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LIFE OF COLONEL MACERONI.

and with placid speech and mien, thanked them both forsuch rival zeal in rendering him their homage, and led themeach by the hand towards a sofa near tie throne. Thesenses of the diplomatists quickly returning, they felt, ofcourse, horrified at the courtly misdemeanour, and theaffair went off without further notice at the levee. But, onthe morrow, the parties repaired to Puzzuoli where, on theantique pavement of the ancient temple of Jupiter Serapis,they met in mortal combat, armed with swords. Thesecond to Durant was the French General Excelmans;Dolgorouky was seconded by his secretary of Legation ,Count Benkendorf. The Russian was wounded throughthe ear ; and the gendarmes put a stop to the duel. Idon’t remember how it was, but some days afterwards thetwo seconds bad some cause of dispute, which they alsodecided by the sword, when Benkendorf was wounded inthe arm. Whatever might have been at that moment thesecret feelings of the French and Russian Emperors towardseach other, they both evinced their disapprobation of theaffair by recalling their ambassadors from Naples, andreplacing them by others.

Before I proceed with my own personal biography andrecord the observations and anecdotes appertaining to mysojourn at Rome in 1812 and 1813, I must follow up mybiographical sketch of Murat who, in April, 1812, wasinvited by the Emperor Napoleon to assist him in the grandcampaign against Russia , and to take the supreme com-mand of all the cavalry of the “ Grande Armee .” Murathad strained every nerve to benefit and improve his king-dom. Some real benefits, such as the regulation and equali-zation of weights and measures, although very naturallyapproved of by the instructed, were regarded as vexatiousby the vulgar of Naples, as by other vulgar. The Greekcompound words expressive of the measureor the weight were