ucted her to her apartment. He wished that no
one should approach or touch his young wife before himself; and his
jealousy was so extreme on this point that he himself forbade the senator
de Beauharnais, the Empress's chevalier of honor, to present his hand to
her Imperial Majesty, although this was one of the requirements of his
position. According to the programme, the Emperor should have occupied a
different residence from the Empress, and have slept at the hotel of the
Chancellerie; but he did nothing of the sort, since after a long
conversation with the Empress, he returned to his room, undressed,
perfumed himself with cologne, and wearing only a nightdress returned
secretly to the Empress.

The next morning the Emperor asked me at his toilet if any one noticed
the change he had made in the programme; and I replied that I thought
not, though at the risk of falsehood. Just then one of his Majesty's
intimate friends entered who was unmarried, to whom his Majesty, pulling
his ears, said, "My dear fellow, marry a German. They are the best wives
in the world; gentle, good, artless, and fresh as roses." From the air
of satisfaction with which the Emperor said this, it was easy to see that
he was painting a portrait, and it was only a short while since the
painter had left the model. After making his toilet, the Emperor
returned to the Empress, and towards noon had breakfast sent up for her
and him, and served near the bed by her Majesty's women. Throughout the
day he was in a state of charming gayety, and contrary to his usual
custom, having made a second toilet for dinner, wore the coat made by the
tailor of the King of Naples; but next day he would not allow it to be
put on again, saying it was much too uncomfortable.

The Emperor, as may be seen from the preceding details, loved his new
wife most tenderly. He paid her constant attentions, and his whole
conduct was that of a lover deeply enamoured. Nevertheless, it is not
true, as some one has said, that he remained three months almost without
working, to the great astonishment of his ministers; for work was not
only a duty with the Emperor, it was both a necessity and an enjoyment,
from which no other pleasure, however great, could distract him; and on
this occasion, as on every other, he knew perfectly well how to combine
the duties he owed to his empire and his army with those due to his
charming wife.

The Empress Marie Louise was only nineteen years old at the p