marquis, how I am going to honor him! I let him drink his chocolate
to-day from my most precious relic from this cup here, which the
great empress gave to me, and which you see contains the czarina's
portrait. Ah, it was at the last festival at the Ermitage that she
handed me the cup with chocolate, and, in order to give it its real
value, she touched the rim of the cup with her own sublime lips,
sipped of the chocolate, and then permitted me to drink where she
had drunk. This cup, therefore, is one of my most cherished
reminiscences of St. Petersburg, and little General Bonaparte may be
very proud to be permitted to drink from Catharine's cup. Yes, yes,
we will give sweetmeats to the bear, but afterward he must dance
just as we please. We will not yield, but HE must yield to US. Our
demands ought to be as exorbitant as possible!"

"By straining a cord too much, you generally break it," said the
Italian, thoughtfully. "General Bonaparte, I am afraid, will not
consent to any thing derogatory to the honor and dignity of France.
Besides, there is another bad feature about him--he is
incorruptible, and even the titles and decorations of the Empress
Catharine would not have tamed this republican. Let us proceed
cautiously and prudently, count. Let us demand much, but yield in
time, and be content with something less in order not to lose every
thing."

"Austria can only consent to a peace which extends her boundaries,
and enlarges her territory," exclaimed Cobenzl, hastily.

"You are right, certainly," replied the Marquis de Gallo, slowly;
"but Austria cannot intend to aggrandize herself at the expense of
France. What is that so-called Germany good for? Let Austria take