been singularly exaggerated. His taste for snuff has been equally talked of. I can assert with truth that he lost more than he took. It was rather a fancy, a kind of amusement, than a real want. His snuffboxes were very plain, of an oval shape, made of black shell, lined with gold, all exactly alike, and differing only in the beautiful antique silver medals, which were set in the lid."

"He said that Frenchmen, naturally chivalrous and warlike, were always led away and even overcome by the splendour of glory; that they forgave every thing when followed by success and victory; but that it was necessary to restrain them by the unity and dignity of the administration, and by fixed laws.

"He said sometimes that the enthusiasm of others abated his.

"Men, in his opinion, were so many cyphers, which acquired value from their situation alone.

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Men,' he said, as well as pictures, required to be placed in a favourable light.'

"In general,' he added, the fortune of men depends on circumstances.' We have thus manifested our willingness to give the memory of Napoleon all the advantage which can accrue to it from the testimony of such a witness as this Prefect of the Imperial Palace. We are further ready to allow M. de Bausset himself credit for the degree of affection and gratitude which he seems to have retained for his old master, and the warmth and roundness with which he has proclaimed his impressions, under the government of the Bourbons. Almost all his pages, however, which relate to persons of rank, power, or celebrity, bespeak the habit and mood of exorbitant and obsequious admiration and flattery. He was a mere courtier and purveyor, incompetent to decide upon the real character and designs of Napoleon, or their influences and tendencies, good or bad; and always reluctant to find fault with any thing done or said in elevated stations. We infer from some of his confessions, that he was mortally afraid of the Emperor, as well as anxious to please him by any species of service. It is difficult not to feel contempt for one who tells us, that he used every possible endeavour to know the particulars of the first interview at Bayonne between the old sovereigns of Spain and their favourite Godoy, after Napoleon himself had judged it but civil and decent that they should be left alone. "J'ai fait toutes les recherches possibles pour connaitre les détails de leur première entrevue. Malheureusement je n'ai rien appris. Tout ce que je sais, c'est que dans le premier moment, le roi et la reine se jetèrent dans les bras de Godoï en poussant des cris de joie et de bonheur." Whether this espionage was intended as a contingent to the system which he acknowledges to have been pursued with regard to the royal family of Spain, or arose merely from his characteristic inquisitiveness, it must be reprobated equally as inconsistent with the spirit and sphere of a gentleman. Servility and exaggeration are natural concomitants: M. de Bausset tumefies every