he prescriptions of Corvisart, whose open and good-humoured
countenance at once made a favourable impression on him.

The pain which the First Consul felt at this time increased his
irritability. Perhaps many of the sets of this epoch of his life should
be attributed to this illness. At the time in question his ideas were
not the same in the evening as they had been in the morning; and often in
the morning he would tear up, even without the least remark, notes he had
dictated to me at night and which he had considered excellent. At other
times I took on myself not to send to the Moniteur, as he wished me to
do, notes which, dictated by annoyance and irascibility, might have
produced a bad effect in Europe. When the next day he did not see the
article, I attributed this to the note being too late, or to the late
arrival of the courier. But I told him it was no loss, for it would be
inserted the next day. He did not answer at once, but a quarter of an
hour afterwards he said to me, "Do not send my note to the 'Moniteur'
without showing it to me." He took it and reread it. Sometimes he was
astonished at what he had dictated to me, and amused himself by saying
that I had not understood him properly. "That is not much good, is it?
"--"'Pon my word, I don't quite know."--"Oh no, it is worthless; what say
you?" Then he bowed his head a little, and tore up the paper. Once when
we were at the Tuileries he sent me at two o'clock in the morning a small
note in his own writing, in which was, "To Bourrienne. Write to Maret to
make him erase from the note which Fleurieu has read to the Tribunate the
phrase (spelt frase) concerning Costaz, and to soften as much as possible
what concerns the reporter of the Tribunate."

This change, after time for reflection, arose, as often happened with
him, from observations I had made to him, and which he had at first
angrily repulsed.

After the peace of Amiens the First Consul, wishing to send an ambassador
to England, cast his eyes--for what reason I know not--on General
Andreossi. I took the liberty of making some observation on a choice
which did not appear to me to correspond with the importance of the
mission. Bonaparte replied, "I have not determined on it; I will talk to
Talleyrand on the subject." When we were at Malmaison in the evening
M. de Talleyrand came to transact business with the First Consul. The
proposed appointment of an ambassador to England was mentioned. After
several per