on
which had escaped his lips one would hardly expect to find in the
imperial vocabulary.

The coming of the Pope to Paris for the purpose of crowning the Emperor
is one of those events which suffice to mark the grandeur of a period.
The Emperor never spoke of it except with extreme satisfaction, and he
wished his Holiness to be received with all the magnificence which should
attend the founder of a great empire. With this intention his Majesty
gave orders that, without any comment, everything should be furnished not
only that the Pope, but also all that the persons of his suite, might
demand. Alas! it was not by his own personal expenses that the Holy
Father assisted to deplete the imperial treasury

Pius VII. drank only water, and his sobriety was truly apostolic; but
this was not the case with the abbes attached to his service, for these
gentlemen each day required five bottles of Chambertin wine, without
counting those of other kinds and most expensive liquors.

This recalls another occurrence, which, however, relates only indirectly
to the Pope's stay in Paris. It is known that David was ordered by the
Emperor to execute the picture of the coronation, a work which offered an
incredible number of almost insurmountable difficulties, and which was,
in fact, one of the masterpieces of the great painter.

At all events, the preparation of this picture gave rise to controversies
in which the Emperor was compelled to interfere; and the case was
serious, as we shall see, since a Cardinal's wig was in question. David
persisted in not painting the head of Cardinal Caprara with a wig; and on
his part the Cardinal was not willing to allow him to paint his head
without the wig. Some took sides with the painter, some with the model;
and though the affair was treated with much diplomacy, no concession
could be obtained from either of the contracting parties, until at last
the Emperor took the part of his first painter against the Cardinal's
wig. This recalls the story of the artless man who would not allow his
head to be painted bare because he took cold so easily, and his picture
would be hung in a room without a fire.

When M. de Bourrienne left the Emperor, as is well known, he was replaced
by M. de Meneval, who had been formerly in the service of Prince Joseph.
The Emperor became more and more attached to his new private secretary in
proportion as he came to know him better. By degrees the work of the
cabinet, in whi