head of the Empire. Apartments had been prepared for him at the
Tuileries in the Pavilion of Flora; and as a continuation of the delicate
and affectionate consideration which his Majesty had shown from the
beginning in welcoming the Holy Father, he found his apartments, in
arrangement and furniture, an exact duplicate of those he occupied at
Rome. He evinced much surprise and gratitude at this attention, which he
himself, it is said, with his usual delicacy, called entirely filial;
desiring thus to acknowledge the respect which the Emperor had shown him
on every occasion, and the new title of eldest son of the Church, which
his Majesty was about to assume with the imperial crown.

Every morning I went, by order of his Majesty, to inquire after the
health of the Holy Father. Pius VII. had a noble and handsome
countenance, an air of angelic sweetness, and a gentle, well modulated
voice; he spoke little, and always slowly, but with grace; his tastes
were extremely simple, and his abstemiousness incredible; he was
indulgent to others and most lenient in his judgments. I must admit that
on the score of good cheer the persons of his suite made no pretense of
imitating the Holy Father, but, on the contrary, took most unbecoming
advantage of the Emperor's orders, that everything requested should be
furnished. The tables set for them were abundantly and even
magnificently served; which, however; did not prevent a whole basket of
Chambertin being requested each day for the Pope's private table, though
he dined alone and drank only water.

The sojourn of nearly five months which the Holy Father made at Paris was
a time of edification for the faithful; and his Holiness must have
carried away a most flattering opinion of the populace, who, having
ceased to practice, and not having witnessed for more than ten years, the
ceremonies of the Catholic religion, had returned to them with