45 i Bonaparte, [Dec.!, 
first and second rou’s, I found myself 
placed immediately opposite to ilie arm¬ 
chair in which the emperor took liis seat; 
and, as the theatre is exceedingly small, 
quite near enough to examine him mi¬ 
nutely. Before and during tlie perform¬ 
ance, we were served with ices anti co.ol- 
ing drinks by the imperial domestics. 
'J'he magnificei'ice of the iiabits worn by 
the officers of the court, and the profu- 
sitm of diamonds (I cannot say of beauty) 
displayed by the ladies, afforded at the 
same time a rich feast for the eye. 
The Empress Josephine, Jerome Bo¬ 
naparte, and the princess Murat, made 
their appearance at about eight o’clock. 
The w hole body of spectators rose at the 
entrance of each member of the imperial 
family. The emperor followed soon 
after, on his return from reviewing a 
body of troops, who were then encamped 
at the village of Meudon. He entered 
with a very brisk step, accompanied by 
tbree cliamberlains, (general officers,) 
who remained standing behind liis/h?4* 
teuil, during the whole performance. 
He had in the next box, on his right 
band, the piinccss ^Jnrat and Jerome 
Bonaparie. The empress was placed in 
a Ix.x immediately opposite, on the other 
sifie of the theatre, with her principal 
maids of honour seated by her side, and 
two oflicers in waiting behind her chair, 
'i’he entrance of the emperor was the sig- 
»ai f<n' the raising of the curtain. To the 
performance, ah hough excellent, I at- 
tendfd but little; my mind being com¬ 
pletely absorbed in the contemplafioi^ of 
the extraordinary personage whose life 
lias been a tissue of such wonderful ad¬ 
ventures, and of such atrocious crimes. 
His first occupation was to survey the 
whole nssemlilage .about him very atten¬ 
tively, with an ('pera glass, which he re¬ 
ceiver! from tiie hand of one of the gene¬ 
rals behind. lie returned it without 
iookiiig back, and received liis suull-hox 
from another, of the contents of which 
he made as liberal a use as the great Fre¬ 
deric himself Cfiuld have done in rlie 
fiiame peiiod of time. He returned ihe 
snuff-box as he had dismissed the opera 
g.lass, over iiis shoulder, and without 
turning his liead. He appeared atten¬ 
tive to the first part of the representation, 
which wa^ a little comedy of Jbiv/nf, 
and occasionally nodded approbation to 
the princess i\lurat, as the actor nr the 
author chanced to excel. During the af¬ 
terpiece, which was an opera-ieridy iie 
xecttied buried in thought, and ieUie4 
at the termination of it, as briskly as li« 
had entered. 
The person of Bonaparte has been so 
often described, that I need not enter 
into particulars on this point. He was 
quite corpulent at this period, and is now, 
as I am informed, still more robust. He 
w'ore, on this occasion, a plain uniform 
coat, with, tlie imperial insignia, and tlie 
cross of tlie legion of honour. His hair 
was w'ithoul powder, and cropped short. 
I saw him in various situations after¬ 
wards, and received uniformly the same 
impressions from his countenance. It is 
full of meaning, but does not altogether 
indicate the true character of his souL 
His eye is solemn and gloomy, and ex¬ 
ceedingly penetrating; but it has less of 
savage fierceness, and of fire, than one 
wmuld expect. J'he whole pliysical head, 
liowever, is not unsuitable to the station 
or nature of the individual. 
His warlike mird, his soul devoid of fear. 
His high-designing thoughts are figured 
there.” 
Flis limbs are well-proportioned, and re- 
markuJjly strong ami muscular. His 
personal activity is indefatigable, and his 
personal courage has never been ques¬ 
tioned. I have seen him several times 
on horseback, almost always in full gal¬ 
lop. He displays no grace in this posi¬ 
tion, hut is universally admitted to be 
one of the most adventurous, as well as 
skilful, ritlers in bis dominions. 
There is no man, as 1 am well in¬ 
formed, more patient of fatigue, or more 
Willing to encounter it in every situation. 
His habits as to diet are not at all abste¬ 
mious, and yet by no means those of an 
epicure. He eats voraciously, and with 
the greatest celerity, of whatever is 
placed before him; (ii.» ks largely of cof¬ 
fee at all hours of the day, and takes an 
immense quantity of snuff. I had under¬ 
stood before I arrived in Paris that he ap¬ 
peared but seldom in public, and then 
with multiplied precautions for the secu¬ 
rity of his person. This, however, is 
certainly an incorrect statement. He 
-exposes himself without any appearance 
of apprehension, and in situations in 
which his life might be at once assailed 
by a ihodsand hands. Any spectator of 
the theatrical exhibition, of which I have 
just spoken, might have destroyed liini 
witlirint difficulty. I have seen him in 
an open cariiage, in the midst of a popu¬ 
lation of fifty tiiousaud souls, in the park 
of St. Cloud*. 
I W3# 
