Another anecdote from Morny also amused him.  This was Cavaignac’s anger on entering his cell at Mazas.  There is an aperture at the door of each cell, called the “spy-hole,” through which the prisoners are played the spy upon unknown to themselves.  The jailers had watched Cavaignac.  He had begun by pacing up and down with folded arms, and then the space being too confined, he had seated himself on the stool in his cell.  These stools are narrow pieces of plank upon three converging legs, which pierce the seat in the centre, and project beyond the plank, so that one is uncomfortably seated.  Cavaignac had stood up, and with a violent kick had sent the stool to the other end of the cell.  Then, furious and swearing, he had broken with a blow of his fist the little table of five inches by twelve, which, with the stool, formed the sole furniture of the dungeon.

This kick and fisticuff amused Louis Bonaparte.

“And Maupas is as frightened as ever,” said Morny.  This made Bonaparte laugh still further.

Morny having given in his report, went away.  Louis Bonaparte entered an adjoining room; a woman awaited him there.  It appears that she came to entreat mercy for some one.  Dr. Conneau heard these expressive words:  “Madam, I wink at your loves; do you wink at my hatreds.”

[13] The above is a free rendering of the original, which is as follows:—­

Des rayons du matin l’horizon se colore,
Le jour vient eclairer notre tendre entretien,
Mais est-il un sourire aux levres de l’aurore. 

                                      Aussi doux que le tien?

CHAPTER IV.

BONAPARTE’S FAMILIAR SPIRITS

M. Merimee was vile by nature, he must not be blamed for it.

With regard to M. de Morny it is otherwise, he was more worthy; there was something of the brigand in him.

M. de Morny was courageous.  Brigandage has its sentiments of honor.

M. Merimee has wrongly given himself out as one of the confederates of the coup d’etat.  He had, however, nothing to boast of in this.

The truth is that M. Merimee was in no way a confidant.  Louis Bonaparte made no useless confidences.

Let us add that it is little probable, notwithstanding some slight evidence to the contrary, that M. Merimee, at the date of the 2d December, had any direct relations with Louis Bonaparte.  This ensued later on.  At first Merimee only knew Morny.

Morny and Merimee were both intimate at the Elysee, but on a different footing.  Morny can be believed, but not Merimee.  Morny was in the great secrets, Merimee in the small ones.  Commissions of gallantry formed his vocation.

The familiars of the Elysee were of two kinds, the trustworthy confederates and the courtiers.

The first of the trustworthy confederates was Morny; the first—­or the last—­of the courtiers was Merimee.