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341 table, lighted me and opened the door of the drawing-room. When we reached the head of the staircase, I pointed out to him that it was too narrow for me to carry her down without running the risk of a fall. Napoleon called an attendant, gave him the candle, and himself took hold of Josephine's legs to help me to descend more gently. When she felt the efforts I was making to save myself from falling, she said, in a low voice: 'You are holding me too tightly' I then saw that I need be under no uneasiness as to her health, and that she had not lost consciousness for a moment. The Emperor's agitation and anxiety were extreme. In his trouble he told me the cause of all that had occurred. His words came out with difficulty and without sequence, his voice was choked and his eyes full of tears. He must have been beside himself to give so many details to me, who was so far from his councils and his confidence. The whole scene did not last more than seven or eight minutes."

M. Lévy does not give the curious scene which took place when the divorce was being decided on; it is one of the instances in which Napoleon exhibited that extraordinary sensibility which is one of the contradictions in his strange make-up. I quote the passage as given by Taine:

"He tosses about a whole night, and laments like a woman; he melts and embraces Josephine; he is weaker than she. 'My poor Josephine, I