[Later he became King of the Belgians (in 1831), and the next year married the daughter of Louis Philippe.  His first wife, Princess Charlotte of England, whom he married in 1816, died the same year.  Leopold was born 1790, and died 1865.]

who married Princess Charlotte of England, and who refused to be King of Greece, after failing to obtain the position of aide-de-camp to the Emperor.

I would not dare to say, according to my recollection, that no one at the court was jealous on seeing M. de Narbonne appointed aide-de-camp to the Emperor; but if there were any I have forgotten their names.  However that may have been, he soon became very popular, and each day the Emperor appreciated more highly his character and services.  I remember on one occasion to have heard his Majesty say—­I think it was at Dresden—­that he had never thoroughly known the cabinet of Vienna until the fine nose of Narbonne—­that was the Emperor’s expression—­had scented out those old diplomats.  After the pretended negotiations, of which I have spoken above, and which occupied the entire time of the armistice at Dresden, M. de Narbonne had remained in Germany, where the Emperor had committed to him the government of Torgau; and it was there he died, on the 17th of November, in consequence of a fall from his horse, in spite of all the attentions lavished on him by Baron Desgenettes.  With the exception of the death of Marshal Duroc and Prince Poniatowski, I do not remember to have ever seen the Emperor show more sincere sorrow than on this occasion.  Meanwhile, almost at the very moment he lost M. de Narbonne, but before he had heard of his death, the Emperor had made arrangements to fill the place near his person of the man he had loved most, not even excepting General Desaix.  He had just called General Bertrand to the high position of grand marshal of the palace; and this choice was generally approved by all who had the honor of Count Bertrand’s acquaintance.  But what is there for me to say here of a man whose name in history will never be separated from that of the Emperor?  This same period had seen the fall of the Duke of Istria, one of the four colonel-generals of the guard, and Marshal Duroc:  and this same appointment included the names of their successors; for Marshal Suchet was appointed at the same time as General Bertrand, and took the place of Marshal Bessieres as colonel-general of the guard.

[Louis Gabriel Suchet, born at Lyons, 1770.  Served in the Italian campaign in 1796.  Brigadier-general, 1797; general of division, 1799.  Governor of Genoa, 1800, and served at Austerlitz, 1805.  For his brilliant services in Spain he was created Duke of Albufera and marshal, 1811.  At St. Helena, Napoleon stated he was the ablest of his generals then surviving.  Suchet married the niece of the wives of Joseph Bonaparte and Bernadotte, and his widow died as recently as 1891.  Suchet died 1826.]

At the same time his Majesty made several other changes