uchy, and I warn you I do not intend to lose them, so you
must make your preparations.". . . . I never once omitted to
acquit myself of the obligation, and if there were any delay, . . .
his Highness never failed to cause one of his secretaries to write a
good scolding to my house steward; but when the hams arrived
exactly, his highness never failed to write to my wife himself to
thank her.

This was not all; the hams were to come carriage free. This petty
jobbery occasioned discontent, . . . and it would not have cost
me more to pay the carriage. The Prince would not allow it. There
was an agreement between him and Lavalette (the head of the Posts),
. . . And my Lord appeared to lay as much stress on the
performance of this treaty as on the procuring of the ham, (Beugnot,
tome i. p. 262).

Cambaceres never suffered the cares of Government to distract his
attention from the great object of life. On one occasion, for
example, being detained in consultation with Napoleon beyond the
appointed hour of dinner--it is said that the fate of the Duc
d'Enghien was the topic under discussion--he was observed, when the
hour became very late, to show great symptoms of impatience sod
restlessness. He at last wrote a note which he called a gentleman
usher in waiting to carry. Napoleon, suspecting the contents,
nodded to an aide de camp to intercept the despatch. As he took it
into his hands Cambaceres begged earnestly that he would not read a
trifling note upon domestic matters. Napoleon persisted, and found
it to be a note to the cook containing only the following words,
"Gardez les entremetes--les rotis sont perdue." When Napoleon was
in good humor at the result of a diplomatic conference he was
accustomed to take leave of the plenipotentiaries with, "Go and dine
Cambaceres." His table was in fact an important state engine, as
appears from the anecdote of the trout sent to him by the
municipality of Geneva, and charged 300 francs in their accounts.
The Imperial 'Cour des Comptes' having disallowed the item, was
interdicted from meddling with similar municipal affairs in future
(Hayward's Art of Dining, p. 20).]

At the commencement of 1801 Fulton presented to Bonaparte his memorial on
steamboats. I urged a serious examination of the subject. "Bah!" said
he, "these projectors are all either intriguers or visionaries. Don't
troubl