Corvisart recommended him to refuse every drink which had a bitter or
disagreeable taste, which he did, I believe, in the fear that an attempt
might be made to poison him.

At whatever hour the Emperor had retired, I entered his room at seven or
eight o'clock in the morning; and I have already said that his first
questions invariably were as to the hour and the kind of weather.
Sometimes he complained to me of looking badly; and if this was true, I
agreed with him, and if it were not, I told him the truth. In this case
he pulled my ears, and called me, laughing, "grosse bete," and asked for
a mirror, sometimes saying he was trying to fool me and that he was very
well. He read the daily papers, asked the names of the people in the
waiting-room, named those he wished to see, and conversed with each one.
When Corvisart came, he entered without waiting for orders; and the
Emperor took pleasure in teasing him by speaking of medicine, which he
said was only a conjectural art, that the doctors were charlatans, and
cited instances in proof of it, especially in his own experience, the
doctor never yielding a point when he thought he was right. During these
conversations, the Emperor shaved himself; for I had prevailed on him to
take this duty on himself, often forgetting that he had shaved only one
side of his face, and when I called his attention to this, he laughed,
and finished his work. Yvan, doctor-in-ordinary, as well as Corvisart,
came in for his share in the criticisms and attacks on his profession;
and these discussions were extremely amusing. The Emperor was very gay
and talkative at such times, and I believe, when he had at hand no
examples to cite in support of his theories, did not scruple to invent
them; consequently these gentlemen did not always rely upon his
statements. One day his Majesty pulled the ears of one of his physicians
(Halle, I believe). The doctor abruptly drew himself away, crying,
"Sire, you hurt me." Perhaps this speech was tinged with some
irritation, and perhaps, also, the doctor was right. However that may
be, his ears were never in danger again.

Sometimes before beginning my labors, his Majesty questioned me as to
what I had done the evening before, asked me if I had dined in the city,
and with whom, if I had enjoyed myself, and what we had for dinner. He
often inquired also what such or such a part of my clothing cost me; and
when I told him he would exclaim at the price, and tell me th