a
policy all his own, devoted himself completely to the young Emperor, and
resolved on winning him over. They were never separate on horseback or
on foot. They dined, and went to the theatre together each evening; and
the flattery of this preference, so ostentatiously paraded by Napoleon,
had its full effect on the ardent imagination, and chivalrous heart of
the youthful Czar.

Fetes, reviews, gala parties, and concerts, followed each other in
quick succession. The corps of the "Francais" was brought expressly from
Paris; the ballet of the Opera also came, and nothing was omitted
which could amuse the hours of Alexander, and testify the desire of his
host--for such Napoleon was--to entertain him with honour. Little, then,
did Napoleon dream, that the frank-hearted youth, who hung on every word
he spoke, would one day prove the most obstinate of all his enemies;
nor was it for many a day after, that he uttered, in the bitter venom
of disappointment, when the rugged energy of the Muscovite showed an
indomitable front to the strength of his armies, and was deaf to his
attempted negociations, "Scrape the Russian, and you'll come down on the
Tartar."

Alexander was indeed the worthy grandson of Catherine, and, however a
feeling of personal regard for Napoleon existed through the vicissitudes
of after-life, it is no less true that the dissimulation of the Russian
had imposed on the Corsican; and that while Napoleon believed him all
his own, the duplicity of the Muscovite had overreached him. It was in
reference to that interview and its pledged good faith, Napoleon, in
one of his cutting sarcasms, pronounced him, "Faux comme un Grec du Bas
Empire."

Nothing troubled the happiness of the meeting at Erfurt. It was a joyous
and a splendid fete, where, amid all the blandishments of luxury and
pleasure, two great kings divided the world at their will. It was
Constantine and Charlemagne who partitioned the East and West between
each other. The sad and sorrow-struck King of Prussia came not there as
at Tilsit; nor the fair Queen of that unhappy kingdom, whose beauty and
misfortunes might well have claimed the compassion of the conqueror.

Never was Napoleon's character exhibited in a point of view less amiable
than in his relations with the Queen of Prussia. If her position and her
personal attractions had no influence over him, the devoted attachment
of her whole nation towards her, should have had that effect. There was
some