this unfortunate disposition, the First Consul felt very kindly to him.  When the Emperor went to camp at Boulogne, Hambard refused to accompany him; and the Emperor gave him, as a place of retreat, the charge of the palace of Meudon.  There he showed unmistakable symptoms of insanity, and his end was lamentable.  During the Hundred Days, after a conversation with the Emperor, he threw himself against a carving-knife with such violence that the blade came out two inches behind his back.  As it was believed at this time that I had incurred the anger of the Emperor, the rumor went abroad that it was I who had committed suicide, and this tragic death was announced in several papers as mine.

Hebert, ordinary valet, was a very agreeable young fellow, but very timid, and was, like all the rest of the household, devotedly attached to the First Consul.  It happened one day in Egypt that the latter, who had never been able to shave himself (it was I who taught him how to shave himself, as I shall relate elsewhere at length), called Hebert to shave him, in the absence of Hambard, who ordinarily discharged that duty.  As it had sometimes happened that Hebert, on account of his great timidity, had cut his master’s chin, on that day the latter, who held a pair of scissors in his hand, when Hebert approached him, holding his razor, said, “Take care, you scamp; if you cut me, I will stick my scissors into your stomach.”  This threat, made with an air of pretended seriousness, but which was in fact only a jest, such as I have seen the Emperor indulge in a hundred times, produced such an impression on Hebert, that it was impossible for him to finish his work.  He was seized with a convulsive trembling, the razor fell from his hand, and the general-in-chief in vain bent his neck, and said to him many times, laughing “Come, finish, you scamp.”  Not only was Hebert unable to complete his task that day, but from that time he had to renounce the duty of barber.  The Emperor did not like this excessive timidity in the servants of his household; but this did not prevent him, when he restored the castle of Rambouillet, from giving to Hebert the place of concierge which he requested.

Roustan, so well known under the name of Mameluke, belonged to a good family of Georgia; carried off at the age of six or seven, and taken to Cairo, he was there brought up among the young slaves who attended upon the mamelukes, until he should be of sufficient age to enter this warlike militia.  The Sheik of Cairo, in making a present to General Bonaparte of a magnificent Arab horse, had given him at the same time Roustan and Ibrahim, another mameluke, who was afterwards attached to the service of Madame Bonaparte, under the name of Ali.  It is well known that Roustan became an indispensable accompaniment on all occasions when the Emperor appeared in public.  He was with him in all his expeditions, in all processions, and, which was especially to his honor, in all his battles.