“Napoleon,” says Lavallette, “had undoubtedly expected that the Empress and his son would be restored to him; he had published his wishes as a certainty, and to prevent it was, in fact, the worst injury the Emperor of Austria could have done, him.  His hope was, however, soon destroyed.

“One evening I was summoned to the palace.  I found the Emperor in a dimly-lighted closet, warming himself in a corner of the fireplace, and appearing to suffer already from the complaint which never afterwards left him.  ‘Here is a letter,’ he said, ’which the courier from Vienna says is meant for you—­read it.’  On first casting my eyes on the letter I thought I knew the handwriting, but as it was long I read it slowly, and came at last to the principal object.  The writer said that we ought not to reckon upon the Empress, as she did not even attempt to conceal her dislike of the Emperor, and was disposed to approve all the measures that could be taken against him; that her return was not to be thought of, as she herself would raise the greatest obstacles in the way of it; in case it should be proposed; finally, that it was not possible for him to dissemble his indignation that the Empress, wholly enamoured of ——­, did not even take pains to hide her ridiculous partiality for him.  The handwriting of the letter was disguised, yet not so much but that I was able to discover whose it was.  I found; however, in the manner in which the secret was expressed a warmth of zeal and a picturesque style that did not belong to the author of the letter.  While reading it, I all of a sudden suspected it was a counterfeit, and intended to mislead the Emperor.  I communicated ms idea to him, and the danger I perceived in this fraud.  As I grew more and more animated I found plausible reasons enough to throw the Emperor himself into some uncertainty.  ’How is it possible,’ I said, ’that ----- should have been imprudent enough to write such things to me, who am not his friend, and who have had so little connection with him?  How can one suppose that the Empress should forget herself, in such circumstances, so far as to manifest aversion to you, and, still more, to cast herself away upon a man who undoubtedly still possesses some power to please, but who is no longer young, whose face is disfigured, and whose person, altogether, has nothing agreeable in it?’ ‘But,’ answered the Emperor, ----- is attached to me; and though he is not your friend, the postscript sufficiently explains the motive of the confidence he places in you.’  The following words were, in fact, written at the bottom of the letter:  ’I do not think you ought to mention the truth to the Emperor, but make whatever use of it you think proper.’  I persisted, however, in maintaining that the letter was a counterfeit; and the Emperor then said to me, ’Go to Caulaincourt.  He possesses a great many others in the same handwriting.  Let the comparison decide between your opinion and mine.’

“I went to Caulaincourt, who said eagerly to me, ’I am sure the letter is
from -----, and I have not the least doubt of the truth of the
particulars it contains.  The best thing the Emperor can do is to be
comforted; there is no help to be expected from that side.’

“So sad a discovery was very painful to the Emperor, for he was sincerely attached to the Empress, and still hoped again to see his son, whom he loved most tenderly.’