I remember that one of those who were present at the Emperor's levee told, apropos of Monseigneur de Belloy, the following anecdote concerning the virtuous Archbishop of Genoa, for whom His Majesty professed the most profound respect. The wife of the public executioner of Genoa was delivered of a daughter, who could not be baptized because no one was willing to act as godfather. The father vainly prayed and entreated the few persons of his acquaintance, even offering them money without success; the thing was impossible. Hence the poor little girl remained unbaptized four or five months; fortunately, her health gave no cause for anxiety. Finally this singular circumstance was mentioned at the archbishop's palace. The good prelate listened to the account with much interest, complained of not having been told about it sooner, and instantly gave orders that the little girl should be brought to him. He had her baptized in his palace and was her godfather himself.

In the beginning of July, the Grand Duke of Berg returned from Spain, tired, sick, and in bad humor. He stayed only two or three days; he had about as many interviews with His Majesty, which appeared to result in mutual dissatisfaction, and he afterwards set off for the waters of Barèges.

Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress quitted the château de Marrac July 20, at six in the evening. This journey of the Emperor bras one of those that cost the most in snuff-boxes surrounded by diamonds. His Majesty was not economical with them.

Their Majesties arrived at Pau the 22d, at ten in the morning. They alighted at the château de Gelos, about a quarter of a league from the birthplace of the good Henri, on the bank of the river. The day was spent in receptions and excursions on horseback. The Emperor went to see the château in which the first king of the Bourbon family was brought up, and he took much interest in this visit, which he prolonged until dinner-time.

On the boundary of the department of the Upper Pyrenees, and in precisely the most arid and miserable part of it, was erected a triumphal arch in foliage, which looked as if it might have been a prodigy fallen from the sky into the midst of these barren and sun-scorched moors. A guard of honor was awaiting His Majesty, drawn up around this rural monument, under the command of a former major-general, M. de Noë, who was upwards of eighty. This worthy officer at once took his place beside the carriage, and performed his service on horseback for a day and two nights without evincing the least fatigue.

Further along, on the plateau of a little mountain, we found a stone pyramid of between forty and fifty feet in height, covered with inscriptions in praise of Their Majesties on all its four faces; some thirty children, dressed as Mamelukes, seemed to be guarding this monument, which reminded the Emperor of glorious souvenirs. At the moment when Their Majesties appeared, some balladeurs or dancers of the country, costumed in the most picturesque manner, darted from an adjoining wood, carrying banners of different colors, and reproducing with uncommon suppleness and vigor the traditional dance of the southern mountaineers.

Nearer the city of Tarbes was an artificial mountain, planted with firs, which opened to allow the cortege to pass, and gave place to an imperial eagle suspended in air and holding a streamer on which was inscribed: He will open our Pyrenees.

On arriving at Tarbes, the Emperor at once went on horseback to visit the Grand Duke of Berg, who was ill in one of the faubourgs. We set off again the next day without seeing Barèges and Bagnères, where most brilliant preparations for receiving Their Majesties had been made.

On his road to Agen, some one presented to the Emperor a worthy man named Printemps, aged one hundred and fourteen; he had served under Louis XIV., Louis XV., and Louis XVI., and although laden with years and fatigues, when he found himself in presence of the Emperor he gently repulsed two of his grandsons who were supporting him, saying with a little display of temper that he could walk very well alone. Much affected, the Emperor went half-way to meet him, and bent kindly toward the centenarian, who, on his knees, his head bare and his eyes filled with tears, said to him in a trembling tone: "Ah! Sire, I was very much afraid I should die without seeing you." Having raised him, the Emperor conducted him to a chair which he aided him in sitting down on, and then sat beside him on another, which he signed me to bring forward. "I am glad to see you, Father Printemps," said he, "very glad. Have you heard people talking of me lately?" (His Majesty had given this worthy man a pension, with a reversion to his wife.) Printemps laid his hand on his heart. "Yes! I have heard talk of you!" The Emperor took pleasure in making him speak of his campaigns, and dismissed him after a rather long interview, with a present of fifty napoleons.

There was also presented to Their Majesties a soldier born at Agen, who had lost his sight in consequence of the Egyptian expedition. The Emperor gave him three hundred francs and promised him a pension, which he afterwards granted.

The next day after their arrival at Saint-Cloud, the Emperor and Empress went to Paris to witness the fêtes of August 15. I need not say they were magnificent. Hardly had he entered the Tuileries, when the Emperor began going though the château to look at the repairs and embellishments that had been made during his absence. As usual, he criticised more than he praised all that he saw; looking out of the window of the hall of marshals, he asked M. de Fleurieu, governor of the palace, why the upper part of the arch of triumph on the Carrousel was covered with a cloth. He was told that it was on account of the arrangements necessary for posing his statue in the car to which the Corinthian horses were harnessed, as well as for the completion of the two Victories who were to lead the four horses. "How!" quickly exclaimed the Emperor, "but I won't have that! I never spoke of that! I did not ask for it!" Then, turning toward M. Fontaine, he added: "Monsieur Fontaine, was my statue in the design you presented to me?" "No, Sire; it was that of the god Mars."—"Well, then, why have you put me in the place of the god Mars?" "Sire, it was not I. The director-general of museums . . ."—"The director-general was wrong," the Emperor interrupted impatiently; "I wish that statue to be taken out, do you hear, Monsieur Fontaine? I wish it to be taken out . . . it is the most unsuitable thing. What! is it for me to raise statues to myself? Let the car and the Victories be finished, but let the car . . . let the car remain empty!" The order was obeyed, and the statue of the Emperor, taken down and hidden in the orangery, is perhaps still there. It was of gilded lead, very fine and very like.

On the Sunday following the arrival of the Emperor, His Majesty received at the Tuileries the Persian ambassador, Asker-kan. M. Jaubert accompanied him and acted as his interpreter; by the Emperor's orders, this learned Orientalist had gone to receive His Excellency at the frontiers of France, with M. Outrey, vice-consul from France to Bagdad. Later on, His Excellency had a second audience. The latter was ceremonious and at the palace of Saint-Cloud.

The ambassador was a very handsome man, tall, with an amiable, regular, and noble countenance. His manners, full of politeness and ease, especially toward ladies, had a touch of French gallantry. His suite, composed of picked men, all magnificently dressed, comprised more than three hundred persons at his departure from Erzeroum, but the innumerable difficulties of the journey had obliged His Excellency to leave a good many of them behind him along the way. Even thus reduced, his suite was still one of the most numerous that any ambassador had ever brought to France. The ambassador lodged with his followers in the rue de Fréjus, in the former hotel of Mademoiselle de Conti.

The presents which his sovereign had charged him to offer to the Emperor were very precious. There were more than eighty cashmeres of every sort; a large quantity of fine pearls of different sizes, some of them enormous; an Oriental bridle with its bit ornamented with pearls, turquoises, emeralds, etc.; and finally the sable of Tamerlane and that of Thamas-Kouli-kan, the first covered with pearls and precious stones, the second very simply mounted, and both having Indian blades of extraordinary fineness, with arabesques inlaid in gold.

I took pleasure at this time in collecting some details concerning this ambassador. His character was very mild, and he was full of kindliness and attention to all who went to see him, giving the ladies essence of roses, and the men tobacco, perfumes, and pipes. He liked to compare French ornaments with those he had brought from his own country, and he sometimes carried gallantry so far as to propose to the ladies exchanges, which were always advantageous to them; a refusal chagrined him greatly. When a pretty woman entered his apartments, he smiled at first, and listened to her talking in a sort of silent ecstasy; then he would press her to sit down, putting cushions and cashmere rugs under her feet; he had no other sort of stuffs with him, his body-wear, and even the sheets of his bed, being made of an extremely fine tissue of cashmere. It did not embarrass Asker-kan to wash his face, his beard, and hands before everybody; he would sit down for this operation in front of a slave, who would present him on his knees with a porcelain water basin.

The ambassador had much taste for the sciences and arts; he was even very learned himself. MM. Dubois and Loyseau kept a school next door to his house, which he visited very often. He especially liked to be present at the experiments in physics, and the questions he asked through his interpreter proved him to possess a very extensive knowledge of the phenomena of electricity. Dealers in curiosities and objects of art liked him very much, because he bought without too much bargaining. However, one day when he wanted a telescope he sent for a famous optician, who thought he could overcharge him greatly. But Asker-kan, after having examined the instrument, which he found very suitable, remarked to the optician through his interpreter: " You have given me your long price, now give me your short one."

He especially admired the printed muslins of the Jouy manufactory, the tissue, designs, and colors of which he thought preferable even to cashmeres; he bought several robes of it to send to Persia as models.

On the day of the Emperor's fête, His Excellency gave an entertainment in the Oriental fashion in the gardens of his hotel. The Persian musicians attached to the embassy executed warlike chants astonishing for vigor and originality. There were fireworks, in which were noticed the arms of the Sophi, above which the cipher of Napoleon was outlined with much art.

His Excellency visited the Imperial Library, where he had been introduced by M. Jaubert. He was struck with admiration at seeing the order that reigns in this immense collection of books. He remained for half an hour in the hall of manuscripts, which he thought very fine, and among which he recognized several as having been copied by writers much renowned in Persia. A copy of the Koran struck him especially, and he said while looking at it that there was not a man in Persia who would not sell his children to acquire such a treasure.

On leaving the library, Asker-kan complimented the curators, and promised to enrich it with several precious manuscripts which he had brought from his country.

Several days after his presentation, the ambassador went to visit the museum. The sight of a picture representing the King of Persia, his master, made a strong impression on him, and he knew not how to express his joy and gratitude when he was presented with several proofs from the engraving of this picture. The historical scenes, especially the battles, afterwards captivated his entire attention; he remained a quarter of an hour in front of that which represents the surrender of the city of Vienna.

On reaching the end of the gallery of Apollo, Asker-kan sat down to rest, and asking for a pipe, began to smoke. Having finished, he rose, and seeing around him a great many ladies, attracted by curiosity, he paid them some extremely flattering compliments through M. Jaubert. Then, quitting the museum, he went to promenade at the Tuileries, where he soon found himself surrounded and followed by an immense crowd. On that day His Excellency sent to the Prince of Benevento, on behalf of his sovereign, the grand order of the Sun, a magnificent decoration, consisting of a sun of diamonds attached by a cordon of red stuff covered with pearls.

Asker-kan produced more effect at Paris than the Turkish ambassador; he was more generous, more gallant, paid his court with more address, and conformed more easily to French usages and manners. The Turk was irascible, austere, and boorish, while the Persian could understand a joke very well. One day, however, he got very angry, and it must be owned he had cause for it.

It was at a concert given in the apartments of the Empress Josephine. Asker-kan, whom this music did not amuse greatly, nevertheless began to applaud it by gestures and rolling his eyes. But nature finally got the better of politeness, and the ambassador dropped off into a profound slumber. His Excellency's attitude, however, was not the most convenient in the world for slumber; he was standing, with his back to the wainscoting, and both his feet propped against an armchair in which a lady was seated. Some of the officers of the palace thought it would be amusing to deprive Asker-kan suddenly of his point of support. The thing was very easy; they arranged it with the lady who occupied the armchair. She rose abruptly, the chair slipped forward, the feet of His Excellency followed the movement, and the ambassador, losing the counterpoise which had kept him in equilibrium, was about to measure his length on the floor when, awaking suddenly, he prevented himself from falling by clutching at his neighbors, the furniture and draperies, but not without making a frightful racket. The officers who had played him this sorry trick urged him with the most laughable solemnity to establish himself in a good armchair, so as to avoid the recurrence of a similar accident, while the lady who had made herself their accomplice had the greatest difficulty in stifling her bursts of laughter and His Excellency was filled with a rage he was unable to express save by looks and gestures.

Another adventure of Asker-kan's was long talked of at court. Having been unwell for some days, he thought that French medicine might perhaps effect his cure sooner than Persian, and he sent for M. Bourdois, one of the most skilful physicians of Paris, whose name he knew, because he had taken pains to inform himself concerning all our celebrities of whatever kind. His orders were speedily executed, but, by a singular mistake,it was not Doctor Bourdois who was begged to visit Asker-kan, but the president of the court of accounts, M. Marbois. The latter was greatly astonished by the honor done him by the Persian ambassador, as at first glance he was unable to see what they could have in common. However, he went promptly to the house of Asker-kan, who found no difficulty in supposing the severe costume of the president of the court of accounts to be that of a physician. M. Marbois had scarcely entered when the ambassador presented his hand, put out his tongue, and looked at him. M. Marbois was slightly surprised by this reception, but thinking doubtless that it was the Oriental manner of saluting magistrates, he bowed profoundly, and humbly pressed the hand extended to him. He was still in this respectful position when four of the ambassador's attendants fetched and placed under his nose, by way of information, a gold vase of unequivocal character. M. Marbois recognized its use with inexpressible surprise and indignation. He angrily drew back, demanding the meaning of all this, and hearing himself called Doctor: "What!" exclaimed he, "Doctor!" "Surely, Doctor Bourdois." M. Marbois was dumfounded. It was the similarity in the terminations of their names which had exposed him to this disagreeable visit.