I am sure he never gave the matter a thought; for whatever tales have
been related of his suspicious nature, he never took any precaution
against the snares which treason might set for him. His sense of
security, in this regard, amounted even to imprudence; and consequently
all who loved him, especially those who surrounded him, endeavored to
make up for this want of precaution by all the vigilance of which they
were capable; and it is unnecessary to assert that it was this solicitude
for the precious life of my master which had caused me to insist upon the
advice I had given him to shave himself.

On the first occasions on which he attempted to put my lessons into
practice, it was even more alarming than laughable to watch the Emperor
(for such he was then); as in spite of the lessons that I had given him
with repeated illustrations, he did not yet know how to hold his razor.
He would seize it by the handle, and apply it perpendicularly to his
cheek, instead of laying it flat; he would make a sudden dash with the
razor, never failing to give himself a cut, and then draw back his hand
quickly, crying out, "See there, you scamp; you have made me cut myself."
I would then take the razor and finish the operation The next day the
same scene would be repeated, but with less bloodshed; and each day the
skill of the Emperor improved, until at last, by dint of numberless
lessons, he became sufficiently an adept to dispense with me, though he
still cut himself now and then, for which he would always mildly reproach
me, though jestingly and in kindness. Besides, from the manner in which
he began, and which he would never change, it was impossible for him not
to cut his face sometimes, for he shaved himself downward, and not
upward, like every one else; and this bad method, which all my efforts
could not change, added to the habitual abruptness of his movements, made
me shudder every time I saw him take his razor in hand.