presented himself in boots at the door of a house in Broek, and being
requested to remove them before entering, exclaimed, "I am the Emperor!"
--"Even if you were the burgomaster of Amsterdam, you should not enter in
boots," replied the master of the dwelling. The good Emperor thereupon
put on the slippers.

During the journey to Holland their Majesties were informed that the
first tooth of the King of Rome had just made its appearance, and that
the health of this august child was not impaired thereby.

In one of the little towns in the north of Holland, the authorities
requested the Emperor's permission to present to him an old man aged one
hundred and one years, and he ordered him brought before him. This more
than centenarian was still vigorous, and had served formerly in the
guards of the Stadtholder; he presented a petition entreating the Emperor
to exempt from conscription one of his grandsons, the support of his old
age. His Majesty assured him, through an interpreter, that he would not
deprive him of his grandson, and Marshal Duroc was ordered to leave with
the old man a testimonial of Imperial liberality. In another little town
in Friesland, the authorities made the Emperor this singular address:
"Sire, we were afraid you would come with the whole court; you are almost
alone, and thereby we see you the better, and the more at our ease." The
Emperor applauded this loyal compliment, and honored the orator by most
touching thanks. After this long journey, passed in fetes, reviews, and
displays of all kinds, where the Emperor, under the guise of being
entertained, had made profound observations on the moral, commercial, and
military situation of Holland, observations which bore fruit after his
return to Paris, and even while in the country, in wise and useful
decrees, their Majesties left Holland, passing through Haarlem, The
Hague, and Rotterdam, where they were welcomed, as they had been in the