The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1905-12-14
XXI.
"HE Duchesse d'Abrantes relates
the following anecdOte OF Ma
pOleOns debut in uniform at

ITeNlOuSly 10 Dis departure he CniLie
10 pass some time at our house. My
sister was then at her convent, but she
frequently came home while Napoleon
was with us. | well recOllect that on
the day when he first put on his uni
form he was as vain as young men
usually are on such an occasion. There
was one part Of his dress which had
very droll appearance-that was his
boots. They were SO high and wide
that his little thin legs seemed buried
i'll their amplitude. Young people are
always ready to observe anything ri
diclIlous, and as soon as my sister and
! saw Napoleon enter the drawing
room we burst into loud fit Of laugh
ter. At that early age, as well as in
after life, Bonaparte could not relish
u Joke, and when he found himself the
object OF merriment he grew angry.
My sister, who was some years older
than /. told him that since he wore Il
sword he ought to be gallant to ladies
and instead OF being angry should be
happy that they joked with him. You
are nothing but Il child-a little pen
siOnnairc,' said Napoleon in q tone of
contempt Cecile, who was twelve or
thirteen years Of age, was highly in
dignant mt being called Il child and she
hastily resented the affront by replying
To BOnapartc. And you are nothing but
II puss in boots This excited general
laugh among all present except Ma
poleOn. whose rage | will not attempt
to describe
NapOlcon's last appearance OH the
firing line was described by his abide
camp, General Gourgaud. to DR. O'Mea
ia at st. Helena.
General GourSaud informed me that
ut the close of the battle of Waterloo"
says DIR. O'Mcara. when the charge
made by the French had failed and the
English charged in their turn, part of
the cavalry of the latter, with some
tiraillcurS intcrminGled with them ap-
preached To within IL hundred z. I hun
dred and fifty tOiSes of the spu, where
the emperor was standing with only
Soult. Drouot, Bertrand and himself.
Close to them was Il small French bat
TALON drawn up in Il square. NapO-
leon ordered Gourgaud to fire some
shots from two or three fieldpieces
which belonged to the battalion to
drive away the cavalry. which were
approaching nearer. This was put into
execution. and on" of those shots car
ried away the Marquis of Anglesea's
leg. Napoleon then placed himself
with the column and wanted to charge,
cXclaiming, III faut MOURN lei, il faut
MOURN sur IL champ de batail!ev cI
must die here; | must die on the field
of battle!) AT this time the English
tirailieurs were firing at them. and
they expected every moment to be
charged. LaDedOycre was gai!Opng
about like mailman. with his arms
extended before him. seeking to be
killed. Napoleon was prevented from
throwing himself among the enemy by
SOult. who laid hold of the bride, ex-
claiming that he would not be killed,
but taken prisoner. and. with the aid
of the others. finally succeeded in COM
polling him to leave the field
Constant. NapOleOn'S valet, recalls
this amusing scene at the court of the
''parvenu EMPEROR
claimed. and the First Consul received.
at st Cloud. the senate. led by Consul
Cambacercs. who became Il few hours
later arch chancellor of the empire and
II Yves by him that the emperor heard
himself for the first time saluted with
the title Of Sire. Nothing could be
more amusing than the embarrassment
of the whole service when it was nee
eSsary to reply to his majesty's lues-
tons. They would begin with Il mis-
take. then would try again and do
worse. saying ten times in the same
minute. Sire. general. your majesty
citizen. First Consul"
One of the first to seek the presenca
of the new emperor was an obseuuious
messenger. who had been n page under
the deposed king. bearing paper from
one of the government departments
Approaching Napoleon reverently. he
dropped on one knee. bowling very low
and held out the document. which the
emperor received. smiling
Where did you learn your obei-
Sancc:" said he
AT the court of Louis NVI. Sire"
''Well. like that" exclaimed the ex-
citizen Consul. with unmistakable
pleasure.
Says Constant:
The emperor took 4 fancy on one
occasion. but only one. to try pipe
The Persian ambassador had made his
majesty a present of very handsome
pipe such as is used by the orientals
One day he was seized with q desire
TO try it and had everything necessary
for this purpose prepared. The fire
having been applied to the bowl, the
only question now was TO light the to-
bacco, but ON the manner in which
his majesty attempted this it was i'm
possible for him to succeed, as he al
ternately opened and closed his lips
repeatedly without drawing In his
breath ut all. Why. what is the mat
ter? cried he. 1t does not work at
all l called his attention to the fact
that he was not inhaling properly and
showed him how it ought to be done
but the emperor still continued his per.
formances. which We're like some Pc
culiar kind of yawning. Tired out by
ms fruitleSs efforts at last, he told me
to light it for him. which 1 did and
instantly handed il back to him. But
he had hardly taken Whit when the
smoke. which he did not know how to
breathe out again. filled his throat, got
into his windpipe and came out
through his nose and eyes in great
puHs. AS soon as he could get his
breath he painted forth: Take it away!
" nat pest! oh, the wretches! It
mas made me sick.' In fact. he felt Ill
Tor at least all hour after, and re-
hounced forever the pleasure of hab-
1t which, said he, is only good to en-
able do nOthings to Kill time"
Among the anecdotes of Napoleon's
snuff habit, which he Is said to have
INDUCED freely. the following is pre-
served in the collection edited by the
Able Audierne:
Belime was private secretary to
Clarke, minister for war, who sent
him to the Tuileries for the emperor's
orders. The latter was debating. with
MS snuffbox in front of him. Napoleon
Inc ftIev