ia was the grandson of Maria Theresa, a
powerful and masterful woman, who held her throne in direct
contravention of legitimist theories, because she had conquered it.
Both were nevertheless overpowered by the sense of their legitimacy
and sacred aloofness. When Francis humiliated himself before his
conqueror after Austerlitz, his mien was distant and his salute
haughty; the miserable King of Prussia was, like him, dignified and
severe even in his beggary. The Czar was too close to the crime which
had set him on his throne to assume any airs of superiority with the
French Caesar. Having taken the first step, he began to show a childish
eagerness for a personal meeting with Napoleon. The Emperor was far
from averse, and made a formal proposal to that effect, which was
promptly accepted; the intercourse between French and Russian officers
grew warmer and closer every day, and the arrangements for an
interview between the would-be Eastern and Western emperors were soon
completed.

CHAPTER IV

NAPOLEON AND ALEXANDER AT TILSIT[8]

[Footnote 8: For the years of the Franco-Russian alliance the
French archives contain a wealth of documentary material:
regular despatches, verbatim reports of conversations between
the French ambassadors and the Czar, the news of the day in
St. Petersburg and the gossip of society. Savary and
Caulaincourt may be said to have kept their master in
personal touch with their friend and ally. There is likewise
the ordinary regular diplomatic correspondence with Austria,
Prussia, Turkey, and the other European states. An
interesting and invaluable peculiarity of French archives is,
that bound up with despatches received are the outlines of
those sent, and generally not merely a sketch, but the first
draft with all annotations and corrections, these quite often
in Napoleon's almost cryptic but still decipherable
handwriting. Much of course is in cipher, but the key is
available and sometimes the official decipherment. The
archives of St. Petersburg are also available for properly
accredited searchers; Tratchefski has gone a considerable
distance in publishing the decisive papers, and Tatistcheff
has printed many important documents in various periodicals.
Other sources have been already indicated: the publish