Page:Helen Leah Reed - Napoleons young neighbour.djvu/233

Rh Almost every day some form of amusement offered itself—races, balls, picnics, and sham fights. There was also a pretty little theatre on the island, established by the popular Commissary General, where amateur plays were performed by the officers, to the great entertainment of all who saw them.

Madame Montholon and Madame Bertrand and, to a certain extent, the gentlemen of the Emperor's suite entered more or less into the festivities of the place. It was only Napoleon who always stayed at home alone. Betsy, who was an especial favorite of Madame Bertrand, was often at Longwood, and very often the latter was the young girl's chaperon at balls or other entertainments.

Yet even when no special gayety was in view, Betsy enjoyed her visits to Longwood, and the ingenuous girl with her frank speech certainly brightened the lives of the exiles. As for Betsy herself it was a great advantage for her to be so much in the society of these French people, with their cultivation and gayety. On cool evenings chairs were brought out on the lawn leading to the billiard-room, and there the Countess of Montholon and