uction existed
betwixt Napoleon and the capital, which he was once more--but for a brief
space--to inhabit as a sovereign.
Louis, accompanied only by a few household troops, had scarcely turned
his back on the capital of his ancestors when Lavalette hastened from a
place of concealment and seized on the Post-office in the name of
Napoleon. By this measure all the King's proclamations' were
intercepted, and the restoration of the Emperor was announced to all the
departments. General Excelmans, who had just renewed his oath to Louis,
pulled down with his own hands the white flag that was floating over the
Tuileries, and hoisted the three-coloured banner.
It was late in the evening of the 20th that Bonaparte entered Paris in an
open carriage, which was driven straight to the gilded gates of the
Tuileries. He received the acclamations of the military and of the lower
classes of the suburbs, but most of the respectable citizens looked on in
silent wonderment. It was quite evident then that he was recalled by a
party--a party, in truth, numerous and powerful, but not by the unanimous
voice of the nation. The enthusiasm of his immediate adherents, however,
made up for the silence and lukewarmness of others. They filled and
crammed the square of the Carrousel, and the courts and avenues of the
Tuileries; they pressed so closely upon him that he was obliged to cry
out, "My friends, you stifle me!" and his aides de camp were compelled to
carry him in their arms up the grand staircase, and thence into the royal
apartments. It was observed, however, that amongst these ardent friends
were many men who had been the first to desert him in 1814, and that
these individuals were the most enthusiastic in their demonstrations, the
loudest in their shouts!
And thus was Napoleon again at the Tuileries, where, even more than at
Fontainebleau, his mind was flooded by the deep and painful recollections
of the past! A few nights after his return thither he sent for M. Horan,
one of the physicians who had attended Josephine during her last illness.
"So, Monsieur Horan," said he, "you did not leave the Empress during her
malady?"--"No, Sire."
What was the cause of that malady?"--"Uneasiness of mind . . .
grief."--"You believe that?" (and Napoleon laid a strong emphasis on the
word believe, looking steadfastly in the doctor's face). He then asked,
"Was she long ill? Did she suffer much?"--"She was ill a week, Sire;
her Majesty suffered litt
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