escribing, we may be sure that we know, from looking at it, exactly
how Napoleon was dressed on the day of Friedland, and also how each
member of his military staff was dressed; not a button, nor a strap,
nor any smallest detail but has been faithfully copied from the thing
itself, while every head in the group is a trustworthy portrait. When
it was not possible to get the actual dress worn by the person he was
painting, Meissonier spared no pains nor money to obtain an exact
copy. How it was in the case of the "Friedland," we do not know, but
when he painted the "March to Paris," Meissonier borrowed from the
Museum, in Paris, where relics of all the kings of France are kept
(the _Musee des Souverains_), the famous "little gray riding-coat"
worn by Napoleon at the battle of the Pyramids and in other
engagements. This coat, Meissonier had copied by a tailor, with the
minutest accuracy, and it was then worn by the model while he was
painting the picture. The same pains were taken with the cuirassiers
who are dashing across the front of the picture in the "Friedland." As
will be seen on looking closely, one model served for all the men in
the front rank, but as the uniform was the same it was only necessary
to vary the attitude. The uniform and all the accoutrements were
carefully reproduced by workmen from originals of the time, borrowed
by Meissonier for the purpose, and the model was then mounted on a
jointed wooden horse and made to take the attitude required: the
action of the horse was as carefully studied from that of the living
animal. By the time that Meissonier came to paint this picture, he was
so famous an artist, and had gained such a place in the world, that he
could have almost anything he asked for to aid him in his work. So,
when, with the same desire for accuracy that he had shown in painting
other parts of the picture, he came to paint the trampled grain, the
Government, or so we are told, bought the use of a field of ripe grain
and lent Meissonier the services of a company of cuirassiers who were
set to dashing about in it until they had got it into proper
condition. We can see that the cost of all this accuracy would, in the
end, amount to a considerable sum, and when we reckon the time of an
artist so distinguished as Meissonier, it is not so surprising as it
may have appeared at first, that his picture should have brought so
much money.

Of course, Meissonier did not come all at once to fame and pros