. Life in the Tuileries under the second empire. The Empress usually re-mained till about half-past eleven, when she disap-peared, and as the last fold of her train left thedoorway, all the men present, who had been standingthe whole evening, uttered a sigh of relief as theythrew themselves on the sofas, with undisguisedsatisfaction. The Due de Tascher, who suffered from rheumaticgout, found this obligation of etiquette particularlytrying, and being privileged in many respects, he fre-quently slipped into the next room, where he couldsit down, and even indulge in a momentary doze,with impunity
. Life in the Tuileries under the second empire. The Empress usually re-mained till about half-past eleven, when she disap-peared, and as the last fold of her train left thedoorway, all the men present, who had been standingthe whole evening, uttered a sigh of relief as theythrew themselves on the sofas, with undisguisedsatisfaction. The Due de Tascher, who suffered from rheumaticgout, found this obligation of etiquette particularlytrying, and being privileged in many respects, he fre-quently slipped into the next room, where he couldsit down, and even indulge in a momentary doze,with impunity. Often, on returning from some thea-ter with one of the ladies of the family, I met himcoming, wearily, from the imperial quarters, and ashe said good night, he would add, with a groan: There is no way of inducing the Empress to go tobed! Her personal attendants could say muchmore on the subject, for even after retiring to herprivate apartments, she often lingered till the smallhours of the night. One evening, as the Duke afterward told me, he. UNDER THE SECOND EMPIRE 49 had escaped to the neighboring room, where he habit-ually took refuge, and was seated, writing a letter,when the Emperor suddenly came in. Of course, theDuke immediately sprang to his feet, but the Emper-or good-humoredly desired him not to disturb him-self, but to go on with his letter. On such occasions,the rule is to obey without any objection, the sov-ereigns will being considered paramount. The Duke,consequently, sat down and quietly continued his let-ter, though much discomfited by the presence of theEmperor, who paced the room to and fro, smokinghis cigarette, and humming a tune. The Duke, how-ever, leisurely finished and folded his letter, sealingit deliberately with the large official seal in red wax,and carefully adding the stamp of the Emperor then drew near: Have you finished, Tascher ? Yes, Sire. Quite finished? Yes, Sire. Then—I may take the inkstand? The good-natured simplicity o
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectnapoleo, bookyear1895
