een done."

The death of Josephine and the departure of Eugene left Hortense,
bereaved and dejected, almost alone in Paris with her two children.
Their intelligence and vivacity had deeply interested Alexander and
other royal guests, who had cordially paid their tribute of respect and
sympathy to their mother. Napoleon had taken a deep interest in the
education of the two princes, as he was aware of the frailty of life,
and as the death of the King of Rome would bring them in the direct line
to the inheritance of the crown.

The Emperor generally breakfasted alone when at home, at a small table
in his cabinet. The two sons of Hortense were frequently admitted, that
they might interest him with their infant prattle. The Emperor would
tell them a story, and have them repeat it after him, that he might
ascertain the accuracy of their memory. Any indication of intellectual
superiority excited in his mind the most lively satisfaction.
Mademoiselle Cochelet, who was the companion and reader of Queen
Hortense, relates the following anecdote of Louis Napoleon:

"The two princes were in intelligence quite in advance of their years.
This proceeded from the care which their mother gave herself to form
their characters and to develop their faculties. They were, however, too
young to understand all the strange scenes which were transpiring around
them. As they had always beheld in the members of their own family, in
their uncles and aunts, kings and queens, when the Emperor of Russia and
the King of Prussia were first introduced to them, the little Louis
Napoleon asked if they were also their uncles, and if they were to be
called so.

"'No,' was the reply; 'they are not your uncles. You will simply address
them as sire.'

"'But are not all kings our uncles?' inquired the young prince.

"'Far from being your uncle,' was the reply, 'they have come, in their
turn, as conquerors.'

"'Then they are the enemies,' said Louis Napoleon, 'of our uncle, the
Emperor. Why, then, do they embrace us?'

"'Because the Emperor of Russia, whom you see, is a generous enemy. He
wishes to be useful to you and to your mamma. But for him you would no
longer have any thing; and the condition of your uncle, the Emperor,
would be more unhappy.'

"'We ought, then, to love this Emperor, ought we?'

"'Yes, certainly,' was the reply; 'for you owe him your gratitude.'

"The next time the Emperor Alexander called upon Hortense, little Louis
Napoleon,