sed, and went to
summon M. de Meneval. I have already stated that the misfortunes of the
Revolution had caused my education to be more imperfect than it should
have been; but even had it been as good as it is defective, I much doubt
whether I would ever have been able to write from the Emperor's
dictation. It was no easy thing to fill this office, and required that
one should be well accustomed to it; for he spoke quickly, all in one
breath, made no pause, and was impatient when obliged to repeat.

In order to have me always at hand, the Emperor gave me permission to
hunt in the Park of Saint-Cloud, and was kind enough to remark that since
I was very fond of hunting, in granting me this privilege he was very
glad to have combined my pleasure with his need of me. I was the only
person to whom permission was given to hunt in the park. At the same
time the Emperor made me a present of a handsome double-barreled gun
which had been presented to him at Liege, and which I have still in my
possession. His Majesty himself did not like double-barreled guns, and
used in preference the simple, small guns which had belonged to Louis
XVI., and on which this monarch, who was an excellent gunsmith, had
worked, it is said, with his own hands.

The sight of these guns often led the Emperor to speak of Louis XVI.,
which he never did except in terms of respect and pity. "That
unfortunate prince," said the Emperor, "was good, wise, and learned. At
another period he would have been an excellent king, but he was worth
nothing in a time of revolution. He was lacking in resolution and
firmness, and could resist neither the foolishness nor the insolence of
the Jacobins. The courtiers delivered him up to the Jacobins, and they
led him to the scaffold. In his place I would have mounted my horse,
and, with a few concessions on one side, and a few cracks of my whip on
the other, I would have reduced things to order."

When the diplomatic corps came to pay their respects to the Emperor at
Saint-Cloud (the same custom was in use at the Tuileries), tea, coffee,
chocolate, or whatever these gentlemen requested, was served in the
saloon of the ambassadors. M. Colin, steward controller, was present at
this collation, which was served by the domestics of the service.

There was at Saint-Cloud an apartment which the Emperor fancied very
much; it opened on a beautiful avenue of chestnut-trees in the private
park, where he could walk at any hour without be