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Uncle Bernac - A Memory of the Empire by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
page 120 of 213 (56%)
the grand Imperial manner, and would praise or blame, glare or smile,
exactly as he does now. Have you seen his mother, Monsieur de Laval?
She is a tragedy queen, tall, stern, reserved, silent. There is the
spring from which he flowed.'

I could see in the gentle, spaniel-eyes of the secretary that he was
disturbed by the frankness of de Caulaincourt's remarks.

'You can tell that we do not live under a very terrible tyranny,
Monsieur de Laval,' said he, 'or we should hardly venture to discuss our
ruler so frankly. The fact is that we have said nothing which he would
not have listened to with pleasure and perhaps with approval. He has
his little frailties, or he would not be human, but take his qualities
as a ruler and I would ask you if there has ever been a man who has
justified the choice of a nation so completely. He works harder than
any of his subjects. He is a general beloved by his soldiers. He is a
master beloved by his servants. He never has a holiday, and he is
always ready for his work. There is not under the roof of the Tuileries
a more abstemious eater or drinker. He educated his brothers at his own
expense when he was a very poor man, and he has caused even his most
distant relatives to share in his prosperity. In a word, he is
economical, hard-working, and temperate. We read in the London papers
about this Prince of Wales, Monsieur de Laval, and I do not think that
he comes very well out of the comparison.'

I thought of the long record of Brighton scandals, London scandals,
Newmarket scandals, and I had to leave George undefended.

'As I understand it,' said I, 'it is not the Emperor's private life, but
his public ambition, that the English attack.'
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