I wish the apartments I occupy to be as handsomely furnished as my
   small apartments at Fontainebleau.

   I wish my apartments to be very near those of the Empress, and on
   the same floor.

Finally, I wish a palace that would be comfortable for a convalescent, or for a man as age approaches.  I wish a small theater, a small chapel, etc.; and above all great care should be taken that there be no stagnant water around the palace.”

The Emperor carried his passion for building to excess, and seemed more active, more eager in the execution of his plans, and more tenacious of his ideas, than any architect I have ever known.  Nevertheless, the idea of putting the palace of the King of Rome on the heights of Chaillot was not entirely his own, and M. Fontaine might well claim to have originated it.

It was mentioned the first time while discussing the palace of Lyons, which in order to present a handsome appearance M. Fontaine remarked should be situated on an elevation overlooking the city, as, for example, the heights of Chaillot overlooked Paris.  The Emperor did not appear to notice M. Fontaine’s remark, and had two or three days previously given orders that the chateau of Meudon should be put in a condition to receive his son, when one morning he summoned the architect, and ordered him to present a plan for embellishing the Bois de Boulogne, by adding a country house on the summit of Chaillot.  “What do you think of it?” added he, smiling; “does the site appear well chosen?”

One morning in the month of March, the Emperor brought his son to a review on the Champ-de-Mars; he was received with indescribable enthusiasm, the sincerity of which was undoubted; and it could easily be seen that these acclamations came from the heart.

The Emperor was deeply moved by this reception, and returned to the Tuileries in a most charming frame of mind, caressed the King of Rome, covered him with kisses, and dilated to M. Fontaine and myself on the precocious intelligence displayed by this beloved child.  “He was not at all frightened; he seemed to know that all those brave men were my friends.”  On that day he held a long conversation with M. Fontaine, while amusing himself with his son, whom he held in his arms; and when the conversation turned on Rome and its monuments, M. Fontaine spoke of the Pantheon with the most profound admiration.  The Emperor asked if he had ever lived at Rome; and M. Fontaine having replied that he remained there three years on his first visit, his Majesty remarked, “It is a city I have not seen; I shall certainly go there some day.  It is the city whose people formerly were the sovereigns of the world.”  And his eyes were fixed on the King of Rome with paternal pride.