phine. The Emperor, having been informed of
it by others than myself, said to me one morning at his toilet,
"Constant, I owe you indemnity."--"Sire?"--"Yes, my child, I know that
your place has been pillaged, I know that you have incurred considerable
losses in the Russian campaign; I have given an order that fifty thousand
francs should be handed you to cover the whole." I thanked his Majesty,
who more than indemnified me for my losses.

This occurred during the first days of our last stay at Fontainebleau.
At the same period the Emperor's removal to the Island of Elba having
been already discussed, the grand marshal of the palace asked me if I
would follow his Majesty to this residence. God is my witness that I had
no other wish than to consecrate all my life to the service of the
Emperor; therefore I did not need a moment's reflection to reply that
this could not be a matter of doubt; and I occupied myself almost
immediately with preparations for the sojourn, which proved to be not a
long one, but the duration of which no human intelligence could then have
been able to foretell.

Meanwhile, in the retirement of his chamber, the Emperor became each day
more sad and careworn; and when I saw him alone, which often occurred,
for I tried to be near him as much as possible, I remarked the extreme
agitation which the reading of the dispatches he received from Paris
caused him; this agitation was many times so great that I noticed he had
torn his leg with his nails until the blood flowed, without being aware
of it. I then took the liberty of informing him of the fact as gently as
possible, with the hope of putting an end to this intense preoccupation,
which cut me to the heart. Several times also the Emperor asked Roustan
for his pistols; fortunately I had taken the precaution, seeing his
Majesty so unnerved, to recommend him not to give them to him, however
much the Emperor might insist. I thought it my duty to give an account
of all this to the Duke of Vicenza, who entirely approved of my conduct.
One morning, I do not recall whether it was the 10th or 11th of April,
but it was certainly on one of those days, the Emperor, who had said
nothing to me in the morning, had me called during the day. I had hardly
entered his room when he said to me, in a tone of most winning kindness,
"My dear Constant, there is a hundred thousand francs waiting for you at
Peyrache's; if your wife arrives before our departure, you will give them