as a thorn in his side. It was the pen of M. Henri Rochefort, le
Comte de Lucay, journalist and communard. Despite fines, "suppressions,"
and imprisonments, this gifted writer and unscrupulous blackguard had, as
every one knows, made incessant war upon the Empire and all its
_personnel_. The bitter and unfair attacks of his paper, _La Lanterne_,
made life at the Tuilleries exceedingly uncomfortable. His rancor against
the Empress was something horrible, and went to the length of denying the
legitimacy of the Prince Imperial. His existence was a menace and a terror
to the illustrious lady, even when she was in exile at Chiselhurst and he
in confinement on the distant island of New Caledonia. When the news of
his escape from that penal colony arrived at Chiselhurst the widowed
Empress was in despair; and when, on his way to England, he announced his
intention of reviving _La Lanterne_ in London (of course he dared not
cross the borders of France) she was utterly prostrated by the fear of his
pitiless animosity. But what could she do? Not prevent the revival of his
dreadful newspaper, certainly, but--well, she could send for Mr. Mortimer.
That ingenious gentleman was not long at a loss for an expedient that
would accomplish what was possible. He shut Rochefort out of London by
forestalling him. At the very time when Mortimer was asking me to suggest
a suitable name for the new satirical journal he had already registered at
Stationers' Hall--that is to say, copyrighted--the title of _The Lantern_,
a precaution which M. Rochefort's French friends had neglected to take,
although they had expended thousands of pounds in a plant for their
venture. Mr. Mortimer cruelly permitted them to go on with their costly
preparations, and the first intimation they had that the field was
occupied came from the newsdealers selling _The Lantern_. After some
futile attempts at relief and redress, M. Rochefort took himself off and
set up his paper in Belgium.

The expenses of _The Lantern_--including a generous _douceur_ to
myself--were all defrayed by the Empress. She was the sole owner of it
and, I was gratified to learn, took so lively an interest in her venture
that a special French edition was printed for her private reading. I was
told that she especially enjoyed the articles on M. le Comte de Lucay,
though I dare say some of the delicate subtleties of their literary style
were lost in translation.

Being in London later in the year, I re