180 Constant's Memoirs of Buonaparte. [Aua. 



chambre, however, appear of the highest importance, if we may judge 

 by the minuteness with which they have been enumerated. We must 

 pass over in absolute silence a list of the consular and imperial tooth- 

 brushes, sponges, &c., merely remarking, en passant, that the ex-emperor 

 made a liberal use of Eau de Cologne. The latter observation we are 

 induced to offer for the benefit of the crack commanders, to whom we 

 have already, in the course of this article, taken the liberty to allude, 

 and who will doubtless feel no less gratified than amazed at the point of 

 resemblance which we are the first to discover and publish in their 

 favour : 



" On his return from Egypt, Napoleon was thin ; his complexion of a 

 yellow copperish tinge, and his eyes sunken; his person was well formed. A 

 portrait of the first consul, by Horace Vernet, in his celebrated picture of a 

 review on the place du Carrousel, bears a striking resemblance to Napoleon, as 

 he then was. His forehead was high and open, his hair of a chesnut colour, 

 and very thin, especially on the temples, but soft and silky. His eyes were 

 blue, and at times depicted with unerring fidelity, the emotions of his soul. 

 His mouth was handsome, but when under the influence of ill humour, he had 

 a habit of contracting his lips together. Plis teeth, though not even, were 

 extremely white. Plis nose wao of a perfect Grecian form, and his sense of 

 smelling excessively quick. Notwithstanding that the tout ensemble of his 

 countenance was handsome, the lankness of his features destroyed the effect 

 that might otherwise have been produced by their regularity. His head was 

 large, being twenty-two inches in circumference, and being rather lengthy, 

 was consequently fiat near the temples. His height was five feet, two inches, 

 and three lines. 



ff During his moments, or rather his hours of business and study, the empe- 

 ror was subject to a lie, which resembled a nervous affection, and from which 

 he was never \. holly free. This singular infirmity frequently occasioned him 

 to raise his right shoulder involuntarily and with rapidity, a gesture which 

 those unacquainted with liis habits construed into an expression of dissatisfac- 

 tion. It may be mentioned as another peculiarity, that the emperor never felt 

 the pulsation of Iiis heart. He himself often made the remark to M. Corvisart, 

 as well as to me, and more than once desired us to place our hands on his 

 bosom, in order to convince ourselves of the fact. We did so, and I am thus 

 enabled, from personal knowledge of the circumstance, to make mention of 

 this singular exception to the laws of nature. 



f The emperor eat with extreme rapidity, remaining scarcely twelve 

 minutes at table. When he had himself dined, it was his custom to pass into 

 another apartment. Josephine, however, usually remained, and desired her 

 guests to do the same. One day, as Prince Eugene quitted the dining-room, 

 immediately after the emperor, the latter, turning round, accosted him with 

 f Eugene, you have eat nothing.' 'Excuse me, Sire/ answered the Prince, 

 ' I had dined before I sat down to table.' It is not improbable that some of 

 the guests, finding the precaution not altogether useless, profited by the hint 

 on subsequent occasions. 



" Napoleon drank no other wine than Chambertin, and generally mixed 

 with water. He was not fond of wine, of which he was but an indifferent 

 judge. I recollect that when the troops were encamped at Boulogne, he one 

 day invited a number of general officers to dinner. The emperor, with a self- 

 satisfied air, turning to Marshal Augereau, demanded his opinion of the wine. 

 The marshal tasted it, and smacking his tongue against his palate, ' I have 

 drunk better,' said the blunt veteran, in a tone more adapted for camps than 

 courts. The emperor, though prepared for a different answer, could not avoid 

 a hearty laugh, in which he was joined by his guests. 



" The emperor was not a graceful rider : his seat on horseback was by no 

 means firm, but the care with which his horses were broke rendered his defi- 

 ciency in this respect of less consequence. The horses destined for Napo- 



