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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of In the Courts of Memory 1858-1875.
+by L. de Hegermann-Lindencrone
+
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+Title: In the Courts of Memory 1858-1875.
+
+Author: L. de Hegermann-Lindencrone
+
+Release Date: December, 2004 [EBook #7044]
+[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule]
+[This file was first posted on February 27, 2003]
+
+Edition: 10
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: Latin-1
+
+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IN THE COURTS OF MEMORY 1858-1875. ***
+
+
+
+
+This eBook was produced by Anne Soulard, Charles Franks
+and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team.
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: MADAME CHARLES MOULTON]
+
+
+
+
+IN THE COURTS OF MEMORY
+1858-1875
+FROM CONTEMPORARY LETTERS
+
+BY
+L. DE HEGERMANN-LINDENCRONE
+
+
+
+
+ILLUSTRATIONS
+  MADAME CHARLES MOULTON
+  THE FAY HOUSE, CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS
+  EMPEROR NAPOLEON III
+  EMPRESS EUGÉNIE
+  DANIEL FRANÇOIS ESPRIT AUBER
+  FACSIMILE OF LETTER FROM THE DUKE DE MORNY
+  JENNY LIND
+  THE MAIN FAÇADE--CHÂTEAU DE COMPIÈGNE
+  SALLE DES FÊTES--CHÂTEAU DE COMPIÈGNE
+  CHÂTEAU DE PIERREFONDS
+  THE MUSIC HALL--CHÂTEAU DE COMPIÈGNE
+  FACSIMILE OF LETTER FROM JENNY LIND
+  FACSIMILE OF LISZT LETTER
+  MÉRIMÉE'S SIGNATURE AND ANSWERS TO MADAME MOULTON'S QUESTIONS
+  LA SALLE DES PREUX--CHÂTEAU DE PIERREFONDS....
+  PRINCE METTERNICH'S SIGNATURE AND ANSWERS TO MADAME MOULTON'S QUESTIONS
+  NAPOLEON'S SIGNATURE AND ANSWERS TO MADAME MOULTON'S QUESTIONS
+  EMPRESS EUGÉNIE'S SIGNATURE AND ANSWERS TO MADAME MOULTON'S QUESTIONS
+  ELIHU WASHBURN
+  RUE DE RIVOLI, WHERE THE HÔTEL CONTINENTAL NOW STANDS
+  RAOUL RIGAULT
+  FACSIMILE OF PASSPORT ISSUED TO MADAME MOULTON DURING THE COMMUNE
+  FACSIMILE OF THE GOVERNMENT PERMIT TO KEEP COWS
+  PLACE VENDÔME AFTER THE FALL OF THE COLUMN
+  FACSIMILE OF TICKET TO PLACE VENDÔME
+  FACSIMILE OF ENVELOPE ADDRESSED BY THE EMPRESS EUGÉNIE TO PRINCE
+    METTERNICH
+  GIUSEPPE GARIBALDI
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE
+
+
+These letters, written by me in my younger days to a dear and indulgent
+mother and aunt, were returned to me after their death. In writing them I
+allowed myself to go into the smallest details, even the most
+insignificant ones, as I was sure that they would be welcome and
+appreciated by those to whom they were addressed. They were certainly not
+intended to be made public.
+
+If I have decided, after much hesitation, to publish these letters, it is
+because many of my friends, having read them, have urged me to do so,
+thinking that they might be of interest, inasmuch as they refer to some
+important events of the past, and especially to people of the musical
+world whose names and renown are not yet forgotten.
+
+LILLIE DE HEGERMANN-LINDENCRONE. BERLIN, _July, 1912._
+
+
+
+
+NOTE
+
+
+Madame de Hegermann-Lindencrone, the writer of these letters, which give
+so vivid a picture of the brilliant court of the last Napoleon, is the
+wife of the present Danish Minister to Germany. She was formerly Miss
+Lillie Greenough, of Cambridge, Massachusetts, where she lived with her
+grandfather, Judge Fay, in the fine old Fay mansion, now the property of
+Radcliffe College.
+
+As a child Miss Greenough developed the remarkable voice which later was
+to make her well known, and when only fifteen years of age her mother took
+her to London to study under Garcia. Two years later Miss Greenough became
+the wife of Charles Moulton, the son of a well-known American banker, who
+had been a resident in Paris since the days of Louis Philippe. As Madame
+Charles Moulton, the charming American became an appreciated guest at the
+court of Napoleon III. The Paris papers of the days of the Second Empire
+are filled with the praises of her personal attractions and exquisite
+singing.
+
+After nine years of gaiety in the gayest city in the world came the war of
+1870 and the Commune. Upon the fall of the Empire, Mrs. Moulton returned
+to America, where Mr. Moulton died, and a few years afterward she married
+M. de Hegermann-Lindencrone, at that time Danish Minister to the United
+States, and later successively his country's representative at Stockholm,
+Rome, and Paris.
+
+Few persons of her day have known so many of those whom the world has
+counted great. Among her friends have been not only the ruling monarchs of
+several countries, and the most distinguished men and women of their
+courts, but almost all the really important figures in the world of music
+of the past half-century, among them Wagner, Liszt, Auber, Gounod, and
+Rossini. And of many of these great men the letters give us glimpses of
+the most fascinatingly intimate sort.
+
+
+
+
+IN THE COURTS OF MEMORY
+
+
+CAMBRIDGE, _1856._
+
+DEAR M.,--You say in your last letter, "Do tell me something about your
+school." If I only had the time, I could write volumes about my school,
+and especially about my teachers.
+
+To begin with, Professor Agassiz gives us lectures on zoölogy, geology,
+and all other ologies, and draws pictures on the blackboard of trilobites
+and different fossils, which is very amusing. We call him "Father Nature,"
+and we all adore him and try to imitate his funny Swiss accent.
+
+Professor Pierce, who is, you know, the greatest mathematician in the
+world, teaches us mathematics and has an awful time of it; we must be very
+stupid, for the more he explains, the less we seem to understand, and when
+he gets on the rule of three we almost faint from dizziness. If he would
+only explain the rule of one! The Harvard students say that his book on
+mathematics is so intricate that not one of them can solve the problems.
+
+We learn history and mythology from Professor Felton, who is very near-
+sighted, wears broad-brimmed spectacles, and shakes his curly locks at us
+when he thinks we are frivolous. He was rather nonplussed the other day,
+when Louise Child read out loud in the mythology lesson something about
+"Jupiter and ten." "What," cried Mr. Felton, "what are you reading? You
+mean 'Jupiter and Io,' don't you?" "It says ten here," she answered.
+
+Young Mr. Agassiz teaches us German and French; we read Balzac's _Les
+Chouans_ and Schiller's _Wallenstein_.
+
+Our Italian teacher, Luigi Monti, is a refugee from Italy, and has a sad
+and mysterious look in his black eyes; he can hardly speak English, so we
+have things pretty much our own way during the lessons, for he cannot
+correct us. One of the girls, translating _capelli neri_, said "black
+hats," and he never saw the mistake, though we were all dying of laughter.
+
+No one takes lessons in Greek from long-bearded, fierce-eyed Professor
+Evangelinus Apostolides Sophocles, so he is left in peace. He does not
+come more than once a week anyway, and then only to say it is no use his
+coming at all.
+
+Cousin James Lowell replaces Mr. Longfellow the days he can't come. He
+reads selections of "literary treasures," as he calls them, and on which
+he discourses at length. He seems very dull and solemn when he is in
+school; not at all as he is at home. When he comes in of an afternoon and
+reads his poems to aunty and to an admiring circle of cousins and sisters-
+in-law, they all roar with laughter, particularly when he reads them with
+a Yankee accent. He has such a rippling little giggle while reading, that
+it is impossible not to laugh.
+
+The other day he said to me, "Cousin Lillie, I will take you out for a
+walk in recess." I said, "Nothing I should like better, but I can't go."
+"Why not?" said he. "Because I must go and be a beggar." "What do you
+mean?" he asked. "I mean that there is a duet that Mrs. Agassiz favors
+just now, from Meyerbeer's 'Le Prophète,' where she is beggar number one
+and I am beggar number two." He laughed. "You are a lucky little beggar,
+anyway. I envy you." "Envy me? I thought you would pity me," I said. "No,
+I do not pity you, I envy you being a beggar with a voice!"
+
+I consider myself a victim. In recess, when the other girls walk in Quincy
+Street and eat their apples, Mrs. Agassiz lures me into the parlor and
+makes me sing duets with her and her sister, Miss Carey. I hear the girls
+filing out of the door, while I am caged behind the piano, singing, "Hear
+Me, Norma," wishing Norma and her twins in Jericho.
+
+There are about fourteen pupils now; we go every morning at nine o'clock
+and stay till two o'clock. We climb up the three stories in the Agassiz
+house and wait for our teachers, who never are on time. Sometimes school
+does not begin for half an hour.
+
+Mrs. Agassiz comes in, and we all get up to say good morning to her. As
+there is nothing else left for her to teach, she teaches us manners. She
+looks us over, and holds up a warning finger smilingly. She is so sweet
+and gentle.
+
+I don't wonder that you think it extraordinary that all these fine
+teachers, who are the best in Harvard College, should teach us; but the
+reason is, that the Agassiz's have built a new house and find it difficult
+to pay for it, so their friends have promised to help them to start this
+school, and by lending their names they have put it on its legs, so to
+speak.
+
+The other day I was awfully mortified. Mr. Longfellow, who teaches us
+literature, explained all about rhythm, measures, and the feet used in
+poetry. The idea of poetry having feet seemed so ridiculous that I thought
+out a beautiful joke, which I expected would amuse the school immensely;
+so when he said to me in the lesson, "Miss Greenough, can you tell me what
+blank verse is?" I answered promptly and boldly, "Blank verse is like a
+blank-book; there is nothing in it, not even feet," and looked around for
+admiration, but only saw disapproval written everywhere, and Mr.
+Longfellow, looking very grave, passed on to the next girl. I never felt
+so ashamed in my life.
+
+Mr. Longfellow, on passing our house, told aunty that he was coming in the
+afternoon, to speak to me; aunty was worried and so was I, but when he
+came I happened to be singing Schubert's "Dein ist mein Herz," one of
+aunty's songs, and he said, "Go on. Please don't stop." When I had
+finished he said:
+
+"I came to scold you for your flippancy this morning, but you have only to
+sing to take the words out of my mouth, and to be forgiven."
+
+"And I hope you will forget," I said, penitently.
+
+"I have already forgotten," he answered, affectionately. "How can one be
+angry with a dear little bird? But don't try again to be so witty."
+
+"Never again, I promise you."
+
+"That's the dear girl you are, and 'Dein ist mein Herz'!" He stooped down
+and kissed me.
+
+I burst into tears, and kissed his hand. This is to show you what a dear,
+kind man Mr. Longfellow is.
+
+[Illustration: THE FAY HOUSE, CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS]
+
+
+CAMBRIDGE, _June, 1857._
+
+If you were here, dear mama, I would sing, "Oh, Wake and Call Me Early,
+Call Me Early, Mother Dear," for I am to dance the quadrille on the
+"Green" on Class Day. To be asked by a Harvard graduate to be one of the
+four girls to dance is a great compliment. All the college windows are
+full of people gazing at you, and just think of the other girls, who are
+filled with envy fuller than the windows!
+
+Aunty is "pestered" (as she calls it) to death by people wanting me to
+sing for their charities. Every one has a pet charity, which it seems must
+be attended to just at this time, and they clamor for help from me, and
+aunty has not the courage to say "no." Therefore, about once a week I am
+dressed in the white muslin and the black shoes, which is my gala get-up,
+and a carriage is sent for me. Then aunty and I are driven to the Concert
+Hall, where, when my turn comes, I go on the platform and sing, "Casta
+Diva," "Ah, non Credea," etc., and if I am encored then I sing, "Coming
+Thro' the Rye."
+
+I am sure every one says that it is a shame to make me sing, but they make
+me sing, all the same. I enjoy the applause and the excitement--who would
+not? What I do _not_ enjoy is being obliged to sing in church every
+Sunday. Dr. Hoppin has persuaded aunty to let me help in the choir; that
+is, to sing the Anthem and the "Te Deum," but it amounts to my doing about
+all the singing. Don't you think this is cruel? However, there is one hymn
+I love to sing, and that is, "Shout the Glad Tidings, Exultingly Sing." I
+put my whole heart and soul in this, and soon find myself shouting the
+"glad tidings" all alone, my companions having left me in the lurch.
+
+We laughed very much at aunty's efforts in the Anti-slavery movement (just
+now at its height), when all Massachusetts has risen up with a bound in
+order to prove that the blacks are as good as the whites (if not better),
+and should have all their privileges. She, wishing to demonstrate this
+point, introduced Joshua Green, a little colored boy (the washerwoman's
+son), into the Sunday-school class. The general indignation among the
+white boys did not dismay her, as she hoped that Joshua would come up to
+the mark. The answer to the first question in the catechism (what is your
+name?), he knew, and answered boldly, "Joshua Green." But the second
+question, "Who made you?" was the stumbling-block. He sometimes answered,
+"Father," and sometimes, "Mother." Aunty, being afraid that he would
+answer, "Miss Fay," had him come to the house during the week, where she
+could din into him that it was God who made him and all creation. "Now,
+Joshua, when Dr. Hoppin says to you, 'Who made you?' you must answer,
+'God, who made everything on earth and in heaven'--you understand?" "Yes,
+ma'am," and repeated the phrase until aunty thought him ripe to appear at
+Sunday-school, which he did on the following Sunday. You may imagine
+aunty's consternation when Dr. Hoppin asked Joshua, "Who made you?" and
+Joshua looked at aunty with a broad grin, showing all his teeth, and said,
+"Lor', Miss Fay, I forget who you said it was." This was aunty's last
+effort to teach the blacks. She repeated this episode to Mr. Phillips
+Brooks, who, in return, told her an amusing story of a colored man who had
+been converted to the Catholic religion, and went one day to confession
+(he seems not to have been very sure about this function). The priest said
+to him, "Israel, what have you to confess? Have you been perfectly honest
+since the last time? No thefts?"
+
+"No, sir."
+
+"None at all? Stolen no chickens?"
+
+"No, sir."
+
+"No watermelons?"
+
+"No, sir."
+
+"No eggs?"
+
+"No, sir."
+
+"No turkeys?"
+
+"No, sir; not one."
+
+Then the priest gave absolution. Outside the church Israel found the
+companions whom he had left waiting for him.
+
+"Well, how did you get on?" they asked.
+
+"Bully!" answered Israel. "But if he'd said ducks he'd have got me."
+
+Cousin James Lowell said: "See how a negro appreciates the advantages of
+the confession."
+
+
+DEAR L.,--A family council was held yesterday, and it is now quite decided
+that mama is to take me to Europe, and that I shall study singing with the
+best masters. We will first go to New York for a visit of ten days with
+Mr. and Mrs. Cooley. I shall see New York and hear a little music; and
+then we start for Europe on the 17th in the _Commodore Vanderbilt_.
+
+
+NEW YORK.
+
+DEAR AUNT,--We have now been here a week, and I feel ashamed that I have
+not written to you before, but I have been doing a great deal. The Cooleys
+have a gorgeous house in Fifth Avenue, furnished with every luxury one can
+imagine. The sitting-room, dining-room, library, and a conservatory next
+to the billiard-room, are down-stairs; up-stairs are the drawing-rooms
+(first, second, and third), which open into a marble-floored Pompeian
+room, with a fountain. Then comes mama's and my bed-room, with bath-room
+attached. On the third floor the family have their apartment. We have been
+many times to the opera, and heard an Italian tenor, called Brignoli, whom
+people are crazy over. He has a lovely voice and sings in "Trovatore."
+Last night, when he sang "Di quella pira," people's enthusiasm knew no
+bounds. They stood up and shouted, and ladies waved their handkerchiefs;
+he had to repeat it three times, and each time people got wilder. Nina and
+I clapped till our gloves were in pieces and our arms actually ached.
+
+A Frenchman by the name of Musard has brought over a French orchestra, and
+is playing French music at the opera-house. People are wild over him also.
+Madame La Grange, who they say is a fine lady in her own country, is
+singing in "The Huguenots." She has rather a thin voice, but vocalizes
+beautifully. Nina and I weep over the hard fate of Valentine, who has to
+be present when her husband is conspiring against the Huguenots, knowing
+that her lover is listening behind the curtain and can't get away. The
+priests come in and bless the conspiracy, all the conspirators holding
+their swords forward to be blessed. This music is really too splendid for
+words, and we enjoy it intensely.
+
+Mr. Bancroft, the celebrated historian, invited us to dinner, and after
+dinner they asked me to sing. I had to accompany myself. Every one
+pretended that they were enchanted. Just for fun, at the end I sang,
+"Three Little Kittens Took Off Their Mittens, to Eat a Christmas Pie," and
+one lady (would you believe it?) said she wept tears of joy, and had cold
+shivers down her back. When I sang, "For We Have Found Our Mittens," there
+was, she said, such a jubilant ring in my voice that her heart leaped for
+joy.
+
+Mr. Bancroft sent me the next day a volume of Bryant's poems, with the
+dedication, "To Miss Lillie Greenough, in souvenir of a never-forgetable
+evening." I made so many acquaintances, and received so many invitations,
+that if we should stay much longer here there would be nothing left of me
+to take to Europe.
+
+I will write as soon as we arrive on the other side. On whatever side I
+am, I am always your loving niece, who thinks that there is no one in the
+wide world to compare to you, that no one is as clever as you, that no one
+can sing like you, and that there never was any one who can hold a candle
+to you. There!
+
+
+BREMEN, _August, 1859._
+
+DEAR AUNT,--At last we have arrived at our journey's end, and we are happy
+to have got out of and away from the steamer, where we have been cooped up
+for the last weeks. However, we had a very gay time during those weeks,
+and some very sprightly companions. Among them a runaway couple; he was a
+Mr. Aulick Palmer, but I don't know who she was. One could have learned it
+easily enough for the asking, as they were delighted to talk about
+themselves and their elopement, and how they did it. It was their favorite
+topic of conversation. I was intensely interested in them; I had never
+been so near a romance in my life. They had been married one hour when
+they came on board; she told her parents that she was going out shopping,
+and then, after the marriage, wrote a note to them to say that she was
+married and off to Europe, adding that she was not sorry for what she had
+done. He is a handsome man, tall and dark; she is a jolly, buxom blonde,
+with a charming smile which shows all her thirty and something teeth, and
+makes her red, thick lips uncurl. I thought, for such a newly married
+couple, they were not at all sentimental, which I should have supposed
+natural. She became sea-sick directly, and he called attention to her as
+she lay stretched out on a bench looking dreadfully green in the face: "We
+are a sick couple--home-sick, love-sick, and sea-sick."
+
+The captain, who thought himself a wag but who forgot every morning what
+he had wagged about the day before, would say for his daily greeting, "Wie
+[as the Germans say] befinden sie sich?" He thought the pun on sea-sick
+was awfully funny, and would laugh uproariously. He said to Mr. Palmer,
+"Why are you not like a melon?" We all guessed. One person said, "Because
+he was not meloncholic [Aulick]." But all the guesses were wrong. "No,"
+said the captain, "it is because the melon can't elope, and you can." He
+thought himself very funny, and was rather put out that we did not think
+him so, and went on repeating the joke to every one on the boat _ad
+nauseam_.
+
+
+LONDON, _1859._
+
+DEAREST A.,--We arrived here, as we intended, on the 27th.... We easily
+found Garcia's address, and drove there without delay. I was very anxious
+to see the "greatest singing master in the world," and there he was
+standing before me, looking very much as I had imagined him; but not like
+any one I had ever seen before. He has grayish hair and a black mustache,
+expressive big eyes, and such a fascinating smile! Mama said, having heard
+of his great reputation, she wished that he would consent to give me a
+_few_ lessons. He smiled, and answered that, if I would kindly sing
+something for him, he could better judge how much teaching I required. I
+replied--I was so sure of myself--that, if he would accompany "Qui la
+voce," I would sing that. "Ha, ha!" he cried, with a certain sarcasm. "By
+all means let us have that," and sat down before the piano while I spread
+out the music before him. I sang, and thought I sang very well; but he
+just looked up into my face with a very quizzical expression, and said,
+"How long have you been singing, Mademoiselle?" Mama answered for me
+before I could speak. "She has sung, Monsieur, since she was a very small
+child."
+
+He was not at all impressed by this, but said, "I thought so." Then he
+continued. "You say you would like to take some lessons of me?" I was
+becoming very humble, and said, meekly, that I hoped he would give me
+some. "Well, Mademoiselle, you have a very wonderful voice, but you have
+not the remotest idea how to sing." What a come-down! I, who thought I had
+only to open my mouth to be admired, and only needed a _few_ finishing
+touches to make me perfect, to be told that I had "not the remotest idea
+how to sing"!
+
+Mama and I both gasped for breath, and I could have cried for
+disappointment as well as mortification. However, I felt he was right,
+and, strange to say, mama felt so too. He said, "Take six months' rest and
+don't sing a single note, then come back to me." When he saw the
+crestfallen look on my face, he added, kindly, "Then we shall see
+something wonderful."
+
+We leave for Dresden this evening.... Love to all.
+
+Your humble
+
+LILLIE.
+
+
+LONDON, _May, 1860._
+
+DEAR A.,--I have not written since we left the kind V. Rensselaers in
+Dresden. Mama must have given you all the details of our life there.... I
+hope, now that I have studied French, German, and Italian like a good
+little girl for six months and not "sung a single note," that I may
+venture to present myself before the great Garcia again.
+
+I can't imagine that I am the same person who has (it seems to me years
+ago) sung before large, distinguished, and enthusiastic audiences, has
+been a little belle, in a way, in Cambridge, has had serenades from the
+Harvard Glee Club (poor aunty! routed out of your sleep in the middle of
+the night to listen to them), inspired poetry, and danced on "the Green"
+on Class Day. I felt as if I ought to put on pantalettes and wear my hair
+down my back. I look now upon myself as a real _Backfisch_, as the Germans
+call very young girls, and that is simply what I am; and I feel that I
+ought never to have been allowed to sport about in those fascinating clear
+waters which reflected no shadows, now that I must go back to the millpond
+and learn to swim.
+
+I have been already three weeks studying hard with Garcia, who is not only
+a wonderful teacher, but is a wonderful personality. I simply worship him,
+though he is very severe and pulls me up directly I "slipshod," as he
+calls it; and so far I have literally sung nothing but scales. He says
+that a scale must be like a beautiful row of pearls: each note like a
+pearl, perfect in roundness and color.
+
+This is so easy to say, but very difficult to accomplish. Stone-breaking
+on the highroad is nothing to it. I come home tired out from my lessons,
+only to begin singing scales again. I tell mama I feel like a fish with
+the scales being taken off him.
+
+Four hours by myself and two lessons a week will soon reduce your poor
+niece to _a scaleton_. Ah! please forgive this....
+
+No question of a song yet. "Qui la voce" seems way back in the Middle
+Ages. Garcia says, "If, when your voice is well oiled [that is what he
+calls the scaling process], you are not intelligent enough to sing a song
+by yourself, then you had better knit stockings for the poor."
+
+"Then," I answered, "I had better begin at once to learn to knit
+stockings."
+
+"Not quite yet!" he laughed. "Wait till I have finished with you." More
+than once he has said, "Your voice reminds me of my sister Marie's
+[meaning Malibran]; but she had no brains to speak of, whereas you have,
+and you ought to be thankful for it."
+
+I murmured that I was glad he thought so, and, if I really had some
+brains, I should be thankful; but I was not quite sure that I had. "Trust
+me to tell you if you have not," said he.
+
+I trusted him, indeed, for I knew very well that he would not let the
+occasion slip had he anything of that sort to say.
+
+
+LONDON, _July, 1860._
+
+DEAR A.,--Still hard at work. I wonder at mama's patience and endurance.
+To hear scales, cadenzas, and trills from morning till night must be
+terribly wearing on the nerves. I said as much to the master, and he
+consented to give me "Bel raggio," of "Semiramide." It is as good as an
+exercise, anyway, because it is nothing but cadenzas. Then he allowed me
+to sing "Una voce poco fa." I told him that mama had put on a pound of
+flesh since I was permitted to roam in these fresh pastures. This made him
+laugh. After he had seen that I had "brains enough" to sing these songs
+according to his august liking, he said, "Now we will try 'Voi che
+sapete,' of Mozart."
+
+Garcia has not the ghost of a voice; but he has the most enchanting way of
+singing mezzo-voce, and occasionally says, "Sing this so," and sings the
+phrase for me. It sounds delightfully when he does it; but I do not think
+he would have liked me to "sing it so" and would probably swear a gentle
+little Spanish swear under his garlicky breath, because (I say it, though
+I hate to) the dear master eats garlic--pounds of it, I fear--and his
+voice is highly scented when it cracks, which it often does.
+
+He once said, "You may imitate my way of singing, but don't imitate my
+crack."
+
+"Oh," I said, "I love to hear you sing. I don't even hear the crack."
+
+"Ah," he sighed, "if it had not been for that crack I should be in the
+opera now."
+
+"I am glad," I answered, "that you are not there; for then you would not
+be here, teaching me." I think this pleased him.
+
+Sometimes he is very nervous. Once, when I was singing "Voi che sapete,"
+the tears rolled down his cheeks, and another time, when he was showing me
+how to sing it "so," I burst into tears, and the poor man had to order his
+servant to bring me some sherry to restore my nerves. There is one phrase
+in this song which I never can hear sung, or never can sing myself,
+without emotion.
+
+The season is getting so late mama thinks we ought to leave London,
+especially as Garcia is taking his vacation, and we are going in a few
+days to Paris.
+
+Garcia has given us a letter to his sister, Madame Viardot (of whom he
+said she had brains but no voice). He wrote: "I send you my pupil. Do all
+you can to persuade her to go on the stage. She has it in her."
+
+But Madame Viardot may "do all she can"; I will never go on the stage.
+
+If "it" is in me, it must work out some other way.
+
+
+PARIS, _May, 1861._
+
+DEAR A.,--Mother will have written to you of my engagement to Charles
+Moulton. I wish you would come and see me married, and that I could
+present all my future family to the most lovable of aunts.
+
+I think I shall have everything to make me happy. In the first place, my
+fiancé is very musical, composes charming things, and plays delightfully
+on the piano; my future mother-in-law is a dear old lady, musical and
+universally talented; my future father-in-law is a _bona-fide_ American, a
+dear quixotic old gentleman who speaks the most awful French. Although he
+has lived in Paris for forty years, he has never conquered the
+pronunciation of the French language, but has invented a unique dialect of
+his own. Every word that can be pronounced in English he pronounces in
+English, as well as all numbers. For instance, a phrase such as _La
+guerre de mille huit cent quinze était une démonstration de la liberté
+nationale_ would sound like this: "La gur de 1815 (in English) était
+une demonstration (in English) de la liberty national." It is almost
+impossible to understand him; but he will read for hours unabashed, not
+only to us, the drowsy and inattentive members of his family, but to the
+most fastidious and illustrious Frenchmen. There are two brothers and a
+sweet little sister. I shall have a beautiful home, or rather homes,
+because they have not only a handsome hotel in Paris, but an ideal country
+place (Petit Val) and a villa in Dinard.
+
+Good-by. Greet all the united family from me, and tell them not to worry
+over my future, as you wrote they were doing. I have renounced forever the
+pomps and allurements of the stage, and I trust the leaves on the
+genealogical tree will cease their trembling, and that the Fays, my
+ancestors, will not trouble themselves to turn in their graves, as you
+threatened they would if I did anything to disgrace them.
+
+
+CHÂTEAU DE PETIT VAL, _June, 1862._
+
+DEAREST A.,--I wish I could give you an idea of Petit Val and our life as
+lived by me. Petit Val is about twelve miles from Paris, and was built for
+the Marquis de Marigny, whose portrait still hangs in the salon--the
+brother of Madame de Pompadour--by the same architect who built and laid
+out the park of Petit Trianon.
+
+There is an avenue of tall poplar-trees leading from Petit Val straight to
+Choisy-le-Roi, where Madame de Pompadour lived, a distance of ten miles.
+
+Like Petit Trianon, Petit Val has little lakes with shady trees bordering
+them; it has grottos, waterfalls, winding paths, magnificent greenhouses,
+fountains, a _rivière_, pavilions, aviaries, terraces, _charmilles_,
+_berceaux_, _enfin tout!_ One feels like saying, "Mein Liebchen, was
+willst du mehr?" as the poet Heine says. The park is surrounded by a _saut
+de loup_ (a sunken wall about twenty feet high like "la Muette" in Paris).
+There is no need of putting up sign-boards with "No trespassing here" as
+no one could scale the walls of the _saut de loup_, so we feel very safe,
+especially when the five iron gates are locked. Beyond the park are the
+_chasse_, the farm, the vineyards, and the _potager_. We are so near Paris
+that we have many visitors. The drive out here is a pleasant one, going
+through Vincennes, Charenton, Alfort, etc., and one can get here in about
+an hour. Duke de Morny, the Duke de Persigny and the Rothschild family,
+Prince de Sagan, and different diplomats, not to speak of our numerous
+American friends who are thankful for a breath of fresh air, are frequent
+guests. The nearest chateau to us is Montalon, where Madame de Sévigné
+used to live, and from which she wrote some of her letters. If she ever
+wrote a tiresome one, it must surely have been from here, as the damp and
+moldy house, covered with creeping vines and overgrown with ivy,
+surrounded by melancholy cypress and poplar trees, which shut out the
+view, could scarcely have inspired her with brilliant ideas.
+
+Petit Val's _potager_ is known far and wide for the best peaches and
+pears in France, and the gardener takes all the prizes in the shows: if
+the prizes are in money, he pockets them; if they are diplomas, he allows
+us to keep them. He is a rare old scamp.
+
+When Mr. Moulton bought the place he had the right to call himself "De
+Petit Val," and he could have--if he had wished to--been "Moulton de Petit
+Val." But he turned up his American nose at such cheap nobility as this;
+still he was obliged, much against his will, to conform to the obligations
+which belonged to the estate. For instance, he had to give so many bushels
+of potatoes to the curé, so many bushels of grain to the doctor, so many
+bushels of vegetables to the postmaster, and to them all so many casks of
+the awful wine we produce on the estate, known in the vernacular as "_le
+petit bleu_."
+
+When this sour wine is in the golden period of effervescing, any sick
+child in the village ticketed by the doctor can be brought to the wine-
+presses and dipped in. If labeled "_très malade_," he is dipped in
+twice. Don't you think that this is a dreadful custom? I think that it is
+awful to put such an article as this on the market; but then we know that
+if a person has tasted it once they never do it again. We try to grow
+green corn here; but it degenerates unless the seed is brought every year
+from America. This year, not having been renewed, the corn is a failure;
+but the American melons ripen here in perfection, and rivalize
+successfully with the big French melons. The other day an ambassador ate
+so many of them that he begged us to let him stay all night. We were quite
+anxious about him, as he had an audience with the Emperor the next
+morning; but he managed it somehow.
+
+An important member of the family I must not forget! the governess,
+Mademoiselle Wissembourg, who is very much of a personage. After she has
+given my sister-in-law and myself our French lessons (for I still go on
+studying), she gives the cook his orders, gives out the linen, writes the
+letters, smooths away all annoyances, pays the bills, and keeps the
+accounts, which she does in an oriental sort of way, with such fantastic
+summings-up that my poor father-in-law is often on the verge of
+distraction.
+
+Our stables are well garnished; there are eleven horses (my pair
+included), fourteen carriages, three coachmen, and no end of stable-boys.
+My coachman, who was one of the "anciens zouaves"--so renowned for their
+bravery--generally has cramps when he is told that I am going to drive
+myself to Paris. And when I drive those twelve miles I do it in double-
+quick time with Medjé and Hilda, my two "limousin" horses. No wonder Louis
+offers up a prayer to the saints before starting, and sits, holding with
+both hands on to his little seat back of me, with an expression on his
+face of "O Lord, what is going to happen?"
+
+
+PARIS, _January, 1863._
+
+DEAREST MAMA,--I have been expecting letters from you and home for a long
+time, but nothing has come yet.
+
+The coldest day that Paris has ever known, since goodness knows when, has
+suddenly burst upon us, and skating is just dawning on the Parisians.
+
+The ice on the little lake of Suresnes has frozen _d'emblée_, and I
+was crazy to go there and skate. We had stayed late in the country, having
+spent Christmas _en famille_, and only returned to Paris a few days
+ago. I had just received the skates you sent me for my Christmas present,
+and I was wild to try them. What beauties they are! My old ones, with
+their screws and their innumerable straps, seem horribly complicated and
+clumsy. As you advised, I had very tight-fitting boots with low heels made
+for them. I drove out to the Bois with baby and his _nounou_, and to
+gain time put on my skates in the carriage, and when I arrived, I walked
+down to the lake. I never saw such splendid ice (and I have seen many
+ices). No tardy layers, no treacherous holes, just one even mirror of
+marble. Imagine my surprise at not seeing a person on the ice; but there
+were masses of spectators gathered on the edge of the lake looking at it.
+The Emperor and the Empress were there. I knew them by sight; but the only
+one I knew personally was Prince Joachim Murat, our neighbor in the
+country. He married Elizabeth Wagram, and they lived with her parents at
+Gros-Bois, near Petit Val.
+
+Therefore, I stood unknown and unnoticed. I ventured one foot on the
+indiscreet, reflecting surface, then the other; and while the assembled
+crowd gazed at me in amazement, I made the tour of the lake on my skates.
+
+My experience of seven years on Fresh Pond did not fail me, and I skimmed
+over the flawless ice on the outer edge, like a bird with close-fitting
+wings; indeed, I felt like one. The ice was so clear that one could see
+the grass and stones at the bottom.
+
+This was an exhilarating moment!
+
+When I returned to the starting-place I saw that no one had dared to
+follow my example, and as an act of (I hardly dare to write it) silly
+_bravoura_ I took baby out of the nurse's arms, and with him gurgling
+and chuckling with delight, his little head on my shoulder, I skated
+around with him. _Only once!_ Don't scold me! I felt directly what a
+wicked thing I was doing, for, if there had been a stone or a branch
+frozen in the ice, I might have fallen, and then--what might not have
+happened! But as long as I was alone and sure of my skates I was not
+afraid. I saw some of the more courageous skaters beginning to invade the
+ice, and I flew back, thoroughly ashamed of myself, and delivered my rosy
+burden into the arms of its nurse, who stood aghast, like a frozen Niobe,
+with wide eyes, watching me, the foolish mother. I sent them back to Paris
+in the coupé, begging my husband to come and fetch me. I was vain enough
+to wish him to see me in my glory.
+
+Prince Murat came up to speak to me. As we saw the Emperor, who was on
+skates, coming toward us, Prince Murat said, "Here comes the Emperor to
+speak to you." I felt dreadfully frightened, for I was not sure--it being
+the first time I had ever spoken to a sovereign--what was the proper
+manner to address him. I knew I must say "Sire," and "votre Majesté"; but
+when and how often I did not know. His Majesty held in his hand a short
+stick with an iron point, such as are used in climbing the Alps, and
+managed to propel himself forward by little right-legged shunts, his left
+leg not daring to do anything but slide, and stopped like an engine
+nearing a station, puffing and out of breath. Prince Murat moved aside,
+and his Majesty looked at me, then at Prince Murat, who, in an
+introductory manner, said "This is Madame Moulton, your Majesty, the
+daughter-in-law of our neighbor, whom you know." "Ah!" said the Emperor,
+and, turning to me, he said, "How beautifully you skate, Madame; it is
+wonderful to look at you!"
+
+[Illustration: EMPEROR NAPOLEON III]
+
+I (frightened out of my wits) murmured that I had skated since I was eight
+years old. "One can only skate like that when one learns young," the
+Emperor said. And while I was wondering when I should say "Votre Majesté,"
+he said, "Oserai-je demander à une patineuse si parfaite de patiner avec
+un humble patineur (Dare I ask such a perfect skater as you to skate with
+so humble a skater as myself)?"
+
+He was a humble skater indeed! I answered that it would be a great honor
+to me. He then stretched out his hands, and I took them very much as I
+would have taken any one else's hands, and we ambled forth, I supporting
+and upholding the tottering steps of the monarch of the French nation. I
+felt that the eye of the nation was on me, and, indeed, it was, as much of
+the nation as happened to be there; but, proud as I was, I wished that
+some one would relieve me of this responsibility. Suppose his Majesty
+should fall!... Dreadful thought! The Emperor skated on silently, intent
+on balancing himself, and I, you may be sure, was intent on keeping him
+intent. He stumbled at every stroke; but as I was on his left side--the
+weak one--we got along very nicely, and we felt that we were being admired
+--_patineusement_. His hat fell off once (he skated in a tall hat), and I
+had to pick it up for him while he clung to my hand and lifted his other
+hand to put the hat on his head. In our course we came upon the Empress,
+and we slowed down neatly. She was being supported by two very "trembling"
+chamberlains, who almost knocked us down in their efforts to keep their
+balance. When we had come to anchor the Emperor said to the Empress, "This
+is Madame Moulton! Does she not skate beautifully?" I ought to have made a
+courtesy, but how could I--on skates?
+
+The Empress was dressed in a more suitable style than the other ladies,
+who evidently were going on to some reception (the idea of combining
+visiting and skating!), and had rather long dresses, high heels and hats.
+The Empress, though crinolined and high-heeled, had a short skirt. I had a
+short cloth dress bordered with fur and a little fur toque. The Empress
+looked very kindly at me and said something to the Emperor which escaped
+me. When--oh, when--should I say "Your Majesty"? But I forgot everything,
+gazing at the Empress, who appeared as a vision of beauty, with a bright
+color in her cheeks, her eyes sparkling with animation. The Emperor said
+to her, "Tu devrais patiner avec Madame (You ought to skate with Madame),"
+letting go my hands. With the sweetest smile she said to me, "Will
+_you_ skate with _me_?" Of course I was only too enchanted. Could I uphold
+the throne in which her Majesty was strapped? I took her two hands, and we
+sped on our way as best we could. I had sometimes to dig my skates in the
+ice to prevent too much speed, and to keep us both on our legs, one pair
+of which were Imperial. "How strange!" said her Majesty, in a moment of
+breath-taking, "that I should have never seen you before, and yet, as the
+Emperor says, you live in Paris!"
+
+I replied: "Your Majesty [at last I said it], I spent last winter in the
+country taking care of my health, and last summer I was in Dinard."
+
+"Ah, je comprends," with a lovely smile, "and now?"
+
+"Now, your Majesty [I was getting on nicely], I am going to be presented
+to society in due form by my mother-in-law."
+
+"You will then come to the Tuileries?"
+
+"Of course, your Majesty [now I had complete court manners], I shall come
+there first. My mother-in law will take the necessary steps."
+
+"But you will not need to go through all those steps," she said,
+smilingly, "now that we know you"; and added, most kindly, "To-morrow you
+must come and skate with us again."
+
+After this little breathing spell we went off on another tour, and as all
+is well that ends better than you expect, I was thankful to bring her
+Majesty back safely. We were hailed with enthusiasm. Charles, coming back
+with the coupé, was duly complimented by both their Majesties on the
+prowess of his spouse. And so we drove home.
+
+Here endeth the first chapter and my first appearance in Parisian society.
+
+
+_January, 1863._
+
+DEAR M.,--We received the invitation for the first ball at the Tuileries
+before my mother-in-law had presented me to the Grande Maîtresse Duchesse
+de Bassano; but her reception-day being on the same day as the ball I was
+able, fortunately, to go there and to be presented to her. Mrs. M---
+preferred to make the "preliminary steps" with me in her wake.
+
+My wedding-dress, trimmed with the beautiful lace (which came in my
+_corbeille_), seemed the proper thing to wear. The gentlemen's costumes
+are "_culottes courtes blanches_, white silk stockings, and a dress-coat
+with gold buttons." My mother-in-law had been under the coiffeur's tongs
+for hours, and when she reappeared, frizzled and curled, she looked so
+unnatural that we hardly recognized her. My father-in-law refused point
+blank to go with us. When asked, "Don't you want to see Lillie's first
+appearance?" he answered, "I shall see her before she goes. It is not
+likely I shall see much of her when she is once there." Which would
+probably have been the case.
+
+Mrs. Moulton, wishing to go in style, ordered the gala Cinderella coach
+which served at my wedding. It used to take my parents-in-law to and from
+the Tuileries in the time of Louis Philippe. One can see the like in
+Versailles, all glass in front, white satin inside, with steps to let
+down, and swung on eight undulating springs. Charles went in our coupé,
+and I must say I envied him.
+
+It is a long drive from the Rue de Courcelles to the Tuileries, and it
+takes a long time, especially when the _queue_ commences at the Place
+de la Concorde. I was almost dizzy as we advanced step by step, pulling up
+at every moment, rocking and swaying like a row-boat in a gentle swell,
+and when we got a chance to go faster the carriage rocked from side to
+side, all the fringe on the coachman's box waving about. The coachman was
+a study in himself, with his white wig and silk stockings, ensconced like
+a hen on her nest. The valet, with powdered hair, white silk stockings,
+and plush breeches, stood on his little platform behind the carriage,
+holding on to the two cords on the side. I felt very fine, but not fine
+enough to prevent my feeling a little sea-sick, and I could not help
+thinking that it was a great pity to put on such style at night, when no
+one could see us. I would have liked better to have been seen in the
+daytime in this pomp and glory.
+
+When at last we did arrive my mother-in-law's feathers were somewhat awry.
+We mounted the stately staircase, lined on both sides by the superb Cent
+Gardes, standing like statues on each step.
+
+Many chamberlains were waiting, and we were conducted to the Grand Maître
+de Cérémonie, who passed us on to a less grand Maître de Cérémonie, who
+showed us to the place where we were to stand in the ballroom. It was a
+magnificent sight, and as long as I live I shall never forget it.
+
+The beautifully dressed ladies were covered with jewels, and the gentlemen
+in their showy uniforms were covered with decorations. Each lady showed to
+great advantage, as, on account of the width of their crinolines, they had
+to stand very far apart.
+
+The entire ballroom was lighted with wax candles, and was really a fairy
+scene. At the end of the ballroom was the platform on which stood the
+throne of their Majesties, a row of red-velvet gilded fauteuils placed
+behind them for the Imperial family. The hangings over the throne, which
+were of heavy red velvet with the Napoleonic eagle in gold, fell in great
+folds down to the floor.
+
+It was not long before the doors were thrown open, and every one who had
+been limp and lax while waiting, chatting with his neighbor, straightened
+himself up and bowed to the ground, as the Emperor and the Empress walked
+in. Their Majesties stood for a moment at the door, and then went
+immediately to the throne.
+
+A few moments later the _quadrille d'honneur_ was danced by the eight
+most princely of the guests. The Emperor danced with the Princess of
+Wales, who has the prettiest and sweetest face one can imagine. The
+Empress danced with the King of Saxony; the Prince of Wales with the
+Princess Mathilde, cousin of the Emperor; the Grand Duke of Russia with
+the Princess Clothilde.
+
+Every one stood during the whole quadrille. After that was finished their
+Majesties circulated among us, talking to different people. Later on the
+Empress, when she had returned to the throne, sent a message to me by
+Prince Murat, that she wished me to come to her.
+
+I was frightened to death to have to cross the ballroom, feeling as if all
+eyes were on me, and tripped along so quickly that Prince Murat, at my
+side, said, "Don't hurry so; I can't keep up with you."
+
+While I stood before the steps of the throne the Empress came toward me,
+and with her exquisite smile, and with the peculiar charm she has when
+speaking, said, "I am so glad to see you here, Madame Moulton." "And I am
+so glad to be here, your Majesty; but I went through all the preliminary
+steps all the same," I said, "because _ma belle-mère_ insisted upon it."
+
+This seemed to amuse her, and after a few gracious words she left me.
+
+As this was the first time I had seen her in evening dress, I was
+completely dazed by her loveliness and beauty. I can't imagine a more
+beautiful apparition than she was. Her delicate coloring, the pose of her
+head, her hair, her expressive mouth, her beautiful shoulders, and
+wonderful grace make a perfect ensemble.
+
+[Illustration: EMPRESS EUGÉNIE]
+
+She wore a white tulle dress trimmed with red velvet bows and gold
+fringes; her crown of diamonds and pearls and her necklace were
+magnificent.
+
+On her breast shone the great diamond (the Regent) which belongs to the
+Crown.
+
+When I gazed on her in all her glory and prestige I could hardly believe
+that we had been such chums a few days before, when skating, and that I
+had held her hands clasped in mine, and had kept her from falling.
+
+Countess Castellane gave a beautiful costume ball the other evening, which
+I must tell you about, because it was so original. The stables were
+connected with the salons by a long, carpeted gallery, at the end of which
+was a huge fresco on the walls, representing a horse-race in a very
+lifelike manner. Through a large plate-glass window one could see the
+whole stable, which was, as you may imagine, in spick-and-span order; and
+Count Castellane's favorite horse was saddled and bridled, a groom in full
+livery standing by its side. It was amusing to see ladies in their ball
+dresses walking about in the stables, where the astonished horses were
+blinking in the gas-light.
+
+In one of the quadrilles the ladies and gentlemen were dressed as
+children, in short socks and frocks with enormous sashes.
+
+Princess Metternich was costumed as a milkmaid; she had real silver pails
+hung over her shoulders. Duchesse de Persigny was a _chiffonnière_ with a
+_hotte_ on her back and a gray dress very much looped up, showing far
+above her wooden shoes.
+
+
+PARIS, _1863._
+
+DEAR M.,--The ice in the Bois continues very good; I am skating every day.
+I have commenced to teach the little Prince Imperial. He is very sweet,
+and talks very intelligently for his age. The other day, when I was
+skating with the Empress, a gentleman (I think he was an American),
+skating backward, knocked against us with such force that the Empress and
+I both fell. I tried with all my might to keep her from falling, but it
+was impossible. Her first words, when we were helped on our feet again,
+were, "Don't tell the Emperor; I think he did not see us."
+
+That same evening there was a ball at the Tuileries, and when the Empress
+came to speak to me she said: "How are you? I can hardly stand up." I
+answered, "I am worse off, your Majesty; I can stand up, but I cannot sit
+down."
+
+Yesterday, when I came home from my singing lesson with Delle Sedie, I
+found the family quite excited. The Empress's chamberlain had just been
+here to say that the Empress desired that we would come to the Tuileries
+next Monday, and expressed the wish that I should bring some music. I
+wrote to Delle Sedie and begged him to advise me what I should sing; he
+answered that he would come himself and talk it over with me, and Monsieur
+Planté, a young, budding pianist, who was ordered from the Tuileries to
+accompany my songs, was sent for, and Delle Sedie came at the same time.
+
+Delle Sedie thought that I should begin with "Tre Giorni son che Nina," of
+Pergolesi, and then the air from "Lucia," and if I were asked to sing
+again the "Valse de Venzano."
+
+On these occasions gentlemen wear the _pantalon collant_, which is a
+most unbecoming and trying costume, being of black cloth fitting very
+tight and tapering down to the ankle, where it finishes abruptly with a
+button. Any one with a protruding ankle and thin legs cannot escape
+criticism.
+
+_Le petit lundi_ of the Empress was not so _petit_ as I expected; there
+were at least four or five hundred people present.
+
+I was presented to the Princess Mathilde (the cousin of the Emperor), a
+very handsome and distinguished-looking lady, who is married to and
+separated from Prince Demidoff. Her palace is directly opposite our hotel.
+I was also presented to the Princess Clothilde, and many others. I was
+very nervous before singing, but after my first song I did very well.
+
+There was dancing, and everything was very unceremonious and easy. I think
+(I will just say it to you, dear mama) that I had a success. Their
+Majesties were very kind, and thanked me many times, and the Duke de Morny
+said that he was very proud of his protégée, for it was he who had
+suggested to the Empress that I should sing for them. It was a delightful
+evening, and I enjoyed myself and my little triumph immensely. I made the
+acquaintance of the Austrian ambassador and the Princess Metternich. She
+seemed very pleasant, and put me directly at my ease. She is far from
+being handsome, but dresses better than any woman in Paris, and has more
+_chic_. In fact, she sets the fashion as much as the Empress does.
+
+The Emperor, at the instigation of the Duke de Morny, has given orders for
+the construction of a bridge over the Marne near Petit Val, a thing we
+needed greatly. When you were here, if you remember, one had to walk from
+the station to the river, about a little quarter of a mile. Once there you
+had to wave and shout for the ferryman, who, before allowing you to get on
+the boat, would attend to what cattle or merchandise were waiting there
+for transport. I do not think the bridge would have been built had not the
+Duke de Morny come out by train to Petit Val to avoid the long drive of
+twelve miles from Paris, and had been bored by this primitive means of
+transporting his august person. He said he was astonished and mortified
+that such a state of things should exist so near Paris. So was every one
+else. Otherwise the "bac" would have gone on forever.
+
+The Carnival has never been so whirlwindy as it has been this year; and I
+don't know how the purses of our lords and masters are going to hold out;
+and while the poor, "whom we have always with us," are getting rich, the
+rich, whom we don't always have, alas! are getting poor. For the private
+fancy-dress ball at the Tuileries last Monday, to which the guests were
+invited by the Empress, Worth alone made costumes to the tune of two
+hundred thousand dollars, and yet there were not four hundred ladies
+invited.
+
+To begin at the top, the Empress was dressed as the wife of a doge of
+Venice of the sixteenth century. She wore all the crown jewels and many
+others. She was literally _cuirassée_ in diamonds, and glittered like
+a sun-goddess. Her skirt of black velvet over a robe of scarlet satin was
+caught up by clusters of diamond brooches. The Prince Imperial was allowed
+to be present; he was dressed in a black-velvet costume and knee breeches;
+his little, thin legs black-stockinged, and a _manteau Vénitien_ over
+his shoulders. He danced twice, once with Mademoiselle de Châteaubourg,
+and then with his cousin, Princess Anna Murat, who, being made on
+Junoesque lines, and dressed as a Dutch peasant with enormous gold
+ornaments over her ears, and a flowing white lace cap, towered above her
+youthful partner. He is only seven years old, and rather small for his
+age, which made the contrast between him and his colossal partner very
+striking. Princess Mathilde looked superb as Holbein's Anne of Clèves. She
+wore her famous collection of emeralds, which are world-known.
+
+Princess Clothilde had also copied a picture from the Louvre; but her robe
+of silver brocade, standing out in great folds about her waist, was
+anything but becoming to her style of figure. Princess Augustine Bonaparte
+(Gabrielli) was in a gorgeous costume of something or other; one had not
+time to find out exactly what she was intended to represent; she was
+covered with jewelry (some people pretended it was false, but it did not
+look less brilliant, for that). A fancy ball is an occasion which allows
+and excuses any extravagance in jewelry; whereas, at an ordinary ball it
+is considered not in good taste to wear too much. I just mention this
+casually, in case you should want to make a display when you lunch at Miss
+Bryant's some Sunday.
+
+Countess Walewski had powdered her hair and wore a Louis XV. amazon
+costume, a most unbecoming yellow satin gown with masses of gold buttons
+sewed on in every direction. This was not very successful.
+
+Marquise de Gallifet, as the Angel Gabriel, with enormous real swan's
+wings suspended from her shoulders, looked the part to perfection, and
+most angelic with her lovely smile, blond hair, and graceful figure.
+
+Princess Metternich was dressed as Night, in dark-blue tulle covered with
+diamond stars. Her husband said to me, "Don't you think that Pauline looks
+well in her nightgown?"
+
+Countess Castiglione, the famous beauty, was dressed as Salammbô in a
+costume remarkable for its lack of stuff, the idea taken from the new
+Carthaginian novel of Gustave Flaubert. The whole dress was of black
+satin, the waist without any sleeves, showing more than an usual amount of
+bare arms and shoulders; the train was open to the waist, disclosing the
+countess's noble leg as far up as it went incased in black-silk tights.
+
+The young Count de Choiseul, who had blackened his face to represent an
+Egyptian page, not only carried her train, but held over the head of the
+daughter of Hamilcar an umbrella of Robinson Crusoe dimensions. Her gold
+crown fell off once while walking about, and Choiseul made every one laugh
+when he picked it up and put it on his own black locks. She walked on all
+unconscious, and wondered why people laughed.
+
+My costume was that of a Spanish dancer. Worth told me that he had put his
+whole mind upon it; it did not feel much heavier for that: a banal yellow
+satin skirt, with black lace over it, the traditional red rose in my hair,
+red boots and a bolero embroidered in steel beads, and small steel balls
+dangling all over me. Some com-pliments were paid to me, but unfortunately
+not enough to pay the bill; if compliments would only do that sometimes,
+how gladly we would receive them! But they are, as it is, a drug in the
+market.
+
+The Emperor was in domino--his favorite disguise--which is no disguise at
+all, for every one recognizes him.
+
+[Illustration: DANIEL FRANÇOIS ESPRIT AUBER]
+
+I met the famous Auber at the Tuileries ball. The Duke de Persigny brought
+him and introduced him to me, not because Auber asked to be presented, but
+because I was most anxious to make his acquaintance, and begged the duke
+to bring him. He is a short, dapper little man, with such a refined and
+clever face.
+
+Wit and repartee sparkle in his keen eyes. His music is being very much
+played now--"Fra Diavolo" and "Dieu et la Bayadère," and others of his
+operas. His music is like himself--fine and dainty, and full of
+_esprit_; his name is Daniel François Esprit. M. de Persigny said, "Madame
+Moulton desires to know you, Monsieur Auber." I said, "I hope you will not
+think me indiscreet, but I did want to see you and know the most-talked-
+about person in Paris." In reply he said: "You have the advantage over me,
+Madame. I have never heard myself talked about." Then the Duke de Persigny
+said something about my voice. Auber turned to me, and said, "May I not
+also have the privilege of hearing you?" Of course I was tremendously
+pleased, and we fixed a day and hour then and there for his visit.
+
+Prince Jérome, who is a cousin of the Emperor (people call him Plon-Plon),
+is not popular; in fact, he is just the contrary. But his wife, the
+Princess Clothilde, would be exceedingly popular if she gave the Parisians
+a chance to see her oftener. She is so shy, so young, and the least
+pretentious of princesses, hates society, and never goes out if she can
+avoid it. Prince Jérome is, of all the Napoleonic family, the one who most
+resembles Napoleon I. in appearance, but not in character. There is
+nothing of the hero about him. Since he had the misfortune to be suddenly
+indisposed the night before the battle of Solferino, and did not appear,
+they call him "craint-plomb." _Sé non è vero è ben trovato._
+
+The stories people tell of the Prince are awful; but one is not obliged to
+believe them if one does not want to.
+
+There was such an amusing _soirée_ at the Duke de Morny's in honor of
+the Duchess's birthday. They gave a play called "Monsieur Choufleuri
+restera chez lui le.......," which the Duke wrote himself, and for which
+Offenbach composed the music inspired by the Duke, who vowed that he
+"really did make the most of it." But, his conscience pricking him, he
+added, "At least some!" which I think was nearer the truth.
+
+It was a great success, whether by the Duke de Morny or by Offenbach, and
+was the funniest thing I ever saw. Every one was roaring with laughter,
+and when the delighted audience called for "l'auteur," the Duke came out
+leading Offenbach, each waving his hand toward the other, as if success
+belonged to him alone, and went off bowing their thanks together. Apropos
+of the Duke de Morny, he said of himself: "I am a very complicated person.
+_Je suis le fils d'une reine, frère d'un Empereur et gendre d'un Empereur,
+et tous sont illégitimes_." It does sound queer! But he really is the son
+of Queen Hortense (his father being Count Flahaut); he is in this way an
+illegitimate brother of Napoleon III., and his wife is the daughter of the
+Emperor Nicholas of Russia. There you have a complicated case. My young
+sister-in-law has just married Count Hatzfeldt, of the German Embassy
+(second secretary). He is very good-looking without being handsome, and
+belongs to one of the most distinguished families in Germany. Countess
+Mercy-Argenteau appeared, comet-like, in Paris, and although she is a very
+beautiful woman, full of musical talent, and calls herself _une femme
+politique_, she is not a success. The gentlemen say she lacks charm. At
+any rate, none of the _élégantes_ are jealous of her, which speaks for
+itself. She is not as beautiful as Madame de Gallifet, nor as _élégante_
+as Countess Pourtales, nor as clever as Princess Metternich.
+
+Madame Musard, a beautiful American, has a friendship (_en tout
+déshonneur_) with a foreign royalty who made her a present of some--
+what he thought valueless--shares of a petroleum company in America. These
+shares turned into gold in her hands.
+
+The royal gentleman gnashes his false teeth in vain, and has scene after
+scene with the royal son, who, green with rage, reproaches him for having
+parted with these treasures. But the shares are safely in the clutches of
+papa in New York, far away, and furnishing the wherewithal to provide his
+daughter with the most wonderful horses and equipages in Paris. She pays
+as much for one horse as her husband gains by his music in a year, and as
+for the poor prodigal prince, who is overrun with debts, he would be
+thankful to have even a widowed papa's mite of her vast wealth. Another
+lady, whose virtue is some one else's reward, has a magnificent and much-
+talked-of hotel in the Champs Élysées, where there is a staircase worth a
+million francs, made of real alabaster. Prosper Mérimée said: "C'est par
+là qu'on monte à la vertu."
+
+Her salons are filled every evening with cultured men of the world, and
+they say that the most refined tone reigns supreme--that is more than one
+can say of every salon in Paris.
+
+I am taking lessons of Delle Sedie. He is a delightful teacher; he is so
+intelligent and has such beautiful theories, and so many of them, that he
+takes up about half the time of my lesson talking them over.
+
+This is one of the things he says: "Take your breath from your boots." It
+sounds better said in French: _Prenez votre respiration dans vos
+bottines._ I don't think he realizes what he says or what he wants me
+to do. When I told him that I had sung somewhere unwillingly, having been
+much teased, he said: "You must not be too amiable. You must not sing when
+and what one asks. There is nothing like being begged. You are not a hand-
+organ, _pardieu_, that any one can play when they like." And this sort of
+talk alternates with my songs until time is up, when off I run or go,
+feeling that I have learned little but talked much. However, sometimes
+I do feel compensated; for when, to demonstrate a point, he will sing a
+whole song, I console myself by thinking that I have been to one of his
+concerts and paid for my ticket.
+
+Yesterday I received the inclosed letter from the Duke de Morny, inviting
+us to go with him in his loge to see a new play called "Le déluge." It was
+not much of a play; but it was awfully amusing to see. Noah and his three
+sons and his three daughters-in-law marched into the ark dragging after
+them some wiry, emaciated débris of the Jardin des Plantes, which looked
+as if they had not eaten for a week. The amount of whipping and poking
+with sticks which was necessary to get them up the plank was amazing; I
+think they had had either too few or too many rehearsals. But they were
+all finally pushed in. Then commenced the rain--a real pouring cats-and-
+dogs kind of rain, with thunder and lightning and the stage pitch-dark.
+The whole populace climbed up on the rocks and crawled about, drenched to
+the skin, and little by little disappeared. Then, when one saw nothing but
+"water, water everywhere," the ark suddenly loomed out on top of the rocks
+(how could they get it up there?), and the whole Noah family stepped out
+in a pink-and-yellow sunset, and a dear little dove flew up to Noah's hand
+and delivered the olive branch to him. The dove was better trained than
+the animals, and had learned his rôle very well.
+
+On coming out of the theater, we found, instead of the fine weather we had
+left outside, a pouring rain which was a very good imitation of the deluge
+inside. And none of us had an umbrella!
+
+You see what the Duke de Morny writes: "I am making a collection of
+photographs of the young and elegant ladies of Paris. I think that you
+ought to figure among them, and though it is not an equal exchange, I am
+going to ask you to accept mine and give me yours." And he brought it to
+me last night.
+
+An invitation for the ball at St. Cloud for the King of Spain, who is now
+in Paris to inaugurate the new rail road to Madrid, and another ball at
+the Tuileries will keep us busy this week.
+
+
+PETIT VAL, _June 17th._ We have been here a week, rejoicing in the
+lilacs and roses and all the spring delights. The nightingales are more
+delightful than ever. There is one charmer in particular, who warbles most
+enchantingly in the cedar-tree in front of my window. He has a lady-love
+somewhere, and he must be desperately in love, for he sings his little
+heart out on his skylarking tours to attract her attention. I try hard
+(naïve that I am) to imitate his song, especially the trill and the long,
+sad note. I wonder if either of them is deceived: whether she thinks that
+she has two lovers (one worse than the other), or, if _he_ thinks he has a
+poor rival who can't hold a candle to him.
+
+Auber wrote a cadenza for the "Rossignol" of Alabieff, which he thought
+might be in nightingale style. But how can any one imitate a nightingale?
+Auber, in one of his letters, asked me: "Chantez-vous toujours des duos
+avec votre maître de... champs?"
+
+[Illustration: À MADAME LILLIE MOULTON]
+
+
+PARIS, _January, 1864._
+
+The Princess Beauvau is a born actress, and nothing she loves better than
+arranging theatricals and acting herself. She rooted up some charity as an
+excuse for giving a theatrical performance, and obtained the theater of
+the Conservatoire and the promise of the Empress's presence. She chose two
+plays, one of Musset and the other, "l'Esclave," of Molière--and asked me
+to take part in this last one.
+
+"Oh," I said, "I cannot appear in a French play; I would not dare to." But
+the Princess argued that, as there were only four words to say, she
+thought I could do it, and in order to entice me to accept, she proposed
+introducing a song; and, moreover, said that she would beg Auber to
+furnish a few members of the Conservatoire orchestra to accompany me. This
+was very tempting, and I fell readily into the trap she laid for me.
+
+I consulted Auber about my song, and we decided on Alabieff's "Rossignol,"
+for which he had written the cadenza. He composed a chorus for a few
+amateurs and all the orchestral parts.
+
+I was to be a Greek slave; my dress was of white, flimsy, spangled gauze,
+with a white-satin embroidered bolero, a turban of tulle, with all sorts
+of dangly things hanging over my ears. I wore baggy trousers and
+_babouches_. You may notice that I did not copy Power's Greek slave in the
+way of dress.
+
+I was completely covered with a white tulle veil, and led in by my fellow-
+slaves, who were also in baggy trousers and _babouches_. There could be no
+doubt that we were slaves, for we were overloaded with chains on arms,
+ankles, and waist. I found circulation a very difficult matter shuffling
+about in _babouches_, which are the most awkward things to walk in. One
+risks falling forward at every step.
+
+When they got me in front of the orchestra the slaves drew off my veil and
+there I stood. The chorus retired, and I began my song. I had had only one
+rehearsal with the orchestra, the day before; but the humming
+accompaniment to my solo, that the unmusical slaves had to learn, had
+taken a week to teach.
+
+Every one said the scene was very pretty. My song was quite a success; I
+had to sing it over again. Then I sang the waltz of Chopin, to which I had
+put words and transposed two tones lower. I saw Delle Sedie in the
+audience, with his mouth wide open, trying to breathe for me. It has
+sixteen bars which must be sung in one breath, and has a compass from D on
+the upper line to A on the lower line. Applause and flowers were showered
+on me, and I was rather proud of myself. I felt like Patti when I picked
+up my bouquets!
+
+Later on in the play I had to say my "four words," which turned out to be
+six words: _On ne peut être plus joli_. Though I was frightened out of my
+wits, I managed not to disgrace myself; but I doubt if any one heard one
+of the six words I said. The Empress sent me a little bunch of violets,
+which I thought was very gracious of her, and I was immensely flattered,
+for I think she took it from her corsage. I had noticed it there at the
+beginning of the evening.
+
+One of the bouquets bore the card of Dr. Evans, the American dentist. It
+was very nice of him to remember me and send me such beautiful flowers.
+Dr. Evans is so clever and entertaining. Every one likes him, and every
+door as well as every jaw is open to him. At the Tuileries they look on
+him not only as a good dentist, but as a good friend; and, as some clever
+person said, "Though reticent to others, their Majesties had to open their
+mouths to him."
+
+The other day we had a children's party. Auber came, pretending that he
+had been invited as one of the children. When he heard them all chattering
+in French, English, and German, he said, "Cela me fait honte, moi qui ne
+parle que le français." He was most delighted to see the children, and
+seated himself at the piano and played some sweet little old-fashioned
+polkas and waltzes, to which the children danced.
+
+I said to them: "Children, remember that to-day you have danced to the
+playing of Monsieur Auber, the most celebrated composer in France. Such a
+thing is an event, and you must remember it and tell it to your children."
+
+Miss Adelaide Philips is here singing, but, alas! without the success she
+deserves. She appeared at Les Italiens twice; once as Azucena in
+"Trovatore," and then as the page in "Lucrezia Borgia." If it had not been
+for her clothes, I think that her efforts would have been more
+appreciated. The moment she appeared as the page in "Lucrezia" there was a
+general titter in the audience. Her make-up was so extraordinary, Parisian
+taste rose up in arms. And as for the Borgias, they would have poisoned
+her on the spot had they seen her! Her extraordinarily fat legs (whether
+padded or not, I don't know) were covered with black-velvet trousers,
+ending at the knee and trimmed with lace.
+
+She wore a short-waisted jacket with a short skirt attached and a
+voluminous lace ruffle, a curly wig too long for a man and too short for a
+woman, upon which sat jauntily a Faust-like hat with a long, sweeping
+plume. This was her idea of a medieval Maffeo Orsini. As Azucena, the
+mother of a forty-year-old troubadour, she got herself up as a damsel of
+sixteen, with a much too short dress and a red bandana around her head,
+from which dangled a mass of sequins which she shook coquettishly at the
+prompter. The audience did not make any demonstration; they remained
+indifferent and tolerant, and there was not a breath of applause. The only
+criticism that appeared in the papers was: "Madame Philips, une
+Américaine, a fait son apparence dans 'Trovatore.' Elle joue assez bien,
+et si sa voix avait l'importance de ses jambes elle aurait eu sans doute
+du succès, car elle peut presque chanter." Poor Miss Philips! I felt so
+sorry for her. I thought of when I had seen her in America, where she had
+such success in the same rôles. But why did she get herself up so? There
+is nothing like ridicule for killing an artist in France, and any one who
+knew the French could have foreseen what her success would be the moment
+she came on the stage. She became ill after these two performances and
+left Paris.
+
+
+PARIS, _May 7, 1863._
+
+DEAR M.,--Auber procured us tickets for Meyerbeer's funeral, which took
+place to-day; it was a most splendid affair. Auber, who was one of the
+pall-bearers, looked very small and much agitated. The music of the church
+was magnificent. Auber himself had written an organ voluntary and Jules
+Cohen played it. Auber said, on going to the cemetery: "La prochaine fois
+sera pour mon propre compte."
+
+We went to a dinner at Mr. William Gudin's (he is the celebrated painter)
+last night. There were the Prince and Princess Metternich, old Monsieur
+Dupin, Duke de Bassano, Monsieur Rouher, Baron Rothschild, and many other
+people. The gallery was lit up after dinner, and they smoked there (as a
+great exception). Smoking is against Madame Gudin's principles, but not
+against his, as the huge table covered with every kind of cigars and
+cigarettes could bear witness. Collecting cigarettes is a sort of hobby of
+Gudin's; he gets them from every one. The Emperor of Russia, the Chinese,
+the Turkish, and Japanese sovereigns, all send him cigarettes, even the
+Emperor. These last are steeped in a sort of liquid which is good for
+asthma. Every one who could boast of asthma got one to try. I must say
+they smelled rather uninvitingly. The Emperor loves Gudin dearly, and
+orders picture after picture from him, mostly commemorative of some fine
+event of which the Emperor is, of course, the principal figure, and
+destined for Versailles later. Gudin has a beautiful hotel and garden near
+us in the Rue Beaujon. The garden used to be square; but now it is a
+triangle, as a new boulevard has taken a part of it. Gudin talked much
+about his debts, as if they were feathers in his cap, and as for his law-
+suits, they are jewels in his crown!
+
+His famous picture of the Emperor's visit to Venice, now in the
+Luxembourg, is an enormous canvas, rather _à la Turner_, with intense
+blue sky deepening into a green sunset, pink and purple waves lashing the
+sides of the fantastic vessel in which the Emperor stands in an opalescent
+coloring. Some black slaves are swimming about, their bodies half-way out
+of the water, holding up their enormous black arms loaded with chains,
+each link of which would sink an ordinary giant.
+
+Baroness Alphonse Rothschild has one desire, which, in spite of a
+fathomless purse, seemed difficult at first to fulfil. What she wants is
+to play a sonata with the orchestra of the Conservatoire, _rien de moins_!
+She begged me to ask Auber how much it would cost. After due reflection he
+answered, twelve hundred francs. She was quite surprised at this modest
+sum; she had thought it would be so many thousands. Therefore she decided
+to convoke the orchestra, and has been studying her sonata with all zeal
+and with a Danish coach. I don't mean a carriage, but a man who can coach,
+after the English school system.
+
+She asked me to keep her in countenance, and wished me to sing something
+with the orchestra; but what should I sing? Auber could think of nothing
+better than "Voi che sapete," as the orchestra would have the music for
+it, and for frivolity he proposed "La Mandolinata," of Paladilhe. He said,
+"Il faut avoir de tout dans sa poche;" and the dear old master transcribed
+it all himself, writing it out for the different instruments. I shall
+always keep these ten pages of his fine writing as one of my most precious
+autographs.
+
+On account of his _concours_ Auber was asked to be present, as well
+as the Danish coach, whose occupation was to turn the leaves, and if
+necessary to help in critical moments. No one else was to be in the
+audience, not even our husbands. Well! the concert came off. We were four
+hours about it! It was a funny experience, when one thinks of it, and only
+Baroness Rothschild could have ever imagined such a thing or carried it
+through. In her enormous ballroom we two amateurs were performing with the
+most celebrated orchestra in the world--eighty picked musicians, all
+perfect artists--with no one to hear us. Auber professed politely to be
+delighted with all he heard, and clamored for more. The orchestra looked
+resignedly bored.
+
+The Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Marquis Drouyn de l'Huys, gave a
+costume ball which was even finer than the last. Worth, Laferrières, and
+Félix outdid themselves. The Empress had a magnificent dress--_une
+ancienne dame Bavaroise_. She looked superb, actually covered and
+blazing with jewels.
+
+The Comtesse de Castiglione had imagined a costume as "La Vérité." She was
+dressed entirely in white, looking severe and classically beautiful, cold
+as a winter day. She held in her hand a fan made of white feathers which
+had a mirror in the center. It must be amusing to be a professional
+beauty. When she goes to a ball, which she never does before midnight, she
+does not take the trouble to speak to any one; she walks into the ballroom
+and just stands in the middle of it to be looked at; people all make a
+circle around her and glare. A gentleman will go and speak with her, and
+they stand like two trees on an island, he doing the talking, and she
+gazing around her to see what effect she is producing.
+
+The Emperor made a bet that he would make her speak three words, and he
+won it, because she answered a question of his by saying, "Pas beaucoup,
+Sire." She lives at Passy, and calls herself _la recluse de Passy_; others
+call her _la recluse du Passé_. I do not admire her beauty half as much as
+I do the Empress's.
+
+Countess Walewski was dressed like a fiery Vénitienne, all yellow and
+gold. She looked dazzling and like a thorough Italian, which was not
+difficult for her, as she is one.
+
+The Duchesse de Mouchy's costume was a Louis XV. marquise, which did not
+suit her at all; neither did the powdered wig nor the black patches on her
+face become her.
+
+I must tell you about my dress. It was really one of the prettiest there.
+Worth said that he had put his whole soul on it. I thought that he had put
+a pretty good round price on his soul. A skirt of gold tissue, round the
+bottom of which was a band of silver, with all sorts of fantastic figures,
+such as dragons, owls, and so forth, embroidered in different colors under
+a skirt of white tulle with silver and gold spangles. The waist was a mass
+of spangles and false stones on a gold stuff; gold-embroidered bands came
+from the waist and fell in points over the skirt. I had wings of spangled
+silvery material, with great glass-colored beads sewed all over them. But
+the _chef-d'oeuvre_ was the head-dress, which was a sort of helmet with
+gauze wings and the jewels of the family (Mrs. M.'s and mine) fastened on
+it. From the helmet flowed a mane of gold tinsel, which I curled in with
+my hair. The effect was very original, for it looked as though my head was
+on fire; in fact, I looked as if I was all on fire. Before I left home all
+the servants came to see me, and their _magnifique_, and _superbe_, and
+_étonnant_ quite turned my head, even with the helmet on.
+
+The Emperor and the Duke de Persigny went about in dominos, and flattered
+themselves that no one recognized them; but every one did. Who could have
+mistaken the broad back and the slow, undulating gait of the Emperor? And
+though he changed his domino every little while from blue to pink, and
+from white to black, there never was any doubt as to where he was in the
+room, and every eye followed him. I was quite agitated when I saw his
+unmistakable figure approaching me, and when he began, in a high, squeaky
+voice (such as is adopted by masked people) to compliment me on my
+toilette, it was all I could do not to make a courtesy. I answered him,
+feeling very shy about tutoying him, as is the custom when addressing a
+mask.
+
+"Cela te plaît, beau masque (Do I please thee, handsome mask)?" I said.
+
+"Beaucoup, belle dame, mais dis-moi ce que tu es (Very much, beautiful
+lady, but what are you supposed to be?)."
+
+"Je suis une salamandre; je peux traverser le feu et les flammes sans le
+moindre danger (I am a salamander; I can go through fire and flame without
+the slightest danger)."
+
+"Oses-tu traverser le feu de mes yeux (Dost thou dare to brave the fire of
+my eyes)?"
+
+"Je ne vois pas tes yeux à travers ton masque, mon gentilhomme (I cannot
+see thy eyes through thy mask, my gallant gentleman)."
+
+"Oserais-tu traverser la flamme de mon coeur (Wouldst thou dare to go
+through the flame of my heart)?"
+
+"Je suis sûre que j'oserais. Si la flamme est si dangereuse, prends garde
+que ton beau domino ne brûle pas (I am sure that I would dare. If the
+flame is so dangerous take care your beautiful domino does not burn)."
+Such silly talk! But he seemed amused, as he probably thought that I had
+no idea to whom I was talking.
+
+Taking a red counter out of his pocket and handing it to me he said, "Will
+you take supper with me?"
+
+"Not alone," I answered. "You are too dangerous."
+
+He laughed and said, "I shall not be alone, my pretty lady." Then, giving
+me another counter, he said: "This is for your husband. If you will be at
+two o'clock at that door"--pointing to it--"it will be opened for you."
+
+At two o'clock we presented ourselves at the door of the said salon, which
+was immediately opened on our showing the _jetons_, and we found
+ourselves, as I thought we should, in the salon where their Majesties were
+to sup. There were already many people assembled: the Metternichs, the
+Persignys, the Gallifets, the Count and Countess Pourtales, etc.--I should
+say, twenty-five in all. There was a magnificent display of flowers and
+fruit on the table. The Emperor came in with the Empress, not looking in
+the least Cæsar-like, with his hair matted down on his forehead and his
+mustaches all unwaxed and drooping; but he soon twisted them up into their
+usual stiffness. I noticed that people looked at me persistently, and I
+fancied all sorts of awful things, and felt dreadfully embarrassed.
+
+After supper the Empress came up to me and said, "Where can one buy such
+lovely curls as you have, _chère Madame_?" I understood the reason now for
+the notice I was attracting. They had thought that the curls were false. I
+answered, hoping it would sound amusing, "Au Magasin du Bon-Dieu."
+
+The Empress smiled and replied; "Nous voudrions toutes acheter dans ce
+magasin-là; but tell me, are your curls real or false? You won't mind
+telling me (and she hesitated a little). Some people have made bets about
+it. How can we know," she said, "unless you tell us?" "My hair is all my
+own, your Majesty, and, if you wish to make sure, I am perfectly willing
+that you should see for yourself." And, removing my helmet, I took out the
+comb and let my hair down. Every one crowded around me, and felt and
+pulled my hair about until I had to beg for mercy. The Emperor, looking
+on, cried out, "Bravo, Madame!" and, gathering some flowers off the table,
+handed them to me, saying: "Votre succès tenait à un cheveu, n'est-ce
+pas?"
+
+Supposing the curls had been false, how I should have felt!
+
+I put on my head-dress again with the flowing tinsel threads, and, some
+one sending for a brush, I completed this exhibition by showing them how I
+curled my hair around my fingers and made this coiffure. I inclose the
+article about this supper which came out in the _Figaro_ (copied into
+a New York paper).
+
+    The Emperor and Empress not unfrequently take a great liking to
+    persons accidentally presented to them, invite them to their most
+    select parties, make much of them, and sometimes rousing a little
+    jealousy by so doing among the persons belonging to the Court. Of
+    the ladies officially foremost, the reigning favorites are Princess
+    Metternich, extremely clever and piquante, who invents the oddest
+    toilettes, dances the oddest dances, and says the oddest things; the
+    Marquise de Gallifet, whose past life is a romance, not altogether
+    according to the French proverb (fitting school-girl reading), but
+    who is very handsome, brilliant, merry, and audacious; and two others,
+    the handsome and dashing wives of men high in the employment of the
+    Emperor. These ladies spend enormous sums on their toilette, and are
+    perpetually inventing some merry and brilliant nonsense for the
+    amusement of the Empress. Among the persons from the "outside" most in
+    favor just now, in the inner circle of the court, is a very handsome
+    and accomplished American lady, the youthful wife of a millionaire,
+    possessing a magnificent voice, a very amiable temper, and wonderfully
+    splendid hair. After a very small and very merry party in the
+    Empress's private apartments a few nights ago, the Imperial hosts and
+    their guests sat down to an exquisite "little supper," this lady being
+    one of the party. During the supper one of the Empress's ladies began
+    playfully to tease Mrs. ---- about her hair, declaring that no human
+    head could grow such a luxuriant mass of lustrous hair, and inviting
+    her to confess to sporting certain skilfully contrived additions to
+    the locks of nature's bestowing. Mrs. ---- modestly protested that her
+    hair, such as it was, was really and truly her own; in right of
+    growth, and not of purchase. All present speedily took part in the
+    laughing dispute; some declaring for the opinion of the Lady of Honor,
+    the others for that of Mrs. ----. The Emperor and Empress, greatly
+    amused at the dispute, professed a strong desire to know the facts of
+    the case; and the Emperor, declaring that it was clearly impossible to
+    get at the truth in any other way, invited Mrs. M---- to settle the
+    controversy by letting down her hair, and giving ocular demonstration
+    of its being her own. The lady, whereupon, drew out the comb and the
+    hairpins that held up her hair, and shook its heavy and shining masses
+    all over her shoulders, thus giving conclusive proof of the tenure by
+    which she held it. As Frenchwomen seldom have good heads of hair, it
+    is probable that some little disappointment may have been caused to
+    some of the ladies by this magnificent torrent of hair, displayed by
+    Mrs. M----, but the gentlemen were all in raptures at the really
+    beautiful spectacle, the lady's husband, who worships her, being as
+    proud of her triumph as though his wife's luxuriant locks were his own
+    creation.
+
+
+_March, 1864._
+
+DEAR M.,--Auber, on hearing that the Empress had asked me to sing in the
+chapel of the Tuileries, offered to compose a _Benedictus_ for me.
+The orchestra of the Conservatoire was to accompany me, and Jules Cohen
+was to play the organ. I had several rehearsals with Auber and one on the
+preceding Saturday with the orchestra. The flute and I have a little
+ramble together which is very pretty. The loft where the organ is, and
+where I stood, was so high up that I could only see the people by
+straining my neck over the edge of it, and even then only saw the black
+veils of the ladies and the frequent bald heads of the gentlemen. The
+Empress remained on her knees during the whole mass. The Emperor seemed
+attentive; but stroked and pulled his mustaches all the time.
+
+My _Benedictus_ went off very well. The chapel was very sonorous and
+I was in good voice. I was a little nervous at first, but after the first
+phrase I recovered confidence and did all that was expected of me. The
+Duke de Bassano came up to the loft and begged me to come down into the
+gallery, as their Majesties wished me and Charles to stay for breakfast. I
+was sorry Auber was not invited. We found every one assembled in the
+gallery outside the chapel. The Empress came straight toward me, thanked
+me, and said many gracious things, as did the Emperor. There were very,
+very few people at breakfast--only the household. I sat between the
+Emperor and the little Prince, who said, "I told mama I knew when you
+sang, for you said '_Benedictus_'; we say _benedicteus_."
+
+The Princess Metternich receives after midnight every evening. If one is
+in the theater or at a _soirée_ it is all right, but to sit up till
+twelve o'clock to go to her is very tiresome, though when you are once
+there you do not regret having gone. It is something to see her smoking
+her enormous cigars. The other night Richard Wagner, who had been to the
+theater with the Metternichs, was there. I was glad to see him, though he
+is so dreadfully severe, solemn, and satirical. He found fault with
+everything; he thought the theaters in Paris horribly dirty, _mal
+soignés_, bad style, bad actors, orchestra second-rate, singers worse,
+public ignorant, etc. He smiled once with such a conscious look and
+scanned people's faces, as if to say, "I, Richard Wagner, have smiled!"
+But he can very well put on airs, for he is a genius. At Les Italiens,
+Patti, Mario, Alboni, and Delle Sedie are singing "Rigoletto." They are
+all splendid. Alboni is immensely fat and round as a barrel--but what a
+voice! It simply rolls out in billows of melody. The "quartette" was
+magnificent, and was encored. Patti and Mario are at daggers drawn, and
+hate each other like poison, so their love-making is reduced to a minimum,
+and they make as little as possible. In their fondest embraces they hold
+each other at arm's length and glare into each other's eyes. Mario is such
+a splendid actor one would think he could conquer his dislike for her and
+play the lover better. The _Barbier de Séville_ is, I think, his best
+role; he acts with so much humor and sings so exquisitely and with such
+refinement. Even in the tipsy scene he is the fine gentleman. Patti sings
+in the singing lesson Venzano's waltz and "Il Bacio." Her execution is
+wonderful, faultless, and brilliant.
+
+We went to a _soirée_ given by the Marquise de Boissy, better known
+as Byron's Countess Guiccioli, who inspired so many of his beautiful
+poems; but when you see her dyed and painted you wonder how the _blasé_
+Byron could have been all fire and flame for her. Fagnani, the painter,
+who did that awful simpering portrait of me, painted her, it being
+stipulated that he should make her look ten years younger than she is. He
+had a hard time of it! But now, being old and married to the senator,
+Marquis de Boissy, she has lost all claim to celebrity, and is reduced to
+giving forlorn _soirées_ with a meager buffet.
+
+Beaumont is a charming painter, and a friend of Henry's. When he comes
+here, as he does very often, he puts us all in a good-humor; even my
+father-in-law forgets to grumble at the reduced price of stocks and the
+increased rate of exchange. His picture of Circé charming the pigs is very
+pretty. Helen and I are both in it; he wanted her ear and hair and my eyes
+and hair. I am not Circé; I only stand in the background admiring a pig.
+To reward us he painted a fan for each: mine has arrows, doves, my
+initials, "Beware," and cherubim all mixed up, making a lovely fan.
+
+Baroness Alphonse Rothschild sent me her box for the opera, and I asked
+the Metternichs and Herr Wagner, the composer, who was dining at the
+Embassy, to go with me, and they accepted. The Rothschilds' box is one of
+the largest in the opera-house. The Princess Metternich created a
+sensation when we entered--she always does--but Herr Wagner passed
+unnoticed. He sat behind and pretended to go to sleep. He thought
+everything most mediocre. The opera was "Faust," which I thought was
+beautifully put on the stage, with Madame Miolan Carvalho as Marguerite
+and Faure as Mephistopheles. They both sang and acted to perfection; but
+Wagner pooh-poohed at them and everything else. _Abscheulich_ and
+_grässlich_ alternated in his condemning sentences. Nothing pleased
+him.
+
+He fidgeted about and was very cross during the fifth act, where the
+ballet is danced.
+
+"Why did Gounod insert that idiotic ballet? It is _banal_ and _de trop_."
+(France is the only place where this fifth act is performed.)
+
+"You must blame Goethe for that," retorted the Princess Metternich. "Why
+did he make Faust go to the Champs Élysées if he did not want him to see
+any dancing?"
+
+"Why, indeed?" grumbled Wagner. "Goethe had much better have let
+Marguerite die on her straw and not of send her up in clouds of glory like
+the Madonna to heaven, and with ballet music."
+
+"Well," said the Princess, "I don't see any difference between a ballet in
+heaven and a ballet in Venusberg."
+
+The Emperor has made a fine _coup de popularité_. He refused to have
+the new boulevard named after his mother, and cleverly proposed it to be
+called Richard Lenoir, the man who led his fellow-workmen in the
+Revolution.
+
+We were invited to one of Rossini's Saturday evenings. There was a queer
+mixture of people: some diplomats, and some well-known members of society,
+but I fancy that the guests were mostly artists; at least they looked so.
+The most celebrated ones were pointed out to me. There were Saint-Saëns,
+Prince Poniatowski, Gounod, and others. I wondered that Richard Wagner was
+not there; but I suppose that there is little sympathy between these two
+geniuses.
+
+Prince Metternich told me that Rossini had once said to him that he wished
+people would not always feel obliged to sing his music when they sang at
+his house. "J'acclamerais avec délice 'Au clair de la lune,' même avec
+variations," he said, in his comical way. Rossini's wife's name is Olga.
+Some one called her Vulgar, she is so ordinary and pretentious, and would
+make Rossini's home and salon very commonplace if it were not that the
+master glorified all by his presence. I saw Rossini's writing-table, which
+is a thing never to be forgotten: brushes, combs, toothpicks, nails, and
+all sorts of rubbish lying about pell-mell; and promiscuous among them was
+the tube that Rossini uses for his famous _macaroni à la Rossini_. Prince
+Metternich said that no power on earth would induce him to touch any food
+_à la Rossini_, especially the macaroni, which he said was stuffed with
+hash and all sorts of remnants of last week's food and piled up on a dish
+like a log cabin. "J'ai des frissons chaque fois que j'y pense."
+
+Not long ago Baron James Rothschild sent Rossini some splendid grapes from
+his hothouse. Rossini, in thanking him, wrote, "Bien que vos raisins
+soient superbes, je n'aime pas mon vin en pillules." This Baron Rothschild
+read as an invitation to send him some of his celebrated Château-Lafitte,
+which he proceeded to do, for "the joke of it," he remarked. "It is so
+amusing to tell the story afterward." Rossini does not dye his hair, but
+wears the most wiggy of wigs. When he goes to mass he puts one wig on top
+of the other, and if it is very cold he puts still a third one on, curlier
+than the others, for the sake of warmth. No coquetry about him!
+
+Rossini asked me to sing.
+
+"I will, with pleasure," I said. "I only wish that I knew what to sing, I
+know that you do not like people to sing your music when they come to your
+house."
+
+"Not every one," he said, beaming with a broad smile; "but I have heard
+that you have an unusually beautiful voice, and I am curious to hear you."
+
+"But," I mischievously answered, "I do not know 'Au clair de la lune,'
+even with variations."
+
+"Oh! the naughty Prince," said he, shaking his finger across to where
+Prince Metternich was standing. "He told you that. But tell me, what do
+you sing of mine?"
+
+Auber had told me to take "Sombre Forêt," of "William Tell," in case I
+should be asked. Therefore I said that I had brought "Sombre Forêt," and
+if he liked I would sing that.
+
+"Bene! bene!" he replied. "I will accompany you."
+
+I was dreadfully nervous to sing before him, but when I had finished he
+stretched out both hands to me and said:
+
+"Merci! C'est comme cela que ça doit être chanté. Votre voix est
+délicieuse, le timbre que j'aime--mezzo-soprano, avec ces notes hautes et
+claires."
+
+Auber came up flushed with delight at my success, and said to Rossini,
+"Did I say too much about Madame Moulton's voice?"
+
+"Not enough," replied Rossini. "She has more than voice; she has
+intelligence and _le feu sacré--un rossignol doublé de velours_; and more
+than all, she sings my music as I have written it. Every one likes to add
+a little of their own. I said to Patti the other day: 'a chère_ Adelina,
+when you sing the "Barbiere" do not make it too '_strakoschonée_'
+[Strakosch is Patti's brother-in-law, and makes all her cadenzas for her].
+If I had wanted to make all those little things, don't you think that I
+could have made them myself?'"
+
+Auber asked me, "Do you know what Rossini said about me?"
+
+"No," I answered, "I know what he ought to have said. What did he say?"
+
+"He said," Auber replied, with a merry twinkle in his eye, 'Auber est un
+grand musicien qui fait de la petite musique.'"
+
+"That was pure envy," I said. "I should like to know what you said about
+Rossini."
+
+"Well, I said," and he hesitated before continuing, "I said that Rossini
+_est un très grand musicien et fait de la belle musique, mais une
+exécrable cuisine_."
+
+Rossini adores Alboni, but deplores her want of confidence in herself. She
+has such stage frights that she swears that she will have to leave the
+stage. He has written "La Messe solennelle" for her voice. The "Agnus Dei"
+is perfectly wonderful. She sang it after I had sung. If she had been
+first, I never should have had the courage to open my mouth.
+
+Auber asked him how he had liked the representation of "Tannhäuser"?
+Rossini answered, with a satirical smile, "It is a music one must hear
+several times. I am not going again."
+
+Rossini said that neither Weber nor Wagner understood the voice. Wagner's
+interminable dissonances were insupportable. That these two composers
+imagine that to sing is simply to _dégoiser_ the note; but the art of
+singing, or technic was considered by them to be secondary and
+insignificant Phrasing or any sort of _finesse_ was superfluous. The
+orchestra must be all powerful. "If Wagner gets the upper hand," Rossini
+continued, "as he is sure to do, for people will run after the New, then
+what will become of the art of singing? No more _bel canto_, no more
+phrasing, no more enunciation! What is the use, when all that is required
+of you is to _beugler_ (bellow)? Any _cornet à piston_ is just as good as
+the best tenor, and better, for it can be heard over the orchestra. But
+the instrumentation is magnificent. There Wagner excels. The overture of
+Tannhäuser is a _chef-d'oeuvre;_ there is a swing, a sway, and a shush
+that carries you off your feet.... I wish I had composed it myself."
+
+Auber is a true Parisian, adores his Paris, and never leaves it even
+during the summer, when Paris is insufferable. He comes very often to see
+me, and we play duets. He loves Bach, and we play Mendelssohn overtures
+and Haydn symphonies when we are through with Bach. Auber always takes the
+second piano, or, if a four-handed piece, he takes the base. Sometimes he
+says, "Je vous donne rendez-vous en bas de la page. Si vous y arrivez la
+première, attendez-moi, et je ferai de même." He is so clever and full of
+repartees.
+
+I do not think I ever talked with a wittier person than he is. I always
+wish I could remember what he says; but, alas! when he goes my memory goes
+with him.
+
+Though so old (he must be over eighty) he is always beautifully dressed in
+the latest fashion, trim and neat. He says that he has never heard his
+operas seated in the audience; it makes him too nervous. He has his seat
+every night in the parquet of all the theaters in Paris. He only has to
+choose where to go. He once said: "Je suis trop vieux; on ne devrait pas
+vieillir, mais que faire? c'est le seul moyen de devenir vieux. Un
+vieillard m'a toujours paru un personnage terrible et inutile, mais me
+voici un vieillard sans le savoir et je n'en suis pas triste." He is not
+deaf, nor does he wear glasses except to "déchiffrer ma propre musique"--
+as he says. Another time he said: "I am glad that I never was married. My
+wife would now have been an old, wrinkled woman. I never would have had
+the courage to come home of an evening. Aussi j'aurais voulu avoir une
+fille (une fille comme vous), et elle m'aurait certainement donné un
+garçon."
+
+I quote the following from a Paris newspaper:
+
+_Parmi les dames qu'on admire le plus, il convient de citer Mme Moulton.--
+C'est la première fois que nous revoyons Mme Moulton au théâtre depuis son
+retour d'Amérique.--Serait-elle revenue exprès pour la pièce d'Auber.--On
+dit, en effet, que dans tous ses opéras, Auber offre le principal rôle à
+Mme Moulton, qui possède une voix ravissante._
+
+The Emperor once said to Auber: "Dites-moi, quel âge avez-vous? On dit que
+vous avez quatre-vingt ans." "Sire," answered Auber, "je n'ai pas quatre-
+vingt ans, mais quatre fois vingt ans." Is he not clever? Some one was
+talking about the Marquise B---- and her friendship (_sic_) for Monsieur
+de M----, and said, "On dit que ce n'est que l'amitié." "Oh," said Auber,
+"je connais ces amitiés-là; on dit que l'amour et l'amitié sont frère et
+soeur. Cela se peut, mais ils ne sont pas du même lit."
+
+And another time (I am remembering all his witty sayings while I can),
+Prince Metternich, who smokes one cigarette after the other, said to
+Auber, "Vous me permettez?" wanting to put his ashes in Auber's tea-
+saucer. Auber said, "Certainement, mais j'aime mieux monter que
+descendre." In other words, _J'aime mieux mon thé que des cendres_.
+How can people be so quick-witted?
+
+Auber has given me all his operas, and I have gone through them all with
+him for his music. I sing the laughing song in "Manon Lescaut" and the
+bolero in "Diamants de la Couronne." These two are my favorite songs and
+are very difficult. In the laughing song I either laugh too much or too
+little. To start laughing in cold blood is as difficult as to stop
+laughing when once started. The bolero is only a continuous display of
+musical fireworks.
+
+
+NEW YORK, _May, 1864._
+
+When we arrived in New York (we went to visit my sister and my mother) we
+were overwhelmed with invitations of all kinds.
+
+I made a most (to me) interesting acquaintance at this _soirée_, a Mrs.
+Henry Fields, who I found out was the famous and much-talked-about
+"Lucie," the governess in the trial of the Duc de Praslin. Every one was
+convinced of her innocence (she pleaded her own case, refusing the aid of
+a lawyer). Nevertheless, she was the cause of the death of the Duchess, as
+the Duke killed his wife because she refused to give "Lucie" a letter of
+recommendation, and he became so enraged at her refusal that he first
+tried to strangle her, and then shot her. I had heard so much about this
+murder (it was along ago), and knew all the details, and, what was more, I
+knew all the children of the unhappy woman whose only crime was to love
+her husband too much, and to resent "Lucie's" taking away the love of her
+children from her! Warning to young women: Don't love your husbands too
+much, or don't engage a too attractive governess.
+
+
+PHILADELPHIA, _July, 1864._
+
+DEAR AUNTY,--We came from New York a few days ago, and are staying with
+mama's friend, Mrs. M----, who is a very (what shall I say?) fascinating
+but a very peculiar person. She is a curious mixture of a poetess and a
+society woman, very susceptible, and of such a sensitive nature that she
+seems always to be in the hottest of hot water, and at war with all her
+neighbors; but she routs all her enemies and manages everything with a
+high hand.
+
+Her daughter is just engaged to a Swedish naval officer. To celebrate the
+engagement they gave a big dinner, and, as the Sanitary Fair is going on
+just now, President Lincoln is here, and Mrs. M---- had the courage to
+invite him, and he had the courage to accept. It is the first time that I
+have ever seen an American President, and I was most anxious to see him,
+particularly as he has, for the last years, been such a hero in my eyes.
+He might take the prize for ugliness anywhere; his face looked as if it
+was cut out of wood, and roughly cut at that, with deep furrows in his
+cheeks and a huge mouth; but he seemed so good and kind, and his eyes
+sparkled with so much humor and fun, that he became quite fascinating,
+especially when he smiled. I confess I lost my heart to him.... The
+dinner, I mean the food part of it, was a failure. It came from Baltimore,
+and everything was cold; the _pâté de foie gras_ never appeared at all!
+When Mrs. M---- mentioned the fact to Mr. Lincoln, pointing to the menu,
+he said "the _pâté_" (he pronounced it _patty_) has probably walked off by
+itself. Every one laughed, because he said it in such a comical, slow way.
+
+After the gentlemen had smoked (I thought they were a long time at it) we
+were requested to go into the gallery, where all the gas-lights were
+turned up to the fullest and chairs placed in rows, and Professor Winter
+began to read a lecture on the brain--of all subjects! Who but Mrs. M----
+would ever have arranged such an entertainment?
+
+Professor Winter told us where our 50,000 ideas were laid up in our brains
+(I am sure that I have not 50,000 in mine). One might have deducted
+49,999, and still, with that little one left, I was not able to understand
+the half of what he said.
+
+Another wonderful thing he told us was, that there are five thousand
+million cells in our brain, and that it takes about ten thousand cells to
+furnish a well-lodged perception. How in the world can he know that? I
+think he must have examined his own ten thousand cells to have discovered
+all this exuberance of material. The President looked bored, and I am sure
+everybody else wished Professor Winter and his theories (because they
+can't be facts) in the Red Sea.... After this _séance manquée_ I was
+asked to sing. Poor Mr. Lincoln! who I understood could not endure music.
+I pitied him.
+
+"None of your foreign fireworks," said Mr. Trott, in his graceful manner,
+as I passed him on my way to the piano. I answered, "Shall I sing 'Three
+Little Kittens'? I think that is the least fireworky of my _répertoire_."
+But I concluded that a simple little rocket like "Robin Adair" would kill
+nobody; therefor I sang that, and it had a success.
+
+When the gaunt President shook my hand to thank me, he held it in a grip
+of iron, and when, to accentuate the compliment, meaning to give a little
+extra pressure, he put his left hand over his right, I felt as if my hand
+was shut in a waffle-iron and I should never straighten it out again.
+
+"Music is not much in my line," said the President; "but when you sing you
+warble yourself into a man's heart. I'd like to hear you sing some more."
+
+What other mild cracker could I fire off? Then I thought of that lovely
+song, "Mary Was a Lassie," which you like so much, so I sang that.
+
+Mr. Lincoln said, "I think I might become a musician if I heard you often;
+but so far I only know two tunes."
+
+"'Hail, Columbia'?" I asked. "You know that, I am sure!"
+
+"Oh yes, I know that, for I have to stand up and take off my hat."
+
+"And the other one?"
+
+"The other one! Oh, the other one is the other when I don't stand up!"  I
+am sorry not to have seen Mr. Lincoln again. There was something about him
+that was perfectly fascinating, but I think I have said this before.
+
+
+NIAGARA, _August, 1864._
+
+DEAR AUNTY,--My last letter, written from Philadelphia, told you of my
+having made Mr. Lincoln's acquaintance. A few days after we left for
+Niagara, taking Rochester on our way. I had not seen Rochester since I was
+eleven years old, and mama and I both wanted to go there again.
+
+We slept in Rochester that night. The next morning a deputation headed by
+the director of the penitentiary, flanked by a committee of benevolent
+ladies, called upon us to beg me to sing for the penitents at the
+penitentiary the next day, it being Sunday. They all said, in chorus, that
+it would be a great and noble act.
+
+I did not (and I do not now) see why pickpockets and burglars should be
+entertained, and I could not grasp the greatness of the act, unless it was
+in the asking. However, mama urged me (she can never bear me to say no),
+and I accepted.
+
+At the appointed time the director called for us in a landau, and we drove
+out to the penitentiary. As we entered the double courtyard, and drove
+through the much belocked gates, I felt very depressed, and not at all
+like bursting forth in song. Mama and I were led up, like lambs to the
+slaughter, on to a platform, passing the guilty ones seated in the pews,
+the men on one side, the women on the other, of the aisles, all dressed in
+stripes of some sort; they looked sleepy and stupid. They had just sat
+through the usual Sunday exhortation.
+
+The ladies of the committee ranged themselves so as to make a background
+of solemn benevolence on the platform, in the middle of which stood a
+primeval melodion with two octaves and four stops. One stop would have
+been enough for me, and I needed it later, as you will see.
+
+Here I was! What should I sing? I was utterly at a loss. Why had I not
+thought this out before coming?
+
+French love-songs; out of the question.
+
+Italian prayers and German lullabies were plentiful in the _répertoire_,
+but seemed sadly out of place for this occasion.
+
+I thought of Lucrezia Borgia's "Brindisi"; but that instantly went out of
+my mind. A drinking song urging people to drink seemed absurdly
+inappropriate, as probably most of my audience had done their misdeeds
+under the influence of drink.
+
+I knew the words of "Home, Sweet Home," and decided on that. Nothing could
+have been worse. I attacked the squeaky melodion, pushed down a pedal,
+pulled out the "vox humana" stop--the most harmless one of the melodion,
+but which gave out a supernaturally hoarse sound--I struck the chord, and
+standing up I began. These poor, homeless creatures must have thought my
+one purpose was to harass them to the last limit, and I only realized what
+I was singing about when I saw them with bowed heads and faces hidden in
+their hands; some even sobbing.
+
+The director, perceiving the doleful effect I had produced, suggested,
+"Perhaps something in a lighter vein." I tried to think of "something in a
+lighter vein," and inquired, "How would 'Swanee River' be?"
+
+"First-rate," said the kind director; "just the thing--_good_" emphasizing
+the word _good_ by slapping his hands together. Thus encouraged, I started
+off again in the melancholy wake of the melodion. Alas! this fared no
+better than "Home, Sweet Home." When I sang "Oh; darkies! how my heart
+grows weary!" the word _weary_ had a disastrous effect, and there was a
+regular breakdown (I don't mean in the darky sense of the word, the
+penitents did _not_ get up and perform a breakdown--I wish they had!); but
+there was a regular collapse of penitents. I thought that they would have
+to be carried out on stretchers.
+
+The poor warden, now at his wits' end, but wishing to finish this
+lugubrious performance with a flourish, proposed (unhappy thought) that I
+should address a few words to the now miserable, broken-hearted crowd. I
+will give you a thousand guesses, dear aunty, and still you will never
+guess the idiotic words that issued from your niece's lips. I said,
+looking at them with a triumphant smile (I have no doubt that, at that
+moment, I thought I was in my own drawing-room, bidding guests good
+night)--I said (I really hate to write it): "I hope the next time I come
+to Rochester I shall meet you all here again."
+
+This was the first speech I ever made in public--I confess that it was not
+a success.
+
+
+PARIS, _1865._
+
+The Princess Mathilde receives every Sunday evening. Her salons are always
+crowded, and are what one might call cosmopolitan. In fact, it is the only
+salon in Paris where one can meet all nationalities. There are diplomats,
+royalists, imperialists, strangers of importance passing through Paris,
+and especially all the celebrated artists.
+
+She has great taste, and has arranged her palace most charmingly. She has
+converted a small portion of the park behind it into a winter garden,
+which is filled with beautiful palms and flowering plants. In this
+attractive place she holds her receptions, and I sang there the other
+evening.
+
+Rossini was, as a great exception, present. I fancy that he and his wife
+had dined with the Princess; therefore, when the Princess asked him to
+accompany me, saying that she desired so much to hear me sing, he could
+not well refuse to be amiable, and sat down to the piano with a good
+enough grace. I sang "Bel Raggio," from "Semiramide," as I knew it by
+heart (I had sung it often enough with Garcia). Rossini was kind enough
+not to condemn the cadenzas with which Garcia had interlarded it. I was
+afraid he would not like them, remembering what he had said to Patti about
+hers.
+
+I was amused at his gala dress for royalty: a much-too-big redingote, a
+white tie tied a good deal to one side, and only one wig.
+
+He says that he is seventy-three years old. I must say that this is
+difficult to believe, for he does not look it by ten years. He never
+accepts any invitations. I know I have never seen him anywhere outside his
+own house, and it was a great surprise to see him now. We once ventured to
+invite him and his wife to dinner one evening, when the Prince and
+Princess Metternich were dining with us; and we got this answer: "Merci,
+de votre invitation pour ma femme et moi. Nous regrettons de ne pouvoir
+l'accepter. Ma femme ne sort que pour aller à la messe, et moi je ne sors
+jamais de mes habitudes." We felt snubbed, as no doubt we deserved to be.
+
+Gounod played most enchantingly some selections from "Roméo et Juliette,"
+the opera he has just composed. I hear that he wants Christine Nilsson to
+sing it. The music seems to me even more beautiful than "Faust." Rossini
+talked a long time with Gounod, and Auber told me that Rossini said,
+patting Gounod on the back, "Vous êtes le chevalier Bayard de la musique."
+
+Gounod answered, "Sans peur, non!"
+
+Rossini said, "Dans tous les cas, sans reproche et sans égal."
+
+Gounod is, I think, the gentlest, the most modest, and the kindest-hearted
+man in the world. His music is like him, gentle and graceful. Princess
+Mathilde asked me to sing again; but, as I had not brought any music,
+Auber offered to accompany me in the "Song of the Djins," from his new
+opera, which I had so often sung with him. It was not the song I should
+have selected; but, as Auber desired it, I was glad to gratify him, and
+was delighted when I saw Rossini compliment Auber, who (like the tenor
+before the drop-curtain, who waves his hand toward the soprano as if all
+the merit of the performance was due to her) waved his hand toward me,
+which suggested to Rossini to make me a reflected compliment.
+
+This was a great occasion, seeing and hearing Rossini, Gounod, and Auber
+at the same time. I shall never forget that evening. I wonder that I had
+the courage to sing before them. Among the guests was an Indian Nabob
+dressed in all his orientals, who in himself would have been sufficient
+attraction for a whole evening, had he not been totally eclipsed by the
+three great artists. The Nabob probably expected more homage than he
+received; but people hardly looked at him.
+
+I was presented to him, and he seemed glad to speak English, which was not
+of the best, but far better than his French. He told me a great deal about
+his journey, the attractions of Paris, and about his country and family.
+
+I asked him, by way of saying something (I was not particularly interested
+in him or his family), how many children he had. He answered, "Quite a
+few, milady."
+
+"What does your Highness call a few?" I asked.
+
+"Well, I think about forty," he replied, nonchalantly.
+
+"That would be considered quite a large family here," I said.
+
+The Nabob, of course, did not appreciate the profundity of this remark.
+
+A few days after, the Princess Mathilde sent me a lovely fan which she had
+painted herself, and Mr. Moulton is going to have it mounted. I am very
+happy to have it as a souvenir of a memorable evening, besides being an
+exquisite specimen of the Princess's talent as an artist. The Princess is
+what one might call miscellaneous. She has a Corsican father, a German
+mother, and a Russian husband, and as "cavaliere servente" (as they say in
+Italy), a Dutchman. She was born in Austria, brought up in Italy, and
+lives in France. She said once to Baron Haussmann, "If you go on making
+boulevards like that, you will shut me up like a vestal."
+
+"I will never make another, your Highness," he answered.
+
+Every one is very much excited about a young Swedish girl called Christine
+Nilsson, who has walked right into the star-light, for she really is a
+star of the first magnitude. She has studied with Wachtel only one year,
+and behold her now singing at the Théâtre Lyrique to crowded audiences in
+the "Flûte Enchantée." Her voice has a wonderful charm; she sings without
+the slightest effort, and naturally as a bird. She has some phenomenal
+high notes, which are clear as bells. She makes that usually tedious
+_grand aria_, which every singer makes a mess of, quite lovely and
+musical, hovering as she does in the regions above the upper line like a
+butterfly and trilling like a canary-bird. A Chinese juggler does not play
+with his glass balls more dexterously than she plays with all the effects
+and tricks of the voice. What luck for her to have blossomed like that
+into a full-fledged prima-donna with so little effort. I have got to know
+her quite well, as Miss Haggerty, who was at some school with her in
+Paris, invites her often to lunch and asks me to meet her.
+
+Nilsson is tall, graceful, slight, and very attractive, without being
+actually handsome. She acts well and naturally, and with intelligence,
+without exerting herself; she has the happy faculty of understanding and
+seizing things _au vol_, instead of studying them. She has a regal future
+before her. A second Jenny Lind! Their careers are rather similar. Jenny
+Lind was a singer in cafés, and Nilsson played the violin in cafés in
+Stockholm. She is clever, too! She has surrounded herself by a wall of
+propriety, in the shape of an English _dame de compagnie_, and never moves
+unless followed by her. This lady (Miss Richardson) is correctness and
+primness personified, and so _comme il faut_ that it is actually
+oppressive to be in the same room with her. Nilsson herself is full of fun
+and jokes, but at the same time dignified and serious.
+
+Christine Nilsson gave Mrs. Haggerty a box at the Théâtre Lyrique, where
+she is now playing "Traviata" (I think it was the director's box), and I
+was invited to go with her and Clem. The box was behind the curtain and
+very small and very dark. But it was intensely amusing to see how things
+were done, and how prosaic and matter-of-fact everything was. If ever I
+thanked my stars that I was not a star myself it was then.
+
+Everything looked so tawdry and claptrap: the dirty boards, the grossly
+painted scenery, the dingy workmen shuffling about grumbling and gruff,
+ordered and scolded by a vulgar superior. Of course the stars do not see
+all these things, because they only appear when the heavens are ready for
+them to shine in.
+
+The overture, so it sounded to us, was a clash of drums, trumpets, and
+trombones all jumbled together. After the three knocks of the director,
+which started up the dust of ages into our faces until we were almost
+suffocated, the curtain rose slowly with great noise and rumbling.
+
+The audience looked formidable as we saw it through the mist of cloudy
+gas-light, a sea of faces, of color and vagueness. The incongruity of
+costumes was a thing to weep over. If they had tried they could not have
+made it worse. The lady guests, walking and chatting, in a _soi-disant_
+elegant salon, were dressed, some in Louis XV. splendor, some in dogesses'
+brocades, some in modern finery, with bows and ribbons and things looped
+up any way. Nilsson was dressed in quite modern style--flounces, laces,
+and fringes, and so forth, while Alfredo had donned a black velvet coat _à
+la_ something, with a huge jabot which fell over a frilled shirt-front. He
+wore short velvet trousers, and black-silk stockings covered his thin legs
+without the least attempt at padding.
+
+The "padre" was in a shooting-jacket, evidently just in from a riding-
+tour. He held a riding-stick, and wore riding-gantlets which he flourished
+about with such wide gesticulations that I thought he was going to hit
+Nilsson in the face.
+
+We could not hear the singing so well from where we sat; but the orchestra
+was overpowering, and the applause deafening, like peals of thunder.
+
+I laughed when the gang of workmen rushed on to the stage as soon as the
+curtain came down, and began sweeping and taking down one set of furniture
+and putting on another; especially in the last act, when Violetta's bed
+came on and the men threw the pillows from one to the other, as if they
+were playing ball. They hung up a crucifix, which I thought was
+unnecessary, and brought in a candlestick. I wondered if they were going
+to put a warming-pan in the bed. A mat was laid down with great precision.
+Then Nilsson came in, dressed in a flounced petticoat trimmed with lace, a
+"matinée," and black slippers, and got into the bed.
+
+After the performance was over the curtain was raised and the artists came
+forward to bow; the stage was covered with flowers and wreaths. And
+Nilsson, in picking up her floral tributes, was wreathed in smiles; but
+they faded like mist before the sun the minute the curtain was lowered,
+and she looked tired and worn out. Her maid was there, waiting with a
+shawl to wrap around the shoulders of the hot prima-donna, and the prim
+Miss Richardson ready to escort her to her room, while the army of shirt-
+sleeved men invaded the stage like bees, with brooms which, though
+anything but new, I hope swept clean. Then everything was dark and dismal,
+lit only by one or two candles and a solitary lantern. All that was so
+brilliant a moment before was now only a confused mass of disillusions.
+
+Nilsson and her duenna drove to Mrs. H----'s and had supper with us. One
+would never have dreamt that she had been dying of consumption an hour
+before, to see her stow away ham, salad, and pudding in great quantities.
+Then she embraced us all and drove off in her coupé. The star was going to
+set. I went home, glad that my life lay in other paths.
+
+
+PARIS, _March, 1865._
+
+DEAR M.,--Do not be anxious about me. When Mrs. M---- wrote, I was really
+in danger of a _fluxion de poitrine_. I am sorry she worried you
+unnecessarily. I am much better; in fact, I am far on the road to
+recovery. If every one had such a nice time when they are ill as I had
+they would not be in a hurry to get well. When I was convalescent enough
+to come down-stairs, and the doctor had said his last word (the
+traditional "you must be careful"), I had my _chaise-longue_ moved down
+into Henry's studio, and Monsieur Gudin, who is the kindest man in the
+world, offered to come there and paint a picture in order to amuse and
+divert me.
+
+Bierstadt, the American painter, who is in Paris, also proposed to come.
+Then those two artists ordered canvases of the same size, and Beaumont,
+not to be outdone, ordered a larger canvas, and Henry announced his
+intention of finishing an already commenced landscape.
+
+Behold, then, your invalid, surrounded by these celebrated artists,
+reclining on a _chaise-longue_, a table with _tisanes_ and remedies near
+by, and the four painters painting. Gudin is painting a seascape;
+Bierstadt, a picture of California; Beaumont, of course, his graceful
+ladies and cherubs. It amused me to see how differently they painted.
+Gudin spread his paints on a very large table covered with glass, and used
+a great many brushes; Bierstadt used a huge palette, and painted rather
+finically, whereas Beaumont had quite a small palette and used few
+brushes. I was very sorry when my convalescence came to an end and the
+pictures were finished; but I had the delight of receiving the four
+pictures, which the four artists begged me to accept as a souvenir of the
+"pleasant days in the studio."
+
+Another pleasant thing happened during "the pleasant days in the studio,"
+which was the gift of a beautiful gold medal which the Emperor sent me as
+a souvenir of the day I sang the _Benedictus_ in the chapel of the
+Tuileries. It is a little larger than a five-franc piece, and has on one
+side the head of the Emperor encircled by "Chapelle des Tuileries," and on
+the other side "Madame Moulton" and the date.
+
+We are all dreadfully sad about the Duke de Morny's death. He was very
+much appreciated, and a favorite with every one. They say that the Duchess
+cut off all her hair and put it into his coffin. I never heard before that
+she was such a loving wife. I only hope that she will not need her braids
+to keep on her next wedding-wreath.
+
+We have just heard of the assassination of that good, kind President
+Lincoln. How dreadful!
+
+I have a new teacher called Delsarte, the most unique specimen I have ever
+met. My first impression was that I was in the presence of a
+_concierge_ in a second-class establishment; but I soon saw that he
+was the great master I had heard described so often. He is not a real
+singing teacher, for he does not think the voice worth speaking of; he has
+a theory that one can express more by the features and all the tricks he
+teaches, and especially by the manner of enunciation, than by the voice.
+We were (Aunty and I) first led into the salon, and then into the music-
+room, so called because the piano is there and the stand for music, but no
+other incumbrances as furniture.
+
+On the walls were hung some awful diagrams to illustrate the master's
+method of teaching. These diagrams are crayon-drawings of life-sized faces
+depicting every emotion that the human face is capable of expressing, such
+as love, sorrow, murder, terror, joy, surprise, etc.
+
+It is Delsarte's way, when he wants you to express one of these emotions
+in your voice, to point with a soiled forefinger to the picture in
+question which he expects you to imitate. The result lends expression to
+your voice.
+
+The piano is of a pre-Raphaelite construction, and stands in the middle of
+the room like an island in a lake, with a footstool placed over the pedals
+(he considers the pedal as useless). The lid of the piano was absent, and,
+to judge from the inside, I should say that the piano was the receptacle
+for everything that belonged to the Delsarte homestead. There were
+inkstands, pens, pencils, knives, wire, matches, toothpicks, half-smoked
+cigars, even remnants of his luncheon, which seemed to have been black
+bread and cheese, and dust galore. Delsarte had on a pair of much-worn
+embroidered slippers, a velvet _calotte_, the tassels of which swayed
+with each of his emotions, and a dilapidated _robe de chambre_ which
+opened at every movement, disclosing his soiled plaid foulard doing duty
+for a collar.
+
+On my telling him that I desired to take some lessons of him, he asked me
+to sing something for him. Seeing the music of Duprato's "Il était nuit
+déjà," I proposed singing that, and he sat down at the pedal-less piano to
+accompany me. When I arrived at the phrase, "Un souffle d'air léger
+apportait jusqu'à nous l'odeur d'un oranger," he interrupted me. "Repeat
+that!" he cried. "Il faut qu'on sente le souffle d'air et l'odeur de
+l'oranger." I said to myself, "... no one could 'sentir un oranger' in
+this room; one could only smell Delsarte's bad tobacco."
+
+He begged me to sing something else.
+
+"Will you accompany Gounod's 'Medje' for me?" I asked him.
+
+"No," he replied. "I will listen; you must accompany yourself. There are
+certain songs that cannot be accompanied by any one but the singer. This
+is one of them! You feel yourself, don't you, that it is absolutely
+necessary for you to clutch something when singing this? A weak chord or a
+too powerful one struck in a wrong place would spoil entirely the effect,
+and even the best accompanist cannot foresee when that effect is going to
+be produced." I think this is so clever! "'Voi che sapete' can be
+accompanied by any school girl," he continued. "It is plain sailing; but
+in 'Medje' the piano must be part of the singer and breathe with him." I
+sat down at the piano and sang. When I came to "Prends cette lame et
+plonges la dans mon coeur," he stopped me short, and pointing to a
+horrible picture on the wall indicating bloody murder and terror (No. 6),
+he cried, "Voilà l'expression qu'il faut avoir." I sang the phrase over
+again, trying to imagine what Medje's lover must have felt; but I could
+not satisfy Delsarte. He said my voice ought to tremble; and, in fact, I
+ought to sing false when I say, "Ton image encore vivante dans mon coeur
+qui ne bat plus." "No one," he said, "in such a moment of emotion could
+keep on the right note." I tried again, in vain! If I had had a dagger in
+my hand and a brigand before me, I might perhaps have been more
+successful. However, he let it pass; but to show that it could be done he
+sang it for me, and actually did sing it false. Curiously enough, it
+sounded quite right, tremolo and all. There is no doubt that he is a
+_great artist_. One can see that Faure and Coquelin (the actor) have
+both profited by his unique teaching. He assured me that there is no art
+like that of making people believe what you want them to. For instance, he
+pretends that he can sing "Il pleut, il pleut, bergère," and make you hear
+the patter of the _bergère's_ heels on the wet sod, or wherever she
+was trying to _rentrer ses blancs moutons_. He sang it with the fullest
+conviction, and asked me what I thought of it. I shut my eyes and tried to
+conjure up the _bergère_ and her heels. My head began to whirl with all
+this talk, and, on taking leave of my new master, I promised him that I
+would try to sing false until the next lesson. Another thing he said was:
+"Never try to accompany yourself when the accompaniment is difficult.
+There is nothing so painful as to see a singer struggling with tremolos
+and arpeggios." How right he is!
+
+He has one theory about the trembling of the chin. It certainly is very
+effective. When in "Medje" I say, "Tu n'as pas vu mes larmes, tout la nuit
+j'ai pleuré," Delsarte says, "Make your chin tremble; just try it once,"
+pointing to a diagram, "and every one will be overcome." I have tried it
+and have seen the effect. But I am letting you into all Delsarte's most
+innermost secrets.
+
+
+PARIS, _July, 1865._
+
+DEAR M.,--You must forgive me if I have not written lately; but we have
+been on a visit to the Duke and Duchess de Persigny for the past week. I
+did not have time to do more than dress for driving and drive, dress for
+afternoon tea, dress for dinner, and dine.
+
+The estates of Chamarande are beautiful, the château itself is very
+magnificent and arranged with the Duchess's taste, which is perfect though
+ultra-English.
+
+The château has a moat around it, over which is a stone bridge which leads
+to the entrance on the side opposite the broad terraces bordered by cut
+trees, as in Versailles. The park is very large, filled with beautiful old
+trees, and most artistically laid out.
+
+The Duke de Persigny is perfectly delightful, genial, kind, and certainly
+the cleverest man of the day, with a temper which is temper-proof. I never
+saw him out of it, and, well as I know him, I have never seen him ruffled
+in any way, and sometimes there were occasions, goodness knows!
+
+The Duchess is still handsome and attractive; her pronounced originality
+lends her a peculiar charm. She has many admiring friends who are true to
+her, and I must say that when she is a friend she is a true one, and never
+fails you. Her originality frequently leads her beyond conventionality;
+for instance, the other day she took it into her head to dine out of
+doors. If she wanted to picnic _al fresco_, why did she not choose some
+pretty place in the park or in the woods? But no, she had the usual
+elaborate dinner served directly outside the château, and on the gravel
+walk. The servants, powdered and in short breeches as usual, served us in
+their customary solemnity; but they must have wondered why we preferred to
+sit on the gravel, with a draught of cold air on our backs, when we might
+have been comfortably seated in a big and airy room with a carpet under
+our feet. However, such was the wish of the châtelaine, and no one dared
+say a word, not even the Duke, though he protested meekly.
+
+Later on the Duke had his revenge, for in the midst of our breezy repast
+there came a downpour of rain, accompanied by lightning and peals of
+thunder, which necessitated a hasty retreat.
+
+The Duchess, who is very timid in thunder-storms, was the first to rush
+into the house, the guests following pell-mell, and our dinner was
+finished indoors.
+
+After our return to Petit Val we had the visit of Auber's protégé, a young
+man called Massenet. One day, in Paris, two months ago, Auber said to me:
+
+"I am very much interested in a former pupil of the Conservatoire who took
+the Grand-Prix de Rome, and has just come back from his four years'
+musical studies in Rome. As he is more or less a stranger in Paris, I
+should be very thankful if you would interest yourself for him. He really
+is a genius; but, as so often happens, geniuses don't have pocket-money."
+
+I answered: "Please tell him to come and see me. I have some music I wish
+to have transposed. Do you think that he would be willing to do it?"
+
+"Certainly; he would be glad to do anything," was the answer.
+
+The next day a pale young man presented himself. "You are Monsieur
+Massenet?" I inquired.
+
+"Yes, Madame," came the gentle answer.
+
+Thereupon I gave him the music, and I showed him to a quiet little room in
+the upper part of the house, which contained a piano, writing-table, pen
+and ink, etc., and left him to his fate. He came two or three times before
+I heard him play, and then it was only by chance that I passed through the
+corridor, and imagine my astonishment at hearing the most divine music
+issuing from the room where the young man was working. I rushed in,
+saying:
+
+"What is that?"
+
+"Nothing," he answered.
+
+"Nothing!" I exclaimed. "I never heard anything so exquisite, Do play it
+again."
+
+"It was simply something that passed through my head," he answered.
+
+"Then let something else pass through your head. I must hear more." I
+said. Then he played, and I sat and listened to the most bewildering and
+beautiful music that I ever heard. From that moment there was no more
+copying. What a genius he is! I wish you could hear him improvise!
+
+We have invited him frequently, and when we are at Petit Val he comes
+often out to see us, and luxuriates in the repose and comfort of our life
+here. He has already written some lovely songs under its influence. He
+composed one called "l'Esclave," and dedicated it to me for my birthday.
+He accompanies me as no one has ever done before.
+
+Auber, who drives out occasionally, is delighted to see that "Our
+Massenet," as he generally calls him, is getting color in his pale cheeks
+and his bright and eager eyes are brighter than ever, and he is actually
+getting fat.
+
+
+PARIS, _January, 1866._
+
+We have just returned from Nice and Cannes, also from a very disappointing
+yachting cruise in the Mediterranean, which proved to be a complete
+fiasco. I must tell you about it. Lord Albert Gower had invited us to go
+to Spezia on his beautiful yacht. From there we were to go to Florence,
+and later make a little trip in Italy. We had all been asked to a dinner
+at the Duke de Vallombrosa's villa at Cannes, and some of us to spend the
+night there.
+
+The evening before we started there was a large dinner at the prefect's
+given in honor of the Austrian Ambassador, Prince Metternich, who had come
+on an official visit concerning an archduke, at which Lord Albert proposed
+that we should take Cannes _en route_, spend the night there, and start
+the next day for Spezia.
+
+I thought that I was going to have a beautiful time when we left Nice. The
+sun was shining brightly, and there was every prospect of a good breeze,
+and I settled down on deck with books and work, thinking how delightful it
+was all going to be, and how pleasant it was to get away from the
+fatiguing gaieties of Nice, where there had been a perfect avalanche of
+dinners, balls, and theater-parties which even surpassed Paris.
+
+Well! A dead calm set in about an hour after we had started, and only a
+vestige of a breeze wafted us along on our way, and we never arrived at
+Cannes till seven o'clock, just in time to disembark, jump into a
+carriage, and reach the Duke de Vallombrosa's villa. I thought that I was
+very expeditious over my toilette, notwithstanding which I found myself
+half an hour late for dinner. Fortunately, however, our hosts were lenient
+and accepted my excuses.
+
+Lord and Lady Brougham, Duke de Croy, and many others were there. And who
+else do you think? No less a personage than Jenny Lind! You may imagine my
+delight at seeing her--"the Goddess of Song," the idol of my youth--about
+whom still hung a halo.
+
+She is neither handsome nor distinguished-looking; in fact, quite the
+contrary: plain features, a pert nose, sallow skin, and very yellow hair.
+However, when she smiled, which was not often, her face became almost
+handsome.
+
+After dinner the Duchess de Vallombrosa begged her to sing; but she flatly
+refused, and there was no other music, thank heaven! I was presented to
+her, in spite of her too evident dislike for new acquaintances; but when
+she heard that I sang she seemed more amiable and interested. She even
+asked me to come to see her the next day. "That is," she said, "if you can
+climb my hill." I told her that I was sure I could climb her hill, and
+would, even if I had to climb on all fours.
+
+After having been on the glaring Mediterranean all day I could hardly keep
+my eyes open, and retired before the last carriage had driven away. The
+next morning I looked out of my window and saw our yacht dancing on the
+sparkling waves. We expected to leave for Spezia that afternoon.
+
+At eleven o'clock, the hour appointed, I commenced my pilgrimage to the
+hill of the "Swedish nightingale," with what emotion, I can hardly tell
+you! I left the carriage at the foot of the hill, and climbed and climbed,
+until I reached the heaven where the angel lived. It was the reverse of
+Jacob's dream. His angel climbed down to him, whereas I had to climb up to
+mine. She always used a donkey for her climbings.
+
+She received me very cordially, saying, "I welcome you to my
+_bicoque_," and led me through a few badly furnished rooms with hay-
+stuffed sofas and hard, uncompromising chairs and queer-looking tables
+painted in red and green out on to the veranda, which commanded a
+magnificent view over the sea and the Esterel Mountains.
+
+I wish you could have seen her! She was dressed in a white brocade trimmed
+with a piece of red silk around the bottom, a red, blousy waist covered
+with gold heads sewed fantastically over it, perhaps odds and ends of old
+finery, and gold shoes!
+
+Just fancy, at eleven o'clock in the morning! We talked music. She hated
+Verdi and all he had made, she hated Rossini and all he had made; she
+hated the French; she hated the Americans; she abhorred the very name of
+Barnum, who, she said, "exhibited me just as he did the big giant or any
+other of his monstrosities."
+
+"But," said I, "you must not forget how you were idolized and appreciated
+in America. Even as a child I can remember how they worshiped Jenny Lind."
+
+"Worshiped or not," she answered, sharply, "I was nothing more than a show
+in a showman's hands; I can never forget that."
+
+We sat on her veranda, and she told me all about her early life and her
+musical career. She said she was born in 1820, and when only ten years old
+she used to sing in cafes in Stockholm. At seventeen she sang "Alice" in
+"Robert-le-Diable"! Then we talked of our mutual teacher, dear Garcia, of
+whom she took lessons in 1841 and whom, for a wonder, she liked.
+
+At the _Rhein-fest_ given for Queen Victoria in 1844 she said that she
+had had a great success, and that Queen Victoria had always been a friend
+to her since that time.
+
+I asked her when she first sang in London.
+
+"I think it was in 1847, or thereabouts," she replied. "Then I went to
+Paris; but I do not wish to speak of that horrid place."
+
+"Is Paris such a horrid place?" I asked. "I wish you would come while I am
+there."
+
+[Illustration: JENNY LIND]
+
+"Never, never!" she cried. "They treated me so abominably I vowed that I
+would never set foot in Paris again, and although they have offered me
+every possible inducement I have always refused."
+
+"What a pity!" I exclaimed. "Would you not like to see the Exposition in
+Paris next year? I think it might interest you."
+
+"Yes, that might interest me; but Paris! Paris!"
+
+"Do you know Auber?" I asked.
+
+"Auber. No, I have always wanted to know him, but have never had an
+opportunity."
+
+"If you will come to Paris, I will arrange that you meet him."
+
+"I will! I will! And then I will sing for him!" she said, with almost
+girlish glee.
+
+How delighted I was to think that I might be the medium to bring them
+together.
+
+She asked me a great many questions about my singing. Suddenly she said,
+"Make a trill for me."
+
+I looked about for a piano to give me a note to start on. But a piano was
+evidently the thing where the Goldschmidts had drawn the line. I made as
+good a trill as I could without one.
+
+"Very good!" said she, nodding her head approvingly. "I learned my trill
+this way." And she made a trill for me, accentuating the upper note.
+
+Pointing her finger at me, she said, "You try it."
+
+I tried it. Unless one has learned to trill so it is very difficult to do;
+but I managed it somehow.
+
+Then she said, in her abrupt way, "What vocalizes do you sing?"
+
+I replied that I had arranged Chopin's waltz in five flats as a vocalize.
+
+"In the original key?" she asked. "I know it well. It is one of
+Goldschmidt's favorite concert pieces."
+
+"Not in the original key. I have transposed it two notes lower, and put
+some sort of words to it. I also sing as a vocalize the first sixteen bars
+of the overture of Mendelssohn's 'Midsummer Night's Dream.'"
+
+"I don't think that I could do that," she said.
+
+"I am sure you could," I answered, upon which she tried it. She sang it
+slowly but perfectly, shutting her eyes as if feeling her way cautiously,
+for the intonations are very difficult.
+
+Twelve o'clock sounded from a cuckoo-clock in the next room, and I felt
+that my visit, fascinating as my angel was, must come to an end. I left
+her still standing on the veranda in her white brocade, and as I walked
+off she made the trill as an adieu.
+
+I reached the villa in time for breakfast, after which our hosts drove us
+down to the pier, where the little rowboat was waiting to take us out to
+the yacht.
+
+I said that our trip was a failure! It was more than a failure. It meant a
+gale, thunder, lightning, and sudden death, and everything in the Litany,
+and we finished ignominiously by taking refuge in the first port we could
+reach, and going on to our destination by train.
+
+
+PARIS, _February 12, 1866._
+
+DEAR AUNTY,--There has been a regular deluge of balls in Paris this
+winter. The Minister of Marine gave a gorgeous one, the _clou_ of which
+was the entrance at midnight precisely of _Les Quatres Continents_, being
+four long _cortèges_ representing Europe, America, Africa, and Asia.
+
+I was quite provoked that they did not ask me to be in the American
+_cortège_. I should have loved to have been an Indian squaw, except that a
+blanket is a rather warm _toilette de bal_. They wanted me to take a
+costume of a Spanish lady in the _cortège_ of Europe, but I refused; if I
+could not be in the American I did not want to be in any of the others.
+
+Taking part in the _cortège_ meant waiting till midnight before appearing,
+and then, being in it, you did not see it. I had a banal and not a correct
+costume of an Amazone Louis XIII., and stayed in the ballroom all the
+evening, and saw the procession when it came in. It was very interesting
+and really beautifully arranged.
+
+Africa (Mademoiselle de Sèvres) was brought in on a camel fresh from the
+jungle of the Jardin des Plantes, and followed by quantities of natives of
+every variety of shade, from sepia to chocolate, as near to nature as they
+dared go without spoiling their beauty. Some of the costumes were very
+fantastic. Ladies dressed in skirts made of feathers, and beads hanging
+everywhere, copied after well-known pictures, and especially after the
+costumes of "l'Africaine," of the Opera. The men wore enormous wigs made
+of black wool, and black _tricots_, blacker than the most African of
+negroes.
+
+Asia (Baronne Erlanger) was standing on a platform carried by menials
+hidden from view and smothered under tiger and other skins. She was poised
+with one foot on the head of a tiger, one hand was clutching a date-tree,
+and the other hand clinging to the back of a stuffed leopard, it must have
+been difficult for her to keep her balance; her platform seemed very
+shaky, and the date-tree waved as if it had been in a tornado. The natives
+who followed her were more beaded and feathery and multicolored than the
+Africans, otherwise they looked much alike.
+
+America was represented by a pretty girl (a Miss Carter, of Boston). She
+was brought in reclining in a hammock of gay colors. The American natives
+were not of the kind one meets in New York and Boston; they were mostly
+the type taken from the most popular books. There was the sedate Puritan
+from Longfellow's "Evangeline"; the red Indians from Cooper's books;
+Hiawatha and Pocahontas, of course; and the type most beloved in the
+European market, that of the plantation tyrant who drags his victim to the
+whipping-post with pointed stakes and cudgels, _à la Oncle Tom_, and
+lastly the Mexican types with slouched hats and picturesque shirts and
+leather leggings, pistols bulging from their belts.
+
+Europe (Madame d'Arjuson) was seated in a Roman chair, and looked very
+comfortable, in comparison with the other Continents; the platform on
+which she sat was loaded with flowers and dragged in on wheels. All the
+national costumes of Europe were extremely pretty and varied. The German
+peasants in great variety, the Italian _ciociara_, the Spanish toreador,
+and the Dutch fisherwoman with her wooden shoes--all were complete.
+
+Worth and Bobergh had not slept for nights, thinking out the different
+costumes and worrying over the details. Worth had the most-brain work, and
+Bobergh was the sleepy partner.
+
+The cotillon was superb; it commenced at two o'clock and finished at the
+break of day. The favors were of every nationality, imported from all over
+the world, and tied up with every imaginable national color. I danced with
+the Count Vogüé, who is by far the best dancer in Paris. He got masses of
+favors and gave them all to me, and I also received a great quantity; so
+that when I went to the carriage I almost needed a dray to carry them.
+
+
+PARIS, _March, 1866._
+
+DEAR M.,--I think of your sitting in your Cambridge home and reading this
+account of the frivolities of your daughter. While the scene of last night
+is just in my mind, I will tell you about it.
+
+Yesterday was Count Pourtales's birthday, and Prince Metternich thought
+out a wonderful scheme for a surprise for Count Pourtales and the rest of
+us. Princess Metternich and Countess Pourtales were the only ones taken
+into his confidence.
+
+There was a dinner at the Pourtales' in honor of the occasion, and the
+guests were Baron Alphonse Rothschild, Count and Countess Moltke, Prince
+Sagan, the Duke de Croy, and ourselves.
+
+On arriving at seven o'clock we were ushered into the salon, and later
+went in to dinner. All the lights were placed on the table, leaving the
+rest of the room in darkness. The servants seemed to me principally
+butlers with the traditional side-whiskers, or chasseurs with beards or
+mustaches. I thought that they might be extra servants brought in for the
+occasion.
+
+The first course was served. A little awkward spilling of soup on the
+table-cloth was not remarked upon. The dish came on with its sauce. A
+startled cry came from a lady on receiving some drops of it on her bare
+neck, to which no one paid any particular attention. Then, a few moments
+later, some wine was carelessly spilled on one of the gentlemen's heads.
+These things can so easily happen, no one said anything.
+
+The filet was handed to me, and at the same time the sauce-dish was
+uncomfortably near my neck, and directly under my nose. This was too
+nonchalant, and my surprise was still greater when the servant, in an
+unnatural and gruff voice, said, "Do you want any of this stuff?" I looked
+up at the man, and recognized a twinkle in a familiar eye, and as the
+twinkle was accentuated by a powerful wink I began to understand and held
+my tongue.
+
+Things might have gone on longer if one of the waiters had not been too
+bold, and on serving Countess Moltke, a very pretty American lady married
+to a Dane, pushed her arm a little roughly, and in an obviously disguised
+voice said, "Better take some of this, you won't get another chance."
+
+She called out in an indignant voice, "Did you ever hear the like?" Count
+Pourtales seemed dazed, while his wife looked as unconcerned as if there
+was nothing unusual. Then the insolent waiters began talking across the
+table to each other. One said, "Don't you see that lady with the rose has
+not got any salad?" The other answered, "Attend to your own affairs."
+Count Pourtales, crimson with mortification, was about to get up and
+apologize, when he was suddenly pulled back into his seat, and the absurd
+waiters began throwing pellets of bread at him.
+
+Imagine his feelings! To be treated in this way in one's own house, by
+one's own servants! Every one of them must have suddenly gone crazy, or
+else they were drunk. For a moment consternation was depicted on all the
+countenances; we thought the end of the world had come.
+
+When things had gone so far, Prince Metternich stood up and made a pretty
+little speech for the host, and we all drank his health, and the waiters
+all took off their wigs and false beards and waved them in the air.
+
+Six of the most fashionable young gentlemen of Paris had been serving us!
+The Pourtales' own servants, who had kept aloof, now came in, and the
+_ci-devant_ waiters drew up chairs between those at the table, and the
+dinner finished amidst great hilarity.
+
+
+PARIS, _August, 1866._
+
+DEAR M.,--We were invited to go out to Fontainebleau yesterday for dinner.
+We found it a very hot ride from Paris, and really suffered in the crowded
+train. When we arrived at the station we found a coupé from the Imperial
+stables waiting for us, and an extra carriage for the maid, the valet, and
+the trunk, which contained our change of dress for dinner. I wished that
+the coupé had been an open carriage. I love to drive through those lovely
+avenues in the park. Princess Metternich suggested that we should take
+some green corn with us, as the Empress had expressed the wish to taste
+this American delicacy, and I took some from Petit Val.
+
+On reaching the palace we were met by the Vicomte Walsh, who led the way
+to the apartment of the Baroness de Pierres, one of the _dames d'honneur_
+of the Empress (an American lady, formerly Miss Thorne, of New York), who
+was expecting us.
+
+You may imagine my astonishment at seeing her smoking--what do you think?
+Nothing less than a real common clay pipe, and you may imagine her
+surprise at seeing me, followed by my servant, who carried a large basket
+containing the corn. I told her about it, and that I had brought some at
+the instigation of the Princess Metternich, in order that the Empress
+could try it. She seemed to be delighted at the idea, and exclaimed, "We
+must get hold of the chef at once and tell him how to cook it." She rang
+her bell and gave the order. Promptly Monsieur Jean appeared in his fresh
+white apron and immaculate jacket and white _couvre-chef_. Baroness de
+Pierres and I surpassed ourselves in giving contradictory directions as
+to the cooking of it. She thought it ought to be boiled a long time, while
+I maintained that it required very little time.
+
+"You must leave the silk on," said she.
+
+"Has it got silk?" asked the bewildered chef.
+
+I was of the opinion that the husks should be taken off. "By no means!"
+she declared, and explained that in America the corn was always served in
+the husk.
+
+The chef, trying to analyze this unusual article of food, lifted one of
+the ears from the basket and examined it.
+
+"En robe de chambre, alors, Madame!" said he, and looked dismayed at these
+complications.
+
+"Yes," she replied, "just like a potato--_en robe de chambre_."
+
+We could hear him as he left the room, followed by the basket, muttering
+to himself, "Soie! robe de chambre! Soie! robe de chambre!" in his most
+satirical tone. I began to feel a little nervous about it myself, and
+wondered if for this broth there had not been too many cooks.
+
+We went out before dinner to see the famous carp; I looked in vain for the
+one with the ring in its nose.
+
+At dinner, besides the Household, were the Princess Mathilde, Monsieur
+Ollivier, Monsieur Perrière, the Duke de Persigny, Baron Haussmann, and
+several statesmen.
+
+The corn came in due time served as _légume_.
+
+I was mortified when I saw it appear, brought in on eight enormous silver
+platters, four ears on each. It looked pitiful! Silk, _robe de chambre_
+and all, steaming like a steam-engine. Every one looked aghast, and no one
+dared to touch it; and when I wanted to show them how it was eaten in its
+native land they screamed with laughter. Baron Haussmann asked me if the
+piece I was playing (he meant on the flute) was in _la-bémol_?
+
+I looked to the Baroness de Pierres for support; but, alas! her eyes
+refused to meet mine and were fixed on her plate.
+
+I tried to make the corn less objectionable by unwrapping the cobs and
+cutting off the corn. Then I added butter and salt, and it was passed
+about; first, of course, to the Emperor, who liked it very much; but the
+Empress pushed her plate aside with a grimace, saying, "I don't like it;
+it smells like a baby's flannels."
+
+The Emperor, seeing the crushed look on my face, raised his glass and
+said, with a kind glance at me, "Here's to the American corn!" I
+reproached the Princess Metternich for having suggested my taking it
+there.
+
+
+COMPIÈGNE, _November 22, 1866._
+
+DEAR A.,--You know it has always been my wish to see the life at
+Compiègne, and behold, here I am!
+
+We received the invitation twelve days ago. It reads thus:
+
+    MAISON DE L'EMPEREUR
+
+    _Palais des Tuileries, le 10 Novembre 1866.
+
+    Premier Chambellan_
+
+    Monsieur,
+
+    Par ordre de l'Empereur, j'ai l'honneur de vous prévenir que vous êtes
+    invité, ainsi que Madame Charles Moulton, à passer huit jours au
+    Palais de Compiègne, du 22 au 29 Novembre.
+
+    Des voitures de la Cour vous attendront le 22, à l'arrivée à Compiègne
+    du train partant de Paris à 2 heures 1/2, pour vous conduire au
+    Palais.
+
+    Agréez, Monsieur, l'assurance de ma considération très distinguée.
+
+    _Le Premier Chambellan_.
+    V'te de Laferrière.
+    Monsieur,
+    Madame Charles Moulton.
+
+This gave me plenty of time to order all my dresses, wraps, and everything
+else that I needed for this visit of a week to royalty.
+
+[Illustration: THE MAIN FAÇADE--CHÂTEAU DE COMPIÈGNE]
+
+I was obliged to have about twenty dresses, eight day costumes (counting
+my traveling suit), the green cloth dress for the hunt, which I was told
+was absolutely necessary, seven ball dresses, five gowns for tea. Such a
+quantity of boxes and bundles arrived at the house in Paris that
+Mademoiselle Wissembourg was in a blue fidget, fussing about, boring me
+with silly, unnecessary suggestions, and asking so many useless questions
+that I wished her at the bottom of the Red Sea.
+
+A professional packer came to pack our trunks, of which I had seven and
+C---- had two; the maid and the valet each had one, making, altogether,
+quite a formidable pile of luggage. As we saw it on the wagon driven from
+the house, it seemed an absurdly large amount for only a week's visit.
+
+We arrived at the St. Lazare Station at 2.30, as indicated on the
+invitation.
+
+We found the Vicomte Walsh (the Chamberlain of the Emperor) waiting to
+show the guests where the train was. It would have been rather difficult
+not to have seen it, as it was the only one in the station, and was marked
+"Extra and Imperial."
+
+There were several large salon carriages with large, comfortable
+_fauteuils_, and some tables covered with newspapers and _journaux
+illustrés_ to beguile the time. It would take too much time to tell you
+the names of all the people I recognized at the station; but in the
+carriage with us were the Duke and Duchess Fernan Nuñez, Madame de
+Bourgogne (whose husband is Equerry of the Emperor), the two Princes
+Murat, Joachim and Achille, Monsieur Davilliers, Count Golz (the German
+Ambassador), Baron Haussmann and his daughter, and Mr. de Radowitz of the
+German embassy, who immediately stretched himself out contentedly in a
+comfortable arm-chair and fell fast asleep.
+
+I should say there were about fifty or sixty guests.
+
+We actually flew over land and dale. I never traveled so fast in all my
+life; but then I had never been in an Imperial train before. We did not
+stop until we reached the station of Compiègne.
+
+I think the whole twelve thousand inhabitants of Compiègne were gathered
+there to stare at us, and they did stare persistently, until we had
+mounted the many equipages waiting for us and had driven away.
+
+It certainly must have been very entertaining for them to see the long
+procession of carriages, the hundreds of trunks, the flurrying maids, and
+the self-important valets.
+
+There were two landaus: one for the Metternichs and one for the German
+Ambassador.
+
+The _chars-à-bancs_, of which there must have been at least ten, were
+dark green outlined with red, each with four prancing horses whose tails,
+jauntily braided with red cords, were tied to the saddles.
+
+Each carriage had two postilions, who looked very trim in their short
+velvet jackets embroidered with gold and covered with endless buttons.
+They wore white breeches, long top-boots, black-velvet caps over their
+white wigs, and their little pigtails, tied with a black bow, hung down
+their backs, flapping up and down as they galloped.
+
+The Princess Metternich had fourteen trunks and two maids; the Prince had
+his private secretary and valet, and a goodly number of trunks. This will
+give you a vague idea of the amount of baggage which had to be transported
+in the _fourgons_.
+
+Don't you think we must have made a very imposing spectacle, as we rattled
+through the quiet town of Compiègne, over its old stone pavement, the
+postilions blowing their horns, cracking their whips, the horses galloping
+full speed, the _chars-à-bancs_ filled with handsomely dressed ladies, and
+after this long procession came the maids and the valets and mountainous
+piles of baggage?
+
+When we entered the _grande cour_ (inclosure), the sentinels grasped their
+guns and saluted, as we passed by them, before we pulled up in front of
+the grand staircase of the château, where an army of lackeys were waiting
+to help us alight.
+
+The Grand Chamberlain received us at the head of the stairs with pleasant
+cordiality and waved us toward a _huissier_, who, dressed in a black
+livery with heavy chains around his neck, looked very important. He, in
+his turn, passed us on to the particular valet allotted to us, who
+pompously and with great dignity showed us the way to our apartments.
+
+Our names were on the doors, and we entered the brilliantly lighted rooms,
+which, after our journey, seemed most welcome with their bright fires and
+cheerful aspect.
+
+Tea and chocolate were on the table waiting us, and I regaled myself while
+the soldiers (who seem to be the men-of-all-work here) brought in the
+trunks and the maid and valet were unpacking.
+
+I must describe our rooms. We have a large salon, two bedrooms, two
+servants' rooms, and an antechamber. In the salon there are two long
+windows which reach to the floor and overlook the park. The walls are
+paneled with pink and mauve brocade. The covering of the furniture and the
+curtains are of the same stuff.
+
+My bedroom is furnished in white and green with a delightful _chaise
+longue_ and large _fauteuils_, which to me are more inviting than the
+stiff Empire style of the salon.
+
+I made my toilette in a maze of excitement; my maid was confused and
+agitated, and I thought I should never be ready. I think you will be
+interested to hear what I wore to-night. It was light-green tulle,
+embroidered in silver, the waist trimmed with silver fringe. If one could
+see the waistband, one would read WORTH in big letters. I thought it was
+best to make a good impression at the start, so I put on my prettiest
+gown.
+
+On leaving our apartment, a little before seven, we found the lackey
+waiting to show us the way to the _Grande Salle des Fêtes_, and we
+followed his plump white calves through the long corridors, arriving at
+last at the salon where the company was to assemble.
+
+Here we found more white calves belonging to the gorgeous liveries and the
+powdered heads of the lackeys, who stood there to open the doors for all
+comers. We were not the last, but of the latest, to arrive.
+
+The salon seemed immense to me. On one side the windows (or rather the
+doors) opened on to the terrace; on the opposite side of the walls,
+between the pillars, were mirrors resting on gilded consoles. At one end
+of the room was the statue of Laetitia Bonaparte (_Madame Mère_), and at
+the other end was one of Napoleon I. Banquettes and tabourets of Gobelins
+tapestry stood against the walls. The ceiling is a _chef-d'oeuvre_ of
+Girodet--_style Empire_.
+
+The Vicomte de Laferrière and the Duchesse de Bassano, the _grande
+maîtresse_, came forward to receive the guests.
+
+[Illustration: SALLE DES FÊTES--CHÂTEAU DE COMPIÈGNE]
+
+My first feeling, when I entered the room, was that I knew no one in this
+numerous assemblage. There must have been a hundred people at least; but
+gradually the faces of my acquaintances loomed one by one out of the mist,
+and among them I recognized the lovely Marquise de Gallifet, who kindly
+beckoned me to come and stand by her, for which I felt very grateful.
+
+The chamberlains--there were many of them--bustled about, constantly
+referring to some papers which they had in their hands, in order to tell
+each gentleman which lady he was to take in to dinner.
+
+The Grand Chamberlain glanced round the room with an all-comprehensive
+look, and seemed intuitively to know when we were all present. He then
+disappeared into his Majesty's private salon.
+
+There was an ominous hush, a flutter of agitation, a stiff attitude of
+expectancy, the guests arranging themselves according to their own
+consciousness of their rank; and presently the doors of the salon were
+quietly opened and their Majesties entered. The gentlemen bowed
+reverentially; the ladies courtesied very low, and the sovereigns,
+responding with a gracious inclination of the head, advanced toward us.
+
+The Empress turned to the ladies, the Emperor to the gentlemen, speaking a
+word of welcome to as many of the guests as the time allowed. Fifty or
+sixty _bon soirs_ and _charmé de vous voir_'s occupy some time; but their
+Majesties kept their eyes on the Grand Maréchal, and he kept his eye on
+the clock.
+
+The Empress looked lovely. She wore a beautiful gown, a white-spangled
+tulle, with a superb tiara of diamonds, and on her neck a _collier_ of
+huge pearls.
+
+The Emperor was in white _culottes courtes_, white-silk stockings and
+low shoes, as were the rest of the gentlemen. He wore the ribbon of the
+_Légion d'honneur_, and on his left breast the star of the same.
+
+The Grand Maréchal, waiting his opportunity, approached his Majesty, who
+went up to the Empress and gave her his arm. The Grand Maréchal then led
+the way slowly and with due stateliness to the banqueting hall.
+
+The gentlemen offered their arms to their respective ladies, and we
+marched in procession through the long gallery, trying to prevent
+ourselves from slipping on the waxed floor, and passed between the
+splendid _Cent Gardes_, who lined both sides of the entire length of this
+enormous hall. Their uniforms are magnificent and dazzling; they wear
+light-blue coats under their silver cuirasses, white breeches, and high,
+shiny top-boots; and on their heads silver helmets, from which flow long
+manes of white horsehair that hang down their backs.
+
+There the men stood, motionless as statues, staring stolidly before them,
+without so much as a stolen side-glance at the beauty and elegance passing
+before their eyes.
+
+This procession of ladies glittering with jewels, the officers and
+diplomats in their splendid uniforms covered with decorations and gay-
+colored _cordons_, made a sight never to be forgotten; at least, _I_ shall
+never forget it.
+
+When their Majesties entered the dining-room they separated, and took
+their places on opposite sides of the table, half-way down its length and
+exactly facing each other. The Emperor had Princess Metternich on his
+right hand, and the Duchess of Fernan Nuñez on his left. The Empress had
+the Austrian Ambassador, Prince Metternich, on her right, and the German
+Ambassador, Count Golz, on her left.
+
+The other _invités_ were placed according to their rank and position:
+all the _gros bonnets_ were in their right places, you may be quite sure.
+I was such a little _bonnet_ among all those great people that I was
+practically nowhere, and at the tail end of everything except the members
+of the Household and the ladyless gentlemen, who, of course, were below
+me.
+
+There must have been about one hundred persons seated at the table. I
+never saw such a tremendous long stretch of white linen.
+
+The flowers, stiffly arranged at intervals, alternated with white
+_épergnes_ filled with bonbons, and larger fruit-dishes filled with the
+most delicious-looking fruit. All along the whole length of the table
+were placed, at regular intervals, the groups of _pâte tendre_
+representing the Hunt. These, as my cavalier (Count de Bourgogne) told me,
+are made only at the Sèvres manufactory, expressly for the French
+sovereigns. They were designed in the time of Louis XV. by an artist
+called Urbain, and have been reproduced ever since. It would seem as if
+nothing had been found worthy to replace them.
+
+The _service de table_ was of white Sèvres porcelain with only the letter
+"N" in gold surmounted by the Imperial crown; many of the courses were
+served on silver plates, in the center of which were engraved the arms of
+France.
+
+A strip of red velvet carpet laid over the polished floor surrounded the
+table. On the outer side of this carpet were the chair, to be pushed
+forward as soon as people were ready to sit down. The lackeys stood in a
+line all the way down the room, making a very imposing sight in their red-
+and-white liveries; there must have been forty or fifty of them at least.
+The Emperor's _chasseur_ always stands behind his chair and serves him,
+and him alone, taking a dish of each course, as it is brought in, from the
+maître d'hôtel. No one but this privileged _chasseur_ can hand anything in
+the way of food to his Majesty. When the Emperor has served himself, the
+_chasseur_ hands the dish back to the _maître d'hôtel_, who passes it on
+to the other servants, who then serve the guests. The Empress is served in
+the same way.
+
+I suppose this custom dates back to the time of the Borgias, when, in
+order to save their own lives, they were willing to risk those of their
+trusty menials by making them taste the food before it was put on the
+table.
+
+A military band played during the dinner. It was placed in a large
+circular loggia having windows opening on to a courtyard, thus serving two
+purposes: to let in the air and let out the music, which, fortunately, it
+did, otherwise we could not have heard ourselves speak.
+
+The dinner lasted about an hour. (The Emperor dislikes sitting long at
+table.) It seemed almost impossible that so much eating and drinking and
+changing of plates--in fact, such an elaborate repast--could be got
+through within such a short time. But it was!
+
+When their Majesties had finished they rose, and everyone followed their
+example. All the chairs were drawn from under you, _tant pis_ if you
+were in the act of eating a pear and had not yet washed your fingers; but,
+no matter, you had to skip across the red carpet in order to let their
+Majesties pass.
+
+A rather amusing incident occurred at dinner. One of the foreign
+ministers, who is very vain of the smallness of his feet, had donned a
+pair of patent-leather shoes evidently much too tight for him. During the
+dinner he relieved his sufferings by slipping his aching toes out of them.
+All went well until his chair was suddenly drawn from underneath him, as
+their Majesties were about to pass. In utter despair he made the most
+frantic efforts to recover the wandering shoes from under the table; but,
+alas! the naughty things had made their escape far beyond reach (a little
+way shoes have of doing when left to themselves); consequently, he was
+obliged to trip across the red carpet as best he could without them. The
+Empress, who keenly appreciates a comical situation, had noticed with
+great amusement his manoeuvers and embarrassment, and (was it just for a
+little fun?) stopped in passing and spoke to him, much to his confusion,
+for it was impossible to prevent her from seeing his little, white
+shoeless feet.
+
+On our returning to the salon the magnificent _Cent Gardes_ stood just as
+we had left them, and I wondered if they had unbent for a moment all the
+time we had been at dinner.
+
+The _cercle_ began, and their Majesties circulated about among their
+guests. When the Empress was in front of me, she gave me her hand and said
+some very kind words to me. She noticed I wore the bracelet she had given
+me and seemed pleased. I do not know if you ever saw this handsome
+bracelet--it is composed of large rubies and diamonds set in three heavy
+gold coils. The date when the Empress gave it to me and her name are
+inscribed inside. The Prince Imperial spoke to every one he knew. He has a
+very sweet voice, such gentle manners and winning ways. He speaks
+excellent English and, of course, several other languages.
+
+Waldteufel, _le fabricant de valses_, put himself at the piano (an upright
+one, standing at the extreme end of the immense ballroom), and played some
+of his charming _entraînante_ music. But though he played as loudly as
+possible, it was difficult to distinguish what sort of music it was, the
+ballroom being so enormous. However it did not make much difference as
+there were only a few who wanted to dance and one could see that they were
+urged to do so by the chamberlains. Waldteufel has an apartment in the
+town of Compiègne, where he fabricates his waltzes by day and comes here
+to play them by night.
+
+At ten o'clock their Majesties went into the Emperor's private salon with
+a selected few; then the dancing become general and livelier. Tea and
+cakes were served at eleven o'clock and their Majesties reentered,
+conversed a few moments, bowed to every one and withdrew, turned round on
+reaching the door, and, with a sweeping inclination of the head,
+disappeared.
+
+We bade good night to our friends about us and withdrew, as did every one
+else, and I, for one, was glad to go to my Royal couch. Good night!
+
+
+SUNDAY, _November 23, 1866._
+
+DEAR M.,--When we came down this morning into the salon we found it almost
+deserted, and only realized the reason why when we saw the Empress and
+other ladies holding their prayer-books devoutly in their hands returning
+from mass, which is celebrated in the chapel of the château. They wore
+black-lace veils in place of hats, the Empress wearing hers draped in true
+Spanish fashion, which was infinitely becoming to her, being, as she is,
+"to the _manner_ born."
+
+We remembered _then_ that it was Sunday, and felt subdued, seeing so
+many who were more pious than we were. In fact, I felt so much so that I
+think it would have been impossible for me to have laughed during the
+_déjeuner_. Perhaps it was fortunate I sat next to the Duke de Fernan
+Nuñez, whose sedate and polished manners suited the occasion perfectly. He
+did not encourage any attempt at gaiety. Oh dear, no! Far from it! I felt
+myself gradually freezing, and our conversation was of the most
+uninteresting character and dry almost to parching.
+
+I began talking to him about Spain. I said I thought it must be such a
+lovely country, so full of romance, sentiment, and so forth. But he nipped
+my enthusiasm in the bud by informing me that he was not Spanish.
+
+"I thought you were," I murmured.
+
+"No; I am Italian." This staggered me a little. He was certainly the
+husband of the Duchess de Fernan Nuñez, who was Spanish; why had he not
+the same name?
+
+He told me that he was "Dei Principi Pio-Trivulzio," one of the oldest
+families in Milan, and that when he married his wife (who is a _Grande
+d'Espagne_) he was obliged, according to the traditions of Spain, to
+take her name and give up his own.
+
+The _déjeuner_ finished, we returned to the salon, and after their
+Majesties had talked a little with their guests the programme for the
+afternoon, which was to be an excursion to Pierrefonds, was offered to
+those who wished to go. We hurried to our rooms to put on our hats, coats,
+and furs, reappearing equipped for the fray.
+
+The _chars-à-bancs_ and the carriages of their Majesties were drawn up on
+the garden side of the terrace. The Emperor took Prince Metternich in his
+dog-cart; the Empress drove herself in her English phaëton, accompanied by
+the Duchess de Fernan Nuñez. The rest of us were provided with big _chars-
+à-bancs_, each holding six or eight people, and had four horses ridden by
+two postilions. In the same carriage with me was the Duchess de Persigny,
+Count Golz, and others; and although it was very cold, we did not mind, as
+we were well wrapped in furs and had plenty of rugs. We enjoyed intensely
+the beautiful drive through the forest of Compiègne. Monsieur Davilliers
+told me that the forest contains about fifteen thousand hectares. I should
+think so, judging from the endless roads and cross-roads, the interminable
+avenues and wonderful vistas. There were sign-posts at every turn; those
+painted red pointed toward Compiègne.
+
+It took us a long time to reach the forest at Pierrefonds, which joins
+that of Compiègne. By an abrupt turn of the road we came suddenly in view
+of the enormous castle of Pierrefonds and the little town, which is known
+for its sulphur baths, and only frequented in summer. No one need inform
+you what kind of baths they are, as their fumes pervade space and inform
+you themselves.
+
+[Illustration: CHÂTEAU DE PIERREFONDS]
+
+The imposing castle looks entirely out of place in its surroundings; the
+little hill on which it stands seems as if it had been put there in order
+to accommodate the castle.
+
+We passed over two bridges and over a _pont-levis_ at the foot of the
+castle; then through a second gateway into a court, and finally over a
+drawbridge to reach the entrance.
+
+There we got out of the carriages, passed through a dark, vaulted chapel
+and mounted to the platform, where we had a splendid view of the town and
+the forest.
+
+Viollet-le-Duc, who was with us, is the pet architect of the Emperor; he
+is working hard to restore these magnificent ruins, and has now been ten
+years about it, but says that they will never be finished in his lifetime.
+The Emperor is very proud of showing them as the work of his favorite
+architect, and Viollet-le-Duc is just as proud of having been chosen for
+this stupendous undertaking.
+
+We were spared no details, you may be sure, from the smallest of gargoyles
+to the biggest of chimneys. There is a huge fireplace which reaches to the
+ceiling in the _salle des gardes_, with funny little squirrels peering at
+you with cunning eyes. I wish it had occurred to the great architect to
+have utilized this fireplace, for he could very well have put a few logs
+in it and prevented us poor visitors from freezing to death.
+
+We walked (it must have been miles), examining everything in detail. We
+mounted two hundred steps to see the view, and then descended three
+hundred steps to see the arched cellars. The castle was first bought one
+hundred years ago as a ruin by some one, who only paid eight thousand
+francs for it; then Napoleon I. bought it, and now Napoleon III. is
+restoring it. It is seven thousand meters square. It has eight big towers,
+etc. I could go on forever, I am so brimful of statistics, but I spare
+you.
+
+While the hampers brought from Compiègne were being unpacked we tried to
+rest our weary limbs in some prehistoric chairs, whose carvings pierced
+our bones to the marrow. I suppose this is what they call _payer de sa
+personne_. I consoled myself, while drinking my tea and eating my cake,
+with the thought that my _personne_ was paying its little private tax
+to art.
+
+After this interesting but fatiguing visit, and after the long drive
+through the cold, misty forest, the dead and dry leaves rustling under the
+horses' feet as they galloped along, I was glad to rest a moment by my
+cozy fire before dressing for dinner.
+
+I was a little dismayed when I was told that the famous poet, Théophile
+Gautier, was to be my dinner companion. I was awed at the idea of such a
+neighbor, and feared I should not be able to rise to the occasion. Would
+he talk poetry to me? And should I have to talk poetry to him?
+
+I tried to remember, during our promenade down the hall, Longfellow's
+"Psalm of Life," in case he should expect anything in this line, and I
+tried to remember something he himself had written; but for the life of me
+I could think of nothing but a very improper book called _Mademoiselle
+de Maupéon_, which I had never been allowed to read, so that would be
+of no use as conversation.
+
+I might have spared myself this worry, for, from the time he sat down at
+the table, he talked of little else than cats and dogs. He loves all
+animals. I liked him for that, and one could see that he preferred them to
+any other topic.
+
+I can't remember all the nonsense he talked. In appearance I think he must
+resemble Charles Dickens. I have only seen the latter's photographs; but
+had he not rather a skimpy hair brushed any which way and a stringy beard?
+I fancied him so to myself. At any rate, Gautier looks like the Dickens of
+the photographs.
+
+He said he had eight or ten cats who ate with him at the table; each had
+its own place and plate, and never by any chance made a mistake and sat in
+another cat's place or ate off another cat's plate. He was sure that they
+had a heaven and a hell of their own, where they went after their death,
+according to their deserts, and that they had souls and consciences. All
+his cats had classical names, and he talked to them as if they were human
+beings. He said they understood every word he said. He also quoted some of
+his conversation with them, which must have sounded very funny:
+
+"Cleopatra, have you been in the kitchen drinking milk on the sly?
+
+"Cleopatra puts her tail between her legs and her ears back and looks most
+guilty, and I know then what the cook told me was true."
+
+Then again: "Julius Caesar, you were out extremely late last night. What
+were you doing?" He said that when he made these reproaches Julius Caesar
+would get down from his chair and, with his tail high in the air, would
+rub himself against his legs, as much as to say he would never do it
+again.
+
+"Depend upon it," he added, "they know everything we do, and more."
+
+I asked, "When Julius Caesar comes from his nocturnal walks is he
+_gris_ (tipsy)?"
+
+"Gris! Que voulez-vous dire?"
+
+"You once wrote a poem (how proud I was that I had recollected it), 'A
+minuit tous les chats sont gris.'"
+
+"C'est vrai, mais je parlais des Schahs de Perse."
+
+"Est-ce que tous les Schahs de Perse sont gris à minuit?"
+
+"Madame, tous les Schahs de Perse que j'ai eu l'honneur de voir à minuit
+ont été gris comme des Polonais."
+
+"But the 'chats' you wrote about go mewing on roofs at midnight. Do the
+Schahs de Perse do that?"
+
+"Did I write that?" said he. "Then I must have meant cats. You are very
+inquisitive, Madame."
+
+"I confess I am," I answered. "You see, that poem of yours has been set to
+music, and I sing it; and you may imagine that I want to know what I am
+singing about. One must sing with an entirely different expression if one
+sings of gray cats or of tipsy Persian sovereigns."
+
+He laughed and asked, with an innocent look, "Do you think I could have
+meant that at midnight nothing has any particular color--that everything
+is gray?"
+
+"I don't know what you meant; but please tell me what you want me to
+believe, because I believe everything I am told. I am so naïve."
+
+"You naïve! You are the most _blasée_ person I ever met."
+
+"I _blasée_! I! What an idea!"
+
+Such an idea could only emanate from a poet's brain with an extra-poetical
+poet's license. I was very indignant, and told him so, and said, "Est-ce
+que tous les poètes sont fous à cette heure de la soirée?"
+
+"Vous voyez," he retorted, "you are not only _blasée_; you are sarcastic."
+
+I enjoyed my dinner immensely in spite of being _blasée_, and Gautier's
+fun and amusing talk lasted until we were back in the salon. The Emperor
+approached us while we were still laughing, and began to talk to us. I
+told him that Monsieur Gautier had said that I was _blasée_. The Emperor
+exclaimed: "Vous blasée! Il faut y mettre beaucoup de bonne volonté pour
+être blasée à votre âge!"
+
+I said I did not know whether to be angry or not with him.
+
+"Be angry with him," answered the Emperor. "He deserves it."
+
+Waldteufel began playing his delightful waltzes, and every one was boon
+whirling about. I never heard him play with so much dash; he really seemed
+inspired. Prince Metternich asked him to order a piano to be sent to his
+salon in the chateau. "I cannot exist without a piano," said he. "It helps
+me to write my tiresome _rapports_."
+
+There were only two pianos, I believe, in the château; the one (upright)
+in the ballroom and the Erard in the _salle de musique_.
+
+At eleven o'clock we went into the Emperor's salon, where tea was served.
+
+
+MONDAY, _November 24, 1866._
+
+DEAR M.,--At breakfast this morning I sat next to Prince Metternich. He
+told me that there was to be _conseil de ministres_ to-day, and therefore
+there was no question of their Majesties' presence at excursions, and no
+particular plans projected for this afternoon.
+
+Thus we were left to our own devices. Prince Metternich's fertile brain
+was already at work to imagine something amusing to divert their Majesties
+for the evening. He suggested charades. He is excellent at getting them
+up.
+
+When we met in the salon he spoke to the different people who he thought
+would be helping elements.
+
+The Marquise de Gallifet thought that tableaux would be better; Count de
+Vogüé suggested games (he knew several new ones, which he proposed). All
+in vain! Prince Metternich insisted on charades; therefore charades
+carried the day, of course.
+
+The Prince had already thought of the word "Exposition," and arranged in
+his mind what part each one of us was to have. The Vicomte de Laferrière,
+whom he was obliged to take into his confidence, told him that he would
+show us the room in which there was a stage for amateur performances.
+
+As soon as their Majesties had departed we proceeded to the said room,
+where there was a little stage, a very little one, with red-velvet
+curtains. Next to this room was a long gallery, in which there was a
+quantity of chests containing every variety of costumes, wigs, pastiches,
+tinsel ornaments, and all sorts of appurtenances--enough to satisfy the
+most dramatic imagination.
+
+Each garment, as it was held up to view, suggested endless possibilities;
+but the Prince stuck firmly to his first inspiration, and we were
+despatched to our different apartments to think out our rôles and to
+imagine how funny we were going to be.
+
+The Empress is always present at the _conseils de ministres_, which
+to-day must have lasted an unusually long time, as no one was invited to
+her tea. So we took ours with the Metternichs. The Prince had just
+returned from town, and was childishly eager to display the various and
+extraordinary purchases he had made, which he considered absolutely
+necessary for the finishing touches to our toilettes. His requisites
+consisted of an oil-can, a feather duster, a watchman's rattle, and wax
+enough to have made features for the whole Comédie Française, and paint
+and powder for us all. He would not tell us what he had procured for his
+_own_ costume, as he said he wanted to surprise us, adding, what he
+could not buy he had borrowed.
+
+Count Vogüé gave me his arm for dinner. Of course, we talked of little
+else but the charade.
+
+Their Majesties were informed of the surprise which was awaiting them in
+the little theater. The Empress said to Prince Metternich, after dinner,
+"I hear you have prepared something to amuse us this evening. Do you not
+wish to go and make your arrangements? We will be ready to join you in
+half an hour."
+
+All of us who were to take part disappeared to dress, and returned to the
+gallery connecting with the stage in due time. Peeping through the hole in
+the curtain, we could see the imposing and elegant audience come in and
+take their seats with much ceremony and calmness. They little thought how
+impatient we were to begin and yet trembling with nervousness. Their
+Majesties, the guests, and all the ministers who had stayed for dinner
+more than filled the theater. It looked, indeed, uncomfortably crowded.
+
+At last every one was seated, and the first syllable, "Ex," was played
+with great success. It represented a scene at Aix-les-Bains.
+
+Invalids met (glasses in hand) and discussed and compared their various
+and seemingly very complicated diseases. They made very funny remarks on
+the subject of getting their systems in order in view of the possible
+incidents which might come up during the Exposition of the next year.
+
+The Marquis de Gallifet was one of the invalids, and seeing the Minister
+of the Interior in the audience, looked straight at him and said, "C'est à
+vous, Monsieur le Ministre, de remédier à tout cela (It is your business,
+Monsieur le Ministre, to cure all that)," which made every one roar with
+laughter, though Prince Metternich (our impresario) was very provoked, as
+he had particularly forbidden any one to address the audience.
+
+The Princess Metternich looked very comical dressed as a Parisian
+coachman, with a coachman's long coat of many capes; she wore top-boots,
+and had a whip in her hand and a pipe in her mouth, which she actually
+smoked, taking it out of her mouth every time she spoke and puffing the
+smoke right into the faces of the audience. She sang a very lively song,
+the words of which her husband had found time to write for her during the
+afternoon. It began, "C'est à Paris, qu' ça s'est passé." She cracked her
+whip and stamped her feet, and must have been very droll, to judge from
+the screams of delight in the audience. The song was full of quips and
+puns, and pleased so much that she had to repeat it.
+
+The next word was "Position," and acted only by gentlemen. An amateur, or
+rather a novice, was taking lessons in fencing, in order to defend himself
+against probable attacks upon him by the barbaric foreigners who next year
+would invade Paris, and he wished to be prepared sufficiently to resent
+all their insults.
+
+When the curtain came down all the sky came with it, which put the public
+in great glee.
+
+The whole word "Exposition" was what we call "Mrs. Jarley's Wax Works."
+
+Count de Vogüé was the showman, and the servant assisting him was no less
+a person than the Austrian Ambassador himself, Prince Metternich. As the
+stage was small, it could not contain more than two couples at a time, so
+they were brought on in pairs.
+
+First came Antony, and Cleopatra (the latter Marquise de Gallifet,
+beautiful as a dream) drank mechanically (having been wound up by the
+servant) an enormous pearl, and Antony (Prince Murat) looked on
+wonderingly and admiringly.
+
+Madame de Bourgogne and Count Grammont were a Chinese chop-sticking
+couple. When wound up, their chop-sticks went everywhere except into their
+mouths. The Marquise de Chasselouplobat and the Marquis de Caux were
+shepherd and shepherdess, with the usual rakes, baskets, ribbons, etc.
+
+I was a mechanical doll sent from America (the latest invention) for the
+Exposition. I was dressed as a Tyrolienne with a red skirt, a black
+bodice, and a hat with a ridiculous feather sticking out from the back of
+it, which Prince Metternich said I _must_ have.
+
+While the others were on the stage Princess Metternich wrapped a lot of
+silk paper around me and tied it with bows of wide ribbon, thus covering
+me completely, head and all. I was carried in and placed on a turning
+pedestal.
+
+The showman explained the wonderful mechanism of this doll, unique of its
+kind, and capable of imitating the human voice to such a degree that no
+one could hear any difference.
+
+When he had finished talking (I thought, as I stood there, motionless and
+stifling under my paper covering, he never would stop) he tore off the
+paper and called his assistant to wind me up.
+
+I had so far been very successful in keeping my countenance; but I assure
+you, when I saw Prince Metternich's get-up, my efforts to keep myself from
+bursting out laughing almost amounted to genius. He had said he wished his
+costume to be a surprise. Well! The surprise almost made the mechanical
+doll a failure, and had not Count de Vogüé quickly turned the pedestal
+around I don't know how I should have saved myself from disaster.
+
+Prince Metternich was dressed as a servant. He had a velvetine coat, red
+vest, knickerbockers, white stockings, and servant's low shoes, and he
+wore a huge black beard and a black wig. He had made his eyebrows so bushy
+that they looked like mustaches; but his nose had preoccupied him more
+than anything else--I don't know much time he had spent in making it.
+First, he made it hooked and then changed it to _retroussé_, then again
+back to hooked, which he thought suited his style best. He commenced
+it when the first scene was being acted, and had just got it at the right
+angle when it was time for him to go on the stage. The result of his
+afternoon's labors must have been most gratifying, for he was a stupendous
+success.
+
+He wound me up and I began singing; but everything went wrong. I sang
+snatches of well-known songs, cadences, trills, arpeggios, all _pêle-
+mêle_, until my exhibitors were in despair.
+
+"Mais, c'est terrible," cried Vogüé. "Ne pouvez-vous pas l'arrêter? Est-ce
+qu'il n'y a pas de vis?"
+
+"Il n'y a pas le moindre vice, Monsieur," shaking his head in despair.
+
+Then I stopped short. How could I sing when I was convulsed with laughter?
+
+"Il faut la remonter," the showman said, with a resigned air, and, turning
+to the audience, he announced that such a thing had never happened before.
+"La poupée a été probablement dérangée pendant le voyage." This caused
+much merriment. "Elle a besoin de l'huile," said the Prince in a loud
+stage whisper, and took the oil-can and flourished it about my shoulders.
+
+They made so many jokes and puns that they were continually interrupted by
+the peals of laughter which followed each joke.
+
+"Faites-la donc chanter," implored Vogüé. "N'y a-t-il pas un clou?"
+
+"S'il y en avait eu un, je l'aurais trouvé, puisque c'est le clou de la
+soirée."
+
+"Mon Dieu! Que faire? Et tout le monde qui attend. Cherchez bien. Vous
+trouverez peut-être un bouton."
+
+The Prince answered, sadly, "Not a sign of a button, Monsieur." And he
+added, in a loud voice, "We ought to have a button in _gold_, so that
+one can see it."
+
+He said this with intention, thinking it might suggest to the Emperor to
+give me the gold button which he only gives to those he wishes to make
+life-members of his Hunts. Ladies do not often get them. At last, the
+mortified assistant applied the rattle and wound me up again. I gave a
+little nod with my head; they both struck attitudes of satisfaction, and
+one said, "Now she is going to sing 'Beware!'" which called forth a burst
+of applause from the audience. I sang "Beware!" and the Prince, thinking I
+made the trill too long, tried to stop me by using the rattle again, which
+was almost the death of me. I wore some long ribbons around my neck, and
+the more the Prince turned it, the tighter the ribbons choked me. Happily
+I had breath enough to go on singing; but I turned my head and fixed a
+glassy eye on my tormentor, and, instead of singing "Trust her not, she's
+fooling thee," I sang, "Trust him not, he's choking me, he's choking me."
+
+Luckily he understood, and the people who knew English understood and
+appreciated the situation.
+
+When it was all finished the Empress came hurriedly toward me, exclaiming:
+"Thank Heaven! I thought the Prince was going to strangle you. I was so
+frightened." She then kissed me on both cheeks, and the Emperor gallantly
+kissed my hand.
+
+They both said they had never laughed so much in their lives, and were
+most profuse in their thanks, complimenting all those who had taken part
+in the charade; certainly Robert de Vogüé and the Prince Metternich both
+outdid themselves.
+
+It was one o'clock when tea was served in the Emperor's salon. You may
+imagine if I was tired.
+
+
+_November 25th._
+
+DEAR M.,--As the programme announced this morning that there was to be a
+_chasse à tir_ this afternoon, I put on my green costume brought for this
+purpose.
+
+The Empress appeared also in a green dress, with a coquettish three-
+cornered hat trimmed with gold braid, and looked bewitchingly beautiful;
+the Emperor wore a shooting suit with leather gaiters, as did all the
+gentlemen. Every one looked very sportsmanlike.
+
+M. Davilliers gave me his arm for _déjeuner_. He told me a great deal
+which I did not _want_ to know about hunting-dogs.
+
+For instance, "Les chiens anglais," he said, "étaient très raillants, très
+perçants, mais hésitants dans les fourrés." So much Greek to me, but I
+pretended to understand. He continued to say that the Emperor had an
+excellent trainer, who obtained the best results because he treated the
+dogs with kindness. I inwardly applauded the trainer.
+
+He said it was better to let them have the entire use of their faculties;
+whereas, if the unhappy animals are stupefied by bad treatment they lose
+their _initiative_, being pursued by the thought of a beating, and they
+don't know what to do, instead of following their natural instincts.
+
+I agreed with him entirely, and thought that our conversation was an
+excellent preface to the afternoon's sport.
+
+As the Emperor passed me, before we started off, he said, handing me a
+little package he held in his hand, "Here is the gold button which you did
+not have last night; it makes you a life member of all Imperial hunts."
+(So Prince Metternich's ruse had succeeded.)
+
+I bowed very low and thanked him, and asked if it would necessitate my
+hunting. "Certainly not, if you don't want to," his Majesty answered; "but
+have you ever seen a _chasse à tir_?"
+
+At my answer that I had never seen one, nor anything nearer to one than
+people going out with a gun and coming back with nothing else, he laughed
+and said, "I must tell that to the Empress."
+
+It is the Emperor's habit to say, when he hears anything which amuses him,
+"I must tell that to her Majesty." She is always in his thoughts.
+
+I said, looking at the button, "Last year your Majesty gave me a gold
+medal for singing a _Benedictus_; now I shall sing a hallelujah for this."
+
+"It is not worth so much," the Emperor said, with a kind smile.
+
+"Would you like to accompany me this afternoon," he asked, "and see for
+yourself what a _chasse à tir_ is?"
+
+I answered that I should be delighted, and said, "Shall I come with a
+gun?"
+
+"Oh dear, no! Please don't!" the Emperor exclaimed, hurriedly. "But come
+with stout boots and a warm coat."
+
+The carriages were waiting, and we were soon packed in our rugs and
+started for the shooting.
+
+The Emperor drove Baron Beyens in his dog-cart; the Empress drove with the
+Princess Metternich in a victoria to the field, where she left her and
+returned to the chateau. I fancy she was afraid of the dampness of this
+bleak November day.
+
+We arrived at a great open place and found all the company assembled, and
+I should say the whole populace of Compiègne had turned into beaters and
+spectators. The gentlemen took their places in a long line, the Emperor
+being in the middle; on his right the person highest in rank (Prince
+Metternich), on his left Count Golz, and so forth.
+
+Madame de Gallifet and I were a little behind the Emperor, between him and
+Prince Metternich. Behind us were the gamekeepers, loading and handing the
+guns to their masters as fast as they could. The three first gentlemen had
+their own _chasseurs_ and two guns each. After the gamekeepers came the
+men whose duties were to pick up the dead and wounded victims and put them
+in the bags.
+
+It was a dreadful sight! How I hate it! I am sure I shall not sleep for a
+week, for I shall always see the forms and faces of those quivering, dying
+creatures in my dreams. I never will go to a _chasse_ again.
+
+And the worst was, they had frightened the birds and animals into a sort
+of circle, where they could not escape; the butchery was awful. The
+victims numbered close on four thousand. Prince Metternich alone shot
+twelve hundred.
+
+How happy I was when it all was over and I could get away from these
+horrors and this miserable sport! We were invited to the tea in the
+Empress's salon. I had time to change my dress and put on the high silk
+gown prescribed for this function.
+
+Such beautiful rooms! First an antechamber, with cabinets of Italian
+carving and vitrines and inlaid tables; then the Empress's salon, a very
+large room filled with low arm-chairs, tables covered with knickknacks,
+books with paper-cutters still in them, as if they were just being read,
+screens with engravings _à la Louis Seize_, and beautiful fans on the
+walls, also splendid tapestries. It had a lovely ceiling, painted by some
+celebrated artist, mostly angels and smiling cherubs, who seemed to
+possess more than their share of legs and arms, floating about in the
+clouds.
+
+The Empress generally has a distinguished person, or some kind of
+celebrity, either a traveler or an inventor, even a prestidigitateur (ugh,
+what a word!), always some one who is _en vue_ for the moment. To-day
+it was a man who had invented a machine to count the pulse. He strapped a
+little band on your wrist and told you to concentrate your thought on one
+subject, then a little pencil attached to the leather handcuff began
+muffing up and down slowly or quickly, as your pulse indicated.
+
+The Empress seemed much interested, and called those in the room whose
+pulse she wished to have tested. She said, "Now let us have an American
+pulse." My pulse seemed to be very normal, and the exhibitor did not make
+any comments, neither did any one else.
+
+"Shall we now have a Germanic pulse?" the Empress risked, and called Comte
+Solms. "Think of something pleasant," said the inventor. "A ballet is a
+nice thing to think of," said the Princess Metternich, in her shrill
+voice.
+
+"Regarde, comme il va vite," the inventor cried, and he showed the paper
+with the most extraordinary wavy lines. Every one laughed, and no one more
+than Comte Solms himself.
+
+Six o'clock came very quickly, and the Empress, rising, gave the signal
+for our departure.
+
+The Marquis de Caux took me in to dinner. He is the most popular and
+sought-after gentleman in all Paris. No ball is complete without him, and
+his presence at any dinner is sufficient to assure its success. He leads
+all the cotillons worth speaking of, and is a universal favorite. He
+allowed his secret to leak out (_un secret de Polichinelle_), which all
+Paris is talking about.
+
+I swore secrecy; but I can tell you that it can be contained in one word,
+and that word is SIMPATICO, which is Italian for his rendezvous with HER
+at the American Doctor Sim's house, for it is there he meets her. _Devine
+qui peut!_ (Guess who can!) I have not said anything.
+
+At nine o'clock we all adjourned to the theater in the Palace, to reach
+which we passed through many rooms we had never seen before, and through a
+long gallery. The theater is very handsome, and as large as most of the
+theaters in Paris. There is always one theatrical performance during each
+week while their Majesties are in Compiègne. The company of the Théâtre
+Français had been commanded to play this evening. The piece chosen was the
+latest one of Émile Augier, which has had a great success in Paris, called
+"Le fils Giboyer." Émile Augier, who was invited specially, was present.
+
+Madeleine Brohan, Coquelin, Breton, and Madame Favard had the principal
+rôles. Such distinguished artistes as those could not but give the
+greatest enjoyment. The theater is very handsome; there are only boxes and
+the parquet; the Imperial Loge reaches from the first tier of boxes to the
+last seats of the parquet in the shape of a shell. Any one standing up
+there could touch, on raising the arm, the velvet draperies of the
+Imperial box.
+
+The theater is entirely lighted by wax candles, of which there must have
+been thousands, and all the scenery belonging to the play was sent
+especially from Paris.
+
+Their Majesties sat in the center of the Imperial Loge, and the lady
+guests and the most important gentlemen, according to their rank, were
+placed beside and behind them.
+
+The other gentlemen sat in the parquet, and circulated about between the
+acts.
+
+In the boxes were places for the Court ladies, also the ladies invited
+from the neighboring château and from Compiègne.
+
+The whole assemblage certainly presented the most dazzling and magnificent
+sight. The ladies in their beautiful toilettes and superb jewels showed to
+the greatest advantage in this brilliantly lighted theater. The Empress
+was gorgeous in yellow tulle covered with lace and jewels. She wore the
+famous Regent diamond, which belongs to the French Crown, in her corsage,
+and a superb diamond tiara and necklace. Princess Metternich, who is known
+to be the best dressed lady in Paris, had a black tulle dress embroidered
+in gold; she wore a tiara of diamonds and emeralds and a necklace of the
+same.
+
+When their Majesties entered every one rose and courtesied deeply; their
+Majesties bowed graciously in response. The Master of Ceremonies gave the
+signal, and the curtain rose immediately.
+
+The actors seemed inspired to do their best, as well they might, with such
+a brilliant audience before them.
+
+I wondered if they did not miss the _claque_, to which actors are so
+accustomed in France. You know the _claque_ is a set of men who are hired
+to clap at certain points in the play indicated beforehand to them, in
+order that the audience may appreciate the most salient points and join
+the applause, if they wish to.
+
+Every one enjoyed the play immensely. There were portions of it which were
+very pathetic. I noticed the Emperor was visibly affected, and the Empress
+wiped from her eyes _una furtiva lagrima_, as Donizetti's song has it.
+
+I know _I_ cried my lace handkerchief wet.
+
+The representation lasted till about half-past ten, and after our return
+to the salon the Emperor sent for the artists, who had by this time
+changed their toilettes. Their Majesties talked long, and, I should say,
+familiarly with them, and, judging from the way they laughed and chatted,
+they seemed to feel quite at their ease, especially Coquelin, who
+apparently put the Emperor in a very good humor. At eleven o'clock
+refreshments were passed round, the carriages were announced, and making a
+deferential "reverence" the artists took their leave, carrying with them
+an ornament with the monograms of their Majesties as a souvenir of their
+visit.
+
+I never saw the Empress look so beautiful as she did to-night. She
+certainly is the most exquisite creature, and what is so charming about
+her is her utter lack of self-consciousness. Her smile is bewitching
+beyond description, her complexion perfect, her hair of the Venetian type,
+and her profile classical. Her head is so beautifully put on her
+shoulders, her neck and shoulders are absolutely faultless. None of the
+many portraits painted of her, not even Winterhalter's, do her the least
+justice; no brush can paint and no words can describe her charm. I think
+the famous beauty, Countess Castiglione, cannot begin to compare with her.
+
+Their Majesties withdrew. The guests from the château and those from
+Compiègne took their departure, and we all dispersed to our several
+apartments.
+
+I am beginning to learn the ways of the life of Compiègne.
+
+At nine o'clock our tea, coffee, or chocolate (as we choose) is brought to
+our rooms by a white-stockinged and powdered valet.
+
+If you are very energetic, you can go for a walk in the park, or (as I did
+to my sorrow) a visit to the town. But you are not energetic more than
+once, because you do not find it worth your while, as you must hurry back,
+and change your dress and shoes before appearing in the salon a little
+before eleven o'clock, the hour for breakfast. You remain in the same
+dress until you change for dinner or the Empress's tea. You find every
+morning in your room a programme for the day.
+
+    _Déjeuner à onze heures.
+    Chasse à tir à deux heures.
+    Comédie Française à neuf heures._
+
+So you know what to wear and what to expect; but the invitation to tea is
+always made by the Empress's private _huissier_, who knocks at your door
+toward five o'clock and announces, "Her Majesty the Empress desires your
+presence at five o'clock."
+
+The _toilette de rigueur_  for this occasion is a high-necked long silk
+dress, and you generally remain until six o'clock.
+
+If you are not summoned to her Majesty's tea, tea is served in your own
+salon, where you can invite people to take tea with you, or you are
+invited to take tea with other people.
+
+If there is a hunt, the ladies wear their green-cloth costumes and the
+gentlemen wear their hunting gear (a red coat, velvet cap, and top-boots).
+The gentlemen wear _culottes courtes_ the first evening they arrive, and
+on such fine occasions as the _curée_, and at the Gala Theater, where
+outsiders are invited; otherwise they always wear _pantalon collant_,
+which is the most unbecoming thing one can imagine in the way of manly
+attire.
+
+At six o'clock you dress for dinner, always in ball dress, and a little
+before seven you meet in the Grande Salle des Fêtes. At dinner the guests
+are placed according to their rank, but at _déjeuner_ there is no
+ceremony, and you engage your partner after your heart's desire. Those who
+are high up at dinner try to get as far down at the end of the table as
+possible.
+
+With me it is all ups and downs; at breakfast I am 'way up to the very
+top, and at dinner 'way down.
+
+After _déjeuner_ the Master of Ceremonies inquires what you wish to do;
+that is to say, if there is nothing special mentioned on the programme,
+such as a review, or manoeuvers, or a _chasse à courre_, when all are
+expected to join.
+
+Do you wish to walk? You can tramp up and down the one-thousand-metre-long
+trellis walk, sheltered from wind and rain.
+
+Do you wish to drive? There are carriages of all descriptions, _chars-à-
+bancs_, landaus, pony-carriages, and even a donkey-cart, at your service.
+
+Do you care to ride? There are one hundred and fifty horses eating their
+heads off in the Imperial stables waiting for you.
+
+Do the gentlemen wish to go shooting? There are countless gamekeepers
+booted and spurred, with guns and game-bags on their shoulders, impatient
+to accompany you.
+
+Whatever you do, you are expected to be in your rooms before four o'clock,
+which is the time the Empress will send for you, if she invites you for
+tea.
+
+The _cercle_ always follows each repast, and dancing or music always
+follows the _cercle_. Tea is served at the Emperor's salon at eleven
+o'clock, after which their Majesties retire, and you do the same.
+
+
+_November 26th._
+
+DEAR M.,--A very embarrassing thing happened to me this morning.
+
+We thought we could manage an excursion to the town. I wanted to see the
+Cathedral, and it did not seem far away.
+
+Therefore, bright and early, at nine o'clock we started on our trip.
+
+We saw the Cathedral; but I had not counted on the time necessary for the
+change of toilette, which I had to make before _déjeuner_.
+
+I found on my table an envelope containing this poetry, which I inclose,
+from Théophile Gautier. I suppose he considered it as a sort of _amende
+honorable_.
+
+  À MADAME CHARLES MOULTON
+
+  Vos prunelles ont bu la lumière et la vie;
+  telle une mer sans fond boit l'infini des cieux,
+  car rien ne peut remplir l'abîme de vos yeux,
+  où, comme en un lotus, dort votre âme assouvie.
+
+  Pour vous plus de chimère ardemment poursuivie,
+  quel que soit l'idéal, votre rêve vaut mieux,
+  et vous avez surtout le biasement des Dieux,
+  Psyché, qu'Éros lui-même à grand'peine eût ravi.
+
+  Votre satiété n'attend pas le banquet,
+  et connaissant la coupe où le monde s'enivre,
+  dédaigneuse à vos pieds vous le regardez vivre.
+
+  Et vous apparaissez par un geste coquet,
+  rappelant Mnémosyné à son socle appuyée
+  comme le souvenir d'une sphère oublié.
+
+  THÉOPHILE GAUTIER.
+
+Charles had gone long before, and I became absorbed in reading it, and
+forgot to look at the clock, when suddenly, seeing how late it was, I
+rushed down into the gallery, and what was my horror at finding myself
+alone with the _Cent Gardes_, who were standing at ease! It was the
+first time I had ever seen them look like mortal beings, and not like
+statues, and it signified, naturally, that every one was in the _salle à
+manger_, and that I was too late. However, I thought I could slip into
+the room unnoticed, and a place at the table would be offered to me; but,
+alas! it happened that just this morning the Emperor had desired me to sit
+next to him at the table, and the valet de chambre had been and was still,
+waiting for me at the door to conduct me to my place on the sovereign's
+left hand.
+
+I cannot tell you how I felt as I was being marshaled up the whole length
+of the room, stared at by every one, and criticized, probably, for this
+horrible breach of etiquette. I never was so mortified in all my life. I
+took my place, speechless and confused, and Prince Murat, who sat on the
+other side of me, kept saying, "The Emperor is piping mad." The Prince
+Murat is half American (his mother was a Miss Frazier, from New Jersey),
+therefore I will forgive him for wanting to tease me.
+
+I suppose I must have looked very red, and I certainly was very out of
+breath, for the Emperor, probably noticing my embarrassment, kindly said,
+"Don't worry; you are not late."
+
+I told him I had been sight-seeing in Compiègne, and I hoped he would
+forgive me.
+
+The Empress smiled and nodded to me in the most gracious manner across the
+table, as if to put me at my ease.
+
+The Emperor told me that he had sent up to Paris for a game of croquet,
+having heard from Prince Metternich that we all loved so much to play it,
+adding that he would like to see the game himself. "We are going to have a
+mock battle this afternoon," said he. "All these generals and officers who
+are here have come from everywhere to take part I think it will amuse you
+to see it, if you have never seen anything of the kind."
+
+I assured him I had never seen a battle, mock or otherwise, and had no
+idea what it could be like.
+
+"Well, you shall see," he said.
+
+"Is there," I inquired, "as much firing as yesterday?"
+
+"Much more; but this time with cannons," he replied.
+
+"I hope the cannon-balls are also mock," I ventured to say.
+
+I told the Emperor of the poetry which Gautier had sent to me, and, having
+it in my hand, showed it to him, saying, "Ought I to forgive him?"
+
+"You ought to forgive him," he said. "This is the most exquisite thing I
+ever have read."
+
+"If your Majesty says so, I will."
+
+The manoeuvers were to commence at two o'clock. All the ladies wore their
+hunting-dresses, and I was proud to don my gold button.
+
+The various equipages were waiting to take us to the field.
+
+The Duchess de Persigny, Princess Murat, Baron Beyens, the Marquis de
+Caux, and I got in the same carriage; many of the ladies appeared on
+horseback. Princess Ghika rode one of the three horses she had brought
+with her to Compiègne. Madame de Vatry rode one of the Emperor's.
+
+All the carriages, on reaching the field where the manoeuvers were to take
+place, were drawn up in line, in order that every one should have a good
+view. Then the Emperor and Empress, on their beautiful horses, and the
+Prince Imperial, full of youthful dignity, on his cream-colored pony,
+arrived, accompanied by the staff of splendidly uniformed generals and
+officers, who took up their positions behind their Majesties before the
+manoeuvers commenced.
+
+The Empress looked radiantly beautiful, her well fitting riding-habit
+showing her fine figure to the greatest advantage.
+
+It was, as the Emperor had said, a mock battle, but it seemed to me, not
+having had much experience in battles, to be very real.
+
+Officers careered over the field for dear life; orderlies with enormous
+flat, four-cornered things flapping across their backs, scurried to and
+fro; trumpeters sounded bugles, waved flags, and made signals.... What
+could look more real and less mock than this?
+
+It was France _versus_ an imaginary enemy.
+
+It seemed as if the one thing France craved and coveted was a poor, lonely
+farm-house in the distance, apparently unprotected. All the stratagems of
+war, all the trumpeting and capering about, were brought to bear on
+conquering that little house. The artillery collided up against it; the
+infantry, with drums beating, marched boldly to the very door-steps; the
+cavalry pranced around it.... But for the life of me, though I was staring
+as hard as I could through my opera-glasses, I could not tell whether
+France had got it or not. However, there was so much smoke, it might have
+capitulated without my noticing. I suppose the generals knew.
+
+It made me think of Tennyson's "Charge of the Light Brigade."
+
+  Cannon to right of them,
+  Cannon to left of them,
+  Cannon in front of them,
+  Volley'd and thunder'd.
+
+The guns and cannons kept up such a continual firing that the ground
+actually shook under our feet.
+
+I wondered why so much powder and energy should be wasted on a helpless
+farm-house, and dreaded to think what the real thing must he, if this was
+only sham.
+
+When it was apparently finished, and every one in the neighborhood had
+surrendered, they sounded a grand fanfare, and blew a mighty blast of
+trumpets, the officers dashed up full tilt to the Emperor, and announced,
+"Victory all along the line!"
+
+I can't tell you how sweet the little Prince looked when he distributed
+the _médaille de mérite_ to the brave warriors, who received it with
+due modesty, saluting gravely.
+
+The Emperor rode about among the carriages and asked us ladies how we had
+liked it, and if there had been too much noise.
+
+The company at dinner to-night looked particularly brilliant; there must
+have been a hundred and fifty people present, as the generals and the
+officers were asked to remain to dinner. I had one general next to me at
+table, the famous General Changarnier, who my other neighbor said had one
+foot in the grave and the other _dans le plat_. He was so old and thin and
+bony that if his uniform had not kept him up he would have crumbled
+together before my eyes, and have become a zero instead of a hero.
+However, he kept together while dinner lasted, for which I was thankful,
+and I returned him safely to posterity and to the salon.
+
+Their Majesties devoted themselves exclusively to the Army after dinner;
+but they sent word by a chamberlain that we were to commence dancing,
+though they had not finished the _cercle_.
+
+Waldteufel was already seated at the piano, waiting.
+
+The officers danced vigorously. The elder ones ventured on quadrilles, and
+danced them with great gusto.
+
+Prince Murat, noticing the old general skipping about so youthfully,
+proposed a Virginia reel, with a view to giving them a little more
+exercise.
+
+Every one entered into the spirit of it; but there were only a few who
+knew how to dance it.
+
+Both Prince and Princess Metternich had learned it at Petit Val. Madame
+Gallifet knew it as "Sir Roger de Coverley" from her English days, and
+Prince Murat must have learned it from his American mother.
+
+The Emperor danced with me, as he said he would only dance with an
+_expert_!
+
+The Empress had Count Golz for her partner, and stood next to me; Princess
+Metternich (full of fun) chose one of the most ancient warriors. Madame de
+Persigny and Prince Murat were at the end of the line; the other guests
+filled the intermediate places.
+
+Prince Metternich, knowing the music, thought he was absolutely necessary
+at the piano, consequently he took Waldteufel's place there.
+
+I, as "the expert," led off. The Emperor tried to imitate me, but became
+confused by the constant shouting from his cousin (Prince Murat) at the
+other end. However, he and I managed to finish our part; but the Emperor
+refused to be swung, and we marched down the middle of the line, hand in
+hand, disregarding the rules in a truly royal manner. Then, having watched
+the Empress go through her part (she also marched down in a royal manner),
+the Emperor seemed bored at looking at the others, and called the Marquis
+de Caux to take his place. Next, Prince Metternich began improvising reels
+of his own invention, which turned into all sorts of fantastic measures,
+which were impossible to dance by. Madame de Persigny, in turning, fell
+flat on her back; every one rushed to her rescue, which caused great
+confusion, as people lost their places and could not find them again.
+
+This brought our famous reel, which proved to be a dead failure, to an
+abrupt close; and the old generals, for whose sake we danced it, never got
+a chance to show what they could do; and we were thankful when Waldteufel
+returned to the piano and played a waltz, to which we could dance until it
+was time for the Emperor's tea, and then,
+
+_Bonsoir!_
+
+
+_November 27th._
+
+DEAR M.,--Baron Haussmann took me in to _déjeuner_ this morning. The
+Baron is the Préfet de Paris. He is very tall, bulky, and has an
+authoritative way of walking ahead and dragging his partner after him,
+which makes one feel as if one was a small tug being swept on by a man-of-
+war! I wondered if the _Cent Gardes_ noticed how I tripped along, taking
+two steps to his one, until he reached his seat at the table, into which
+he dropped with a sigh of relief.
+
+His body in profile defies any one's looking around the corner, so to
+speak. I could only see at intervals Marquise Chasselouplobat's shapely
+elbows and hands. Our conversation turned on the new improvements he
+intends to make in Paris. He asked me how I liked the boulevard of his
+name, just completed.
+
+"I like it," I answered, "though it has deprived us of a good part of our
+garden." (It had cut off just half of it.)
+
+"It brings you nearer the Bois," he added. "I hope the Government paid you
+well for it."
+
+"I suppose the Government thinks it did; but our croquet-ground is gone
+forever."
+
+"Forever!" he repeated. "Where do you play now?"
+
+"Sometimes at the Austrian embassy."
+
+"Is its garden large enough for that?"
+
+I answered, "It is not large enough for a real croquet-ground; but the
+ambassador is such an ardent player that he has arranged a place under the
+trees where we play--sometimes at night with lamps on the ground."
+
+"I should think that would be very difficult; quite impossible, in fact."
+
+"What else can we do? We have no other place."
+
+After a moment's hesitation he asked, "How would you like it if I put a
+piece of ground in the Bois at your disposal?"
+
+I could have screamed with joy! What a piece of news to tell my friends
+after breakfast. I chanted a little _Gloria_ under my breath, and asked
+him if he really meant it. He said, "Of course I mean it, and as soon as I
+return to Paris I will have the formal papers made out and sent to you,
+and you can claim the ground when you like." He added, gallantly, "I will
+have the document made out in your name, Madame, in souvenir of our
+breakfast to-day."
+
+Is he not a very generous man? But if every time he sits next to a lady he
+gives her a slice of the Bois de Boulogne he will soon be out of the
+government books.
+
+You can readily imagine the delight of my fellow-players when I told them
+all this after our return to the salon.
+
+The weather looked unsettled; no one felt like driving or walking.
+However, later, the wind veered about, the sun came out of the heavy
+clouds, our spirits rose with the barometer, the elements seemed to point
+to outdoor amusements. What better than a game of croquet?
+
+The Emperor, as I said before, had sent to Paris for the game, and Prince
+Metternich felt it would be rude not to use it. We have been playing it so
+much this year that we have quite got it on the brain, and we were very
+excited and most eager to play, and orders were given to have the box
+brought out on the terrace.
+
+Both their Majesties were highly interested; they examined everything with
+the greatest curiosity, unwrapped the balls themselves, and were quite
+anxious to begin.
+
+The question was, where should the game be put up, and where should the
+wickets be put down? The lawn was wet, the gravel walks were too narrow.
+The only place that could be found was under the _charmille_ on the
+terrace, where stood a grove of old platane trees.
+
+Prince Metternich was, of course, the moving spirit, and undertook to
+manage everything. He and d'Espeuilles got a meter measure and measured
+off the distances with great care and precision before placing the
+wickets. This took a long time. Then he distributed the mallets and the
+corresponding balls to each person, and we stood in front of our weapons
+ready to commence. Prince Metternich was so long and particular about
+telling the rules that he succeeded only in confusing all the beginners.
+
+The Empress was to play with the Prince Metternich, the Marquis de
+Gallifet with the Princess Metternich. The Emperor was to play with the
+Marquise de Gallifet, Monsieur d'Espeuilles was to play with me:--eight
+people in all! Nothing is so dreadful as a game of croquet with people
+four of whom are beginners.
+
+The Empress was the first to play; her ball was placed so near the wicket
+that nothing short of genius could have prevented her from going through,
+which she did with great triumph; her next stroke went far beyond, and she
+worried it back by a succession of several pushing knocks into its
+position. No one made any remarks. Then the Emperor made a timid stroke,
+which gently turned the ball over. Prince Metternich remarked that he (the
+Emperor) should hit harder, at which his Majesty gave such a whack to his
+ball that it flew into the next county.
+
+"Never mind," said Prince Metternich, and put another ball in front of the
+Emperor's mallet, and somehow it got through the wicket.
+
+Princess Metternich played next, and she was an adept, so all went well
+with her. I came after her, and managed to get his Majesty's ball on its
+way a bit. Tiresome pauses and long explanations followed.
+
+Prince Metternich shouted, trying to rally the players.
+
+"Marquis, where are you?" disturbing the Marquis from a flirtation. "It is
+your turn to play."
+
+"Really; what shall I do?"
+
+"Try to hit this ball."
+
+"_Par exemple!_ Which ball? Where is it? I do not even see it."
+
+"Here it is behind this tree, if you _caramboler_ against the tree you
+might hit it." And in this way it went on until the Emperor, bored to
+death, slowly disappeared and the Empress suddenly discovered that her
+feet were cold and went away, and couples flirtatiously inclined began
+wandering off, and it was nearly dark and tea-time before Prince
+Metternich (who was worn out trying to make people understand or take any
+interest in the game) realized that there were only a few devotees left on
+the battle-field amid damaged trees and chipped balls.
+
+So ended our game of croquet; we felt crushed and crestfallen.
+
+At the Empress's tea, to which we were bidden, we were not spared
+satirical gibes on the subject of our luckless game.
+
+The Marquis de Gallifet, _Officier d'Ordonnance de l'Empereur_, whom
+I sat next to at dinner, is what one might call sarcastic--he actually
+tears people to pieces; he does not leave them with a shred of reputation,
+and what he does not say he implies. He thinks nothing of saying, "He!
+He's an abominable scoundrel. She! She is a shameless coquette!" and so
+forth. He spares no one; nevertheless, he is most amusing, very
+intelligent, and an excellent talker. He told me of his awful experience
+in the war of Mexico. He had been shot in the intestines and left for dead
+on the field of battle. He managed, by creeping and crawling, "_toujours
+tenant mes entrailles dans mon képi_" to reach a peasant's house, where
+the good people took care of him until he was able to be transported to a
+hospital. There he stayed through a dismal year of suffering. In order to
+keep the above-mentioned _entrailles_ in their proper place, the doctors
+covered them with a silver plate. "I had my name engraved on it," he said.
+
+He asked me, "Did you ever hear anything like that?" I tried to fancy how
+any one would look placarded like that, but replied that I had never heard
+of anything quite so awful; but I _had_ heard that every cloud had a
+silver lining. He laughed and said, "I shall call myself a cloud in
+future."
+
+The dinner to-night was very good. I give you the menu:
+
+    Potage tortue clair,
+    Crème de volaille,
+    Brisotins de foie gras,
+    Saumon Napolitain,
+    Filet de boeuf à la moderne,
+    Suprême de perdreaux,
+    Homards à la Parisienne,
+    Gelinottes rôties,
+    Salade,
+    Petits pois à l'Anglaise,
+    Ananas Montmorency,
+    Glaces assorties,
+    Café--Liqueur (both served at the table).
+
+Dinner over, we filed before the _Cent Gardes_ in their shining uniforms
+through the long gallery.
+
+It was earlier than usual when we began to dance; but we were (at least I
+was) interrupted by receiving a message from their Majesties, asking me if
+I would kindly sing something for them. Of course I did not refuse, and we
+adjourned to the music-room, where the Erard piano was.
+
+[Illustration: THE MUSIC HALL--CHÂTEAU DE COMPIÈGNE]
+
+I did not exactly know what to sing; but Prince Metternich soon relieved
+my mind on that score by saying, "Don't bother about singing anything
+serious, and especially _don't_ sing anything classical." The Princess
+Metternich could accompany anything which was not too difficult; therefore
+we thought I had better sing "_Ma mère était bohémienne_," of Massé, which
+I did. I saw directly that this melodramatic music, beautiful as it is,
+did not suit the occasion, for though the gaily attuned audience was
+visibly affected by the phrase, _Et moi j'ai l'âme triste_, they did not
+show more signs of emotion than by making a little dab at their eyes with
+their pocket-handkerchiefs.
+
+The Princess remained at the piano, ready to accompany the other songs I
+had brought, which were of the same character, and I stood by her, trying
+to decide what I should sing next, when the Emperor came up and asked me
+for "Beware!" Charles accompanied that, and I sang it. The Empress asked
+me if I would sing some Spanish songs for her. I sang "Chiquita," which I
+learned with Garcia, and the "_Habañero_." She seemed very pleased, and
+made me many compliments. Then the Emperor begged me for some negro songs,
+and asked me if I knew "Massa's in the Cold, Cold Ground," or "Suwanee
+River," or "Nelly Bly," all of which he remembered having heard in
+America.
+
+I sat down at the piano and commenced with "Suwanee River." I fortunately
+knew the words of that.
+
+(Oh, Delsarte! what would you have said had you seen your pupil singing
+this claptrap music before your sovereigns and their most distinguished
+guests?)
+
+Delsarte says that one can force the tears into one's eyes, one can make
+one's lips tremble, one can express the most harrowing emotions in one's
+voice, and not sing more than "do, re, mi, fa." I tried to profit by his
+teachings, and brought them to bear upon the pathetic words of "Oh,
+darkies, how my heart grows weary," and I could see that both their
+Majesties were deeply moved. I sang the word "weary" with such pathos that
+every one was more or less affected, and the phrase, "All the world is
+dark and dreary," I rendered in the most heart-broken tones.
+
+I was sorry that I could not remember the words of "Massa's in the Cold,
+Cold Ground," as the Emperor wanted it; but I could not. I knew the music
+of "Nelly Bly," but had never known the words, so I tried to improvise
+some; but it was impossible for me to think of more than two words which
+rhymed with "Bly," and those were "sly" and "eye."
+
+With shameful _aplomb_ I sang these senseless words:
+
+  Nelly Bly wipes her eye,
+   On her little frock,
+  Nelly Bly, Nelly Bly,
+   Dick a dick a dock.
+
+Happily the Emperor did not notice anything wrong, and was delighted to
+hear those old songs again, and thanked me repeatedly.
+
+Once seated at the piano, I was not allowed to leave it until my
+_répertoire_ of music of this character had been exhausted.
+
+This brought the evening to a close.
+
+Tea was served; their Majesties withdrew, and I fled to my apartment
+feeling that metaphorically I was covered with laurels.
+
+
+_November 28th._
+
+DEAR A.,--To-day I was very high up, _'way up in the clouds_, for I sat
+next to the Emperor.
+
+Davilliers, one of the chamberlains, gave me his arm and conducted me to
+my place. The Emperor's first words were:
+
+"I can't thank you enough for the pleasure you gave us last evening."
+
+I tried to express my pleasure at these kind words.
+
+"Did you see how we were affected when you sang 'Suwanee River'? I thought
+to laugh, instead of which I cried; how could you make it so pathetic?"
+
+"That is my teacher's art," I replied.
+
+"Who is your teacher?"
+
+"Monsieur Delsarte. Your Majesty has perhaps heard of him?"
+
+"No," answered the Emperor. "I have never heard of him. Is he a great
+singer?"
+
+"He cannot sing at all, your Majesty; but he has wonderful theories which
+go to prove that one does not need any voice at all to sing; one only
+needs features to express one's emotions."
+
+"He must be wonderful," the Emperor remarked.
+
+"He is, your Majesty, and quite unique in his way. He says, for instance,
+when he sings, 'J'ai du bon tabac dans ma tabatière,' and comes to 'Tu
+n'en auras pas,' he can make people shed bitter tears, as though it were
+too much to bear."
+
+"His tobacco must be very good?" laughed the Emperor.
+
+"It is the worst thing of its kind, your Majesty, one can imagine," I
+answered.
+
+"Is it perhaps Caporal?" said he, with a merry twinkle in his eye.
+
+"I don't know anything about military grades, but, if there were anything
+lower than a Caporal I should say it was the name of his tobacco."
+
+"Well," he said, "if he taught you to sing as you sing, _il mérite de la
+patrie._"
+
+The Emperor was perfectly delightful, witty, amusing, and laughing
+continually, with such a keen appreciation he seemed really to enjoy
+himself.
+
+As the programme in our room this morning read, _chasse à courre_, on
+went the green dress for the second time, and, of course, the button. The
+Duchess de Fernan Nuñez asked me to drive with her, which I was happy to
+do, as I like her very much. We sat on the front seat, so as to have the
+best view of the proceedings.
+
+The Emperor and Empress were on horseback; all the gentlemen were in red
+coats, white breeches, top-boots, and velvet caps, which made them look
+very picturesque.
+
+The rendezvous was at the Carrefour l'Étoile, and when we arrived the
+hunters and equipage, with the _piqueurs_ and the _chasseurs_ from the
+neighborhood, who belonged to the Imperial Hunt, were already there.
+
+The Imperial _équipage de chasse_ is composed of ten _piqueurs, valets de
+chien, valets à pieds, valets à cheval_, and _valets de limiers_, and one
+hundred English hounds. The hounds are trained by the use of drags, which
+are, as perhaps you know, bundles of something saturated in blood, which
+the horses drag and the scent of which the hounds follow. The carriages
+were drawn up on the side of the road to wait until their Majesties
+appeared.
+
+The ladies dressed in rich furs and velvets, the riders in brilliant red
+coats on prancing horses, the attendant grooms, the _piqueurs_ in their
+gay liveries, green and gold with green-velvet jockey caps, made a
+wonderful spectacle. The day was superb, the sun shone brilliantly through
+the autumn foliage, the hazy distances were of a tender hue, and
+everything had an exquisite tint. Never shall I forget it!
+
+Unfortunately our coachman neglected to follow the other carriages, and we
+drove about a long time before we discovered that we were on the wrong
+road, and then he became quite bewildered and seemed to lose his head
+completely.
+
+After driving from one cross-road to another, we at last chanced upon
+Monsieur de Bourgogne, who told us that he was just in advance of their
+Majesties, and that they would be there presently. He said that we had
+better wait where we were, as the stag would probably pass by that way.
+
+It seemed as if, in fact, we must be near, as we could hear the dogs
+yelping and the horns sounding (they call it "hallali"). Count de Grammont
+rode up to us and said we had better follow him, as we would then soon
+come in sight of the hunters. Despite all these contradictory advices, our
+coachman managed to arrive on the scene of action just in time for us to
+see the poor stag, who had taken to the water for dear life (they call it
+_bat l'eau_), and the dogs in a frenzy of excitement barking furiously and
+plunging after him.
+
+We could not see _all_ that happened, thank heaven! as our carriage was
+behind the whole assembled crowd.
+
+With my tenderness toward all animals, my heart ached for the poor beast,
+and I hoped sincerely that he would escape his cruel pursuers. I could not
+see any pleasure or excitement in watching this painful spectacle, and was
+glad when the time came to turn our backs on the whole thing and return to
+the château.
+
+At the Empress's tea no one talked of anything else but the events of the
+afternoon. I pretended that I had seen it all, even to the very end.
+Princess Ghika, beaming all over with joy, was given the foot, as she was
+in at the death.
+
+Count de l'Aigle took me in to dinner. He is one of the neighbors, not one
+of the guests; but, as he belongs to the Imperial Hunt, he is always
+invited to this dinner.
+
+The Empress looked superb in a brown tulle over satin, looped up with
+brooches of diamonds. She had had a diamond crescent in her hair like
+Diana. The Marquise de Gallifet was lovely in light-green tulle, with an
+aigret of diamonds in her blond hair.
+
+The table was arranged most appropriately for the occasion, decorated by
+the whole _biscuit de Sèvres service de chasse_. Every one seemed gay
+and stimulated by the excitement of the day.
+
+When the usual after-dinner ceremonies and the _cercle_ in the salon were
+terminated, the Grand Chamberlain announced to his Majesty that all was
+ready for the _curée_, which was awaiting his permission to begin.
+
+The Emperor and the Empress led the way into the long gallery, which
+overlooks the _cour d'honneur_. We ladies had provided ourselves with
+wraps and shawls, as we knew we should need them either on the balcony or
+at the windows of the gallery, of which there are about twenty.
+
+The Empress braved the weather and stood out on the balcony with the
+Emperor, well wrapped in furs, for the night was cold; and the gentlemen,
+not finding sufficient room, went below and stood on the steps of the
+"Perron," which gives on to the courtyard.
+
+All the lackeys, valets, grooms, in fact, all the household servants,
+formed a large circle in the enormous _cour d'honneur_ opposite the
+Imperial balcony, all bearing flaming torches made of tar, which lighted
+up the whole place. Behind these stood the populace of Compiègne, who are
+allowed to be present on these occasions.
+
+At the farther side of the courtyard, and directly opposite their
+Majesties, the chief huntsman held up the skin of the stag, which
+contained the entrails, waving it backward and forward, in order to excite
+the hounds. The _piqueurs_ stood in front of the "Perron," holding the
+dogs back with great difficulty, for they were struggling to get loose,
+and yelping in their eagerness and greediness to rush forward.
+
+As the _chasseur_ waved the skin, the _piqueurs_ let the hounds loose, and
+when they were half-way across the court, approaching the object of their
+desire, the _piqueurs_ called them back, in order to show how well
+disciplined and under what complete control they were.
+
+The tantalizing of the poor animals was repeated several times. At last
+the fanfare was sounded, and the hounds were allowed to rush forward midst
+the tooting of horns, the cracking of whips, and the cries and shouts of
+the crowd. The torches were waved high in the air, giving a weird light to
+the whole scene, and the entrails at last were thrown to the dogs, and
+before you could say "Jack Robinson" everything was devoured. You can
+picture to yourself what a unique and fantastic sight this must have been!
+
+It was eleven o'clock when we returned to the salon, where tea and
+refreshments were served. Those returning to Paris took leave of their
+Majesties and drove to the station, where the special Imperial train
+provided for them was waiting.
+
+Later their Majesties took leave of us.
+
+We lingered a little, as it was our last evening.
+
+On returning to my apartment, I saw on my table a package, on which was
+written, _De la part de l'Empereur_. You can imagine how eager I was to
+open it. Those magic words brought untold visions before my eyes. What
+might it not be?
+
+I opened the package feverishly, and what was my surprise and
+_disappointment_ to find a rather ordinary-looking _tabatière_ and a
+package of tobacco, written on it, _Du bon tabac pour le maître de chant
+de Madame Moulton_.
+
+Was it not a cruel blow?
+
+
+_November 30th._
+
+Here we are again in Paris, glad to be at home after our gay week in
+Compiègne, charming and delightful as it was; there is always great
+fatigue and tension attending such visits. To-day I luxuriate in one
+dress; no changing five times a day. I allowed my maid to go out for the
+day, and we are going to dine at a restaurant.... What a contrast! It
+seems as if I had been away a month!
+
+Before we left Compiègne yesterday, when we were taking our morning tea,
+we were interrupted by the coming in of the majordomo, who handed us a
+paper. We were not unprepared for this visit, as we had been told by one
+of the guests, who had been here before, that every one was expected to
+remain in their rooms until this important personage had made his rounds,
+in order to collect the _pourboire_. I say THE _pourboire_, because what
+one generally gives separately is lumped into one sum. This paper, which
+he handed to us almost at the point of his _hallebarde_, proved to be a
+_già scritto_ receipt for six hundred francs--our _pourboire!_
+
+During breakfast yesterday the Emperor took up his glass, and, looking at
+me across the table, drank my health. Among the guests there was a great
+deal of health-drinking.
+
+Gustave Doré had made some very clever caricatures of some events which he
+had drawn beautifully and touched off with aquarelle, as he alone could do
+it. The little album was passed stealthily from hand to hand under the
+shelter of the table, with the strictest injunctions not to let any one
+see it except your _immediate_ neighbor! With these injunctions it managed
+to travel about half-way down the table.
+
+He had made a lovely sketch of her Majesty driving a chariot like the
+"Aurora" in the Rospigliosi Gallery, and had depicted the Emperor seated
+on an enormous white horse, leading a charge of cavalry, his arm uplifted.
+
+The Princess Metternich was represented as the coachman in the charade,
+hat on one side, pipe in her mouth, and looking very _débonnaire_. Prince
+Metternich was shown standing in the middle of an arena, in full
+diplomatic uniform, with masses of decorations and _cordons_. He had a
+long whip, such as are used in circuses, and men and women (meaning us,
+I suppose) capering around doing their tricks.
+
+The sketch of Madame de Persigny was very funny. A mass of tulle
+petticoats, in the midst of which two little feet in the air, and a crown
+rolling away in the distance.
+
+The picture he made of me was the mechanical doll, ribbons floating all
+about, and on every turn of the ribbons was written "Beware!"
+
+The diplomat's shoe was not forgotten. There was a table a mile long, and
+at the very end of it a little shoe seen underneath.
+
+We were in our traveling costumes, and on our return to the salon their
+Majesties went about saying pleasant and gracious things to every one.
+They hoped we would remember our visit with as much pleasure as they
+would, etc.
+
+There was a greater animation than usual, and less ceremony; people talked
+louder and with less restraint; every one bade good-by to the ladies and
+gentlemen of the Household who remained. The Empress gave her hand to be
+kissed by the gentlemen (some of them, not all), kissed some ladies, and
+shook hands with others.
+
+When their Majesties were ready to dismiss us they bowed, and we all
+departed to get our hats and wraps,
+
+I gave a lingering look at the lovely rooms I was leaving, which were now
+devoid of our trunks and little personal trinkets, nodded a farewell to
+our particular valet, who was probably thinking already of our successors,
+descended _l'Escalier d'honneur_, and passed through the beautiful
+_Galerie des Gardes_ to the colonnades, where the _chars-à-bancs_ were
+ready waiting to carry us to the station. We were a rather subdued party
+in the train; the conversation mostly turned on the subject of
+_pourboires_. The _huissier_ decides the exact amount that each ought to
+give. For instance, he knows an ambassador ought to give two thousand
+francs. For a minister of state one thousand francs suffices. Unofficial
+people like ourselves cannot be expected to be out of pocket more than six
+hundred francs. As for the poor nobility of France, they escape with five
+hundred!
+
+Some were of opinion that it was pleasanter to give _en masse_, in one big
+sum, than to give in driblets; others thought it more satisfactory to hand
+one's offering personally to the different servants; but we all, with one
+voice, voted the officious beadle an imposition.
+
+The daily expenses of Compiègne, so the _Gouverneur de la Maison_ told us,
+and he ought to know, are not less than ten thousand francs a day, and
+there are more than nine hundred people living in the Palace at a time, to
+be fed and warmed.
+
+To-day, at five o'clock, the fourth _série_ will come; it is called _la
+série des oubliés_, as ours was called _la série élégante_. The first is
+called _la série obligatoire_, the second _les ennuyeux_.
+
+We found our carriage at the station. Our simple coupé seemed a great
+come-down from the beautiful carriages we had been driving in, and good
+Louis and the footman, in their quiet liveries, seemed in fierce contrast
+to the gorgeous creatures we had been familiar with so lately.
+
+The family is at Petit Val, and we remain there quietly until January.
+
+We found among our belongings an enormous _bourriche_, containing a
+quantity of game, hares, pheasants, and so forth.
+
+Good night! I am tired.
+
+
+PARIS, _1867._
+
+DEAR M.,--You will have heard so much about the Exposition, that I cannot
+tell you anything new. It is now in full swing, and I think it is
+magnificent. Of course I cannot compare it to any other, as it is the only
+one that I have ever seen.
+
+I have a season ticket (costing one hundred francs) containing my
+photograph and my autograph; therefore no one but myself can use it. The
+Exposition building is round, and the section of one thing goes through
+all the countries; for instance, art, which seems to be the smallest
+thing, is in the inner circle. If you only want to study one particular
+industry you go round the circle; but if you want to study a country you
+go down a section. The outer circle is for machinery, and outside in the
+grounds, in front of the different countries, are the cafés belonging to
+them. Here you can listen to the different national musics, and see the
+different national types and costumes, and eat the different national
+foods. We go almost every day, and it is always a delight. You can see the
+whole art of cutting diamonds, from the gravel in which they are found to
+their final polish. The villa of the Bey of Tunis, a Buddhist temple, a
+Viennese bakery, where people flock to taste the delicious rolls hot from
+the oven, and where Hungarian bands of highly colored handsome zitherists
+play from morning till night, and a hundred other attractions, make the
+Exposition a complete success. You pass from one lovely thing to the
+other. The gardens are laid through avenues of trees and shrubs, where
+fountains play, and beds of flowers and bouquets of plants are arranged
+with the most artistic taste. All these wonders will in six months' time
+be reduced to the level and monotony of the Champ de Mars. One can't
+believe that these large horse-chestnut trees in full bloom are only
+temporary visitors, like the people.
+
+The Prince Oscar of Sweden (he will one day be the King) came often to the
+Exposition, and went about with us. He was very much interested in
+everything he saw, especially in the American Steinway pianos. He sent me
+several times some of the famous punch they make in Sweden, also some
+silver brooches which the Swedish peasants wear. He has a _bateau mouche_,
+in which he takes his friends up and down the Seine. The Princess Mathilde
+and Madame de Gallifet were of the party last Monday. We _mouched_ as far
+as Boulogne, where Baron James Rothschild has a charming place called
+Bagatelle, which the Prince wanted very much to see.
+
+We got out of the boat and walked up to the entrance of the park; but the
+porter refused, in spite of all pleadings, to let us in, and was almost
+rude until Monsieur Dué mentioned the name of the illustrious visitor;
+then the gates were thrown wide open, and we walked in and all over the
+place. The porter, becoming most humble and servile, offered to escort us
+over the house, and even asked us to take tea; but we did not succumb to
+either of these temptations.
+
+There are so many kings and sovereigns here: the Emperor of Russia, who is
+very handsome and stately; the King of Prussia, who is accompanied by the
+colossal Count Bismarck, very noticeable in his dazzling white uniform,
+and wearing a shining helmet with an enormous spread eagle on top of it,
+which made him tower still more above ordinary mortals, and reminded me of
+all the mythological heroes I knew of. He clanked his sword on the
+pavement, quite indifferent to the stare of wondering Frenchmen, and was
+followed by several other tall Germans, who regarded everything _de haut
+en bas_ with Teutonic phlegm. The Prince of Italy (Umberto) looks rather
+small by the side of these German giants. The Khedive of Egypt, the Shah
+of Persia, the ex-Queen of Spain, and other sovereigns are flitting
+about.
+
+The Baron James Rothschild invited us to go to Ferrière's with Prince
+Oscar of Sweden. That was very amusing! We had a special train from Paris
+and Rothschild's special car; when we arrived at Ferrière's we first had
+refreshments, then we walked in the grounds till it was time to dress for
+dinner. We met before dining in the enormous salon in the center of the
+château. This salon is two stories high, with a gallery around it, and was
+so large that a billiard-table in one corner seemed too small to be
+noticed, and the concert-grand piano standing at the other end looked
+insignificant. The dining-table was beautifully decorated with garlands of
+roses and a whole collection of antique goblets, worth a fortune. There
+were huge bouquets of roses for the ladies, almost too big to carry.
+
+Prince Oscar's brother had once written a very pretty song, called "I
+Rosens duft," which some one had arranged as a duet, and the Prince wanted
+me to sing it with him (he had thoughtfully brought the music). All
+through dinner he was teaching me the Swedish words, so that we could sing
+it afterward. He was so intent (and so was I) that every one, I am sure,
+thought we were having a tremendous flirtation, as they saw our heads
+almost touching when he was writing the words on the menu. He also wrote a
+poem to me (which I inclose), which he said he composed on the spot. How
+can he be so clever?
+
+  PRINCE OSCAR'S POEM
+
+  WRITTEN AT THE DINNER-TABLE AT LAFERRIÈRE'S 1867
+
+  Din sång, hur skön, hur underbar!
+  En balsamdoft på dina läppar hvila,
+  En välljudsström från ditt hjarta ila,
+  Vill mana fram ur verldens haf ett svar:
+  Din sång, hur skön, hur underbar!
+
+  Din ton, hur stark, hur ljuf, hur ren!
+  En altareld som ingen flägt få störa,
+  Och dock en storm som sjalens djup kan röra,
+  En glod som smalta kan "de visas sten":
+  Så är din ton--så stark, så ren.
+
+  Sjung mer, sjung mer, det här så godt
+  En stund få glämma verldens hvimmel
+  Och lyss till samklang ur en öppnad himmel,
+  Om ock för en minut i drömma blott:
+  Sjung mer, sjung mer, det gör mit hjärta godt.
+
+(Translated literally)
+
+  Your voice, how beautiful, how wonderful!
+  A perfume of balsam rests on your lips,
+  A torrent of melody rushes from your heart,
+  That can only be echoed by the world's ocean:
+  Your voice, how beautiful, how wonderful!
+
+  Your voice, how full of power, how enchanting and pure!
+  A sacred fire which no breeze can trouble,
+  And yet a tempest that stirs the very soul,
+  A glowing flame which can melt the philosopher's stone:
+  Such is your voice--so powerful, so pure.
+
+  Sing more, sing more, it is so good
+  For one moment to forget the tumult of this world
+  And listen to the harmony of a heaven unveiled,
+  And if only for a moment to dream:
+  Sing more, sing more, it makes my heart rejoice.
+
+We sang the duet after dinner with such success that we had to repeat it.
+Before our departure there was a grand display of fireworks: O's appeared
+in every dimension and design, and a blaze of fire and Bengal lights in
+rapid succession kept us in a continual state of admiration.
+
+I received a little note from Jenny Lind. She is in Paris, and wished to
+know when she could come to see me. I wrote to her directly that I would
+let Monsieur Auber know, and he would probably come at four o'clock (his
+usual hour). Therefore, it all came about. Jenny Lind came, so did Auber.
+The meeting was a pleasure to them both. They talked music, art, told many
+anecdotes of celebrated acquaintances: Alboni, Nilsson, Patti, etc. He had
+brought some of his music with him, and Jenny Lind and I sang the duo of
+his latest opera "Le Premier Jour de Bonheur." He consulted me as to
+whether he might dare to ask her to dine with him, with a few congenial
+spirits. I said I was sure she would be enchanted to do so, which she was.
+
+As to the congenial spirits, Auber suggested the Metternichs, Gounod, Duke
+de Massa, and ourselves, making ten in all.
+
+No one refused, and we had the most delightful dinner. The Princess
+proposed to Auber to give his arm to Jenny Lind, and to put her at his
+right hand, _la place d'honneur_, adding, with her most ironical smile,
+"le génie avant la beauté." Auber made a charming host, telling one funny
+anecdote after the other in his quiet and typical manner. Gounod, in his
+low and drawly voice, said: "Vous nous donnez, mon cher Auber, des choses
+par trop ennuyeuses aux concerts du Conservatoire. A la pensée des
+'Quatre saisons' de Haydn je m'endors. Pourquoi ne s'est-il pas contenté
+d'une saison?" Princess Metternich replied, "Que probablement en les
+composant Haydn s'est mis en quatre." "La moitié m'aurait suffi," said
+Auber; "pour moi, elles sont toutes _mon automne_." (monotone).
+
+When we returned to the salon we discreetly waited for the promised song.
+
+Suddenly Jenny Lind jumped up, saying, "Shall I sing something?"
+
+Of course, every one was wild to hear her. She went to the piano and
+accompanied herself in "Qui la voce," of "I Puritani." We were all
+enchanted, clapping our hands with enthusiasm. Then Gounod played and
+sang, or rather hummed, a new song of his, saying to Jenny Lind, when he
+took his place at the piano, "I am not worthy to succeed you."
+
+We thought him much too modest.
+
+He _hummed_ deliriously!
+
+They asked me to sing, and, though I really hated to sing after these
+great artists, I did so to please Auber, who accompanied me in "Los
+Djins," of which he is very proud, because it has the same bass all the
+way through. How little it takes to please genius!
+
+After this Jenny Lind and I performed the duo from "Le Premier Jour de
+Bonheur" we had practised at my house. She put her arm around my waist
+while we were singing, as if we were two school-girls.
+
+Prince Metternich played one of his brilliant Austrian waltzes, which was
+so bewildering that if any man had dared to put his arm round Jenny Lind's
+matronly waist I am sure she would have skipped off in the dance.
+
+For _la bonne bouche_ she gave us a Swedish peasant song, which was simply
+bewitching. Her high notes were exquisitely pure, the lower ones I thought
+weak; but that might have been owing to the good dinner she had eaten--at
+least she said so.
+
+There is a musical phenomenon here just now in the shape of an American
+negro; he is blind and idiotic, but has a most extraordinary intelligence
+for music. All his senses seem to have been concentrated in this one
+sense. Prince and Princess Metternich, Auber, and ourselves went to his
+concert. Auber said, "Cet idiot, noir et aveugle, est vraiment
+merveilleux." Blind Tom had learned his _répertoire_ entirely by ear;
+therefore it was very limited, as he could only remember what he had heard
+played a few days before. His memory did not last long. He was wonderful.
+Not only could he execute well, but he could imitate any one's mannerisms
+and their way of playing. The impresario came forward, saying, "I am told
+that Monsieur Auber is in the audience. May I dare to ask him to come up
+and play something?" Auber said he thought he should die of fright. We all
+urged him, for the curiosity of the thing, to play something of his new
+opera, which no one as yet had heard, therefore no one could have known
+it.
+
+Auber mounted the platform, amid the enthusiastic applause of the
+audience, and performed his solo. Then Blind Tom sat down and played it
+after him so accurately, with the same staccato, old-fashioned touch of
+Auber, that no one could have told whether Auber was still at the piano.
+Auber returned and bowed to the wildly excited public and to us. He said,
+"This is my first appearance as a pianist, and my last."
+
+Prince Metternich, inspired by Auber's pluck, followed his example, and
+mounting the stage rattled off one of his _own fiery_, dashing waltzes,
+which Blind Tom repeated in the Prince's particular manner. After the
+concert we went into the artist's room to speak with the impresario, and
+found poor Tom banging his head against the wall like the idiot he was.
+Auber remarked, "C'est humiliant pour nous autres."
+
+
+PARIS, _June, 1867._
+
+DEAR M.,--The famous pianist Liszt, the new Abbé, is pervading Paris just
+now, and is, I think, very pleased to be a priestly lion, taking his
+success as a matter of course. There are a succession of dinners in his
+honor, where he does ample honor to the food, and is in no way bashful
+about his appetite.
+
+He does a great deal of beaming, he has (as some one said) "so much
+countenance."
+
+He dined with us the other night, the Metternichs, and twenty-five other
+people, among whom were Auber and Massenet.
+
+In the boudoir, before dinner, he spied a manuscript which Auber had
+brought that afternoon. He took it up, looked at it, and said, "C'est très
+joli!" and laid it down again. When we went in to dinner, and after his
+cigar in the conservatory (he is a great smoker), he went to the piano and
+played the "_joli_" little thing of Auber's. Was that not wonderful,
+that he could remember it all the time during the dinner? He seemed only
+to have glanced at it, and yet he could play it like that off from memory.
+He is so kind and good, especially to struggling artists, trying to help
+them in every way. He seemed extraordinarily amiable that evening, for he
+sat down at the piano without being asked and played a great many of his
+compositions--quite an unusual thing for him to do! One has generally to
+tease and beg him, and then he refuses. But I think, when he heard
+Massenet improvising at one of the pianos he was inspired, and he put
+himself at the other (we have two grand pianos), and they played divinely,
+both of them improvising. He is by far the finest pianist I have ever
+heard, and has a very seductive way of looking at you while playing, as if
+he was only playing for you, and when he smiles you simply go to pieces. I
+don't wonder he is such a lady-killer, and that no woman can resist him;
+even my father-in-law stayed in the salon, being completely hypnotized by
+Liszt, who ought to consider this as one of his greatest triumphs, if he
+only knew.
+
+I sang some of Massenet's songs, accompanied, of course, by Massenet.
+Liszt was most attentive and most enthusiastic. He said Massenet had a
+great future, and he complimented me on my singing, especially my phrasing
+and expression.
+
+I wonder if the story be true that he was engaged to be married to
+Princess Wittgenstein, and on the day of the wedding, when the bridal-
+dress was ready to be put on, she got a letter from her fiancé (can any
+one imagine Liszt as a fiancé) saying that he had taken holy orders that
+very morning.
+
+They say that she bore it very well and wrote a sweet letter to him. It
+sounds rather unnatural; but one can believe anything from a person who
+was under Liszt's influence. He has the most wonderful magnetism. His
+appearance is certainly original as you see him in his _soutane_, his
+long hair, and his numerous moles, that stand out in profile, whichever
+way he turns his broad face.
+
+But one forgets everything when one hears him play. He is now fifty-five
+years old. I invited him to go to the Conservatoire with me in the box
+which Auber had given me for last Sunday's concert. I inclose his letter
+of acceptance. (See page 164.)
+
+Auber often gives me his box, which holds six people, and I have the
+pleasure of making four people happy. Auber sits in the back and generally
+dozes. We are all crowded together like sardines. Auber, being the
+director of the Conservatoire, has, of course, the best box, except the
+Imperial one, which is always empty.
+
+The orchestra played Wagner's overture to "Tannhäuser." The applause was
+not as enthusiastic as Liszt thought it ought to be, so he stood up in the
+box, and with his great hands clapped so violently that the whole audience
+turned toward him, and, recognizing him (indeed, it would have been
+difficult not to recognize him, such a striking figure as he is), began
+clapping their hands for him. He cried, "Bis!" And the audience in chorus
+shouted, "Bis!" And the orchestra repeated the whole overture. Then the
+audience turned again to Liszt and screamed, "Vive Liszt!"
+
+[Illustration: FAC-SIMILE OF LISZT LETTER
+
+Madame,
+
+Permettez-moi de venir vous remercier demain au Conservatoire de votre
+gracieuse invitation dont je serai charmé de profiter.
+
+Mille respectueux hommages,
+
+F. Listz
+
+Dimanche matin.]
+
+Auber said such a thing had never been seen or heard before in the annals
+of these severe and classical concerts. People quite lost their heads, and
+Auber, being afraid that there would be a demonstration at the _sortie_,
+advised us to leave before the end.
+
+I think Liszt was very pleased with his afternoon.
+
+The sovereigns are working themselves to death, and almost killing their
+attendants. Prince Radzivill said, speaking of the King of Prussia: "I
+would have liked him better if he had stayed at home. He has to be ready
+every morning at half-past eight, and is often up till three in the
+morning." Radzivill and the others not only have to go to all the balls,
+but they must attend all the various civil, military, and charitable
+functions, and then the Exposition takes a lot of time and energy.
+
+Prince Umberto is here from Italy. When Princess Metternich asked him how
+long he was going to stay he answered, with a toss of his head toward
+Italy, "Cela dépend des circonstances. Les affaires vont très mal là-bas."
+
+Aunt M---- says she wishes you had been at a matinée which Baroness
+Nathaniel Rothschild gave this afternoon at her beautiful new palace in
+the Faubourg St.-Honoré. At the entrance there were ten servants in
+gorgeous livery, and a _huissier_ who rattled his mace down on the
+pavement as each guest passed. There was, besides all the élite of Paris,
+an Archduke of Austria. I sang the "Ave Maria" of Gounod, accompanied by
+Madame Norman Neruda, an Austrian violiniste, the best woman violinist in
+the world. Baroness Rothschild played the piano part.
+
+
+PARIS, _May 29, 1867._
+
+DEAR M.,--The Metternichs' big ball last night was a splendid affair, the
+finest of the many fine balls. We were invited for ten o'clock, and about
+half-past ten every one was there.
+
+The Emperor and Empress came at eleven o'clock. Waldteufel, with full
+orchestra, was already playing in the ballroom of the embassy, which was
+beautifully decorated. At twelve o'clock the doors, or rather all the
+windows that had been made into doors, were opened into the new ballroom,
+which the Princess Metternich, with her wonderful taste and the help of
+Monsieur Alphand, had constructed in the garden, and which had transformed
+the embassy into a thousand-and-one-nights' palace.
+
+The ballroom was a marvel; the walls were hung with lilac and pink satin,
+and the immense chandelier was one mass of candles and flowers; from each
+panel in the room there were suspended baskets of flowers and plants, and
+between the panels were mirrors which reflected the thousands of candles.
+
+One would never have recognized the garden; it was transformed into a
+green glade; all the paths were covered with fresh grass sod, making it
+look like a vast lawn; clusters of plants and palms seemed to be growing
+everywhere, as if native to the soil; flower-beds by the hundreds;
+mysterious grottos loomed out of the background, and wonderful vistas with
+a cleverly painted perspective. At the same moment that their Majesties
+entered this wonderful ballroom, which no one had dreamed of, the famous
+Johann Strauss, brought from Vienna especially for this occasion, stood
+waiting with uplifted baton and struck up the "Blue Danube," heard for the
+first time in Paris.
+
+When their Majesties approached the huge plate-glass window opening into
+the garden a full-fledged cascade fell over the stucco rocks, and powerful
+Bengal lights, red and green, made a most magical effect: the water looked
+like a torrent of fiery lava _en miniature_. It was thrilling.
+
+No one thought of dancing; every one wanted to listen to the waltz. And
+how Strauss played it!... With what fire and _entrain!_ We had thought
+Waldteufel perfect; but when you heard Strauss you said to yourself you
+had never heard a waltz before. The musicians were partly hidden by
+gigantic palmettos, plants, and pots of flowers arranged in the most
+attractive way. But he!--Johann Strauss!--stood well in front, looking
+very handsome, very Austrian, and very pleased with himself.
+
+Then came the _quadrille d'honneur_. The Emperor danced with the Queen of
+Belgium, the Crown Prince of Prussia with the Empress, the King of Belgium
+with the Princess Mathilde, the Prince Leuchtenberg with the Princess
+Metternich.
+
+The cotillon was led by Count Deym and Count Bergen, and they led it to
+perfection; there was not a hitch anywhere. Every one was animated and
+gay; certainly the music was inspiring enough to have made an Egyptian
+mummy get out of his sarcophagus and caper about. I danced with a German
+_Durchlaucht_, who, though far in the sear and yellow leaf, danced like a
+school-boy, standing for hours with his arm around my waist before
+venturing (he could only start when the tune commenced), counting one--
+two--three under his breath, which made me, his partner, feel like a
+perfect fool. When at last he made up his mind to start nothing short of
+an earthquake could have stopped him. He hunched up his shoulders to his
+ears, arched his leg like a prancing horse, and off we went on our wild
+career, lurching into every couple on the floor, and bumping into all the
+outsiders. When we were not careering together, he sat glued to his chair,
+refusing to dance. If any lady came up with a favor he would say, "I am a
+little out of breath; I will come and fetch you later." And then he would
+put the favor in his pocket and never go near her. He seized everything in
+the way of favors that came his way; some he gave to me, and the rest he
+took home to his small children.
+
+I was glad, all the same, to have him for a partner, as, being a
+_Durchlaucht_, he was entitled to a seat in the front row, and I preferred
+prancing about with my _hochgeboren_ high-stepper to having to take a back
+seat in the third row with a minor _geboren_. After my partner and I had
+bounded about and butted into every living thing on the floor I brought
+him to anchor near his chair by clutching his Golden Fleece chain which
+hung around his neck. I felt like singing Tennyson's "Home I brought my
+warrior (half) dead." He was puffing and blowing, the perspiration glazing
+his face, his yellow hair matted on his forehead, and his mustaches all
+out of kilter.
+
+I really felt sorry for him, and wondered why he exerted himself so much,
+when he could have been quietly seated watching others, or, better still,
+at home in bed.
+
+The supper was served at one o'clock. Their Majesties the King and Queen
+of Belgium, Prince Alfred, the Prince and Princess of Prussia, the Prince
+of Saxe-Weimar, and all the other _gros bonnets_--too many to write about
+--went up-stairs through an avenue of plants and palms to a salon arranged
+especially for them where there were two large tables. The Emperor
+presided at one and the Empress at the other. Besides the _salle à manger_
+and some smaller salons, two enormous tents were put up in the garden,
+which contained numerous tables, holding about ten people each, and
+lighted by masses of candles and festooned with bright-colored Chinese
+lanterns. Prince Metternich told me later that the candles were replaced
+three times during the evening.
+
+The favors for the cotillon were very pretty, most of them brought from
+Vienna. One of the prettiest was fans of gray wood with "Ambassade
+d'Autriche, 28th May, 1867," painted in blue forget-me-nots.
+
+We danced "till morning did appear," and it appeared only too soon. The
+cotillon finished at half-past five, and the daylight poured in, making us
+all look ghastly, especially my sear and yellow leaf, whose children must
+have wondered why papa _kam so spät nach hause_.
+
+
+PARIS, _1867._
+
+Last week, in the beautiful palace built by Egypt for the Exposition,
+there was arranged a sort of entertainment for the Viceroy, to which we
+were invited with the Prince and Princess Metternich. This palace is a
+large, square, white building of oriental ornamentation and architecture,
+with a courtyard in the center, where we were received by the Khedive and
+his suite. A fountain was playing in the middle of the courtyard of
+marble, surrounded by palmettos and plants of every description. A band of
+Turkish musicians were seated cross-legged in one of the corners playing
+on their weird instruments, and making what they seemed to think was
+music. We sat in low basket-chairs, our feet resting on the richest of
+oriental rugs, and admired the graceful movements of the dancing-girls,
+who had not more space than an ordinary square rug to dance upon. There
+were also some jugglers, who performed the most marvelous and
+incomprehensible tricks with only an apparently transparent basket, from
+which they produced every imaginable object.
+
+Coffee _à la Turque_ was served in small cups with their silver filigree
+undercup, and Turkish paste flavored with attar of roses, and nauseatingly
+sweet, was passed about, with a glass of water to wash it down. Also
+cigarettes of every description were lavishly strewn on all the little
+tables, and hovering about us all the time were the thin-legged, turbaned
+black menials with baggy silk trousers and bright silk sashes.
+
+Everything was so Oriental that, had I stayed there a little longer, I
+should not have been surprised to see myself sitting cross-legged on a
+divan smoking a _narghile_. I said as much as this to the Khedive, who
+said, in his funny pigeon-French-English, "Alas! Were it so!"
+
+I cast my eyes down and put on my _sainte-ni-touche_ air, which at times I
+can assume, and as I looked at his Highness's dusky suite, who did not
+look over and above immaculate, in spite of the Mussulman's Mussulmania
+for washing, I thanked my stars that it "were not so."
+
+The interpreter who was on duty said to Prince Metternich: "Mussulmans
+drink no wine, nor does the Prophet allow them to eat off silver.
+Therefore, to ease our consciences" (he said, _mettre nos consciences à
+couvert_), "we tell them that the silver plates on which they eat are
+_iron_ plated with silver. They think the forks are also iron, otherwise
+they would eat with their fingers."
+
+The interpreter added that Mussulmans did not think the Parisian
+newspapers very interesting, because they contained so few crimes and no
+murders worth mentioning. What an insight this gives of the condition of
+their country and the tenor of their papers!
+
+We took our leave of the amiable Khedive, who expressed the hope that we
+would soon meet again.
+
+Before his departure from Paris there came a package with the card of one
+of his gentlemen, begging me, _de la part de Monseigneur_, to accept the
+"accompanying souvenir." The package contained two enameled bracelets
+of the finest oriental work in red-and-green, studded with emeralds. He
+sent an equally gorgeous brooch to the Princess Metternich.
+
+
+PARIS, _June, 1867._
+
+DEAR M.,--I must write you about something amusing which happened to-day.
+Prince Oscar was most desirous of seeing Delsarte, having heard him so
+much spoken of. I promised to try to arrange an interview, and wrote to
+Delsarte to ask him to come to meet the Prince at our house. I received
+this characteristic answer, "I have no time to make visits. If his
+Highness will come to see me I shall be pleased," and mentioned a day and
+an hour. Prince Oscar, Monsieur Dué, the Swedish secretary, Mademoiselle
+W----, and I went at the appointed time, mounted Delsarte's tiresome
+stairs, and waited patiently in his salon while he finished a lesson.
+
+Monsieur Dué was very indignant at this _sans-gêne_, and apologized for
+Delsarte's want of courtesy; but the Prince did not mind, and occupied
+himself with looking at Delsarte's old poetry-books and albums.
+
+Finally Delsarte entered and graciously received his royal visitor. The
+Prince was most affable and listened to Delsarte's fantastic theories,
+pretending to be interested in the explanation of the cartoons, and began
+to discuss the art of teaching, which exasperated Delsarte to the verge of
+impoliteness.
+
+Prince Oscar offered to sing a Swedish song, a very simple peasant song,
+which he sang very well, I thought. The Swedish language is lovely for
+singing, almost as good as Italian. We looked for some words of praise;
+but Delsarte, adopting regency manners, which he can on occasions, said,
+in a most insinuating voice: "Your Highness is destined to become a king,
+one of these days. Is it not so?"
+
+"Yes," answered the Prince, wondering what was coming next.
+
+"You will have great responsibilities and a great deal to occupy your
+mind?"
+
+"Without doubt."
+
+"You will not have time to devote yourself to art?"
+
+"I fear not."
+
+"_Eh bien!_" said Delsarte, and we expected pearls to drop from his mouth,
+"_eh bien!_ If ever I am fortunate enough to visit your country, I hope
+you will allow me to pay my most humble respects to you."
+
+"How horribly impolite," said the indignant Monsieur Dué. "He ought to
+have his ears boxed!"
+
+Prince Oscar took it quite kindly, and, giving Delsarte a clap on his back
+which I am sure made his shoulders twinge, said: "You are right; I shall
+have other things to think of. There"--pointing to diagram six on the
+wall, depicting horror, with open mouth and gaping eyes--"is the
+expression I shall have when I think of music and music-teachers."
+
+Delsarte, feeling that he had overstepped the mark, said, "Perhaps, _mon
+Prince_, you will sing something in French for me."
+
+Prince Oscar, drawing himself up his whole six feet and four, glanced down
+at little Delsarte and said, "_Mon cher Monsieur_, have you ever read
+the English poets?"
+
+Delsarte looked unutterable things; I blushed for my teacher.
+
+"When I come again to Paris," the Prince continued, "I will come to see
+you. Adieu!" and left without further ceremony.
+
+We followed him down the slippery stairs in silence.
+
+Prince Oscar thought this little episode a great joke, and repeated it to
+many people.
+
+That same evening there was a _soirée musicale_ given for him by the
+Minister of Foreign Affairs (Marquis de Moustier) The Prince was begged to
+sing, which he did three or four times. Every one was delighted to hear
+the Swedish songs. Ambroise Thomas, who was there, said that he thought
+they were exquisite, especially the peasant song, which he had introduced
+into his new opera of "Hamlet." The Prince and I sang the duet, "I Rosens
+duft." He was the lion of the evening, and I think that he was very
+pleased. I hoped that he had forgotten the unpleasant incident of the
+morning and Delsarte, of whom Monsieur Dué cleverly remarked, "Qui s'y
+frotte s'y pique--."
+
+
+PARIS, _July, 1867._
+
+The distribution of prizes for the Exposition took place last Thursday at
+the Palais de l'Industrie. It was a magnificent affair and a very hot one.
+You may imagine what the heat and glare must have been at two o'clock in
+the afternoon on a hot July day. I was glad that I was not old and
+wrinkled, for every imperfection shone with magnified intensity.
+
+There was a vast platform erected in the middle of the building, which was
+covered with a red carpet, and over which hung an enormous canopy of red
+velvet and curtains of velvet with the eagle of Napoleon. The Emperor and
+Empress sat, of course, in the center, and on each side were the foreign
+sovereigns; behind them were their suites and the Imperial family. The
+diplomatic corps had their places on the right of the tribune.
+
+The gentlemen, splendid in their gala uniforms, were covered with
+decorations, and all the ladies present were _in grande toilette_ and
+low-necked, and displayed every jewel they possessed.
+
+The building, huge as it was, was packed full, every available seat
+occupied.
+
+The Prince Imperial distributed the prizes. He looked very dignified when
+he handed the victors their different medals, accompanying each gift with
+his sweet and winning smile.
+
+When Count Zichy, of Hungary, mounted the steps of the throne to receive
+his medal (he got a prize for his Hungarian wines) there was a general
+murmur of admiration, and I must say that he did look gorgeous in his
+national costume, which is a most striking one. He had on all his famous
+turquoises. His mantle and coat underneath, and everything except his top-
+boots, were encrusted with turquoises, some of them as big as hen's eggs.
+They say, when he appears on a gala occasion in his country, his horse's
+trappings and saddle are covered with turquoises.
+
+The Sultan sat on the right of the Empress. You never saw anything half as
+splendid! A shopful of jewelry could not compare to him. He had a
+_collier_ of pearls which might have made a Cleopatra green with jealousy.
+He had an enormous diamond which held the high aigrette in place on his
+fez and the Great Mogul (I was so told) fastened on his breast. His
+costume was magnificent, and his sabre--which I suppose has cut off a head
+or so--was a blaze of jewels. He was the _point de mire_ of all eyes;
+especially when the rays of the sun caught the rays of his diamonds he
+blazed like the sun itself. The sun did all it could in the way of blazing
+that day. I know that I never felt anything like the heat in that gigantic
+hot-house, the sun pouring through each pane of glass and nothing to
+protect one against it. I felt like an exotic flower unfolding its petals.
+
+It was a very pretty little scene, and I think that every one was
+impressed when the Prince Imperial went toward the King of Holland to hand
+him a medal (probably for Dutch cheese). The tall, stately King rose from
+his seat, and on receiving it bowed deeply with great ceremony. The Prince
+made a respectful and graceful bow in response, then the King stooped down
+and kissed his cheek.
+
+I was tremendously interested when the American exhibitors came forward;
+there were many of them, quite a procession. They looked very
+distinguished in their simple dress-coats, without any decorations. I was
+so glad.
+
+When it was all over it was delightful to get out into the fresh air, even
+if we had to stand and wait patiently about like Mary's little lamb until
+the carriage did appear, for we had either to wait or to worm our way,
+risking horses' tails and hoofs through the surging crowd of bedecked men
+and women, who were all clamoring for their servants and carriages.
+
+The coachmen were swearing and shouting as only French coachmen can do on
+such occasions as this. The line of carriages reached almost the whole way
+down the Champs Élysées. We finally did find ours, and I was glad to seat
+myself in it. I had had the forethought to put my hat and mantle in, as we
+intended to drive out to Petit Val for dinner. I put my hat over my tiara
+and my mantle on my bare shoulders, and enjoyed driving through the shady
+streets.
+
+Prince Metternich came out here the other day, I had not seen him since
+the tragic death of Emperor Maximilian in Mexico. I never would have
+believed that he could be so affected as he seemed to be by this. He cried
+like a baby when he told us of the Emperor's last days, of his courage and
+fortitude. It seems that, just as he was going to be shot, he went to each
+of the men and gave them a twenty-franc gold piece, and said, "I beg you
+to shoot straight at my heart."
+
+How dreadful it must have been!
+
+Prince Metternich was most indignant at Rochefort, and says he can never
+forgive him because, in an article in _La Lanterne_, he called the royal
+martyr "the Archdupe." Auber said:
+
+"You must not forget that Rochefort would rather sell his soul than lose
+an occasion to make a clever remark."
+
+"Yes, I know," moaned the Prince. "But how can one be so cruel?"
+
+"C'est un mauvais drôle," Auber answered (don't think Auber meant that
+Rochefort was droll; on the contrary, this is a neat way that the French
+have of calling a man the _worst kind of a scamp_), and added,
+"Rochefort's brains are made of _pétards_," which is the French for
+firecrackers.
+
+Auber told many anecdotes. I fancy he wanted to cheer Prince Metternich up
+a little. One of them was that, on taking leave of the Emperor, the Shah
+had said:
+
+"Sire, your Paris is wonderful, your palaces splendid, and your horses
+magnificent, but," waving his hand toward the mature but noble _dames
+d'honneur_ with an expression of disapproval, "you must change all
+that." Imagine what their feelings would have been had they heard him.
+
+
+PARIS, _August, 1867._
+
+DEAR M.,--I thought there would be a little rest for me after the
+distribution of prizes and before going to Dinard; but repose is a thing,
+it seems, that I am destined never to get.
+
+Monday morning I received a letter from Princess Metternich saying that
+the Minister of Foreign Affairs had sent her his box for that evening, to
+hear Schneider in "La Belle Hélène," adding that Cora Pearl was to appear
+as Cupidon as an extra attraction, and asked if we would dine with them
+first, and go afterward to the theater.
+
+I could not resist an invitation from these two delightful people,
+therefore we drove into Paris and reached the embassy at half-past six,
+the hour named for dinner.
+
+Prince Metternich told us that he had had a visit in the afternoon from
+Monsieur Dué, the Swedish secretary, who had been on the verge of
+desperation on account of his not having been able to secure a suitable
+box for King Charles XIV. of Sweden, who arrived last night to spend a few
+days here. He wished to see Schneider in "La Belle Hélène." Monsieur Dué
+had gone to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and suggested that the
+Minister offer his box; but that had already been given to the
+Metternichs. When Prince Metternich was informed of this he did not
+hesitate to place the box in question at the King's disposal; but, not to
+disappoint the Princess and me, he had taken an ordinary box opposite. The
+King was already in his _loge_ when we arrived. He is a large, handsome
+man with a full, black beard, and has a very pleasant face.
+
+Between the first and second acts Monsieur Dué came to Prince Metternich
+and told him that the King desired to see him. Of course the Prince went
+directly, and returned delighted with the King's affability, and to our
+great surprise brought us a message from the King, asking us all to come
+to his box and join him, and proposing to send Monsieur Dué and his
+gentleman-in-waiting to take our places in our box.
+
+We accepted with pleasure, and passed the rest of the evening in the
+charming society of the most amiable of kings. He said to me that "Oscar,"
+as he called his brother (Prince Oscar, the hereditary Prince), had spoken
+about me and our singing the duet written by his brother, Prince Gustave,
+and asked how I managed about the Swedish words. I replied that Prince
+Oscar had taught them to me during the dinner preceding the singing.
+
+"Could you understand the words?" he asked.
+
+"No," I replied. "I only know that it was something about London and
+Emma."
+
+The King laughed most heartily, and said, "I shall tell that to Oscar when
+I go home, and he will see how well you profited by his lessons."
+
+We were all immensely amused at Cora Pearl's appearance; it was her debut
+as an actress. I never saw any one look so sheepish as she did, in spite
+of her paint and powder and beautiful legs. She wore high-heeled slippers,
+so high that she could hardly walk, which made her even more awkward than
+she naturally was. She only had a few lines to sing, and this she did so
+badly that people nearly hissed her.
+
+She was evidently engaged as a drawing-card; but the only thing she drew
+was ridicule on herself.
+
+During the second act Lord Lyons came into the box. He had known the King
+before, and, having heard from the Minister of Foreign Affairs that the
+King was at the theater, went there to pay his respects. The King,
+noticing that he had a decoration on, said in French: "Please take that
+off; I am here incognito. To-morrow I shall be official; then you can put
+it on." So Lord Lyons took off his star and put it in his pocket. He
+wanted to go after the second act, but the King said: "Monsieur Dué has
+arranged a supper for us at _La Maison d'Or_. You must come also." Of
+course Lord Lyons did not refuse.
+
+Monsieur Dué left the box in advance of the rest of us, in order to
+arrange everything before the King's arrival. The King called to him, as
+he opened the door, "Don't forget the _écrevisses à la Bordelaise_; I
+have been looking forward to them for a long time."
+
+After the performance, with which the King was delighted (especially with
+Hortense Schneider's song, "Dis-moi, Vénus, pourquoi," etc.), we drove to
+the _Maison d'Or_, where we found Monsieur Dué awaiting us. We asked at
+what time the carriages should come back. He said: "Not before two
+o'clock. His Majesty never retires before." We were then shown into a
+salon, where the Princess Metternich and I were asked by the King to take
+off our hats. "It is so much more cozy," he said. So off our hats came. We
+had not been seated ten minutes when we heard some very loud talking and
+much discussion in the corridor outside. Lord Lyons, who was nearest the
+door, jumped up to see what the matter was, opened the door, and peeped
+out.
+
+"Oh!" said he. "It is the Duke of Brunswick making a row; he is half-seas
+over!" The King turned to Monsieur Dué (the King does not speak English)
+and said, "What did Lord Lyons say?" Monsieur Dué's English did not go
+very far, but he translated into Swedish what he had understood Lord Lyons
+to say.
+
+The King seemed very puzzled and, addressing Lord Lyons, said:
+
+"Was not the Duke of Brunswick obliged to leave England for fear of being
+arrested?" Lord Lyons coughed discreetly, and the King went on: "If I
+remember rightly, the Duke, who was in the royal box, shot at and killed a
+_danseuse_ who was on the stage! And did he not leave England in a
+balloon? It always seemed such an extraordinary thing. Was it true?" Lord
+Lyons cautiously answered that people had said all that; but it was some
+time ago, and added, diplomatically, that he had forgotten all the
+details.
+
+"And I understood," said his Majesty, "that he can never go back there
+again."
+
+"You are right. He cannot go back to England, your Majesty."
+
+"Oh! don't Majesty me. To-night I am a simple bourgeois," the King
+interrupted, smilingly shaking his finger. "But tell me, how can the Duke
+dare return there now?"
+
+"He does not dare," repeated Lord Lyons. "He can _never_ go back."
+
+"But," insisted the King, "my good Monsieur Dué says that he is on his way
+there at this moment."
+
+Lord Lyons replied, "I think Monsieur Dué must be mistaken, for the Duke
+is out there in the corridor making all this [I am sure it was on his lips
+to say "devil of a row," but he politely said] _noise_."
+
+Monsieur Dué then remarked, "Did I not hear you say that he was half way
+across the channel?"
+
+"I certainly did not say _that_. What I did say was that he was 'half-seas
+over' which is a slang expression we use in England instead of saying
+tipsy, or _dans les vignes du Seigneur_, so prettily put by the French."
+
+The King laughed very much at this _quid pro quo_ and, looking at Monsieur
+Dué, said, "I thought your English more up to the mark."
+
+The King was immediately fired with a desire to see the famous Duke who
+had dared to cross the channel in a balloon rather than run the risk of
+being shut up in prison, and we all waited with impatience to see whether
+Lord Lyons's persuasive powers went so far as getting the Duke to show
+himself. Well, they did, and both the gentlemen came into the salon. The
+Duke bowed low and did not lose his balance. In fact, for a man half-seas
+over, I thought he looked as if he could get to the end of his journey
+without disgrace. He said, very politely, "I am afraid I have disturbed
+you, but this is the salon which has always been put aside for me every
+night, and I was surprised to learn that it was occupied."
+
+The Duke is, or rather would have been, a very handsome man if he had not
+such watery eyes and such a weak mouth; and then he wore the funniest-
+looking wig I ever saw. It was made out of black (the blackest) sewing-
+silk and plastered down over his ears. I wonder if it was a disguise, or
+if he thought any one would ever really take it for his own hair.
+
+The King was very nice to him, and did not seem in the least to mind his
+being _dans les vignes_. I fancy, from what Monsieur Dué said, that in
+Sweden people are used to see their friends _always_ in _Seigneurial_
+vineyards--they never see them anywhere else! But he exaggerates, no
+doubt.
+
+The King said to the Duke of Brunswick, "Will you not sup with us to-
+night?"
+
+"I thank your Majesty, but I must crave permission to return, for I have
+some ladies supping with me, including the Cupidon of to-night."
+
+"Tell her," said the King, "if she wears such high heels she will come to
+grief."
+
+"It will not be the first time," answered the Duke, with a laugh. "But
+don't ask me to say anything like that to her; she would box my ears!"
+Seeing the waiter making signs to him, the Duke then made a profound bow
+and, stroking his sewing-silk locks left us.
+
+The universal verdict on him was _Quel crétin!_
+
+We had a very pleasant supper, and a most unceremonious one, as much so as
+is possible where there is royalty.
+
+The King said that he was going to be official all the next day, but that
+he would like to go to the Exposition. Prince Metternich proposed a cup of
+tea and the delicious hot rolls they turn out at the Vienna restaurant.
+The King was delighted to accept, and named the hour of half past four in
+the afternoon. We were also bidden, for which I was much pleased. King
+Carl is the most delightful and fascinating of monarchs, and quite worthy
+to be his brother's brother. To-morrow he is going to be still more
+official, for he dines at the Tuileries, and there is a gala performance
+at the opera; Christine Nilsson is going to sing "Faust" with Nicolini and
+Faure.
+
+To-morrow we leave for Dinard, where there will be no majesties nor
+Exposition; just plain bread and butter and Brittany cider, which is as
+hard as a relentless parent.
+
+
+COMPIÈGNE, _November 27, 1868._
+
+When the inclosed invitation came my father-in-law wet-blanketed the
+whole thing, and I was brokenhearted. The Duke de Persigny, who happened
+to be in Petit Val at that moment, sympathized with me and tried to change
+the paternal mind; but the paternal mind was obdurate, and all pleadings
+were, alas! in vain.
+
+    MAISON DE L'EMPEREUR
+
+    _Palais des Tuileries, le 2 9'bre 1868._
+
+    _Premier Chambellan_
+
+    Monsieur,
+
+    Par ordre de l'Empereur, j'ai l'honneur de vous prévenir que vous êtes
+    invité, ainsi que Madame Ch. Moulton, à passer 9 jours au Palais de
+    Compiègne, du 27 9'bre au 5 décembre.
+
+    Des voitures de la Cour vous attendront le 27, à l'arrivée à Compiègne
+    du train partant de Paris à 2 heures 1/2 pour vous conduire au Palais.
+
+    Agréez, Monsieur, l'assurance de ma considération très distinguée.
+
+    _Le Premier Chambellan_,
+    V'te de Laferrière.
+
+    Monsieur Ch. Moulton.
+
+My father-in-law thought it cost too much--my toilettes, the necessary
+outlay, and especially the _pourboires_. He said that it was a lot of
+money, and added, in his most choice French, "Le jeu [he pronounced it
+'jew'] ne valait pas la chandelle." He was right from his point of view,
+for he had none of the _jeu_ and all of the _chandelle_. I pined and
+pouted the whole day, and considered myself the most down-trodden mortal
+in existence.
+
+Imagine my delight, a few days later, to receive a second document,
+informing us that our names had been re-entered on the list, and that we
+were expected, all the same, on the 27th to stay nine days. At the same
+time there came a note from the Duke de Persigny, in which he said, "Their
+Majesties desired us particularly to come." And he added: "Tell your
+father-in-law that the question of pourboires has been settled now and
+forever. No more pourboires to be given nor taken at Compiègne."
+
+Then Mr. M---- gave his consent, and I was blissfully happy.
+
+It seems that the Emperor's attention had been railed to the many very
+disagreeable articles in the newspapers on the subject of the extravagant
+_pourboires_ exacted at Compiègne. The Emperor was very much annoyed,
+and gave immediate orders to suppress this system, which had been going on
+for years without his knowledge.
+
+Last night we stayed in Paris, to be ready at half-past two this
+afternoon. To describe our departure, arrival, and reception would only be
+to repeat what I have already written last year. Among the fifty or sixty
+guests there were many who were here then. In addition there are Duke
+d'Albe, with his daughters; Baron Beyens, the Belgian Minister; Mr.
+Mallet, of the English Embassy, Mr. Dué of the Swedish Legation; the poet,
+Prosper Mérimée; and many, of course, I do not know.
+
+Singularly enough, we were shown into the same apartment we had before,
+which made us feel quite at home. We found tea, chocolate, and cakes on
+the table, of which I partook with enthusiasm, and then enjoyed an hour's
+rest before dressing for dinner.
+
+We met at seven o'clock in the _Salle des Fêtes_, the only room in this
+huge chateau large enough to contain all the party here (I suppose there
+must be one hundred and twenty people), for which reason it serves both as
+reception and ballroom.
+
+The Empress looked superb in a gown of an exquisite shade of lilac; she
+wore her beautiful pearls and a tiara of diamonds and pearls. When she
+approached me she held out her hand, and said she was very glad to see me.
+The Emperor was kind and gracious, as usual.
+
+The Baron Gourgaud was told to take me in to dinner, and we followed the
+procession to the dining-room, passing the _Cent Gardes_, who looked like
+an avenue of blue and glittering trees. The Baron Gourgaud and I are
+neighbors in the country, their place, La Grange, being not far from Petit
+Val. His conversation is not absorbing; but as he knows he is dull he does
+not pretend to be anything else. I was thankful for this, as I felt that I
+did not need to make the slightest effort to entertain him.
+
+I cast my eyes round the table, and if I had not known that this was _la
+série amusante_ I should never have guessed it--every one seemed so
+spiritless and "sans le moindre entrain," as my neighbor remarked.
+
+No excitement this evening but the dance. Waldteufel is suppressed! They
+say that the Emperor, who has a horror of publicity in private life, was
+very displeased last year by the indiscretions and personal anecdotes, and
+especially the caricatures made by Gustave Doré, which appeared in the
+_Figaro_. The Emperor vowed that no outsiders should be invited again;
+therefore poor Waldteufel has to pay _les pots cassés_, and we must make
+our own music.
+
+Looking for a substitute for Waldteufel, a clever chamberlain discovered
+the "Debain piano" (mechanical piano).
+
+You remember I had one in my youth. How I loved it! How I used to love to
+grind out all the beautiful music those ugly boxes contained! And how I
+used to wonder that those common wooden slides could reproduce such
+perfect imitations of the real thing.
+
+I was so glad to see one again, and envied the perspiring chamberlain, who
+looked bored to extinction having to turn the crank, instead of joining
+the dance and turning the heads of the ladies. It took two of them to
+manage the complexities of the piano, and as neither possessed a musical
+turn of the wrist, and as neither had the remotest idea of time or
+measure, it was very hard for us poor dancers!
+
+When one of the martyrs wanted to explain to the other what to do he would
+stop and forget to turn the crank. The dancers were thus obliged to pause,
+one foot in the air, not knowing when to put it down, and when they did
+put it down they did not fall in measure, and had to commence all over
+again. This spasmodic waltzing almost made us crazy. As for me, I could
+not bear it any longer. No chariot nor horses could have kept me away from
+that piano; to feel again (after so many years) the delight of playing it!
+And then I wanted to show how it should be played; so I went to the piano
+and took the crank out of the tired hands of the chamberlain and ground
+out a whole dance.
+
+I flatter myself that the dancers enjoyed at least this one.
+
+His Majesty walked up to the piano while I was playing and said, "But,
+Madame, you will tire yourself; you really must stop and let some one take
+your place."
+
+I replied: "If your Majesty only knew what a pleasure it is for me to play
+this piano! I had one like it when I was a little girl, and have never
+seen one since."
+
+"Are these pianos not something quite new?" he asked. "I was told that
+they were the latest invention."
+
+"They may be," I answered, "the latest improvement on an old invention;
+but the pianos are older than I am."
+
+"That," answered the Emperor, smilingly, "does not make them very old."
+
+He called one of the chamberlains, and I reluctantly gave up my place. The
+Count d'Amelot was summoned, and as we were about to waltz off the Emperor
+said, "If I danced, I should like to dance with you myself; but I do not
+dance."
+
+"Then," I said, "I must dance without you."
+
+He laughed: "Vous avez toujours la réplique," and stood there watching us
+with those peculiar eyes of his.
+
+I never received so many compliments on piano-playing as I did to-night.
+
+Here is the list of my dresses (the cause of so much grumbling):
+
+  MORNING COSTUMES.
+    Dark-blue poplin, trimmed with plush of the same color, toque,
+      muff to match.
+    Black velvet, trimmed with braid, sable hat, sable tippet and muff.
+    Brown cloth, trimmed with bands of sealskin, coat, hat, muff to match.
+    Purple plush, trimmed with bands of pheasant feathers, coat, hat to
+      match.
+    Gray velvet, trimmed with chinchilla, chinchilla hat, muff and coat.
+    Green cloth (hunting costume).
+    Traveling suit, dark-blue cloth cloak.
+
+  EVENING DRESSES.
+    Light green tulle, embroidered in silver, and for my locks, what they
+      call _une fantaisie_.
+    White tulle, embroidered with gold wheat ears.
+    Light-gray satin, quite plain, with only Brussels lace flounces.
+    Deep pink tulle, with satin ruchings and a lovely sash of lilac
+      ribbon.
+    Black lace over white tulle, with green velvet twisted bows.
+    Light-blue tulle with Valenciennes.
+
+  AFTERNOON GOWNS.
+    Lilac faille.
+    Light café au lait with trimmings of the same.
+    Green faille faced with blue and a red Charlotte Corday sash (Worth's
+      last gasp).
+    A red faille, quite plain.
+    Gray faille with light-blue facings.
+
+Do you not think there is enough to last me as long as I live?
+
+
+SUNDAY, _November 28th._
+
+The mass is at ten o'clock on Sunday, and one meets in the grand salon
+before going to the chapel.
+
+Madame de Gallifet and I, being Protestants, were not expected; but, as we
+wanted to go, we decided to don a black lace veil and follow the others.
+
+The chapel is not large, but it is very richly decorated.
+
+The Empress sat in a tribune facing the altar with a chosen few and her
+_dames d'honneur_.
+
+The Emperor was not present.
+
+It seemed to me that the mass was very hurried and curtailed. The chorus
+boys swung their censers nonchalantly, as though they were fanning
+themselves; probably they were impatient for their breakfast.
+
+The curé did not preach any sermon; he only made an exhortation against
+the pomps and vanities of this wicked world, and told us that we had
+better be prepared for death, as it might come at any moment. This was
+nothing new; any one could have said it. He advised us to have our lamps
+trimmed, for, when our time came we would be cut down like grass and
+gathered in the garners. Perhaps he meant we ought to make our hay while
+the sun was shining. I wondered to myself, if some of those old gentlemen
+sinners who had sown so liberally would not be gathered in as oats. The
+curé was going on to say that we should not indulge too freely in the good
+things of this world; but pulled himself up in time, remembering, no
+doubt, that he was going to breakfast, as he did every Sunday, at the
+Imperial board and partake of its luxuries.
+
+And before we knew it the mass was finished.
+
+When we returned to the salon it was eleven o'clock, and every one was
+assembled for _déjeuner_.
+
+The Marquis d'Aoust happened to sit next to me at table (I say happened,
+but I believe he manoeuvered so as to do so), and, taking me unawares
+between two mouthfuls of _truites saumonées_, decoyed me into accepting a
+stupendous proposition of his, which was to help him to get up an operetta
+which he had had the courage to compose. He said the idea had just come
+into his head; but I thought, for an impromptu idea, it was rather a ripe
+one, as he had brought the music with him, and had already picked out
+those he thought could help, and checked them off on his lean fingers. He
+said the operetta had one act only, which I thought was fortunate, and
+that it needed only four actors, which I thought was still more fortunate.
+
+The next thing to be done, he said, was to get the singers' consent. I
+should have said it was the first thing to be done; but he was so bubbling
+over with enthusiasm that he was sure every one would jump at the chance
+of taking part.
+
+He seized the first moment after their Majesties had retired to pounce
+upon those he had selected, and having obtained their consent he proposed
+a walk in the long, so-called Treille or Berceau. Napoleon I. built this
+walk, which is one thousand meters in length and reaches to the edge of
+the forest, for the Queen Marie Louise. I must say I pitied her toes if
+she walked there often on as cold a day as to-day; I know mine ached as we
+paced to and fro while the Marquis explained the operetta. It was really
+too cold to stay out-of-doors, and we turned back to the little salon,
+called the _Salon Japonais_, to finish the séance there.
+
+"What part am I to take?" asked Prince Metternich.
+
+As he could not be anything else, he accepted the role of prompter, and
+promised all the help he could give. When I went to the Empress's tea this
+afternoon I took those questions Aunt M* sent me from America. You know
+them. You have to write what your favorite virtues are, and if you were
+not yourself, who you would like to be, and so forth.
+
+I was glad to have something new and original which might amuse people.
+The Empress, seeing the papers in my hand, asked me what they were. I told
+her that they were some questions: a new intellectual pastime just
+invented in America.
+
+"Do they invent intellectual pastimes in America?" she asked, looking at
+me with a smile. "I thought they only invented money-making."
+
+"They do that, too," I replied; "but they have also invented these
+questions, which probe the mind to the marrow and unveil the soul."
+
+She laughed and said, "Do you wish me to unveil my soul, _comme cela, à
+l'improviste_?"
+
+I answered, "Perhaps your Majesty will look at them at your leisure. I
+hardly dare to ask the Emperor; but if he would also look at them I should
+be so happy."
+
+"Leave them with me, and to-morrow we will see; in any case my soul is not
+prepared to-day."
+
+So I left the papers with her.
+
+It is the fashion this year for ladies to wear lockets on a black-velvet
+ribbon around their necks. The more lockets you can collect and wear, the
+finer you are. Each locket represents an event, such as a birthday, a bet,
+an anniversary of any kind, and so forth. Any excuse is good for the
+sending of a locket. The Empress had seventeen beautiful ones to-day (I
+counted them). They have a rather cannibalish look, I think. Is it not in
+Hayti (or in which country is it?) that the black citizens wear their
+rivals' teeth as trophies on their black necks?
+
+Who should offer me his arm for dinner to night but Prosper Mérimée, the
+lion of lions, the pampered poet, who entrances all those who listen to
+him whenever he opens his lips.
+
+He looks more like an Englishman than a Frenchman; he is quite old, and I
+fancy older than he looks (he may be fifty). He is tall and _dégagé_, with
+a nice smile and pleasant eyes, though sometimes he gives you a sharp and
+suspicious glance. He speaks English very well. I told him (stretching
+a point) that I had never heard a foreigner speak such good English as he
+did.
+
+He replied, without a blush: "I ought to speak it well. I learned it when
+I was a child." And he added, complacently, "I can even write better than
+I speak."
+
+I asked him if he could write poetry in English.
+
+He answered: "I do not think I could. My English goes just so far and no
+farther. I have what is strictly necessary, but not what is superfluous."
+("J'ai, le stricte nécessaire, mais pas le superflu.")
+
+"To make rhymes," said I, "I should think one would have to know every
+word in the dictionary."
+
+"Oh!" he said, "I don't attempt rhymes; they are far beyond me."
+
+When he talks French he is perfectly delightful. He creates the funniest
+words, and gives such an original turn to his phrases that you are--at
+least I was--on the _qui vive_ not to lose anything he said. It is like
+listening to a person who, improvising on the piano, makes unexpected
+and subtle modulations which you hate to have escape you.
+
+He told me he had been in correspondence with an English lady for over
+thirty years.
+
+"Were you in love with her, that you wrote to her all those years?" I
+inquired.
+
+"I was in love with her letters," he replied. "They were the cleverest
+things I ever read--full of wit and humor."
+
+"Was she in love with you or only with your letters?" I was tactless
+enough to ask.
+
+"How can you ask?" he said. I wondered myself how I could have asked so
+indiscreet a question.
+
+"Did she write in English, and did you write in French?"
+
+"Yes, she wrote in English," he answered, and looked bored.
+
+"Is she dead?" I asked, getting bolder and bolder; but he would not talk
+any more about this clever lady, and we drifted into other channels of
+conversation. Too bad! I would have liked to have known if the lady was
+still living.
+
+I wish I could remember all the pearls which fell from his lips; but alas!
+one cannot, like Cleopatra, digest pearls. But I do remember one thing he
+said, which was, "If I should define the difference between men and women,
+I should say, 'Que les hommes valent plus, mais que les femmes valent
+mieux.'"
+
+I wondered if this was one of the pearls he let drop in his letters to the
+wonderful English _bas-bleu_.
+
+In the evening we danced to the waltzes of the Debain, and were obliged to
+tread a very spasmodic measure. The Prince Imperial asked me for a polka,
+and I had to clutch his shoulder with one hand and beat time with the
+other on his arm to keep any kind of rhythm in his evolutions. It is nice
+to see him circulating about and chatting with all the ladies.
+
+
+_November 29th._
+
+A message came to my room this morning, to the effect that I was to sit
+next to the Emperor. I suppose they thought it best to let me know in
+time, in case I should go wandering off sight-seeing, like last year, but
+no danger! Once caught, twice warned, as the saying is.
+
+Therefore, when we descended to the grand salon, I knew what my fate was
+to be. The Due de Sesto, who had recently married the widow of the Duc de
+Morny, gave me his arm and deposited me at the side of his Majesty.
+
+The Emperor was in the most delightful spirits, and full of _bonhomie_ and
+fun. Glancing across the table at a certain diplomat (Baron F----), he
+said, "I never knew a person more impervious to a joke than that gentleman
+is." And then he went on to say that once he had told the Baron the old
+time-worn joke which any child can understand.
+
+(You have heard it many times, I am sure, dear mama.)
+
+One begins by saying, "Vous me permettez de vous tutoyer (You will permit
+me to use the thee and thou)?" And then one says, "Pourquoi aimes-tu la
+chicorée (Why dost thou like chicory)?" To which the answer is, "Parce
+qu'elle est amère (ta mère) (Because it is 'bitter' or 'your mother')."
+
+But I had better tell the story in the Emperor's own language.
+
+"The Baron was making a call upon the Duchess de Bassano, one of the
+ladies-in-waiting of the Empress, a severe and formal person, as you know,
+and in deep mourning for her mother. He wished to make himself agreeable
+and told her this story, saying that it was the most amusing thing he had
+ever heard. But he forgot to ask her permission to use the thee and thou,
+and said, point-blank, 'Pourquoi aimes-tu la salade?' The Duchess did not
+understand, and he, bursting out laughing, continued, without waiting for
+her to speak, 'Parce qu'elle est ta mère.' The Duchess arose, indignant.
+'Monsieur, I beg you cease. My poor mother died three months ago. I am
+still wearing mourning for her!' With which she burst into tears and left
+the room.
+
+"The Baron, nothing daunted, tried a second time to relate this anecdote,
+this time addressing Baronne Pierres, another of the _dames d'honneur_,
+entirely forgetting to use the thee and thou. 'Madame, pourquoi aimez-vous
+la salade?' Naturally she had not the slightest idea what he meant, and he
+rejoined triumphantly, 'Parce qu'elle est Madame votre mère.' What annoys
+me beyond measure," continued the Emperor, "is that he goes on telling the
+anecdote, saying, 'The Emperor told it to me.'"
+
+The Emperor laughed heartily, and I did, too. Then he told me another
+amusing thing:
+
+At a ball at the Tuileries he said to a young American whose father he had
+met: "J'ai connu votre père en Amérique. Est-ce qu'il vit encore?" And the
+young man, embarrassed and confused, answered, "Non, sire; pas encore."
+"It is so good," the Emperor said, "to have a laugh, especially to-day.
+All the afternoon I shall be plunged in affairs of state."
+
+I did not forget to tell the Emperor that Delsarte was wildly excited on
+receiving the present his Majesty had sent him last year. I wandered
+considerably from the truth, as, in reality, Delsarte, who is not
+Napoleonic in his politics, had said when I gave it to him, "Comment!
+c'est Badinguet qui m'envoit cela. Que veut-il que j'en fasse?" with a
+dark frown, But I noticed he smoked _le bon tabac_, all the same; and
+I am sure he said (even to his best friend), "Tu n'en auras pas."
+
+Of course the Emperor had quite forgotten that such a person as Delsarte
+had ever existed.
+
+This was a perfectly delightful _déjeuner_, and I shall never forget it.
+
+The numerous chamberlains were busy arranging the different amusements for
+the guests, putting horses, carriages, shooting, and excursions at their
+disposal; but we, unlucky ones, were in duty bound to abide by the
+Marquis, who had now completed his troupe to his satisfaction. He had
+enticed the two young Mademoiselles Albe and two of their admirers to
+undertake the chorus; he was very grateful to them, as otherwise it would
+have had to be suppressed--perhaps the best thing that could have happened
+to it.
+
+The Princess Metternich asked us to come to their salon (they have the
+beautiful apartments called _les appartements d'Apollon_), in order that
+we could try the music with the piano which her husband had hired, as
+usual, for his stay at Compiègne, and which he had put at the disposition
+of the Marquis.
+
+The Marquis was in ecstasy, and capered about to collect us, and at last
+we found ourselves stranded with the manuscript and its master, who was
+overjoyed to embark us on this shaky craft. He put himself at the piano,
+played the score from beginning to end, not sparing us a single bar. My
+heart sank when I heard it, it was worse than I thought, and the plot was
+even worse than the music--naïf and banal beyond words.
+
+A lord of the manor (Vicomte Vaufreland, basso) makes love to a humble
+village maiden (myself, soprano); the lady of the manor (Madame Conneau,
+contralto) becomes jealous and makes a scene with her husband; the friend
+and adviser (Count d'Espeuilles, tenor) steps in and takes his friend's
+part and kindly says that it was he who had loved the village maiden. The
+wife is satisfied, and everything ends beautifully.
+
+It would be very uphill work for the poor Marquis and I wondered if he
+would really have the patience to go on with it, after realizing how
+unmusical the men were. D'Espeuilles stood behind the Marquis's bald head
+and reached over to put his finger on the note he wanted to sing, and then
+banged on that, until, after singing every note in the scale, he finally
+fixed it in his brain.
+
+Could anything be more despairing?
+
+Our next thought naturally was our costumes.
+
+The operetta was laid in the time of Louis XV.
+
+Would we be able to find anything in the various trunks in the gallery
+next to the theater?
+
+When we went there we found everything we did not want--costumes, odds and
+ends of all sorts, which belonged to all other periods than Louis XV. The
+contents of the trunks were in a very chaotic state; each article which
+once had formed one of a complete costume was without its better half; the
+unprincipled things had meandered off and got mixed up in other sets.
+
+To be sure, there was a Louis XV. coat, with embroidered pockets and
+satin-lined coat-tails, but nothing more suitable for _culottes_ could be
+found than a pair of red-plush breeches, trimmed with lace (I think one
+calls them "trunk hose"), of Henry II.'s time.
+
+When they were urged upon the Vicomte, he absolutely refused them, saying
+he would not mix up epochs like that, and, after pulling over everything,
+he decided to send to Paris for a complete costume.
+
+Count d'Espeuilles was less difficult to satisfy, and was contented with a
+black-velvet Hamlet costume, with a plumed hat, which suited no epoch at
+all, but suited his style of beauty.
+
+Madame C---- thought her maid might arrange out of a ball-dress some sort
+of attire; with powdered hair, paint, and patches, she could represent the
+lady of the manor very well. My Tyrolean dress of last year would do quite
+nicely for me, when my maid had put the customary bows on the traditional
+apron.
+
+We all separated, carrying our carefully written rôles under our arms, and
+in the worst of tempers.
+
+Monsieur Dué was my neighbor at dinner. He is very musical, and was much
+interested in hearing about the operetta. He does not think the Marquis
+has any talent; neither do I! But I don't wish to give any opinion on the
+poor little struggling operetta before it has lived its day, and then I am
+sure it will die its natural death. Monsieur Dué has composed some very
+pretty things for the piano, which he plays on the slightest
+encouragement.
+
+Nothing else was talked of in the evening but the operetta, and the
+Marquis was in the seventh heaven of delight.
+
+Their Majesties were told of the Marquis's interesting intention. I could
+see, across the room, that the Empress knew that I was going to take part,
+for she looked over toward me, nodding her head and smiling at me.
+
+There was some dancing for an hour, when one of the chamberlains came up
+and said to me that the Empress would be pleased if I would sing some of
+my American songs. I was delighted, and went directly into the _salle de
+musique_, and when the others had come in, I sat down at the piano and
+accompanied myself in the few negro songs I knew. I sang "Suwanee River,"
+"Shoo-fly," and "Good-by, Johnny, come back to your own chickabiddy." Then
+I sang a song of Prince Metternich's, called, "Bonsoir, Marguerite," which
+he accompanied. I finished, of course, with "Beware!" which Charles
+accompanied.
+
+The Emperor came up to me and asked, "What does chickabiddy mean?"
+
+I answered, "'Come back soon to your own chickabiddy' means 'Reviens
+bientôt à ta chérie,'" which apparently satisfied him.
+
+Their Majesties thanked me with effusion, and were very gracious.
+
+The Emperor himself brought a cup of tea to me, a very unusual thing for
+him to do, and I fancy a great compliment, saying, "This is for our
+chickabiddy!"
+
+Their Majesties bowed in leaving the room; every one made a deep
+reverence, and we retired to our apartments.
+
+
+_November 30th._
+
+The old, pompous, ponderous diplomat (what am I saying?)--I should have
+said, "the very distinguished diplomat"--the same one the Emperor told me
+yesterday was so impervious to a joke, honored me by giving me his
+baronial arm for _déjeuner_. I can't imagine why he did it, unless it
+were to get a lesson in English gratis, of which he was sadly in need. He
+struck me as being very masterful and weighed down with the mighty affairs
+of his tiny little kingdom. I was duly impressed, and never felt so
+subdued in all my life, which I suppose was the effect he wished to
+produce on me.
+
+We sat like two gravestones, only waiting for an epitaph. Suddenly he
+muttered (as if such an immense idea was too great for him to keep to
+himself), "Diplomacy, Madame, is a dog's business." ("La diplomatie est un
+métier de chien.")
+
+I ventured to ask, "Is it because one is attached to a post?"
+
+He gave me such a withering look that I wished I had never made this silly
+remark.
+
+All the same, he unbent a little and, with a dismal twinkle in his eye,
+his face brightening, and launching into frivolity, said: "The Emperor
+told me something very funny the other day. (I knew what was coming.)
+He asked me why I liked salad." Turning to me he said, "Can you guess the
+answer?"
+
+I had many ready for him; but I refrained and only said, "No, what was
+it?"
+
+"Parce qu'elle était ma mère!" he replied, and laughed immoderately, until
+such a fit of coughing set in that I thought there would not be a button
+left on him. When he had finished exploding he said, "Did you understand
+the 'choke'?"
+
+If I had not understood the "choke," I understood the choking, and I
+thought any more jokes like this would be the end of him then and there.
+
+I answered quite seriously, "I think I would understand better, if I knew
+what sort of salad his Majesty meant."
+
+He shook his head and said he did not think it made any difference what
+sort of salad it was. And we became tombstones again.
+
+I could hardly wait till we returned to the salon, I was so impatient to
+tell the Emperor of the Baron's latest version.
+
+As his Majesty was near me, talking to some lady during the _cercle_,
+I stepped forward so as to attract his attention.
+
+He soon moved toward me, and I, against all the rules of etiquette, was
+the first to speak.
+
+"Your Majesty," said I, "I sat next to the Baron at breakfast and was not
+spared the salad problem."
+
+"How did he have it this time?" asked the Emperor.
+
+"This time, your Majesty, he had it that you had said he liked salad
+because it was his mother."
+
+The Emperor burst out laughing and said, "He is hopeless."
+
+It would seem as if Fate had chosen the Baron to be the butt of all the
+_plaisanteries_ to-day.
+
+Later in the afternoon we drove in _chars-à-bancs_ to St. Corneille,
+a lovely excursion through the woods. The carriages spun along over the
+smooth roads, the postilions cracked their whips and tooted their horns,
+the air was cold and deliciously invigorating, and we were the gayest
+party imaginable. One would have thought that even the worst grumbler
+would have been put in good spirits by these circumstances; but no! our
+distinguished diplomat was silent and sullen, resenting all fun and
+nonsense. No wonder that all conspired together to tease him.
+
+At St. Corneille there are some beautiful ruins of an old abbey and an old
+Roman camp. When we came to the "Fontaine des Miracles" Mr. Mallet (of the
+English embassy) pulled out of his pocket a Baedeker and read in a low
+tone to those about him what was said about the miracles of the fountain.
+The Marquis de Gallifet, not wishing any amusement to take place without
+helping it on and adding some touches of his own, thereupon interposed in
+a stage whisper (evidently intended to be heard by the Baron), "The waters
+of this fountain are supposed to remove [then raising his voice]
+barrenness."
+
+"Baroness who?" asked the diplomat, who was now all alert.
+
+Mr. Mallet, to our amazement (who ever could have imagined him so jocose),
+said quite gravely, "Probably the wife of the barren fig-tree."
+
+"Ah!" said the Baron, "I don't know them," thus snubbing all the fig-
+trees.
+
+"A very old family," said Mallet, "mentioned in the Bible."
+
+This seemed to stagger our friend, who evidently prided himself on knowing
+every family worth knowing. The Marquis de Gallifet, seeing his chance,
+hurried to tell the story of the d'Albe family, which the crestfallen
+Baron drank in with open mouth and swallowed whole. As the Duke d'Albe was
+there himself, listening attentively and smiling, the story must have been
+true! The Marquis de Gallifet said, when Noah was ready to depart in the
+ark he saw a man swimming for dear life toward the boat, waving something
+in the air. Noah called out to him:
+
+"Don't ask to be taken in. We can't carry any more passengers, we are
+already too full."
+
+The man answered, "I don't want to be taken in; I don't care for myself;
+but, pray, save the papers of the family."
+
+The Baron looked very grave, and turning to the Duke asked, in an
+extremely solemn tone, "Is this really true?"
+
+"Perfectly," answered the Duke, without moving a muscle. "The saying,
+'Après moi le déluge,' originated in our family; but we say, 'Nous
+d'abord, et _puis_ le déluge!'"
+
+"How interesting!" said the Baron.
+
+Then Monsieur Dué, not wishing to be outdone, said his family was as old
+(if not older), having taken the name of Dué from the dove [in Swedish
+"dué" means dove] which carried the olive-branch to the ark. By this time
+the poor Baron, utterly staggered and bewildered in presence of such a
+concourse of ancient nobility, did not know on which leg to stand. How
+could he and his family ever hold up their heads again?
+
+We returned to Compiègne by St. Périne, where there was a most enchanting
+view, and drove straight through a long avenue and entered _La cour
+d'honneur_. It was almost half-past five when we reached our rooms.
+
+I thought I had had enough of fossils and ruins for one day, from
+breakfast onward, so when old General Changarnier came to offer me his arm
+for dinner I said to myself, "This is the climax!"
+
+But, on the contrary (the unexpected always arrives), he was so delightful
+and genial that my heart was warmed through, which, indeed, it needed,
+after the ice-chest I had had for _déjeuner_. He did not try to raise
+me to his level, but simply let himself down to mine, and talked small
+talk so youthfully that I felt we were about the same age. He was a
+charming man.
+
+Monsieur de Laferrière arranged a sort of ball for this evening. There was
+an unusual flutter, for everything was going to be extra fine, and we put
+on our prettiest dresses. Programmes with dangling pencils were lavished
+on us, on which regular dances were set down--quadrilles, waltzes, polkas,
+and lancers.
+
+The usual _cercle_ was curtailed, in view of the ball.
+
+The chamberlains, to facilitate matters, had arranged the boxes of music
+for the mechanical piano very methodically on a table, so there should be
+no mistakes or fumbling with the slides.
+
+The ladies were so agitated, fearing they would not get any partners, that
+they made very transparent efforts to attract the attention of the
+gentlemen. One would have thought they had never been to a ball in all
+their lives. The gentlemen, just as agitated, rushed about to secure the
+ladies, whom they could have had _without_ the rushing on other evenings.
+The Empress looked exquisitely beautiful. The Emperor stood in the
+doorway, smiling at this whirlwind of gaiety and animation. The Prince
+Imperial danced untiringly with all the ladies.
+
+Flowers were distributed about, and, wonder of wonders! ices were served
+at intervals, as if it were a real ball. My old general was chivalry
+itself. He even engaged a partner for the lancers, and skipped about
+telling everybody he did not know how to dance them, which was
+unnecessary, as one could see for oneself later.
+
+There are four kinds of people in society:
+
+Those who know the lancers.
+
+Those who don't know the lancers.
+
+Those who know the lancers and say they don't.
+
+Those who don't know the lancers and say they do.
+
+My old and venerable warrior belonged to class number two, and really did
+not know the lancers, but tripped about pleasantly and let others guide
+him. When we came to the _grande chaîne_ he was completely intoxicated
+with his success. Every eye was on him. Every one was occupied with his
+doings, and his alone. All the ladies were pulling him first one way and
+then the other, trying to confuse him by getting him into another set,
+until he found himself quite at the other end of the room, still being
+pulled about and twirled in every direction, never knowing where he was or
+when he was going to stop. At last, utterly exhausted and confused, he
+stopped short and placed himself in the middle of the ballroom, delighted
+to be the center of all eyes and to make this effective _finale._ But no
+one could compare with him when he made his Louis-Quinze reverence; the
+younger men had to acknowledge that he scored a point there, and he might
+well be proud of himself. All this made us very gay, and almost
+boisterous. Never before had the evening finished with such a burst of
+merriment, and we all retired, agreeing that the ball had been a great
+success, and that Monsieur de Laferrière could sleep on his laurels as
+soundly as we intended to sleep on our pillows.
+
+
+_December 1st._
+
+Count Niewekerke offered me his arm for _déjeuner_ this morning. He is a
+Dutchman (_Hollandais_ sounds better) by birth, but he lives in Paris. As
+he is the greatest authority on art there, the Emperor has made him Count
+and Director of the Galerie du Louvre. He is very handsome, tall, and
+commanding, and has, besides other enviable qualities, the reputation of
+being the great lady-killer _par excellence._
+
+As we stood there together the Empress passed by us. She held up her
+finger warningly, saying, "Take care! Beware! He is a very dangerous
+person, _un vrai mangeur de coeur!"_ "I know, your Majesty," I answered,
+"and I expect to be brought back on a litter."
+
+She laughed and passed on.
+
+Monsieur Niewekerke looked pleasantly conscious and flattered as we walked
+to the dining-room, and I felt as if I was being led to the altar to be
+sacrificed like poor little Isaac. His English is very cockney, and he got
+so mixed up with "heart" and "art" that I did not know half the time
+whether he was talking of the collection of the Louvre Gallery or of his
+lady victims. He did not hesitate to call my attention to the presence of
+some of them at the table, which I thought was very kind of him, in case I
+was unaware of it.
+
+He is as keen about the good things of the table as he is about art; in
+fact, he is a great epicure. As he thought well of the menu, I will copy
+it for you:
+
+    _Consommé en tasses._
+    Oeufs au fromage à l'Italienne.
+    Petites truites.
+    Cailles au riz.
+    Côtelettes de veau grillées.
+    Viande froide, salade.
+    Brioches à la vanille, fruits, dessert, café....
+
+"Well," said the Empress, as she stopped in front of me after _déjeuner_,
+"are you alive?"
+
+"I am, your Majesty, and, strange to say, my heart is intact."
+
+"Wonderful!" she said, "you are an exception."
+
+We had the choice between going to a _chasse à tir_ (without the Emperor),
+and a drive to Pierrefonds.
+
+I had enough of the _chasse à tir_ last year, and I still see in my dreams
+those poor birds fluttering in their death-agony. Anything better than
+that!
+
+I preferred Pierrefonds, with its gargoyles and its hard, carved chairs.
+
+I was glad Monsieur de Niewekerke went with us, for he was more
+interesting and did not go into so many details as Viollet-le-Duc.
+
+[Illustration: LA SALLE DES PREUX--CHÂTEAU DE PIERREFONDS]
+
+The restoration has progressed very much since the last time we were here,
+though far from being completed yet. In the huge hall Niewekerke told me
+the statues about the chimney were portraits of the wives of the _preux
+chevaliers_ of that time.
+
+I thought the frescos of this hall were very crude in color; but Monsieur
+de Niewekerke said they were excellent copies of the ancient style of
+decoration.
+
+The castle is such a magnificent ruin one almost wishes that it was not
+restored.
+
+I would like to see it in summer, not in this season, when one perishes
+with cold and longs, in spite of its beauty, to be out of it and in a
+warmer place.
+
+There was a dense fog on the lake and a mist in the forest when we left,
+and it was dreadfully damp and cold. The postilions took a shorter cut and
+carried us through La Brévière and St. Jean aux Bois.
+
+I should think both must be charming in summer; but now--ugh!
+
+What was my delight at the Empress's tea this afternoon to see Auber, my
+dear old Auber! He had been invited for dinner, and had come with the
+artists who are to play to-night. He looked so well and young, in spite of
+his eighty-three years. Every one admires him and loves him. He is the
+essence of goodness, talent, and modesty. He is writing a new opera. Fancy
+writing an opera at eighty-three!
+
+I asked what the name of it was. He answered: "'Le Rêve d'Amour.' The
+title is too youthful and the composer is too old. I am making a mistake,
+but what of that? It is my last!"
+
+I said I hoped he would live many more years and write many more operas.
+
+He shook his head, saying, "Non, non, c'est vraiment mon dernier!"
+
+Monsieur de Lareinty said to the Empress at tea that there was an unusual
+amount of musical talent among her guests--a real galaxy of stars seldom
+to be found in amateurs.
+
+The galaxy may have existed--but the stars! The Milky Way seen through the
+wrong end of an opera glass was nothing to the smallness of their
+magnitude.
+
+The Empress caught at the idea directly, and the decree went out that
+there should be a concert tomorrow evening; not mere desultory singing,
+but singers and songs in regular order.
+
+Auber said he was sorry he could not be there to applaud us. He
+accompanied us when we went to our rooms, and then he had no idea how to
+find his own. After having seen him handed over successively to three
+different valets, we left him to his fate, hoping he would arrive at his
+destination eventually. When we entered the salon for dinner Auber was
+already there. If he had not brought his own servant with him, he never
+would have been in time.
+
+The troop of the Comédie Française played "La Joie fait Peur," by Musset.
+The theater was brilliantly lighted; the guests, from the environs and the
+_fine fleur_ of Compiègne, filled all the boxes. The gentlemen and the
+officers were in the parquet. The Court and Imperial guests sat with their
+Majesties in the Imperial box. It was a magnificent sight!
+
+Madame Favart was most touching in her part, and everybody, I think, wept.
+Coquelin was excellent; but I do not like him so much in his pathetic
+rôles; his squeaky voice and nasal tones do not belong to the sentimental
+style. After the play he gave a monologue, which was the funniest thing I
+ever heard, "Les Obsèques de Madame X----." The whole house was laughing,
+and most of all the Emperor. I could see his back shaking, and the
+diplomatic and apoplectic Baron condescended to explode twice.
+
+The representation lasted till half-past ten. The artists did not change
+their toilettes, but came into the salon as they were dressed for the
+play. They were received with great cordiality by their Majesties. The
+Chamberlain gave them each a little package containing, I suppose, a
+valuable souvenir from the sovereigns. A special train took them back to
+Paris.
+
+Auber bid me good-by, saying, "Au revoir until Paris, if you are not too
+absorbed in these grandeurs to receive a poor, insignificant bourgeois
+like me."
+
+"You can always try," I answered with a laugh. "Bon soir et bon voyage!"
+
+
+_December 2d._
+
+What a day this has been! A storm of rain and hail raged all night, and
+when I looked out of the window this morning I saw everything deluged in
+water. The park looked dismal; all the paths were full of puddles; the
+trees were dripping with rain, and, to judge from the dark skies and
+threatening clouds, it seemed as if worse was to follow and there might be
+thunder and lightning. On the programme for to-day there stood _chasse à
+courre_; but of course _cela tombait dans l'eau_, as would have been its
+natural end anyway in this weather. None of the ladies donned their green
+costumes, as even one was so sure that the day would be passed indoors.
+
+At _déjeuner_ I was fortunate enough to sit between Prince Metternich
+and the Marquis de Gallifet. Certainly I could not have two more
+delightful companions, each so different and yet so entertaining. The
+Marquis was very aggressive and grumpy; but very amusing.
+
+In French one says, "On a le vin triste," or "On a le vin gai." The
+Marquis has "le déjeuner grincheux (grumpy)," I think.
+
+He began by attacking me on the English language. He said it was utterly
+absurd and illogical, and though he ought to know it, as he had an English
+wife, he felt he never could learn it.
+
+"Apropos of to-day's weather, you say, 'It never rains but it pours'--au
+fond qu'est-ce que cela veut dire? 'Il ne pleut jamais, mais il pleut à
+verse'; cela n'a pas le sens commun--you might as well say, 'It never
+pours but it rains.'"
+
+I had to confess that it did sound senseless, and tried to explain the
+meaning; but he grumbled, "Why don't they say what they mean?" He told me
+he was once traveling in England and put his head out of the carriage
+window to see something, and some one inside cried, "Look out!" He put his
+head still farther out, when the person continued to scream, "Look out!"
+He answered, "I am looking out," at which a rude hand seized him by the
+coat-collar and jerked him inside, saying, "Damn it, look in then!"
+
+"How can any one conquer a language as stupid as that?"
+
+I told him I felt humiliated to own such a language, and I ought to
+apologize for it, though I had not invented it and did not feel
+responsible for it; but he would not listen to me.
+
+Prince Metternich asked, "What shall we do indoors this awful day?"
+
+I proposed tableaux; but he objected to tableaux.
+
+Then I suggested that one might have a fancy-dress tea-party. At last,
+after many wild propositions, he said, "Why not charades?"
+
+Of course he had intended charades all the time. He asked the Marquis de
+Gallifet if he would help us.
+
+"No, I won't," answered the Marquis, "but you are welcome to my wife; she
+loves dressing-up and all that nonsense;" adding, "It is the only thing
+she can do with success."
+
+"But we want her to act. Can she?"
+
+"Act!" said the amiable husband. "She can act like the devil!"
+
+By the time we had returned to the salon the Prince had not only found a
+good word for a charade, but had decided in his resourceful mind all minor
+details. He thought it would amuse the Prince Imperial to join us, and he
+asked permission of the Prince's _gouverneur_ to allow him to do so. The
+permission was readily given.
+
+Prince Metternich begged Vicomte Walsh to obtain the Empress's gracious
+consent to honor the performance with her presence. She was very pleased
+at the idea of seeing her son's _début_ as an actor, and promised to come,
+and even said she would have the tea, usually served in her salon, brought
+to the little theater.
+
+Prince Metternich gave us a sketch of what he wanted us to do, and gave us
+general instructions as to our costumes, and bade us meet again in an
+hour. He would see to everything else: light, heat, scenery, powder,
+paint, etc., all the accessories, would be ready for us. We ladies were to
+be _pierrettes_ and dancers of Louis-Quinze period; the gentlemen were to
+represent the _talons rouges_, and to have red cloth pasted on the heels
+of their low shoes. We could paint our faces and powder our hair after our
+own ideas. "But, ladies, above all, do not be late," were the parting
+words of the Prince.
+
+We followed his instructions as well as we could, and reappeared in the
+theater to hear the now fully matured plans of our impresario.
+
+The Empress was seated before we were ready, Prince Metternich was so long
+painting the Prince Imperial. We could hear her saying, "Allons! Allons!"
+clapping her hands in her eagerness for us to commence.
+
+The word was PANTALON.
+
+The first syllable, PAN, was represented by the Prince Imperial as a
+statue of Pan.
+
+His body was visible to the waist above a pedestal. Over his flesh-colored
+undershirt he wore a wreath of green leaves across his shoulders, and his
+head was also covered with a wreath. He held the traditional flute before
+his mouth. No one could have recognized the delicate features of the
+Prince Imperial, as Prince Metternich had painted his lips very large and
+very red, and had added a fantastic mustache. His eyebrows (black as ink)
+had an upward tilt, in true Mephistophelian style.
+
+It was a sylvan scene. Prince Metternich had ordered from the greenhouse
+some orange and other trees to be moved on to the stage, which made a very
+pretty effect.
+
+The Princess Metternich, in a quaint costume, was the Harlequine to her
+husband's Harlequin. They made a very funny love scene, because, being man
+and wife, they could make all their kissing real, and so ridiculously
+loud, that one could hear it all over the theater. Every one laughed till
+they cried, and particularly as Pan was rolling his eyes about in a very
+comical manner.
+
+Her other lover (Pierrot) came in unawares; but she had time to throw a
+shawl over Harlequin, who put himself on all fours, thus making a bench,
+on which she demurely sat down. In order to throw dust in Pierrot's eyes,
+she took from her basket a hammer and some nuts and began cracking them
+(to the audience's and Pan's horror) on poor Harlequin's head, eating them
+with great _sang-froid_.
+
+Prince Metternich had prudently provided a wooden bowl, with which he
+covered his head so that his ambassadorial skull should be spared. Pan
+smiled a diabolical smile, and had, of course, a great success.
+
+TALON was the next syllable. This was a sort of pantomime. The actors were
+grouped like a picture of Watteau. Count Pourtales was a dancing-master
+and was really so witty, graceful, and took such artistic attitudes that
+he was a revelation to every one. Prince Metternich (his bosom friend)
+exclaimed:
+
+"Who would ever have thought it? How talent conceals itself!"
+
+The whole word PANTALON was a combination of Columbines, Harlequins, and
+Louis-Quinze cavaliers dancing in a circle, and all talking nonsense at
+once.
+
+The statue of Pan in knickerbockers, his wreaths still on his head and
+shoulders, joined in the dance.
+
+The Empress led the vociferous applause, and Prince Metternich came
+forward on the stage and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, we are deeply
+flattered at your approval. There will be a second performance before his
+Majesty, the Emperor of the French, and I hope you will accord us your
+patronage."
+
+There was great laughter at this.
+
+Count Pourtales took me in to dinner. We were very glad to be neighbors.
+He was resting on his laurels, and I wanted to rest before getting mine
+(if I got any) this evening. We exchanged views on nervousness. He said he
+had been dreadfully nervous in the afternoon. I told him I was always
+nervous when I had to sing, and when I sang the first song I was hot and
+cold all over.
+
+"Like Alboni," he said; "she has had to give up singing in opera, she had
+such stage-frights."
+
+We thanked each other after finishing dinner for having been kind enough
+to have let the other alone.
+
+The rain was still pouring in torrents when we returned to the salon. In
+spite of the many voices, we could still hear it pattering against the
+windows of the terrace. It was lucky there were some stars among us, as
+Monsieur de Lareinty had said, otherwise we would have seen none to-night.
+
+At ten o'clock the "galaxy" went into the _salle de musique_, and the
+planets began to shine. First came Baroness Gourgaud, who attacked the
+"Mi-bémol Polonaise," of Chopin. Their Majesties settled themselves in
+their chairs with a look of heavenly resignation on their faces, which was
+reflected on those of most of the guests.
+
+However, she played beautifully, more like an artiste than an amateur. The
+Empress went forward to her, holding out her hand, which the Baroness,
+bowing to the ground, kissed gratefully, feeling that she had covered
+herself with glory, as she really had.
+
+Then Monsieur de V---- (our basso) sang "O Marguerite," from Faust,
+without the slightest voice, but with excellent intentions. Next, having
+the music under his hand, he continued and sang "Braga's Serenade," which
+he thought was more suited to his voice, though it is written, as you
+know, for a soprano. He sang the girl's part in a mysterious, husky, and
+sepulchral voice, and the angel's part weaker and feebler than any angel
+ever dreamed of.
+
+I looked at the beautiful ceiling painted by Girodet, and to keep myself
+from going to sleep counted the legs of the angels, and tried to calculate
+how many legs belonged to each. Monsieur de V---- said his idea was to
+make the contrast very strong between the girl and the angel; he certainly
+succeeded!
+
+Monsieur Dué played some of what he calls his "Sketches." "Il est si doué
+(gifted)," exclaimed Princess Metternich.
+
+Every one was pleased; so was he.
+
+I sang "Le Rossignol," of Alabieff, in which is the cadenza Auber wrote
+for me. Princess Metternich played the accompaniment.
+
+Madame C---- (our contralto) sang "Lascia che pianga," which suited her
+beautiful voice better than it did the audience's taste. Then she sang
+"Ah! Mon Fils," of "Le Prophète," with great effect, accompanying herself.
+
+But this was not the kind of music to please our audience.
+
+Count E---- (our tenor) was asked to add his Milky Way tenor to the rest
+of the planets, but begged to be excused on the plea of a sore throat. No
+one questioned this, and he was allowed to remain unheard.
+
+Later I sang "Oh! that We Two were Maying," by Gounod, a much too serious
+song; but the Empress said she thought it was the most beautiful one she
+had ever heard. I think so, too. I also sang one of Massenet's, "Poème
+d'Avril." They asked for "Beware!" which I sang. The Emperor came up to me
+(each time he gets up from his chair every one gets up and stands until he
+sits down again), and said, "Won't you sing the song about the shoe?"
+
+What did he mean? I had no idea.
+
+"The one you sang the other night," said the Emperor.
+
+What do you think he meant?
+
+Well, he meant "Shoo-fly!" I sang it, as he desired. I don't believe he
+knows yet what its true meaning is. There is an end to all things, and our
+concert came to an end at last. Their Majesties, with gracious smiles and
+repeated thanks, retired, the Milky Way faded from view, and the planets
+went to bed.
+
+I know I deserved mine, and I appreciated it when I got it.
+
+
+_December 3d._
+
+The _chasse à courre_ is generally fixed for the last day of the _série_;
+but their Majesties, at the suggestion of the thoughtful Vicomte Walsh,
+ordered it to be changed to this afternoon, in order that the operetta
+should arrive at a riper stage of perfection. Would it ever be near
+enough? We had never had a moment yet when we could rehearse all together.
+Vicomte de V----'s costume had not come from Paris, and he was bordering
+on brain-fever, in a state of expectancy and impatience. Neither he nor
+d'Espeuilles knew their songs, and the chorus needed much drilling. The
+Princess Metternich put her salon at the Marquis's disposal, and he spent
+half his time teaching some of his pupils.
+
+The days of the _chasse à courre_ the gentlemen appear in red coats and
+the ladies in green-cloth dresses. Those that had _le bouton_ put it in
+their buttonhole. You may be sure I wore mine!
+
+All the carriages, the horses, and grooms were before the terrace at two
+o'clock, and after the usual delay we drove off to the forest. Their
+Majesties and the Prince Imperial were on horseback. The Duchess de Sesto
+invited me to drive with her, and in the same _char-à-banc_ with us were
+Baronne de la Poeze, Comtesse Pourtales, and four or five others. The
+Duchess looked very dainty, wrapped in her chinchilla furs. I had had so
+little time to learn the talking part of my rôle that I took it with me in
+the carriage, hoping to be able to study it. They all sympathized with me,
+as they knew the operetta was to be given to-morrow evening.
+
+The roads were full of mud; but we splashed through them regardless of
+such minor details as dirt Fortunately it did not rain, and the sun made a
+few spasmodic efforts to come out, but it was far from being the ideal day
+of last year.
+
+This _chasse_ varies but little, and I described my first acquaintance
+with it in a letter last year, so I will spare you the repetition of
+details. I fancy the route we took was the same; but I am not quite sure,
+for all the roads and avenues resemble one another.
+
+Once, as we halted at an _étoile_, we saw a beautiful stag bound past
+us, full of life and strength, with enormous horns (they said it was a
+_dix cors_). Every one in the carriage stood up in their excitement to
+look after it. How I wished he would escape and live his free and happy
+life in the forest. I hate this _chasse_; I hate to write about it; I
+hate to be present at it. It is all so pitiful and painful to me! How can
+any one find pleasure in such cruel sport?
+
+To kill a living creature, to take the life of an animal that has done you
+no harm, seems horrible to me. But I will say no more on this subject. It
+always puts me in a bad temper, and makes me disgusted with my fellow-
+creatures.
+
+We followed the other part of the cavalcade and arrived at the _carrefour_
+in time to see the death of one stag. The others saw it, but I was
+occupied with my manuscript.
+
+There were two stags taken, two beautiful creatures that ought to have
+lived.
+
+It was so cold and bleak I longed to get back to warm rooms, cheerful
+fire, and a hot cup of tea, which I was sure to find awaiting me, and I
+was heartily glad when we turned homeward.
+
+Six o'clock had just struck when we drove up to the front of the Grand
+Escalier, and I was able to get a little rest before dressing for dinner.
+
+All the ladies who owned diamond crescents, or any crescent suggestive of
+Diana and her pastimes, put them on. The Empress had a gorgeous crescent
+on her lovely hair.
+
+The worn-out Marquis took me in to dinner. It was fortunate, for there
+were some vital points which we had to discuss. On my other side was the
+Count de Grammont, a sportsman, who wanted to talk only of the hunt; but I
+was able to turn a deaf ear to his marvelous exploits, thanks to the
+Marquis's incessant explanations.
+
+There was a little dancing, to fill up the time before the _curée_. It is
+a pity that this is our last dance. The chamberlains are beginning to show
+a good deal of talent in their playing _le piano méchanique_, and they can
+play almost in time.
+
+The _curée_ was at ten o'clock. The long gallery was soon alive with an
+eager public. All the windows were occupied by the ladies. The courtyard
+was filled, in spite of the cold weather, with the populace of Compiègne;
+the _piqueurs_ waved their torches; the dogs howled and yelped; the
+_gardes_ blew their long _cors de chasse_, and it was just like last year,
+except that on this occasion there were two stags--therefore, two sets of
+entrails to be devoured.
+
+Tea and cakes were passed about. Those who had come from the neighboring
+châteaux took their leave, those who were to return to Paris drove off to
+the station, and the privileged guests retired to their apartments.
+
+
+_December 4th._
+
+At ten o'clock this morning I was surprised at hearing a timid knock at my
+salon door. Who should it be but the Marquis d'Aoust. He begged my pardon
+for disturbing me; but he wished to consult me about something he
+considered of great importance.
+
+He looked disheveled and careworn, even at this early hour, as if he had
+not slept all night. Would I be willing to help Count d'E---- in our duet,
+and sing a part of his music? Otherwise, he was sure it would never go.
+
+I told him it would not be easy to sing tenor; but I would see at the
+rehearsal what I could do. He was in despair. I tried to tranquilize him,
+my compassion triumphing over my forebodings, and assured him that all
+would go well. I did not tell him that I had had a succession of
+nightmares last night, where I saw myself stranded on the stage, having
+forgotten both words and music.
+
+He said that he had been on the stage at work with the carpenters since I
+don't know when this morning. They had first put up the scenery as he had
+ordered; but he saw that there would not be space for the eight performers
+(there are two scenes where we are all on the stage at once). Accordingly,
+he had ordered the carpenters to change it.
+
+I ate my _déjeuner_ sandwiched between the tenor and the basso. We
+rehearsed our dialogues, although we pretended to discuss other matters.
+
+The Empress went directly to the Marquis after _déjeuner_ and said, "We
+are looking forward to your operetta to-night with real pleasure, and
+we are sure that it will be a great success." The Marquis was radiant.
+
+When we met later in the theater for our first and only rehearsal we were
+delighted to find there the grand piano from the _salle de musique_. The
+curtain rose on a very pretty garden scene, with trees on either side,
+green linen on the floor representing grass, a village with a church-
+steeple in the background, and for stage properties a garden bench and a
+vase placed just before the footlights, so that it would not interfere
+with our movements, but would show us where _not_ to fall off.
+
+The Marquis was, of course, at the piano, and Prince Metternich, as
+prompter, squeezed into a prompter's box, looking wretchedly
+uncomfortable. We commenced the rehearsal, which, on the whole, went off
+better than we expected.
+
+The basso is the first to appear. He sings a melancholy song, in which he
+makes known his love for the humble village maiden. His voice gets more
+dismal and lower as he becomes despondent, and higher and more buoyant as
+his hopes rise. At the end, when he sings "Elle sera à moi," his voice,
+though very husky, was almost musical. Then I, as the village maiden,
+enter with a basket, suggestive of butter and eggs, and sing a sentimental
+ditty telling of my love for the friend of the lord. The music of this is
+mediocre beyond words. The Marquis tries to show, by a few high soprano
+notes, how high my wildest flights of aspirations fly before I could ever
+reach the subject of my love. "Mes tourments" and "le doux plaisir
+d'aimer" get so mixed that I don't know myself what I am singing about.
+
+The lady of the manor hears my lament, and, believing me to be in love
+with her husband, berates me in a dramatic duet. The friend and adviser
+now appears, and we get through an incomprehensible trio. He cannot
+convince her (the lady) of the innocence of her husband. She insists upon
+thinking him a traitor, leaves us in a fury, and we have the floor to
+ourselves when we sing the famous duet on account of which the Marquis had
+qualms this morning. In it there is a minor phrase which is quite
+intricate, and I saw that unless I came to d'E----'s rescue he could never
+manage it.
+
+The lord and the lady reappear, while the friend and I retire in the
+background and lean up against the village steeple and whisper. The lady
+is violent and the lord is indifferent. The music sounds like an
+everlasting grumble, because her voice is contralto and his is bass. The
+village maiden is called to the front, and denies everything she has been
+accused of. The husband makes amends in a phrase miles too high for his
+voice. The friend takes all the blame on his black-velvet shoulders, and
+says he has loved the maiden all along. The maiden is overcome with
+emotion and faints for joy.
+
+The final quartette is a sad affair, musically speaking, constructed on
+the Marquis's own ideas of thoroughbass. All the singers start on the same
+plane, the soprano soars heavenward, the contralto and the bass grovel in
+their deepest notes, while the tenor, who ought to fill up the gap, stands
+counting the measures on his fingers, his eyes glued to the prompter,
+until he joins me and we soar together.
+
+To use a metaphor, one might say that the contralto and bass were in the
+lower regions, the soprano floating in heaven, the tenor groping about on
+earth for his note; then we all meet on the same place we started from,
+which is the signal for the chorus to unite their forces with ours.
+
+The Marquis was dreadfully put out with me because I refused to faint on
+the stage (in the text it says _Rosette tombe évanouie_). He said nothing
+was easier. I had only to put my arms out to break the fall and--fall. He
+thought that with a little practice between the afternoon and the evening
+I should be able to do it.
+
+I could see myself covered with bruises tumbling about over sofas and
+chairs, and I could see the bewilderment of any one coming into my room
+while I was practising this part of my rôle.
+
+I said, "I absolutely refuse to risk my neck." He thought it was very
+selfish of me. One would have thought that the whole success of the
+operetta depended on my fainting. He said he could show me how to fall
+without hurting myself, and in trying to do so he tripped over the vase
+and bumped his head against the garden bench. Fortunately he did not
+damage himself, but the argument ended then and there.
+
+At half-past four my maid came to the theater to tell me that the Empress
+expected me to tea. I had thought she would, as she had promised the
+answers to those questions; and so it was. As soon as I appeared (I had
+had time to change my dress) the Empress called me to her and said:
+
+"Here are the answers to your American soul-probing questions! These are
+mine (giving me hers) and here are the Emperor's. He was very pleased to
+write them, as it was you who asked him; besides, I think they amused him.
+He spent a long time pondering over each answer. You see," she added, with
+her lovely smile, "nous vous aimons bien."
+
+I was very glad to have the answers. I copy them for you.
+
+    A quelle qualité donnez-vous la préférence? À la gratitude.
+
+    Quels sont vos auteurs favoris? Tacite.
+
+    Quelles sont vos occupations favorites? Chercher la solution de
+    problèmes insolubles.
+
+    Qui voudriez-vous être? Mon petit fils.
+
+    Quelles personnes de l'histoire détestez-vous le plus? Le Connétable
+    de Bourbon.
+
+    Pour quelles fautes avez-vous le plus d'indulgence? Pour celles dont
+    je profite.
+
+    NAPOLÉON LOUIS.
+
+
+    A quelle qualité donnez-vous la préférence?  Au dévouement.
+
+    Quels sont vos auteurs favoris?  Calderon, Byron, Shakespeare.
+
+    Quelles sont vos occupations favorites? Faire le bien.
+
+    Qui voudriez-vous être? Ce que je suis.
+
+    Quelles personnes de l'histoire détestez-vous le plus? Lopez.
+
+    Pour quelles fautes avez-vous le plus d'indulgence? Pour celles que la
+    passion excuse.
+
+    EUGÉNIE.
+
+I add the answers of Prosper Mérimée:
+
+    À quelle qualité donnez-vous la préférence? La persévérance.
+
+    Quels sont vos auteurs favoris? Pr. Mérimée.
+
+    Quelles sont vos occupations favorites? Faire des châteaux en Espagne.
+
+    Qui voudriez-vous être?  Napoléon III.
+
+    Quelles personnes de l'histoire détestez-vous le plus? Mazarin.
+
+    Pour quelles fautes avez-vous le plus d'indulgence? La gourmandise.
+
+    PROSPER MÉRIMÉE.
+
+I think the Emperor's are very clever.
+
+"And the operetta?" inquired the Empress.
+
+"I hope your Majesties will be indulgent," I replied.
+
+Monsieur de Laferrière was next to me at dinner. He was as much interested
+in the operetta as other people seemed to be. I took advantage of his
+being my neighbor to ask him to manage it so that we could leave the salon
+before the _cercle_ commenced, as we had to dress, and if any of us were
+late I dared not think what the effect would be on the nervous Marquis.
+
+The Emperor raised his glass during dinner, though I sat very far down the
+table. I suppose he wanted to inspire me with hope and courage.
+
+Monsieur de Laferrière arranged everything for us most amiably. We rushed
+off to our rooms to dress. I, for one, was not long over my toilette, and,
+followed by my maid, hurried through the long corridors to the theater.
+
+We were all there except Monsieur de V----, who was no doubt still
+pottering over his raiment. The artist he had ordered from Paris was
+already there, brush in hand, ready to paint us. The result was very
+satisfactory. When we looked at ourselves in the glass we wondered why one
+should not be beautiful every day with so simple an art.
+
+We were rather taken back when Monsieur d'Espeuilles appeared in a wig and
+a false mustache; but he hastened to say there was nothing like being
+disguised to put one at one's ease. The gentlemen of the chorus, not
+willing to go to any extra expense, had _culottes courtes_ and white
+stockings; the ladies had tried to be more in harmony, but they thought
+that with rakes, spades, and basket they had quite enough _couleur
+locale_.
+
+The chamberlain came to ask whether their Majesties should come now.
+Prince Metternich answered that we were waiting for them, A tedious delay
+occurred before the audience had settled into their places in accordance
+with their rank, to the great annoyance of Prince Metternich, shut up in
+the small prompter's box, and the Marquis d'Aoust, fidgeting at the piano,
+and driving us almost to distraction by his repeated questions and
+exhortations: "Do you think you know your part? Don't forget to"--etc.
+
+At last! at last! No retreating now, _Coûte que coûte!_ we must take in
+the plank and embark on our shaky craft.
+
+The Marquis attacked the overture by playing some vigorous arpeggios and
+pompous chords. The curtains were drawn aside and the lord of the manor
+entered. After his monologue, which he did very well, he hesitated a
+moment. This agitated the Marquis to such a degree that he stood up and
+waved his hand as a signal to him to commence his song, and gave him the
+note on the piano. Monsieur de V---- started in all right and sang his
+song with due sentiment, and very well. I even think as far back as the
+sixth row of seats they were conscious that he was singing. His acting and
+gestures were faultless. All Frenchmen can act.
+
+I thought, when I came in, the public was chilly, and I felt cold shivers
+running down my back. My courage was oozing out of me, and when the lord
+of the manor said to me, "Rosette, que fais-tu ici?" and I had to answer,
+"Ce que je fais, Monsieur; mais vous voyez bien, je ne fais rien," I
+thought I should die of fright and collapse on the spot. However, I pulled
+myself together and began my silly little song.
+
+The moment I began to sing I felt at ease, and I flatter myself I gave a
+certain glaze to the emptiness of the music. Madame Conneau sang her
+dramatic aria beautifully, and created quite a _furore_. I only wish the
+music had been more worthy of her. The love duet between the friend and
+myself was, much to my surprise, a great success. It was encored, and we
+sang it again.
+
+When we came to the minor passage (the stumbling-block) the Marquis, who
+was perspiring at every pore in his dread that I should not hit the right
+note, pounded it on the piano loud enough to be heard all over the
+theater. I gave him a withering look, which he pretended not to see.
+Perhaps he did not, for his attention, like mine, was startled by seeing
+the false mustache of Monsieur d'Espeuilles ungluing and threatening to
+drop into his mouth. The Marquis began wagging his head and making frantic
+signs. Monsieur d'Espeuilles was horribly confused, and I feared for the
+success of our _da capo;_ but he patted the now limp offender back on
+his lip, and we continued the duet. During the applause the Marquis took
+the occasion to wipe the perspiration from his bald head.
+
+In spite of our qualms the final quartette was not so bad after all. When
+it was time for me to come down from my upward flight in order to help the
+tenor, the Marquis again waved his right hand in the air to attract my
+attention, while he thundered a tremolo with his left, to keep the
+accompaniment going until he was sure that everything was right. The
+chorus came on in due order, and flourished their rakes and spades as
+though they were waving flags, in participation of the joy and gladness of
+the reconciliation. There was one moment of genuine hilarity, when the
+little fox-terrier belonging to the Empress's niece rushed on to the stage
+to join his mistress, who, with great _sang-froid,_ picked him up and
+went on singing, to the immense amusement of the audience.
+
+It was suffocatingly hot in the little theater, and we were glad to think
+that we had arrived at the end of our perilous journey. The red on our
+cheeks was getting paler; the powder was becoming paste; the black on the
+eyebrowless actors began to run down their cheeks; Monsieur d'Espeuilles's
+wig and mustache were all on one side.
+
+All these details mattered little, now that the end had come, and the
+performance had concluded with great _éclat_.
+
+The happy Marquis (though I think he aged ten years that hour at the
+piano) was radiant with his success. Every emotion had swept over him:
+ambition, vanity, hope, pride, forbearance, patience, long-suffering.
+
+The curtain fell amid great applause, as spontaneous as it was persistent
+and, I hope, genuine.
+
+We stayed in our costumes for the tea in the Emperor's salon.
+
+Both their Majesties complimented the Marquis, and thanked us all
+separately for the pleasure they had had and the trouble we had given
+ourselves. The Emperor said to me, "Vous vous êtes surpassée ce soir." I
+courtesied and asked him what he thought of the music.
+
+He hesitated before answering. "I don't know much about music; but it
+seems to me, as Rossini said of the music of Wagner: 'Il y a de jolis
+moments, mais de mauvais quarts d'heures!' All the same, it was very
+pretty."
+
+Every one praised the Marquis to the skies, and he was really in the
+seventh heaven of delight.
+
+I am only afraid his head will be turned, and that he will write another
+_chef-d'oeuvre_.
+
+I was glad when their Majesties bade us good night, for I was completely
+exhausted.
+
+
+PARIS, _December 5th_.
+
+It seems nice, all the same, to be at home again. We arrived in Paris at
+six o'clock, and at half-past seven I was in my bed, completely worn out.
+However, I must tell you how our visit ended the day before yesterday. Was
+it only the day before yesterday? It seems months ago. At _déjeuner_ the
+Princess Metternich sat on the right of the Emperor, and the Empress's
+brother-in-law, Duke d'Albe, gave me his _avant-le-déluge_ arm, and put me
+on the left of his Majesty.
+
+I thought the Emperor looked tired and ill, and I noticed he frequently
+put his hand on his back, as if he was in pain. The Princess Metternich
+engrossed the Emperor's attention. She is so witty and lively that every
+one must listen when she talks. All the same, the Emperor talked with me a
+good deal, and thanked me for having done so much to amuse them. Never
+would they forget the pleasure they had had.
+
+When we went up to our rooms to put on our cloaks there was no pretentious
+majordomo demanding his fee, and our particular valet looked sad, and did
+not meet my eye when I tried to catch his to give a smile of adieu, and
+persistently fixed his gaze on something at the other end of the corridor.
+I rather liked the old way better, as one felt that in a measure one had
+made some little compensation for all the delightful days spent there.
+
+I asked my maid how the servants felt about this change. She said that in
+their _salle à manger_ almost all the maids and valets belonging to the
+guests gave _pourboires_.
+
+After we had made our adieux, and taken our seats in the different
+carriages, their Majesties came out on the balcony to see us depart. They
+waved their hands in farewell as we drove off.
+
+The journey back to Paris was a silent one. Every one was occupied with
+his own thoughts. Prince Metternich sat in a corner talking with the
+impervious diplomat; I wondered if he were relating the salad's
+complicated relationships. We all bade one another good-by, adding, with
+assumed enthusiasm, that we hoped to meet soon again, when perhaps we were
+rejoicing in the thought that we would not do so for a long time to come.
+
+What insincere creatures we are!
+
+
+_May, 1870._
+
+We were invited to a picnic at Grand Trianon, given by the Emperor and
+Empress for the Archduke of Austria.
+
+The rendezvous was to be at St. Cloud, and we were asked to be there at
+four o'clock. On arriving we found the Metternichs, Édouard Delesert,
+Duperré, and Count Dehm, the Austrian Secretary. Their Majesties and the
+Prince Imperial joined us when we were all assembled. We then mounted the
+two _char-à-bancs_ which were waiting for us in front of the chateau,
+with their postilions and four horses; the _piqueurs,_ in their saddles,
+were all ready to precede us. The Emperor, Empress, the Prince Imperial,
+Princess Metternich, and the Archduke were in the first carriage; the rest
+of us were in the second--about fourteen people in all. We drove through
+the lovely forest of Marly, the long, tiresome avenues of Versailles, and
+through many roads known probably only to the postilions, and perhaps used
+only on rare occasions such as this royal excursion, for they were in such
+a bad condition, ruts and stones everywhere, that our heads and shoulders
+were bumping continually against our neighbors'. Finally we reached Petit
+Trianon, where we left the carriages and servants, who were ordered to
+meet us at Grand Trianon later, bringing our extra wraps with them. The
+air was deliciously balmy and warm, and was filled with the perfume of
+lilacs and acacias.
+
+We wandered through the park, admiring the skill of the artist who had
+laid it out so cleverly, just like Petit Val. This is not surprising, as
+it was the same person who planned them both. All the surroundings recall
+the charming life which Marie Antoinette must have lived in the midst of
+this pastoral simplicity.
+
+I wondered if the same thought passed through the Empress's mind which
+passed through mine. Could history ever repeat this unfortunate queen's
+horrible fate? We continued our walk to Grand Trianon, and found the table
+spread for our dinner under the wide _charmille,_ near the lake. The
+Princess Metternich sat on the right of the Emperor, and I on his left.
+
+The Emperor was in excellent spirits, and bandied repartees with Monsieur
+Delesert, who surpassed himself in wit, and told many and sometimes rather
+risky stories, which made every one laugh. The Prince Imperial could
+hardly wait till the end of the dinner, he was so impatient to get to the
+rowboat which was ready waiting for him on the lake. The Empress was quite
+nervous, and stood on the edge of the lake all the time he was on the
+water, calling to him, "Prends garde, Louis!" "Ne te penches pas, Louis!"
+and many other such counsels like any other anxious mother, and she never
+took her eyes from the little boat which was zigzagging about under the
+hands of the youthful prince.
+
+It was after nine o'clock when we started to return to St. Cloud by
+another route. The _piqueur_, finding the gate locked through which we had
+to pass, knocked on the door of the lodge-keeper, who, awakened from his
+slumbers, appeared in a _déshabillé_ more than hasty, intending to
+administer a _savon_ (scolding) to such tardy comers. But on hearing from
+the _piqueur_ that the monarch of all he surveyed was waiting in the
+carriage, he flew to open the gate, disclosing his scanty night-attire.
+The funniest part of it was that, as soon as he realized the situation, he
+thought it his duty to show his patriotism, so he stood on the steps of
+his lodge and, as we passed through the gate, he chanted a hoarse and
+sleepy! "Vive l'Empereur!" and waved his smoking candle.
+
+The Emperor was convulsed with laughter. I, who sat behind him, could see
+his shoulders shaking.
+
+The ball of the _plébiscite_ was the most splendid thing I ever saw.
+The architects and decorators had outdone themselves. The gardens of the
+Tuileries beyond the fountain had been hedged in by orange-trees, and
+other large trees moved there in their tubs. The whole _parterre_ of
+flowers was festooned with lanterns and little colored lamps, making this
+fairy scene as bright as day. The ballroom and adjoining salons, of which
+the windows had been removed as well as the iron railing outside of them,
+led on to a large platform which occupied the space of six such windows or
+doors; these gave out into two colossal staircases which descended into
+the garden. It was such a beautiful night, so warm that we ladies could
+walk about in our ball-dresses without any extra wraps; there were about
+six thousand people invited, they said. It seemed as if all Paris was
+there.
+
+After the _quadrille d'honneur_ their Majesties circulated freely about.
+Every one was eager to offer congratulations to the Emperor. Was it not
+the greatest triumph of his reign to have the unanimous vote of all
+France--this overwhelming proof of his popularity? As he stood there
+smiling, with a gracious acknowledgment of the many compliments, he looked
+radiantly happy to thus receive the homage of his country. As the Emperor
+passed near me I added my congratulations, to which he replied, "Merci, je
+suis bien heureux."
+
+Their Majesties stood on the dais with the members of the Imperial family,
+and after watching the dance they all went in to the _Pavillon de Flore_,
+where supper was served for the notabilities.
+
+For the others there was arranged a supper in the theater; an orchestra on
+the stage played all the time; the balconies were festooned with flowers
+and filled with guests; there were supper-tables in the parquet and in the
+largest _loges_, and plants and shrubs placed in every available spot.
+
+
+LONDON, _June, 1870._
+
+DEAR M.,--What will you think of your dissipated daughter? Do you not
+think that she is insatiable? I am sure that you will say that I ought to
+be contented after the long season of gaiety and excitement in Paris, and
+settle down in lovely Petit Val, where the lilacs and the violets call one
+with scented voices.
+
+However, we decided to go to London.
+
+Did I write to you of our breakfast at Armenonville? After Lord Lyons's
+ball, which lasted until six o'clock in the morning, Prince Metternich and
+several others thought that it would be a good idea to go home, change our
+ball-dresses for morning-dress, and go out to the Bois for our morning
+coffee. We did it.
+
+I confess that it was a crazy thing to do after dancing all night; but the
+beautiful May morning, the glorious sunshine, and our spirits inspired us
+to carry out this wild whim, much to the disgust of our sleepy coachmen.
+This excursion was not a success; we were all tired and longed for bed.
+One cannot be amusing or _en train_ at seven o'clock in the morning.
+And as for the family, when we returned home all the comment they made
+was, "What fools!" They did not see any fun in it; neither did we, to tell
+the truth.
+
+The Rothschilds, Lord Lyons, and Prince and Princess Metternich gave us
+what must have been very powerful letters, for we had hardly been in
+London more than a few days before we knew every one worth knowing, and
+all doors worth opening were opened to us, and I found myself what one
+calls _lancée_.
+
+We took rooms in Park Street; that is, we had the two stories of the
+house. The landlady lived downstairs, and gave us our meals when we were
+at home. As soon as we got settled we left our cards and letters of
+introduction.
+
+Invitation followed invitation in the most bewildering manner, sometimes
+several for the same day.
+
+I could not begin to tell you all that we have already done. Writing
+letters seems to be the one thing which I have no time for. It is a
+perpetual push and rush from morning till night.
+
+Our first dinner was at Baron and Baroness Rothschilds', where the Prince
+and Princess of Wales and a great many distinguished people were invited.
+I sat next to a Mr. Osbourne--everybody called him Dick. He told me that
+he was the most dined-out and tired-out man in London, and that he had not
+eaten at home for six months.
+
+I had not seen their Royal Highnesses since their visit to Paris during
+the Exposition. They said that they remembered me; but I cannot think it
+possible that they can have such wonderful memories.
+
+I never saw such a splendid collection of orchids as there was on the
+table, and each lady had a bouquet of orchids and roses by her plate.
+
+I was asked to sing, and was delighted to do it. The Rothschilds' ballroom
+was a glorious place in which to make a debut.
+
+Michael Costa, the well-known musician, came after dinner and accompanied
+me in the "Cavatina" from "Rigoletto," and the waltz from the "Pardon de
+Ploërmel."
+
+Lady Sherbourne, a charming lady whom I fell in love with at first sight,
+sang also. She has a beautiful, rich contralto voice, and sang with a
+great deal of expression an English song called, "Out on the rocks when
+the tide is low."
+
+In your last letter you wrote, "I am afraid that you are on the way to
+become conceited." I am afraid myself I am, still I cannot resist telling
+you, this once, that my audience was very enthusiastic and Mr. Costa said
+--well, I won't tell you what he said; it might sound conceited. The last
+thing I sang was "Beware!" which was immensely appreciated.
+
+The Prince of Wales said: "That is a bewitching song. I never heard it
+before. Who composed it?"
+
+I told him that it was written for me by my husband, and Longfellow had
+written the words.
+
+The Princess, before leaving, said, "I cannot tell you how much pleasure
+you have given us this evening; we hope to see you often while you are in
+London." She is very beautiful, even handsomer than when I saw her last.
+Baroness Rothschild kissed me, and thanked me for having sung for her.
+
+Call me vain and conceited if you will, my head is turned, and there is
+nothing more to be said about it!
+
+A luncheon at "Caroline, Duchess of Montrose's," at two o'clock upset me
+for the whole day. I am not accustomed to those big _déjeuners-
+dinatoires_. I was sleepy and felt good for nothing the rest of the day;
+and when we dined at Lady Molesworth's that evening, "to meet their
+Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Wales," and wanted to be extra
+up-to-the-mark, I felt just the contrary. However, after dinner the Prince
+of Wales asked me to sing, and I did not refuse, and even sang most of the
+evening. There was a charming Baron Hochschild, the Swedish Minister, who
+sang delightfully. He is a thorough musician, and accompanied himself
+perfectly with all the aplomb of an artist. He has a deep, rich barytone,
+and his _répertoire_ consisted of all the well-known old Italian songs.
+Lady Molesworth is a beautiful old lady, who must have been a great beauty
+in her youth. She wears curls just like yours, dear mama, which made me
+love her. I met here Arthur Sullivan; he was full of compliments.
+
+The next day we were invited to a _matinée musicale_ at Lady Dudley's,
+preceded by a luncheon, which Mr. Osbourne called "a snare," because, he
+said, I could not refuse to sing. I did not want to refuse, either. The
+piano was in the beautiful picture-gallery, all full of Greuze's pictures
+bought from the Vatican; it has the most wonderful acoustics, and the
+voice sounded splendidly in it. Lady Dudley is a celebrated beauty. Lord
+Dudley--before he succeeded to the title--was Lord Ward. The Duke and
+Duchess of Sutherland asked us to dine. This was a very imposing affair;
+the Duke of Cambridge was at the dinner as the _grosse pièce_, and there
+were many diplomats. After dinner several artists came from Covent Garden,
+and among them Madame Patti, who sang the "Cavatina" of "Lucia," with
+flute accompaniment, and how beautifully!
+
+When I was introduced to her I said, "The first time I heard you sing was
+years ago when I was a little girl and you were in short dresses."
+
+"In Rochester," I replied. "I shall never forget how exquisitely you sang
+'Ah! non giunge' and 'Ernani.'"
+
+"Yes, I remember quite well. I was singing in concerts with Ole Bull; but
+that was a long time ago."
+
+"It was indeed," I said; "but I have never forgotten your voice, nor a
+lovely song you sang which I have never heard since, called 'Happy
+Birdling of the Forest.' And your trill! Just like the bird itself!"
+
+We became quite good friends, and she made me promise to come to see her.
+She is charming. Every one was most enthusiastic. Some one said she gets a
+thousand pounds for an evening. The Marquis de Caux (her husband) looked
+rather out of place. It seemed queer to see him again, not as the
+brilliant Marquis of the Tuileries (the "beau" _par excellence_), but
+simply as the husband of Patti. He did not find a chance to speak to me.
+
+Some days later Lady Anglesey gave a luncheon for me. On the invitations
+were, "To meet Mrs. Moulton." I read between the lines: to hear Mrs.
+Moulton sing. They always put on their invitations, "To meet" so and so.
+
+Mr. Quimby said to me, "I liked you from the first moment I saw you, but I
+had no idea you were going to be such a beast." "Beast!" I echoed. "That
+is not very complimentary." "A lion is a beast, isn't it?" he jokingly
+replied.
+
+"Am I going to be a lion? I did not know it."
+
+"Well, you are a lioness, which is better."
+
+He is considered the wit of London, and this is a specimen of his wit.
+What do you think?
+
+At the luncheon there were Jacques Blumenthal, the famous pianist and
+composer, and Arthur Sullivan, who asked me to sing in his little
+operetta, which some amateurs are rehearsing for a _soirée_ at Lady
+Harrington's; and on my acceptance he brought the music for me to try over
+with him the next morning. The _soirée_ was to be three days later. The
+music is nothing remarkable; in fact, the whole thing (it is called "The
+Prodigal Son") is not worthy of him. I have not met any of my fellow-
+performers yet. Forgive this jerky letter; I have been interrupted a
+thousand times. Charles thinks it is time to go back to Paris; but we have
+just received an invitation from Baron Alfred Rothschild to spend Ascot
+week--a _séjour de sept jours_--with a party at a house he has hired
+for the race-week there, and I could not resist.
+
+
+ASCOT, LONDON, _June, 1870._
+
+DEAR M.,--Viscount Sydney thought that we ought to ask for an audience of
+the Princess of Wales, and we did it. The audience was accorded, and we
+presented ourselves at the appointed hour and were received by the lady of
+honor and shown into the beautifully arranged drawing-room. The Princess
+was most gracious; she certainly is the loveliest lady I have ever seen. I
+told her we were going to Ascot for the week, and she said that they were
+also going there and hoped they would see us. Our interview came to an
+end, as such interviews do, without anything very interesting happening,
+and, finally, we backed ourselves out of the royal presence.
+
+That evening there was a ball at Lady Waldegrave's, who lives at
+Strawberry Hill, a mile or so out of London. Baron Alfred Rothschild
+offered to take us out there in his coach and-four. We dined first with
+the Baron Meyer Rothschild, and afterward drove out to Strawberry Hill. It
+is the most beautiful place you can imagine. I never saw anything so grand
+as the cedar-trees.
+
+The cotillon lasted very late; the Duke of Saxe-Weimar talked a long time
+with me, mostly about music. He is very musical, and knows Liszt
+intimately, and told me a quantity of anecdotes about him. He was
+interested in what I told him about Liszt's going to the Conservatoire
+with Auber and me, and about the "Tannhäuser" overture incident. It was
+six o'clock when we drove back to London. We saw the milk-carts on their
+morning rounds and the street-sweepers at work. One felt ashamed of
+oneself at being in ball-dress and jewels at this early hour, galloping
+through the streets in a fine carriage, making such a dreadful contrast to
+the poor working-people.
+
+I had great fun at Lady Harrington's musical _soirée_, where Arthur
+Sullivan's "Prodigal Son" was to be sung.
+
+We had been dining at Lady Londonderry's, and arrived rather late at Lady
+Harrington's. The whole staircase was crowded with people, and even down
+in the hall it was so full of ladies and gentlemen that there was no
+question of moving about. However, I made my way as far as the stairs,
+every one wondering at my audacity, and I murmured gently:
+
+"May I pass?" There was a chorus of "Quite impossible!" "Perfectly
+useless!" and other such discouraging remarks. I said to a gentleman who
+sat stolidly on his step:
+
+"Do you think I could send word to Mr. Sullivan that the Prodigal Son's
+mother cannot get to him?"
+
+"What do you mean?" said he. "Are you--"
+
+"Yes, I am; and if you don't let me pass you won't have any music."
+
+You should have seen them jump up and make a pathway for me. I marched
+through it like the children of Israel through the Red Sea. I was
+enchanted to have my little fun. I joined the other performers, and the
+mother of the Prodigal Son was received with open arms. The Prodigal Son's
+father was pathos itself, and we rejoiced together over our weak tenor-
+boy. The only fatted calves that were to be seen belonged to the fat
+flunkeys.
+
+We had a beautiful time at Ascot. Alfred Rothschild was an excellent host.
+Among the other guests were the Archibald Campbells, the Hochschilds, Mr.
+Osbourne, the Duke and Duchess of Newcastle, Hon. and Mrs. Stoner, one of
+the ladies of the Queen, Mr. Mitford, and others. Lady Campbell had only
+one dress with her (they must be very poor!); it was a black velvet
+(fancy, in the middle of summer!). She wore it high-necked for the races
+in the daytime and low-necked in the evening. We drove to Ascot every day
+at one o'clock. We had seats in the Queen's stand, and after seeing one
+race we went to lunch with Mr. Delane, who had open table for one hundred
+people every day. Mr. Delane belongs to the _Times_ newspaper.
+
+Baron Rothschild had _carte-blanche_ to bring any guest, or as many as he
+liked. The Prince of Wales always lunched there, and any one that was of
+importance was sure to be present. I made many new acquaintances, and you
+may imagine how I enjoyed this glimpse of a world so entirely unknown to
+me. The races at Longchamps, Auteuil, and Chantilly I had seen many times;
+but I never saw anything like this exciting and bewildering scene.
+
+The Prince of Wales gave a ball at Cooper's Hill (the house they had hired
+for the Ascot week), which was very charming and _sans façon_. I danced
+the cotillon with Baron Rothschild and a waltz with the Prince of Wales.
+The supper, which we had in the palm-garden, was an elaborate affair. We
+drove home in the early morning, just as the day was breaking.
+
+The next day we lunched first at the barracks, and then afterward went to
+Virginia Water, where the Princess of Wales had arranged a picnic. There
+was boating on the pretty lake and tents on the lawn; tea was served
+during the afternoon, and a military band played the whole time. The great
+attraction was the echo. We all had to try our voices, and the gentlemen
+made bets as to how many times the echo would be heard. Some loud,
+piercing voices were repeated as many as eight times.
+
+Here we bid our kind host good-by and took the train for Twickenham. We
+passed the night with Mr. and Mrs. Hoffman at their villa. The next day we
+were invited to a croquet-party and dinner by the Count and Countess de
+Paris.
+
+We arrived at Twickenham Court at four o'clock, and began playing our game
+directly. Mrs. Hoffman had been praising me to the Countess de Paris to
+such a degree that she was fired with ambition to play against a
+"champion" of the first water, When we appeared on the ground I noticed
+that the Countess had a small ivory mallet. "This," I said to myself, "is
+a foregone conclusion; any one who plays with a fancy mallet, and that of
+ivory, is sure to be beaten." And in my conceit I thought I need not give
+myself much trouble about the game. Alas! I never appreciated the saying
+that "pride has a fall" until that day. At first I played with utter
+indifference, I was so sure of winning, and even when the Countess de
+Paris walked triumphantly over the ground, carrying everything before her,
+I smiled inwardly, saying to myself, "Just wait." But though I played my
+very best I never scored a game, and I could not even make a decent
+stroke. I felt so discouraged, and I was beaten all to pieces. The dinner
+was solemn and impressive, the whole Orléans family being present.
+
+The Prince de Joinville, the Duke de Chartres, and the Count de Paris,
+with their wives; in all, about twenty at table. I was disgusted with
+myself, provoked at my silly self-assurance, and mortified that I had been
+beaten _à plate couture_, which in English means that all my seams had
+been turned down and ironed, and all my feathers were drooping.
+
+We were (at least I was) glad to escape at ten o'clock. I don't think I
+ever was so tired. The week at Ascot, the picnic at Virginia Water, the
+balls, and the late sitting-up at night, all told on my nerves, and
+instead of resting at the Hoffmans', I passed a miserable and restless
+night.
+
+The following day we returned to London in time to drive out, at one
+o'clock, with the Lionel Rothschilds to their country-place. It is the
+most magnificent estate; the cedar-trees are particularly beautiful, and
+the broad lawn, which stretches out in front of the house, is the finest I
+have ever seen. Baron Rothschild himself drove the coach and four horses,
+and we spun along the fine road, passing Richmond and all the pretty
+villas and gardens, which were full of roses. It was my birthday, and I
+had many splendid presents. From Baroness Rothschild I received a superb
+traveling-bag, all the fittings of silver gilt, with my initials. Baron
+Alfred Rothschild gave me a smelling-bottle, with the colors of his
+racing-stables in enamel. We had a delightful luncheon, and got back to
+London in time for dinner at Lady Sherbourne's. On hearing it was my
+birthday, she took a diamond-ring from her finger and gave it to me.
+
+More balls, more dinners, luncheons, and garden-parties followed one
+another.
+
+We intend to leave London after the ball at Marlborough House. I must go
+home, as I have nothing more to wear. We had accepted an invitation to the
+garden-party given by the Princess of Wales at Chiswick (their charming
+country-place). All the beauty and elegance of London graced the occasion.
+The Princess looked exquisite in her dainty summer toilette, and had a
+pleasant smile for every one. The Prince circulated among the guests,
+speaking to every one in his usual genial manner. The three little
+Princesses looked like three fluffy pink pin-cushions covered with white
+muslin. On the extensive lawn, which was like a green-velvet carpet, the
+ladies strolled about in their pretty, fresh dresses, sometimes sitting at
+the little tables which were shaded by large Japanese umbrellas placed
+between the terrace and the walk. It was a garden of living flowers.
+
+The Prince of Wales, in his peculiarly abrupt manner, said to me, "What
+have you been doing since Ascot?"
+
+"I have been doing a great deal, sir: dining and dancing and enjoying
+myself generally."
+
+"I am glad to know that. Been singing?"
+
+"Not much, sir. We dined at Twickenham Court, where I played a disastrous
+game of croquet," I answered.
+
+"Do they play croquet at Twickenham Court?"
+
+"Indeed they do, sir. The Countess de Paris plays a very good game."
+
+"What day did you dine there?"
+
+"On the 17th, your Highness," I replied.
+
+"Are you sure it was the 17th you dined there?"
+
+"Yes, I am quite sure. I know it, because it was the day before my
+birthday."
+
+"Was it a large dinner?"
+
+"It was rather large. The whole Orléans family was there, and some
+others."
+
+"Did you know that they had had a _conseil de famille_ that day?"
+
+"No," I answered; "I heard nothing of it."
+
+The Prince continued: "The whole family signed a petition to the Emperor
+Napoleon to be allowed to return to France and serve in the army. Can you
+imagine why they want to go back to France when they can live quietly here
+and be out of politics?" the Prince said.
+
+"Do you think, sir, that the Emperor will refuse?"
+
+"One never knows," said the Prince. "Qui vivra verra."
+
+The Marlborough ball was very magnificent. The Princess of Wales looked
+exquisite. She is very lovely, and has gracious, sweet manners. I don't
+wonder that her people adore her; and I think the Prince is just as good
+as he can be.
+
+
+_July, 1870._
+
+On our return from London I remained quietly at delightful Petit Val.
+
+On the 10th of July we received an invitation to a dinner at St. Cloud,
+but unfortunately we had promised Baroness Rothschild to spend some days
+at Ferrières, and when the invitation came we were obliged to send a
+telegram to St. Cloud expressing our regrets. There is such a talk of war,
+and so many rumors afloat, that every one is more than excited. Alphonse
+Rothschild says that, if there should be a war, it will be a tremendous
+one, and that Germany is better prepared than France. "But," said he, "you
+ought to know about that, as your brother-in-law Hatzfeldt is in the
+secrets of his country."
+
+"That's just it," I answered; "because he is in the secrets of his country
+he is the last person to learn anything from, and we (the family) would be
+the last to know. But do you think that, if war were really imminent, the
+Emperor would think of giving a dinner?" I asked.
+
+"That might be. We don't yet know what the result of Benedetti's interview
+with the King of Prussia at Ems will be," the Baron answered.
+
+We stayed at Ferrières until the 14th, and returned to Petit Val, where we
+received another invitation to St. Cloud for the 17th, which we accepted.
+On the 15th we went to Chamarande, returning to Paris on the following
+afternoon. The Duke de Persigny was not at Chamarande, otherwise we should
+have been a little more _au courant_ of how desperate things looked in
+Paris. The Duchess had a word from the Duke the night before, "and he
+seemed," she said, "very despondent." But I remarked, as I did before,
+"Things could not be so threatening if they were giving a dinner." "Je n'y
+comprends rien," she replied, which was her invariable answer to any doubt
+expressed, or when one wanted a direct response.
+
+We got back to town at half-past five, and I soon began dressing for the
+dinner. We drove out to St. Cloud, and arrived at the door of the château
+just before seven o'clock. What was our astonishment at not seeing any of
+the numerous servants who generally were waiting in the vestibule. There
+was only one man to be seen.
+
+I began taking off my mantle, still wondering, when Monsieur de Laferrière
+came quickly out from one of the salons and said excitedly, "Did you not
+receive my letter countermanding the dinner?"
+
+"Countermanding the dinner! What? Then there is no dinner?"
+
+"No," he rejoined; "it has been countermanded."
+
+As our carriage could not yet have got very far off, nothing was easier
+than to call it back and return to Paris. And I put on my wrap to depart,
+and stood there waiting for the coupé. Then Monsieur de Laferrière came
+out again and said, "Her Majesty says that, now that you are here, you had
+better stay."
+
+"But," I protested, "it is much better for us to go back."
+
+He looked puzzled and said, "But the Empress desires it; you cannot well
+refuse, can you?"
+
+"We will do as you advise."
+
+"Then I advise you to stay," he answered.
+
+And stay we did, and I never regretted anything so much in my life.
+
+When we went into the drawing-room their Majesties were already there. The
+Empress came toward me and said kindly, "How do you do?" The Emperor held
+out his hand, but did not say a word. He looked so ill and tired. Never
+had I seen him look like that! The Prince Imperial seemed preoccupied and
+very serious.
+
+Dinner was announced; the Emperor gave his arm to the Empress, and the
+Prince gave me his. There was no one beside ourselves and the Household,
+perhaps twenty in all, and dinner was served in the small dining-room
+looking toward Paris. On the other side of me was Count d'Arjuson, aide-
+de-camp to the Emperor.
+
+You may imagine that I wished myself a hundred miles away. The Emperor
+never uttered a word; the Empress sat with her eyes fixed on the Emperor,
+and did not speak to a single person. No one spoke. The Emperor would
+receive telegram upon telegram; the gentleman sitting next to him opened
+the telegrams and put them before his Majesty. Every now and again the
+Emperor would look across the table to the Empress with such a distressed
+look it made me think that something terrible was happening, which was
+true. I could not learn much from my surroundings, as dead silence
+reigned. The dinner was very simple. How different from the gorgeous
+repasts of Compiègne, and how sad every one looked! I was glad when the
+signal for leaving the table was given and we re-entered the drawing-room.
+
+The Emperor was immediately surrounded by his gentlemen. The Empress moved
+a little way off, but without taking her eyes from her husband. The Prince
+Imperial stood by his father, watching him. Then the Empress advanced
+toward his Majesty and took his arm to leave the room. Just as she neared
+the door she looked at me, turned back, and coming up to where I was
+standing held out her hand and said, "Bonsoir." The Emperor stood a moment
+irresolutely, then, bowing his head, left the room with the Empress on his
+arm, the Prince following.
+
+We bade the _dames d'honneur_ good night and fled, found the coupé before
+the entrance, and weren't we glad to get in it and drive away? I never in
+my life felt what it was to be _de trop_ and even _deux de trop_. We
+reached the Rue de Courcelles at nine o'clock. It was too early to go to
+bed, and so I am sitting in my dressing-gown, while Charles has gone to
+his club to learn the latest news.
+
+
+_19th July._
+
+This morning war was declared for sure, and they say that the Emperor is
+leaving soon with the Prince. Every one is very confident of the success
+of the French Army, and people go about in the streets singing "À Berlin"
+to the tune of "Les lampions."
+
+
+PETIT VAL, _28th July_.
+
+The Emperor, with the Prince, left this morning for Metz, to take the
+command of the army. He did not come into Paris, but in order to avoid
+demonstrations, noise, etc., had a platform put up on the other side of
+the station at St. Cloud, where the Empress and her ladies could say their
+adieux without the crowd looking on. The last words the Empress said to
+her son were, "Louis, fais ton devoir." She is made the Regent during the
+absence of the Emperor.
+
+
+_30th August_.
+
+It looks now as if there might be war all over France. As it is, the
+Prussians are near Paris, and the French are trying to regain the ground
+they have lost. The news we get is very contradictory. According to the
+French official reports the French Army has been successful all the time.
+The English papers probably give the untarnished truth, unfavorable as it
+may be to France. Some people say that at the worst there is only a
+question of unimportant skirmishes.
+
+We are well out of Paris and safely in Dinard, where Mr. Moulton is
+building a new house (we have already two). We left Petit Val rather
+precipitately, leaving everything behind us, clothes in wardrobes and
+letters in commodes. We shall not be away more than a month.
+
+I can only say that we lead the most peaceful of lives during this time of
+war. I will not tell you any news, because it won't be news when you read
+it. We are and have been all the time fed on false reports, great placards
+pasted up everywhere telling of the French victories, but from our English
+papers we know the contrary. It is pitiful to see the poor, half-clad
+peasants being drilled on the beach with sticks in their hands instead of
+guns. It is the French idea of keeping up the spirits of the army.
+
+I sang in the cathedral last Sunday, and the _quête_ (the money taken),
+they said, was a large sum. I doubt it! I know what the _quêtes_ are here.
+Anything that can rattle in the bag is good. Buttons are particularly
+popular, as no one can see what you put in, and it does not matter.
+
+There was a tremendous storm last night, and many of the slates of the new
+villa were blown off. The servants who sleep there thought that the
+Germans had come at last, and were frightened out of the few wits they
+own.
+
+Madame Gignoux, our neighbor at Petit Val, who is living in her other
+château in Brittany, sent a letter to me which I should send to Helen in
+Berlin, to be sent to Paul, who is in Versailles, to be sent to Mr.
+Washburn, in Paris, who is to give it to Henry at Petit Val. Rather
+roundabout way! I can't tell you how much of that sort of thing I am
+constantly doing for people who are afraid of doing anything for
+themselves; they think every one is a spy or a traitor.
+
+
+PARIS, _March 14, 1871._
+
+DEAR MAMA,--You will be surprised to see that I am in Paris; but you will
+understand why when I tell you that I received a letter from Mrs. Moulton
+to this effect: "If you wish to go to Petit Val to look after the things
+you left there when you went to Dinard last August, you had better come to
+Paris without delay, as the trains are running regularly now." The trains
+may have been running regularly (I left Dinard the next day), but they
+were certainly not running on time, for we missed all connections, and
+only arrived at Rennes after seven o'clock, too late to catch the evening
+train for Paris. The fine omnibus at the station made me imagine that it
+belonged to an equally fine hotel, but the hotel proved to be anything but
+fine. It was dreadfully dirty and shabby, and filled to overflowing. It
+was with the greatest difficulty I was able to secure a room for myself.
+My grumbling maid had to content herself with the sofa. The _salle à
+manger_ was thronged with officers clanking their swords on the brick
+floor and all talking at once. I passed a sleepless night, being kept
+awake by the loud and incessant conversations in the corridor and the
+continual tramping of soldiers under my window. We started for Paris the
+next morning at eight o'clock. The train was crowded with people who, like
+myself, were eager to return home after so many months of anxious waiting.
+In all the stations through which we passed one saw nothing but soldiers,
+their ragged uniforms hanging on their emaciated forms; their feet--which
+had been frozen in January (poor things!)--were still bandaged, and hardly
+any of them possessed shoes. They did look, indeed, the picture of abject
+dejection and misery.
+
+At Le Mans, the place where we stopped for luncheon, the soldiers were
+lying about on the brick pavement of the station, too tired and worn out
+to move, and presenting the saddest sight it has ever fallen to my lot to
+witness. They were waiting for the cattle vans to take them away. In these
+they would be obliged to stand until they reached Paris and its hospitals.
+Every one of the travelers was anxious to alleviate their misery in some
+way, by offering them cigars, food, and money. My heart bled for the poor
+creatures, and I gave them all I had in my purse, and my luncheon also.
+They represented the debris of Faidherbe's army, which of all the troops
+had seen the most desperate fighting during the war. All the trains we
+passed were packed tight with soldiers, herded together like cattle,
+patient misery painted on their pale, tired faces.
+
+Hungry and penniless I arrived at last in Paris, where I was delighted to
+see a healthy, normal-looking person in the shape of my brother-in-law,
+Henry, who met me at the station. He had plenty to tell me of his
+experiences since last September. He had been living at Petit Val
+throughout the whole campaign, and was still there looking after our
+interests, _faisant la navette_ between Petit Val, Paris, and Versailles
+at his will. He had free passes for all these places. On my arrival at the
+Rue de Courcelles I found the family well, Mrs. Moulton knitting as usual,
+Mademoiselle Wissembourg napping, and Mr. Moulton reading the _Journal des
+Débats_ out loud in his peculiar French.
+
+I thought of the "Brook," by Tennyson: "Men may come and men may go, but I
+go on for ever." The family had not eaten cats and dogs during the siege
+as, according to the newspapers, other people had done.
+
+Mr. Moulton having been in Paris at the time of the Revolution of 1848,
+and knowing about revolutions, had had the forethought to lay in a stock
+of provisions, such as ham, biscuit, rice, etc., and all sorts of canned
+things, which he deemed would be sufficient for all their requirements.
+They had even given dinner-parties limited to a very choice few, who
+sometimes brought welcome additions in the shape of other canned
+delicacies.
+
+When the family moved from Petit Val to Paris last September, the French
+Government had given them permission to keep one or two cows. They also
+brought a calf, a sheep, and some chickens with them. The cows and the
+sheep shared the stables with the horses, while the chickens were let
+loose in the conservatory, and were expected to lay enough eggs to pay for
+their board. The gardener had cleverly converted the conservatory into a
+sort of kitchen garden, and had planted some useful vegetables, such as
+radishes, carrots, salad, etc., so you see the family took good care that
+it should have enough to eat, and mice and rats only appeared on the table
+after the repasts.
+
+
+PARIS, _March 16, 1871._
+
+DEAR MAMA,--This has been a very fatiguing day for me, so you will only
+receive a short letter.
+
+Paul [Footnote: Count Hatzfeldt, my brother-in-law.] invited Mrs. Moulton
+and me to come to Versailles, and offered us a cup of tea as an
+inducement. You know Paul is Count Bismarck's private secretary, having
+been with him and the German sovereign during the entire war. He is still
+at Versailles, but expects to leave for Berlin one of these first days. He
+came to fetch us at the station with the fat ponies and the basket-wagon
+(the ponies had escaped the fate of other fat ponies, and they had not
+furnished steaks for famished Parisians, but continued to trot
+complacently about, as of old). Fortunately they were not too fat to carry
+us through the park at a lively pace, and land us at Paul's palatial
+residence. It seemed strange to see German officers, in their tight-
+fitting uniforms, strolling leisurely about in the park, where before I
+had only seen the rather slovenly _pious-pious_ on holidays, when the
+fountains played by day and the fireworks by night.
+
+The park looked enchanting in its spring toilette, and made me think of
+the last time I was here. Could it have been only last May? It seems years
+ago!
+
+Paul had invited some of his German officer friends to take tea with us.
+Paul had been with the King of Prussia and Jules Favre and Bismarck at
+Ferrières, where they had met, he said, "with no other result than to see
+Jules Favre weep."
+
+Paul had been at Versailles when the King was proclaimed Emperor in the
+_salle de glaces_--the greatest emotion he had ever experienced, he said.
+He had also been witness of the signing of the armistice. The pen with
+which it was signed had been given him as a souvenir, and it was lying on
+his table.
+
+Paul thought the Emperor Napoleon more to be pitied than blamed. He had
+gone into this war without really knowing the true state of things. He was
+made to believe that there were four hundred thousand men ready to take
+the field, when in reality there were only half that number, and those
+certainly not fit to be pitted against the Germans, who had been provided
+with better and newer maps than the French, and knew France and its army
+more thoroughly than the French themselves. We could have talked on this
+subject for hours had not the fat ponies come to take us to the station,
+where we bade farewell to Paul and the officers, and returned to Paris for
+the modest repast which we dignified by the name of dinner.
+
+
+_March 17th._
+
+DEAR MAMA,--Such a funny thing happened to-day.
+
+I don't know whether I told you of some Americans, called the O----s, I
+met in Dinard fresh from America (_via_ Southampton). When I bade them
+good-by, I said, in an offhand way, "When you come to Paris you must come
+and see me."
+
+"Oh! that will be nice," gushingly replied Mrs. O----. "Where do you live?"
+(Every one of the O----s' phrases commenced with "Oh!")
+
+"I live in the Rue de Courcelles," I answered.
+
+"Oh! Roue de Carrousel," she repeated. "What number?"
+
+"Rue de Courcelles," I replied, correctingly; "twenty-seven."
+
+Mrs. O----'s next question was, "Oh! have you a flat?"
+
+"A flat!! No," I said, "we have a hotel. Every one knows our hotel in the
+Rue de Courcelles."
+
+I then proceeded to forget the O----s and everything concerning them. This
+morning, when we were at luncheon, the _concierge_ came rushing in, the
+tassels on his _calotte_ bristling with agitation.
+
+"Madame," he gasped, "there is a fiacre full of people with a lot of
+trunks asking to come in to Madame. I can't understand what they want."
+His emotion choked him.
+
+We all said in unison: "Ask for their cards. Who can they be?"
+
+The _concierge_ came back with Mr. O----'s card.
+
+I recollected my impulsive invitation and thought it very polite of them
+to be so _empressés_. I went into the salon, followed by Mademoiselle
+W----, where we found Mr. O---- seated at his ease in a _fauteuil_, his
+feet reposing on the white-bear rug.
+
+I apologized for having kept him waiting, but explained that we had been
+at luncheon.
+
+He (complacently), "Oh, that's all right; we have just arrived in Paris
+and we came straight to you."
+
+I felt overwhelmed at such a keen appreciation of my politeness.
+
+"How is Mrs. O----?" I said.
+
+He answered with the inevitable "Oh!" "Oh! she's all right. She's outside
+in the cab."
+
+"Indeed!" I said, and wondered why she had not sent her card in with his,
+though I supposed she was waiting to be asked to come in, if he found me
+at home.
+
+"We thought before trying anywhere else we would see if you could take us
+in."
+
+This staggered me considerably. I tried to take _him_ "in" as he stood
+before me with traveling cap and umbrella.
+
+"Are you full?" he went on. Mademoiselle and I wondered if we showed signs
+of a too copious luncheon.
+
+"Why, what a nice place you have here!" looking about. "Well," he
+continued, nothing daunted, "you see, we only want one bedroom, for us,
+with a room next for baby, and one not too far off for Arthur."
+
+What was he driving at? Mademoiselle W---- thought he was either a spy or
+a burglar who had come to take a survey of the hotel. Her bracelets and
+bunch of keys rattled ominously as the thought of burglars entered her
+brain.
+
+He, familiarly settling himself down for a chat, "Do you think you could
+pick up a maid for Mrs. O----?"
+
+Mademoiselle and I exchanged a glance of intelligent indulgence and
+thought: All our friends wanted, probably, was a few addresses before
+settling themselves in Paris. How stupid of us not to have thought of this
+sooner! I hastened to promise all sorts of names and addresses of
+tradespeople, thinking he would take his departure.
+
+Not he! On the contrary, he tucked his umbrella more firmly under his arm,
+and turned to Mademoiselle W----: "Have you got a register?" taking her,
+no doubt, for _la dame du comptoir_.
+
+Mademoiselle draped herself in her most Rachel-like attitude and glanced
+knowingly at the hot-air flue which she had been told was a register.
+
+"We have," she answered curtly, wondering if this extraordinary creature
+could be suffering from cold on this warm spring day.
+
+"I had better write my name down!" This was too much! Mademoiselle thought
+now that he was not only a burglar, but a lunatic.
+
+"I think," I said, "I can give you the address of a very nice maid,"
+trying to lead him back into the paths we had trodden before.
+
+"Oh! that'll be all right. You have perhaps a maid in the house?"
+
+"Certainly we have," answered Mademoiselle with asperity, giving her
+velvet bow an agitated pat.
+
+"Money is no object," continued he; "I'm always willing to pay what one
+asks." Mademoiselle now thought he was drunk and was for sending for the
+servants.
+
+I asked him, "How is the baby?"
+
+"Oh! baby's all right. The nurse has been a little upset by the journey.
+You might give us the address of your doctor."
+
+"Yes, yes." I gave him the name instantly, hoping he would go.
+
+"We don't need him right off; he can come here later, and you can talk to
+him yourself. Maria does not speak French."
+
+Mademoiselle gasped for breath, while he looked about him approvingly.
+
+"Real nice house you have, Madame, not very central, but we don't mind
+being in a quiet part of Paris, as Maria wants to learn French"; and
+seeing the conservatory, he remarked: "Arthur can play in there. That'll
+do splendidly." After an awkward pause: "Well, if the rooms are ready, we
+can come right in. Maria will be wondering why I have been so long."
+_I_ also wondered why he had been so long!
+
+To cap the climax, he handed Mademoiselle a five-franc piece, saying: "I
+guess this will cover the cab. The coachman can keep the change."
+
+A light dawned on me! He thought this was a hotel!
+
+I said, "When you get settled in your hotel I will come and see you."
+
+"What! Can't you take us in? We counted on coming to your hotel."
+
+I laughed outright. Mademoiselle raised what she is pleased to call her
+eyebrows and shrugged her shoulders,
+
+I explained to my guest his mistake. Instead of saying, "Oh! that's all
+right," he said, "Well, I'll be blessed," and without wasting any more
+time than for a hasty good-by he marched out to join the tired Maria, the
+baby, the nurse, and Arthur. We watched them as they drove off, all gazing
+out of the window at the hotel which was _not_ a hotel.
+
+May Allah protect them!
+
+
+_March 19th._
+
+DEAR MOTHER,--The day before yesterday Henry and I decided to go to Petit
+Val. I looked forward with delight to seeing my beautiful home again. Mrs.
+Moulton promised to drive out and bring me back to Paris late in the
+afternoon. We drove to the Gare de la Bastille and took our tickets for La
+Varenne. The station was so horribly dirty, it looked as if it had not
+been swept or cleaned since the commencement of the war, and as for the
+first-class compartment we entered I really hesitated to sit down on the
+shabby and dilapidated cushions.
+
+We traveled very slowly, and stopped at every station mentioned in the
+time-table. Although these were devoid of travelers, the conductor opened
+the doors of all the carriages, and after waiting the allotted time
+shouted mechanically, "En voiture," though there was absolutely no one to
+get in.
+
+I thought we never would arrive!
+
+All the little towns, once so thrifty and prosperous, are now hardly more
+than ruins. It is no wonder that this part of the country (Vincennes, St.
+Maur, Chenvières, etc.) is so destroyed, because it was all about here
+that the French, shut up in Paris, had made the most frequent sorties.
+Everything was terribly changed.
+
+Now my beautiful bridge is a thing of the past. There is one arch half in
+water and debris of stone and mortar on the shore.
+
+Henry and I, having no alternative, were obliged to walk from the station
+to the pontoon bridge, made, Henry said, in one night. I don't know about
+that; but what I do know is that the French blew up my bridge _in one
+night_. Then we made the whole distance to Petit Val on foot, passing
+by the châteaux of Ormesson, Chenvières, Grand Val, and Montalon.
+
+All the châteaux we passed are utterly abandoned, some quite in ruins; one
+can see, for instance, right through beautiful Grand Val, bereft of
+windows and doors.
+
+But worse was awaiting me! My heart sank within me when we came in sight
+of the _potager_, the glory of Petit Val, so renowned in its day for
+its fruits and vegetables. Now it is frightful to see! Its walls torn
+asunder; cannon put in its crenelated sides, dilapidated and destroyed;
+the garden filled with rubbish of all description. But, as though nature
+were protesting against all this disorder and neglect, the cherry-trees
+were placidly blossoming; the almond-trees, with their delicate pink
+flowers, filled the air with perfume: everything, in short, doing its part
+in spite of war and bloodshed. Your heart would ache if you could see the
+place as it is now. The porter's lodge is completely gutted, windowless
+and doorless, open to wind and weather.
+
+It seems strange to see a sentry-box stationed at the entrance of the park
+and a sentinel pacing to and fro. Henry gave the password, and we walked
+up the avenue toward the château. I will not weary you by trying to depict
+my feelings, but will leave you to imagine what they must have been. I
+looked in vain for the beautiful Lebanon cedar which, you remember, stood
+where my nightingale used to sing, on the broad lawn. Henry said that it
+had been the first tree that the Germans had cut down, and it had been
+lying there on the lawn just as it fell, where the soldiers could
+conveniently cut their fuel. Henry called my attention to a white flag
+flying on the chateau, which, at Paul's request, Count Bismarck had
+ordered to be put there.
+
+Henry said it signified in military language that only staff officers were
+to occupy the château, and that no unnecessary damage should be done "if
+we are quiet." Did Bismarck think we were likely to be unruly and go about
+shooting people? The one thing in the world we wanted was to be quiet. The
+flag also signified that the château should be protected. Henry had once
+complained to Bismarck of the damage done by the German soldiers at Petit
+Val, and Bismarck had replied, "À la guerre comme à la guerre," adding,
+"The German Government will hold itself responsible for private losses,
+with the exception of those which are consequences of a state of war ...
+there is always a certain amount of unavoidable destruction."
+
+"Unavoidable destruction!" cried Henry; "this can cover a multitude of
+sins."
+
+"The exigencies of war, if you like that better," rejoined Bismarck.
+
+Paul Hatzfeldt wrote to Helen last September that the King of Prussia had
+promised to put Petit Val under special protection. He even wished to go
+there himself; but Paul thought Petit Val looked so spoiled that he was
+glad the King did not go. If it was spoiled in September last, imagine
+what it must have been six months later, with six months of soldiers to
+spoil it!
+
+When we arrived at the château itself the officers, who had evidently just
+been lunching, came out to meet us, wondering, apparently, who this
+courageous lady (poor trembling me!) could possibly be. Henry knew their
+names, and presented them all to me; they clanked their heels together and
+made the most perfect of military salutes.
+
+The commanding officer in charge of Petit Val is Count Arco, a major of a
+Bavarian regiment. I hastened to explain my presence among them, saying
+that I wished to collect the various things I had left in the château when
+I went away last August, and I had taken advantage of the first occasion
+which offered itself of coming here.
+
+Count Arco held a short conversation with Henry, who told him I would like
+to go to my apartment. "Do not trouble to have anything disarranged for
+me," I said, "as I shall only be here for a short time. My mother-in-law
+is driving out later in the afternoon to take me back to Paris."
+
+While we were talking Count Arco informed me that there were twenty six
+officers in the château itself and one hundred and twenty soldiers
+quartered round in the different pavilions, farm-houses, _ateliers_, and
+--I think he said--about fifty in the _orangerie_.
+
+Presently an orderly appeared and conducted me to my rooms, which had
+evidently been hurriedly evacuated, but they looked quite nice and clean.
+I was agreeably surprised to find my writing-desk and commodes pretty
+nearly as I remembered to have left them. At any rate, letters, trinkets,
+and so forth seemed undisturbed. I wish I could say the same for my
+wearing apparel, which had considerably diminished since my departure.
+Waists without their skirts, and skirts without their waists, and I found
+various female articles unknown to me; but never mind! _Honi soit qui mal
+y pense!_
+
+It was said in France that no German could resist a clock, and that the
+dearth of clocks after the war is quite noticeable. To prove the contrary,
+and to applaud the officers who had lived in Petit Val (and there had been
+many hundreds of them), my clock was ticking away as of old on my
+mantelpiece.
+
+Having finished packing the things to take with me, I wished to have a
+look at _protected_ Petit Val.
+
+The "unavoidable destruction" had been interpreted in a very liberal
+sense.
+
+The salon was a sight never to be forgotten. The mirrors which paneled the
+whole of the east wall were broken, as if stones had been thrown at them;
+every picture had been pierced by bayonets. The beautiful portrait of the
+Marquis de Marigny (the former owner of Petit Val and brother of Madame de
+Pompadour) had vanished. Instead of the Aubusson furniture we had left,
+which, I suppose, has been transferred to other homes, I found two pianos,
+one grand (not ours), two billiard-tables (not ours), some iron tables,
+and some very hard iron chairs (certainly not ours), annexed, I should
+say, from a neighboring café.
+
+The library, formerly containing such rare and valuable books, is now a
+bedroom--the shelves half empty, the books scattered about, some of them
+piled up in a corner and used as a table. Henry said that, when any one
+wanted to light a fire or a pipe, they simply tore a page out of a book.
+What did they care? Was it not one of the "exigencies of war"? The frames
+and glasses of the engravings were broken; but, fortunately, all the
+engravings were not ruined.
+
+You remember Mrs. Moulton's boudoir, where all was so dainty and complete?
+The soldiers had converted it into a kitchen, and at the moment we were
+there they were cooking some very smelly cabbage _à la tedesco_.
+
+My pretty pavilion! If you could have seen it!
+
+Evidently the all-powerful flag had not protected this, for it was without
+doors, windows, and parquets. The only thing in it was a dear little calf
+munching his last meal before being killed. To make it look more like a
+slaughter-house, there were haunches of beef hanging on the Louis XV.
+appliques, which had been left on the walls to serve as nails. Fresh blood
+was dropping from them on the sacks of potatoes underneath.
+
+The officers had coffee served under the _charmille_.
+
+I was glad to get something to sustain my sinking heart. Henry and I took
+a sad walk through the park. The once beautifully kept lawn is now like a
+ploughed field, full of ruts and stones.
+
+The lake was shining in the sun, but on it there were no boats. The grotto
+over which used to trickle a little waterfall was completely dry, showing
+the ugly stucco false rocks. It seemed dismal and forlorn. I wondered how
+I ever could have thought it beautiful! The _rivière_ was without its
+pretty rustic bridge; the picturesque pavilions were filled with soldiers;
+some were sitting on the porches mending their clothes.
+
+Five o'clock came before we realized how late it was. We expected the
+carriage every moment; but there was no sign of it, though we scanned the
+length of the long avenue with the Count's field-glasses.
+
+Why did Mrs. Moulton not come? Something must have happened! But what?
+Henry and I were seriously alarmed. Noticing our looks of dismay, Count
+Arco asked me if I was anxious. I replied that I naturally was anxious,
+because if my mother-in-law could not come or send the carriage she
+certainly would have telegraphed. He then inquired if I wished to send a
+telegram. No sooner had I said "yes" than an orderly appeared on horseback
+to take the telegram to the station. He returned, while we still stood in
+the avenue looking for the longed-for carriage, with the astounding news
+that all the telegraph wires were cut.
+
+To take the train was our next idea, and the wondering orderly was again
+sent back to find out when the next train would start. This time he
+returned with still more astounding news.
+
+There were no trains at all!
+
+Count Arco seemed to be most agitated, and I could see, by the expression
+of the faces of the other officers, that they were more disturbed than
+they wanted us to notice.
+
+What should I do? Everything was in ruins in the village. There was not
+even an _auberge_ of the smallest dimensions. All the neighboring châteaux
+were abandoned. Of whom could I ask hospitality? Count Arco, seeing my
+embarrassment, proposed my staying the night at Petit Val. Henry's living
+there made it easier for me. So I accepted his offer; besides, there was
+no choice. The soldiers arranged my room according to their ideas of a
+lady's requirements, which included a boot-jack, ash-trays, beer-mugs,
+etc. Their intentions were of the best.
+
+At seven o'clock Henry and I dined with the officers. It seemed strange to
+me to be presiding at my own table surrounded by German officers, Count
+Arco being my _vis-à-vis_.
+
+Do you want to know what we had for dinner? Bean soup, brought from
+Germany. Sausages and cabbage, put up in Germany. Coffee and zwiebacks, I
+suppose also from Germany.
+
+The evening passed quickly, and I must admit very pleasantly. Any one who
+had pretensions to music played or sang, Henry performed some of his
+compositions; one officer did some card tricks. They all had an anecdote
+of their experience from the past months, which they told with great
+relish. Henry whispered to Count Arco: "My sister-in-law sings. Why don't
+you ask her for a song?" I could have pinched him!
+
+Although I was very tired and did not feel like it, I reflected that
+almost anything was preferable to being begged and teased. And, after all,
+why not be as amiable as my companions, who had done their best to amuse
+me?
+
+I seated myself at the piano and commenced with one of Schumann's songs,
+and then I sang "Ma Mère était Bohémienne," of Massé, which had a great
+success, and at the refrain, "Et moi! j'ai l'âme triste," there was not a
+dry eye in the little circle. Graf Waldersee, one of the oldest warriors,
+wept like an infant while I was singing, and coming up to me, after
+blowing his nose, said, in his delightfully broken English, "You zing like
+an angle [I hope he meant angel]. It is as if ze paradise vas opened to
+us." Then he retired in a corner and wiped his eyes. I sang "Ein Jungling
+liebt ein Mädchen," of Schumann, and when I came to the line, "Und wem das
+just passieret, dem bricht das Herz entzwei," I heard a mournful sigh. It
+came from the Benjamin of the flock, a very young officer, who sat with
+his hands over his face sobbing audibly. What chord had I struck? Was
+_his_ the heart that was breaking _entzwei_?
+
+I had sung to many people, but I think I never sang to a more appreciative
+audience than this one.
+
+Henry accompanied me in "Beware!" Their enthusiasm knew no bounds. They
+all gathered around me, eager to thank me for the unexpected pleasure. I
+really think they meant what they said.
+
+When I returned to my room I looked out of my window and saw the sentinel
+pacing to and fro in the moonlight. I realized _for the first time_ that
+the château was protected!
+
+I mourned the beautiful and stately Lebanon cedar!
+
+
+_March 18th._
+
+It seemed so strange to wake up and find myself in my room. An orderly
+brought me a very neatly arranged tray, with tea and buttered toast and a
+note from Henry announcing the terrible news that Paris was under arms--a
+revolution (_rien que ça_) had broken out, and all approaches to the
+city were barricaded. This was news indeed! I understood now why no
+carriage came last night, why trains were stopped, why telegraph wires
+were cut, and why no mother-in-law appeared.
+
+Henry was waiting to communicate with me as soon as I was out of my room.
+Indeed, a more stranded mortal than I was could hardly be imagined!
+However, there seemed nothing for me to do but to await events.
+
+The officers met us in the salon, and we discussed the situation and
+different possibilities, but without any practical result.
+
+Every one was much excited about the news. The officers pretended not to
+know more than _we_ did; perhaps what they did know they did not care to
+tell. We saw messengers flying in all directions, papers handed about,
+more messengers galloping down the avenue, agitation written on the faces
+around us. All I knew was that there was a revolution in Paris and _I
+was here_.
+
+Going out to the stables, we found the soldiers grooming their horses
+unconcernedly. From there we went to the _orangerie_, which presented
+a queer sight. The soldiers, of whom there must have been sixty, had
+arranged their beds all along the walls on both sides, and to separate
+them one from another had placed a tub with its orange-tree. The aviary
+had been converted into a drying-ground for their _lingerie_; they had
+suspended ropes from side to side, and thereon hung their _week's wash_
+amid all its "unavoidable destruction." Henry told me that when the
+Germans first came to Petit Val they begged old Perault (the butler) to
+hand them the key of the wine-cellar, and on his refusing they had tied
+the old man to a tree in the park, and left him there the whole of one
+cold night to consider the situation. Needless to say, the next day the
+Germans had the key. After they had taken all the best Château-Lafitte and
+all the rare wines Mr. Moulton had bought during the Revolution of 1848,
+they emptied the casks containing the _Petit Bleu, made on the estate!_
+The result was disastrous, and could Mr. Moulton have only seen the poor
+creatures doubled up with torture he would have felt himself amply
+revenged.
+
+We ascended the hill behind the château to the high terrace, from where
+one can see Paris. We saw no smoke, therefore Paris was not burning. But
+what was happening there? We returned to breakfast, where the military
+band was playing on the lawn (a superfluous luxury, I thought, but I did
+not realize that so trivial a thing as a revolution could not interfere
+with military order). We were treated to the eternal sausage and something
+they called beefsteak; it might as well have been called "_suprême de
+donkey_," it was so tough. However, the others ate it with iron jaws
+and without a pang. Count Arco suggested I should take a drive, _en
+attendant les événements_, and see the neighborhood. I acquiesced,
+thinking anything in the way of distraction would be a welcome relief.
+Imagine my feelings when I saw our _calèche_, a mere ghost of its former
+self, dragged by four artillery horses and postilioned by two heavy
+dragoons.
+
+"The exigencies of war" had obliged the soldiers to remove the leather,
+the carpet, the cushions, and all the cloth; only the iron and wood
+remained to show that once this had been a carriage.
+
+This ancient relic drew up with a thump on what had been flower-beds, and
+the Count opened the door for me to enter, but on observing my look of
+dismay when I saw the hard, cushionless seats, despatched an officer to
+try to find a cushion for me. Apparently, however, cushions were souvenirs
+our friends had forgotten to bring with them from other residences.
+Judging from the time we waited, the officer must have ransacked the whole
+house, but had found nothing better than a couple of bed-pillows, with
+which he appeared, carrying one under each arm, to the great amusement of
+the beholders. I mounted this grotesque equipage, the Count and Henry
+following, and sat enthroned on my pillows of state.
+
+We asked, before starting, if there was any news from Paris, and receiving
+an answer in the negative, we drove off. Up hills, over lawns and flower-
+beds, zigzagging through vineyards and gardens, never by any chance
+keeping to the proper road, we made the tour of the environs.
+
+To give you an idea how completely the châteaux had been ransacked, I can
+tell you that I picked up about a yard and a half of handsome Brussels
+lace in the courtyard of the château of Sucy. We drove hastily through the
+adjoining estate of Grand Val, which looked even more deplorable than
+Sucy. I began to wonder if the artillery horses and the carcass of the
+vehicle in which we sat would be capable of carrying me to Paris, or at
+least within walking distance of it. You see, I was beginning to get
+desperate. Here was I, with the day almost over, without any apparent
+prospect of getting away. But, as the Psalmist puts it, "Sorrow endureth
+for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." My joy came late in the
+afternoon, on returning to Petit Val, where I found the landeau of the
+American Legation, my mother-in-law, and (hobnobbing with the German
+officers) the American Minister himself, the popular and omnipotent Mr.
+Washburn.
+
+They were overjoyed to see me, as they had been as anxious as I had been,
+having tried every means in their power to reach me. To telegraph was
+impossible; to send a groom on horseback equally so. Finally, as a last
+resource, they had written to Mr. Washburn to see if he could not solve
+the difficult question, which he did by driving out himself with Mrs.
+Moulton to fetch me.
+
+As soon as the horses were sufficiently rested (my hosts and I being
+profuse in our mutual thanks), we started for Paris, passing through
+Alfort, Charenton, and many villages, all more or less in ruins. There
+were plenty of people lounging about in the streets. We reached Vincennes
+without difficulty; but thenceforth our troubles commenced in earnest.
+
+Mr. Washburn thought it more prudent to close the carriage, cautioning the
+coachman to drive slower. We were stopped at every moment by soldiers and
+barricades; then Mr. Washburn would show his card and his _laissez
+passer_, after which we were allowed to pass on, until we came to more
+soldiers and more barricades. Omnibuses turned over, paving-stones piled
+up, barrels, ladders, ropes stretched across the streets, anything to stop
+the circulation. Poor Mr. Washburn was tired out popping his head first
+out of one window then out of the other, with his card in his hand.
+
+[Illustration: ELIHU WASHBURN
+United States Minister to France during the Commune]
+
+The men who accosted us were not discourteous, but spoke quite decidedly,
+as if they did not expect to be contradicted. We did not care to
+contradict them, either.
+
+"We know you, Monsieur, by reputation, and we know that you are well
+disposed toward France. How do you feel toward _la Commune_?"  Mr.
+Washburn hesitating a moment, the man added, cynically, "Perhaps you would
+like to add a stone to our barricades." He made as if he would open the
+door of the carriage; but Mr. Washburn answered, holding back the door, "I
+take it for granted, Monsieur, that I have your permission to drive on, as
+I have something very important to attend to at my Legation," and gave the
+man a defiant look, which rather frightened him, and we drove through the
+crowd. All along the Rue de Rivoli we saw the soldiers massing together in
+groups, _La Garde nationale_ (Mr. Washburn said they so called themselves
+since yesterday), a miserable-looking set of men, talking very loud and
+flourishing their guns as if they were walking-sticks.
+
+In passing the Rue Castiglione we saw it was full of soldiers, and looking
+toward the Place de la Concorde we saw more barricades there.
+
+This was a sight to behold! The space around the Column was filled with
+paving-stones and all sorts of débris (strange to say, my eyes saw more
+brooms than anything else); and cannon pointing everywhere. A very
+impertinent, common-looking _voyou_ said, on looking at Mr. Washburn's
+card, "Vous êtes tous très chic... mais vous ne passerez pas, tout de
+même."
+
+We shook in our shoes.
+
+But Mr. Washburn, equal to the occasion, said something which had the
+desired effect, and we passed on.
+
+All along the Rue de Rivoli the yesterday-fledged soldiers were straggling
+about, glad to have a day of leisure. They brandished their bayonets with
+a newly acquired grace, pointing them in front of them in such a reckless
+way that people made a large circle around them, frightened to death.
+
+As we passed the Hôtel de Ville we saw the red flag of the Communards
+waving over the Palace. Barricades and cannon filled the space between
+that and the Rue de Rivoli. Here we were stopped again, and tired Mr.
+Washburn, annoyed to death, answered more stupid questions, showed his
+card and documents, and gave a little biography of himself. I thought we
+should never get on.
+
+I could have cried when I saw the Tuileries; it was only last August I had
+had a delightful half-hour with the Empress (she asked me to take tea with
+her). Then she was full of confidence in the triumph of the Emperor (who
+could have doubted it?), pleased that her son should have received _le
+baptême du feu_, as the Emperor telegraphed--oh, the pity of it all! and
+that was only last August--seven months ago.
+
+As we drove by I thought of the famous ball given at the Tuileries last
+May (_Le bal de Plébiscite_), the most splendid thing of its kind one
+had ever seen.
+
+And now! The Tuileries deserted, empty, the Emperor a prisoner, the
+Empress a fugitive! All France demoralized! All its prestige gone! One
+wonders how such things can be.
+
+[Illustration: RUE DE RIVOLI, WHERE THE HÔTEL CONTINENTAL NOW STANDS]
+
+Mr. Washburn said he was not sorry to have remained in Paris (an
+experience he would on no account have missed). He thought he had been of
+service to his own country and also to France.
+
+Mrs. Moulton remarked, "What would those shut up in Paris have done
+without you?"
+
+"Oh! I was only a post-office," he answered.
+
+"The only _poste restante_ in Paris," I said under my breath; but I did
+not dare utter anything so frivolous at the moment.
+
+In the Faubourg St.-Honoré things were much quieter, though there were
+numbers of soldiers slouching about with their muskets pointing every
+which way. When we arrived at last in the Rue de Courcelles (it had taken
+us four hours) all was as quiet as Sunday in Boston.
+
+Mr. Moulton had been almost crazy with anxiety; but the thought that we
+were sailing under the American colors had calmed him somewhat, and his
+past emotions did not prevent him from reading the _Journal des Débats_ to
+us. I slipped off to bed tired out, but thankful not to be any longer
+"under protection."
+
+
+_March 20th._
+
+Louis asked permission to go and assist at the proclamation of the
+Commune, which was to be read at the Hôtel de Ville.
+
+There was a platform built in front of the façade, which was decorated
+with many red flags and covered with a red carpet, and all the new members
+of the committee wore the symbolical red sashes over their worthy
+shoulders. The statue of Henry II. was duly draped with red flags and
+ragged boys. Louis stood first and foremost among many of his old
+comrades, the famous and plucky Zouaves. Henri d'Assy read the
+proclamation out in a loud voice, and informed the public that the Commune
+(this new and charming infant) was baptized in the name of _Liberté_,
+_Égalité_, and _Fraternité_. There was great enthusiasm, and a salvo of
+artillery underlined the big words, and there arose a mighty shout of
+"Vive la Commune!" from thousands of hoarse throats which shook the very
+earth. Louis's account was worth hearing; but mine is only the truth with
+variations. He was most impressed, and I fancy it would not have taken
+much persuasion to have made him a red-hot Communist then and there.
+
+Great excitement prevailed all Sunday. The Communists remained in
+possession of all the public buildings. The red flag was hoisted
+everywhere, even from the palace of the Princess Mathilde, who, as you
+know, lives directly opposite us. The Princess had left Paris last
+September. All the world knows how our clever American dentist, Dr. Evans,
+helped the Empress safely out of Paris, and of her flight; and after the
+catastrophe of Sedan it would have been dangerous for any member of the
+Imperial family to have remained here. As I look from my window across to
+the Princess's palace, and see all the windows open and the courtyard
+filled with shabby soldiers, I realize that we are _en pleine Commune_,
+and wonder when we shall come out of all this chaos, and how it will all
+end.
+
+To-day there was a great demonstration in the streets.
+
+A young fellow named Henri de Pène thought if he could collect enough
+people to follow him he would lead them to the barricades in the Place
+Vendôme, in order to beg the Communards, in the name of the people, to
+restore order and quiet in the city. He sent word beforehand that they
+would come there _unarmed_.
+
+De Pène started at a very early hour from the distant Boulevards, calling
+to every one and beckoning to them, in order to make them come from their
+balconies and from their work, and shouting to all in the streets, managed
+to assemble a large crowd to join in his courageous undertaking.
+
+I happened to go at one o'clock to Worth's, in the Rue de la Paix, and,
+finding the street barred, I left my coupé in the Rue des Petits Champs,
+telling Louis to wait for me in the Rue St.-Arnaud (just behind the Rue de
+la Paix), and I walked to No. 7.
+
+I wondered why there were so few people in the streets. The Place Vendôme
+was barricaded with paving-stones, and cannon were pointing down the Rue
+de la Paix. I walked quietly along to Worth's, and hardly had I reached
+his salon than we heard distant, confused sounds, and then the shouting in
+the street below made us all rush to the windows.
+
+What a sight met our eyes!
+
+This handsome young fellow, De Pène, his hat in his outstretched hand,
+followed by a crowd of men, women, and children, looked the picture of
+life, health, and enthusiasm.
+
+De Pène, seeing people on Worth's balcony, beckoned to them to join him;
+but Mr. Worth wisely withdrew inside, and, shaking his Anglo-Saxon head,
+said, "Not I." _He_, indeed!
+
+The crowd bore banners on which were written: "_Les Amis du Peuple_,"
+"_Amis de l'Ordre_" "_Pour la Paix_" and one with "_Nous ne sommes pas
+armés._" This mass of humanity walked down the Rue de la Paix, filling the
+whole breadth of it.
+
+One can't imagine the horror we felt when we heard the roar of a cannon,
+and looking down saw the street filled with smoke, and frightened screams
+and terrified groans reached our ears. Some one dragged me inside the
+window, and shut it to drown the horrible noises outside. De Pène was the
+first who was killed. The street was filled with dead and wounded. Mr.
+Hottingeur (the banker) was shot in the arm. The living members of _Les
+Amis_ scampered off as fast as their legs could carry them, while the
+wounded were left to the care of the shopkeepers, and the dead were
+abandoned where they fell until further aid should come.
+
+It was all too horrible!
+
+I felt terribly agitated, and, moreover, deadly sick. My one thought was
+to reach my carriage and get home as quickly as possible. But how was I to
+accomplish it? The Rue de la Paix was, of course, impossible. Worth had a
+courtyard, but no outlet into the Rue St.-Arnaud. He suggested that I
+should go through his _ateliers_, which he had at the top of the house,
+and reach an adjoining apartment, from which I might descend to the Rue
+St.-Arnaud, where I would find my carriage. He told one of his women to
+lead the way, and I followed. We toiled up many flights of wearisome steps
+until we arrived at the above-mentioned ateliers. These communicated with
+another apartment, of which Worth's woman had the key. On her opening the
+door we found ourselves in a small bedroom (not in the tidiest condition),
+which appeared to have just been occupied.
+
+We passed through this room and came out to a staircase, where the
+demoiselle said, "You have only to go down here." I therefore proceeded to
+descend the five flights of waxed steps, holding on to the wobbly iron
+railing, my legs trembling, my head swimming, and my heart sick. My only
+hope was to reach the carriage and home!
+
+When at last I came to the _porte-cochère_ I found it closed and locked,
+and the frightened _concierge_ would not open for me. Fortunately, I had a
+gold piece to make her yield to my demand. She reluctantly unfastened the
+door and I went out. The street was filled with a terrified mob howling
+and flying in every direction. I caught a glimpse of the carriage away up
+the street, and I saw a hand gesticulating above the heads of the crowd,
+which I recognized as Louis's. It was the only one with a glove on!
+
+I pushed my way through the mass of people, saying, very politely,
+"Pardon," as I pushed, and very politely, "Merci," after I had passed.
+
+My horse had been unharnessed, and a man was trying to lead him away in
+spite of Louis's remonstrances. The man had hold of one side of the
+bridle, while Louis, with a pluck unknown before, kept a firm grip on the
+other, the horse being tugged at on both sides; and had he not been the
+angel he was, there would have been trouble in that little street.
+
+The man holding the bridle opposite to Louis seemed a most formidable
+person to me. Still, I tried to smile with placid calmness, and though I
+was shaking all over said, "Pardon, Monsieur, will you permit me to have
+my horse harnessed?" I think he was completely taken off his guard, for,
+with the intuitive gallantry of a Frenchman, he answered me amiably,
+throwing back his coat, and showing me his badge, said, "I am the agent of
+the Committee of Public Safety, and it is for the Government that I take
+the horse."
+
+I made him observe that it would be very difficult for me to walk to my
+home in the Rue de Courcelles, and if his government wanted the horse it
+could come there and fetch it. He looked doubtfully at me, as if weighing
+the situation, then said, very courteously, "I understand, Madame, and I
+give you back your horse." And he even helped Louis to reharness the
+horse, who seemed happy to return to his shafts.
+
+When I arrived home I had to go to bed, I was so exhausted. Mademoiselle
+W---- administered the infallible camomile tea, her remedy for every ill.
+Her mind cannot conceive of any disease which is not cured by camomile
+tea, unless _in extremis_, when _fleurs d'oranger_ takes its place.
+
+
+_24th of March._
+
+The American secretary, Mr. Hoffman, and his wife, who are living in
+Versailles, invited Mrs. Moulton and me to luncheon to-day, saying that
+Mr. Washburn was also of the party; therefore we need have no fear of
+being molested or inconvenienced on our way.
+
+There were only two trains to Versailles now. We took the one at midday
+from Paris, and arrived slowly but surely at the dirty, smoky station,
+where we found Mr. Hoffman waiting for us with a landau, in which we drove
+to his house.
+
+We had an excellent luncheon, to which we all did justice; after which Mr.
+Hoffman proposed our going to the _Assemblée_, which has its sittings
+in the Palace, and we readily consented. I was particularly glad to have
+an opportunity to see the notabilities whose names and actions had been
+our daily food these last months.
+
+We sat in Mr. Hoffman's box, who, in his position as secretary of the
+American Legation, had been obliged to attend all these _séances_ from the
+first. He knew all the celebrities, and most amiably pointed them out to
+me. Thiers was in the president's chair; Louis Blanc, Jules Favre, Jules
+Grévy, and others were on the platform.
+
+I confess I was rather disappointed; I thought that this pleiades of
+brilliant minds would surely overcome me to such a degree that I should
+not sleep for weeks. But, strangely enough, they had just the opposite
+effect. I think Mr. Washburn must be writing a book on modern history, and
+Mr. Hoffman must be writing one on ancient history. I sat between them--a
+drowsy victim--feeling as if my brain was making spiral efforts to come
+out of the top of my head.
+
+While I was trying with all my might to listen to Thiers's speech, who, I
+was sure, was saying something most interesting, Mr. Hoffman, on one side
+of me, would say, in a low tone, "Just think of it! Here, in these very
+same boxes, the pampered and powdered [or something like that] Court of
+Louis XIV. sat and listened to Rameau's operas." I tried to seem
+impressed. Then, on the other side, I would hear, "Do you know, Mrs.
+Moulton, that the Communists have just taken seven millions of francs from
+the Bank of France?" The distant, squeaky voice of Thiers trying to
+penetrate space, said, "La force ne fonde rien, parce qu'elle ne résout
+rien." And when I was hoping to comprehend why "La force" did not "fonder"
+anything I would hear Mr. Hoffman whisper, "When you think that Louis XVI.
+and Marie Antoinette passed the last evening they ever spent in Versailles
+in this theater!" "Really," I replied vaguely. My other neighbor remarked,
+"You know the 'Reds' are concentrating for a sortie to Versailles." "You
+don't say so!" I answered, dreadfully confused. There would be a moment's
+pause, and I caught the sound of General Billet's deep basso proposing
+that the French nation should adopt the family of General Lecomte, who had
+been so mercilessly butchered by the mob. Mr. Hoffman, continuing
+_his_ train of thought, remembered that Napoleon III. gave that
+"magnificent dinner" to Queen Victoria in this theater. Jules Grévy talked
+at great length about something I did not hear, and when I asked Mr.
+Hoffman what it was, he answered me, something I did not understand. Jules
+Favre next spoke about the future glories of _notre glorieux pays_ and the
+destiny of France. These remarks were received with tremendous applause.
+People stood up, and ladies waved their handkerchiefs, every one seeming
+very excited; but my American friends were not greatly impressed. "How
+typical!" says Mr. Hoffman. "What rubbish!" says Mr. Washburn.
+
+When we returned to Paris we found Mr. Moulton in a flutter of agitation.
+Beaumont (the renowned and popular painter) had been at the house in the
+afternoon, and had asked Mr. Moulton's permission to bring Courbet (the
+celebrated artist, _now_ a Communard) to see us. Mr. Moulton had no sooner
+said yes than he regretted his impulsiveness, but he forgot to call
+Beaumont back to tell him so. The result was that we had the visit of
+Courbet last evening.
+
+Mr. Moulton put on a bold face and broke the news to us on our arrival;
+but, contrary to his fears, Mrs. Moulton and I were enchanted.
+Mademoiselle Wissembourg was not so enthusiastic. A live Communard at such
+near focus had no attraction for her.
+
+Beaumont's politics are sadly wanting in color, making him supremely
+indifferent to other people's politics; and, as he has a great admiration
+for Courbet as an artist, he does not care whether he is a Communard or
+not.
+
+We waited with impatience for the appointed hour, and lo! Courbet stood
+before us. Mademoiselle Wissembourg had once remarked that she had great
+sympathy for the people, who must feel themselves oppressed and degraded
+by the rich and powerful, and so forth. But I noticed, all the same, that
+she retired into a corner, probably thinking Courbet was bristling all
+over with pistols, as behoves a Communard.
+
+Courbet is not handsome; he is fat and flabby (of the Falstaff type), with
+a long beard, short hair, and small eyes; but he is very clever, as clever
+as Beaumont, which is saying a good deal.
+
+Of course they talked of "the situation." Who could help it? Courbet
+belongs more to the fraternity part of the motto than he does to the
+equality part of the Commune! He is not bloodthirsty, nor does he go about
+shooting people in the back. He is not that kind! He really believes (so
+he says) in a Commune based on principles of equality and liberty of the
+masses. Mr. Moulton pointed out that unlimited liberty in the hands of a
+mob might become dangerous; but he admitted that fraternity absolves many
+sins.
+
+They talked on till quite late. Beaumont showed him his last picture,
+which he (Beaumont) thinks very fine, but all Courbet said was, "What a
+pretty frame!" I don't know if Mrs. Moulton and I felt much admiration for
+the great artist, but he left us convinced that we were all in love with
+him. We told Mr. Moulton we thought it might get us into trouble if
+Courbet vibrated between us and the hotbed of Communism. But Mr. Moulton
+answered, "What does it matter now?" as if the end of the world had come.
+
+Perhaps it has.
+
+
+_March 24th._
+
+Since I have been in Paris I have wished every day to go and see my former
+singing-master, Delsarte; but something has always prevented me.
+
+To-day, however, having nothing else to do, I decided to make the long-
+projected visit; that is, if I could persuade Mademoiselle to accompany
+me. After my experience in the Rue St.-Arnaud the other day I did not
+venture to drive, so we started off to walk (with Mademoiselle's reluctant
+consent) to the Boulevard de Courcelles, where Delsarte moves and has his
+being.
+
+Poor Mademoiselle was frightened almost to death, shaking with terror at
+every sound, and imagining that the Communards were directly behind us,
+dodging our footsteps and spying upon our actions. At the sight of every
+ragged soldier we met she expected to be dragged off to prison, and when
+they passed us without so much as glancing at us I think she felt rather
+disappointed, as if they had not taken advantage of their opportunities.
+
+Finally we reached the house, and mounted the six stories, the stairs of
+which are steep, slippery, and tiring. On our upward flight I remarked to
+Mademoiselle that I wished Delsarte lived in other climes; but she was far
+too much out of breath to notice any such little joke as this. I saw no
+change either in him or in any of his surroundings.
+
+He told us that he had suffered many privations and deprivations while the
+siege was going on. Probably this is true; but I do not see how he could
+have needed very much when he had the piano to fall back on, with all its
+resources. How vividly the scenes of my former lessons loomed up before
+me when I stood shivering with cold in the never-heated room, my voice
+almost frozen in my throat, and was obliged to sing with those awful
+diagrams staring me in the face!
+
+Delsarte asked me many questions about my music: whether I had had the
+heart to sing _pendant ce débâcle_. I said, "_Débâcle_ or no _débâcle_, I
+could never help singing."
+
+My dear old friend Auber came to see me this afternoon. He had not had
+much difficulty in driving through the streets, as he had avoided those
+that were barricaded. We had a great deal to talk about. He had been in
+Paris all through the war and had suffered intensely, both physically and
+mentally; he looked wretched, and for the first time since I had known him
+seemed depressed and unhappy. He is old and now he looks his age. He is a
+true Parisian, adores his Paris, and never leaves it, even during the
+summer, when Paris is insufferable. One can easily imagine his grief at
+seeing his beloved city as it is now. He was full of uneasy forebodings
+and distress. He gave me the most harrowing description of the killing of
+General Lecomte! It seems that the mob had seized him in his home and
+carried him to the garden of some house, where they told him he was to be
+judged by a _conseil de guerre_, and left him to wait an hour in the
+most pitiable frame of mind.
+
+The murder of General Clément Thomas was even more dreadful. Auber knew
+him well; described him as kind and gentle, and "honest to the tips of his
+fingers." They hustled him into the same garden where poor General Lecomte
+already was, pushed him against the wall, and shot him, killing him
+instantly. Then they rushed upon their other victim, saying, "Now is your
+turn." In vain did Lecomte beg to be judged by his equals, and spoke of
+his wife and children. But his tormentors would have none of that, and
+shot him then and there. Lecomte fell on his knees; they dragged him to
+his feet, and continued firing into his still warm body. When the populace
+was allowed to come in they danced a saturnalia over his corpse. Auber
+said: "My heart bleeds when I gaze on all that is going on about me. Alas!
+I have lived too long."
+
+I tried to make him talk of other things, to divert him from his dark
+thoughts. We played some duets of Bach, and he accompanied me in some of
+his songs. I sang them to please him, though my heart was not "attuned to
+music," as the poets say.
+
+
+_March 25, 1871._
+
+I have not had the time to write for some days, but I am sure you will
+forgive me. Mrs. Moulton and I have been going to the ambulances every day
+this week.
+
+There are many of these temporary hospitals established all over Paris,
+supplied with army surgeons and nurses.
+
+Mrs. Moulton, like many other ladies, had volunteered her services during
+the war, and had interested herself in this worthy cause; and as she is
+about to leave for Dinard one of these days, she wanted me to take up her
+work in the hospital of the Boulevard la Tour-Maubourg. She knows all the
+directors and nurses and introduced me to them.
+
+The director asked me if I would like to help in the _section des
+étrangers_. I replied that I would do anything they wished, hoping
+inwardly that I might develop a talent for nursing, which, until now, had
+lain dormant.
+
+It was not with a light heart I entered the ward to which I was aligned,
+and saw the long rows of beds filled with sick and wounded.
+
+My first patient was a very young German (he did not look more than
+twenty). He had been shot through the eyes, and was so bandaged that I
+could hardly see anything but his mouth. Poor little fellow! He was very
+blond, with a nicely shaped head and a fine, delicate mouth.
+
+His lips trembled when I laid my hand on his white and thin hand, lying
+listlessly on the coverlid. I asked him if I could do anything for him.
+
+He answered me by asking if I could speak German. On my saying that I
+could, he said he would like to have me write to his mother.
+
+I asked the director if it was allowed for me to communicate with his
+family. He answered that there would be no objection if the contents of
+the letter were understood by me.
+
+Therefore, armed with pencil and paper, I returned to my invalid's
+bedside, who, on hearing me, whispered: "I thought you had gone and would
+not come back."
+
+"You don't think I would be so unkind as that?" I answered.
+
+I felt that we were already friends. I sat down, saying that I was ready
+to write if he would dictate.
+
+His lips moved; but I could not hear, and was obliged to put my ear quite
+close to his poor bandaged face to hear the words, _Meine liebe Mutter_.
+He went on dictating, and I writing as well as I could, until there came a
+pause. I waited, and then said, "Und?" He stammered something which I made
+out to be, "It hurts me to cry," whereupon I cried, the tears rolling fast
+down my cheeks. Fortunately he did not see me!
+
+This is my first trial, and I have already broken down!
+
+I told him I would finish the letter and send it to his mother, "Frau
+Wanda Schultz, Biebrich am Rhein," which I did, adding a little postscript
+that I was looking after her son, and would take the best care of him. I
+hope she got the letter.
+
+The doctor advised the patient to sleep, so I left him and went to another
+bed, which they indicated.
+
+This was an American, a newspaper reporter from Camden, New Jersey. He had
+joined Faidherbe's army in February, and had been wounded in the leg. He
+was glad to talk English. "They do things mighty well over here", said he;
+"but I guess I'll have to have my leg cut off, all the same."
+
+When I put the question to him, "What can I do for you?" he replied, "If
+you have any papers or illustrated news or pictures, I should like to see
+them." I said I would bring some to-morrow.
+
+He was very cheerful and very pleasant to talk with.
+
+On reaching the Rue de Courcelles we found Mr. Washburn.
+
+He was utterly disgusted with the Communards. He even became violent when
+he spoke of their treatment of Generals Lecomte and Clément Thomas. He
+rather took their defense during the first days of the Commune, saying
+they were acting in good faith; but now I think he has other ideas about
+them.
+
+Auber also came at five o'clock; he gets more and more despondent, and is
+very depressed. He had heard that the Communards had commenced pillaging
+in the Quartier de l'Odéon, also that the Place Vendôme was being
+plundered.
+
+To what are we coming?
+
+The next day I found my little German soldier decidedly worse. He had
+received a letter from the _Mutter_, which he asked me to read to him. I
+tried my best to overcome the difficulties of the writing and spelling,
+and made many mistakes, causing the poor little fellow to smile. He
+corrected me every time very conscientiously.
+
+I did feel so sorry for him; he seemed so gentle and never complained of
+his sufferings, which must have been intense. The nurse, feeling his
+pulse, announced an increase of fever, and thought he had better rest,
+When I said, in as cheerful a voice as I could assume; "Well, good-by for
+to-day," he said, "To-morrow you will come?" Alas! there was to be no to-
+morrow for him.
+
+My other patient, Mr. Parker, appeared very comfortable, and immensely
+pleased to see that I had not forgotten to bring the newspapers and
+pictures. I also took a chess-board, thinking to amuse him. The doctor
+looked dismayed when he saw me carrying a chessboard under my arm.
+"Madame," he said, "I think that chess is too fatiguing for an invalid;
+perhaps something milder would be better. I have always understood," he
+smilingly added, "that chess is a game for people in the most robust
+health, and with all their mental faculties."
+
+I felt utterly crushed. This was the way my attempts to divert the sick
+and the wounded were received! I thought how little I understood the
+character of hospital work. Mr. Parker, evidently feeling sorry for my
+discomfiture, told the doctor it would amuse him to play checkers if he
+would allow it. The doctor consented to this, and I sent Louis off to buy
+a box of checkers. Mr. Parker and I played two games, and he beat me each
+game, which put him in splendid spirits, and I think did him no harm.
+
+Mrs. Moulton and I drove out to the Bois after the ambulance visit. I had
+not been there since last August. How changed it was! The broad Avenue de
+l'Impératrice, where the lovely Empress drove every day in her _calèche
+à la Daumont_, surrounded by the magnificent _Cent Gardes_, is now almost
+impossible to drive in. The trees are cut down, and the roads full of
+ditches and stones.
+
+Rochefort, who was in power while the siege was in progress, suggested
+some medieval methods too childish for belief--to annihilate the whole
+German army if they should enter Paris. He had ordered pitfalls in the
+Avenue de l'Impératrice--holes about three feet deep--in which he
+intended the German cavalry to tumble headlong. He thought, probably, the
+army would come in the night and not see them. Rochefort had also built
+towers, as in the time of the Crusaders, from which hot oil and stones
+were to be poured on the enemy. Did you ever hear of anything so idiotic?
+He little dreamt that the German army would take possession of Paris,
+bivouac in the Champs-Élysées, and quietly march out again.
+
+We visited the Pré Catalan, where last year fashionable society met every
+day to flirt and drink milk. That is, as you may imagine, minus cows.
+These had, like all the other animals, been eaten and digested long ago.
+Thick hides not being at a premium, the hippopotamus and rhinoceros had
+been kindly spared to posterity.
+
+
+_March 29th._
+
+To-day I went to the ambulances as usual. The doctor greeted me with his
+usual kindness; he said there was an invalid for whom I was needed, and
+conducted me to his bedside.
+
+My new patient was a German officer about thirty-five years old. He said
+he came from Munich. I told him about Count Arco (also from Munich), whom
+he knew, and about Petit Val, in which he seemed interested. We talked
+music, and he became quite excited when he spoke of Wagner, to whom,
+according to him, no one could compare. I did not want to discuss this
+wide subject; I merely remarked that Mendelssohn and Weber had their good
+points, which he allowed, but replied that they were utterly out of
+fashion. I did not agree with him, and, to show that Weber was a genius, I
+hummed the prayer from "Der Freischütz."
+
+There was a visible movement among the white-covered beds, and the nurses
+frowned, while the doctor came hurriedly toward me, holding up his finger
+warningly.
+
+I really have no talent for nursing. It seems that everything I do is
+wrong.
+
+The German officer said, when I went away, "I will convince you to-morrow,
+when you come, that Wagner is the greatest genius living." I answered that
+undoubtedly he would, and bade him good-by.
+
+When I reached the carriage I found a small crowd collected around it, and
+I hurried to get in, and hardly had time to shut the door when Louis
+whipped the horse, and we were galloping away toward home. Once there,
+Louis told me that he would respectfully advise me not to go in the
+carriage with a coachman in livery again. Anything, he said, in the form
+of luxury or wealth excited the mob, and no one could tell what it might
+do when excited.
+
+Therefore we decided to abolish the liveries for the future. When we
+reached home we found that we were one horse less, the Communards having
+taken it out of the stables without further ado than a mild protest from
+the frightened _concierge_. The Comité de Transport promised to return the
+horse when no longer needed.
+
+[Illustration: RAOUL RIGAULT]
+
+
+_March 31st._
+
+DEAR MAMA,--Mr. Moulton thought it better that I should leave Paris. But
+to leave Paris one must have a passport from the Prefect of Police. He
+consulted Mr. Washburn about it, who not only consented to give me a card
+of introduction to Raoul Rigault (whom he knew personally), but offered to
+send me to the prefecture in his own carriage.
+
+This morning at eleven the carriage was at the door, and with it the
+promised card of introduction. I noticed that the coachman had no livery,
+nor did he wear the cockade of the Legation; neither was there any
+servant. I suppose Mr. Washburn thought it safer for us to drive through
+the streets without creating any unnecessary notice or running the risk of
+being insulted.
+
+Mademoiselle W---- accompanied me, and with her the omnipresent bag filled
+with chocolates, bonbons, etc., for any unforeseen event.
+
+On our way she discoursed on the manner one ought to treat _ces gens-
+là_. One should (she said) not _brusquer_ them, nor provoke them in any
+way, but smile kindly at them and _en générale_ be very polite.
+
+I don't know how many times I had to pull out my _billet de circulation_
+before we reached the prefecture.
+
+It was a long time since I had been down the Rue de Rivoli, and I was
+disgusted when I saw the half-clad half-starved soldiers, in their dirty
+boots and down-trodden shoes, slouching about with their torn uniforms and
+carrying their rusty guns any which way.
+
+At last we arrived, and we were about to descend from the carriage, when a
+ragamuffin of a Communist, shouldering his gun and looking all-important,
+sprang forward to prevent us; but on showing my "billet," he nodded his
+head, saying, "C'est bien."
+
+At the mere sight of him Mademoiselle W---- said, "Don't you think, _chère
+Madame_, that it is better to return home?" I answered: "Nonsense! Now
+that we are here, let us go through with it."
+
+A few steps farther an awkward soldier happened to drop his gun on the
+pavement. At the sound of this, poor Mademoiselle W---- almost sank on her
+knees with fright.
+
+The small gate next to the large iron one was opened, and we entered the
+courtyard. This was filled with soldiers. A sentinel stood before the door
+of the large corridor which led to the Prefect's office. Inside this room
+stood a guard, better dressed and seemingly a person of more importance.
+On showing Mr. Washburn's card, I said to him that I had come here for the
+purpose of getting a passport, and would like to speak to Monsieur Rigault
+himself.
+
+We went toward the door, which he opened, but on seeing Mademoiselle W----
+he stopped us and asked: "Who is that lady? Has she a card also?"
+
+We had never thought of this! I was obliged to say that she had not, but
+she had come to accompany me.
+
+He said, rather bluntly, "If she has no card, I cannot allow her to
+enter."
+
+Here was a pretty plight. I told him, in the suave manner which
+Mademoiselle W---- had recommended to me, that Mr. Washburn would have
+included this lady's name on my card had he foreseen that there would be
+any difficulty in allowing her to follow me as my companion.
+
+"Madame, I have strict orders; I cannot disobey them."
+
+I did not wish him to disobey them; but, nevertheless, I whispered to
+Mademoiselle W----, "Don't leave me, stay close by me," thinking the man
+would not, at the last moment, refuse to allow her to remain with me.
+
+Alas! the door opened. I entered; the door closed behind me; I looked back
+and saw I was alone. No Mademoiselle in sight! My heart sank.
+
+I was escorted from room to room, each door guarded by an uncouth soldier,
+and shut promptly as I passed.
+
+I must have gone through at least seven rooms before I reached the
+sanctuary in which Monsieur Raoul Rigault held his _audience_.
+
+This autocrat, whom the republicans (to their eternal shame be it said)
+had placed in power after the 4th of September, is (and was _then_) the
+most successful specimen of a scamp that the human race has ever produced.
+At this moment Rigault has more power than any one else in Paris.
+
+When the guard opened the door he pointed to the table where Raoul Rigault
+was seated writing (seemingly very absorbed). He appeared to me to be a
+man of about thirty-five or forty years old, short, thick-set, with a
+full, round face, a bushy black beard, a sensuous mouth, and a cynical
+smile. He wore tortoise-shell eyeglasses; but these could not hide the
+wicked expression of his cunning eyes.
+
+I looked about me and noticed that the room had very little furniture;
+there was only the table at which the Prefect sat and two or three plain
+chairs. Just such a chamber as Robespierre might have occupied during
+_his République_. There were two gendarmes standing behind Rigault's
+chair waiting for orders, and a man (of whom I did not take particular
+notice) leaning against the mantelpiece at the other end of the room.
+
+I approached the table, waiting like a culprit for the all-powerful
+Rigault to look up and notice me.
+
+But he did not; he continued to be occupied with what he was doing. So I
+ventured to break the ice by saying, "Monsieur, I have come to procure a
+passport, and here is Mr. Washburn's card (the American Minister) to tell
+you who I am."
+
+He took the card without condescending to look at it, and went on writing.
+
+Getting impatient at his impertinence, I ventured again to attract his
+attention, and I said, as politely as possible (and as Mademoiselle could
+have wished), "Will you not kindly give me this passport, as I wish to
+leave Paris as soon as possible?"
+
+Thereupon he took up the card, and, affecting the "Marat" style, said,
+"Does the _citoyenne_ wish to leave Paris? _Pourquoi?_"
+
+I answered that I was obliged to leave Paris for different reasons.
+
+He replied, with what he thought a seductive smile, "I should think Paris
+would be a very attractive place for a pretty woman like yourself."
+
+How could I make him understand that I had come for a passport and not for
+conversation?
+
+At this moment I confess I began to feel dreadfully nervous, seeing the
+powerless situation in which I was placed, and I saw in imagination
+visions of prison-cells, handcuffs, and all the horrors which belong to
+revolutions. I heard the sonorous clock in the tower strike the hour, and
+realized that only minutes, not hours, had passed since I had been waiting
+in this dreadful place.
+
+"Monsieur," I began once more, "I am rather in haste, and would thank you
+if you would give me my passport."
+
+Upon which he took Mr. Washburn's so-much-looked-at card, scrutinized it,
+and then scrutinized me.
+
+"Are you La Citoyenne Moulton?"
+
+I answered, "Yes."
+
+"American?"
+
+I replied I was, and _in petto_--mighty glad I was to be so.
+
+"Does the American Minister know you personally?"
+
+"Yes, very well."
+
+"Why do you wish to deprive us of your presence in Paris?"
+
+I repeated that my affairs required my presence elsewhere.
+
+I saw he was taking no steps toward making out my passport, and I became
+more agitated and unnerved and said, "If it is impossible for you,
+Monsieur, to give me the passport, I will inform Mr. Washburn of the fact,
+and he will no doubt come to you himself for it."
+
+This seemed to arouse him, for he opened a drawer and took out a blank to
+be filled for a passport, with an impatient shrug of his shoulders, as it
+he was bored to death.
+
+Now followed the most hateful and trying _quart d'heure_ I ever passed in
+my life. I fancy Raoul Rigault had never been in the society of a lady
+(perhaps he had never seen one), and his innate coarseness seemed to make
+him gloat over the present situation, and as a true republican, whose
+motto is _Égalité, Fraternité, Liberté_, he flattered himself he was on an
+equality with me, therefore he could take any amount of liberty. He took
+advantage of the unavoidable questions that belong to the making out of a
+passport, and showed a diabolical pleasure in tormenting _la citoyenne_
+who stood helplessly before him.
+
+When it came to the description and the enumerating of my features, he was
+more obnoxious than I can express. Peering across the table to see whether
+my eyes were brown or black, or my hair black or brown, he never lost an
+opportunity to make a fawning remark before writing it down. He described
+my _teint_ as _pâle_; I felt pale, and think I must have looked very pale,
+for he said: "Vous êtes bien pâle, Madame. Voudriez-vous quelque chose à
+boire?" Possibly he may have meant to be kind; but I saw BORGIA written
+all over him. I refused his offer with effusion.
+
+When he asked me my age, he said, _insinuatingly_, "Vous êtes bien jeune,
+Madame, pour circuler seule ainsi dans Paris."
+
+I answered, "Je ne suis pas seule, Monsieur. Mon mari [I thought it best
+to tell this lie] m'attend dans la voiture de Monsieur Washburn et il doit
+être bien étonné de ma longue absence."
+
+I considered this extremely diplomatic.
+
+Turning to the man at the mantelpiece, he said, "Grousset, do you think we
+ought to allow the _citoyenne_ to leave Paris?"
+
+Grousset (the man addressed) stepped forward and looked at Mr. Washburn's
+card, saying something in an undertone to Rigault, which caused him
+instantly to change his manner toward me (I don't know which was worse,
+his overbearing or his fawning manner).
+
+"You must forgive me," he said, "if I linger over your visit here. We
+don't often have such luck, do we, Grousset?"
+
+I thought I should faint!
+
+Probably the man Grousset noticed my emotion, for he came to my rescue and
+said, politely, "Madame Moulton, j'ai eu l'honneur de vous voir à un bal à
+l'Hôtel de Ville l'année dernière."
+
+I looked up with surprise. He was a very handsome fellow, and I remembered
+quite well having seen him somewhere; but did not remember where. I was
+happy indeed to find any one who knew me and could vouch for me, and told
+him so. He smiled. "I venture to present myself to you, Madame. I am
+Pascal Grousset. Can I be of any service to you?"
+
+"Indeed you can," I answered, eagerly. "Please tell Monsieur Rigault to
+give me my passport; it seems to have been a colossal undertaking to get
+it." I preferred the _Pascal_ G. to the _Rascal_ R.
+
+Grousset and Rigault had a little conversation together, and presto! my
+longed-for passport lay before me to sign. No Elsa ever welcomed her
+Lohengrin coming out of the clouds as I did my Lohengrin coming from the
+mantelpiece.
+
+I signed my name quickly enough; Rigault put the official seal on it, and,
+rising from his chair, politely handed it to me.
+
+Before taking my leave of the now over-polite Prefect, I asked him how
+much there was to pay.
+
+He courteously replied, "Rien, absolument rien," and added he was glad to
+be of any service to me; and if there was anything more he could do, I had
+only to command.
+
+I did not say that I thought he had done enough for one day, but I bowed
+him good-by and turned to go out.
+
+Mr. Pascal Grousset offered me his arm, begging to take me to my carriage.
+The gendarmes threw open doors, and we retraced our steps through all the
+different rooms until we reached the one where I had left Mademoiselle
+W----, whom I expected to find waiting for me in agonizing anxiety.
+
+But what did I see?
+
+Mademoiselle sound asleep on the bench, bag, smile, and all, gazed at and
+guarded by the dreaded soldiers.
+
+"I am afraid," said Pascal Grousset, "that you have been greatly annoyed
+this morning. Your interview with the Prefect must have been most painful
+to you!"
+
+"I confess," I said, "it has never been my fate to have been placed in
+just such a situation, and I thank you, _de tout mon coeur_, for your
+assistance. You certainly saved my life, for I doubt if I could have lived
+another moment in that room."
+
+"Perhaps more than your life, Madame; more than you imagine, at any rate."
+
+As he put us in the carriage, he looked puzzled when he saw _le mari_ I
+had said was waiting for me; but a smile of comprehension swept over his
+face as he met my guilty glance. He apparently understood my reasons.
+
+On reaching home, tired, exhausted, and oh! so hungry, we found Mr.
+Washburn. He and Mr. Moulton had been very anxious about me, picturing to
+themselves all sorts of horrors, and when I told them what really had
+happened they felt that their anxieties had not been far from the truth.
+Mr. Washburn laughed at the subterfuges I had used and the lie I had told.
+They examined my passport as a great curiosity, and noticed it had
+_Valable pour un an_.
+
+Mr. Washburn said, "Evidently they intend this sort of thing to go on
+forever."
+
+
+_23d of April._
+
+Mrs. Moulton has decided to leave for Dinard, and starts the day after to-
+morrow.
+
+We have been assured that the train would make connections as far at least
+as Rennes; beyond that no one could tell whether they went regularly or
+not.
+
+Mrs. Moulton had procured a red _billet de circulation_ with a date, a
+white one without a date, Mr. Washburn's card, and different passes. She
+was certainly well prepared for any emergency. As there was only one day
+train, she was obliged to take that (it left al seven o'clock A.M.).
+
+A desire to see some of her friends before her departure spurred Mrs.
+Moulton to invite them to dinner. Our friends are now so few and far
+between that it is not difficult to know whom to choose or where to find
+them.
+
+The result was a miscellaneous company, as you will see: Mr. Washburn,
+Auber, Massenet, Beaumont, and Delsarte. Our family consisted of Mr. and
+Mrs. Moulton, Henry, Mademoiselle Wissembourg, and myself.
+
+Mrs. Moulton asked Henry to bring with him some green peas from Petit Val
+to eke out the chef's meager menu.
+
+With the aid of a friendly officer, Henry managed to pick a "whole bushel"
+(he always exaggerates), which, with his toilet articles, completely
+filled his large _sac de voyage_. Besides this, he had a portmanteau
+with his evening attire, and a package which Count Arco wished to send to
+Paris.
+
+Count Arco ordered out the "ancient and honorable relic" of our landau
+(the same I had used on the famous 18th of March) and the artillery
+horses, with their heavy dragoons, in order to deposit Henry and his bags
+at the pontoon bridge, where a man was found to take them as far as the
+station.
+
+To divert himself while tramping along with his _sac de voyage_, Henry
+shelled the peas, casting the pods behind him, after the manner of Tom
+Thumb, never dreaming that the peas thus left to chum familiarly with
+his toilet things might suffer from the contact and get a new flavor. He
+was surprised to see how the "bushel" had diminished in volume since it
+started.
+
+Mrs. Moulton had promised to send the carriage to meet _l'envoi
+extraordinaire_; but Henry, finding none, started to walk toward home,
+followed by a porter carrying his extra baggage.
+
+What was Henry's astonishment at seeing Louis drive out of the Hôtel de
+Ville with two strange men in the coupé. Henry hailed Louis, who, though
+scared out of his wits, pulled up obediently, disregarding the angry
+voices from inside. Henry opened the door and addressed the strangers
+politely, "Messieurs, this is my carriage; I beg you to alight."
+
+"Par exemple!" cried the two, in chorus. "Who are you?"
+
+"I happen to be the proprietor of the carriage," replied Henry, assuming
+an important air, "and if you decline to leave it I shall call the Sergent
+de Ville." Then turning to the porter, he told him to put the bags in the
+coupé, which he did.
+
+"Ha, ha!" laughed the two men. "_Faites ça, mon bon!_ that would be
+amusing. Do you know who we are?"
+
+Henry did not, and said he was not particularly anxious to know.
+
+"This is Monsieur Félix Pyat, and I am his secretary. Here is a _bon_ for
+your carriage," handing Henry the card.
+
+"Well," said Henry, pulling out his card, "here is my card, here are my
+passes, and here [pointing to Louis] is my coachman!"
+
+Félix Pyat said, "How do we know that this is your carriage?"
+
+Henry acknowledged that at the moment he looked so little like the owner
+of anything except the bag, in which the peas were rattling like bullets,
+that he forgave the doubt.
+
+Louis was called from the box and the question was put to him. In ordinary
+moments Louis would have mumbled and stuttered hopelessly; but he seemed
+to have been given overwhelming strength on this occasion, and surprised
+Henry by confirming his words with an unction worthy of the great Solomon
+himself. He waved his whip aloft, pointed to Henry, and putting his hand
+on his heart (which I am sure was going at a tremendous pace) said, "I
+swear that this is my master!"
+
+No one but a Communard could have doubted him; but Félix Pyat no more
+believed Louis's oath than he did Henry's documents.
+
+"_Bien_," said Pyat; "if it is true that you live in the Rue de
+Courcelles, we will leave you there and continue on our way."
+
+Now followed the most spirited altercation, all talking at once, Henry
+trying to get in the coupé, and the others refusing to get out.
+
+"À la maison!" shouted Henry.
+
+"À la Place Beauvais!" shouted the Communards. They continued giving these
+contradictory orders to poor, bewildered Louis until a crowd had
+collected, and they thought it better to stop quarreling. Henry entered
+the carriage, meekly taking his seat on the _strapontin_ opposite the
+intruders, and thinking of the peas, which ought to have been in the pot
+by this time, assented to be left at home, and ordered Louis to drive the
+triumphant Communards to the Ministry of the Interior, Place Beauvais.
+
+It would be difficult for one who did not know Louis to guess what his
+state of mind must have been. He was not of the kind they make heroes of;
+he was good, kind, and timid, though he was an _ancien Zouave_ and had
+fought in several battles (so he said). I always doubted these tales,
+and I still think Louis's loose, bulging trousers and the tassel of his
+red cap were only seen from behind.
+
+It was as good as a play to hear Louis's tragic account of yesterday, and
+it made your hair stand on end when he recounted how he had been stopped
+in the Rue de Castiglione, how two fiery Communards had entered the coupé
+and ordered him to drive to the Hôtel de Ville, where Félix Pyat had
+mounted the carriage. What must his account have been in the kitchen?
+
+However, the principal thing was that the harassed peas were safe in the
+kitchen and in time to be cooked and figure on the menu as _légumes_
+(_les petits pois_).
+
+Our guests' faces beamed with satisfaction at the idea of these
+_primeurs_, and evidently anticipated great joy in eating them; but
+after they had tasted them they laid down their forks and ... meditated!
+The servant removed the plates with their _primeurs_, wondering how
+such wanton capriciousness could exist in this _primeur_-less Paris.
+Only Mr. Moulton ate them to the last pea. We--the initiated--knew where
+the peculiar taste of soap, tooth-wash, perfume, etc., came from! The peas
+descended to the kitchen, and ascended again untouched to the hothouse,
+where they finished their wild and varied career. If they could have
+spoken, what tales they could have told! They had displaced the German
+Army, they had aided and abetted the cause of the Commune, and they had
+cost their bringer untold sums in _pourboires_, in order to furnish a
+few forkfuls for Mr. Moulton and a gala supper for the hens.
+
+We had an excellent dinner: a _potage printanier_ (from cans), canned
+lobster, corned beef (canned), and some chickens who had known many sad
+months in the conservatory. An ice concocted from different things, and
+named on the menu _glace aux fruits_, completed this _festin de
+Balthazar_.
+
+Mr. Moulton was obliged to don the obnoxious dress-coat, laid away during
+the siege in camphor, and smelling greatly of the same. He held in his
+hand _La Gazette Officielle_. The same shudder ran through us all. It
+was to be read to us after dinner! Coffee was served in the ballroom,
+which was dimly lighted.
+
+Would it not be too trying for an old gentleman's eyes to read the fine
+print of the _Gazette_? Alas! no. Mr Moulton's eyes were not the kind
+that recoiled from anything so trivial as light or darkness; and hardly
+had we finished our coffee than out came the _Gazette_. We all listened,
+apparently; some dozed, some kept awake out of politeness or stupefaction;
+Mademoiselle Wissembourg, without any compunction, resigned herself to
+slumber, as she had done for the last twenty-five years.
+
+Delsarte squirmed with agony as he heard the French language, and murmured
+to himself that he had lived in vain. What had served all his art, his
+profound diagnosis of voice-inflections, his diagrams on the wall, the art
+of enunciation, and so forth? He realized, for the first time, what his
+graceful language could become _del bocca Americana_!
+
+Delsarte's idea of evening-dress was worthy of notice. He wore trousers of
+the workman type, made in the reign of Louis Philippe, very large about
+the hips, tapering down to the ankles; a flowing redingote, dating from
+the same reign, shaped in order to fit over the voluminous trousers; a
+fancy velvet waistcoat and a huge tie bulging over his shirt-front (if he
+had a shirt-front, which I doubt). He asked permission to keep on his
+_calotte_, which I fancy had not left his skull since the Revolution
+of 1848.
+
+Massenet, who had come in from the country for the day to confer with his
+editor, received our invitation just in time to dress and join us. After
+the _Gazette_ we awoke to life, and Massenet played some of the "Poème de
+Souvenir," which he has dedicated to me (I hope I can do it justice). What
+a genius he is! Massenet always calls Auber _le Maître_, and Auber calls
+him _le cher enfant_.
+
+Auber also played some of his melodies with his dear, wiry old fingers,
+and while he was at one piano Massenet put himself at the other (we have
+two in the ballroom), and improvised an enchanting accompaniment. I wished
+they could have gone on forever.
+
+Who would have believed that, in the enjoyment of this beautiful music, we
+could have forgotten we were in the heart of poor, mutilated Paris--in the
+hands of a set of ruffians dressed up like soldiers? Bombs, bloodshed,
+Commune, and war were phantoms we did not think of.
+
+Delsarte, in the presence of genius, refused to sing "Il pleut, il pleut,
+Bergère," but condescended to declaim "La Cigalle ayant chanté tout
+l'été," and did it as he alone can do it. When he came to the end of the
+fable, "Eh bien, dansez maintenant," he gave such a tragic shake to his
+head that the voluminous folds of his cravat became loosened and hung
+limply over his bosom.
+
+I sang the "Caro Nome" of "Rigoletto," with Massenet's accompaniment.
+Every one seemed pleased; even Delsarte went as far as to compliment me on
+the expression of joy and love depicted on my face and thrown into my
+voice, which was probably correct, according to diagram ten on his walls.
+
+He now felt he had not lived in vain.
+
+It being almost midnight, our guests took their departure.
+
+There were only two carriages before the door, Mr. Washburn's and Auber's.
+Mr. Washburn took charge of the now very sleepy Delsarte, who declaimed a
+sepulchral _bonsoir_ and disappeared, his redingote waving in the air.
+
+The _maître_ took the _cher enfant_, or rather the _cher enfant_ led the
+_maître_ out of the salon. The family retired to rest. The _Gazette
+Officielle_ had long since vanished with its master, and was no doubt
+being perused in the privacy of the boudoir above, the odious dress-coat
+and pumps replaced by _robe de chambre_ and slippers. Henry said the next
+morning he had had a bad night;... he had dreamt that the whole German
+army was waiting outside of Paris, shelling the town with peas.
+
+
+_April 1, 1871._
+
+Beaumont wished to accompany us to the ambulance to-day, thinking that he
+might get an idea for a sketch; but, though he had his album and pencils
+with him, he did not accomplish much.
+
+We sat by the bedside of the German officer, and Beaumont made a drawing
+of him. The officer said in a low tone to me, "Is that the famous artist
+Beaumont?"
+
+I replied that it was.
+
+"I am so glad to have an opportunity to see him, as I have heard so much
+of him, and have seen a great many of his pictures in Germany."
+
+This I repeated to Beaumont, and it seemed to please him very much.
+
+When we left, Beaumont said to him, showing him the sketch, "Would you
+like this?"
+
+The officer answered in the most perfect French, "I shall always keep it
+as a precious souvenir"; and added, "May I not have a sketch of my nurse?"
+(meaning me).
+
+Beaumont thought that it was rather presuming on the part of the officer
+to ask for it, and seemed annoyed. However, he made a hasty drawing and
+gave it to him, saying in his blunt way, "I hope this will please you."
+The officer thanked him profusely, and we left. Turning to me he said: "I
+have not profited much by this visit. I have given, but not taken anything
+away."
+
+"But the experience," I ventured to say.
+
+"Oh yes, the experience; but that I did not need."
+
+In the evening we had one of our drowsy games of whist, made up of
+Countess B----, our neighbor opposite, brought across the street in her
+sedan-chair (she never walks), Mr. Moulton, myself, and Beaumont making
+the sleepy fourth. Neither of our guests speaks English with anything like
+facility, but they make frantic efforts to carry on the game in English,
+as Mr. Moulton has never learned the game in French and only uses English
+terms.
+
+Mr. Moulton always plays with Countess B----, and I always play with
+Beaumont; we never change partners.
+
+This is the kind of game we play:
+
+It takes Beaumont a very long time to arrange his cards, which he does in
+a unique way, being goaded on by Mr. Moulton's impatient "Well!" He picks
+out all the cards of one suit and he lays them downward on the table in a
+pile; then he gathers them up and puts them between the third and fourth
+fingers of his left hand. With the next suit he does likewise, placing
+them between the second and third fingers, and so on, until the grand
+_finale,_ when the fingers loosen and the cards amalgamate. During this
+process his cards fall every few minutes on the floor, occasioning much
+delay, as they have all to be arranged again.
+
+It is my deal; I turn up a heart. The Countess is on my left. We wait with
+impatience for her to play, but she seems only to be contemplating her
+cards.
+
+"Well!" says Mr. Moulton, impatiently.
+
+We all say in unison, "Your play, Countess!"
+
+The Countess: "Oh, what dreadful cards! I can never play. Oh," with a
+sigh, "how dreadful!"
+
+We are all very sorry for her. She has evidently wretched cards.
+
+Long pause. "Your turn, Countess!" we all cry.
+
+"What are trumps?" she asks.
+
+We show her the trump card on the table and say together, "Hearts."
+
+Another long pause.
+
+She arranges her cards deliberately and then shuts them up like a fan.
+
+"Your play, partner," says Mr. Moulton, tired out with waiting.
+
+With a dismal wail, and looking about for sympathy, she plays the ace of
+clubs.
+
+Mr. Moulton gathers up the trick.
+
+She has no idea that she has taken anything, but is quietly adjusting her
+cards again.
+
+"Your turn, Countess!"
+
+"What, my turn again?" She expresses the greatest surprise.
+
+She: "What dreadful cards! Indeed, I cannot play."
+
+Poor thing! That was probably her only good card, and we expected her next
+would be the two of spades. But no. She pulls out, with the air of a
+martyr, the ace of spades.
+
+Mr. Moulton: "Well! that's not so bad."
+
+Great astonishment on her part. She can't believe that she has actually
+taken a trick. She had hoped some one else would have played.
+
+A long, fidgety silence follows.
+
+All: "Your play, Countess!" She plays the queen of hearts.
+
+This has no success, as I take it with my king.
+
+Mr. Moulton: "Why did you play trumps?"
+
+She: "Oh! was that trumps? I must take it back. Pray, let me take it
+back."
+
+We all recover our cards. (My partner takes this occasion to drop some of
+his on the floor. He picks them up and arranges them again in order.)
+
+"Your turn, Countess!" we cry, exhausted.
+
+She: "What, again! Why does some one else not play?"
+
+Then out comes the ace of diamonds.
+
+Some one said, "You have all the aces."
+
+She: "Oh! not all; I have not the ace of hearts."
+
+Her partner, aghast, begs her not to tell us what her other cards are, and
+so the game proceeds to the bitter end.
+
+There were other moments funny beyond words especially when Mr. Beaumont's
+English fails to cope with the situation and he will try to discuss the
+points where the Countess has failed. He says, "Did you not see he put his
+king on your spade ace-spot?" and, "Madame, you played the third of
+spades." And when we count honors, Beaumont will cover the table with his
+great elbows and enumerate his: "I had the ass, the knight, and the dame."
+
+I heard a suppressed chuckle from my father-in-law, and seemed to see a
+vision of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza pass before me.
+
+
+_24th of April._
+
+DEAR MAMA,--Auber sent a note early this morning by his coachman to ask me
+to lunch with him at ten-thirty o'clock (of course accompanied by
+Mademoiselle, my aunt, as he calls her). The coachman says that his master
+is not feeling well and longs to see a friend.
+
+I am proud to be the friend he longs to see, and was only too happy to
+accept. Mademoiselle W---- was equally happy, ready, as always, for any
+excursion where a good repast was in view, and of that we were sure, as
+Auber's chef is renowned, and is so clever that, though the market is
+limited, he can make something delicious out of nothing.
+
+Louis appeared in a short jacket and a straw hat, looking rather waggish
+and very embarrassed to present himself in such a costume.
+
+Driving through the Boulevard Clichy and endless out-of-the-way streets,
+we finally reached Auber's hotel, which is in the Rue St. Georges.
+
+Louis was glad to find safety under the _porte-cochère_, and to see his
+bosom companion, Auber's butler, into whose arms he fell with joy.
+
+Auber came to the door to welcome us, seeming most grateful that we had
+come, and led us into the salon. There is only one way to get into the
+salon, and that is either through the dining-room or the bedroom; we went
+through the bedroom, as the other was decked for the feast.
+
+I have never seen Auber look so wretched and sad as he did to-day; I could
+hardly believe it was the same Auber I have always seen so gay and full of
+life and spirits.
+
+I brought a tiny bunch of lilies of the valley, which Louis had gathered
+in the all-producing hothouse.
+
+"Merci, merci," he said. "Les fleurs! C'est la vie parfumée." Waiting for
+the breakfast to be served, he showed us about in his apartment. In the
+salon, rather primly furnished, stood the grand piano. The bookshelves
+contained Cherubini's (his master) and his own operas, and his beloved
+Bach. A table in the middle of the room, covered with photographs and
+engravings, completed son _salon de garçon_.
+
+The bedroom was also very primitive: his wooden bed, with its traditional
+covering of _bourre_; a chiffonier containing his curios, royal presents,
+and costly souvenirs; his writing-table; and his old piano, born in 1792,
+on which he composed all his operas.
+
+The piano certainly looked very old; its keys were yellow as amber, and
+Auber touched them with tenderness, his thin, nervous fingers, with their
+well-kept nails, rattling on them like dice in a box.
+
+He said: "Le piano est presqu'aussi vieux que moi. Que de tracas nous
+avons eu ensemble!"
+
+Breakfast was announced, and we three took our places at the beautifully
+arranged table. I wondered where the butler had found flowers and fruit
+and _écrevisses_. Mademoiselle and I ate with an astounding appetite;
+but Auber, who had not eaten a _déjeuner_ for thirty years, contented
+himself with talking.
+
+And talk he did, like a person hungry and thirsty to talk. He told us
+about Scribe, for whom he had an unlimited admiration. "I wish you had
+known him," he said; "he was the greatest librettist who ever existed. I
+only had to put the words on the piano, put on my hat, and go out. When I
+came back the music was all written--the words had done it alone." ("Je
+n'avais qu'à mettre les paroles sur le pupitre, prendre mon chapeau et
+sortir. Quand je revenais la musique était toute écrite, les paroles
+l'avaient faite toutes seules.")
+
+He related incidents connected with his youth. His father was a banker
+very well off, rich even, and had destined Auber to be a banker, like
+himself; but when Auber went to London to commence his clerkship he found
+he had no vocation for finance, and began to devote himself to music and
+composition. He was thirty-six years old when he wrote his first opera. He
+told us that his first ones were so bad that he had given them to the
+Conservatoire _pour encourager les commençants_.
+
+Breakfast had long since finished; but dear old Auber rambled on, and
+Mademoiselle and I sat listening.
+
+He said he was going to leave all his music to me in his will. I thanked
+him, and replied nothing would give me greater pleasure than to have
+something which had belonged to him.
+
+"Je ne regarde jamais mes partitions sans être gagné par la tristesse et
+sans penser que de morceaux à retoucher! En composant, je n'ai jamais
+connu d'autre muse que l'ennui."
+
+"On ne le dirait pas," said Mademoiselle, wanting to join the
+conversation. "Votre musique est si gaie, si pleine d'entrain."
+
+"Vous trouvez! Vous êtes bien bonne. Je ne sais comment cela arrive. Il
+n'y a pas de motifs parmi ceux qu'on trouve heureux, que je n'ai pas écrit
+entre deux baîllements. Je pourrais," he went on, "vous montrer tel
+passage où ma plume a fait un long zigzag parce que mes yeux se sont
+fermés et ma tête tombait sur la partition. On dirait, n'est ce pas? qu'il
+y a des somnambules lucides."
+
+We thought Auber seemed very fatigued, and we soon left him, driving back
+the same way we came, and reached home without any adventures.
+
+
+_7th of May._
+
+I received this morning, by a mysterious messenger, a curious document; it
+looks like a series of carriage-wheels, but it is a cipher from Prince
+Metternich, who is in Bordeaux, and is dated the 1st of May. It took me a
+long time to puzzle it out: "Vous conseille de partir; pire viendra.
+Pauline à Vienne; moi triste et tourmenté."
+
+Very good advice, but rather difficult to follow now.
+
+Never has Paris led such a sober life; there is no noise in the almost
+empty and dimly lighted streets; there are no drunkards, and, strange to
+say, one hears of no thefts. There are, I believe, one or two small
+theaters open, most of the small cafés, and a great many wine-shops. The
+soldiers slink about, looking ashamed of their shabby uniforms and ragged
+appearance.
+
+Thiers has done all in his power to conciliate the different parties, but
+has now concluded that Paris must be conquered by the troops of
+Versailles. Every day there comes more disturbing news. How will it all
+end? When shall we get out of this muddle? _En attendant,_ we live in
+a continual fright.
+
+A note came yesterday from Mr. Washburn (I don't know if he is in Paris or
+not). He writes: "Nothing could be worse than the present state of
+affairs. I wish you were out of Paris; hope you are well," etc.
+
+If we could get a message to him, we would tell him that we are well
+enough, and have enough to eat; that Mademoiselle Wissembourg and I
+tremble all day; but that Mr. Moulton has not enjoyed himself so much
+since the last revolution.
+
+Slippers all day if he likes.
+
+
+_May 8th._
+
+Though I have so much time on my hands (I never have had so much), I
+really have not the heart to write of all the horrors we hear of and the
+anxieties of our daily life. Besides, you will probably have heard,
+through unprejudiced newspapers, all that is happening here, and know the
+true facts before this dismal letter reaches you. And who knows if letters
+leave Paris regularly in the chaotic state of disorder and danger we are
+now in?
+
+I cannot write history, because I am living in it. I can only tell you the
+news which Louis gathers when he does his errands, coming home with the
+wildest tales, of which we can only believe the half.
+
+I have read somewhere that some one lived "in a dead white dawn of
+thought." I have not the slightest idea what "a dead white dawn of
+thought" can be (I have so little imagination); but whatever it is, I feel
+as if I was living in it now. I don't remember in all my life to have
+stagnated like this.
+
+We are glad Mrs. Moulton left Paris when she did, and is now in a bourne
+of safety at Dinard, taking my place with the children while I take hers
+in the Rue de Courcelles.
+
+This is no sacrifice on my part; the existence we are leading now
+interests me intensely, being so utterly different from anything I have
+ever known, and I do not regret having this little glimpse into the
+unknown.
+
+I cannot go to the ambulances, as we (Mademoiselle and I) do not dare to
+walk, and driving is out of the question.
+
+I have not seen Auber for many days; Beaumont has not been here either,
+and we do not know where he is.
+
+They still go on issuing some official newspapers, though whether what
+they contain is true, or how far the imaginations of the editors have
+lured them into the paths of fiction, we cannot tell. If we live through
+this _débâcle_ I count on history to tell us what we really have been
+living through. However, truth or fiction, I am thankful that we have the
+newspapers, for how would I ever have a moment's sleep if I did not listen
+to Mr. Moulton's intoning the _Moniteur_ and the _Journal des Débats_ (the
+_Figaro_ has been suppressed) to us, and we did not have our three-handed
+drowsy whist to doze over.
+
+
+_May 9th._
+
+While we were at breakfast this morning the servant came rushing in, pale
+and trembling, and announced to us that pillage had commenced in the
+Boulevard Haussmann, just around the corner, and that the mob was coming
+toward our house. We flew to the window, and, sure enough, there we saw a
+mass of soldiers collected on the other side of the street, in front of
+the Princess Mathilde's palace, gesticulating and pointing over at us.
+
+We thought our last day had come; certainly it did look like a crisis of
+some kind. We gazed blankly at one another. Mademoiselle disappeared, to
+seek refuge, I fancy, between the mattresses of her bed, and the smile and
+the urbane language with which she was prepared to face this emergency (so
+often predicted by her) disappeared with her.
+
+The mob crossed the street, howling and screaming, and on finding the gate
+locked began to shake it. The frightened _concierge,_ already barricaded
+in his lodge, took care not to show himself, which infuriated the riotous
+crowd to such an extent that they yelled at the top of their lungs to have
+the gate opened.
+
+Mr. Moulton sent a scared servant to order the still invisible _concierge_
+to open not only one gate, but all three. He obeyed, trembling and quaking
+with fear. The Communists rushed into the courtyard, and were about to
+seize the unhappy _concierge,_ when Mr. Moulton, seeing that no one else
+had the courage to come forward, went himself, like the true American he
+is,... out on to the _perron_, and I went with him. His first words (in
+pure Angle-Saxon), "Qu'est-ce que vous voolly?" made the assembled crowd
+giggle.
+
+The leader pushed forward, and, presenting a paper with the official seal
+of the _Comité de Transport_, demanded, in the name of the Commune
+(_requisitioned_, they call it), everything we had in the way of animals.
+
+Mr. Moulton took the paper, deliberately adjusted his spectacles, and,
+having read it very leisurely (I wondered how those fiery creatures had
+the forbearance to stay quiet, but they did; I think they were hypnotized
+by my father-in-law's coolness), he said, in his weird French, "Vous
+voolly nos animaux!" which sounded like _nos animose_. The crowd grinned
+with delight. His French saved the situation. I felt that they would not
+do us any great harm now.
+
+Mr. Moulton fumbled in his pocket, and, judging from the time he took and
+the depths into which he dived, one would have thought he was going to
+bring out corruption enough to bribe the whole French nation. But he only
+produced a gold piece, which he flourished in front of the spokesman, and
+asked if money would be any inducement to leave us _les animose_. But the
+not-to-be-bribed Communard put his hand on his heart, and said, in a tone
+worthy of Delsarte, "Nous sommes des honnêtes gens, Monsieur," at which my
+father-in-law permitted himself to smile. I thought him very brave.
+
+Raising his voice to an unusually high pitch, he cried, "Je ne peux pas
+vous refiuser _le_ cheval, mais [the pitch became higher] je refiuse _le_
+vache (I cannot refuse to give you the horse; but I refuse the cow)."
+
+The men before us were convulsed with laughter. Then Mr. Moulton gave the
+order to bring out the horse, but _not_ the cow. The official turned to
+me. "Madame," he said, "you have a cow, and my orders are to take all your
+animals. Please send for the cow."
+
+"It is true, Monsieur," I answered, with a gentle smile (like the one
+reposing under the mattress), "that we have a cow; but we have the
+permission from your Government to keep it."
+
+"Which government?" he asked.
+
+"The French Government. Is that not yours?"
+
+The man could not find anything to answer, and turned away mumbling,
+"Comme vous voulez," which applied to nothing at all, and addressed Mr.
+Moulton again, "Nous avons des ordres, Monsieur!" But Mr. Moulton
+interrupted him, "Ça m'est égal, je refiuse _le_ vache."
+
+Some one in the crowd called out, "Gardez _le_ vache!" This was received
+with a burst of applause. I think that these men, rough as they were,
+could not but admire the plucky old gentleman who stood there so calmly
+looking at them over his spectacles. The servants were all huddled
+together behind the glass windows in the _antichambre_, scared out of
+their wits, while the terrible Communards were choking with laughter.
+
+It was heart-rending to see poor Louis's grief when he led out the dear,
+gentle horse we loved so fondly; the tears rolled down his cheeks, as they
+did down mine, and I think a great many of the ruffians around us had a
+tear of sympathy for our sorrow, for the merriment of the few moments
+before faded suddenly from their pale and haggard faces.
+
+When Louis leaned his kind old face against the nose of his companion of
+the stable he sobbed aloud, and when he gave the bridle over to the man
+who was to take the horse away he moaned an adieu, saying, "Be good to
+her!"
+
+I went down the steps of the _perron_ (the men politely making way for me)
+and kissed my poor darling Medjé, and passed my hand over her soft neck
+before she left us for her unknown fate. She seemed to understand our
+sorrow, for, as she was being led out of the courtyard, she turned her
+head toward us with a patient, inquiring look, as if to say, "What does it
+all mean?"
+
+I hope she will be returned when "no longer needed," as they promise, and
+Louis will have the joy of seeing her again.
+
+The now-subdued mob left us, filing out quietly through the gates; they
+had come in like roaring lions, but went out like the meekest of lambs.
+
+We returned sorrowfully to the salon. I was so unstrung that Mademoiselle,
+who in the meantime had returned, administered a cup of camomile tea to
+restore my nerves.
+
+After the fright caused by this last _réquisitionnement_, two of the
+servants thought it expedient to find safer quarters in the center of
+Paris, and to live in seclusion, rather than run the risk of being
+requisitioned themselves.
+
+The forts Mont Valérien, Montrouge, Vanves, and Issy keep up an incessant
+firing. We would not be surprised if at any moment a bomb reached us, but
+so far we have escaped this calamity. The "Reds" are fighting all around
+Paris with more or less success. If one could believe what is written in
+the _Le Journal de la Commune_, one would say they were triumphant all
+along the line. We have just heard that General Bergeret has been
+arrested, no one knows why, except that he did not succeed in his last
+sortie, and had then by displeased his colleagues generally. It does not
+take more than that to arrest people in these days.
+
+The good Archbishop of Paris (Darboy), the curé of La Madeleine
+(Monseigneur Duguerry), also President Bonjean, and the others who were
+arrested on the 10th of May, have been kept in Mazas Prison ever since. I
+saw a letter of marvelous forbearance and resignation, written by the
+Archbishop to the Sisters of the St. Augustine Convent; and the beloved
+curé of the Madeleine beseeches people to pray for order to be restored.
+Poor martyrs! I hope that their prison will not prove to be the
+antechamber of the scaffold; as Rochefort says, "Mazas est l'antichambre
+de l'échafaud."
+
+It appears that Félix Pyat really did give his demission as a member of
+the Commune, but his colleagues would not accept it.
+
+
+_10th May_.--While Mr. Moulton was reading this morning's news to us
+we were startled by a terrible crash. We were paralyzed with terror, and
+for a moment speechless, fearing that all we had dreaded was about to be
+realized. After somewhat recovering our equilibrium, we sent for Louis to
+find out what dreadful thing had happened.
+
+Louis appeared with the _concierge_, both trembling from head to foot, and
+announced that a portion of a bomb which had fallen and exploded near us
+had come through the roof, shattering many windows and causing great
+havoc. On further examination of the disaster we were greatly relieved to
+hear that it was only a question of a damaged roof, windows, and masonry.
+No one was killed or even wounded; but all were so completely frightened
+that no one dares to sleep on the upper floor. Consequently we have moved
+down on the drawing-room floor, and have abandoned the upper stories to
+future bombs. Mr. Moulton is located in the salon; Mademoiselle has taken
+the _salon jaune_, and I the boudoir. Louis has improvised a bedroom in
+the small dining-room, that he may be near us at night if we should need
+him. The other servants sleep in the basement.
+
+Our family is now reduced to Mr. Moulton, Mademoiselle, Louis, my maid,
+and the cook. Louis has proved himself invaluable. He is the man of all
+work. After milking the cow and doing his farming (in the conservatory) in
+the early morning, he waits at table, does errands, and gathers whatever
+news there is in the neighborhood, helps in the kitchen, and aids Mr.
+Moulton in his toilet and into his slippers. He is never tired; is always
+ready, early in the morning and late at night, to do anything required of
+him. He fills all gaps.
+
+The untiring hens have made their nests in obscure corners in the hothouse
+and dream serenely of future posterity, while the one cock scratches for
+tired worms to provide for their repasts. I go every morning after
+breakfast with a little offering of scraps to add to their meager meals.
+
+It is one of my few occupations.
+
+Louis has succeeded in some of his agricultural schemes, and has raided
+mushrooms, radishes, and watercresses, which appear quite a luxury in
+contrast to our usual canned things, and almost make us forget other
+privations.
+
+This farming of Louis's in the hothouse goes to prove how an unnecessary
+palm-garden in time of peace can be transformed into a useful kitchen
+garden in time of war. Louis expends the same energy and water that he
+used in washing his carriages, much to the detriment of the once fine
+greenhouse.
+
+The days are very monotonous. I never imagined a day could have so many
+hours. I, who have always been over-busy, and have never found the days
+long enough to do all I wanted to do, pass the most forlorn hours
+listening and waiting and wondering what will happen next. I wait and wait
+all through the sleepless nights. I am so nervous I cannot sleep. I do not
+even take off my clothes.
+
+I have my writing-table put in the ball-room, and here I sit and write
+these sad letters to you. I play the piano; but I have not the heart to
+sing, as you may imagine.
+
+We know that there are many tragedies going on about us, and we hear,
+through Louis, awful things; but we only believe the half of what he tells
+us.
+
+
+_May 11th._
+
+The Minister of Finance has spent in a month twenty-six millions for the
+war expenses alone.
+
+My two friends, Pascal Grousset and (Rascal) Rigault, spent for their
+_menus plaisirs_ nearly half a million, whereas Jourde, who is Minister of
+Finance, and could take all the money he liked from the banks, lives in
+the same modest apartment, and his wife still continues to take in washing
+as of old, showing that he, at least, is honest among thieves.
+
+Grousset's appeal to the large cities of France is very theatrical. He
+reproaches them with their lukewarmness and their platonic sympathy, and
+calls them _aux armes_, as in the "Marseillaise."
+
+We had a very sad experience yesterday. At seven o'clock the _concierge_
+was awakened from his slumbers, which (if one can judge from the repeated
+efforts at his bell of persons who come before breakfast) must be of the
+sweetest and most profound nature.
+
+On cautiously peeping out, he saw a poor fellow leaning against the gate
+in a seemingly exhausted condition; he had been wounded, and begged to be
+allowed to come inside our courtyard. The _concierge_, who thinks it
+wise to be prudent, consulted with Louis; but neither dared do anything
+until Mr. Moulton had given the necessary orders. Louis ran about to wake
+up the family, and Mr. Moulton told the porter to take the man directly to
+the stables and to go for a doctor. The wounded man begged to see a
+priest, and Louis was despatched to bring one. Securing a doctor seemed to
+be a great undertaking. The _concierge_ had had cramps in the night
+(so he said), which would necessitate his remaining at home, and made so
+many excuses that Mr. Moulton lost patience and declared he would go
+himself; but this I would not hear of his doing alone, and insisted upon
+going with him. Mademoiselle, issuing from her room, appeared in her lilac
+dressing-gown, holding a pocket-handkerchief in one hand and a smelling-
+bottle to her nose with the other. She was told to keep watch over the
+invalid while we were absent. Mr. Moulton and I walked to the Faubourg St.
+Honoré, to our apothecary, who gave us the name of the nearest doctor. It
+was not pleasant, to say the least, to be in the streets. We were in the
+habit of hearing bombs and shells, so that was no novelty; but to see them
+whizzing over our heads was a new sensation, and not an agreeable one. We
+found a doctor, a most amiable gentleman, who, although he had been up all
+night, was quite ready to follow us, and we hurried back to the Rue de
+Courcelles, where we found Mademoiselle seated on a water-pail outside the
+stables and looking the picture of woe. Her idea of keeping vigil!
+
+The doctor made a hasty examination, and was preparing the bandages when
+Louis arrived with the priest. I left them and went into the house to make
+some tea, which I thought might be needed; but my father-in-law came in
+and said that the man had gone to sleep.
+
+Later, about two o'clock, Louis told us that all was over; the poor fellow
+had received the last sacraments, had turned over on his side, and had
+breathed his last. We sent for the ambulance; but it was five o'clock
+before they took him away.
+
+It made us very sad all day to think that death had entered our gates.
+
+
+_15th May._--Thiers's house in the Rue St. Georges was pillaged to-day by
+the mob, who howled like madmen and hurled all sorts of curses and
+maledictions on luckless Thiers, who has done nothing wrong, and certainly
+tried to do good.
+
+Auber, who lives in the same street, must have seen and heard all that was
+going on. How he must have suffered!
+
+[Illustration: PLACE VENDÔME AFTER THE FALL OF THE COLUMN]
+
+
+_16th May._--The Column Vendôme fell to-day; they have been working
+some days to undermine it at the base of the socle. Every one thought it
+would make a tremendous crash, but it did not; it fell just where they
+intended it to fall, toward the Rue de la Paix, on some fagots placed to
+receive it. They were a long time pulling at it; three or four pulleys,
+and as many ropes, and twenty men tugging with all their might--_et
+voilà_. The figure that replaced the Little Corporal (which is safe
+somewhere in Neuilly) came to earth in a cloud of dust, and the famous
+column lay broken in three huge pieces.
+
+I inclose a ticket which Mr. Lemaire obtained somehow, and which, as you
+see, permitted him to circulate _librement_ in the Place Vendôme:
+
+[Illustration]
+
+I think it is strange that Auber does not let us hear from him. I fear his
+heart is broken, like the column.
+
+The weather is heavenly. The two chestnut-trees in our front courtyard are
+in full flower; the few plants in the greenhouse are all putting out buds.
+Where shall we be when the buds become flowers?
+
+Last year at this time it was the height of the giddiest of giddy seasons.
+One can hardly believe it is the same Paris.
+
+My father-in-law feels very bad that I did not leave when I still had the
+chance. So do I,... but now it is too late. I must stay till the bitter
+end, and no doubt the end will be bitter: battle, murder, and sudden
+death, and all the things we pray against in the Litany.
+
+Dombrowski has failed in his sortie to St. Cloud.
+
+
+_18th May._--It seems that the Communards wish all France to adopt their
+gentle methods, and they believe and hope that Communism will reign
+supreme over the country.
+
+Rigault, to prove what an admirable government France has, yesterday
+issued the decree to arrest a mass of people. No one knows exactly why,
+except that he wishes to show how great his power is. He wants the Commune
+to finish in fire and flame as a funeral pile. I hope he will be on the
+top of it, like Sardanapalus, and suffer the most. Horrible man!
+
+I received a letter from Mr. Mallet this morning, inclosing an invitation
+to assist at a concert given by all the _musiques militaires à Paris_
+on the Place de la Concorde, and offering a ticket for two places on the
+terrace of the Tuileries. The idea of these creatures on the brink of
+annihilation, death, and destruction giving a concert! If it were not so
+tragic it would really be laughable.
+
+    DEAR LADY,--I wish I could bring you this extraordinary document _de
+    viva persona_; but I do not like to leave the embassy, even for a
+    short time. Lascelles and I are well, but very anxious. You will
+    notice that this invitation is for the 21st. Our friends evidently
+    think we will be pleasantly attuned to music on that day. They are as
+    mad as March hares; they will be asking us to dance at Mazas next....
+    Hoping you are not as depressed as we are, Yours, E. MALLET.
+
+Just as I had finished reading the above we heard a tremendous explosion.
+Louis said it was _l'École Militaire_, which was to be blown up to-day.
+What are we coming to?
+
+Louis and I ventured to go up to the third story, and we put our heads out
+of one of the small windows. We saw the bombs flying over our heads like
+sea-gulls. All the sky was dimmed with black smoke, but we could not see
+if anything was burning, though we hear that the Tuileries is on fire and
+all the public buildings are being set fire to.
+
+An organized mob of _pétroleurs_ and _pétroleuses_ receive two francs a
+day for pouring petroleum about and then setting fire. How awful!
+
+Louis assures us that they will not come near us, as their only idea is to
+destroy public property. My father-in-law says the fever of destruction
+may seize them, and they might pillage the fine houses and set fire to
+them. He is having everything of value, like jewels, silver, and his
+precious bric-à-brac, carried down to the cellar, where there is an iron
+vault, and has showed us all how to open it in case of a disaster.
+
+_May 21st._ (Sunday evening)--The Versaillais entered Paris by the Point
+du Jour, led by gallant Gallifet.
+
+_May 22d._--Rigault gave the order that all the hostages (_otages_) were
+to be shot. Rigault wrote the order himself. It does not bear any of the
+fantastic seals they are so fond of, and of which they have an incredible
+quantity. It has been written on a paper (_une déclaration d'expédition du
+chemin de fer d'Orléans_). Probably he was trying to get away. It was the
+last order he gave, and the last fuse to be used to set fire to the
+funeral pile.
+
+This proclamation, of which I give an exact copy, will give you a little
+idea of what this horrible brute is capable of:
+
+    Floréal, an 79 [the way they date things in republics]. Fusillez
+    l'Archevêque et les otages; incendiez les Tuileries et le Palais
+    Royal, et repliez-vous sur la rue Germain-des-Prés.
+
+    Procureur de la Commune,
+
+    Ici tout va bien. RAOUL RIGAULT.
+
+In the evening of the 22d the victims--forty of them--the good Darboy,
+Duguerry, Bonjean, and others--were piled into a transport-wagon with only
+a board placed across, where they could sit, and were taken to the place
+of execution.
+
+The Archbishop seemed suffering; probably the privations he had endured
+had weakened him. Bonjean said to him, "Lean on my arm, it is that of a
+good friend and a Christian," and added, "La religion d'abord, la justice
+ensuite." As soon as one name was called a door opened and a prisoner
+passed out--the Archbishop went first; they descended the dark and narrow
+steps one by one. When they were placed against the wall Bonjean said,
+"Let us show them how a priest and a magistrate can die."
+
+Rigault ordered their execution two hours after they were taken; and when
+some one ventured a remonstrance he curtly replied, "Nous ne faisons pas
+de la légalité, nous faisons de la révolution." Some ruffian in the mob
+cried out the word "liberté," which reached Darboy's ears, and he said,
+"Do not profane the word of liberty; it belongs to us alone, because we
+die for it and for our faith." This sainted man was the first to be shot.
+He died instantly; but President Bonjean crossed his arms and, standing
+erect, stared full in the faces of his assassins with his brave eyes
+fastened on theirs. This seemed to have troubled them, for of the nineteen
+balls they fired not one touched his head--they fired too low--but all his
+bones were broken. The defiant look stayed on his face until the _coup
+de grâce_ (a bullet behind his ear) ended this brave man's life. These
+details are too dreadful. I will spare you, though I know many more and
+worse.
+
+Dombrowski had a slight advantage over l'Amiraut the other day, which
+puffed them all up with hope; but how foolish to think that anything can
+help now!
+
+
+_May 23d._--Now they have all lost their heads, and are at their wits'
+end. There are thirty thousand artillery and more cannon than they know
+what to do with.
+
+Everything is in a muddle; you can imagine in what a fearful state of
+anxiety we live. The only thing we ask ourselves now is, When will the
+volcano begin to pour out its flames?
+
+If the troops should come in by the Arc de Triomphe and fight their way
+through Paris by the Champs-Élysées and the Boulevard there would not be
+much hope for us, as we would be just between the two fires.
+
+
+_May 25th._--The Arc de Triomphe and the Champ de Mars were captured
+to-day, and the fighting in the streets has commenced. They are fighting
+like mad in the Faubourg St. Honoré. When I open the door of the vestibule
+I can hear the yelling and screaming of the rushing mob; it is dreadful,
+the spluttering of the fusillades and the guns overpower all other noises.
+We hope deliverance is near at hand; but who knows how long before we have
+peace and quiet again?
+
+
+_May 28th._--MacMahon has stormed the barricades and has entered Paris,
+taking fifty thousand prisoners. Gallifet has ordered thousands to be
+shot.
+
+We are rescued from more horrors. Thank God! these days of trembling and
+fear are over.
+
+Pascal Grousset was killed on the barricades. I am thankful to say that
+Raoul Rigault has also departed this world. Courbet, Regnaud, a promising
+young painter, and how many shall we know of afterward, have been shot.
+
+We hear that Auber became quite crazy and wandered out on the ramparts,
+and was killed with the soldiers. He deserved a better fate, my dear old
+friend! I am sure his heart was broken, and that that day we breakfasted
+with him was not his first but his last _jour de bonheur_.
+
+Seventy-two days of Communism has cost France 850,000,000 francs.
+
+
+DINARD, _June 18, 1871._
+
+DEAR MOTHER,--Our peaceful life here is a great contrast to the bombs of
+poor dilapidated Paris. I have still the screams and bursting shells of
+the Faubourg St. Honoré in my ears.
+
+When I wrote of Strakosch's persisting in his idea of my singing in
+concerts, I did not dream that I should be telling you that I have
+succumbed to his tempting and stupendous proposition. It is true that I
+have said _yes_, and _vogue la galère!_
+
+And the most curious thing is that the whole family sitting in council
+have urged me to do it.
+
+"Why not?" said Mr. Moulton, making mental calculations. "I would, if I
+were you," said Mrs. Moulton, overflowing with enthusiasm.
+
+"I agree," said Charles, only seeing the fun of a new experience.
+
+"But," I urged, "I doubt if I can stand on my own merits. Singing in
+public as an amateur is one thing, and singing as an artist is another."
+This wise saying was scorned by the council.
+
+I have ordered some fine dresses from Worth, and if my public don't like
+me they can console themselves with the thought that a look at my clothes
+is worth a ticket.
+
+Well, the fatal word has gone forth; I shall probably regret it, but it is
+too late now.
+
+Therefore, dear mother, please break the news gently to the family and the
+genealogical tree, whose bark, I hope, is worse than its bite.
+
+We leave for America in September. Strakosch goes before, "to work it up,"
+he says.
+
+
+NEW YORK, _October._
+
+MY DEAR MOTHER-IN-LAW,--Don't send any more letters to the Barlows'. We
+thought that it was better not to stay with them (pleasant as it was) any
+longer. There was such a commotion in that quiet house, such ringing of
+bells and running about. The servants were worn out attending to me and my
+visitors.
+
+I don't know where to begin to tell you about this wonderful escapade of
+ours. I call it my "bravura act." It is too exciting! I copy a letter just
+received from Strakosch, in answer to a letter of mine, to show you what
+the process of "working up" is. He writes: "You wonder at your big
+audiences. The reason is very simple. In the first place, people know that
+you are thought to be the best amateur singer in Paris--'La Diva du
+Monde'--besides being a favorite in Parisian society, and that you have
+not only a beautiful voice, but also that you have beautiful toilettes.
+This is a great _attraction_. In the second place, I allow (_as a great
+privilege_) the tickets to be subscribed for; the remaining ones are
+bought at auction. You see, in this way the bids go _'way up_.... I am
+glad I secured Sarasate to supplement," etc.
+
+We have taken a suite of rooms in the Clarendon Hotel, so as to be near
+the opera-house, where I go to practise with the orchestra. You cannot
+imagine how intense the whole thing is.
+
+To feel that I can hold a great audience, like the one that greeted me the
+first night, in my hand, and to know that I can make them laugh or cry
+whenever I please--to see the mass of upturned faces--is an inspiring
+sensation. The applause bewildered me at first, and I was fearfully
+excited; but one gets used to all things in the end. My songs, "Bel
+raggio" (Rossini), "Voi che sapete" (Mozart), and "La Valse de Pardon de
+Ploërmel" (Meyerbeer), were all encored and re-encored.
+
+I said to Strakosch, "I can't go on forever, tripping on and off the stage
+like that!"  He answered, laconically, "Well, you see people have paid
+much for their tickets, and they want their money's worth."
+
+I said, "I wish the tickets cost less."
+
+The flowers (you should have seen them!) were mostly what they call here
+"floral tributes" (what you would call _des pièces montées_), and were
+brought in by a procession of ushers and placed on the stage. I do not
+mention the quantities of bouquets handed up to me!
+
+One "floral tribute" received an ovation as it was borne up the aisle by
+four men, and hauled up on to the stage by a man who came from the side
+scenes. It was a harp made entirely of flowers, about six feet high. It
+made quite a screen for me as I went in and out. The card of the harp was
+brought to me, and I read, "H. P. Stalton, 'Asleep in Jesus,' North
+Conway." I had no idea what it meant, but mama remembered that some years
+ago, when she and I were traveling in the White Mountains, we stopped
+overnight at the little town of North Conway. At the hotel we heard that a
+lady had died, and her son was terribly grieved. There was to be a funeral
+service the next morning in the parlor of the inn. I asked, "Do you think
+that I might sing something?" "Of course, _any_ music would be welcome,"
+was the answer. So I chose the hymn, "Asleep in Jesus," which I sang when
+the time came. As there was nothing but an old piano, I preferred to sing
+without accompaniment. I was very much affected, and I suppose my voice
+showed my emotion, because other people were equally affected. As for the
+young man, he knelt on the floor and put his hands over his face and
+sobbed out loud. Poor fellow, my heart bled for him!
+
+I sang the hymn through with difficulty. The last verse I sang
+_pianissimo_ and very slowly. The silence was painful; you could have
+heard a pin drop. The whole scene was very emotional, and I remember
+feeling that I never wanted to go through such a thing again. The young
+man had not forgotten, after all these years, either the song or the
+singer. Hence the beautiful harp of flowers to thank me. I should have
+liked to have seen him, to thank _him_.
+
+There is a very sad, pathetic, and patriotic song called "Tender and True"
+by a composer, Alfred Pease, which I sing. Strakosch said, "You must have
+in your _répertoire_ something American." This song is about a young
+soldier who takes "a knot of ribbon blue" from his ladylove, and who dies
+on the battle-field with the knot of ribbon on his breast. When I sing
+"the flag draped over the coffin lid" the whole audience is dissolved in
+tears. The women weep openly; the men hide behind their opera-glasses and
+try to blow their noses noiselessly between the verses.
+
+I always finish with "Beware!" and Charles always accompanies me, which
+pleases him very much. He thinks that American audiences are very
+appreciative, because they stand up and clap and the women wave their
+handkerchiefs.
+
+I tell him they stand up because the next thing they are going to do is to
+go out.
+
+
+WORCESTER, _December, 1871._
+
+DEAR MOTHER,--Thanks for your letter. I had hoped to have received better
+news of Charles.
+
+When he left Thursday he did not look well, but I thought it was owing to
+the excitement and late hours and the irregular life we have been leading.
+He wanted to go to Cambridge, where he thought that he could take better
+care of himself. I would have gone with him, but I felt that I could not
+leave Strakosch and Worcester in the lurch.
+
+If I don't receive a reassuring telegram from you, I shall start off
+without delay.
+
+I was dreadfully nervous and unstrung, as you will see, when I tell you
+how I blundered. I do not like singing in oratorio. Getting up and sitting
+down all the time, holding and singing from a book, losing my place and
+having to find it in a hurry, is not what I like. However, I got on very
+well at first, but there is a place in the score where three angels come
+forward and sing a trio without accompaniment. Then the soprano (me) steps
+in front and sings, without a helping note: "Hail, Hail, O Lord God of
+Hosts!" The orchestra and chorus take up the same phrase after me.
+
+I sang boldly enough, "Hail, Hail, O Lord God of Hosts!" but suddenly felt
+cold shivers down my back when Zerrahn tapped his baton on his stand,
+thereby stopping all further proceedings, and turning to me said, in a low
+whisper, "A half-tone lower."
+
+Good gracious, how could I find the right note! First I had to remember
+the last tone I had sung, then I had to transpose it in my head, all in an
+instant. It was a critical moment.
+
+Suppose I did not hit the right note! The whole orchestra and the two-
+hundred-man-strong chorus would come thundering after me--the _orchestra
+on the right key_ and _the chorus following in my footsteps_.
+
+I turned cold and hot, and my knees trembled under me. You may imagine
+what a relief it was when I heard things going on as if nothing had
+happened. _I had struck the right note!_ And I finished the oratorio
+without further disaster. I do not think that any one in the audience
+remarked anything wrong.
+
+I said to Zerrahn, after: "Could you not have helped me? Could you not
+have given me the note?"
+
+"No," he answered. "Impossible! I could not ask the nearest violinist to
+play the note, and I could not trust myself to find it. I was as nervous
+as you were."
+
+[Mrs. Moulton was called to Cambridge the next day. Mr. Moulton had died
+suddenly.]
+
+
+CUBA, HAVANA, _January, 1873._
+
+DEAR MAMA,--We left New York in a fearful blizzard. It was snowing,
+hailing, blowing, and sleeting; in fact, everything that the elements
+could do they did on that particular day. We were muffled up to our ears
+in sealskin coats, furs, boas, and so forth, and were piloted over the wet
+and slippery deck to our stateroom on the upper deck, which we wished had
+been on the under deck, as it was continually washed by the "wild waves."
+
+We knew pretty well "what the wild waves were saying"; at least Laura did,
+and they kept on saying it until well into the next day.
+
+I being an old sailor (not in years but in experience), as I had crossed
+the Atlantic several times, felt very superior on this occasion, and
+looked down without sympathy on the maiden efforts of my suffering sister;
+and, having dressed, goaded her almost to distraction to get up and do
+likewise, which she obstinately refused to do.
+
+After ordering breakfast I ventured out on deck, to find myself alone,
+among deserted camp-stools. I realized then that the others preferred
+"rocking in the cradle of the deep" in their berths and in the privacy of
+their cabins. I myself felt very shaky as I stumbled about on the deck
+holding on to the rails, and I, hurrying back to the haven of my
+stateroom, happened to meet the struggling steward endeavoring to balance
+the tray containing the breakfast I had ordered, and to make his way
+through my door.
+
+The steward, the tray, and I all collided. The result was disastrous: the
+food made a bee-line for the ceiling, the drinkables flooded the already
+wet floor and our shoes, while cups, saucers, plates, and dishes were
+scattered to fragments.
+
+All that day we and every one were dreadfully sick; but what a contrast
+the next day was! A hot, tropical sun blazed down on us, the awnings were
+put up, the ladies appeared in lighter costumes, the men in straw hats and
+thin jackets. How odious our warm wraps and rugs seemed! And how
+completely our discomforts of the day before had disappeared! Laura had
+forgotten her miseries, and was already planning another sea-trip, and
+eagerly scanning the menu for dinner, to which she did ample justice.
+
+The third day was still hotter; parasols, summer dresses, and fans made
+their appearance, and at four o'clock we saw Morro Castle and the
+lighthouse; and we steamed (literally, for we were so hot) up the
+exquisite harbor, where white Havana lay like a jewel on the breast of the
+water.
+
+Hot! It must have been one hundred and ninety in the shade--if there had
+been any; but there was none. The glare of the whiteness of the city and
+the reflection on the water, the air thick with perfumes, gave us a
+tropical tinge, and made us shudder to think what we should have to endure
+before we could rest in the hotel, which we hoped would be cool.
+
+Young Isnaga, who has just come from Harvard College, where I knew him,
+and who was now returning to his native land to help his father on the
+plantation, served us as a guide; in fact, he was our Baedeker. He told us
+that all those hundreds of little boats with coverings like hen-coops
+stretched over them, which swarmed like bees about our steamer, did not
+contain native ruffians demanding our money or our lives, as they seemed
+to be doing, but were simply peaceable citizens hoping to earn an honest
+penny.
+
+We dreaded going through the custom-house in this excessive heat; but
+Isnaga recognized one of his servants, in a small boat coming toward us,
+gesticulating wildly and waving a paper; this paper meant, it seemed,
+authority with the officials, so we had no delay, as Isnaga took us under
+his wing. I almost wished that the custom-house had confiscated my thick
+clothes and the fur-lined coat; and as for the boa, it looked like a
+vicious constrictor of its own name, and I wished it at the bottom of the
+sea.
+
+Isnaga took us in his boat and landed us on the tropical "Plaza," where we
+found his _volante_ waiting. He insisted on our getting into this unique
+vehicle, which I will describe later when I have more time.
+
+Our one thought was to reach the hotel, which we did finally, sending the
+_volante_ back to its owner by a sweeping wave of the hand in the
+direction of the quay, which the black Jehu seemed to comprehend.
+
+Fortunately the proprietor spoke what he thought was English, and we were
+able to secure very good rooms overlooking the harbor. How delicious the
+cool, marble-floored room appeared to us! How we luxuriated in the fresh,
+cold water, the juiciest of oranges, the iced pineapples, and all the
+delicious fruits they brought us, and, above all, in the balmy air and the
+feeling of repose and rest! We reappeared in the thinnest of gauzes for
+the repast called dinner.
+
+Adieu, cold and ice! _Vive le soleil!_
+
+This hotel (San Carlos) is situated right on the bay. The quay in front of
+us is garnished with a row of dwarfy trees and dirty benches, these last
+being decorated, in their turn, by slumbering Cubans. There were
+colonnades underneath the hotel, where there were small shops, from which
+the odor of garlic and tobacco, combined with the shrieks and the snapping
+of the drivers' whips, reached us, as we sat above them on our balcony.
+
+The hotel is square, with an open courtyard in the middle, and all the
+rooms open on to the marble gallery which surrounds the courtyard. This
+gallery is used as a general dining-room; each person eats at his own
+little iron table placed before the door of his bedroom.
+
+Our large room contains two iron beds (minus mattresses), with only a
+canvas screwed on the iron sides, but covered with the finest of linen
+sheets. An iron frame holds the mosquito-net in place.
+
+Evidently a wash-stand is a thing to be ashamed of, for they are concealed
+in the most ingenious way. Mine in the daytime is rather an attractive
+commode; Laura's is a writing-table, which at night opens up and discloses
+the wash-basin. Otherwise there is little furniture: two cane-bottomed
+chairs, two bamboo tables (twins); one has a blue ribbon tied on its leg
+to tell it from its brother. Two ingeniously braided mats of linen cord do
+duty for the _descente de lit_. Oh yes! there is a mirror for each of
+us, which in my hurry to finish my letter I forgot to mention; but they
+are so small and wavy that the less we look in them the better we are
+satisfied with ourselves.
+
+We have a large balcony, which has a beautiful view of the harbor and the
+opposite shore, two huge wooden so-called windows, which are not windows,
+opening on to the balcony. There is a panel in the middle which you can
+open if you want some fresh air. Glass is never used for windows, so that
+when you shut your window you are in utter darkness. Opposite is the door
+which is not a door, but a sort of a gate with lattice shutters, giving
+the room the look of a bar-room. There is space above the shutters which
+is open to the ceiling.
+
+Any one in the gallery who wanted to could stand on a chair and peer over.
+Everything that goes on in the gallery, every noise, every conversation,
+can be clearly overheard, and if one only understood the language it might
+be very interesting.
+
+The bars and locks on our doors and windows date from the fifteenth
+century, I should say, and it is with the most herculean efforts that we
+manage to shut ourselves in for the night; and we only know that the day
+has broken when we hear the nasal and strident Cuban voices, and the
+clattering of plates on the other side of the gate. Then we work like
+galley-slaves unbarring, and the blazing sun floods our room.
+
+I don't know if bells are popular in Havana; but in this hotel we have
+none. If you want a chambermaid, which you do about every half-hour, you
+must open your gate and clap your hands, and if she does not come you go
+on clapping until some one else comes.
+
+For our early breakfast we begin clapping at an early hour, and finally
+our coffee and a huge plate filled with the most delicious oranges, cut
+and sugared, are brought to us. We tried to obtain some simple toast; but
+this seemed unknown to the Cuban cuisine, and we had to content ourselves
+with some national mixture called rolls.
+
+
+CUBA, _January 24, 1873._
+
+The letters of introduction which kind Admiral Polo (Spanish Minister in
+Washington) gave me must be very powerful and far reaching, for we are
+received as if we were Princesses of the blood. The Governor-General came
+directly to put himself, his house, his family, his Generalship--in fact,
+all Cuba--_á la disposición de usted_. The Captain of the Port appeared in
+full gala uniform, and deposited the whole of the Spanish fleet, his
+person, and the universe in general at my feet, and said, "That no stone
+should be left unturned to make our stay in Havana illustrious in
+history."
+
+What could the most admirable of Polos have written to have created such
+an effect? Then came the General Lliano, a very handsome man, but who I
+thought was rather stingy, as he only put the Spanish Army at my
+disposition, and himself (_cela va sans dire_).
+
+Next came Señor Herreras, dressed all in white, with the most perfect
+patent-leather boots, much too tight for him, and which must have caused
+him agonies while he was offering to put himself (of course), his bank,
+and all his worldly possessions in my hands.
+
+I accepted all with a benign smile, and answered that I only had America
+and my fur-lined coat and boa to offer in return.
+
+We had so many instructions given to us as to what to do and what not to
+do in this perfidious climate that we were quite bewildered.
+
+Never to go out in the sun. Result--Malaria and sudden death.
+
+Never put your feet on the bare floors. Result--Centipedes.
+
+Never drink the water. Result--Yellow fever.
+
+Never eat fruit at night. Result--Typhoid fever.
+
+If you sleep too much; if you sit in the draught; if you let the moon
+shine on you. Result--Lockjaw and speedy annihilation.
+
+These admonitions were very confusing, and we lay awake at night thinking
+how we could manage to live under these circumstances.
+
+What a delight to look at the view from our balcony! I never imagined
+anything so beautiful: the distant hills are so blue, the water so
+sparkling, the sun gilds the hundreds of sails in the harbor. At night the
+water is brilliant with phosphorescence, and when the boats glide through
+it they throw out a thousand colors; even the reflection of the stars is
+multicolored. And then, pervading all, the delicious fragrance of fruit
+and flowers and tropicality!
+
+When I am not poetical, as above, I notice the oxcarts with their cruel
+drivers yelling at their poor beasts and goading them with iron-pointed
+sticks. When they were not striking them, they struck picturesque
+attitudes themselves, leaning on their carts and smoking endless
+cigarettes. The cabmen are also picturesque in their way. After their
+return from a "course," tired out from whipping their forlorn horses into
+the sideling trot which is all they are equal to, and after flicking their
+ears until they are too lazy to continue, they hang their hats and
+stockingless feet over the carriage lamps and chew sugar-cane, looking the
+picture of contentment.
+
+Cabs are cheap; twenty-five cents will take you anywhere _à la course_.
+But if you go from one shop to another, or linger at a visit, fancy knows
+no bounds, for there is no tariff and the coachman's imagination is apt to
+be vivid; and as you can't trust anything else, you must trust to your
+conversational power to get you out of the scrape.
+
+_Volantes_ are capricious and too exotic a vehicle to trifle with;
+moreover, they turn corners with difficulty, and corners in Havana are the
+things you meet the most of.
+
+The streets are narrow; so that if you wish to avoid adventures you must
+be careful to give your coachman the correct address before starting off.
+The porter of the hotel did this for us to-day, as our Spanish has not
+reached _perfection_ yet.
+
+All the streets are labeled _subida_, which means, "go up this street," or
+_bajado_, "down this street." If, by chance, you want to go to _27 subida_
+and you amble on to 29, it takes you hours to go _bajado_ and get back to
+_subida_ again, going round in a _cercle vicieux_. We spent a whole
+broiling afternoon buying two spools of thread, my parasol being mightier
+than my tongue, as the poor coachman's back can vouch for. When everything
+else failed we shouted in unison, "Hotel San Carlos," and the black
+coachman grinned with delight. Seeing _bajado_ so often at different
+points, Laura thought it was the sign of an assurance company; when I saw
+it on the same house as Maria Jesus Street I thought it was some kind of
+charitable institution.
+
+A _volante_, as I have said, is a unique and delightful vehicle, which one
+requires to know to appreciate. There are two huge wheels behind and none
+in front; the animal, secured between the shafts, supports the weight of
+the carriage. The seat is very low, so that you recline, more than sit;
+your feet are unpleasantly near the horse's tail; a small seat can be
+pulled out between you and your companion if there is a child in the
+party. A dusky postilion decked out in high top-boots, with enormous
+spurs of real silver, sits astride the horse between the shafts, and a
+huge sombrero covers his woolly head.
+
+The harness, spurs, buckles, and a good deal of the carriage trimmings are
+silver; the horse's tail is braided once a week and tied to the saddle. No
+frisky frightening off the flies from his perspiring and appetizing body!
+Sometimes (in fact, usually) there is an extra horse outside of the
+traces, so that labor is thus divided. The _volante_ drags the people; the
+horse in the shafts drags the _volante_, and the extra horse drags
+everything; the coachman does the spurring, whipping, and shouting, and
+the inmates do the lolling.
+
+I forgot to say that my friend, Lola Maddon, whom I used to know in Paris,
+is here, married to Marquis San Carlos, who was a fascinating widower with
+several children, whom Lola, like the dear creature she is, had taken
+under her youthful wing. She rushed to see me the moment she heard that I
+had come, and has already begun to "turn the stones" which are to be
+turned for me to make my "visit illustrious" here. She has invited us to
+the opera to-morrow, and gives a _soirée_ for me on the following evening.
+I confess I am rather curious to see a _soirée_ in Havana. I hope they
+have ice-chests to sit on and cool conversation. I shall not talk
+politics; in the first place I can't, and in the second place because
+it is heating to the blood.
+
+Lola says her husband is a rabid Spaniard. "A rabid Spaniard!" Could
+anything be more alarming? No; I will not be the innocent means to bring
+about discussions, and precipitate a conflict between the Cubans and the
+Spaniards! I have pinned upon the bed-curtains, next to the precautions
+for preserving health and the washing-list, the words, "Never talk
+politics, nor be led into listening to them," I can always, if pushed into
+a corner, assume an air of profundity and say, "Is the crisis--" and then
+stop and look for a word. The politician, if he is anything of a
+politician, will finish the phrase for me, with the conviction that I know
+all about it but am diplomatic.
+
+To see the cows in Havana is enough to break your heart. I weep over them
+in a sort of milky way. I have always seen cows in comfortable stables,
+with nice, clean straw under their feet and pails full of succulent food
+placed within easy reach, while at certain intervals a tidy, tender-
+hearted young milkmaid appears with a three-legged stool and a roomy pail,
+and extracts what the cow chooses to give her. But here the wiry creatures
+roam from door to door, and drop a pint or so at each call. It is pitiful
+to see the poor, degraded things, with their offspring following behind.
+The latter are graciously allowed to accompany them; but no calls on
+Nature are permitted, the poor little things are even muzzled!
+
+Whenever I wish to go into the public parlor, where there is a piano, I
+meet the Countess C----, who has evidently just been singing to her son
+and her husband.
+
+The first day I met her I approached her with the intention to talk music;
+but she swept by with a look which withered me up to an autumn leaf and
+left the room, followed by her music, son, and husband; but afterward,
+when she saw the Captain of the Port in full gala offering me "_Cuba et
+ses dépendences_," she changed her manner, and _then it was my turn!_ When
+she asked me if I also knew Count Ceballos, the Governor General, I
+answered, with a sweet smile, "Of course I do." "And many other people
+here?" she asked, "All I think that are worth knowing," I replied, getting
+up and leaving the room as abruptly as she had done. It was great fun,
+though L---- thought I was rude.
+
+We went to the theater with Marquise San Carlos. "All the world is here,"
+said she. Certainly it looked as if all Havana filled the Tacon, which is
+a very large theater. Every box was full, and the parquet, as Lola told
+me, contained the _haute volée_ of the town; the open balconies were
+sacred to the middle-class, while in the upper gallery were the nobodies,
+with their children, poor things! decked out with flowers and trying to
+keep awake through the very tiresome and _démodé_ performance of
+"Macbeth." Tamberlik sang. What a glorious voice he has! And when he took
+the high C (which, if I dare make the joke, did not at all resemble the
+one Laura and I encountered coming out of New York Harbor) it was all I
+could do to sit quiet. I wanted to wave something. The prima-donna was
+_assoluta_, and must have been pickled in some academy in Italy years
+ago, for she was not preserved. She acted as stupidly as she sang.
+
+Each box has six seats and are all open, with the eternal lattice-door at
+the back, and separated from its neighbor by a small partition. It was
+very cozy, I thought; one could talk right and left, and when the
+gentlemen circulated about in the _entr'actes_ smoking the inevitable
+cigarette, which never leaves a Cuban's lips except to light a fresh one,
+all the lattice-doors are eagerly opened to them. Lola presented all the
+_haute volée_ to us, the unpresented just stared. I never realized
+how much staring a man can do till I saw the Cuban. I mentioned this to
+Lola, to which she responded, "It is but natural, you are a stranger."
+
+"Dear friend," said I, "I have been a stranger in other lands, but I have
+never seen the like of this. If I was an orang outang there might be some
+reason, but to a simple mortal, or two simple mortals, like my sister and
+myself, their stares seem either too flattering or the reverse."
+
+"Why, my dear," she replied, "they mean it as the greatest compliment, you
+may believe me." And she appealed to her husband, who confirmed what she
+said. All the gentlemen carry fans and use them with vigor; the ladies are
+so covered with powder (_cascarilla_) that you can't tell a pretty one
+from an ugly one. If one of them happens to sneeze, there is an avalanche
+of powder.
+
+Lola showed us her establishment and explained the architecture of a Cuban
+house. If chance has put a chimney somewhere, they place the kitchen near
+it. Light and size are of no account, neither is cooking of any
+importance.
+
+
+CUBA, _February, 1873._
+
+We make such crowds of acquaintances it would be useless to tell you the
+names. The Marquise San Carlos sent her carriage for us the evening of her
+_soirée_. All the company was assembled when we arrived: the Marquis,
+the Dean of Havana, and two abbés were playing _tresillo_, a Spanish
+game of cards.
+
+A group of men stood in the corner and seemed to be talking politics, as
+far as I could judge from then gesticulations. A few ladies in sweeping
+trains, and very _décolletées_, sat looking on listlessly. The daughter of
+the house was nearing the piano. The Dean said to me, with a sly smile,
+"Now is the _coup de grâce!_"--his little joke. She sang, "Robert, toi que
+j'aime. Grâce! Grâce!" etc. Also she sang the waltz of "Pardon de
+Ploërmel," a familiar _cheval de bataille_ of my own, which I was glad to
+see cantering on the war-path again. In the mean time conversation was at
+low ebb for poor Laura. She told me some fragments which certainly were
+peculiar. For instance, she understood the gentle man who had last been
+talking to her to say that he had been married five times, had twenty-
+eight children, and had married his eldest son's daughter as his fifth
+wife. I afterward ascertained that what he had intended to convey was that
+he was twenty-eight when he married and had fifteen children. That was bad
+enough, I thought.
+
+I sang two or three times. The gaiety was brought to rather an abrupt
+close, as the Marquis received a telegram of his brother's death. The Abbé
+went on playing his game, not at all disturbed (such is the force of
+habit); but we folded our tents and departed.
+
+The hours are sung out in the streets at night, with a little flourish at
+the end of each verse. I fancy the watchman trusts a good deal to
+inspiration about this, as my clock--an excellent one--did not at all
+chime in with his hours. Perhaps he composes his little verse, in which
+case a margin ought to be allowed him....
+
+The bells in the churches are old and cracked and decrepit.
+
+All the fleet, and any other boat that wants to join in fire off salute,
+to wake you up in the morning.
+
+I bought to-day the eighth part of a lottery-ticket.
+
+The Captain of the Port thinks his English is better than his French, but
+sometimes it is very funny. He says: "Don't take care," instead of "Never
+mind"--"The _volante_ is to the door"--"Look to me, I am all proudness"--
+"You are all my anxiousness."
+
+The houses are generally not more than one story high, built around an
+open court, on which all rooms open. In the middle of this is a fountain;
+no home is complete without a fountain, and no fountain is complete
+without its surroundings of palms, plants, and flowers. In one of the
+rooms you can see where the _volante_ reposes for the night. You only
+see these glories at night. When the heavy bolts are drawn back you and
+everybody can look in from the street on the family gathering, basking in
+rocking-chairs around the fountain, and in oriental, somnolent
+conversation.
+
+
+CUBA, _February._
+
+The annual _soirée_ of the Governor and his wife took place last night.
+The Captain of the Port came to fetch us. The palace is, like all
+other official buildings, magnificent on the outside, but simple and
+severe within. There was a fine staircase, and all the rooms were
+brilliantly lighted, but very scantily furnished, according to our ideas.
+We must have gone through at least six rooms before we reached the host
+and hostess. Every room was exactly alike: in each was a red strip of
+carpet, half a dozen rocking-chairs placed opposite one another, a cane-
+bottomed sofa, a table with nothing on it, and walls ditto. There are
+never any curtains, and nothing is upholstered. This is the typical Cuban
+salon.
+
+There was an upright piano and a pianist at it when we entered, but the
+resonance was so overpowering that I could not hear what he was playing.
+Laura and I (after having been presented to a great many people) were
+invited to sit in the rocking-chairs. The gentlemen either stood out in
+the corridor or else behind the chair of a lady and fanned her. _Dulces_
+and ices were passed round, and every one partook of them, delighted to
+have the opportunity to do something else than talk.
+
+When the pianist had finished his Chopin a lady sang, accompanied by her
+son, who had brought a whole pile of music. She courageously attacked the
+_Cavatina_ of "Ernani." The son filled up the places in her vocalization
+which were weak by playing a dashing chord. She was a stout lady and very
+warm from her exertions, and the more she exerted herself the more
+frequently the vacancies occurred; and the son, perspiring at every pore,
+had difficulty to fill them up with the chords, which became louder and
+more dashing.
+
+Countess Ceballos, with much hemming and hawing, begged me to sing. I felt
+all eyes fixed on me; but my eyes were riveted to the little, low piano-
+stool on which I should have to sit. It seemed miles below the piano-keys.
+"How could I play on it?" Evidently none but long-bodied performers had
+been before me, for when I asked for a cushion, in order to raise myself a
+little, nothing could be found but a very bulgy bed-pillow, which was
+brought, I think, from the mother country. There was a sort of Andalusian
+swagger about it.
+
+The dream "that I dwelt in marble halls" was no longer a dream. Here I was
+singing in one. I sang "_Ma Mère était Bohémienne_," and another song
+which had an easy accompaniment. It took me a little moment to temper my
+voice to these shorn rooms.
+
+The charge of musketry which followed was deafening, though only gentlemen
+clapped their hands; ladies don't rise to such exertion in Cuba. I sang
+"Beware!" as a parting salute. The Captain of the Port came up, flushed
+with pride, and said, in his best English, "I am all proudness!"
+
+_Panelas_ (large pieces of frosted sugar, to be melted in water) and
+other sweets were passed about at intervals.
+
+Shaking hands is a great institution here. No one wears gloves except at
+the opera, so that one's hands are in a perpetual state of fermentation,
+especially after one of these functions, when making acquaintances,
+expressing thanks, and everything else are done through the medium of the
+hands. One can literally say that one wrings one's hands.
+
+We, as the distinguished guests, were led into the supper-room very
+ceremoniously, and put among the higher strata of society. The buffet was
+overflowing with Cuban delicacies and _dulces_. I reveled in the fruit and
+left the viands severely alone.
+
+After supper we went into the ball-room, and saw for the first time the
+Cuban waltz, otherwise called _Habanera_, a curious dance something
+between a shuffle and a languid glide. The dancers hardly move from the
+same spot, or at most keep in a very small circle, probably on account of
+the heat and exertion; and then the dispersing of so much powder, with
+which every lady covers herself and gets rid of when she moves, has to be
+considered.
+
+The music has a peculiar measure; I have never heard anything like it
+before. The instruments seemed mostly to be violins, flutes, clarinets,
+and a small drum. The bass is very rhythmical and deep, whereas the thin
+tones of the other instruments are on the very highest notes, which leaves
+a gap between the upper and lower tones, making such a peculiar effect
+that the music pursues and haunts you even in your dreams.
+
+We bade our host and hostess good night and, followed by the Captain of
+the Port, who now was not only "all proudness," but full of
+"responsibilitiveness," left the palace. In passing the music-room I took
+a farewell look at the bulgy bed-pillow, which was still reposing on the
+music-stool.
+
+
+CUBA, _February._
+
+DEAR MAMA,--You have no idea of the heat here. I never felt anything so
+scorching as it was to-day. Let me tell you what happened.
+
+General Lliano came in the morning to ask what Havana could show me. I
+answered that above all things I wanted to see Morro Castle. He replied
+that Morro Castle was mine, and that I had only to fix the time and he
+would take us there.
+
+I did fix it, and fixed it at two o'clock, as a fit hour to visit the
+_Cabaña_. I noticed the look of blank despair on our friend's face,
+but, not knowing that all Cuba slept between the hours of two and five, I
+did not realize the piteousness of it. General Lliano begged the Captain
+of the Port, Señor Català, to accompany us, and both of these gentlemen
+came in full uniform, as well as their aides-de-camp.
+
+The Captain's trim little boat was at the wharf near our hotel, and we
+were rowed over by the governmental crew to the opposite shore, and were
+met by the Governor of Morro Castle at the landing in the most sweltering
+heat. I had not forgotten to take the precaution, which anywhere else
+would have been appropriate, to carry extra wraps, as I told Laura that
+they were necessary for every water excursion. You may imagine the _de-
+trop_-ness of these articles when the thermometer was up at one hundred
+and twenty in the shade.
+
+We were taken about conscientiously and shown all that there was to be
+seen: all the dungeon-cells and subterranean passages, and up the hill to
+see the view, which was very extended and very beautiful. From there we
+went to the Governor's house, where we were greeted by his wife and
+daughter, the wife stiff in black moiré (I mean the moiré was stiff, not
+she). He placed himself, his wife and daughter, and his mansion at my
+disposal. I would not have minded taking the old gentleman; but I
+absolutely refused the lady and the moiré dress.
+
+_Dulces_ were served and some unappetizing-looking ices, which tasted
+better than they looked. Cakes also were offered us, of which I picked out
+those which had the least mauve and yellow coatings. When we were
+presented with some stiff little bouquets we thought it was a signal for
+departure, and bade adieu to the black moiré and the fast-melting ices.
+
+From the _Cabaña_ we walked along the macadamized road to the Morro
+Castle, a long distance it seemed to me in the heat; but we left the hard
+and glaring road and walked over the grass, following the line of the
+subterranean passage, which made a sort of mound, and finally reached
+Morro Castle. Here there were more officials, more presentations and more
+ceremonies, and more _dulces_ and more bouquets.
+
+The view from the ramparts, on which stood the lighthouse, was sublime:
+the blue sea underneath us, Havana on the left, and the purple mountains
+in the far distance.
+
+One of the officials asked us whether we wanted to go to the top of the
+lighthouse. I declined, much to the relief of the assembled company. They
+say that fish have been thrown up by the spray over the lighthouse; but
+this seems almost as incredible as the majority of fishy stories. The
+castle is very high, the ramparts are higher, and the lighthouse crowns
+everything. The water dashes up through narrow crevices in the rocks,
+which gives it great force, and possibly might account for the fish story,
+but I doubt it.
+
+By this time (six o'clock) we were utterly exhausted. Even at this hour
+the heat was intolerable. We had hoped for a little breeze on the water;
+but, alas! there was none. Poor Señor Herreras held his foot incased in
+tight patent-leather boots in his lap, moaning, "Comme je souffre!"
+
+How they all must have blessed me for this idea of mine! I felt ashamed to
+look them in the face.
+
+
+CUBA, _1873._
+
+I could not tell you all the things we were taken to see. We visited the
+German and Spanish men-of-war As we were in the company of the Governor-
+General, the Commander, and the Captain-General, we were not spared the
+proper salutes. The tour of the war-ships had to be made, and in place of
+the eternal _dulces_ international refreshments were offered us. We
+departed in the Captain of the Port's steam-launch, and drove to the
+Carreo, where the pretty villas are.
+
+The Governor-General drove us out to his _quinta_ in great style:
+English horses and carriage and an American coachman. The roads were
+pretty bad, and we were considerably jostled going through the _Paseo._
+The coachman careered from side to side to avoid ruts and tracks, and the
+dust was overpowering. No conversation was possible, as our throats were
+filled with dust and our lives hanging on a thread. I waved my hand in the
+direction of anything I thought pretty, and silence followed.
+
+At the _quinta_ all was ready and waiting for us. Fountains were playing,
+servants in red and yellow gorgeous liveries, with white stockings, were
+flitting about; various Cuban delicacies were offered to us, and we
+admired everything that was to be admired. The return drive was
+delightful, through the long avenues of stately palms and graceful date-
+trees.
+
+The carnival is a great event and very amusing. I am not spoiled in the
+way of carnivals, only having seen that of Paris (the _Boeuf gras_)
+and the Battle of Flowers at Nice. The populace turn out in great force,
+every one is gay and happy, and the Cubans high and low join in the sport.
+
+We were invited to drive in a four-in-hand. In this way we had a kind of
+bird's-eye view of the whole. No lady thinks herself too fine to join in
+the carnival. The procession, which defiles up and down the _Paseo_ during
+the fray, begins at four in the hot, broiling afternoon, and ladies,
+decked out as Diana, Minerva, or other celebrities, powdered _à
+l'outrance_, smiling and proud of their success, recline in their
+_volantes_. Their own servants, with false noses or otherwise disguised,
+have their fun, too. I never saw such an orderly crowd; no pushing, no
+quarreling, no drunkenness, and yet every one was enjoying himself. There
+were two rows of carriages, one going up, one going down, with a place in
+the middle for the four-in-hands and the _chars_, some of which were very
+ingenious. There was a steamship with sailors, who kept firing off the
+whistle every time they saw a skittish horse. On another car were men
+dressed as skeletons with death's-heads instead of masks, and Shylock-
+looking Jews riding with their backs to the horses' heads, holding on to
+their tails.
+
+A Punch and Judy were acting on a little stage during the procession,
+surrounded by children of all sizes and ages decked out in costumes, their
+tinselly flowers showing off their thin and sallow faces. There was a
+tremendous tooting of horns, and, with the music in the square and the
+music on the _chars_, made a perfect Bedlam. People nudged one another as
+we hove in sight in our four-in-hand.
+
+The G----s did not relish the carnival as much as we did, and thought it a
+dismal affair. They captured a victoria by force, the coachman refusing to
+take them until they said "Paseo" upon which he started off on a trot. He
+had a dilapidated old horse, who had to be beaten all the way there, and
+when there, what do you think the coachman did? Simply pulled out a false
+nose and put it on and lighted a cigarette, stuck his hat on the lamp, and
+jeered at all the other vehicles, being on jeering terms with all the
+other cabmen; and as the _Paseo_ is a mile long, it meant a mile of
+mortification. They came home disgusted and voted the carnival a
+"disgraceful affair."
+
+
+MATANZAS, CUBA.
+
+DEAR M.,--In my last letter I told you of our invitation to the _bal
+poudré_ and _masqué_ here. Count Ceballos, thinking it would amuse us to
+see it, arranged that we should stay at the palace, where the ball was to
+take place.
+
+The Captain of the Port, with his aide-de-camp, accompanied us on our
+trip, and as he was going there in some official capacity, we shared his
+honors.
+
+We had no adventures except that of traveling in company with a rather
+rough-looking set of men, who were on their way to a cock-fight. The cocks
+were tied up in bags; but as I wanted to see one the man opened the bag
+and took it out, and also showed me the spurs they strap on them when they
+fight.
+
+We arrived in Matanzas about six o'clock, to find the Mayor's carriage
+waiting for us. We drove to the palace, and after dinner dressed for the
+ball. We did not attempt anything in the way of mask or costume, as being
+unknown and _unpowdered_ was a sufficient disguise.
+
+The Captain of the Port knew every one there, and presented many of his
+friends. We went out and stood on the balcony, looking at the sea of
+upturned heads. It seemed as if every Matanzois who was not inside was
+outside gazing at the windows, and listening to the band which was playing
+in the square. The night was glorious with a full moon.
+
+I think that I have described in a former letter the Cuban dance, the
+languid tropical shuffle they call the _Habanera_. The music is so
+monotonous, always the same over and over again, and only ceases when it
+is convenient to the musicians.
+
+The ladies had _cascarilla_ (a powder made of eggshells) an inch thick on
+their faces. I doubt if the officers ever saw so much powder as they did
+at this _bal poudré_.
+
+There was a sit-down supper, consisting of sandwiches smelling strong of
+bad butter, ham and chicken salads, _dulces_ of all sorts, but, alas!
+no fruit. The dancing continued long after we had retired for the night.
+
+The Marquis Aldamar invited us to a _déjeuner_ for the following day;
+the _volantes_ were again "to the door," and we started off in grand
+style and great spirits and drove to the top of the mountain, from which
+we enjoyed a perfectly glorious view of the Yumiri Valley. The winding
+river looked like a silver thread as it wound in and out through the
+grassy meadows.
+
+Our _déjeuner_ was of a more European character than any that we had
+yet had in Cuba; the menu was in French--evidently the cook was also
+French--and the servants looked imported. In fact, everything was in
+very good style. The hostess was charming and musical, she sang some very
+pretty Cuban songs, and after a while asked me if I were musical, and if I
+would play something.
+
+The Captain, in an undertone and in all "proudness," said, "Ask Madame to
+sing." And she did so in a rather condescending manner.
+
+I accepted and went timidly to the piano, and as I hesitated as to what I
+should sing, she said, "Oh! just sing any little thing." With an amused
+glance at Laura I sang Chopin's waltz, which is the most difficult thing I
+sing, and the astonishment depicted on the countenance of my patronizing
+hostess was highly diverting.
+
+"I wonder if you are any relation of a Mrs. Moulton whom my cousin knew in
+Paris," she said. "He was very intimate with a family of your name, and
+often talked to me about a Mrs. Moulton who sang so beautifully."
+
+"Can it be that I am the same person? I have lived in Paris. What was your
+cousin's name?" I inquired.
+
+"Jules Alphonso."
+
+"What!" I cried. "Jules Alphonso your cousin? I have not seen him for
+years. I used to know him so well. Where is he?"
+
+"He lives here in Cuba," she answered.
+
+"Where in Cuba?" I interrupted. "How extraordinary! How much I should like
+to see him again!"
+
+"And he, I am sure, would like to see you, he has so often talked about
+you to me. I felt directly last night that I knew you; it must have been
+intuition."
+
+I think, Mama, you must remember Jules. He was like a second son in our
+house, and was an intimate friend of my brother-in-law, and would have
+liked to have been a brother-in-law himself if he had been accepted. We
+all loved him. How strange to find him here! The last place in the world I
+should have dreamed of! I am not sure that I ever knew that he was a
+Cuban.
+
+My new friend was wild with joy. "You are the one person that I have
+wanted to know all my life, and, fancy, here you are!"
+
+Was it not a curious coincidence to meet _here_, in this out-of-the-way
+place, some one who knew all about me?
+
+I repeated, "I must see Jules, and if he is anywhere near I shall
+certainly try to find him." "Let us go together," she said. "I will drive
+you there, and we will take him by surprise." Two _volantes_ were
+immediately before the door, and the Marquise Aldamar, the Captain of the
+Port, Laura, and I started for La Rosa, Jules's plantation. It was an
+enchanting drive, though a long one, leading, as it did, through avenues
+of royal palms, and it was quite six o'clock before we reached Jules's
+house. I said to the Marquise Aldamar, "As Jules has no idea that I am in
+this part of the world, let me go in alone and surprise him."
+
+We drove up to the entrance of his pretty villa, and the others
+accompanied me to the door of the salon with a finger on their lips, so
+that the servant should not announce us. We saw Jules sitting at a table
+reading. I entered softly and went behind him, and laying my hand on his
+shoulder said, "Jules!"
+
+He turned quickly about, and when he saw me he thought I was an apparition
+or a dream. "What! What!" he cried, trembling with astonishment.
+
+"It is I--Lillie Moulton," I said, quietly.
+
+"You! you! No, it can't be possible!" And he took hold of my hands as if
+to see if they were flesh and blood. "Where did you come from? How did you
+get here? What brought you here?" followed in quick succession. The others
+pushed aside the curtain and came in. Then followed explanations. I was
+obliged to answer thousands of questions, and go into thousands of
+details, concerning the family, Paris, the war, and so forth. He ordered
+champagne, improvised a little supper for us, and did not seem to be able
+to do enough to show his delight at seeing me. But the Captain of the Port
+soon reminded us that it was time to be on our way back to Matanzas, as it
+was a long drive, and I bade a tearful farewell to lonely Jules. Our
+comet-like visit must have seemed to him like a vision, and he watched us,
+with eyes full of tears, drive away out of his life. Poor Jules!
+
+
+MATANZAS, CUBA.
+
+We spent the following morning in driving about the city. At half-past two
+crossed the ferry to Yuanana-bocca, where we found the amiable director
+and the rest of the party. The cars, with their cane-bottomed seats, were
+cool. The scenery was exquisite. On both sides of the road were real
+jungles of tropical growth, with the purple mountains as a background. We
+passed many _ingenios_ (plantations), with their tall, smoking chimneys,
+all in full blast.
+
+On reaching our destination we were met by _volantes_ and saddle-horses.
+The former were for the ladies, the latter for the gentlemen of the party,
+and we made our way through the narrow, dirty streets, passed the walls of
+the city, and came out on to the beautiful road, where a gang of chained
+prisoners were breaking stones.
+
+We passed many villas and well-kept gardens, and arrived at the bottom of
+the hill, where we were obliged to get out and walk, for the roads became
+impassable. It was a stiff climb; but when we reached the summit we were
+rewarded by a most magnificent view. We descended and reached the
+_volantes,_ the drivers whipped up their horses, and away we went over
+rocks and ruts, but feeling nothing of them. That is the charm of a
+_volante;_ only the wheels, which are behind you, get the jerks and jolts.
+
+After a half-hour's drive we reached the famous cave, Laura and I were
+supplied with garments looking like mackintoshes, and, provided with
+torches, we began to descend. We first came to a large, vaulted hall,
+where miles of stalactites in every form and shape twinkled in the light
+of the torches.
+
+We had to crawl through a small opening to get into another vaulted room
+which boasted of an echo. The guide struck a note and I sang a cadenza,
+which resounded like a thousand voices.
+
+There never could have been a thermometer made that could register such
+heat as we felt here; the air was frightfully oppressive and almost
+intolerable.
+
+They pointed out the Pope's Miter, the Virgin's Veil, the Altar, the Boat
+--all looking about as much like their names as an apple looks like a pack
+of cards. After being shown the lake I begged for fresh air, and we
+mounted the steep wooden stairs. The hot air outside seemed like a wintry
+breeze when we came into it, and we were told that we must cool off before
+venturing into the hot sun. Then we _volanted_ back to Matanzas.
+
+Our next visit was to the well-known _ingenio_ (sugar-plantation)
+belonging to the cousin of the Marquis San Carlos. The sugar-mill stood in
+front of the master's house, so that the master could watch from his broad
+balcony the bringing in of the sugar-cane, which was hauled by huge cart-
+loads drawn by oxen. The sugar-cane, on its arrival, was put between great
+crushing wheels before it was thrown into the vats. The sturdy negresses,
+up to their elbows, stirred the foaming syrup after it had boiled. Then it
+was skimmed and boiled again to purify it. It went through a centrifugal
+process to crystallize it, and afterward was packed in boxes and stamped
+in less time than it takes to relate this. I liked to breathe the hot
+vapors coming from the huge tanks. What remains of the sugar is used as
+fuel; so nothing is wasted.
+
+All the slaves seemed gay and well-fed. The Chinese, I believe, are liked
+better than the natives, they are so clean and adroit. We visited the
+houses of the slaves and found them all well kept. The master threw silver
+pieces (ten cents) to the children, who seemed content in their bare
+nakedness and clamored for more pennies. We drank _querap_ (molasses)
+from the tanks mixed with whiskey. It was very good; but a little went
+very far. Two small children fanned us with palmettos during dinner. We
+passed the night there in the _ingenio_; but we saw no tarantulas, as
+was predicted. The next morning, when our coffee was brought, there was an
+assortment of delicious fruits--pineapples, guavas, bananas, cocoanuts,
+mangos, etc., which we enjoyed immensely. There was a little excitement
+before we started: the gardener, a bridegroom of eighty-five summers, was
+married to a blooming young person of eighty, both slaves and black as
+ink. We arrived at Havana that evening.
+
+You can't tell how grieved I was to hear of the kind and good Emperor
+Napoleon's death. He was only sixty-five years old. I thought he was
+older. What an eventful life he had--tragical would be the right word.
+What did he not endure? When he was a child he was an exile, and since
+then, until he became first President and then Emperor, he was knocking
+about the world, sometimes hidden and sometimes pursued. However, he had
+fifteen years of glory, for there was not in all Europe a man more
+considered than he was, and he had until the last four years of his reign
+more prestige than any other sovereign. I think after the tragedy of
+Mexico his star began to pale.
+
+The Emperor Napoleon was certainly the kindest-hearted and best-
+intentioned man in the world, so full of life, fun, and appreciation. I
+can see him now shaking with laughter when anything amused him, as was
+often the case at Compiègne.
+
+The papers say that he had once been a policeman in London. I do not
+believe this is true, though the Emperor told me himself that he had lived
+very humbly at times; still, that is very different from being a
+policeman. I wonder if the Prince will try to get back the throne. He does
+not look as if he had a strong character, nor does he look as if he had
+the energy of the Emperor, which enabled him to go through so many
+hardships to gain his ends.
+
+How sad it is! I am sure the Empress's only consolation is the thought
+that her son can recover the position the father lost.
+
+We returned to Havana quite tired out with our little journey, and glad to
+rest in the quiet of our cool rooms, and I looked across the water,
+crowded with boats of every description, and gazed with delight at the
+distant mountains, with their clouds dragging themselves from one summit
+to the other.
+
+How hot it is! I never thought that the sun, which is so high up, could
+pour down so; but it does pour down. I think it is hotter here than in
+Matanzas.
+
+We shall be leaving here in a few days, and I suppose we shall find ice
+and snow in New York, and return to india-rubbers and umbrellas--things
+unknown here. During our absence some German men-of-war have arrived here,
+and stationed themselves right in front of our windows.
+
+It must be their wash-day, for all the sailors' clothes are hanging out to
+dry.
+
+Lola San Carlos is in light gray--the mourning one wears for a brother-in-
+law is not heavy in this warm country. She has invited us to a card-party
+for tomorrow; card-parties are evidently not gay enough to interfere with
+tears.
+
+
+CUBA, _February._
+
+DEAR MAMA,--Well, we are really going to return! As usual, I have no more
+clothes, and I certainly will not be bothered to have anything made here.
+My black tulle dress has become brown and gray in its efforts to keep up
+to the mark; and as for Laura's white lace, it has become gray and brown,
+so you see we must go home.
+
+We went to Lola's card-party. There was the bereaved brother, looking very
+chirpy, and the Dean, and the Abbé. They kindly proposed to teach me their
+favorite game of _tresillo_. They took a lively interest in my ignorance.
+They told me the rules and the names of the extraordinary cards; for
+instance, hearts were represented by coins, for clubs there were clubs,
+while trees and swords served for diamonds and spades. Every card is
+something else than what you have called it before. The value of each is
+changed according to the trump. What you have considered always as a low
+card, such as the two of spades, suddenly becomes the best card in the
+pack.
+
+All the cards have Spanish names--Spadilla, Manilla, Basta, Ponto, and
+Matadores--which sound very romantic. A simple seven of hearts becomes
+suddenly top card and is called Manilla, which is the second best when
+hearts are trumps, and then the two of clubs, which was miles high the
+last hand, is at the tail of all the other cards now. It is a dreadful
+game. I thought that I should have brain fever while learning it. They
+went on playing it for hours; there never seemed any end to it; they
+counted in the weirdest way, making ciphers and tit-tat-toes on the green
+baize table with chalk, and wiped out with a little brush. Every trick of
+the adversary was deducted, and all the heads met over the chalk-marks to
+find out mistakes.
+
+
+CUBA.
+
+DEAR M.,--A dance was given at the Captain-General's, where all the
+officers of the German and Spanish men of war were present. It was a very
+brilliant sight, and we made many delightful acquaintances. Commodore
+Werner of the German _Friedrich Wilhelm,_ Commodore Livonius of the
+_Elizabeth,_ besides many other charming officers, as well as many
+Spanish officers from the _Gerona._ The Germans danced with more energy
+than the Cubans are accustomed to, and they stared at the unusual vigor
+displayed, and accounted for it, saying it was because they were new-
+comers. In fact, the officers, in their trim uniforms, looked very hot
+and wilted at the end of the evening. Commodore Werner was a most gallant
+gentleman, and as we did not dance, he had the leisure to tell me all
+about his family, his literary tastes, and his admiration for pretty
+ladies; and he finished by asking if we would do him the honor to lunch on
+his ship the next day. A handsome young lieutenant (Tirpitz) came to ask
+me to dance, but Commodore Werner gave him what in other less tropical
+countries might be called a freezing look, remarking that no one ought to
+dance in such heat as this. The young lieutenant left us quite subdued;
+but the heat did not prevent his dancing with many ladies, if not with me.
+
+The next day we went to lunch on the _Friedrich Wilhelm,_ and it was
+with delight that we sat on the awning-covered deck. The Commodore asked
+me to give him an idea for some occupation for the sailors, who had so
+much time on their hands, and, as I happened to know how to plait straw, I
+proposed showing them how to do it.
+
+The Commodore sent a launch to Havana to get the straw, and we passed the
+afternoon dividing the time between listening to the music of the ship's
+band and tasting different beverages and eating German pretzels and
+teaching the sailors how to plait.
+
+At five o'clock we were rowed ashore, and welcomed a little fresh breeze
+which had sprung up.
+
+The following morning the inmates of the hotel were awakened at an early
+hour by the solemn hymn which belongs to a German serenade. The kind
+Commodore had sent his band to play for me, and it filled the whole hall.
+
+The early breakfasters were dreadfully put out about it; the brass
+instruments sounded like a double orchestra, and resounded in these marble
+halls like volleys of musketry; and as for the hotel-keeper, he has not
+got over his surprise yet.
+
+We had many pleasant days after this. Each one, we said, would be the
+last; still we stayed on. One of the German men-of-war gave a ball, the
+Spanish gave another; each vied with the other to give the finest
+entertainment. It was a pleasure to go on board the German boats,
+everything was so spick and span, the sailors so neat and trim, the deck
+so beautifully kept, and the brasses glistened red-hot in the sun.
+
+I cannot tell you all we did these last days. I was glad to hear that the
+German sailors had profited by my lessons, and had in a short time plaited
+straw enough to make some hats for themselves. I shall always feel proud
+when I see a German sailor with a straw hat, for I shall feel that I laid
+the foundation of this industry.
+
+One of the afternoons we spent on the Commodore's boat. I sang for the
+officers in the cabin, and then, when I was on deck, I sang some of the
+songs from "Pinafore" for the sailors, whom the Commodore called together
+to hear me. They grinned from ear to ear when I sang "What, never?"
+"Hardly ever," and "Never used a big, big D," in the captain's song in
+"Pinafore." This was the last time we visited our amiable German host.
+
+I shall post this letter in New York. It will probably reach you before we
+do.
+
+Our departure was a triumphal procession. The Captain of the Port, devoted
+to the last, took us in his official steam-launch to our steamer. Flowers,
+fruit, and souvenirs of all kinds filled our cabin to overflowing, and
+when we passed the German boats, hats and handkerchiefs were waved aloft,
+and the bands on the decks played with all their Teutonic might until we
+were out of hearing distance.
+
+We noticed our tall, handsome lieutenant standing alone on the fore part
+of the deck. He made a fine naval salute, while the good Commodore waved
+his handkerchief frantically.
+
+The Captain of the Port accompanied us down the harbor as far as Morro
+Castle in his steam-launch.
+
+Adieu, dear Havana!
+
+
+WASHINGTON, _April, 1873._
+
+DEAR LAURA,--The weather was atrociously bad when we returned to New York,
+and as for Boston--it was simply impossible. I began coughing and sneezing
+as soon as I reached home. So I decided to go to Washington on a visit to
+Mrs. Robeson, wife of the Secretary of the Navy. She had often asked me;
+this was an excellent opportunity to accept.
+
+Mrs. Robeson is a fine woman, built on ministerial, lines, and looks like
+a war-ship in review rig. They have an amusing house. Their Sunday
+evenings are the rendezvous of clever people; the men are particularly
+entertaining--Mr. Blaine, Mr. Bayard, and other shining lights.
+
+She is musical, and sings with pleasure. She has a luscious mezzo-soprano.
+She sang "Robin Adair" on one of these occasions with so much conviction
+that it seemed as though she was routing Robin from his first sleep. Then
+she sang a French song in a childish voice (she thought it was a
+_backfisch_ song); but I think it was anything but that, for I noticed
+some Scandi-knavish glances between the Danish and Swedish Ministers,
+which made me suspicious.
+
+There is a delightful German Minister (Mr. Schlözer) here, who is very
+musical; though he does not know a note of music, he can improvise for
+hours.
+
+
+SOMMERBERG, _July, 1874._
+
+DEAR MAMA,--My last letter was from Dinard, where I was nestling in the
+bosom of my family and enjoying the repose and the rest that family bosoms
+alone can give. I told you of my intention to visit Helen at her place on
+the Rhine, and here I am enjoying another kind of rest: the rest of my
+income.
+
+Paul is at present Minister in Madrid; Helen and I lead a very quiet life.
+Driving to Wiesbaden to see the Nassaus and other friends is our favorite
+occupation. We linger in the shady walks of the park, look in at the
+gambling-rooms, sometimes we go to the races, and always come home tired.
+And then, how we enjoy the garden and the beautiful view over the Rhine!
+Some days we go out riding in the lovely forest, which leads to the most
+prettily situated little "bad" place in the world--Schlangenbad.
+
+Helen has in her stables three horses, two of which are the "fat ponies"
+and the third is the war-horse that Paul used in the French-German
+campaign. We take the war horse in turn, as he has to be exercised. When
+it is my day I shudder at the thought of it. Riding is not my strong
+point; in fact, it is my weakest point, and I feel that I am not at all in
+my element; and when I see the tall beast being led up to the door, and I
+know that at a given moment I am to be fired up on to his back, my heart
+sinks. He has a gentle way with him which makes the process of getting on
+him extremely difficult. Just as my foot is in the groom's hand, and I say
+one--two--three, and am in midair, the horse moves gently to one side, and
+I either land on the hard pommel or, more often, I fill an empty space
+between the horse and the groom, which is awkward. However, when, after
+repeated efforts, I _do_ manage to hit the saddle on the right place
+I stick there.
+
+He is full of fancies--this horse--and reminiscences, and sometimes gets
+the idea into his head that he hears the bugle-call to arms. Then off he
+goes to join his imaginary companions, and charges the trees or anything
+that occurs to him, and nothing on earth can stop him, certainly nothing
+on his back can. My hair comes down and my hat flies off, and I feel I am
+not doing the _haute école_ in proper style. Fortunately Helen and I
+are alone, and as the war-horse is miles in front of the "fat pony," she
+does not see the _école_ I am doing, and I rather enjoy the wild way we
+career over space. I do not attempt to guide his martial steps, but let
+him come into camp when he feels inclined.
+
+The groom is never surprised if I come an hour too late. I fancy he knows
+what I have gone through: brambles, branches, and--agony.
+
+
+SOMMERBERG, _July, 1874._
+
+I have just returned from a delightful visit to the Prince and Princess
+Metternich. It was very hot the day I left here, and the sun poured down
+on the broad, white roads which lead from Sommerberg to the station. On my
+arrival at Johannisberg Prince Metternich was waiting for me with a
+_calèche à la Daumont_.
+
+Our jaunty postilion blew his little horn incessantly as we galloped
+through the village and up the long, steep hill which leads to the
+château. The walls on both sides of the badly paved, narrow road were high
+and unpicturesque--not a tree to be seen; vineyards, vineyards everywhere
+--nothing but vineyards.
+
+The château is a very ugly building, of no particular kind of
+architecture, looking more like a barn than a castle. It is shaped like an
+enormous E, without towers or ornamentation of any kind.
+
+The Princess was at the door, and welcomed me most affectionately, and
+with her were the other guests: the handsome Duchess d'Ossuna, Count
+Zichy, Count Kevenhüller, Count Fitz-James, and Commandant Duperré. The
+immense hall, which occupies the entire center of the house, has five
+windows giving out on the courtyard and five on the terrace, and is
+comfortably furnished with all kinds of arm-chairs, rugs, and so forth. A
+grand piano stood in one corner near the window, and over this window was
+an awning (an original idea of the Princess, to put an awning inside,
+instead of outside of the window). An unusually large table, covered with
+quaint books, periodicals, and the latest novels, stood in the middle of
+the room, and there were plants, palms, and flowers everywhere.
+
+The Princess showed me the different rooms. Her boudoir was hung with
+embroidered satin. One room I liked particularly; the walls were covered
+with the coarsest kind of écru linen, on which were sewed pink pigeons cut
+out of cretonne; even the ceiling had its pigeons flying away in the
+distance. Another room was entirely furnished in cashmere shawls--a
+present from the Shah himself. There must have been a great many, to have
+covered the walls and all the divans.
+
+Nowhere could the Princess have had such a chance to show what she could
+do as here, in the transforming of this barrack into a livable place. I
+admired everything immensely. She told me that she thought she was very
+practical, because, when they leave here, all the hangings can be taken
+down and folded and put away, so that the next year they are just as good
+as new.
+
+They only stay here two months every year (July and August); the enormous
+display of flowers on the long terrace before the château is also
+temporary. There are at least four to five hundred pots of flowers, mostly
+geraniums, which make a brilliant effect for the time being, as long as
+the family are here; then they go back to the greenhouse.
+
+Tea was served in the hall; every one was in the gayest of spirits, and
+crowded around the piano to hear Prince Metternich's last waltz, which was
+very inspiring. After the music was finished and the tea-table removed, I
+was shown to my rooms; I reached them by a tiny winding staircase, the
+walls of which were hung with Adrianople (turkey red), and covered with
+miniatures and fine engravings.
+
+Dinner was served very sumptuously; the servants were in plush breeches
+and had powdered hair. I sat on the left of Prince Metternich and next to
+Count Kevenhüller, who is a Knight of Malta. I said to the Prince, "A
+Knight of Malta always suggests to my mind romance and the Middle Ages."
+
+"It shows," the Prince replied, "how naïve you are. It is true that he is
+middle-aged, but he has not a ray of romance in him. Don't trust him!
+Maltese Knights and Maltese cats do their killing on the sly."
+
+During the dinner delicious Johannisberg was served alternately with
+ordinary beer. Conversation alternated with laughter, and after dinner
+albums and music alternated with flirtations. The Prince played some of
+his charming new songs. On the piano was a beautifully bound book
+containing them. He pointed to it, saying, "I have had this made for you,"
+and showed me the title-page, where he had written, "À l'Inspiratrice!" I
+was tremendously pleased and sang all the songs, one after the other. The
+Prince has had leisure to compose a great deal since he retired into
+private life. He is wonderfully talented--not only for music, but for
+painting. Everything he does he does better than any one else.
+
+He said that during the war, when he was obliged to stay in Bordeaux, he
+would have died of ennui if he had not had his music and drawing to occupy
+him, especially as the Princess and the children were not with him, and he
+was dreadfully lonely.
+
+It was a lovely night, and we walked till very late on the terrace and
+gazed at the view across the Rhine, over the miles of vineyards and little
+villages sparkling with lights.
+
+The Prince told me all about the Empress's flight from the Tuileries after
+the catastrophe of Sedan. He said that when the news came to the Embassy
+that the mob was about to enter the Tuileries he communicated with Count
+Nigra (the Italian Ambassador), and they decided to go there instantly, to
+offer their services to the Empress.
+
+When they arrived there they saw the mob already before the gates. They
+left their carriages on the quay, and entered by a door into the gallery
+of the Louvre, and hurried to the apartment of the Empress. There they
+found her with Madame Le Breton. She was very calm and collected, already
+dressed in a black-silk gown, and evidently prepared for flight. She had
+in her hand a small traveling-bag, which contained some papers and a few
+jewels.
+
+Seeing them, she exclaimed, "Tell me, what shall I do?"
+
+The Prince said, "What does General Trochu advise, your Majesty?"
+
+"Trochu!" she repeated. "I have sent for him twice, but he does not
+trouble himself to answer or to come to me."
+
+Then the Prince said, "Count Nigra and I are here to put ourselves
+entirely at your Majesty's service."
+
+The Empress thanked them and said: "What do you think best for me to do?
+You see how helpless I am."
+
+The Prince answered that, according to their judgment, the wisest thing
+for her Majesty to do would be to leave Paris at once, and added that his
+carriage was there and she could make use of it.
+
+She then put on her hat and cloak and said, "I am ready to follow you."
+
+They went through the Pavilion de Flore and through the Galerie du Louvre
+until they reached a small door leading out on to the quay, where the two
+coupes were waiting. The Prince had already thought of one or two friends
+to whom the Empress could go and remain until they joined her, to help her
+to devise some means for leaving Paris. He said that during the long walk
+through the gallery the Empress remained calm and self-possessed, though
+one could see that she was suffering intensely.
+
+They reached the quay without hindrance and found the carriages. The
+Prince opened the door of his and gave his orders to his coachman; but the
+Empress suddenly refused, saying that she preferred to go in a cab, and
+begged them not to follow her.
+
+There was a cab-stand directly opposite where they stood. They hailed one,
+and she and Madame Le Breton were about to get in when a little boy cried
+out, "Voilà l'Impératrice!" Count Nigra, quick as thought, turned on the
+boy and said in a loud voice, "Comment! tu cries 'Vive la Prusse!" and
+boxed his ears, so that attention should be diverted from the Empress.
+
+The Prince gave the names of the streets and the numbers of the houses to
+the cabman where he had proposed to the Empress to go, and the ladies
+drove away.
+
+"Did you not follow her?" I asked.
+
+"Yes" he answered. "In spite of the Empress's wishes, after allowing
+enough time for her to get well on her way, we drove to the two addresses
+given, but did not find her at either of them. We could not imagine what
+had happened to her."
+
+"What _had_ happened to her?" I asked.
+
+"It was only after hours of the greatest anxiety that we ourselves knew.
+About six o'clock I received a note from the Empress saying that she had
+gone to the two houses we had named, but that no one was there, and then,
+not knowing what to do, had in despair thought of Dr. Evans, the dentist,
+and had driven to his house, where she was in safety for the moment."
+
+"What a dreadful moment for the Empress! How did she dare to send the note
+to you?"
+
+"It was imprudent," said the Prince; "but she intrusted it to Dr. Crane,
+who happened to be dining with Dr. Evans. He brought it to me and gave it
+into my own hands."
+
+"Did you go to see her?"
+
+"Yes, I went to see her; but strict orders had been given not to let any
+one enter, not even me."
+
+The Prince showed me this letter, which he kept locked up in a desk.
+Seeing the tears in my eyes, he said, giving me the envelope, "I know you
+will value this, and I beg you will keep it."
+
+[Illustration: FAC-SIMILE OF LETTER:
+
+À Son Altesse Le Prince de Metternich
+
+L. Napoléon.]
+
+I told him that I would value it more than any one possibly could, and did
+not know how to thank him enough.
+
+He told me a great deal more about the Empress, her hardships and trials,
+and how brave she had been through them all. She never uttered a word of
+reproach against any one, except against Trochu, whom she called an arch-
+traitor. He told me also of the last time he had seen her Majesty at
+Chiselhurst, and how sad this interview had been. The beautiful and adored
+Empress of France now a widow and an exile! I was sorry that our
+conversation was interrupted--I could have listened for hours; but tea was
+announced, and we were obliged to leave the library.
+
+The next day the Prince and his friends were deeply engaged in making a
+kite; they tried everything imaginable to coax it to fly, but it refused.
+The Prince even mounted a ladder, hoping to catch the wind by holding it
+higher; but all in vain. The moment he let go, down flapped the kite with
+almost human spitefulness.
+
+After the Prince had said _saperlotte!_ twenty times, they gave up the
+kite and played tennis, a new game, over which he is as enthusiastic
+as he used to be over croquet, until the blast of a horn announced the
+arrival of the archducal four-in-hand, which they were expecting.
+
+Then there was a hurried putting on of coats and wiping of perspiring
+brows, and they all went forward to receive the Archduke Louis, who had
+driven over from Wiesbaden to spend the day, bringing with him some
+younger gentlemen.
+
+Prince Metternich immediately proposed their playing tennis. Some of them
+were eager to do so, but the Archduke, being fatigued by his long drive,
+begged to go to his room until luncheon.
+
+Then, while the gentlemen were playing tennis, the Princess took me to the
+kitchen-garden to show me the American green-corn, planted from seeds
+which we had given to her at Petit Val four years ago. She told me, with
+great joy, that we were to have some for dinner.
+
+After luncheon we were invited to visit the famous wine-vaults. The
+intendant appeared with the keys, and, accompanied by a subordinate, we
+followed him down the stairs to the heavily bolted oak door, which he
+opened with a flourish. The first thing we saw, on entering, was
+_Willkommen_ in transparencies in front of the entrance.
+
+These cellars had the same dimensions as the castle, one hundred feet each
+way. Rows and rows of large casks placed close together lined the walls,
+and each cask had a lighted candle upon it embedded in plaster. Lamps hung
+at intervals from the vaulted ceiling, giving a weird look to the long
+alleys, which seemed to stretch out for miles through the dim vista.
+
+We walked on. Every little while we came to what the Prince called a
+_cabaret_, and what the Princess called more poetically a _bosquet_, but
+which literally was a table and chairs surrounded by plants. The smell of
+the wine was overpowering. When we reached _bosquet_ No. 1 the intendant
+handed each of us a full glass of Johannisberg, the same that was served
+at the table; at _bosquet_ No. 2 we received only half a glass of a finer
+quality. At _bosquet_ No. 3, on the walls of which were the initials of
+the Duchess d'Ossuna (E. O., formed by candles), we only got a liqueur
+glassful.
+
+The farther we went the older, and therefore the more valuable, the wine
+was, and the less we were given. When we reached _bosquet_ No. 6, the
+last stop, we were allowed a discreet sip from a sherry glass, which was
+passed on from one to the other like a loving-cup.
+
+We were told that the wines from the years 1862 and 1863 are considered to
+be the best. It is strange that they are entirely different from each
+other; the first is very sweet and the second is very dry.
+
+What was my surprise to see here, "I know a Lillie fair to see," against
+the walls designed in candles. The Princess told me that the Prince had
+been a long time making this, and I hope I showed due appreciation of the
+compliment. I was immensely flattered.
+
+The wine is the color of amber, or pale yellow, according to the year, and
+tastes delicious; the aroma reminds one of sandalwood.
+
+The wines of the best years are only sold in bottles bearing the cachet of
+the Prince's arms, and the autograph of the intendant; the color of the
+seal denotes the quality. _Cabinet bleu_ is the best that can be bought;
+the less fine qualities are sold in barrels.
+
+You will be interested to hear how they gather the grapes. It is very
+carefully done: each bunch is picked like a flower, and each grape is
+selected with the greatest care; any grape with the slightest imperfection
+is discarded. They remain longer on the vines here than anywhere else, so
+that the sweetness of the grape is doubly concentrated.
+
+A good year will produce from sixty to eighty thousand bottles, and bring
+in an income of one hundred and fifty thousand marks.
+
+The company which built the railroad through the grounds had to pay an
+enormous sum for the land, every inch of which is worth its weight in
+gold.
+
+You may imagine the despair of the intendant when he sees so much of this
+valuable land taken for the croquet and tennis games; but the last straw
+is--the corn!
+
+One of the guests here, Duchess d'Ossuna, is a very striking and handsome
+lady who has been a great beauty and is still, though now about forty
+years old. Her husband is one of the richest men in Spain, but is in such
+wretched health that she has expected hourly to be a widow for many years.
+
+Coming away from the insidious fumes of the wine into the hot air, and
+leaving the dark cellars for the glaring broad daylight, made us all feel
+a little lightheaded. I noticed that the Archduke had to be gently and
+with due discretion aided up the steps.
+
+He dropped into the first available bench and said, solemnly and with
+conviction: "To see this wine makes one want to taste it; to taste it
+makes one want to drink it; to drink it makes one want to dream."
+
+I hope that you appreciate this profound saying; it ought not to be lost
+to posterity.
+
+We left him, thinking he would prefer the society of his adjutant to ours.
+I knew that I preferred mine to any one else's, and went to my room,
+mounting its winding staircase, which I thought wound more than was
+necessary. Taking guests into wine-cellars is the great joke here, and it
+never fails.
+
+Every one was in exuberant spirits at dinner. I wish I could remember half
+of the clever things that were said. The corn came on amid screams of
+delight. Our hostess ate thirteen ears, which, if reduced to kernels,
+would have made about one ordinary ear, there was so much cob and so
+little corn. The Princess enjoyed them hugely.
+
+Coffee was served on the terrace. Later we had music in the hall, and
+before the departure of the Archduke there was a fine display of fireworks
+sent off from the terrace, which must have looked splendid from a
+distance.
+
+
+SOMMERBERG, _August, 1874._
+
+DEAR M.,--Prince Emil Wittgenstein and his wife have a pretty villa at
+Walhuf, directly on the Rhine, and they invited Helen and me to dine and
+spend the night there. Prince Wittgenstein promised to show us some
+wonderful manifestations from spiritland. Helen is not a believer, neither
+am I, but the Prince thinks I am, and, as Helen could not leave her
+guests, I went alone.
+
+The Prince wrote that he had induced, with great difficulty (and probably
+with a great deal of expense), the much-talked-of Miss Cook to come with
+her sister to pay them a visit at their villa. Miss Cook is the medium
+through whom the Empress Josephine and Katie King (a lady unknown to the
+world, except as being the daughter of a certain old sea-captain, called
+John King, who roamed the seas a hundred years ago and pirated) manifest
+themselves.
+
+I was delighted to have this chance of seeing Miss Cook, because I had
+read in the English papers that she had lately been shown up as a gigantic
+fraud. At one of her séances in London, just as she was in the act of
+materializing in conjunction with the Empress Josephine, a gentleman,
+disregarding all rules of etiquette, sprang from the audience and seized
+her in his arms; but instead of melting, as a proper spirit would have
+done, the incensed Empress screamed and scratched and tore herself away,
+actually leaving bits of her raiment in his hands. This rude gentleman
+swears that the imperial nails seemed wholly of earthly texture, and that
+the scratches were as thorough and lasted as well as if made by any common
+mortal.
+
+Since this incident Miss Cook had thought it wiser to retire into private
+life, and has secured a husband calling himself Corner. Prince
+Wittgenstein found her, and, wishing to convert his wife, could think of
+no better way than to let her see Miss Cook materialize. The wife and her
+friend, Princess Croy, are avowed disbelievers.
+
+Our dinner was dull beyond words. There were the Prince Nicholas-Nassau
+and his wife; the Duke Esslingen, who is nearly blind, without a wife but
+with convictions; Count and Countess de Vay, and the two English ladies
+already mentioned. Miss Cook, _alias_ Mrs. Corner, is a washed-out blond,
+rather barmaidish-looking English girl of medium (oh dear! I really did
+not mean to) height and apparently very anemic.
+
+After dinner we were led into the room in which the séance was to take
+place, and were seated round a large table, and told to hold our tongues
+and one another's hands; the gas was turned down to the lowest point, the
+lamps screwed down, and there we sat and waited and waited.
+
+The poor host was chagrined beyond utterance; something was the matter
+with the magnetic current. Sometimes he would tap on the table to attract
+the attention of the spirit underneath, but nothing helped; the spirits
+were obstinate and remained silent.
+
+I ventured to ask the Duke, by the side of whom I sat and held on to, in
+what manner the spirits made known their answers. He said that one knock
+meant "yes," no knock meant "no," and two knocks meant "doubtful." At last
+we heard a timid knock in the direction of Mrs. Corner. Then every one was
+alert. Prince Wittgenstein addressed the spot and whispered in his most
+seductive tones, "Dear spirit, will you not manifest yourself?" Two knocks
+(doubtful).
+
+"Is the company seated right?" (Silence, meaning "no.")
+
+"Is the company congenial?" (Silence.)
+
+To find out who the uncongenial person was, every one asked, in turn, "Is
+it I?" until Princess Wittgenstein put the question, upon which came a
+vigorous single knock.
+
+"My dear," said the Prince, "I am sorry to say it, but you must go."
+
+So she left, nothing loath. We all thought for sure something would happen
+now, but nothing did.
+
+Prince Wittgenstein commenced the same inquiries, whether the company was
+now congenial; but it seemed that Princess de Croy was _de trop_, and
+she was also obliged to leave the room. (You see, the spirits did not like
+to single out the hostess alone.) Now we were reduced to nine believers
+with moist hands.
+
+Would the Empress not now appear? We waited long enough for her to make up
+her mind; but it seemed that neither her mind nor anything else was ready
+to be made up. The spirits were perhaps willing, but the flesh was too
+weak. Then Mrs. Corner remembered that at the last sitting the Empress had
+declared that she would never appear on German soil (her feelings having
+been wounded during the Franco-German War).
+
+There still remained Katie King. We had not heard from her yet. Prince
+Wittgenstein addressed the table under his fingers: "Oh, dear spirits, do
+do something! Anything would be acceptable!" How could he or she resist
+such humble pleadings?
+
+Then some one felt a cold wind pass over his face. Surely something was
+happening now!
+
+"It must be Katie King about to materialize," said the hopeful Prince.
+
+Then we saw a dim light. We strained our eyes to the utmost to discover
+what it was. I should have said, if I had been truthful, that to me it
+looked like a carefully shaded candle; but I held my tongue. The hand of
+my neighbor was fast becoming jelly in mine, and I would have given worlds
+to have got my hand out of the current; but I did not dare to interfere
+with it, and I continued to hold on to the jelly. Whoever was being
+materialized was doing it so slowly, and without any kind of system, that
+we hardly had the patience to sit it out. Then a tambourine walked up some
+one's arm, Prince Nassau's spectacles were pulled off his august nose by
+invisible hands (of course, who else would have dared?), thus making him
+more near-sighted than ever. His wife's necklace of turquoises was
+unclasped from her neck and hooked on to the neck of the acolyte sister;
+but on anxious and repeated demands to have it returned, it was replaced,
+much to the owner's relief. Prince Wittgenstein thought it silly of her to
+have so little confidence. Suddenly, while necklaces were changing necks,
+we saw what looked like a cloud of gauze. We held our breaths, the raps
+under the table redoubled, and there were all sorts of by-play, such as
+hair-pulling and arm-pinching, but no Katie. The gauze which was going to
+be her gave up trying and disappeared altogether. "Never mind," said the
+Prince. "It does not matter [I thought so, too.] She will come to-morrow
+night."
+
+This was very depressing; even Prince Wittgenstein was utterly discouraged
+and decided to break up the séance, and, groping his way to the nearest
+lamp, turned it up. We went into the other salon, where we found the two
+discarded ladies sitting peacefully before a samovar and playing a game of
+two-handed poker.
+
+Miss Cook told Prince Wittgenstein that Katie King would probably
+materialize if she had the promise of getting a sapphire ring which he
+wore (a beautiful sapphire). Miss Cook suggested that if this ring could
+be hung up on a certain tree in the garden Katie King would come and get
+it, and would certainly materialize the next evening. Prince Wittgenstein
+was credulous enough to pander to this modest wish, and hung up the
+desired ring, hoping Katie King would return it when she was in the flesh.
+But Miss Cook had a succession of fainting fits which necessitated her
+sudden departure for England, so we never saw Katie King, neither did
+Prince Wittgenstein ever get his ring back, as far as I know.
+
+
+_September, 1874._
+
+Last Tuesday we three--Count and Countess Westphal and I--left Wiesbaden,
+slept at Frankfort, and starting the next morning at eleven o'clock, we
+arrived at our destination at 5.00 P.M. We found three carriages; one for
+us and two for the maids and luggage. Halfway to the castle we met,
+driving the lightest and prettiest of basket-wagons, our host and hostess,
+Count and Countess W--; the latter got into the carriage with us and one
+of us took her place by the side of the host. We passed through the
+village, which had but one street, irregular and narrow, and we were in
+constant danger of running over the shoals of little children who stood
+stupidly in the middle of it, gazing at us with open eyes and mouth.
+
+The Schloss is a very large, square building, with rounded towers in the
+four corners. It has been remodeled, added to, and adorned so many times
+that it is difficult to tell to which style of architecture it belongs.
+The chapel is in an angle and opens on to the paved courtyard.
+
+Our first evening was spent quietly making acquaintance with the other
+guests. The next morning we lunched at eleven o'clock, the gentlemen in
+knickerbockers and shooting attire, the ladies in sensible gowns of light
+material over silk petticoats. Simplicity is the order of the day. Our
+lunch consists of many courses, and we might have lingered for hours if
+the sight of the postman coming up the avenue had not given us the excuse
+to leave the table and devote ourselves to our correspondence, which had
+to be done in double-quick time, as the postman only waited a short
+fifteen minutes, long enough to imbibe the welcome cup of coffee or the
+glass of beer which he found waiting him in the kitchen. The Countess,
+although the mother of a young man twenty-four years of age, has a pink-
+and-white complexion and a fine, statuesque figure. She is a Russian lady
+by birth, and does a lot of kissing, as seems to be the custom in Russia.
+She told me that when a gentleman of a certain position kisses your hand
+you must kiss his forehead.
+
+"Isn't this rather cruel toward the ladies?" I said.
+
+"Why," she asked, "do you think it is cruel?"
+
+"Ladies sometimes have on gloves when they give their hands to be kissed,
+whereas there are some foreheads which ought to have gloves on before they
+are kissed."
+
+The young Count, when he returned from the races at Wiesbaden, brought
+with him a young American who had been presented to him by a friend of
+his, who said that Mr. Brent, of Colorado (that was his name), was very
+"original" and _ausserordenlich charmant_. And he was both charming and
+(especially) original; but not the type one meets in society.
+
+He was a big, tall, splendidly built fellow with the sweetest face and the
+liquidest blue eyes one can imagine. He had a soft, melodious voice and
+the most fascinating manner, in spite of his far-Western language. Every
+one liked him; my American heart warmed to him instantly, and even the
+austere _grande dame_, our hostess, was visibly captivated, and the prim
+German governess drank in every word he said, intending, no doubt, to
+improve her English, which otherwise she never got a chance to speak.
+
+The two young men arrived yesterday just in time for tea. When the
+Countess asked him, in her most velvety tones, "Do you take sugar, Mr.
+Brent?" "Yes, ma'am, I do--three lumps, and if it's beety I take four." (I
+trembled! What would he say next?) "I've got a real sweet tooth," he said,
+with an alluring smile, to which we all succumbed. The governess,
+remembering what hers had been before acquiring her expensive false set,
+probably wondered how teeth could ever be sweet.
+
+While dressing for dinner I shuddered at the thought of what his dinner
+toilet might be; but I cannot say how relieved I was when I saw him appear
+(he was the last to appear) dressed in perfect evening dress, in the
+latest fashion, except his tie, which was of white satin and very badly
+tied. The salon in which we met before dinner is a real museum of rare
+pictures, old furniture, and curiosities. The walls are hung with old
+Italian faïences and porcelains. A huge buffet, reaching to the ceiling,
+is filled with Venetian goblets and majolica vases.
+
+A vast chimneypiece, under which one can stand with ease, is ornamented
+with a fine iron bas-relief of the family arms, and a ponderous pair of
+andirons which support a heavy iron bar big enough to roast a wild boar
+on. Count G---- called Mr. Brent's attention to it, and Mr. Brent said,
+pleasantly, "I suppose this is where the ancestors toasted their
+patriarchal toes."
+
+At dinner he sat next to the governess, and I could see her trying to
+digest his "original" language; and I was near enough to overhear some of
+their conversation. For instance, she asked him what his occupation was in
+his native land. "Oh," he said, "I do a little of everything, mostly
+farming. I've paddled my own canoe since I was a small kid."
+
+"Is there much water in your country-place?" she inquired.
+
+"Don't you mean country? Well, yes, we have quite a few pailfuls over
+there, and we don't have to pull a string to let our waterfalls down."
+
+My neighbor must have thought me very inattentive; but I felt that I could
+not lose a word of Mr. Brent's conversation. The vestibule (or "Halle," as
+they called it), where we went after dinner, used to be occupied by the
+_Corps du Garde._ It had vaulted ceilings and great oak beams, and was
+filled with hunting implements of all ages arranged in groups on the
+walls very artistically; there were cross-bows, fencing-swords, masks,
+guns (old and new), pistols, etc. Mr. Brent was very much impressed by
+this collection, gazed at the specimens with sparkling admiration, and
+remarked to the governess, who was always at his elbow, "I never saw such
+a lot of things [meaning the weapons] outside of a shindy."
+
+"What is a shindy?" inquired the governess, always anxious to improve her
+knowledge of the language.
+
+"Why, don't you know what a shindy is? No? Well, it's a free fight, where
+you kill promiscuous."
+
+"Gott im Himmel!" almost screamed the terrified damsel. "Do you mean to
+say that you have killed any one otherwise than in a duel?"
+
+"I can't deny that I have killed a few," Mr. Brent said, cordially, "but
+never in cold blood."
+
+"How dreadful!" his listener cried.
+
+"But you see, over there," pointing with his cigar into the vague (toward
+Colorado), "if a man insults you, you must kill him then and there, and
+you must always be heeled."
+
+"Heeled!" she repeated, puzzled. "Do they always get well?"
+
+Neither understood.
+
+Probably she thinks to this day that a shindy is an exceptionally good
+hospital.
+
+The Count said, "This room is a very good specimen of Renaissance style."
+
+Mr. Brent replied, "I don't know what 'renny-saunce' means, but this room
+is the style I like"; and added, "It's bully; and to-morrow I'd like to
+take a snap-shot of it and of all the company to show mother, if [with his
+charming smile] you will let me."
+
+"You shall take that and any other thing you like," said the Count. "How
+long do you intend staying in Europe?"
+
+"That depends," answered Mr. Brent. "I came across the pond because the
+doctor said I needed rest and change."
+
+"I hope that you have had them both," the Count said, kindly.
+
+"I got the change, all right; but the hotel-keepers got the rest, as the
+story goes."
+
+Every one laughed and voted the young and clever American perfectly
+delightful.
+
+The Countess extended her jeweled hand when she bade him good night, the
+hand that always had been held with reverence and pressed gently to lips,
+and felt it seized in a grip which made her wince.
+
+"Madame, you are just as sweet as you can be. I cottoned to you right off
+the minute I saw you, just as I did to 'sonny,' over there," pointing to
+the noble scion of the house. The governess made a note of the word
+"cotton." The Countess was dumfounded; but our young friend seeming so
+unconscious of having said or done anything out of the way, she simply,
+instead of resenting what in another would have been most offensive,
+looked at him with a lovely, motherly smile, and I am sure she wanted to
+imprint a kiss on his forehead _à la Russe_.
+
+The next morning the Countess mentioned that she had a quantity of old
+tapestries somewhere about in the house. "Where are they?" we all
+exclaimed. "Can we not see them?"
+
+"Certainly, but I do not know where they are," answered the Countess.
+"They may be in the stables."
+
+We went there, and sure enough we found, after rummaging about in the
+large attic, a quantity of old tapestries: three complete subjects
+(biblical and pastoral), all of them more or less spoiled by rats and
+indiscriminate cutting.
+
+It amused me to see in the servants' dining-room some good old pictures,
+while in ours the walls were covered with modern engravings.
+
+We were about thirty at table, and in the servants' hall there were nearly
+sixty persons. Lenchen, my old-maid maid, puts on her best and only black-
+silk dress every day and spends hours over her toilette for dinner.
+
+Mr. Tweed, the English trainer, says that the stables here are among the
+finest in Germany, and that the Count owns the best race-horses in the
+land, and is a connoisseur of everything connected with horses.
+
+Our Colorado friend did not seem at all overwhelmed with the splendor of
+the stables, but with a knowing eye, examining the horses (feet, fetlocks,
+and all), and without further preliminaries, said, "This one is not worth
+much, and that one I would not give two cents for, but this fellow,"
+pointing to the Count's best racer, "is a beauty."
+
+Mr. Tweed's amazement at this amateur (as he supposed him to be) was
+turned into admiration when Mr. Brent walked into the paddock, asked for a
+rope, and proceeded to show us how they lasso horses in America. Every one
+was delighted at this exhibition.
+
+Then Mr. Tweed brought out the most unruly horse he had, which none of the
+English or German grooms could mount. Mr. Brent advanced cautiously, and
+with a few coaxing words got the horse to stand quiet long enough for him
+to pass his hand caressingly over his neck. But putting the saddle on him
+was another matter; the horse absolutely refused to be saddled. So what
+did our American friend do but give one mighty spring and land on the
+horse's bare back. He dug his strong legs into the sides of the horse, and
+though the horse kicked and plunged for a while, it succumbed finally and
+was brought in tame and meek.
+
+Nothing could have pleased the Count more than this, and the rest of us
+were lost in admiration.
+
+Mr. Brent invited all the stable-boys _en bloc_ to come over to America to
+see him; he guessed he "and the boys could teach them a trick or two."
+
+After luncheon Mr. Brent wanted us all to come out on the lawn to be
+photographed, particularly the Countess, and said to the young Count, "You
+tackle the missis [meaning the Countess], and I'll get the others."
+
+Of course no one refused. How could we resist such a charmer? Who could
+ever have believed that this simple, unaffected youth could have so
+completely won all hearts?
+
+He said to the Countess while "fixing" her for the group, "I wanted you,
+because you remind me so of my dear old mother." The Countess actually
+purred with ecstasy; but I don't think she would have liked to be compared
+to any "old" thing (mother or not) by anybody else. In this case she
+merely looked up at him and smiled sweetly, and as for the _blasé_,
+stately Count, he simply would not let him out of his sight.
+
+At last the group was arranged according to Mr. Brent's ideas; the host
+and hostess in the center, while the others clustered around them.
+
+"Now, ladies and gentlemen, please look pleasant," said Mr. Brent, and we
+all took the attitude we remembered to have looked well in on some former
+occasion, and hoped we looked "pleasant," and that "mother," when
+contemplating us, would approve of us.
+
+The Count's birthday happened to be on one of these days. Mr. Brent, who
+had intended to leave, was urged by both him and the Countess to stay. The
+young Count said, "Papa would be really unhappy if you went away." "That's
+real nice of him; you bet I'll stay, then." On the day itself he was all-
+pervading. It was he who hung the heavy garlands and wreaths on the
+highest poles, agile as a cat, and draped the flags about the escutcheons
+placed everywhere. He helped the ladies arrange the flowers in the
+innumerable vases in the salons. He it was who led the applause when the
+deputation of young people from the village made their speech, and when
+the Count responded, in his most dignified and courtly manner, Mr. Brent
+cried out, in a most enthusiastic voice, "Good for you!"
+
+In the evening there were visits from all the surrounding neighborhood;
+the ladies wore tiaras and all their jewels, and the gentlemen all their
+decorations; there was a grand supper in the state dining-room. Although I
+suppose it was the first time Mr. Brent had ever seen such a sight, he did
+not seem in the least astonished. He circulated about the distinguished
+company and made himself most agreeable indiscriminately to young and old.
+He was in full glory, and certainly was the life of the evening, which
+finished brilliantly with a grand display of fireworks set off from the
+tower, so that they could be seen from far and near.
+
+The next day Mr. Brent left. When he bade me good-by he said: "Good-by,
+ma'am. If I have had a good time here, I owe it all to you." "Oh no, you
+don't!" I said. "You owe it all to yourself, and you may say to your
+mother, from me, that you won all hearts."
+
+He sighed and turned away his head, giving my hand an extra squeeze. "If
+you ever come to Colorado, just ask any one for Johnny Brent, and if I
+don't stand on my head for you it'll be because I've lost it."
+
+His leave-taking of the Countess was almost pathetic. He held her hand
+long and tenderly, and said, "I can't find any word, ma'am--I mean,
+Countess--but--thank you, thank you, that's all I can say."
+
+And the Countess (we thought she would faint) put her hand on his
+shoulder. He bent his head, and she kissed him on his forehead; and he
+(were the heavens going to fall?) stooped down and kissed her cheek.
+
+The Count said: "Good-by, my boy. Come again to see us"--and going to the
+walls where his collection of pistols hung, took one of them and handed it
+to him "This will remind you of us, but don't kill any one with it."
+
+"Never," said Mr. Brent. "I will hang it round my neck."
+
+Thus departed our American hero, for who but a hero could have stormed
+such a fortress and broken down all the traditional barriers?
+
+A day or two later we received a visit from royalty, in the person of
+Prince Frederick Charles of Prussia.
+
+In the evening we played a wonderful game called _taroc_, which was very
+intricate and almost impossible to learn. Old Baron Kessler, who undertook
+to teach it to me, got so sleepy that he actually yawned in my face.
+
+This Baron Kessler is quite a character--very clever, very artistic, very
+musical, and, strange to say, very superstitious. For instance, he wears
+an old waistcoat which has certain magical grease-spots on Fridays; on
+Mondays his purse must be in the left pocket of his coat, on Thursdays in
+his right pocket. He drinks nine times before twelve o'clock on special
+days, and has a cigar-case for each different day of the week. He hates
+losing at cards, and when he does it is quite an affair; and I am not sure
+that prayers are not offered up for him by his family in the chapel on his
+baronial estates.
+
+The last thing I saw was a vision of Herr Lenning (the head butler), who
+is sometimes a little shaky himself, helping the Baron up the stairs.
+Possibly it was the evening of the nine-drink morning.
+
+Next day we all left, except the old Baron, who for reasons of his own
+remained.
+
+
+WEIMAR, _September, 1874._
+
+DEAR M.,--I thought it would be a good idea to go to Weimar, the place
+_par excellence_ to study German, the Germans, and their literature;
+and, moreover, my boy might go to school there. Mrs. Kingsland had given
+me a letter to the Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar, and recommended the place,
+not because she knew the town, but because she knew the Grand Duke.
+Besides, had I not a dear cousin who had written a most attractive book
+about Weimar, combined with Liszt and his enchantments?
+
+I was all enthusiasm.
+
+I decided to go to the hotel which Liszt honored. The proprietor put me
+into Liszt's very room, where a framed letter of his hung on the wall....
+This did not in the least overcome me, as I had several of Liszt's letters
+at home. But what did overcome me was that I was charged four times the
+price of any other hotel, on Liszt's account!
+
+Weimar may be very pleasant in the season when the little Court sheds its
+mild light about; but out of the season, especially at this time of the
+year, when there is nothing but dried and fluttering leaves, students, and
+dogs in the streets, I found it woeful. It was reeking of Schiller and
+Goethe. For two marks you can have a pretty good idea of how these great
+men lived and had their being. Everywhere we turned, and we turned
+everywhere, there were statues, busts, autographs, writing-desks, beds,
+and wash-stands which had belonged to them. I admired everything until my
+vocabulary of exclamations was exhausted and my head whirled.
+
+I told Howard, as young as he was, I would not have him Goethed and
+Schillered, as he certainly would be if he stayed here; so I changed my
+plans and made up my mind to accept the invitation of my friend the
+Countess Westphal to make her a visit at her château in Westphalia. We
+took a train which dropped us at her station, where she met us and drove
+us to Fürstenberg.
+
+Westphalia is renowned for its hams. Perhaps you don't know this,
+therefore I tell you. It is also renowned for the independent spirit of
+the Westphalians.
+
+
+FÜRSTENBERG, _1874._
+
+DEAR M.,--This château is a fine old castle, with rounded towers and
+mysterious passages, and has a village tucked on to it. The family
+consists of the Countess, the Count, and three children, a tutor, a
+governess, and everything which belongs to the old families and their
+traditions. The mysterious passages possessed no ghosts, for which I was
+sorry, though my maid (a timid and naïve old German maiden) thought that
+she heard "things" at night when she came up the dark, winding stone
+staircase which led to my room.
+
+Life passed quietly at Fürstenberg. Countess Westphal and I amused
+ourselves with music and embroidery and listening to the Count's report of
+his hunting expeditions.
+
+One day, in a spasm of energy, she proposed to take me to see a friend of
+hers, Countess B----, who, she said, lived quite near. We would spend the
+night, returning the next day. She thought it would be a very pleasant and
+entertaining little excursion for us.
+
+She telegraphed to Countess B---- that we were coming without maids, and
+with only necessary baggage; and my maid immediately went to work to pack
+what she considered necessary for this visit. She put a dinner-dress, with
+high and low waists, as the occasion might require, an extra day-dress,
+and all kinds of accessories, filling a good-sized trunk.
+
+We started early the next morning. Countess Westphal was full of happy
+expectations; so was I. We were four hours on the way before we reached
+our destination; but Countess Westphal cheerfully remarked that time was
+of no consequence.
+
+On our arrival at the forlorn little station I looked in vain for the
+lordly chariot I thought would be waiting for us. Countess Westphal seemed
+astonished also, but with her usual good-nature accounted for the absence
+of the chariot by saying that her friend could not possibly have received
+the telegram. We lingered about, hoping that some vehicle would appear;
+but as none did so, Countess Westphal started off to find one, and she
+finally succeeded in tempting a man, for the vast sum of four marks, to
+drive us to the _schloss_.
+
+After the coachman had gathered the reins off the back of the old, rickety
+horse, I leaned back in my seat and pictured to myself what this beautiful
+_schloss_ we were going to would be like.
+
+Of course, it would have a moat around it (all old castles do); it would
+have all the modern comforts combined with the traditions of past glories;
+it would have avenues of grand old trees and marble statues, and terraces
+leading into Italian gardens, and so forth. In fact, my imagination got so
+riotous that I forgot to look at the treeless, muddy roads, and I never
+noticed the wrenching of the ancient landau in which we were.
+
+As we were jolted over the desolate landscape, Countess Westphal tried to
+tell me the family history of the B----s, but I only gathered bits of it
+here and there; such as that he was the fourth son of a very distinguished
+father and mother, and had no prospect worth speaking of, except the
+prospect of the dreary place we were careering over; that they never left
+their native heath and had no children, and that they lived on their
+estate (being the only thing they had to live on), and so forth and so
+forth, all of which went in at the ear next the Countess and went out at
+the ear next the road.
+
+Finally we spied the _schloss._ It had been a convent in some former
+century, and still had iron bars on the windows. We drove through a muddy
+lane, passing a sort of barn with grated loopholes, and stopped before a
+courtyard filled with chickens and geese; on the left was a pigsty,
+smelling not at all like Westphalian hams, and on the other side a cow-
+stable. In front was the _schloss_ and the lady of the manor, the
+honorable Countess herself, on the steps, quite by chance, so it seemed.
+She led us proudly into the salon. A large bunch of keys hung at her
+girdle. I wondered why she needed so many! After the coal-bin, wine-vault,
+and sugar-bowl, and linen-closet had been locked up, what more did she
+need to lock up? There was no mention that the telegram had been received.
+Strange!
+
+Count B---- was not there, "but would be coming soon." I felt that I could
+wait. The salon was of the kind that one often sees in houses where the
+mistress, having no children and plenty of time, embroiders things. Every
+possible object had a coat of arms and huge crowns embroidered on it, so
+that you could never forget that you were in the house of ancient
+nobility, which had the right to impose its crowns on you. All the chairs,
+tables, sideboards, and things on the walls were made out of the horns of
+stags and other animals the Count had shot. Sometimes the chairs were
+covered with the skin of the same, minus the hair, which was missing and
+moth-eaten in spots.
+
+I was taken up-stairs to my bedroom, and I was thankful to see that the
+horns and crowns had nearly given out before they finished furnishing the
+first story, and that I had an ordinary middle-class chair to sit on.
+There were many pictures of Madonnas and saints, from which I inferred
+that our hosts were Catholics, and a _prie-dieu_, which, strange to say,
+was made of horns; and the mat in front of my bed was a blaze of the
+united coats of arms and _two_ crowns! So she was a Countess born, which
+accounted for the doubleness.
+
+We were obliged to make _le tour du propriétaire_, and, of course, as
+there was no other place to take us to, we went to the stables. There we
+admired the two cows (Stella and Bella) with horns. They had their names
+painted in blue and white over their respective heads, but they had no
+crowns.
+
+Then the Count appeared in very nice clothes. I fancy, while we had been
+admiring Stella and Bella, he had been changing his boots. Owing to these
+fresh boots we were spared the pigsties. On our return to the house
+Countess B---- said, "You know, we don't dress for dinner." I thought with
+dismay of my trunk laden with all its superfluous contents, and what a
+bore the bringing of it had been, and the opinion my maid would pass on
+our noble hosts, who "don't dress for dinner," when she unpacked the
+undisturbed finery which she had thought indispensable.
+
+After dinner the conversation was chiefly pastoral, of the kind I do not
+join in because I hate it. How many chickens had died, how Bella and
+Stella had borne last winter's cold, how many sacks of potatoes had been
+spoiled, etc. My Countess enjoyed it immensely, and sat on a horny chair
+and sympathized. Our host took pity on me and taught me a patience. I had
+known it all my life as "the idiot's delight," but I pretended I had never
+heard of it before, and he had the satisfaction of thinking he was
+entertaining me--which he wasn't! On the contrary, Job's patience never
+could have equaled this one; the Count talked French fluently. The dinner
+was not good, nor was it frugal.
+
+The Count said, "Nous n'avons que le stricte nécessaire, rien de plus."
+
+The Countess said, in English, "One can't have in the country all that one
+wants."
+
+I could not help feeling that one could not have even the half of what one
+wanted, and more than once I caught myself thinking, "None but the brave
+deserve this fare." They noticed if you took a second helping, and you
+felt that they made a mental note if your glass was filled more than once
+with wine. However, it was all very nice, and they were very kind, good
+people. It was not the Count's fault if the stags he killed had too many
+horns, neither was it the Countess's fault that time hung heavy on her
+hands and embroidery occupied them.
+
+Fortunately we would go away next day, so what did it matter? But getting
+away was a very different thing from coming. When the Countess Westphal
+suggested it, and said that we intended to take a certain train, the faces
+of our hosts presented a blank look of apprehension! Their horses were
+plowing! What should we do? The doctor, they said, who lived in the
+village, had a carriage, but the horse was sick; there was, however, the
+_schimmel_ of the baker, which, fortunately, was in good health, and
+perhaps, in conjunction with the wagon of the doctor, one could manage. It
+sounded like a gigantic exercise of Ollendorff:
+
+"Avez-vous le cheval du boulanger?"
+
+"Non, mais j'ai le soulier du boucher," etc.
+
+After what seemed an eternity, the wagon of the doctor appeared, so did
+the _schimmel_. The wagon of the doctor, usually dragged by two animals,
+had a pole in the middle, to which the _schimmel_ was attached, giving him
+a very sidelong gait. The question now was, who was to drive the
+_schimmel_ attached to the pole?
+
+The young man who milked the cows, killed the pigs, dressed the Count,
+picked the fruit, drove the Countess, waited at table, served everybody,
+did everything, and smelled _awfully_ of the stables--could he be spared?
+
+Well, he was spared, and off we started majestically, but sideways, waving
+a courtly adieu. We reached home in a drenching rain, wondering what on
+earth ever possessed us to want to go to visit the noble B----s. I don't
+think I ever want to see that establishment again, and I don't think I
+ever shall.
+
+
+FÜRSTENBERG, _December._
+
+DEAR M.,--The Duke of Nassau had promised to come here to shoot wild
+boars, for which this forest is celebrated. Count Westphal sent
+invitations far and wide to call his hunting friends together. Before the
+arrival of the Duke, carriage after carriage entered the courtyard; oceans
+of fur-coats, gun-cases, valises, bags, and fur-lined rugs were thrown
+about in the hall, to be sorted out afterward. Then the Duke drove up in a
+sleigh with four horses, his aide-de-camp, two postilions, and a friend,
+both of them so wrapped up in _pelisses_ and immense fur-caps that
+you could only see the tips of their red noses, like danger signals on
+railroads. No wonder! They had had three hours of this cold sleigh-ride!
+
+The quiet old _schloss_ was transformed. Each guest had his own servant
+and _chasseur._ The servants helped to wait at dinner. The _chasseurs_
+cleaned the guns, lounged about smoking their pipes, and looking most
+picturesque in their Tyrolean hats, with their leather gaiters, short
+green jackets, and leather belts, in which they carried their hunting-
+knives and cartridges.
+
+His Highness (who is very short and what one calls thick-set) was
+accompanied by a secretary, a _chasseur,_ a valet, two postilions, two
+grooms, and four horses. He had six guns, six trunks, and endless coats of
+different warmth. In the twinkling of an eye cigar-cases, pipes,
+photographs, writing-paper (of his own monogram), and masses of
+_etceteras_ were spread about in his salon, as if he could not even look
+in his mirror without having these familiar objects before his eyes.
+
+At twelve o'clock, high--very high--lunch was served. The servants brought
+in the eatables in monstrous quantities, and disappeared; the guests
+helped themselves and one another, and when without occupation fed the
+fire, where logs smoldered all day.
+
+At a reasonable hour, after cigars and cigarettes had been smoked, the
+sleighs were ordered to be in readiness in the courtyard. Thirty or forty
+_treibers_ (beaters) had been out since early morn. The Count has fourteen
+thousand acres to be beaten, therefore an early start was necessary.
+
+The hunters swallowed a bitter pill when they asked us ladies to accompany
+them; but they knew their hostess would not let them go without her at
+least, so why not take the tame bores while shooting the wild ones?
+
+They portioned off one lady and one gentleman to each sleigh. These
+sleighs are very small, and contrived for the confusion of mankind. You
+sit in a bag of sheep's skin, or perhaps the bag is simply two whole
+skinned sheep sewed together. You must stretch your legs, thus pinioned on
+the sides, out as far as they reach; then the driver puts a board over
+them, on which he perches himself, nearly over the horse's tail, and off
+you go. I cannot imagine what a man does with his legs if he has very long
+ones.
+
+The poor horses are so dressed up that, if they could see themselves, they
+would not know if they were toy rabbits or Chinese pagodas. Over the horse
+is a huge net, which not only covers him from head to tail, but protects
+those in the sleigh from the snow flying in their faces. I should think
+that this net would be excellent in summer to keep the flies off; it does
+certainly suggest mosquito-netted beds and summer heat. Over the net is an
+arrangement which looks like a brass lyre, adorned with innumerable brass
+bells, which jingle and tinkle as we trot along, and make noise enough to
+awake all the echoes in the forest. On each side of the horse's head hang
+long, white, horse-hair tails.
+
+What did we look like as we proceeded on our way? A procession of eight
+sleighs, combining a _ranz des vaches_, a summer bed, and an antiquary
+shop!
+
+Arrived at the rendezvous, Count Westphal placed his guests by different
+trees. The best place, of course, fell to the Duke, and I had the honor to
+stand behind him and his gun. I hoped that neither would go off! The Duke
+is very near-sighted and wears double-barreled spectacles, which have
+windows on the sides, so that he can look around the corner without
+turning his head.
+
+Every one was requested to be perfectly quiet, otherwise there would be
+disaster all along the line. I could keep quiet very well, _for a time_,
+but the back view of a man crowned with a Tyrolean hat, and terminating in
+a monstrous pair of overshoes lined with straw, lost its interest after a
+while, and I began to look at the scenery. It must be lovely here in the
+summer. The valley, where a little brook meandered gracefully through the
+meadow (now ice and snow), bordered on both sides by high pine woods, must
+then be covered with flowers and fresh green grass, and full of light and
+shadow.
+
+His Highness and I were under a splendid oak, and there we stood waiting
+for something to happen. The Duke, the oak, and I were silence
+personified. A dead branch would crack, or the trunks of smaller and
+ignorant pines would knock together, and the Duke would look around the
+corner and say "Chut!" in a low voice, thinking I was playing a tattoo on
+the tree.
+
+"Now the beaters are on the scent!" he said. After this I hardly dared to
+breathe.
+
+"They have to drive the boar with the wind," he whispered.
+
+"I thought they did it with sticks," I answered in a low tone.
+
+To this remark he did not pay the slightest attention. Between a sneeze
+and a cough--we were rapidly catching our deaths--he said, under his
+breath, "If they smell us they go away."
+
+The _treibers_ work in couples, Count Westphal leading them. It is
+not etiquette for the host to shoot; he must leave all the chances of
+glory to his guests. Among the _treibers_ were various servants and
+_chasseurs_ carrying extra guns and short daggers for the final despatch
+(_le coup de grâce_). We heard them coming nearer and nearer, but we saw
+no boar. Many other animals came wonderingly forward: some foxes, trailing
+their long tails gracefully over the snow, looked about them and trotted
+off; a furtive deer cautiously peered around with ears erect and trotted
+off also; but it is not for such as these we stand ankle-deep in the snow,
+shivering with cold and half frozen. A shot now would spoil all the sport.
+One has a longing to talk when one is told to be quiet. I can't remember
+ever having thought of so many clever things I wanted to say as when I
+stood behind the ducal back--things that would be forever lost! And I
+tried to enter them and fix them in my brain, to be produced later; but,
+alas!
+
+The Duke (being, as I said, very short-sighted) came near shooting one of
+his own servants. The man who carried his extra gun had tied the two ends
+of a sack in which he carried various things, and put it over his head to
+keep his ears warm. Just as the Duke was raising his gun, thinking that if
+it was not a boar it was something else, I ventured a gentle whisper,
+"C'est votre domestique, Monseigneur." "Merci!" he whispered back, in much
+the same tone he would have used had I restored him a dropped pocket-
+handkerchief.
+
+Finally (there must be an end to everything) we saw beneath us, on the
+plains, three wild boars leaping in the snow, followed by a great many
+more. They had the movements of a porpoise as he dives in and out of the
+water, and of an ungraceful and hideous pig when hopping along.
+
+The Duke fired his two shots, and let us hope two boars fell. The others
+flew to right and left, except one ugly beast, who came straight toward
+our own tree. I must say that in that moment my little heart was in my
+throat, and I realized that the tree was too high to climb and too small
+to hide behind. The Duke said, in a husky voice, "Don't move, for God's
+sake, even if they come toward us!"
+
+This was cheery! Abraham's blind obedience was nothing to mine! Here was
+I, a stranger in a foreign land, about to sacrifice my life on the shrine
+of a wild boar! Count Metternich, behind the next tree, fired and killed
+the brute, so I was none the worse save for a good fright. It was high
+time to kill him, for he began charging at the beaters, and threatened to
+make it lively for us; and if Count Metternich had not, in the nick of
+time, sent a bullet into him, I doubt whether I should be writing this
+little account to you at this moment.
+
+There was a great deal of shouting, and the hounds were baying at the top
+of their lungs, and every one was talking at the same time and explaining
+things which every one knew. Counting the guests, the servants, the
+trackers, the dilettantes, there were seventy people on the spot; and I
+must say, though we were _transis de froid_, it was an exhilarating sight
+--the snow is such a beautiful _mise en scène_. However, we were glad to
+get back into the sheep-skin bags and draw the fur rugs up to our noses,
+and though I had so many brilliant things to say under the tree I could
+not think of one of them on our way home.
+
+Fourteen big, ugly boars were brought and laid to rest in the large hall,
+on biers of pine branches, with a pine branch artistically in the mouth of
+each. They weighed from one to three hundred pounds and smelled
+abominably; but they were immensely admired by their slayers, who
+pretended to recognize their own booty (don't read "beauty," for they were
+anything but beautiful) and to claim them for their own. Each hunter has
+the right to the jaws and teeth, which they have mounted and hang on their
+walls as trophies.
+
+Count Westphal has his smoking-room filled to overflowing with jaws,
+teeth, and chamois heads, etc. They make a most imposing display, and add
+feathers to his already well-garnished cap.
+
+Howard said, in French, to the Duke, in his sweet little voice, looking up
+into his face, "I am so sorry for you!"
+
+"Why?" inquired the Duke.
+
+"Because the Prussians have taken your country."
+
+We all trembled, not knowing how the Duke would take this; but he took it
+very kindly, and, patting Howard on the back, said: "Thank you, my little
+friend. I am sorry also, but there is nothing to be done; but thank you
+all the same." And his eyes filled with tears.
+
+The next day he gave Howard his portrait, with, "Pour mon petit ami,
+Howard, d'un pauvre chassé.--Adolf, Duc de Nassau." Very nice of him,
+wasn't it?
+
+In the evening they played cards, with interruptions such as "Der
+verfluchte Kerl," meaning "a boar that refused to be shot," or "I could
+easily have killed him if my gun," etc., till every one, sleepy and tired,
+had no more conversation to exchange, and the Duke left, as he said, to
+write letters, and we simpler mortals did not mind saying that we were
+dead beat and went to bed.
+
+The next day being Sunday, I sang in the little church (Catholic, of
+course, as Westphalia is of that religion). The organist and I had many
+rehearsals in the _schloss,_ but none in the church, so I had never
+made acquaintance with the village organ. If I had, I don't think I should
+have chosen the _Ave Maria_ of Cherubini, which has a final amble with the
+organ, sounding well enough on the piano; but on that particular organ it
+sounded like two hens cackling and chasing each other. I had to mount the
+spiral staircase behind the belfry and wobble over the rickety planks
+before reaching the organ-loft. Fortunately, Count Metternich went with me
+and promised to stay with me till the bitter end; at any rate, he piloted
+me to the loft. The organ was put up in the church when the church was
+built, in the year Westphalia asserted herself, whenever that was; I
+should say B.C. some time. It was probably good at that time, but it must
+have deteriorated steadily ever since; and now, in this year of grace,
+owns only one row of keys, of which several notes don't work. There are
+several pipes which don't pipe, and an octave of useless pedals, which the
+organist does not pretend to work, as he does not know how. However, there
+is no use describing a village organ; every one knows what it is. Suffice
+to say that I sang my _Ave Maria_ to it, and the Duke and my hosts, miles
+below me, said it was very fine, and that the church had never heard the
+like before, and never would again. Certainly _not from me!_...
+
+The village itself is a pretty little village and very quaint; it has
+belonged to the _schloss,_ as the _schloss_ has to it, for centuries. The
+houses are painted white, and the beams of oak are painted black.
+
+On the principal cross-beams are inscriptions from the Bible, cut in the
+oak, and the names of the people who built the house. There is one:
+"Joseph and Katinka, worthy of the grace of God, on whom He cannot fail to
+shower blessings. For they believe in Him." The date of their marriage and
+their virtues are carved also (fortunately they don't add the names of all
+their descendants). Sometimes the sentences are too long for the beam over
+the door, and you have to follow their virtues all down the next beam.
+
+This is perplexing on account of the German verb (which is like dessert at
+dinner--the best thing, but at the end), and _gehabt_ or _geworden_ is
+sometimes as far down as the foot-scraper. Some houses are like barns: one
+roof shelters many families, having their little booths under one
+covering, and they sit peacefully at their work in front of their homes
+smoking the pipe of peace, and at the same time cure the celebrated hams
+which hang from the ceiling. I won't say all hams are cured in this way,
+because, I suppose, there are regular establishments which cure
+professionally. But I have seen many family hams curing in these barns.
+
+The costumes of the women are wonderful, full of complexities; you have to
+turn them around before you can tell if she is a man or a woman; they wear
+hats like a coal-carrier in England, pantaloons, an apron, and--well! the
+Countess had a woman brought to the _schloss_ and undressed, so that
+we could see how she was dressed. I ought to send a photograph, because I
+can never describe her. There is a bodice of black satin, short in the
+back, over a plastron of pasteboard of the same, and a huge black-satin
+cravat sticking out on both sides of her cheeks, a wadded skirt of blue
+alpaca, and pink leg-of-mutton sleeves. I can make nothing of this
+description when I read it. I hope you can!
+
+Count Metternich entertained us all the afternoon talking about himself.
+He has fought with the Emperor Maximilian in Mexico, and when he speaks of
+him the tears roll down his bronzed cheeks. He has fought in all Don
+Carlos's battles, and is a strong partisan of the Carlist party. His
+description of Don Carlos makes one quite like him (I mean Don Carlos). He
+said that Don Carlos goes about in a simple black uniform and _béret_
+(the red cap of the Pyrenees), with the gold tassels and the Order of the
+Golden Fleece on his neck (I call that fantastic, don't you?). During his
+campaign he suddenly swoops down upon people, no matter what their
+condition is, and immediately there is a sentinel placed before the door.
+The _consigne_ is not strict: any one can come and go as he pleases:
+photographers, autographers, reporters, without hindrance, and there is a
+general invitation to tea at headquarters. He has an army of volunteers,
+of whom the Count is one. The rations are one-half pound of meat, one-half
+pound of bread, and three-quarters liter of Navarre wine, which the Count
+says is more fit to eat than to drink, "it is so fat." Navarre furnishes
+the wine gratis, and promises to furnish twenty-four thousand rations
+daily as long as the war lasts. The artillery is "not good," Count
+Metternich added, but the officers are "colossal," a word in German that
+expresses everything.
+
+Count Metternich is the greatest gentleman jockey in the world; he has not
+got a whole bone in his body. They call him _der Mexicano_, as he is so
+bronzed and dark-skinned and has been in Mexico.
+
+But he cannot rival Count Westphal, who, in his time, was not only the
+greatest gentleman jockey, but a hero. At a famous race, where he was to
+ride the horse of Count Fürstenberg, he fell, breaking his collar-bone and
+his left arm; he picked himself up and managed to remount his horse. He
+held the reins in his mouth, and with the unbroken arm walloped the horse,
+got in first, and then fainted away.
+
+It was the pluckiest thing ever seen, and won for him not only the race,
+but the greatest fame and his Countess, who made him promise never to ride
+in a race again, and he never has. She told me that many ladies fainted
+and men wept, so great was the excitement and enthusiasm! Count
+Fürstenberg had a bronze statue made of the horse, and it stands on Count
+Westphal's table now, and is an everlasting subject of conversation.
+
+The Duke invited us all to come to Lippspringe. He and all the hunting-men
+have clubbed together and have hired the estate from the Baron B----, who
+owns both house and country and is fabulously rich, so people say. Here
+these gentlemen (I think there are twenty of them) go to pass two months
+every year to hunt foxes. There are forty couples of foxhounds, which have
+been imported from England.
+
+There were eight of us, and we quite filled the four-horse break, servants
+and baggage followed later. We arrived at Paderborn, a thriving and
+interesting town of historical renown (see Baedeker). A two hours' drive
+left us rather cold and stiff, but we lunched on the carriage to save
+time. At the hotel we found a relay of four fresh horses harnessed in the
+principal street, the English grooms exciting great admiration by their
+neat get-up and their well-polished boots, and by the masterful manner
+they swore in English.
+
+After racing through the quiet streets at a tearing pace, we arrived at
+the villa (_alias_ club-house) at six o'clock, in time to dress for
+dinner at eight. The gentlemen appeared in regular hunting-dress: red
+evening coats, white buckskin trousers, top-boots, white cravats, and
+white vests; the ladies were _décolletées en grande toilette_.
+
+Our dinner lasted till ten o'clock. The French chef served a delicious
+repast; everything was faultless even to the minutest details; the
+servants were powdered, plushed, and shod to perfection. Then we went to
+the drawing-room, where cards, smoking, billiards, and flirtation went on
+simultaneously until the small hour of one, when we retired to our rooms.
+
+Countess Westphal and I had adjoining rooms, very prettily furnished in
+chintz. Everything was in the most English style.
+
+It is the correct thing here to affect awful clothes in the daytime. The
+Baron (_der alte Herr_), when not hunting, wears an Italian brigand
+costume (short breeches, tight leggings, stout boots) and some animal's
+front teeth sewed on his Tyrolean hat to hold the little feathers. But in
+the evening, oh, dear me! nothing is equal to his elegance.
+
+The next day the gentlemen (twenty in number), all splendidly mounted on
+English hunters, rode off at eleven o'clock, masses of grooms and
+_piqueurs_, with lots of hunting-horns and the dogs. We ladies
+followed in the break. The masters of the hounds were already at the
+rendezvous on the hill. They soon started a fox, and then the dogs tore
+off yelping and barking, and the riders riding like mad; and we waited in
+the carriages, sorry not to be with them. The red coats looked well
+against the background; the dogs, all of the same pattern, were rushing
+about in groups with their tails in the air; but while our eyes were
+following them the fox ran right under our noses, within a hair's-breadth
+of our wheels. Of course the dogs lost the scent, and there was a general
+standstill until another fox was routed out, and off they flew again.
+_Der alte Herr_ is very much thought of in these parts; he was the only
+one who dared oppose the House of Peers in Berlin in the question of
+war with Austria in 1866, and made such an astounding speech that he was
+obliged to retire from politics and take to fox-hunting. He gave the
+speech to me to read, and--I--well!--I didn't read it!
+
+The Westphalians seem to go on the let-us-alone principle; they seem to be
+anti-everything--from Bismarck and Protestantism downward. I sang the last
+evening of our stay here. The piano belonging to this hunting-lodge is as
+old as the _alte Herr_, and must have been here for years, and even at
+that must be an heirloom. The keys were yellow with age and misuse, and
+if it had ever been in tune it had forgotten all about it now and was out
+of it altogether. I picked the notes out which were still good, and by
+singing Gounod's "Biondina" in a loud voice and playing its dashing
+accompaniment with gusto, I managed to keep myself awake. As for the tired
+hunters who had been in the saddle all day, they were so worn out that
+nothing short of a brass band could rouse them long enough for them to
+keep their eyes open.
+
+The next day we bade our hosts good-by and, thanking them for our
+delightful visit, we departed. I wonder if the gentlemen liked being
+trespassed upon as much as we did who did the trespassing. However, they
+were polite enough to say that they had never enjoyed anything so much as
+our visit, and especially my singing. What humbugs! I was polite enough
+not to say that I had _never_ enjoyed anything so _little_ as singing for
+sleepy fox-hunters.
+
+
+ROME, _January, 1875._
+
+DEAR MOTHER,--I am here in Rome, staying with my friends the Haseltines,
+who have a beautiful apartment that they have arranged in the most
+sumptuous and artistic manner in the Palazzo Altieri. Mr. Haseltine has
+two enormous rooms for his studio and has filled them with his faultless
+pictures, which are immensely admired and appreciated. His water-colors
+are perfection.
+
+I have met many of your friends whom you will be glad to hear about; to
+begin with, the Richard Greenoughs, our cousins. We had much to talk
+about, as we had not seen each other since Paris, when he made that bust
+of me. They are the most delightful people, so talented in their different
+ways, and are full of interest in everything which concerns me. She has
+just published a book called _Mary Magdalene_, which I think is perfectly
+wonderful.
+
+I have made the acquaintance of William Story (the sculptor). He spoke of
+you and Aunt Maria as his oldest and dearest friends, and therefore
+claimed the right to call me Lillie.
+
+I have not only seen him, but I have been Mrs. Story, Miss Story, and the
+third story in the Palazzo Barberini, where they live, and I have already
+counted many times the tiresome one hundred and twenty-two steps which
+lead to their apartment, and have dined frequently with them in their
+chilly Roman dining-room. This room is only warmed by the little apparatus
+which in Rome passes for a stove. It has a thin leg that sticks out of a
+hole in the side of the house and could warm a flea at a pinch.
+
+The hay on the stone floor made the thin carpet warmer to my cold toes,
+which, in their evening shoes, were away down below zero, but my cold and
+bare shoulders shivered in this Greenland icy-mountain temperature which
+belongs to Roman palaces. This was before I was an _habituée_; but after I
+had become one I wore, like the other jewel-bedecked dames, woolen
+stockings and fur-lined overshoes. The contrast must be funny, if one
+could see above board and under board at the same time.
+
+The Storys generally have a lion for dinner and for their evening
+entertainments. My invitations to their dinners always read thus: "Dear
+Mrs. Moulton,--We are going to have (mentioning the lion) to dinner. Will
+you not join us, and if you would kindly bring a little music it would be
+such a," etc. No beating about the bush there! The other evening Miss
+Hosmer--female rival of Mr. Story in the sculpturing line--was the lion of
+the occasion, and was three-quarters of an hour late, her excuse being
+that she was studying the problem of perpetual motion. Mr. Story, who is a
+wit, said he wished the motion had been perpetuated in a _botta_ (which is
+Italian for cab).
+
+
+_February 1st._
+
+Last Thursday, at nine o'clock in the morning, a card was brought to my
+bedroom. Imagine my astonishment when I read the name of Baroness de
+C----, the wife of the French Ambassador to the Vatican. What could she
+want at that early hour? I had heard many stories of her absent-
+mindedness. I thought that nothing less than being very absent-minded, or
+else the wish to secure my help for some charity concert, could account
+for this matutinal visit, especially as I knew her so slightly.
+
+To my great surprise she had only come to invite me to dinner, and never
+mentioned the word charity concert or music. I thought this very strange;
+but as she is so _distraite_ she probably did not know what time of day it
+was, and imagined she was making an afternoon visit.
+
+One of the stories about her is that once she went to pay a formal call on
+one of her colleagues, and stayed on and on until the poor hostess was in
+despair, as it was getting late. Suddenly the ambassadress got up and
+said, "Pardon, dear Madame, I am very much engaged, and if you have
+nothing further to say to me I should be very grateful if you would leave
+me." The Baroness had been under the impression that she was in her own
+salon. They say that, one day, when she was walking in the Vatican gardens
+with the Pope, and they were talking politics, she said to him, "Oh, all
+this will be arranged as soon as the Pope dies!"
+
+Well, we went to the dinner, which was quite a large one, and among the
+guests was Signor Tosti, which would seem to denote that there _was_,
+after all, "music in the air"; and sure enough, shortly after dinner the
+ambassadress begged me to sing some _petite chose_, and asked Tosti to
+accompany me. Neither of us refused, and I sang some of his songs which
+I happened to know, and some of my own, which I could play for myself.
+
+However, I felt myself recompensed, for when she thanked me she asked if I
+had ever been present at any of the Pope's receptions.
+
+I told her that I had not had the opportunity since I had been here.
+
+"The Pope has a reception to-morrow morning," said she. "Would you care to
+go? If so, I should be delighted to take you."
+
+"Oh," I said, "that is the thing of all others I should like to do!"
+
+"Then," said she, "I will call for you and take you in my carriage."
+
+This function requires a black dress, black veil, and a general funereal
+appearance and gloveless hands. Happily she did not forget, but came in
+her coupé at the appointed time to fetch me, and we drove to the Vatican.
+
+The ambassadress was received at the entrance with bows and smiles of
+recognition by the numerous _camerieri_ and other splendidly dressed
+persons, and we were led through endless beautiful rooms before arriving
+at the gallery where we were to wait. It was not long before his Holiness
+(Pius IX.) appeared, followed by his suite of monsignors and prelates. I
+never was so impressed in my life as when I saw him. He wore a white-cloth
+_soutane_ and white-embroidered _calotte_ and red slippers, and looked so
+kind and full of benevolence that he seemed goodness personified. I knelt
+down almost with pleasure on the cold floor when he addressed me, and I
+kissed the emerald ring which he wore on his third finger as if I had been
+a born Catholic and had done such things all my life.
+
+He asked me in English from which country I came, and when I answered,
+"America, your Holiness," he said, "What part of America?" I replied,
+"From Boston, Holy Father."
+
+"It is a gallant town," the Pope remarked; "I have been there myself."
+
+Having finished speaking with the men (all the ladies stood together on
+one side of the room and the men on the other), the Pope went to the end
+of the gallery. We all noticed that he seemed much agitated, and wondered
+why, and what could have happened to ruffle his benign face. It soon
+became known that there was an Englishman present who refused to kneel,
+although ordered to do so by the irate chamberlain, and who stood stolidly
+with arms folded, looking down with a sneer upon his better-behaved
+companions.
+
+His Holiness made a rather lengthy discourse, and did not conceal his
+displeasure, alluding very pointedly to the unpardonable attitude of the
+stranger.
+
+On leaving the gallery he turned around a last time, made the sign of the
+cross, giving us his blessing, and left us very much impressed. I looked
+about for my companion, but could not see her anywhere. Had she forgotten
+me and left me there to my fate? It would not be unlike her to do so.
+
+I saw myself, in my mind's eye, being led out of the Vatican by the
+striped yellow and black legs and halberded guards, and obliged to find my
+way home alone; but on peering about in all the corners I caught sight of
+her seated on a bench fervently saying her prayers, evidently under the
+impression that she was in church during mass. As we were about to enter
+the coupé she hesitated before giving any orders to the servant, possibly
+not remembering where I had lived. But the footman, being accustomed to
+her vagaries, did not wait, and as he knew where to deposit me, I was
+landed safely at the Palazzo Altieri.
+
+
+_February 15th._
+
+The Storys gave "The Merchant of Venice" the other evening. They had put
+up in one of the salons a very pretty little stage; the fashionable world
+was _au complet_, and, after having made our bows to Mrs. Story, we took
+our places in the theater. Mr. Story was Shylock, and acted extremely
+well. Edith was very good as Portia. Waldo and Julian both took part. Mr.
+and Mrs. Prank Lascelles, of the English Embassy, both dressed in black
+velvet, played the married couple to the life, but did not look at all
+Italian. The whole performance was really wonderfully well done and most
+successful; the enthusiasm was sincere and warmed the cold hands by the
+frequent clapping. We were so glad to be enthusiastic!
+
+Mr. Story gave me his book called _Roba di Roma_, which I will tell you
+does _not_ mean Italian robes--you might think so; it means things about
+Rome. I will also tell you, in case that your Italian does not go so far,
+that when I say that the Storys live in the third _piano_. I do not mean
+an upright or a grand--_piano_ is the Italian for story.
+
+Madame Minghetti--the wife of the famous statesman--receives every Sunday
+twilight. Rome flocks there to hear music and to admire the artistic
+manner in which the rooms are arranged; flirtations are rife in the twilit
+corners, in which the salon abounds. As Madame Minghetti is very musical
+and appreciative, all the people one meets there pretend to be musical and
+appreciative, and do not talk or flirt during the music; so when I sing
+"Medjé" in the growing crepuscule I feel in perfect sympathy with my
+audience. Tosti and I alternate at the piano when there is nothing better.
+If no one else enjoys us, we enjoy each other.
+
+I have always wanted very much to see the famous Garibaldi, and knowing he
+was in Rome I was determined to get a glimpse of him. But how could it be
+done? I had been told that he was almost unapproachable, and that he
+disliked strangers above all.
+
+However, where there is a will there seems to come a way; at any rate,
+there did come one, and this is how it came:
+
+At dinner at the French Embassy J sat next to Prince Odescalchi, and told
+him of my desire to see Garibaldi. He said: "Perhaps I can manage it for
+you. I have a friend who knows a friend of Garibaldi, and it might be
+arranged through him."
+
+"Then," I said, "your friend who is a friend of Garibaldi's will let you
+know, and as you are a friend of my friend you will let _her_ know,
+and she will let _me_ know."
+
+"It sounds very complicated," he answered, laughing, "and is perhaps
+impossible; but we will do our best."
+
+No more than two days after this dinner there came a message from the
+Prince to say that, if Mrs. Haseltine and I would drive out to Garibaldi's
+villa, the friend and the friend of the friend would be there to meet us
+and present us. This we did, and found the two gentlemen awaiting us at
+the gate. I felt my heart beat a little faster at the thought of seeing
+the great hero.
+
+Garibaldi was sitting in his garden, in a big, easy, wicker chair, and
+looked rather grumpy, I thought (probably he was annoyed at being
+disturbed). But he apparently made up his mind to accept the inevitable,
+and, rising, came toward us, and on our being presented stretched out a
+welcoming hand.
+
+He had on a rather soiled cape, and a _foulard,_ the worse for wear,
+around his neck, where the historical red shirt was visible. His head,
+with its long hair, was covered with a velvet _calotte._ He looked
+more like an invalid basking in the sun with a shawl over his legs than he
+did like the hero of my imagination, and the only time he did look at all
+military was when he turned sharply to his parrot, who kept up an
+incessant chattering, and said, in a voice full of command, "Taci!" which
+the parrot did not in the least seem to mind (I hope Garibaldi's soldiers
+obeyed him better).
+
+Garibaldi apologized for the parrot's bad manners by saying, "He is very
+unruly, but he talks well"; and added, with a rusty smile, "Better than
+his master."
+
+"I don't agree with you," I said. "I can understand you, whereas I can't
+even tell what language he is speaking."
+
+"He comes from Brazil, and was given to me by a lady."
+
+"Does he only speak Brazilian?" I asked.
+
+"Oh no, he can speak a little Italian; he can say 'Io t'amo' and 'Caro
+mio'."
+
+"That shows how well the lady educated him. Will he not say 'Io t'amo' for
+me? I should so love to hear him."
+
+But, in spite of tender pleadings, the parrot refused to do anything but
+scream in his native tongue.
+
+Garibaldi talked Italian in a soft voice with his friend and French to us.
+He asked a few questions as to our nationality, and made some other
+commonplace remarks. When I told him I was an American he seemed to unbend
+a little, and said, "I like the Americans; they are an honorable, just,
+and intelligent people."
+
+He must have read admiration in my eyes, for he "laid himself out" (so his
+friend said) to be amiable. Amiability toward strangers was evidently not
+his customary attitude.
+
+He went so far as to give me his photograph, and wrote "Miss Moulton" on
+it with a hand far from clean; but it was the hand of a brave man, and I
+liked it all the better for being dirty. It seemed somehow to belong to a
+hero. I think that I would have been disappointed if he had had clean
+hands and well-trimmed finger-nails. On our taking leave of him he
+conjured up a wan smile and said, very pleasantly, giving us his ink-
+stained hand, "A rivederci."
+
+[Illustration: GIUSEPPE GARIBALDI]
+
+I wondered if he really meant that he wanted to see us again; I doubt it,
+and did not take his remark seriously. On the contrary, I had the feeling
+that he was more than indifferent to the pleasure our visit had given him.
+
+When we were driving back to Rome the horses took fright and began running
+away. They careered like wildfire through the gates of the Porta del
+Popolo, and bumped into a cart drawn by oxen and overloaded with wine-
+casks. Fortunately one of the horses fell down, and we came to a
+standstill. The coachman got down from the box and discovered that one of
+the wheels was twisted, the pole broken, and other damage done. We were
+obliged to leave the carriage and walk down the Corso to find a cab.
+
+Just as we were getting into one we saw on the opposite side of the street
+a man who, while he was cleaning the windows in the third story of a
+house, lost his balance and fell into the street.
+
+We dreaded to know what had happened, and avoided the crowd which quickly
+collected, thus shutting out whatever had happened from our view. We
+hurried home, trembling from our different emotions.
+
+The next morning I awoke from my sleep, having had a most vivid dream. I
+thought I was in a shop, and the man serving me said, "If you take any
+numbers in the next lottery, take numbers 2, 18, and 9." This was
+extraordinary, and I immediately told the family about it: 2, 18, 9 (three
+numbers meant a _terno_, in other words, a _fortune_). Mr. H---- said,
+"Let us look out these numbers in the _Libro di Sogni_ (the Book of
+Dreams)," and sent out to buy the book. Imagine our feelings! Number 2
+meant _caduta d'una finestra_ (fall from a window); number 18 meant _morte
+subito_ (sudden death), and number 9 meant _ospedale_ (hospital).
+
+Just what had happened; the man had fallen from the window and had been
+carried dead to the hospital!
+
+Perhaps you don't know what a tremendous part the lottery plays in Italy;
+it is to an Italian what sausages and beer are to a German. An Italian
+will spend his last _soldo_ to buy a ticket. He simply cannot live
+without it. The numbers are drawn every Saturday morning at twelve
+o'clock, and are instantly exposed in all the tobacco-shops in the town.
+
+An hour after, whether lucky or unlucky, the Italian buys a new ticket for
+the following week, and lives on hope and dreams until the next Saturday;
+and when any event happens or any dream comes to him he searches in the
+dream-book for a number corresponding to them, and he is off like
+lightning to buy a ticket. I was told that the Marquis Rudini, on hearing
+that his mother had met her death in a railroad accident, sought in the
+dream-book for the number attached to "railroad accident," and bought a
+ticket before going to get her remains.
+
+A winning _terno_ brings its lucky owner I don't know exactly how much--
+but I know it is something enormous.
+
+Well, this would be a _terno_ worth having. My dream, coming as it did
+straight from the blue, must be infallibility itself, and we felt
+perfectly sure that the three magical numbers would bring a fortune for
+every one of us, and we all sent out and bought tickets with all the money
+we could spare.
+
+This was on Thursday, and we should have to wait two whole days before we
+became the roaring millionaires we certainly were going to be, and we
+strutted about thinking what presents we would make, what jewels we would
+buy; in fact, how we would use our fortunes! We sat up late at night
+discussing the wisest and best way to invest our money, and I could not
+sleep for fear of a _contre-coup_ in the shape of another dream. For
+instance, if I should dream of a cat miauling on a roof, it would mean
+disappointment. It would never do to give fate a chance like that!
+
+Imagine with what feverish excitement we awoke on that Saturday, and how
+we watched the numbers, gazing from the carriage-windows, at the tobacco-
+shop! Well, not one of those numbers came out! We drove home in silence,
+with our feathers all drooping. However, we had had the sensation of being
+millionaires for those two days (ecstatic but short!), and felt that we
+had been defrauded by an unjust and cruel fate.
+
+Unsympathetic Mr. Marshal said, mockingly: "How could you expect anything
+else, when you go on excursions with the Marquis Maurriti [that was the
+name of Garibaldi's friend]? You might have known that you would come to
+grief."
+
+"Unfeeling man! Why should we come to grief?" we cried with impatience.
+
+"Because, did you not know that he has the _mal'occhio_ [the evil eye]? I
+thought every one knew it," said he, making signs with his fingers to
+counteract the effect of the devil and all his works. We said indignantly,
+"If every one knows it, why were we not told?" Our tormentor continued;
+"There is no doubt about it, and nothing can better prove that people are
+afraid of him than that when, the other evening, he gave a _soirée_ and
+invited all Rome, only half a dozen people out of some five hundred
+ventured to go. The mountains of sandwiches, the cart-loads of cakes, the
+seas of lemonade, set forth on the supper-table, were attacked only by the
+courageous few."
+
+"How dreadful to have such a thing said about you! Who can prove that he
+or any one else has got the evil eye?"
+
+"Sometimes there is no foundation for the report; perhaps some one, out of
+spite or jealousy, spreads the rumor, and there you are."
+
+"Does it not need more than a rumor?" I asked.
+
+"Not much; but we must not talk about him, or something dreadful will
+happen to us."
+
+"Do you also believe in such rank nonsense?" I asked.
+
+"Of course I do!" Mr. Marshal replied. "You can see for yourself. If you
+had not gone with him your horses would not have run away, and you would
+surely have got your million."
+
+"Well, we have escaped death and destruction and the million; perhaps we
+ought to be thankful. But in his case I would go and shut myself up in a
+monastery and have done with it."
+
+"No monastery would take him. No brotherhood would brother _him_."
+
+"You can't make me believe in the evil eye. Neither shall I ever believe
+in dreams again."
+
+You will hardly believe how many acquaintances I have made here. I think I
+know all Rome, from the Quirinal and the Vatican down. The Haseltines know
+nearly every one, and whom they don't know I _do_.
+
+We were invited to see the Colosseum and the Forum illuminations, and were
+asked to go to the Villino, which stands in the gardens of the Palace of
+the Caesars, just over the Forum.
+
+That there would be a very select company we had been told; but we did not
+expect to see King Victor Emanuel, Prince Umberto, and Princess
+Margherita, who, with their numerous suites and many invited guests, quite
+filled the small rooms of the Villino. I was presented to them all.
+
+I found the Princess perfectly bewitching and charming beyond words; the
+Prince was very amiable, and the King royally indifferent and visibly
+bored. That sums up my impressions.
+
+At the risk of committing _lèse majesté_, I must say that the King is
+more than plain. He has the most enormous mustaches, wide-open eyes, and a
+very gruff, military voice, speaking little, but staring much. The Prince,
+whom I had seen in Paris during the Exposition, talked mostly about Paris
+and of his admiration of the Emperor and Empress. The Princess was
+fascinating, and captivated me on the spot by her affability and her
+natural and sweet manner.
+
+The Colosseum looked rather theatrical in the glare of the red and green
+Bengal lights, and I think it lost a great deal of its dignity and
+grandeur by this cheap method of illumination.
+
+I met there a Spanish gentleman whom I used to know in Paris years ago. He
+was at that time the Marquis de Lema, a middle-aged beau, who was always
+ready to fill any gap in society where a noble marquis was needed.
+
+He began life, strange to say, as a journalist, and as such made himself
+so useful to the ex-King of Naples that the King, to reward him, hired the
+famous Farnesina Palace for ninety-nine years. Here the former Marquis,
+who is now Duke di Ripalda, lives very much aggrandized as a descendant of
+the Cid, glorying in his ancestorship.
+
+He was very glad to see me again, he said, and to prove it came often to
+dine with us.
+
+One day he asked Mrs. Lawrence, Miss Chapman, and myself to take tea with
+him in the romantic garden of the Farnesina. Mrs. Lawrence said it was
+like a dream, walking under the orange-trees and looking down on the old
+Tiber, which makes a sudden turn at the bottom of the broad terrace.
+
+Her dream came suddenly to an end when she saw the stale cakes and the
+weak and watery tea and oily chocolate which, out of politeness, we felt
+obliged to swallow; and the nightmare set in when she saw his apartment on
+the first floor, furnished by himself with his own individual taste, which
+was simply awful. But who cares for the mother-of-pearl inlaid furniture
+covered with hideous modern blue brocade and the multicolored carpets in
+which his coat of arms were woven, when one can look at his Sodomas and
+Correggios and Raphaels? His coat of arms, which is a sword with "Si, si,
+no, no," is displayed everywhere throughout the palace.
+
+The "_cid-evant_" Marquis told us that the Cid had given the sword to
+one of his ancestors, and remarked that it signified that his forefathers
+had very decided characters, and that it was either yes or no with them. I
+thought it might work the other way; it might just as well mean that the
+ancestors did not know their own minds, and that first it was _yes_ and
+then it was _no_ with them. The Duke, in a truly grandiose manner, lays no
+restriction on the public, but throws his whole palace open every first
+and fifteenth of the month, and allows people to roam at their pleasure
+through all the rooms; they can even sit on the blue brocade furniture if
+they like, and there is no officious guide ordering people about with
+their, "This way, Madame," or "Don't sit down," "Don't walk on the
+carpet," or "Don't spit on the floor."
+
+On the ground floor are the celebrated frescoes of "Psyche," painted by
+Raphael, and in the large gallery there is a little design on the walls to
+which the Duke called our attention, saying it was Michelangelo's
+visiting-card, and told us that Michelangelo came one day, and, finding
+Raphael absent, took up his palette and painted this little picture, which
+still remains on the walls, framed and with a glass over it.
+
+Mrs. Lawrence told us of a new acquaintance she had made, a Baron
+Montenaro, who said he was the last (the very last) of the Rienzis, a
+descendant of Cola di. The last tribune left! "Is it not romantic?" cried
+Mrs. Lawrence, and was all eyes and ears. But prosaic Duke di Ripalda
+said, "How can he say he is the last of the Rienzis, when he has a married
+brother who has prospects of a small tribune of his own?"
+
+
+ROME, _April, 1875._
+
+Mrs. Polk (widow of the former President Polk) and her two daughters are
+very much liked here. I call Miss Polk _la maîtresse demoiselle_, because
+she rules every one with a high and masterful hand.
+
+They had some wonderful tableaux recently at their palace (Salviati),
+which were most beautiful and artistically arranged by different artists.
+They had turned a long gallery which had once served as a ballroom into
+the theater. I was asked to sing in a tableau representing a Bohemian
+hall, where, as a background, Bohemian peasants in brilliant costumes sat
+and stood about. I was also dressed in a Bohemian dress, and leaned
+against a pillar and held a tambourine in my hand. Tosti played the
+accompaniment of "Ma Mère était Bohémienne," which was most appropriate to
+the occasion.
+
+The Princess Margherita sat in the front row, and a more sympathetic and
+lovelier face could never have inspired a singer. She insisted upon my
+repeating my song, which rather bored the other performers, as they had to
+stand quiet while the song was going on. Tosti made the accompaniment
+wonderfully well, considering that I had only played it once for him.
+
+After the tableaux, and when the Princess had retired to a little salon
+placed at her disposal, she sent word to ask me to come to her, as she
+wished to speak with me. I was overjoyed to see her again, as the short
+interview at the Villino could hardly be called an interview. The
+Princess said; "I have heard a great deal about your singing; but I did
+not believe any amateur could sing as you do. Your phrasing and expression
+are quite perfect!" She finished by asking me to come to the Quirinal to
+see her, "and perhaps have a little music"; and added, "The Marquis
+Villamarina sings beautifully, and you shall hear him." The Princess is so
+lovely, no words can describe her charm and the sweet expression of her
+face. Her smile is a dream.
+
+I had intended leaving Rome the very day she fixed for my going to her,
+but of course I postponed my departure and I went, and had a most
+delightful afternoon. It was the first time that I had seen the Quirinal
+and I was very much interested. One of the numerous _laquais_ who were
+standing about in the antechamber when I arrived preceded me into a
+salon where I found the Marquise Villamarina (first lady-in-waiting of the
+Princess). She came toward me, saying that the Princess was looking
+forward with pleasure to seeing me, and added that she hoped that I had
+thought to bring some music. I followed her through several very spacious
+salons until we reached a salon which evidently was the music-room, as
+there were two grand pianos and a quantity of music-books placed on
+shelves. Here I found the Princess waiting for me, and she received me
+with much cordiality.
+
+The Marquis Villamarina has a most enchanting voice, liquid and velvety,
+the kind that one only hears in Italy. Signor Tosti (the composer) was
+already at the piano and accompanied the Marquis in "Ti rapirei, mio ben,"
+a song he composed and dedicated to him. The Princess sang a very charming
+old Italian song. She has a mezzo-soprano voice and sings with great taste
+and sweetness. She, the Marquis, and I sang a trio of Gordigiani; then the
+Princess asked me to sing the "Ma Mère était Bohémienne," which i had sung
+at the tableaux. I also sang "Beware!" which she had never heard and which
+she was perfectly delighted with, and I promised to send her the music. It
+was a great pleasure to sing in this intimate and _sans façon_ way, with
+the most sympathetic and charming of Princesses. Chocolate, tea, and
+little cakes were served, which I supposed was the signal for departure.
+The Princess, on bidding me good-by, gave me her hand and said, "I hope to
+see you soon again."
+
+"Alas!" I replied, "I am leaving Rome to-morrow," and as I stooped down to
+kiss her hand she drew me to her and said, "I am sorry that you are going,
+I hoped that you were staying longer," and kissed me on both cheeks.
+
+
+PARIS, _May, 1875._
+
+I have had a lazy month. Mrs. Moulton was delighted to have me back again,
+and I was glad to rest after all my junketing. Just think, I was almost a
+year in Germany!
+
+Nina has had the measles, fortunately lightly; I was _garde malade_, and
+stayed with her in her sick-room.
+
+Howard goes to a day-school not far from the Rue de Courcelles every
+morning, and comes home at two o'clock and shows with pride the book the
+teacher gives him to show. They must mean it to be shown, otherwise so
+much trouble would not be taken to make such lengthy and marvelous
+accounts of his prowess, the numbers running up in the thousands, and
+notations all through, such as _très bien, verbes sans faute_, and _dictés
+parfaits_. He can repeat all the departments of France backward and
+forward, and goes through the verbs, regular and irregular, like a
+machine. The French love these irregular verbs, so irregular sometimes
+that they border on frivolity. He has learned some rather inane patriotic
+poetry, which he recites with a childish dramatic swagger.
+
+This is about all they teach in this school; but the _rapports_ are
+worth the money: they deceive the parents, making them believe their geese
+are swans of the first water.
+
+
+PARIS, _May._
+
+We have had real pleasure in hearing a young _pianiste_ from Venezuela
+called Teresa Careño. She is a _wunderkind_. Her mother says she is nine
+years old; she looks twelve, but may be sixteen. No one can ever tell how
+old a _wunderkind_ really is. Her playing is marvelous, her technic
+perfect. She knows about two hundred pieces by heart, is extremely pretty
+and attractive, and performs whenever she is asked. I think she has a
+great career before her, and she has already got the toss-back of her
+black hair in the most approved pianist manner. "Elle ne manque rien," the
+great Saint-Saëns said. One can't imagine that she could play better than
+she does; but she thinks that she is by no means perfect.
+
+Though I said that I had led a _dolce-far-niente_ existence, and had been
+lazy, I have been dreadfully busy and have been on the go from morning
+till night: I might call it a _dolce-far-molto_ existence. I spend hours,
+which ought to be better spent, in shops. I simply revel in them.
+
+You have heard of the famous actress Sarah Bernhardt. Well, she is not
+only an actress, but she is a sculptress, and is a  very good one. She is
+now playing at the Vaudeville. But I must begin at the beginning, the
+whole thing was so amusing,
+
+You remember Mrs. Bradley? You used to scold me for calling her "the
+Omelette." They are living now in Paris; her hair and complexion are just
+as yellow as they used to be; but her dresses are yellower. Beaumont said
+that she was "Une étude en jaune."
+
+The other evening she had a box at the theater, and asked me to go to hear
+Sarah Bernhardt in "Le fils Giboyer." Her son, the immaculate Bostonian,
+went with us. He is a duplicate of his mother's yellowness. I took Nina,
+who looked extremely pretty: she was beaming with excitement; her cheeks
+were flushed, and her curly, golden hair made a halo about her delicate
+features. Every one stared at her when we entered the box. During the
+second act I let her take my place in front, and, observe how virtue is
+rewarded! In the following _entr'acte_ the _ouvreuse_ came in suddenly
+without knocking (_ouvreuses_ never knock! that is one of their many
+privileges) and begged to _parler à_ Monsieur. Imagine the chaste George's
+feelings when he was told that the famous Sarah wished to speak with him,
+and, moreover, desired him to come behind the scenes to her dressing-room.
+What a situation! His red hair blushed to the very roots, and his yellow
+face became n sunset. However, one is or one is not a man. He proved
+himself to be one who could face danger when the time came.
+
+Trembling at the thought of Boston, the virtuous, hearing of it, he saw in
+his mind's eye the height the Puritan brows of his most distinguished
+family would reach when the news would be spread over the town, and a
+certain biblical scene passed before his mental vision.
+
+He gave his lemon-colored mustache a final fascinating twist, and, humming
+to himself "Hail, the conquering hero comes!" he buckled on his sword and
+went--all his colors flying.
+
+We waited breathlessly for his return, which was much sooner than we
+expected, and the smile he wore was not that of a conquering hero; it was
+another kind of a smile. Well, what do you think Madame Sarah wanted?
+Merely to know if the child in the box was his! His! His unmarried hair
+stood on end; he was so taken aback that he only had breath to mutter, "I
+am not married, Madame."
+
+Then in her most dramatic tones she demanded, "Who is the child, then?"
+
+He told her.
+
+"Where does this Madame Moulton live?" she asked.
+
+He told her that also. Then, with a dismissing wave of the hand, Sarah
+bade him farewell. It was all over. He had survived! Boston would never
+know.
+
+The next day I received a note from Sarah Bernhardt, asking me if I would
+allow her to make a bust of _la charmante petite fille_. I answered that I
+should be delighted. Then came another note telling me at what time
+_l'enfant_ should come for the first sitting.
+
+I took Nina to the studio, which was beyond the Boulevard de Courcelles in
+a courtyard. It was enchanting to watch the artist at work. She was
+dressed like a man: she wore white trousers and jacket, and a white
+_foulard_ tied artistically about her head. She had short and frizzly
+hair, and she showed us how she did it, gathering the four corners as if
+it were a handkerchief, with the ends sticking up on the top of her head.
+She smoked cigarettes all the time she was working.
+
+She posed Nina in the attitude she thought interesting, with head down and
+eyes up--a rather tiring position. And to keep _l'enfant_ quiet she
+devised all sorts of things. Sometimes she would rehearse her rôles in the
+voice they speak of as golden; because it coins gold for her, I suppose.
+The rehearsing of her rôles was not so amusing, as there were no
+_répliques_; but what kept Nina most quiet was when Sarah told her of the
+album she was making for her. Every artist she knew was working at some
+offering, and when it would be finished Nina was to have it. She would
+expatiate for hours on the smallest details. Meissonier, for instance, was
+painting a water-color, a scene of the war: a German regiment attacking a
+French inn, which was being defended by French soldiers. Then Gounod was
+writing a bit of music dedicated to _la charmante modèle_, and so forth.
+Nina would listen with open mouth and glistening eyes, and at every
+sitting she would say, "Et mon album?" expecting each time to see it
+forthcoming. But it never came forth. It only existed in Madame
+Bernhardt's fertile brain. It had no other object than to keep the model
+still. It seemed cruel to deceive the child. Even to the last, when Nina
+had said for the last time, "And shall I have my album to-day?" Sarah
+answered that it was not _quite_ ready, as the binding was not
+satisfactory, and other tales, which, if not true, had the desired effect,
+and she finished the bust. It was not a very good likeness, but a very
+pretty artistic effort, and was sent to the next Exposition, receiving
+"honorable mention," perhaps more honorable than we mentioned her at home.
+She gave me a duplicate of it made of terra-cotta.
+
+Don't expect any more letters, for I shall be very busy before my
+departure for America, which is next week, and then I shall.... Well,
+wait!
+
+Good-by.
+
+
+
+
+INDEX
+
+AGASSIZ, Professor, "Father Nature" helped to pay for his new house.
+Amateur theatricals.
+American songs at the French court.
+American soul-probes, intimate questions answered by the Emperor,
+  the Empress and Prosper Mérimée.
+Americans seeking a hotel.
+Anti-slavery anecdotes;
+  Joshua Green's forgetfulness;
+  Phillips Brooks's story of a convert's confession.
+Auber, the composer, introduced by the Duke de Persigny;
+  writes a cadenza for Alabieff's "Rossignol";
+  at Meyerbeer's funeral;
+  his life in Paris;
+  "Le Rêve d'Amour" at eighty-three;
+  describes the slaughter of Generals Thomas and Lecomte;
+  his friendship with Massenet;
+  entertains Madame at breakfast during the siege;
+  dies on the ramparts.
+
+BALL costumes.
+Ball of the Plebiscite.
+Bancroft, George, historian, presents a souvenir of an enjoyable evening.
+Bernhardt, Sara, makes a bust of Madame's daughter Nina.
+"Beware!", Longfellow's words set to music by Charles Moulton,
+  wins praise.
+Birthday joy for Count Pourtales.
+Blind Tom imitates Auber.
+Brignoli, in his prime.
+Brooks, Phillips, anecdote by.
+Brunswick's wicked duke and his famous crime;
+  his silken wig.
+
+CAREÑO, TERESA, a _wunderkind_ at nine;
+  plays in Paris.
+Carl XIV. of Sweden at the Exposition.
+Castellane, Countess, exhibits her stable at a fancy ball.
+Castiglione, Countess, as "Salammbô";
+  as "La Vérité".
+Changarnier, General, in the lancers.
+Charades and amateur theatricals.
+Charity, singing for.
+Cinderella coach, Mrs. Moulton's.
+Compiègne and its festivities;
+  its grand officials and its guests;
+  ceremonies at the table;
+  dress etiquette.
+Costumes for Compiègne.
+Croquet at night with lamps;
+  imperial players;
+  beaten with a despised ivory mallet.
+Cuba visited;
+  an old Harvard friend lands the party in Havana;
+  high officials escort Madame all over the island;
+  assisted by old acquaintances;
+  a curious Cuban waltz;
+  a hot time in Morro Castle;
+  international courtesies on the war-ships;
+  fame had preceded Madame;
+  discovers and visits Jules Alphonso;
+  news of Napoleon's death;
+  a German serenade;
+  "Pinafore" for the sailors;
+  a triumphal departure.
+Curls from the "Magasin du Bon Dieu" cause a sensation.
+
+D'AOUST'S, Marquis, operetta.
+De Bassano, Duchess, _grande maîtresse_.
+Delle Sedie, music-teacher, and his theories.
+Delsarte and his emotion diagrams;
+  his "tabac,";
+  the Emperor's joke;
+  Madame visits him during the siege;
+  his evening dress.
+De Morny, Duke (Queen Hortense's son), and his protégé;
+  as a librettist, with music by Offenbach;
+  his death.
+Doré caricatures nobility.
+
+EMERALDS from the Khedive.
+Eugénie, Empress, skates with Madame;
+  "a beautiful apparition,";
+  in collision with an American;
+  at the play in Compiègne;
+  her flight from the Tuileries after Sedan assisted by Prince Metternich;
+  takes refuge with Dr. Evans;
+  widow and exile at Chiselhurst.
+Evans, Dr., American dentist, shelters the fleeing Empress after Sedan.
+Exposition of 1867.
+
+GALLIFET, Marquis de, tells of his silver plate;
+  criticizes English idioms.
+Garcia, Manuel, teacher of singing, engaged;
+  first impressions and lessons;
+  "Bel raggio" the first song.
+Garibaldi in retirement;
+  autographs his portrait.
+Gautier, Théophile, dinner companion, tells of his educated cats;
+  his poetical tribute to Madame.
+Germans in Versailles.
+Germany and the Rhineland;
+  visit to the Metternichs' château, Johannisberg;
+  reminiscences of the war;
+  famous Johannisberg wine;
+  a gentlemanly American bronco-buster captures the Westphals;
+  at Weimar;
+  calling on a noble farmer;
+  boar-hunting in Westphalia.
+Gold button of the Imperial Hunt, a gift from Napoleon;
+  worn at a _chasse-à-tir_;
+  at a mock battle.
+Gounod "hums" deliciously.
+Green corn and a clay pipe at Fontainebleau.
+Green, Joshua, and his Creator.
+Gudin, William, artist, and his collection of cigars and cigarettes.
+
+HATZFELDT, Count, married to Madame's sister Helen;
+  Bismarck's secretary;
+  his opinion of Napoleon;
+  German minister to Madrid.
+Hegermann-Lindencrone, Madame Lillie de, prefatory note.
+
+IN London society.
+Imperial gifts.
+Imperial hunt fashions and cruelty to animals;
+  the dog's share.
+
+"LA DIVA DU MONDE"--Strakosch tempts Madame to sing in concert;
+  an immediate success;
+  story of a floral harp;
+  a trying moment in oratorio;
+  news of Mr. Moulton's illness and sudden death.
+Lincoln, President, at the Sanitary Fair;
+  compliments Madame;
+  news of his assassination.
+Lind's, Jenny, American memories;
+  comparing trills;
+  duets with.
+Liszt plays Auber's music and praises Massenet;
+  his letter to Madame.
+Locket souvenirs.
+Longfellow, the poet disapproves of but forgives a joke.
+Lowell, James Russell, cousin, a substitute for Longfellow in the
+  Agassiz school.
+
+MARGHERITA, Princess of Italy, entertains Madame at the Quirinal.
+Massenet at Petit Val, the Moultons' country seat.
+Maximilian's death in Mexico.
+Mechanical piano dance music, a substitute for Waldteufel;
+  Madame takes a turn.
+Melody, tears, and a "speech" in Rochester's "pen".
+Mérimée, Prosper, "entrancing";
+  his long love affair.
+Metternich, Prince, Austrian ambassador to France;
+  describes Rossini's home life;
+  entertains Madame at Johannisberg;
+  dedicates a volume, _A l'Inspiratice_.
+Metternich, Princess, leader in society and fashion;
+  her enormous cigars;
+  one of her famous dances;
+  her home at Johannisberg.
+Moulton, Charles, engaged to marry;
+  his family and musical talents;
+  author of "Beware!";
+  his illness and sudden death.
+Musard, Madame, and her petroleum stock.
+
+NAPOLEON III., Emperor, introduced to Madame on the ice by Prince Murat;
+  skates with Madame;
+  invites Madame to sing at the Tuileries;
+  the domino his favorite disguise;
+  dances the Virginia reel;
+  places Madame next to him at dinner;
+  a distorted joke;
+  takes command of the army;
+  his death.
+New York mansion of the late fifties.
+Nilsson in "Traviata";
+  her famous appetite.
+
+OFFENBACH, JACQUES, composer,
+  writes the music for a play by the Duke de Morny.
+Old family origins.
+
+PATTI, reminiscences of.
+Petit Val, the Moultons' country seat;
+  its princely neighbors and guests;
+  Napoleon builds a bridge for;
+  the nightingale in the cedar;
+  in the path of the German army;
+  Madame views ruin all around;
+  dining with the invaders;
+  conquering with song;
+  rescued by the American Minister Washburn.
+Picnic at Grand Trianon.
+Pierrefonds, ancient château, excursion to;
+  restored by Architect Viollet-le-Duc;
+  second visit to.
+Prince Imperial as "Pan";
+  leaves for the war with the Emperor;
+  "le baptême du feu".
+Prince Oscar's tributes of punch, bracelets, and poetry;
+  duet with;
+  visits Delsarte.
+
+RIGAULT, RAOUL, Communard prefect of Paris, insults Madame;
+  decrees many arrests;
+  gives orders for the massacre of forty hostages.
+Roman days with the Haseltines;
+  Sculptor Story and his family;
+  an Italian "Mrs. Malaprop";
+  audience with the Pope;
+  visit to Garibaldi;
+  an accident, a dream, and a lottery ticket;
+  presented to the royal family;
+  a typical nobleman;
+  President Polk's widow entertains;
+  Madame a guest at the Quirinal;
+  Tosti as accompanist.
+Rossini, Gioachino, his home and his wigs;
+  highly praises Madame's voice;
+  severely criticizes Wagner but praises "Tannhäuser;"
+  approves of Gounod.
+Rothschild, Baroness Alphonse, gives a concert with no one to hear it but
+  herself and Madame.
+Rue de Courcelles and the Moulton Hotel during the siege;
+  Père Moulton's prevision;
+  farming and dairying in the conservatory;
+  visited by Courbet, the Communard artist;
+  Auber tells of the saturnalia;
+  Mère Moulton leaves for Dinard;
+  a notable dinner party has peas from Petit Val;
+  Massenet and Auber at the piano;
+  Whist under difficulties;
+  shut in;
+  despoiled of horse, but the cow is saved;
+  under fire;
+  succoring a wounded fugitive;
+  refuge at Dinard.
+
+SCHOOL-DAYS at Cambridge under Professor Agassiz;
+  Character sketches of the tutors, the best in Harvard.
+Skating on the lake at Suresnes with baby Nina;
+  meets and teaches Napoleon and Eugénie;
+  in the Bois.
+Strauss, at the Metternich ball, conducts "The Blue Danube" waltz.
+Sullivan's "Prodigal Son."
+
+THEATER at Compiègne.
+Three famous artists amuse the invalid.
+"Three Little Kittens."
+Tips a burden at Compiègne;
+  Père Moulton objects and they are abolished.
+
+VIRGINIA reel with the Emperor;
+  Madame de Persigny gets a fall.
+
+WAGNER, RICHARD, severe and critical.
+Waldteufel, waltz-master, at the piano.
+War clouds rising;
+  a distressing dinner;
+  war declared;
+  false news of victories.
+War play and a Virginia reel with the Emperor.
+War scenes in Paris and its environs;
+  the Commune proclaimed;
+  murder of the peacemakers;
+  shooting of Generals Thomas and Lecomte;
+  Madame ministers in the hospitals;
+  two pathetic German patients;
+  an American victim;
+  through the mob to Worth's _atelier_;
+  bearding the Communard prefect Rigault;
+  seizure of the Moulton carriage;
+  fall of the Column Vendôme;
+  slaughter of the hostages;
+  MacMahon captures the city.
+Washburn, American minister;
+  "only a post-office,";
+  in the Assembly;
+  getting passports.
+Worth's _atelier_ during the Commune.
+
+THE END
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of In the Courts of Memory 1858-1875.
+by L. de Hegermann-Lindencrone
+
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