aracter on the stage, the Emperor professed
himself exceedingly pleased; and the ladies, among whom was Princess von
Metternich, were sent for from the Imperial box to be complimented by
the sovereign. At the ball which followed the entertainment, they
appeared in their theatrical dresses. Every one was delighted. "Apres
tout," said Napoleon, blinking his eyes, "avec cette manie des hommes de
courir apres des danseuses, il vaut mieux leur en fournir de bonne
maison."

The philosophy was unassailable, and, to a certain extent, acted upon by
its professor. Napoleon only admired dancers on the stage. He thought,
with Balzac, that the extraordinary physical strain upon the lower
extremities necessarily interfered with the intellectual development "at
the other end." "L'esprit de la danseuse est dans ses jambes, et je
n'aime pas les femmes betes," he remarked; for the Emperor, like most of
the members of his family, did not scruple to apply the right word, when
talking to his familiars.

Nevertheless, until he was assured of the stupidity of a woman by more
intimate acquaintance, he was too much inclined to be attracted by the
first handsome face he saw, or, to speak by the card, by the first
handsome face he picked out for himself. The moment he was seated by
the side of the Empress in the Imperial box, during one of those
performances I mentioned just now, he swept the house with his
opera-glass, and unerringly the glass stopped at what was really the
handsomest woman in the house, whether she was seated on the tier with
him or in the upper one--of course, I mean "the handsomest woman" among
the strangers, because on such occasions the Emperor paid but little
attention to those who were generally around him. The Empress was fain
to put up with these peccadilloes: she could not be always running away
to Schwalbach or to Scotland; besides, she knew that she would have to
come back again. Some months previous to the performance of "Le Diable a
Quatre," she went to the former place to hide her mortification. William
of Prussia was at Baden-Baden at the time, and he immediately left the
delightful society and the magnificent roulades of Pauline Lucca to
offer his sympathies to the Griselda who had fled from her home
troubles, forgetting that there was another one at home, who would have
even been more glad of his company.

On the day after the shooting-party and the theatrical performance,
there was generally an excursion to