Napoleon

On the 29th of May Napoleon left Dresden, where he had spent three weeks surrounded by a court made up of princes, dukes, kings and even an emperor.  Before leaving, Napoleon spoke pleasantly to the princes, kings and emperor who had earned his favour, and unpleasantly to the kings and princes who had not quite come up to scratch.  He presented the Empress of Austria with some diamonds and pearls, of his own (which meant stolen from other kings).  He warmly embraced his Empress, Marie-Louise, who thought of herself as his wife despite the existence of another one back in Paris, and left her behind.-----with the diplomats still believing firmly in the possibility of peace and working strenuously toward it, and even though the Emperor Napoleon had just written a personal letter to the Emperor Alexander calling him his 'esteemed brother' and assuring him in good faith that he had no wish to go to war and would always treat him with affection and respect.....

War and Peace
~ Leo Tolstoy