s moved rapidly through the gallery, whispering now to this
one, now to that, among the officers of superior grade, who immediately
after left the salon by a door at the end. At length he approached
General d'Auvergne, saying,--

"The audience of the marshals, will not occupy more than half an hour;
pray be in readiness to wait on his Majesty when he calls. You can
remain in the blue drawing-room next the gallery!"

The general bowed, and taking my arm, moved slowly from the spot in
the direction mentioned, and in a few minutes we found ourselves in the
small room where the Empress used to receive her morning visitors during
the Consulate.

"You remember this _salon_ Burke?" said the general, carelessly.

"Yes, sir, but too well; it was here that his Majesty gave me that
rebuke--"

"True, true, my dear boy; I forgot that completely. But come, there has
been time enough to forget it since. I wonder what can mean this summons
to attend here! I have received my orders; there has been, so far as I
understand, no change of plan. Well, well, we shall soon know. See,
the levee has begun to break up already; there goes the staff of the
artillery; that roll of the drum is for some general of division."

And now the crash of carriages, and the sounds of cavalry escorts
jingling beside them, mingled with the deep beating of the drums, made
a mass of noises that filled the air, and continued without interruption
|or above an hour.

"_Sacristi_" cried the general, "the crowd seems to pour in as fast as
it goes out; this may last for the entire day. I have scarce two hours
left me now."

He walked the room impatiently; now muttering some broken words to
himself, now stopping to listen to the sounds without. Still the din
continued, and the distant roll of equipages, growing louder as they
came, told that the tide was yet pressing onwards towards the Palace.
"Three o'clock!" cried the general, as the bell of the pavilion sounded;
"at four I was to leave. Such were my written orders, signed by the
minister."

His impatience now became extreme. He knew how difficult it was, in a
matter of military discipline, to satisfy Napoleon that any breach,
even when caused by his direct orders, was not a fault. Besides, his old
habits had taught him to respect a command from the Minister of War as
something above all others.

"Beauharnais must have mistaken," said he, angrily. "His Majesty gave me
my final directions; I'll wait no lon