The mountain Democrat., 1863-12-25
scnRE IN HIGH LIFE.

yersation and familiarity he was so fond
Of. Never had lis noble and antique fea-
lures assumed so Joyous and so natural
en- expression. He laughed, he chatted,
be jOked; and . stranger entering by
chance, would have had much dif1culty
in recognizing the emperor ia that little
stout man, lolling with so much noncha-
lance in an arm chair.
He poked the fire with the tip Of his
boot rubbed his hands with glee, and
with playful and tender salIies provoked
Marie Louise to ventura on some French
phrssesN as yet strange to her, which she
diS6gured with . German frankness SO
irresistibly drOll, that Napoleon burst into
fits of laughter. ......
The empress, half angry, half smiling,
came and sat upon the knee of her hus.
band. At the same moment the door
opening, the solder.like face of Duroc
presented ITSELF
Sire, said he, the Italian artist is ar
rived
Conduct him here, Immediately re-
piled the emperor; at the same time push
ing back his arm chair, he left a. space for
the new conner between the empress and
himself.
The visitor, on entering, made a pro-
found bow to the two ilustrions person
ages into whose presence he was admit
ted;and at the desire of Napoleon, took a
seat near the fire.
Welcome to France, my dear Canova,'
said the emperor, in one Of his kindest
accents. But how pale and thin you have
become since last saw you. You must
certainly leave Rome and come to reside
in Paris. The air Of the capital will re-
store you to health and vigor. See how
well we are, said he, taking in his own.
hand the fresh and rosy chin of Marie
Louise.
Sire, you must attribute my i'll health
to the fatigue Of my occupation, not to
the air Of my country. To leave home
altogether would be impossible for me; in
decd, it would be fatal to me-
Paris is the capital Of the arts. You
must stay here, desire it, said the huS-
band Of the pretty German, in a COM
handing tone, on the sudden assuming
the emperor.
Your majesty may dispose Of my life;
service, sire, grant me permission to re.
turn to Italy, as soon Us have finished
the bust Of her majesty the empress, that
| am about to undertake.
Devils in the man. exclaimed the en-
peror, 'he refuses to remain with me -
You see, Louise, he has no other ambition
than to be the greatest sculptor in the
world. lie longs to leave US to return to
Rome to resume hiSlaborS, and to present
TO the world another such work as his
'ferpSichorc,' Paris Les DanScuscs,'
Venus, or the 'Magdalen.'
The CONVEX Satioa then became more
general; talked of the Excavation con-
tinucd by the Borghcse family of Italian
artists, Of tie 'Colonnc Vendomc,' and
thOnslnd other topics. Nothing was new
to Napoleon, who convcrsrd with per
feet %now'eIgc of every subject, and a
wonderful c,cariitsS Of conception.
Canova could fot restrain his surprise
aud aaimira,,ou.
How is 1t possible Cor your majesty to
divide your attention between So many
different matters! = exclaimed he.
Il have sixty millions of subjects, re-
piled Napoleon, with smile eight or
nine hundred thousand soldiers, aud
hundred. thousand horses. Trc Romans
themselves had not so many; have com
manded at tprty battles. At Wagram
fired a hundred thousand cannon balls,
and this lady, who was then archduchess
Of Austria, desired my death
At this lie pulled the ear of Marie Lou
i$e, who answered with a droli imitation
Of her German accent:
I'll eue bienvrai.'
4 think, said the artist, things now
wear different aspect
oh Celia est bicn vrai,' said Marie
Louise, this time in the best French pos.
sible, kissing the emperor's hand tender
ly, who, taking the young creature by the
waist, made her sit upon his lap, but as
she blushingly resisted, Bah bah = said
Napoleon; 'Canova is friend, and vi.
don't make ceremonies with friends; be-
sides, he is himself Of tender and sus-
ceptlble nature, and will be delighted TO
witness the happiness Of an affeclionate
couple
Listen TO me, Louise, and will relate
to you romantic story, the hero of which
you may easily guess. You will then
judge if those who love each other ought
to feel restraint before Canova.'
He kissed Marie Louise, and keeping
her still upon his knee, began:
'in the province of Trevisa there is
little village called Possagno. In this
place was born and reared the son of an
architect, whose father died at the early
age of twenty seven. and whose mother
married second time, 'Satori di Crepa-
no.
AT four years old the child, by name
Antonio, was entrusted to the care of its
grandfather, who treated it with much
severity. By him it was sent to pass an
Autumn at Padrazzi, few leagues from
Possagno, at the house of an Italian Sena-
tor. friend Of his, whose name was Fa-
liero. The latter observing the intelli-
gence Of the little peasant, and pleased
with the ability he evinced in carving
stone and shaping clay, placed him as a
pupil with q clever sculptor called To-
retto.'
What your majesty knows all these
minute details Of my private life = ex-
claimed Canova, in surprise.
4 know many more, replied Napoleon;
and he continued: -
'Toretto was man of strict morals, but
however narrowly be may have watched
his favorite pupil Antonio found means to
escape from the atelier, now and then, to
go and dance at the village fetes. He was
then only sixteen. Among theNgay throng
of peasants assembled together during the
vintage, to dance the tarantella, there was
one whose charps captivated his heaRt--
Bettino Biasi. She was just fourteen