At the further door was Roustem the
Mameluke, and beside him, with arms folded and his face sunk downwards
in an attitude of shame and contrition, there was standing the very man
of whom we had been talking. He looked up with scared eyes, and started
with fear when he saw the Emperor approaching him. Napoleon stood with
legs apart and his hands behind his back, and looked at him long and
searchingly.
'Well, my fine fellow,' said he at last, 'you have burned your fingers,
and I do not fancy that you will come near the fire again. Or do you
perhaps think of continuing with politics as a profession?'
'If your Majesty will overlook what I have done,' Lesage stammered, 'I
shall faithfully promise you that I will be your most loyal servant
until the day of my death.'
'Hum!' said the Emperor, spilling a pinch of snuff over the front of his
white jacket. 'There is some sense in what you say, for no one makes so
good a servant as the man who has had a thorough fright. But I am a
very exacting master.'
'I do not care what you require of me.
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