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Recollections of the Private Life of Napoleon — Volume 03 by Louis Constant Wairy
page 58 of 111 (52%)
Emperor.

His height was five feet, two inches, three lines. He had a rather short
neck, sloping shoulders, broad chest, almost free from hairs, well shaped
leg and thigh, a small foot, and well formed fingers, entirely free from
enlargements or abrasions; his arms were finely molded, and well hung to
his body; his hands were beautiful, and the nails did not detract from
their beauty. He took the greatest care of them, as in fact of his whole
person, without foppishness, however. He often bit his nails slightly,
which was a sign of impatience or preoccupation.

Later on he grew much stouter, but without losing any of the beauty of
his figure; on the contrary, he was handsomer under the Empire than under
the Consulate; his skin had become very white, and his expression
animated.

The Emperor, during his moments, or rather his long hours, of labor and
of meditation, was subject to a peculiar spasmodic movement, which seemed
to be a nervous affection, and which clung to him all his life. It
consisted in raising his right shoulder frequently and rapidly; and
persons who were not acquainted with this habit sometimes interpreted
this as a gesture of disapprobation and dissatisfaction, and inquired
with anxiety in what way they could have offended him. He, however, was
not at all affected by it, and repeated the same movement again and again
without being conscious of it.

One most remarkable peculiarity was that the Emperor never felt his heart
beat. He mentioned this often to M. Corvisart, as well as to me; and
more than once he made us pass our hands over his breast, in order to
prove this singular exception. Never did we feel the slightest
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