g into the room. Countess Golovin was obliged to tell her
that she might continue. "You may speak without fear," she said; "it
is Mme. Lebrun." All this seemed extremely burdensome after living
under Catherine, who allowed every one to enjoy entire liberty
without, however, using the word.

It would take a long time to recount to what futilities Paul practised
his tyranny. He ordered, for instance, that every one should make
obeisance to his palace, even when he was absent. He forbade the
wearing of round hats, which he looked upon as a symbol of
Jacobinism. The police knocked off with their sticks all the round
hats they saw, to the great annoyance of people whose ignorance of the
regulation exposed them to being thus unhatted. On the other hand,
every one was obliged to wear powder. At the time when this regulation
was made I was painting young Prince Bariatinski's portrait, and he
had acceded to my request that he come without powder. One day he
arrived pale as death. "What is the matter with you?" I asked him. "I
have just met the Emperor," he replied, all a-tremble, "I barely had
time to hide in a doorway, but I am terribly afraid that he recognised
me." There was nothing surprising in Prince Bariatinski's fright. All
classes were likewise affected, for no inhabitant of St. Petersburg
was sure one night that he would sleep in his bed the next.

For my part, I avow that in the reign of Paul I experienced the
greatest fear of all my life. I had gone to Pergola to spend the day,
and had with me M. de Riviere, my coachman, and Peter, my faithful
Russian servant. While M. de Riviere was walking about with his gun to
shoot birds or rabbits--to which, by the way, he never did great
harm--I remained on the shore of the lake. All of a sudden I noticed
the fire that had been lit to cook our dinner communicate itself to
the trees and spread with great rapidity. The trees were close
together, and Pergola was close to St. Petersburg! I began to scream
dreadfully, calling upon M. de Riviere, and, aided by fear, the four
of us succeeded in extinguishing the blaze, though not without
severely burning our hands. But we thought of the Emperor, of Siberia,
and it may well be imagined how this filled us with zeal!

I can only explain the terror that Paul inspired me with from the fact
that it was universal, since I must admit that toward myself he was
never anything but civil and considerate. When I saw him for the first
time at St