At the appointed time he went back to the Tuileries; to his amazement he was kept in a waiting room for half an hour—he who was always admitted at once and never had to _faire antichambre_. When at last he was shown into the Emperor’s study he found his Majesty closeted with General Lebœuf. Seeing this he said: “Sire, I presume that it is useless for me again to address Your Majesty upon the subject of our conversation of the day before yesterday.” “Effectivement, mon cher, nous avons un peu changé d’avis,” replied the Emperor, who shook him warmly by the hand, and sent him away, resuming his conversation with Lebœuf. I have often wondered whether that was the famous interview when Lebœuf assured the Emperor that “il n’y a pas un bouton qui manque!” Persigny was of course furious; ordinary language was not strong enough to express his indignation against the people by whom the Emperor was surrounded—more especially did he fall foul of the female influence to which he ascribed all the misfortunes of France, culminating in the fall of the dynasty. I felt very sorry for him; the emotion with which he spoke was obviously sincere. He loved the Emperor dearly, he was as true as daylight, and one of the few straight men in that rather pinchbeck Court. If Persigny has not left behind him a great reputation as statesman and diplomatist he was, at any rate, a scrupulously honest man—very different from the crew of Stock Exchange gamblers by whom, to his undoing, Louis Napoléon was surrounded. France, then, was determined to go to war, and with Germany. Bismarck was of opinion that the French Government thought that the Hohenzollern candidature for the throne of Spain was politically a rare opportunity for them. They did not believe that in such a cause the rest of Germany would stand by Prussia. Such States as Bavaria, Baden, Saxony and others would look upon the affair as a simple family concern, affecting only the reigning House of Prussia. Why should they spend blood and money to serve the ambition of a Prince of Hohenzollern? If such were indeed, as Bismarck thought, the prophecies of the French political soothsayers their forecasts did them but little credit. Attack Prussia, and the _Wacht am Rhein_ was the answer. So much for France. And Prussia? What of her?