NAPOLEON.

The king of Prussia replied,--

MONSIEUR MON FRÈRE,--Regretting the circumstances under which we
meet, I accept the sword of your Majesty, and I invite you to designate
one of your officers, provided with full powers, to treat for the
capitulation of the army which has so bravely fought under your
command. On my side I have named General von Moltke for that purpose.

I am your Majesty's good brother,

WILLIAM.

Before Sedan, Sept. 1, 1870.

"The next morning early, a carriage containing four French officers
drove out from Sedan, and came into the German lines. The carriage
had an escort of only three horsemen. When it had reached the Germans,
one of its occupants put out his head and asked, in German, for
Count von Bismarck? The Germans replied that he was at Donchéry.
Thither the carriage dashed away. It contained the French emperor."

With Napoleon III. fell not only his own reputation as a ruler,
but the glory of his uncle and the prestige of his name.

The fallen emperor and Bismarck met in a little house upon the
banks of the Meuse. Chairs were brought out, and they talked in
the open air. It was a glorious autumn morning. The emperor looked
care-worn, as well he might. He wished to see the king of Prussia