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"The Emperor Alexander," said she, with the melancholy which

always accompanied any reference of hers to the Imperial family,

"has declared that he will leave it to the French people

themselves to choose their own form of government; and I believe

that once free from the usurper, the whole nation will certainly

throw itself into the arms of its rightful king," she concluded,

trying to be amiable to the royalist emigrant.

"That is doubtful," said Prince Andrew. "Monsieur le Vicomte

quite rightly supposes that matters have already gone too far. I

think it will be difficult to return to the old regime."

"From what I have heard," said Pierre, blushing and breaking into

the conversation, "almost all the aristocracy has already gone

over to Bonaparte's side."

"It is the Buonapartists who say that," replied the vicomte

without looking at Pierre. "At the present time it is difficult

to know the real state of French public opinion."