A tactful girl would have devised some answer to spare Napoleon's feelings. But thoughtless Betsy, without a word, turned to the front page of the sheet of music, on which was a picture of a man standing in a ditch, his eyes bandaged and a lantern hanging from his waist, while soldiers were aiming their muskets at him.
"What is it?" asked Napoleon, to whom the picture conveyed no meaning.
"It represents the murder of the Duc d'Enghien," replied Betsy.
Napoleon examined the picture more closely. Then, turning to the young girl:
"What do you know of the Duc d'Enghien?"
"That you are considered the murderer of that illustrious prince," replied Betsy, with great lack of consideration.
"It is true," responded Napoleon, "that I ordered his execution, for he was a conspirator and had landed troops in the pay of the Bourbons to assassinate me. In the face of such a conspiracy, the most politic thing was to put a Bourbon prince to death so that the Bourbons would not again try to take my life. The prisoner was tried for having taken arms against the Republic, and was executed according to law. But he was not shot in a ditch nor at night. All was open and known to the public."
This talk about the Duc d'Enghien led Napoleon to tell Betsy of many thrilling experiences of his own in escaping death at the hands of would-be assassins.
At another time Betsy ran up to Napoleon, crying, "Why is your face so swollen and inflamed?"
"Oh," replied Napoleon, assuming a doleful look, "Dr. O'Meara has just drawn a tooth and I have had much pain."