will not have such monstrous extravagance. I could have two
regiments of cuirassiers, or a fleet of frigates, with the money which
you squander upon foolish silks and furs. It might turn the fortunes of
a campaign. Then again, Josephine, who gave you permission to order
that parure of diamonds and sapphires from Lefebvre? The bill has been
sent to me and I have refused to pay for it. If he applies again, I
shall have him marched to prison between a file of grenadiers, and your
milliner shall accompany him there.'

The Emperor's fits of anger, although tempestuous, were never very
prolonged. The curious convulsive wriggle of one of his arms, which
always showed when he was excited, gradually died away, and after
looking for some time at the papers of de Meneval--who had written away
like an automaton during all this uproar--he came across to the fire
with a smile upon his lips, and a brow from which the shadow had
departed.

'You have no excuse for extravagance, Josephine,' said he, laying his
hand upon her shoulder. 'Diamonds and fine dresses are very necessary
to an ugly woman in order to make her attractive, but _you_ cannot need
them for such a purpose. You had no fine dresses when first I saw you
in the Rue Chautereine, and yet there was no woman in the world who ever
attracted me so. Why will you vex me, Josephine, and make me say things
which seem unkind? Drive back, little one, to Pont de Briques, and see
that you do not catch cold.'

'You will come to the salon, Napoleon?' asked the Empress, whose
bitterest resentment seemed to vanish in an instant at the first kindly
touch from his hand. She still held her handkerchief before her eyes,
but it was chiefly, I think, to conceal the effect which her tears had
had upon her cheeks.

'Yes, yes, I will come. Our carriages will follow yours. See the
ladies into the berline, Constant. Have you ordered the embarkation of
the troops, Berthier? Come here, Talleyrand, for I wish to describe my
views about the future of Spain and Portugal. Monsieur de Laval, you
may escort the Empress to Pont de Briques, where I shall see you at the
reception.'

CHAPTER XV

THE RECEPTION OF THE EMPRESS

Pont de Briques is but a small village, and this sudden arrival of the
Court, which was to remain for some weeks, had crammed it with visitors.
It would have been very much simpler to have come to Boulogne, where
there were more suitable buildings and better accom