smashing every piece of furniture that comes in his way.'"
And here is another example of the way in which he treats his Ministers.
"A little before the Empire, Talleyrand, a great mystifier, tells Berthier that the First Consul wanted to assume the title of king. Berthier, in eager haste, crosses the drawing-room full of company, accosts the master of the house, and, with a beaming smile, 'congratulates him.' At the word 'king' Bonaparte's eyes flash. Grasping Berthier by the throat, he pushes his head against a wall, exclaiming, 'You fool! Who told you to come here and stir up my bile in this way? Another time don't come on such errands.' Such is the first impulse, the instinctive action, to pounce on people and seize them by the throat. We divine under each sentence, and on every page he writes, outbursts and assaults of this description; the physiognomy and intonation of a man who rushes forward and knocks people down."
III.
IN DÉSHABILLE.
And then there come some striking pictures of Napoleon in his study and his dressing-room—where we see him in déshabille and as the natural man. It is not a pleasant picture—indeed, the whole impression one gets from this study of Napoleon is brutal, revolting.
