On August 15, Napoleon's birthday, the Tuileries Palace also held a birthday celebration. British visitors then in France were personally received by Napoleon. His easygoing, warm, and friendly manner surprised and flattered them. British women described him as cautious and thoughtful, with a touch of melancholy and contemplation, rather serious in appearance.
To show respect for the British guests, busts of famous British generals were placed atop every mantelpiece in the banquet hall. The officials surrounding his New Deal were dressed splendidly and looked very distinguished, yet Napoleon himself was dressed simply, like an ordinary officer. To the British, he looked like an unkempt ship's captain.
That was already high praise. After all, Charles James Fox had also been teased for looking like a Devonshire farmer. They were soon won over by Napoleon's charm. They had never expected the French to be so easy to get along with, much less believed that this approachable man was the chief culprit behind the disruption of Europe's entire order.
But there were Frenchmen the British did not like. Talleyrand looked like "a filthy dog dressed in elaborately adorned clothes." He had attended the signing of the peace treaty as well, though this time he was dressed slightly less exquisitely.
While the novelty was still fresh, every class in France was desperately trying to cater to the British. The most fashionable thing in Paris was to dine with British people, and French gentlemen's attire was also influenced by the British dandies. Whatever the character of those playboys who had come to France with William Pitt the Younger, they were handsome.
Georgiana herself had copied Madame Récamier's manner of dress. Her outfit differed from those beautiful Frenchwomen clad in gauze like Greek goddesses; at the very least, it was opaque.
British men liked French women,