gh he was now
a country gentleman of New Jersey, with his lawn and his flower garden
to look after, he had sat upon two thrones, and had been a sovereign of
Naples and Spain. They called him "king," and his house was known as the
"palace;" and for this reason the people of other States made some mild
fun of New Jersey, calling it a foreign country.

But if this ex-king had been a rich country gentleman of the
neighborhood, he could not have made himself more popular. He was
hospitable, and frequently gave entertainments, and he sent flowers and
fruits from his gardens to his friends and neighbors. He made roads, and
contributed in many ways to the improvement of the country round about
his home. In winter time the boys of Bordentown came to skate upon his
ponds; and at such times he nearly always offered them refreshments,
which consisted of quantities of chestnuts, which he scattered on the
ice so that the youngsters might scramble for them.

In many ways his kind and sociable disposition made him so much liked,
that it is very probable that if the officers of the law had come to
take him back to Europe, he would have received such timely notice of
their approach that it would not have been necessary for him to hurry
away through his underground passages. New Jersey is a reasonable and
hospitable State, and when an ex-king comes to reside within her
borders, he will be as well treated, so long as he behaves himself, as
if he were a poor immigrant from Europe, coming with his wife and family
to clear away the forest, and make himself a home.

Just before Joseph started for America, the affairs of his family were
at their lowest ebb. His great brother, the emperor, had fallen from his
high state, and could look forward to nothing but imprisonment by the
European countries, whose thrones he had for so long been in the habit
of upsetting or threatening. In his last interview with Napoleon, when
on his way to the ship which was to take him to America, Joseph
generously offered to change places with his brother, and to let the
ex-emperor fly to America instead of the ex-king. It was very difficult
for any one of the Napoleon family to get away from France at that time;
but Joseph had made a very excellent plan by which passports were
provided for two persons coming to America on business, and his brother
could have used one of those as well as himself.

But the great Napoleon declined to run away in this manner. He remain