regretted her too, and the day when I heard of her death was one of the most unhappy of my life. Was there a public mourning for her?"--"No, Sire. Indeed I think she would have been refused the honours due to her rank, had not the Emperor Alexander insisted on their being paid her."--"So I heard at the time, but I did not believe it. He was no way interested in it."--"The generosity of Alexander was not confined within any limits: he showed himself the protector of the Empress, the Queen, Prince Eugene, the Duke of Vicenza, and a number of other persons of distinction, who, but for him, would have been persecuted or ill treated."--"You love him, it seems."--"Sire...."--"Is the national guard of Paris well disposed?"--"I cannot positively affirm it; but of this at least I am certain, that if it do not declare for your Majesty, at least it will not act against us."--"I imagine so too. What is it supposed, that the foreigners will think of my return?"--"It is thought, that Austria will connect itself with your Majesty, and that Russia will behold the disgrace of the Bourbons without regret."--"Why so?"--"It is said, Sire, that Alexander was not pleased with the princes while at Paris. That the predilection of the king for England, and his attributing his crown to the Prince Regent, offended him."--"It is well to know that. Has he seen my son?"--"Yes, Sire: I have been assured, that he embraced him with a tenderness truly paternal, and exclaimed: He is a charming fellow: how have I been deceived!"--"What did he mean by that?"--"They say he had been informed, that the young prince was rickety and imbecile."--"Wretches! he is an admirable child: he gives every indication of becoming a distinguished character. He will be an honour to his age. Is it true, that so much was made of Alexander at Paris?"--"Yes, Sire, nobody else was attended to but he: the other sovereigns appeared as if they were his aides-de-camp."--"In fact, he did a great deal for Paris: but for him the English would have ruined it, and the Prussians would have set it on fire.--He acted his part well ... (with a smile) if I were not Napoleon, perhaps I would be Alexander." [Footnote 55: Those who have been about Napoleon's person know, that he recommended to his secretaries, and the officers of his household, to take notes of what he said and did on his journeys. A number of notes of this nature must have been found at the Tuileries, most of which contained particulars that were highly interesting. I preserved mine, and from them I have composed, in great measure, the present work.] [Footnote 56: The Bourbons.]