"
"But, madame," cried Napoleon, angrily, "you really surpass
Harpagon, and Moliere has cause to complain that he did not know
you." [Footnote: Napoleon's words.--Vide Le Normand, vol. ii., p.
451.]
"Moliere has assuredly cause to deplore that he did not live at the
present time," said madame, quietly, "for if he lived now, he would
have seen on the throne of France a prince who is even greater and
more illustrious than his own Louis XIV. And he would have certainly
been glad to make my acquaintance, as I am the mother of this great
man."
"The mother of an emperor, and yet living so parsimoniously that one
might believe your son suffered you to starve! And still, if I am
not mistaken, you receive a million francs a year for defraying the
expenses of your court. Am I right, mother?"
"Yes, my son; I receive a million francs a year."
"Ah, madame," cried the emperor, "then you must, considering your
economy, lay by riches every year?"
Madame Letitia's face was serious; the emperor had touched a chord
unpleasant to her ear.
"No," she said, abruptly, "I lay by no riches, for my expenses are
heavy."
"But your income is larger," exclaimed Napoleon. "I am satisfied
that you spend far less than you receive. Whom do you economize for,
madame?"
"Whom?" asked madame, in an angry voice. "I might say for myself,
for my future, for that is uncertain, and one is never able to know
what may happen.
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