the emperor’s two chief ministers were detected in a plan to replace Bonaparte by Murat, the emperor subjected Talleyrand to a lengthy and public dre… - Paul Johnson

" "

the emperor’s two chief ministers were detected in a plan to replace Bonaparte by Murat, the emperor subjected Talleyrand to a lengthy and public dressing down in front of an astonished court. His parade-ground language was shocking, as in his tirade to Whitworth — he called Talleyrand “merde en bas-de-soie” (a shit in silk stockings) — and from that day to this, no one knows whether Bonaparte’s loss of temper was deliberate or not.