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sions'" (Pelet, ii. 225).
Lejeune, and most writers, blame Massena, referring to the Emperor's
letter of May 1st in Pelet's Appendix (vol. ii.), but not in the
_Correspondence_.

Between April 17th and May 6th there is no letter to Josephine
preserved, but plenty to Eugene, and all severe--not so much for
incapacity as for not keeping the Emperor advised of what was really
happening. On May 6th he had received no news for over a week.

_The ball that touched me_--_i.e._ at Ratisbon. This was the second
time Napoleon had been wounded in battle--the first time by an
English bayonet at Toulon. On the present occasion (April 23rd)
Meneval seems to be the best authority: "Napoleon was seated on a
spot from which he could see the attack on the town of Ratisbon. He
was beating the ground with his riding-whip,[74] when a bullet,
supposed to have been fired from a Tyrolean carbine, struck him on the
big toe (Marbot says 'right ankle,' which is correct). The news of
his wound spread rapidly[75] from file to file, and he was forced
to mount on horseback to show himself to his troops. Although his
boot had not been cut the contusion was a very painful one," and in
the first house he went to for a moment's rest, he fainted. The next
day, however, he saw the wounded and reviewed his troops as usual,
and Lejeune has preserved a highly characteristic story, somewhat
similar to an experience of the Great Frederick's: "When he had
reached the seventh or eighth sergeant the Emperor noticed a
handsome young fellow with fine but stern-looking eyes and of
resolute and martial bearing, who made his musket ring again as he
presented arms. 'How many wounds?' inquired the Emperor. 'Thirty,'
replied the sergeant. 'I am not asking you your age,' said the Emperor
graciously; 'I am asking how many wounds you have received.' Raising
his voice, the sergeant again replied with the one word, 'Thirty.'
Annoyed at this reply, the Emperor turned to the colonel and said,
'The man does not understand; he thinks I am asking about his
age.' 'He understands well enough, sire,' was the reply; 'he has been
wounded thirty times.' 'What!' exclaimed the Emperor, 'you have been
wounded so often and have not got the cross!' The sergeant looked
down at his chest, and seeing that the strap of his cartridge-pouch
hid his decoration, he raised it so as to show the cross. He said
to the Emperor, with great earnestness, 'Yes, I've got one; but I've
merited a dozen!' The Emperor, who was always pleased to meet
spirited fellows such as this, pronounced the sacramental words,
'I make you an officer!' 'That's right, Emperor,' said the new
sub-lieutenant as he proudly drew himself up; 'you couldn't have
done better!'"

No. 3.

Almost an exact duplicate of this letter goes on to Paris to
Cambaceres, as also of No. 4. The moment the Emperor had heard that
the Archduke had left Budweiss and was going by the circuitous route
_via_ Krems to Vienna, he left Enns (May 7th) and reached Moelk the
same evening. Seeing a camp of the enemy on the other side of the
river he sends Marbot with a sergeant and six picked men to kidnap a
few Austrians during the night. The foray is successful, and three are
brought before Napoleon, one weeping bitterly. The Emperor asked the
reason, and found it was because he had charge of his master's girdle,
and would be thought to have robbed him. The Emperor had him set free
and ferried across the river, saying, "We must honour and aid virtue
wherever it shows itself." The next day he started for Saint-Polten
(already evacuated by Hiller). On his way he saw the ruins of
Dirnstein Castle, where Richard Coeur de Lion had been imprisoned. The
Emperor's comments were interesting, but are now hackneyed, and are in
most histories and memoirs--the parent source being Pelet (vol. ii.
246).

No. 4.

_Schoenbrunn_, situated a mile from Vienna, across the little river of
that name. Constant thus describes it: "Built in 1754 by the
Empress Marie Therese, Schoenbrunn had an admirable position; its
architecture, if defective and irregular, was yet of a majestic,
imposing type. To reach it one has to cross the bridge across the
little river Vienna. Four stone sphinxes ornament this bridge, which
is very large and well built. Facing the bridge there is a handsome
gate opening on to a large courtyard, spacious enough for seven or
eight thousand men to manoeuvre in. The courtyard is in the form
of a quadrangle surrounded by covered galleries and ornamented with
two large basins, in which are marble statues. On both sides of
the gateway are two huge obelisks of pink stone surmounted by gilt
eagles.

"In German, Schoenbrunn means 'fair spring,' and the name is derived
from a fresh and sparkling spring which is situated in the park. It
wells forth from a little mound on which a tiny grotto has been built,
carved within so as to resemble stalactites. Inside the grotto is a
recumbent naiad holding a horn, from which the water falls down into a
marble basin. In summer this little nook is deliciously cool.

"The interior of the palace merits nothing but praise. The furniture
is sumptuous, and in taste both original and distinguished. The
Emperor's bedroom (the only place in the whole edifice where there was
a chimney) was upholstered in Chinese lacquer-wood of great antiquity,
yet the painting and gilding were still quite fresh. The study
adjoining was decorated in a like way. All these apartments, except
the bedroom, were heated in winter by immense stoves, which sadly
spoilt the effect of the other furniture. Between the study and the
bedroom there was a strange apparatus called a 'flying chair,' a sort
of mechanical seat, which had been constructed for the Empress Marie
Therese, and which served to transport her from one floor to another,
so that she was not obliged to go up and down the staircase like every
one else. The machine was worked in the same way as at theatres, by
cords, pulleys, and a counter-weight." The Emperor drank a glassful
from the beautiful spring, Schoen Brunn, every morning. Napoleon found
the people of Vienna less favourable to the French than in 1805; and
Count Rapp told him "the people were everywhere tired of us and of our
victories." "He did not like these sort of reflections."

_May 12th._--On May 13th is dated the _seventh_ bulletin of the
army of Germany, but none of the Bulletins 2 to 6 are in the
_Correspondence_. It states that on the 10th he is before Vienna; the
Archduke Maximilian refuses to surrender; on the 11th, at 9 P.M., the
bombardment commences, and by daybreak the city capitulated, and the
Archduke fled. In his proclamation Napoleon blamed him and the
house of Austria for the bombardment. "While fleeing from the city,
their adieux to the inhabitants have been murder and arson; like
Medea, they have with their own hands slain their children." The
Viennese had sworn to emulate their ancestors in 1683, and the heroes
of Saragossa. But Alison (than whom none can do the "big bow-wow"
style

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