tainebleau; and finally, as it were by way of episodes, came the marvels of the campaigns of Italy and Egypt.
It was my good fortune to hear events of the most deep and stirring interest described by persons who had witnessed them, and, in many instances, by those who had acted conspicuous parts in them. These descriptions, instead of being introduced by the dull common-place preliminary-It is said, or, I have heard, rivetted the attention of the listener by such words as:-One day, when the Emperor sent for me, or, Robespierre, addressing me, said, &c. &c. The distinguished visitors of Prince Cambacérès could truly say, in reference to the scenes they described:"J'étais là quand telle chose advint."
In the arrangement of my materials, I have not observed any chronological regularity. I present them to the reader nearly in the order, or, to speak more correctly, the disorder, in which I find them collected in my notes. I give the Conversations as they occurred, and, consequently, without regard to unity of time, place, or subject. The merit of the work rests solely on the value of the materials of which it is composed; and, in submitting those materials to the press, I have been actuated by the spirit of truth, and not by the vanity of authorship.