“The emperor appeared quiet and indolent from constitution, not easily excited, but gay and humorous when at his ease.  His French is not without a little German accent, and his pronunciation of German is better than of English....  He recited a poem by Schiller on the advantages to man of peace and war, which seemed to have made a deep impression upon him, and appeared to me to be not without significance with reference to his own life.  His court and household are strictly kept and in good order, more English than French.  The gentlemen composing his entourage are not distinguished by birth, manners, or education.  He lives on a familiar footing with them, although they seemed afraid of him.  The tone was rather that of a garrison, with a good deal of smoking....  He is very chilly, complains of rheumatism, and goes early to bed, takes no pleasure in music, but is proud of his horsemanship.”

Speaking again of the emperor’s lack of information as to the history of politics, Prince Albert says:—­

“But he is remarkably modest in acknowledging these defects, and in not pretending to know what he does not.  All that relates to Napoleonic politics he has at his finger’s ends.  He also appears to have thought much and deeply on politics, yet more like an amateur politician, mixing many very sound and very crude notions together.  He admires English institutions, and regrets the absence of an aristocracy in France, but might not be willing to allow such an aristocracy to control his own power, whilst he might wish to have the advantage of its control over the pure democracy.”

The emperor closely questioned the prince about the working of the English government and the queen’s relations to her ministers.  Prince Albert writes,—­

“He said that he did not allow his ministers to meet or to discuss matters together; that they transacted their business solely with him.  He seemed astonished when I told him that every despatch went through the queen’s hands and was read by her, as he only received extracts made from them, and indeed appeared to have little time or inclination generally to read.  When I observed to him that the queen would not be content without seeing the whole of the diplomatic correspondence, he replied that he found a full compensation in having persons in his own employ and confidence at the different posts of importance, who reported solely to him.  I could not but express my sense of the danger of such an arrangement, to which no statesman, in England at least, would submit.”

I have quoted this memorandum of Prince Albert’s, because it points out the perils which led to the downfall or the Empire,—­the emperor’s bad entourage; his personal government, assisted only by private confidential relations with irresponsible persons; his mixture of crude and sensible ideas of government; his indolence; and his tendency to let things slide out of his own hands.