hall have
war again. France has had enough of that.' Upon this," continued Rapp,
"he assured me that he had other thoughts; that he had no further desire
for war; that he wished to govern in peace, and devote himself solely to
the happiness of his people. When I hinted opposition on the part of the
Foreign Powers, he said that he had made alliances. He then spoke to me
of the King, and I said I had been much pleased with him; indeed, the
King gave me a very gratifying reception on my return from Kiow, and I
see no reason why I should complain, when I am so well used. During the
conversation the Emperor much extolled the conduct of the Duke of
Orleans. He then gave me some description of his passage from the Isle
of Elba and his journey to Paris. He complained of being accused of
ambition; and observing that I looked astonished and doubtful--`What?' he
continued, 'am I ambitious then?' And patting his belly with both his
hands, 'Can a man,' he asked, 'so fat as I am be ambitious?' I could not
for my soul help saying, 'Ah! Sire, your Majesty is surely joking.'
He pretended, however, to be serious, and after a few moments, noticing
my decorations, he began to banter me about the Cross of St. Louis and
the Cross of the Lily, which I still wore."

I asked Rapp whether all was true that had been said about the enthusiasm
which was manifested along the whole of Napoleon's route from the Gulf of
Juan to Paris. "Ma foe!" he replied, "I was not there any more than you,
but all those who accompanied him have assured me of the truth of the
details which have been published; but I recollect having heard Bertrand
say that on one occasion he was fearful for the safety of the Emperor, in
case any assassin should have presented himself. At Fossard, where the
Emperor stopped to breakfast on his way to Paris, his escort was so
fatigued as to be unable to follow, so that he was for some time almost
alone on the road, until a squadron which was in garrison at Melun met
him and escorted him to Fontainebleau. As to anything else, from all I
have heard, the Emperor was exposed to no danger."

We then began to talk of our situation, and the singular chances of our
fortune. Rapp told me how, within a few days only, he had ceased to be
one of the discontented; for the condition of the generals who had
commanded army corps in the campaign of Waterloo was very different in
1815 from what it had been in 1814. "I had determined," he said, "to
live a