And Napoleon Bonaparte gleefully pinched the boy's ear, the first but by no means the last time that Jean knew him to indulge in this singular pleasantry!
AFTER LONG YEARS
CHAPTER XVIII
AFTER LONG YEARS
In the month of June, 1806, the lieutenant of the Eighth Brigade of Light Artillery received, while on duty at the Imperial Palace of St Cloud, the following mysterious note:
"If Jean Dominique Mettot will be at Havre on the fourteenth instant, he will be admitted on board the vessel 'La Belle Gabrielle,' where he will meet someone who is most anxious to see him. He is kindly requested to refrain from mentioning this rendezvous to anyone. Ask for 'Monsieur Charles Durante.'
"C.D."