" Napoleon justly resented this; and even went so far as to
indite a memorial against this condition of affairs at Brienne--which
did not tend to enhance his popularity.
However he did begin to find himself in a social way. With maturer
years and a broader outlook he began to emerge from his shell. He made
a few good friends, one or two being among the gentler sex. One lady
in particular, Madame de Colombier, took a fancy to this gawky country
lad and frequently invited him to her home in the country. Her
daughter, Caroline, was also a welcome friend, and the memory of those
simple but pleasant hours remained with him all his life as a ray of
sunshine among the all-too-gloomy days of youth.
"We were the most innocent creatures imaginable," he says. "We
contrived little meetings together. I well remember one which took
place on a midsummer morning, just as daylight was beginning to dawn.
It will scarcely be believed that all our happiness consisted in eating
cherries together."
The young artillery student--now a lieutenant--also visited the
Permons; and Madame Junot, then a little girl, gives a clever cartoon
of him as he appeared in full regimentals at the age of sixteen.
"There was one part of his dress which had a very droll
appearance--that was his boots.
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