It is a singular circumstance that, so long as he was uncomfortably situated he suffered nothing; it was not till he was better off that he was seen to be in pain. May it not be that, in the moral as in the physical system, there is often a long interval between causes and their effects?
DESCRIPTION OF THE EMPEROR’S APARTMENTS.—MINUTE DETAILS OF HIS TOILET AND DRESS.—ABSURD REPORTS RESPECTING HIM.—CONSPIRACIES OF GEORGES AND CERACHI.—ATTEMPT OF THE FANATIC OF SCHÖNBRUNN.
April 1st—2nd. All that is in any way connected with the Emperor Napoleon must be worthy of observation, and will be held valuable by thousands. With this conviction, I shall proceed minutely to describe his apartment, its furniture, the details of his toilet, &c. And, in course of time, may not his son one day take pleasure in re-producing these details, picturing to himself the appearance of distant objects, and seizing fleeting shadows, which to him will perhaps supply the place of reality?
The Emperor’s own apartments consist of two chambers _A_ and _B_,[6] each 45 feet long and 42 broad, and about 7 feet high. A very indifferent carpet covers the floor, and pieces of nankin, instead of paper, line the walls of both rooms.
The bed-chamber _A_ contains the little camp-bed _a_, in which the Emperor sleeps, and the couch _b_, on which he reclines the greater part of the day. This couch is covered with books, which seem to dispute with the Emperor the right of possession to it. Beside this couch stands a small table _c_, on which the Emperor breakfasts and dines, when he takes his meals in his own chamber, and which, in the evening, bears a candlestick with three branches, surmounted by a large ornament. Between the two windows, and opposite to the door, stands a chest of drawers _d_, containing the Emperor’s linen, and on the top of which is his large dressing-case.
Over the fire-place _e_, hangs a very small glass, together with several pictures. On the right is a portrait of the King of Rome sitting on a sheep, by Aimée Thiebault—and on the left hangs, as a pendant to it, another portrait of the young Prince, sitting on a cushion and putting on a slipper. This picture is also the production of Thiebault. Lower down is a small marble bust of the King of Rome. Two candlesticks, two scent-bottles, and two cups of silver gilt, taken from the Emperor’s cabinet, complete the arrangement and decoration of the chimney-piece. Lastly, at the foot of the couch, and directly in view of the Emperor when he reposes on it, which he does the greater part of the day, hangs Isabey’s portrait of Maria Louisa, holding her son in her arms. This wretched little closet has thus become a family sanctuary. I must not omit to mention Frederick the Great’s large silver watch, which is a sort of alarum. It was taken at Potsdam and it hangs on the left of the chimney-piece, beyond the portraits. The Emperor’s own watch, which hangs on the right of the chimney, is the same that he used in the Campaigns of Italy; it is enclosed in a gold case, marked with his cipher B:[7] These are the contents of the first chamber.