fun for those who executed them." Another example of the way in which
his ideas expressed themselves through imagery (Pelet de la Lozère, p.
242): "I am not satisfied with the customs regulations on the Alps.
They show no life. We don't hear the rattle of crown pieces pouring
into the public treasury." To appreciate the vividness of Napoleon's
expressions and thought the reader must consult, especially, the five
or six long conversations, noted on the very evening of the day they
occurred by Roederer; the two or three conversations likewise noted by
Miot de Melito; the scenes narrated by Beugnot; the notes of Pelet de
la Lozère and by Stanislas de Girardin, and nearly the entire volume
by Thibaudeau.

[64] Pelet de la Lozère, 63, 64. (On the physiological differences
between the English and the French.) - Madame de Rémusat, I., 273,
392: "You, Frenchmen, are not in earnest about anything, except,
perhaps, equality, and even here you would gladly give this up if you
were sure of being the foremost. . . . The hope of advancement in
the world should be cherished by everybody. . . . Keep your vanity
always alive The severity of the republican government would have
worried you to death. What started the Revolution? Vanity. What
will end it? Vanity, again. Liberty is merely a pretext." - III., 153
"Liberty is the craving of a small and privileged class by nature,
with faculties superior to the common run of men; this class,
therefore, may be put under restraint with impunity; equality, on the
contrary, catches the multitude." - Thibaudeau, 99: "What do I care
for the opinions and cackle of the drawing-room? I never heed it. I
pay attention only to what rude peasants say." His estimates of
certain situations are masterpieces of picturesque concision. "Why
did I stop and sign the preliminaries of Leoben? Because I played
vingt-et-un and was satisfied with twenty." His insight into