until
late,--seven or eight o'clock. The Emperor often dined alone with the
Prince de Neuchatel, unless there were guests from the royal family of
Saxony. After dinner they attended the theater, when there was a play;
and afterwards the Emperor returned to his cabinet to work again, either
alone or with his secretaries.

Each day it was the same thing, unless, which was very rarely the case,
fatigued beyond measure by the labors of the day, the Emperor took a
fancy to send for Madame Georges after the tragedy. Then she passed two
or three hours in his apartment, but never more.

Sometimes the Emperor invited Talma or Mademoiselle Mars to breakfast.
One day, in a conversation with this admirable actress, the Emperor spoke
to her concerning her debut. "Sire," said she, in that graceful manner
which every one remembers, "I began very young. I slipped in without
being perceived."--"Without being perceived!" replied his Majesty
quickly; "you are mistaken. Be assured moreover, Mademoiselle, that I
have always, in common with all France, highly appreciated your wonderful
talents."

The Emperor's stay at Dresden brought wealth and abundance. More than
six million francs of foreign money were spent in this city between the
8th of May and 16th of November, if one can believe the statements
published on Saxon authority of the number of lodgings distributed. This
sojourn was a harvest of gold, which keepers of boarding-houses, hotels,
and merchants carefully reaped. Those in charge of military lodgings
furnished by the inhabitants also made large profits. At Dresden could
be seen Parisian tailors and bootmakers, teaching the natives to work in
the French style. Even bootblacks were found on the bridges over the
Elbe, crying, as they had cried on the bridges of the Seine, "Shine your
boots!"

Around the city numerous camps had been established for the wounded,
convalescents, etc. One of these, called the Westphalian camp, presented
a most beautiful scene. It was a succession of beautiful small gardens;
there a fortress made of turf, its bastions crowned with hortensias; here
a plot had been converted into a terrace, its walks ornamented with
flowers, like the most carefully tended parterre; on a third was seen a
statue of Pallas. The whole barrack was decked with moss, and decorated
with boughs and garlands which were renewed each day.

As the armistice would end on the 15th of August, the fete of his Majesty
was advanced five