Spent last evening at Madame C——­’s, and met there la Duchcsse de la Force, la Marquise de Brehan, and the usual habitues de la maison.  La Duchesse is one of l’ancien regime, though less ceremonious than they are in general said to be, and appears to be as good-natured as she is good-humoured.

The Marquise de B——­ told me some amusing anecdotes of the Imperial Court, and of the gaiety and love of dress of the beautiful Princesse Pauline Borghese, to whom she was much attached.

The whole of the Buonaparte family seem to have possessed, in an eminent degree, the happy art of conciliating good-will in those around them—­an art necessary in all persons filling elevated positions, but doubly so in those who have achieved their own elevation.  The family of the Emperor Napoleon were remarkable for the kindness and consideration they invariably evinced for those who in any way depended on them, yet a natural dignity of manner precluded the possibility of familiarity.

The Marquise de B——­ having mentioned the Duchesse d’Abrantes, Madame C——­ inquired kindly for her, and the Marquise told her that she had been only a few days before to pay her a visit.

Anxious to learn something of a woman who filled so distinguished a position during the imperial dynasty, I questioned Madame de B——­, and learned that the Duchesse d’Abrantes, who for many years lived in a style of splendour that, even in the palmy days of her husband’s prosperity, when, governor of Paris, he supported almost a regal establishment, excited the surprise, if not envy, of his contemporaries, is now reduced to so limited an income that many of the comforts, if not the necessaries of life, are denied her.

“She supports her privations cheerfully,” added the Marquise; “her conversation abounds in anecdotes of remarkable people, and she relates them with a vivacity and piquancy peculiar to her, which render her society very amusing and interesting.  The humanity, if not the policy, of the Bourbons may be questioned in their leaving the widow of a brave general in a state of poverty that must remind her, with bitterness, of the altered fortunes entailed on her and many others by their restoration.”

When indemnities were granted to those whom the Revolution, which drove the royal family from France, nearly beggared, it would have been well if a modest competency had been assigned to those whose sons and husbands shed their blood for their country, and helped to achieve for it that military glory which none can deny it.

Went over the Luxembourg Palace and Gardens to-day.  The only change in the former since I last saw it, is that some pictures, painted by French artists at Rome, and very creditable to them, have been added to its collection.

I like these old gardens, with their formal walks and prim parterres; I like also the company by which they are chiefly frequented, consisting of old people and young children.