that the very first thing which he does when he enters London will be to
send cavalry detachments to the various newspaper offices, and to
endeavour to seize the editors.'

'And the next?'

'The next,' said he, laughing, 'will be to issue a long proclamation to
prove that we have conquered England entirely for the good of the
English, and very much against our own inclinations. And then, perhaps,
the Emperor will allow the English to understand that, if they
absolutely demand a Protestant for a ruler, it is possible that there
are a few little points in which he differs from Holy Church.'

'Too bad! Too bad!' cried de Meneval, looking amused and yet rather
frightened at his companion's audacity. 'No doubt for state reasons the
Emperor had to tamper a little with Mahomedanism, and I daresay he would
attend this Church of St. Paul's as readily as he did the Mosque at
Cairo; but it would not do for a ruler to be a bigot. After all, the
Emperor has to think for all.'

'He thinks too much,' said Caulaincourt, gravely. 'He thinks so much
that other people in France are getting out of the way of thinking at
all. You know what I mean, de Meneval, for you have seen it as much as
I have.'

'Yes, yes,' answered the secretary. 'He certainly does not encourage
originality among those who surround him. I have heard him say many a
time that he desired nothing but mediocrity, which was a poor
compliment, it must be confessed, to us who have the honour of serving
him.'