present King of Sweden and the late Emperor of Brazil.--TRANS.]

desired a young man to replace Lefebvre, and having recommended me for
the place, I had the good fortune to be presented to Eugene, and to give
satisfaction; indeed, he was so kind as to say to me that my appearance
pleased him, and he wished me to enter upon my duties immediately. I was
delighted with this situation, which, I know not why, painted itself to
my imagination in the brightest colors, and without loss of time, went to
find my modest baggage, and behold me valet de chambre, ad interim, of M.
de Beauharnais, not dreaming that I should one day be admitted to the
personal service of General Bonaparte, and still less that I should
become the chief valet of an Emperor.




CHAPTER II.

It was on Oct. 16, 1799, that Eugene de Beauharnais arrived in Paris on
his return from Egypt; and almost immediately thereafter I had the good
fortune to be taken into his service, M. Eugene being then twenty-one
years of age. I soon after learned a few particulars, which I think are
little known, relative to his former life, and the marriage of his mother
with General Bonaparte.

His father, as is well known, was one of the victims of the Revolution;
and when the Marquis de Beauharnais had perished on the scaffold, his
widow, whose property had been confiscated, fearing that her son,
although still very young, might also be in danger on account of his
belonging to the nobility, placed him in the home of a carpenter on the