Page:Helen Leah Reed - Napoleons young neighbour.djvu/130

104 same as he had been at The Briars. After a while, however, they could not help noticing that he was less cheerful than formerly.

About a week after his departure, Betsy and her mother and sister made their first visit to Longwood to call on the Emperor.

"Ah, there he is," Betsy cried; and looking ahead, they saw him seated on the steps of the billiard-room, talking to little Tristram Montholon. The moment Napoleon caught sight of them, he hastened toward them. Saluting them pleasantly, he kissed Mrs. Balcombe and Jane on each cheek, while he pinched Betsy's ear, as he said: "Ah, Mdlle. Betsee, etes-vous sage, eh, eh?"

Then, with the eagerness of a boy anxious to display a new toy, he added, "What do you think of the place? I must show you over it. Come, follow me!"

So the Emperor walked ahead of Mrs. Balcombe and her daughters, leading them first to his bedroom. Betsy thought this room small and cheerless, though she did not say so to Napoleon.

As she looked about she observed that the walls were covered with fluted nankeen, that