“‘I certainly remember a _naïveté_ which she once uttered in the midst of a circle of savans and literati at Neuilly, which would be considered quite as good and become just as popular were it as generally known. Lemercier had volunteered after dinner to read us one of his unplayed and unplayable pieces. The company had gathered round him in a circle; his _cahier_ lay already unfolded on his knees, and, clearing his voice, he began in a high, shrill tone, which made us all start from our incipient slumber, ‘_La Scène est à Lyons_.’ ‘There now, M. de Talleyrand,’ exclaimed the princess, jumping from her chair, and advancing towards me with a gesture of triumph, ‘now I knew that you were wrong; you would have it that it was the _Saône_!’ To describe the embarrassment and consternation of the company would be impossible. I myself was perplexed for an instant, but soon remembered the difference of opinion to which she had alluded. As our carriage was crossing the bridge at Lyons, a little time before, she had asked me the name of the river which flowed beneath. I had told her it was ‘Saône;’ to which she had replied, with a truly philosophical reflection—‘Ah, how strange this difference of pronunciation; we call it the _Seine_ in Paris!’ I had been much amused at the time, but had not thought it worth while to correct the self-confident error, and thus had arisen this extraordinary confusion in the troubled brain of the poor princess. Of course we all laughed heartily at her unexpected sally; but we were grateful, nevertheless, for it saved us the reading of the dreaded drama, as no one that evening could be expected to _retrouver son sérieux_ sufficiently to listen with becoming attention to all the terrible events which Lemercier had to unfold.’ “You see the prince had succeeded in accepting his misfortune _en homme d’esprit_, and the keenest shafts of ridicule must have fallen pointless against one who joined with such hearty good-will in the mirth which was thus raised, without at all agreeing with those who deemed that it was excited at his own expense.” CHAPTER V. TALLEYRAND’S DESIRE FOR AMITY BETWEEN ENGLAND AND FRANCE—LOUIS DIXHUIT—THE ARCHBISHOP DE M.—MADAME DE KRUDENER—ALEXANDER OF RUSSIA.