The Emperor arrived at Paris towards the end of January 1806.  Having created kings in Germany he deemed the moment favourable for surrounding his throne with new princes.  It was at this period that he created Murat, Grand Duke of Cleves and Berg; Bernadotte, Prince of Ponte-Corvo; M. de Talleyrand, Duke of Benevento; and his two former colleagues, Cambaceres and Lebrun, Dukes of Parma and Piacenza.  He also gave to his sister Pauline, a short time after her second marriage with the Prince Borghese, the title of Duchess of Guastalla.  Strange events! who could then have foreseen that the duchy of Cambaceres would become the refuge of a Princess of Austria, the widowed wife of Napoleon Bonaparte?  In the midst of the prosperity of the Imperial family, when the eldest of the Emperor’s brothers had ascended the throne of Naples, when Holland was on the eve of being offered to Louis, and Jerome had exchanged his legitimate wife for the illegitimate throne of Westphalia, the Imperial pillow was still far from being free from anxiety.  Hostilities did not actually exist with the Continental powers; but this momentary state of repose lacked the tranquillity of peace.  France was at war with Russia and England, and the aspect of the Continent presented great uncertainty, while the treaty of Vienna had only been executed in part.  In the meantime Napoleon turned his eyes towards the East.  General Sebastiani was sent to Constantinople.  The measures be pursued and his judicious conduct justified the choice of the Emperor.  He was adroit and conciliating, and peace with Turkey was the result of his mission.  The negotiations with England did not terminate so happily, although, after the first overtures made to Lord Yarmouth, the Earl of Lauderdale had been sent to Paris by Mr. Fox.  In fact, these negotiations wholly failed.  The Emperor had drawn enormous sums from Austria, without counting the vases, statues, and pictures.  With which he decorated the Louvre, and the bronze with which he clothed the column of the Place Vendome,—­in my opinion the finest monument of his reign and the most beautiful one in Paris.  As Austria was exhausted all the contributions imposed on her could not be paid in cash, and they gave the Emperor bills in payment.  I received one for about 7,000,000 on Hamburg on account of the stipulations of the treaty of Presburg.

The affairs of the Bourbon Princes became more and more unfavourable, and their finances, as well as their chances of success, were so much diminished that about this period it was notified to the emigrants in Brunswick that the pretender (Louis XVIII.) had no longer the means of continuing their pensions.  This produced great consternation amongst those emigrants, many of whom had no other means of existence; and notwithstanding their devotion to the cause of royalty they found a pension very useful in strengthening their zeal.