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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/24659-8.txt b/24659-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..f4a1ef8 --- /dev/null +++ b/24659-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,7573 @@ +Project Gutenberg's Hortense, Makers of History Series, by John S. C. Abbott + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Hortense, Makers of History Series + +Author: John S. C. Abbott + +Release Date: February 20, 2008 [EBook #24659] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HORTENSE, MAKERS OF HISTORY SERIES *** + + + + +Produced by D. Alexander and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was +produced from images generously made available by The +Internet Archive) + + + + + + + + + + Makers of History + + Hortense + + BY JOHN S. C. ABBOTT + + WITH ENGRAVINGS + + NEW YORK AND LONDON + HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS + 1902 + + + + + Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1870, by + + HARPER & BROTHERS, + + In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the + Southern District of New York. + + Copyright, 1898, by LAURA A. BUCK. + + +[Illustration: HORTENSE.] + + + + +PREFACE. + + +The French Revolution was perhaps as important an event as has occurred +in the history of nations. It was a drama in three acts. The first was +the Revolution itself, properly so called, with its awful scenes of +terror and of blood--the exasperated millions struggling against the +accumulated oppression of ages. + +The second act in the drama was the overthrow of the Directory by +Napoleon, and the introduction of the Consulate and the Empire; the +tremendous struggle against the combined dynasties of Europe; the +demolition of the Empire, and the renewed crushing of the people by the +triumph of the nobles and the kings. + +Then came the third act in the drama--perhaps the last, perhaps not--in +which the French people again drove out the Bourbons, re-established the +Republican Empire, with its principle of equal rights for all, and +placed upon the throne the heir of the great Emperor. + +No man can understand the career of Napoleon I. without being acquainted +with those scenes of anarchy and terror which preceded his reign. No man +can understand the career of Napoleon III. unless familiar with the +struggle of the people against the despots in the Revolution, their +triumph in the Empire, their defeat in its overthrow, and their renewed +triumph in its restoration. + +Hortense was intimately associated with all these scenes. Her father +fell beneath the slide of the guillotine; her mother was imprisoned and +doomed to die; and she and her brother were turned penniless into the +streets. By the marriage of her mother with Napoleon, she became the +daughter of the Emperor, and one of the most brilliant and illustrious +ladies of the imperial court. The triumph of the Allies sent her into +exile, where her influence and her instruction prepared her son to +contribute powerfully to the restoration of the Empire, and to reign +with ability which is admired by his friends and acknowledged by his +foes. The mother of Napoleon III. never allowed her royally-endowed son +to forget, even in the gloomiest days of exile and of sorrow, that it +might yet be his privilege to re-establish the Republican Empire, and to +restore the dynasty of the people from its overthrow by the despotic +Allies. + +In this brief record of the life of one who experienced far more than +the usual vicissitudes of humanity, whose career was one of the saddest +upon record, and who ever exhibited virtues which won the enthusiastic +love of all who knew her, the writer has admitted nothing which can not +be sustained by incontrovertible evidence, and has suppressed nothing +sustained by any testimony worthy of a moment's respect. This history +will show that Hortense had her faults. Who is without them? There are +not many, however, who will read these pages without profound admiration +for the character of one of the noblest of women, and without finding +the eye often dimmed, in view of her heart-rending griefs. + +This volume will soon be followed by the History of Louis Philippe. + + + + + CONTENTS. + + + CHAPTER PAGE + + I. PARENTAGE AND BIRTH 15 + + II. MARRIAGE OF JOSEPHINE AND GENERAL BONAPARTE 49 + + III. HORTENSE AND DUROC 80 + + IV. THE MARRIAGE OF HORTENSE 110 + + V. THE BIRTH OF LOUIS NAPOLEON AND THE DIVORCE OF JOSEPHINE 148 + + VI. THE DEATH OF JOSEPHINE 179 + + VII. THE SORROWS OF EXILE 211 + + VIII. PEACEFUL DAYS, YET SAD 239 + + IX. LIFE AT ARENEMBERG 293 + + X. LETTER FROM LOUIS NAPOLEON TO HIS MOTHER 322 + + XI. DEATH OF HORTENSE, AND THE ENTHRONEMENT OF HER SON 358 + + + + +ENGRAVINGS. + + + PAGE + + HORTENSE _Frontispiece._ + + JOSEPHINE TAKING LEAVE OF HER CHILDREN 38 + + THE RECONCILIATION 76 + + THE LOVE-LETTER 104 + + THE LITTLE PRINCE NAPOLEON 129 + + THE DIVORCE ANNOUNCED 165 + + THE DEATH OF MADAME BROC 194 + + HORTENSE AND HER CHILDREN 218 + + HORTENSE AT ARENEMBERG 248 + + INTERVIEW IN THE COLISEUM 271 + + THE STUDY OF LOUIS NAPOLEON 307 + + THE ARREST 336 + + + + +HORTENSE. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +PARENTAGE AND BIRTH. + +1776-1794 + +Josephine's voyage to France.--Viscount de Beauharnais.--Josephine's +reluctance.--Marriage.--Birth of Eugene.--Birth of Hortense.--Separation +from Beauharnais.--Return to Martinique.--Revisits France.--The jewel +caskets.--The old pair of shoes.--Commencement of the Reign of +Terror.--Arrest of Beauharnais.--Domiciliary visit.--Beauharnais in +prison.--Affecting interview.--Scene in prison.--Trial of +Beauharnais.--Anguish of Josephine.--Arrest of Josephine.--Impulsiveness +of Hortense.--Letter from Josephine.--Letter from Beauharnais.--Execution +of Beauharnais.--Josephine to her children. + + +In the year 1776 a very beautiful young lady, by the name of Josephine +Rose Tascher, was crossing the Atlantic Ocean from the island of +Martinique to France. She was but fifteen years of age; and, having been +left an orphan in infancy, had been tenderly reared by an uncle and +aunt, who were wealthy, being proprietors of one of the finest +plantations upon the island. Josephine was accompanied upon the voyage +by her uncle. She was the betrothed of a young French nobleman by the +name of Viscount Alexander de Beauharnais, who had recently visited +Martinique, and who owned several large estates adjoining the property +which Josephine would probably inherit. + +It was with great reluctance that Josephine yielded to the importunities +of her friends and accepted the proffered hand of the viscount. Her +affections had long been fixed upon a play-mate of her childhood by the +name of William, and her love was passionately returned. William was +then absent in France, pursuing his education. De Beauharnais was what +would usually be called a very splendid man. He was of high rank, young, +rich, intelligent, and fascinating in his manners. The marriage of +Josephine with the viscount would unite the properties. Her friends, in +their desire to accomplish the union, cruelly deceived Josephine. They +intercepted the letters of William, and withheld her letters to him, and +represented to her that William, amidst the gayeties of Paris, had +proved a false lover, and had entirely forgotten her. De Beauharnais, +attracted by the grace and beauty of Josephine, had ardently offered her +his hand. Under these circumstances the inexperienced maiden had +consented to the union, and was now crossing the Atlantic with her uncle +for the consummation of the nuptials in France. + +Upon her arrival she was conducted to Fontainebleau, where De +Beauharnais hastened to meet her. Proud of her attractions, he took +great pleasure in introducing her to his high-born friends, and +lavished upon her every attention. Josephine was grateful, but sad, for +her heart still yearned for William. Soon William, hearing of her +arrival, and not knowing of her engagement, anxiously repaired to +Fontainebleau. The interview was agonizing. William still loved her with +the utmost devotion. They both found that they had been the victims of a +conspiracy, though one of which De Beauharnais had no knowledge. + +Josephine, young, inexperienced, far from home, and surrounded by the +wealthy and powerful friends of her betrothed, had gone too far in the +arrangements for the marriage to recede. Her anguish, however, was so +great that she was thrown into a violent fever. She had no friend to +whom she could confide her emotions. But in most affecting tones she +entreated that her marriage might be delayed for a few months until she +should regain her health. Her friends consented, and she took refuge for +a time in the Convent of Panthemont, under the tender care of the +sisters. + +It is not probable that De Beauharnais was at all aware of the real +state of Josephine's feelings. He was proud of her, and loved her as +truly as a fashionable man of the world could love. It is also to be +remembered that at that time in France it was not customary for young +ladies to have much influence in the choice of their husbands. It was +supposed that their parents could much more judiciously arrange these +matters than the young ladies themselves. + +Josephine was sixteen years of age at the time of her marriage. Her +attractions were so remarkable that she immediately became a great +favorite at the French court, to which the rank of her husband +introduced her. Marie Antoinette was then the youthful bride of Louis +XVI. She was charmed with Josephine, and lavished upon her the most +flattering attentions. Two children were born of this marriage, both of +whom attained world-wide renown. The first was a son, Eugene. He was +born in September, 1781. His career was very elevated, and he occupied +with distinguished honor all the lofty positions to which he was raised. +He became duke of Leuchtenberg, prince of Eichstedt, viceroy of Italy. +He married the Princess Augusta, daughter of the King of Bavaria. + +"Prince Eugene, under a simple exterior, concealed a noble character and +great talents. Honor, integrity, humanity, and love of order and +justice were the principal traits of his character. Wise in the council, +undaunted in the field, and moderate in the exercise of power, he never +appeared greater than in the midst of reverses, as the events of 1813 +and 1814 prove. He was inaccessible to the spirit of party, benevolent +and beneficent, and more devoted to the good of others than his own."[A] + +[Footnote A: Encyclopędia Americana.] + +The second child was a daughter, Hortense, the subject of this brief +memoir. She was born on the 10th of January, 1783. In the opening scenes +of that most sublime of earthly tragedies, the French Revolution, M. de +Beauharnais espoused the popular cause, though of noble blood, and +though his elder brother, the Marquis de Beauharnais, earnestly +advocated the cause of the king and the court. + +The entire renunciation of the Christian religion was then popular in +France. Alexander de Beauharnais, like most of his young pleasure-loving +companions, was an infidel. His conduct soon became such that the heart +of poor Josephine was quite broken. Her two children, Eugene and +Hortense, both inherited the affectionate and gentle traits of their +mother, and were her only solace. In her anguish she unguardedly wrote +to her friends in Martinique, who had almost forced her into her +connection with Beauharnais: + +"Were it not for my children, I should, without a pang, renounce France +forever. My duty requires me to forget William. And yet, if _we_ had +been united together, I should not to-day have been troubling you with +my griefs." + +Viscount Beauharnais chanced to see this letter. It roused his jealousy +fearfully. A sense of "honor" would allow him to lavish his attentions +upon guilty favorites, while that same sense of "honor" would urge him +to wreak vengeance upon his unhappy, injured wife, because, in her +neglect and anguish, with no false, but only a true affection, her +memory turned to the loved companion of her childhood. According to the +standard of the fashionable world, Beauharnais was a very honorable man. +According to the standard of Christianity, he was a sinner in the sight +of God, and was to answer for this conduct at the final judgment. + +He reproached his wife in the severest language of denunciation. He took +from her her son Eugene. He applied to the courts for a divorce, +demanding his daughter Hortense also. Josephine pleaded with him in +vain, for the sake of their children, not to proclaim their disagreement +to the world. Grief-stricken, poor Josephine retired to a convent to +await the trial. The verdict was triumphantly in her favor. But her +heart was broken. She was separated from her husband, though the legal +tie was not severed. + +Her friends in Martinique, informed of these events, wrote, urging her +to return to them. She decided to accept the invitation. Hortense was +with her mother. M. de Beauharnais had sent Eugene, whom he had taken +from her, to a boarding-school. Before sailing for Martinique she +obtained an interview with M. de Beauharnais, and with tears entreated +that she might take Eugene with her also. He was unrelenting; Josephine, +with a crushed and world-weary heart, folded Hortense to her bosom, then +an infant but three years of age, and returned to her tropical home, +which she had sadly left but a few years before. Here, on the retired +plantation, soothed by the sympathy of her friends, she strove to +conceal her anguish. + +There was never a more loving heart than that with which Josephine was +endowed. She clung to Hortense with tenderness which has rarely been +equalled. They were always together. During the day Hortense was ever by +her side, and at night she nestled in her mother's bosom. Living amidst +the scenes of tropical luxuriance and beauty, endeared to her by the +memories of childhood, Josephine could almost have been happy but for +the thoughts of her absent Eugene. Grief for her lost child preyed ever +upon her heart. + +Her alienated husband, relieved from all restraint, plunged anew into +those scenes of fashionable dissipation for which Paris was then +renowned. But sickness, sorrows, and misfortunes came. In those dark +hours he found that no earthly friend can supply the place of a virtuous +and loving wife. He wrote to her, expressing bitter regret for his +conduct, and imploring her to return. The wounds which Josephine had +received were too deep to be easily healed. Forgiving as she was by +nature, she said to her friends that the memory of the past was so +painful that, were it not for Eugene, she should very much prefer not to +return to France again, but to spend the remainder of her days in the +seclusion of her native island. Her friends did every thing in their +power to dissuade her from returning. But a mother's love for her son +triumphed, and with Hortense she took ship for France. + +An event occurred upon this voyage which is as instructive as it is +interesting. Many years afterwards, when Josephine was Empress of +France, and the wealth of the world was almost literally at her feet, on +one occasion some young ladies who were visiting the court requested +Josephine to show them her diamonds. These jewels were almost of +priceless value, and were kept in a vault, the keys of which were +confided to the most trusty persons. Josephine, who seldom wore jewels, +very amiably complied with their request. A large table was brought into +the saloon. Her maids in waiting brought in a great number of caskets, +of every size and form, containing the precious gems. + +As these caskets were opened, they were dazzled with the brilliancy, the +size, and the number of these ornaments. The different sets composed +probably by far the most brilliant collection in Europe. In Napoleon's +conquering career, the cities which he had entered lavished their gifts +upon Josephine. The most remarkable of these jewels consisted of large +white diamonds. There were others in the shape of pears formed of +pearls of the richest colors. There were opals, rubies, sapphires, and +emeralds of such marvellous value that the large diamonds that encircled +them were considered as mere mountings not regarded in the estimation +made of the value of the jewels. + +As the ladies gazed upon the splendor of this collection, they were lost +in wonder and admiration. Josephine, after enjoying for a while their +expressions of delight, and having allowed them to examine the beautiful +gems thoroughly, said to them kindly: + +"I had no other motive, in ordering my jewels to be opened before you, +than to spoil your fancy for such ornaments. After having seen such +splendid sets, you can never feel a wish for inferior ones; the less so +when you reflect how unhappy I have been, although with so rare a +collection at my command. During the first dawn of my extraordinary +elevation, I delighted in these trifles, many of which were presented to +me in Italy. I grew by degrees so tired of them that I no longer wear +any, except when I am in some respects compelled to do so by my new rank +in the world. A thousand accidents may, besides, contribute to deprive +me of these brilliant, though useless objects. Do I not possess the +pendants of Queen Marie Antoinette? And yet am I quite sure of retaining +them? Trust to me, ladies, and do not envy a splendor which does not +constitute happiness. I shall not fail to surprise you when I relate +that I once felt more pleasure at receiving an old pair of shoes than at +being presented with all the diamonds which are now spread before you." + +The young ladies could not help smiling at this observation, persuaded +as they were that Josephine was not in earnest. But she repeated her +assertions in so serious a manner that they felt the utmost curiosity to +hear the story of this _wonderful pair of shoes_. + +"I repeat it, ladies," said her majesty, "it is strictly true, that the +present which, of all others, has afforded me most pleasure was a pair +of old shoes of the coarsest leather; and you will readily believe it +when you have heard my story. + +"I had set sail from Martinique, with Hortense, on board a ship in which +we received such marked attentions that they are indelibly impressed on +my memory. Being separated from my first husband, my pecuniary resources +were not very flourishing. The expense of my return to France, which +the state of my affairs rendered necessary, had nearly drained me of +every thing, and I found great difficulty in making the purchases which +were indispensably requisite for the voyage. Hortense, who was a smart, +lively child, sang negro songs, and performed negro dances with +admirable accuracy. She was the delight of the sailors, and, in return +for their fondness, she made them her favorite company. I no sooner fell +asleep than she slipped upon deck and rehearsed her various little +exercises, to the renewed delight and admiration of all on board. + +"An old mate was particularly fond of her, and whenever he found a +moment's leisure from his daily occupations, he devoted it to his little +friend, who was also exceedingly attached to him. My daughter's shoes +were soon worn out with her constant dancing and skipping. Knowing as +she did that I had no other pair for her, and fearing lest I should +prevent her going upon deck if I should discover the plight of those she +was fast wearing away, she concealed the trifling accident from my +knowledge. I saw her once returning with bleeding feet, and asked her, +in the utmost alarm, if she had hurt herself; 'No, mamma.' 'But your +feet are bleeding.' 'It really is nothing.' I insisted upon ascertaining +what ailed her, and found that her shoes were all in tatters, and her +flesh dreadfully torn by a nail. + +"We had as yet only performed half the voyage; a long time would +necessarily elapse before I could procure a fresh pair of shoes; I was +mortified at the bare anticipation of the distress my poor Hortense +would feel at being compelled to remain confined in my wretched little +cabin, and of the injury her health might experience from the want of +exercise. At the moment when I was wrapped up in sorrow, and giving free +vent to my tears, our friend the mate made his appearance, and inquired, +with his honest bluntness, the cause of our _whimperings_. Hortense +replied, in a sobbing voice, that she could no longer go upon deck +because she had torn her shoes, and I had no others to give her. + +"'Is that all?' said the sailor. 'I have an old pair in my trunk; let me +go for them. You, madame, will cut them up, and I shall sew them over +again to the best of my power; every thing on board ship shall be turned +to account; this is not the place for being too nice or particular; we +have our most important wants gratified when we have the needful.' + +"He did not wait for our reply, but went in quest of his old shoes, +which he brought to us with an air of exultation, and offered them to +Hortense, who received the gift with every demonstration of delight. + +"We set to work with the greatest alacrity, and my daughter was enabled, +towards the close of the day, to enjoy the pleasure of again amusing the +ship's company. I repeat it, that no present was ever received by me +with more sincere gratitude. I greatly reproach myself for having +neglected to make inquiries after the worthy seaman, who was only known +on board by the name of James. I should have felt a sincere satisfaction +in rendering him some service, since it was afterwards in my power to do +so." + +Josephine had spent three years in Martinique. Consequently, upon her +return to France, Hortense was six years of age. Soon after her arrival +the Reign of Terror commenced. The guillotine was erected, and its knife +was busy beheading those who were suspected of not being in full +sympathy with the reformers whom revolution had brought into power. +Though Viscount Beauharnais had earnestly espoused the popular cause; +though he had been president of the National Assembly, and afterwards +general of the Army of the Rhine, still he was of noble birth, and his +older brother was an aristocrat, and an emigrant. He was consequently +suspected, and arrested. Having conducted him to prison, a committee of +the Convention called at the residence of Josephine to examine the +children, hoping to extort from them some evidence against their father. +Josephine, in a letter to her aunt, thus describes this singular scene: + +"You would hardly believe, dear aunt, that my children have just +undergone a long and minute examination. That wicked old man, the +member of the committee whom I have already mentioned to you, called +upon me, and, affecting to feel uneasy in regard to my husband, and to +converse with me respecting him, opened a conversation with my children. +I acknowledge that I at first fell into the snare. What surprised me, +however, was the sudden affability of the man. But he soon betrayed +himself by the malignity and even bitterness which he displayed when the +children replied in such a manner as to give him no advantage over +their unhappy parents. I soon penetrated his artful intentions. + +"When he found me on my guard, he threw off the mask, and admitted that +he was desired to procure information from my children, which, he said, +might be more relied on, as it would bear the stamp of candor. He then +entered into a formal examination. At that moment I felt an +indescribable emotion; and the conflicting effects of fear, anger, and +indignation alternately agitated me. I was even upon the point of openly +giving vent to my feelings against the hoary revolutionist, when I +reflected that I might, by so doing, materially injure M. de +Beauharnais, against whom that atrocious villain appeared to have vowed +perpetual enmity. I accordingly checked my angry passions. He desired me +to leave him alone with my children; I attempted to resist, but his +ferocious glance compelled me to give way. + +"He confined Hortense in the closet, and began to put questions to her +brother. My daughter's turn came next. As for this child, in whom he +discovered a premature quickness and penetration far above her age, he +kept questioning her for a great length of time. After having sounded +them respecting our common topics of conversation, our opinions, the +visits and letters we were in the habit of receiving, but more +particularly the occurrences they might have witnessed, he came to the +main point--I mean, to the expressions used by Alexander. My children +gave very proper replies; such, in fact, as were suited to their +respective dispositions. And notwithstanding the artfulness of a +mischievous man whose object is to discover guilt, the frankness of my +son and the quick penetration of my daughter disconcerted his low +cunning, and even defeated the object he had in view." + +Viscount Beauharnais, when arrested, was conveyed to the palace of the +Luxembourg, where he was imprisoned with many other captives. To spare +the feelings of the children, the fact of his imprisonment was concealed +from them by Josephine, and they were given to understand that their +father, not being very well, had placed himself under the care of a +celebrated physician, who had recommended him to take up his residence +at the Luxembourg, where there was much vacant space, and consequently +purer air. The imprisoned father was very anxious to see his wife and +children. The authorities consented, allowing the children to go in +first under the care of an attendant, and afterwards their mother. + +Hortense, child as she was, was bewildered by the scene, and her +suspicions were evidently excited. As she came out, she said to her +mother, "I think papa's apartments are very small, and the patients are +very numerous." + +After the children had left, Josephine was introduced. She knew that her +husband's life was in imminent peril. His penitence and grateful love +had produced entire reconciliation, and had won back Josephine's heart. +She was not willing that the children should witness the tender and +affecting interview which, under such circumstances, must take place. + +Beauharnais had but little hope that he should escape the guillotine. As +Josephine, bathed in tears, rushed into his arms, all his fortitude +forsook him. His emotion was so great that his wife, struggling against +her own anguish, used her utmost endeavors to calm and console him. + +In the midst of this heart-rending scene, to their consternation, the +children, by some misunderstanding, were again led into the apartment. +The father and mother struggled to disguise from them the cause of that +emotion which they could not conceal. For a time the children were +silent and bewildered; then Hortense, though with evident misgivings, +attempted to console her parents. The events of her saddened life had +rendered her unusually precocious. Turning to her mother, she begged her +not to give way to so much sorrow, assuring her that she could not think +that her father was dangerously ill. Then addressing Eugene, she said, +in a peculiar tone which her parents felt as a reproach, + +"I do not think, brother, that papa is very sick. At any rate, it is not +such a sickness as doctors can cure." Josephine felt the reproach, and +conscious that it was in some degree deserved, said: + +"What do you mean, my child? Do you think your father and I have +combined to deceive you?" + +"Pardon me, mamma, but I do think so." + +"Oh, sister," exclaimed Eugene, "how can you speak so strangely?" + +"On the contrary," Hortense replied, "it is very plain and natural. +Surely affectionate parents may be allowed to deceive their children +when they wish to spare their feelings." + +Josephine was seated in the lap of her husband. Hortense sprang into +her mother's arms, and encircled the neck of both father and mother in a +loving embrace. Eugene caught the contagion, and by his tears and +affecting caresses added to this domestic scene of love and woe. + +It is the universal testimony that Eugene and Hortense were so lovely in +person and in character that they instantly won the affection of all who +saw them. The father was conscious that he was soon to die. He knew that +all his property would be confiscated. It was probable that Josephine +would also be led to her execution. The guillotine spared neither sex +who had incurred the suspicions of enthroned democracy. Both parents +forgot themselves, in their anxiety for their children. The execution of +Beauharnais would undoubtedly lead to the arrest and execution of +Josephine. The property of the condemned was invariably confiscated. +There was thus danger that the children would be turned in beggary into +the streets. It is difficult to conceive the anguish which must have +rent the hearts of affectionate parents in hours of woe so awful. + +The prisons were crowded with victims. Brief as were the trials, and +rapid as was the execution of the guillotine, there was some +considerable delay before Beauharnais was led before the revolutionary +tribunal. In the mean time Josephine made several calls, with her +children, upon her imprisoned husband. Little Hortense, whose suspicions +were strongly excited, watched every word, and soon became so convinced +that her father was a prisoner that it became impossible for her parents +any longer to conceal the fact. + +"What has papa done," inquired Hortense, "that they will not let him +come home?" + +"He has done nothing wrong," said Josephine, timidly, for she knew not +what spies might be listening. "He is only accused of being unfriendly +to the Government." + +Holding the hand of Eugene, Hortense exclaimed impetuously, "Oh, we will +punish your accusers as soon as we are strong enough." + +"Be silent, my child," said her father anxiously. "If you are overheard +I am lost. Both your mother and I may be made to suffer for any +imprudent remark which you may make." + +"But, papa, have you not often told us," said Eugene, "that it was +proper to resist an act of oppression?" + +"Yes," said the father proudly, though conscious that his words might be +reported and misrepresented to his merciless judges. "And I repeat it. +Our conduct, however, must be guided by rules of prudence; and whoever +attempts to defeat the views of tyranny must beware of awaking it from +its slumbers." + +No philosophy has yet been able to explain the delicate mechanism of the +human soul; its fleeting and varying emotions of joy and sadness, its +gleams of hope and shades of despair come and go, controlled by +influences which entirely elude human scrutiny. In these days of gloom, +rays of hope occasionally penetrated the cell of Beauharnais. + +At last the hour of dread came. Beauharnais was led before the terrible +tribunal. He was falsely accused of having promoted the surrender of +Mentz to the Allies. He was doomed to death, and was sent to the +Conciergerie, whence he was to be conducted to his execution. This was +in July, 1794. Beauharnais was then thirty-four years of age. + +[Illustration: JOSEPHINE TAKING LEAVE OF HER CHILDREN.] + +It seems that the conversation which we have reported as having taken +place in the cell of Beauharnais had been overheard by listening ears, +and reported to the committee as a conspiracy for the overthrow of +the Republic. The arrest of Josephine was ordered. A warning letter from +some friend reached her a few moments before the officers arrived, +urging her to fly. It was an early hour in the morning. There was little +sleep for Josephine amidst those scenes of terror, and she was watching +by the side of her slumbering children. What could she do? Should she +abandon her children, and seek to save her own life by flight? A +mother's love rendered that impossible. Should she take them with her in +her flight? That would render her arrest certain; and the fact of her +attempting to escape would be urged as evidence of her guilt. + +While distracted with these thoughts, the clatter of armed men was heard +at her door. With anguish which none but a mother can comprehend, she +bent over her children and imprinted, as she supposed, a last kiss upon +their cheeks. The affectionate little Hortense, though asleep, was +evidently agitated by troubled dreams. As she felt the imprint of her +mother's lips, she threw her arms around her neck and exclaimed, "Come +to bed, dear mamma; they shall not take you away to-night. I have prayed +to God for you." + +Josephine, to avoid waking the children, stepped softly from the room, +closed the door, and entered her parlor. Here she was rudely seized by +the soldiers, who regarded her as a hated aristocrat. They took +possession of the house and all its furniture in the name of the +Republic, left the children to suffer or to die as fate might decide, +and dragged the mother to imprisonment in the Convent of the Carmelites. + +When the children awoke in the morning, they found themselves alone and +friendless in the heart of Paris. The wonderful events of their lives +thus far had rendered them both unusually precocious. Eugene in +particular seemed to be endowed with all the thoughtfulness and wisdom +of a full-grown man. After a few moments of anguish and tears, in view +of their dreadful situation, they sat down to deliberate upon the course +to be pursued. Hortense suggested that they should repair to the +Luxembourg and seek the protection of their father in his imprisonment +there. But Eugene, apprehensive that such a step might in some way +compromise the safety of their father, recalled to mind that they had a +great-aunt, far advanced in life, who was residing at Versailles in deep +retirement. He proposed that they should seek refuge with her. Finding +a former domestic of the family, she kindly led them to their aunt, +where the desolate children were tenderly received. + +Beauharnais was now in the Conciergerie, doomed to die, and awaiting his +execution. Josephine was in the prison of the Carmelites, expecting +hourly to be led to the tribunal to receive also her doom of death. + +Hortense, an affectionate child, ardent and unreflecting in her +impatience to see her mother, one morning left her aunt's house at +Fontainebleau, to which place her aunt had removed, and in a market-cart +travelled thirty miles to Paris. Here the energetic child, impelled by +grief and love, succeeded in finding her mother's maid, Victorine. It +was however impossible for them to obtain access to the prison, and +Hortense the next day returned to Fontainebleau. Josephine, upon being +informed of this imprudent act, to which affection had impelled her +child, wrote to her the following letter: + +"I should be entirely satisfied with the good heart of my Hortense, were +I not displeased with her bad head. How is it, my daughter, that, +without permission from your aunt, you have come to Paris? 'But it was +to see me, you will say.' You ought to be aware that no one can see me +without an order, to obtain which requires both means and precautions. +And besides, you got upon M. Dorset's cart, at the risk of incommoding +him, and retarding the conveyance of his merchandise. In all this you +have been very inconsiderate. My child, observe: it is not sufficient to +do good, you must also do good properly. At your age, the first of all +virtues is confidence and docility towards your relations. I am +therefore obliged to tell you that I prefer your tranquil attachment to +your misplaced warmth. This, however, does not prevent me from embracing +you, but less tenderly than I shall do when I learn that you have +returned to your aunt." + +On the evening of the 24th of July M. de Beauharnais received the +announcement in his cell, that with the dawn of the next morning he was +to be led to the guillotine. Under these circumstances he wrote the +following farewell letter to his wife: + +"I have yet a few minutes to devote to affection, tears, and regret, and +then I must wholly give myself up to the glory of my fate and to +thoughts of immortality. When you receive this letter, my dear +Josephine, your husband will have ceased to live, and will be tasting +true existence in the bosom of his Creator. Do not weep for him. The +wicked and senseless beings who survive him are more worthy of your +tears, for they are doing mischief which they can never repair. But let +us not cloud the present moments by any thoughts of their guilt. I wish, +on the contrary, to brighten these hours by the reflection that I have +enjoyed the affection of a lovely woman, and that our union would have +been an uninterrupted course of happiness, but for errors which I was +too late to acknowledge and atone for. This thought wrings tears from my +eyes, though your generous heart pardons me. But this is no time to +revive the recollection of my errors and of your wrongs. What thanks I +owe to Providence, who will reward you. + +"That Providence disposes of me before my time. This is another +blessing, for which I am grateful. Can a virtuous man live happy when he +sees the whole world a prey to the wicked? I should rejoice in being +taken away, were it not for the thought of leaving those I love behind +me. But if the thoughts of the dying are presentiments, something in my +heart tells me that these horrible butcheries are drawing to a close; +that the executioners will, in their turn, become victims; that the +arts and sciences will again flourish in France; that wise and moderate +laws will take the place of cruel sacrifices, and that you will at +length enjoy the happiness which you have deserved. Our children will +discharge the debt for their father. + + * * * * * + +"I resume these incoherent and almost illegible lines, which were +interrupted by the entrance of my jailer. I have submitted to a cruel +ceremony, which, under any other circumstances, I would have resisted at +the sacrifice of my life. Yet why should we rebel against necessity? +Reason tells us to make the best of it we can. My hair has been cut off. +I had some idea of buying a part of it, in order to leave to my wife and +children an unequivocal pledge of my last recollection of them. Alas! my +heart breaks at the very thought, and my tears bedew the paper on which +I am writing. Adieu, all that I love. Think of me, and do not forget +that to die the victim of tyrants and the martyrs of liberty sheds +lustre on the scaffold." + +Josephine did not receive this letter until after her husband's +execution. The next afternoon one of the daily papers was brought into +the prison of the Carmelites. Josephine anxiously ran her eye over the +record of the executions, and found the name of her husband in the fatal +list. She fell senseless to the floor in a long-continued swoon. When +consciousness returned, she exclaimed at first, in the delirium of her +anguish, "O God, let me die! let me die! There is no peace for me but in +the grave." And then again a mother's love, as she thought of her orphan +children, led her to cling to the misery of existence for their sake. +Soon, however, the unpitying agents of the revolutionary tribunal came +to her with the announcement that in two days she was to be led to the +Conciergerie, and thence to her execution. + +In the following letter Josephine informed her children of the death of +their father, and of her own approaching execution. It is a letter +highly characteristic of this wonderful woman in the attempt, by the +assumption of calmness, to avoid as far as possible lacerating the +feelings of Eugene and Hortense. + +"The hand which will deliver this to you is faithful and sure. You will +receive it from a friend who knows and has shared my sorrows. I know not +by what accident she has hitherto been spared. I call this accident +fortunate; she regards it as a calamity. 'Is it not disgraceful to +live,' said she yesterday, 'when all who are good have the honor of +dying?' May Heaven, as the reward of her courage, refuse her the fatal +honor she desires. + +"As to me, I am qualified for that honor, and I am preparing myself for +receiving it. Why has disease spared me so long? But I must not murmur. +As a wife, I ought to follow the fate of my husband, and can there now +be any fate more glorious than to ascend the scaffold? It is a patent of +immortality, purchased by a prompt and pleasing death. + +"My children, your father is dead, and your mother is about to follow +him. But as before that final stroke the assassins leave me a few +moments to myself, I wish to employ them in writing to you. Socrates, +when condemned, philosophized with his disciples. A mother, on the point +of undergoing a similar fate, may discourse with her children. + +"My last sigh will be for you, and I wish to make my last words a +lasting lesson. Time was, when I gave you lessons in a more pleasing +way. But the present will not be the less useful, that it is given at so +serious a moment. I have the weakness to water it with my tears. I +shall soon have the courage to seal it with my blood. + +"Hitherto it was impossible to be happier than I have been. While to my +union with your father I owed my felicity, I may venture to think and to +say that to my character I was indebted for that union. I found in my +heart the means of winning the affection of my husband's relations. +Patience and gentleness always succeed in gaining the good-will of +others. You also, my dear children, possess natural advantages which +cost little, and are of great value. But you must learn how to employ +them, and that is what I still feel a pleasure in teaching you by my +example. + + * * * * * + +"Here I must record the gratitude I owe to my excellent brother-in-law, +who has, under various circumstances, given me proofs of the most +sincere friendship, though he was of quite a different opinion from your +father, who embraced the new ideas with all the enthusiasm of a lively +imagination. He fancied liberty was to be secured by obtaining +concessions from the king, whom he venerated. But all was lost, and +nothing gained but anarchy. Who will arrest the torrent? O God! unless +thy powerful hand control and restrain it, we are undone. + +"For my part, my children, I am about to die, as your father died, a +victim of the fury he always opposed, but to which he fell a sacrifice. +I leave life without hatred of France and its assassins, whom I despise. +But I am penetrated with sorrow for the misfortunes of my country. Honor +my memory in sharing my sentiments. I leave for your inheritance the +glory of your father and the name of your mother, whom some who have +been unfortunate will bear in remembrance." + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +THE MARRIAGE OF JOSEPHINE AND GENERAL BONAPARTE. + +1794-1799 + +Release of Josephine.--Apprenticeship of Eugene and Hortense.--Napoleon +Bonaparte.--Josephine and Napoleon.--Josephine to her aunt.--Marriage of +Josephine.--Letter to Eugene.--Rising greatness of Napoleon.--Expedition +to Egypt.--Letter to Bonaparte.--Madame Campan.--School-girl +days.--Letter from Josephine.--Napoleon's return from +Egypt.--Josephine's anguish.--Jealousy of Napoleon.--The meeting in +Paris.--The cruel repulse.--The reconciliation.--Napoleon First +Consul.--The Luxembourg. + + +The day before Josephine was to be led to her execution there was a new +revolution in Paris. Robespierre and the party then in power were +overthrown. From condemning others, they were condemned themselves. They +had sent hundreds, in the cart of the executioner, to the guillotine. +Now it was their turn to take that fatal ride, to ascend the steps of +the scaffold, and to have their own heads severed by the keen edge of +the knife. Those whom they had imprisoned were set at liberty. + +As Josephine emerged from the gloom of her prison into the streets of +Paris, she found herself a widow, homeless, almost friendless, and in +the extreme of penury. But for her children, life would have been a +burden from which she would have been glad to be relieved by the +executioner's axe. The storms of revolution had dispersed all her +friends, and terror reigned in Paris. Her children were living upon the +charity of others. It was necessary to conceal their birth as the +children of a noble, for the brutal threat of Marat ever rang in her +ears, "We must exterminate all the whelps of aristocracy." + +Hoping to conceal the illustrious lineage of Eugene and Hortense, and +probably also impelled by the necessities of poverty, Josephine +apprenticed her son to a house carpenter, and her daughter was placed, +with other girls of more lowly birth, in the shop of a milliner. But +Josephine's beauty of person, grace of manners, and culture of mind +could not leave her long in obscurity. Every one who met her was charmed +with her unaffected loveliness. New friends were created, among them +some who were in power. Through their interposition, a portion of her +husband's confiscated estates was restored to her. She was thus provided +with means of a frugal support for herself and her children. Engaging +humble apartments, she devoted herself entirely to their education. Both +of the children were richly endowed; inheriting from their mother and +their father talents, personal loveliness, and an instinctive power of +attraction. Thus there came a brief lull in those dreadful storms of +life by which Josephine had been so long buffeted. + +But suddenly, like the transformations of the kaleidoscope, there came +another and a marvellous change. All are familiar with the circumstances +of her marriage to the young and rising general, Napoleon Bonaparte. +This remarkable young man, enjoying the renown of having captured +Toulon, and of having quelled a very formidable insurrection in the +streets of Paris, was ordered by the then existing Government to disarm +the whole Parisian population, that there might be no further attempt at +insurrection. The officers who were sent, in performance of this duty, +from house to house, took from Josephine the sword of her husband, which +she had preserved as a sacred relic. The next day Eugene repaired to the +head-quarters of General Bonaparte to implore that the sword of his +father might be restored to him. The young general was so much impressed +with the grace and beauty of the boy, and with his artless and touching +eloquence, that he made many inquiries respecting his parentage, treated +him with marked tenderness, and promptly restored the sword. Josephine +was so grateful for the kindness of General Bonaparte to Eugene, that +the next day she drove to his quarters to express a mother's thanks. +General Bonaparte was even more deeply impressed with the grace and +loveliness of the mother than he had been with the child. He sought her +acquaintance; this led to intimacy, to love, and to the proffer of +marriage. + +In the following letter to a friend Josephine expressed her views in +reference to her marriage with General Bonaparte: + +"I am urged, my dear, to marry again by the advice of all my friends, +and I may almost say, by the commands of my aunt and the prayers of my +children. Why are you not here to help me by your advice, and to tell me +whether I ought or not to consent to a union which certainly seems +calculated to relieve me from the discomforts of my present situation? +Your friendship would render you clear-sighted to my interests, and a +word from you would suffice to bring me to a decision. + +"Among my visitors you have seen General Bonaparte. He is the man who +wishes to become a father to the orphans of Alexander de Beauharnais, +and husband to his widow. + +"'Do you love him?' is naturally your first question. My answer is +perhaps '_no_.' 'Do you dislike him?' 'No,' again. But the sentiments I +entertain towards him are of that lukewarm kind which true devotees +think worst of all, in matters of religion. Now love being a sort of +religion, my feelings ought to be very different from what they really +are. This is the point on which I want your advice, which would fix the +wavering of my irresolute disposition. To come to a decision has always +been too much for my Creole inertness, and I find it easier to obey the +wishes of others. + +"I admire the general's courage, the extent of his information on every +subject on which he converses; his shrewd intelligence, which enables +him to understand the thoughts of others before they are expressed. But +I confess that I am somewhat fearful of that control which he seems +anxious to exercise over all about him. There is something in his +scrutinizing glance that can not be described. It awes even our +Directors. Therefore it may well be supposed to intimidate a woman. He +talks of his passion for me with a degree of earnestness which renders +it impossible to doubt his sincerity. Yet this very circumstance, which +you would suppose likely to please me, is precisely that which has +withheld me from giving the consent which I have often been upon the +point of uttering. + +"My spring of life is past. Can I then hope to preserve for any length +of time that ardor of affection which in the general amounts almost to +madness? If his love should cool, as it certainly will after our +marriage, will he not reproach me for having prevented him from forming +a more advantageous connection? What, then, shall I say? What shall I +do? I may shut myself up and weep. Fine consolation truly, methinks I +hear you say. But unavailing as I know it is, weeping is, I assure you, +my only consolation whenever my poor heart receives a wound. Write to me +quickly, and pray scold me if you think me wrong. You know every thing +is welcome that comes from you. + +"Barras[B] assures me that if I marry the general, he will get him +appointed commander-in-chief of the Army of Italy. This favor, though +not yet granted, occasions some murmuring among Bonaparte's +brother-officers. When speaking to me on the subject yesterday, General +Bonaparte said: + +[Footnote B: Barras, a leading member of the Directory, and a strong +friend of General Bonaparte.] + +"'Do they think that I can not get forward without their patronage? One +day or other they will all be too happy if I grant them mine. I have a +good sword by my side, which will carry me on.' + +"What do you think of this self-confidence? Does it not savor of +excessive vanity? A general of brigade to talk of patronizing the chiefs +of Government? It is very ridiculous. Yet I know not how it happens, his +ambitious spirit sometimes wins upon me so far that I am almost tempted +to believe in the practicability of any project he takes into his head; +and who can foresee what he may attempt? + +"Madame Tallien desires me to present her love to you. She is still fair +and good as ever. She employs her immense influence only for the benefit +of the unfortunate. And when she performs a favor, she appears as +pleased and satisfied as though she herself were the obliged party. Her +friendship for me is most affectionate and sincere. And of my regard for +her I need only say that it is equal to that which I entertain for you. + +"Hortense grows more and more interesting every day. Her pretty figure +is fully developed, and, if I were so inclined, I should have ample +reason to rail at Time, who confers charms on the daughter at the +expense of the mother. But truly I have other things to think of. I try +to banish gloomy thoughts, and look forward to a more propitious future, +for we shall soon meet, never to part again. + +"But for this marriage, which harasses and unsettles me, I could be +cheerful in spite of every thing. Were it once over, happen what might, +I could resign myself to my fate. I am inured to suffering, and, if I be +destined to taste fresh sorrow, I can support it, provided my children, +my aunt, and you remain to comfort me. + +"You know we have agreed to dispense with all formal terminations to our +letters. So adieu, my friend, + + "JOSEPHINE." + +In March, 1796, Josephine became the bride of Napoleon Bonaparte, then +the most promising young general in France, and destined to become, in +achievements and renown, the foremost man in all the world. Eugene was +immediately taken into the service of his stepfather. + +In the following letter to Eugene we have a pleasing revelation of the +character of Hortense at that time, and of the affectionate relations +existing between the mother and her children: + +"I learn with pleasure, my dear Eugene, that your conduct is worthy of +the name you bear, and of the protector under whom it is so easy to +learn to become a great captain. Bonaparte has written to me that you +are every thing that he can wish. As he is no flatterer, my heart is +proud to read your eulogy sketched by a hand which is usually far from +being lavish in praise. You well know that I never doubted your +capability to undertake great things, or the brilliant courage which you +inherit. But you, alas! know how much I dislike your removal from me, +fearing that your natural impetuosity might carry you too far, and that +it might prevent you from submitting to the numerous petty details of +discipline which must be very disagreeable when the rank is only +subaltern. + +"Judge, then, of my joy on learning that you remember my advice, and +that you are as obedient to your superiors in command as you are kind +and humane to those beneath you. This conduct, my child, makes me quite +happy, and these words, I know, will reward you more than all the favors +you can receive. Read them often, and repeat to yourself that your +mother, though far from you, complains not of her lot, since she knows +that yours will be brilliant, and will deserve so to be. + +"Your sister shares all my feelings, and will tell you so herself. But +that of which I am sure she will not speak, and which is therefore my +duty to tell, is her attention to me and her aunt. Love her, my son, for +to me she brings consolation, and she overflows with affection for you. +She prosecutes her studies with uncommon success, but music, I think, +will be the art she will carry to the highest perfection. With her sweet +voice, which is now well cultivated, she sings romances in a manner that +would surprise you. I have just bought her a new piano from the best +maker, Erard, which redoubles her passion for that charming art which +you prefer to every other. That perhaps accounts for your sister +applying to it with so much assiduity. + +"Were you here, you would be telling me a thousand times a day to beware +of the men who pay particular attention to Hortense. Some there are who +do so whom you do not like, and whom you seem to fear she may prefer. +Set your mind at rest. She is a bit of a coquette, is pleased with her +success, and torments her victims, but her heart is free. I am the +confidante of all her thoughts and feelings, which have hitherto been +just what they ought to be. She now knows that when she thinks of +marrying, it is not my consent alone she has to seek, and that my will +is subordinate to that of the man to whom we owe every thing. The +knowledge of this fact must prevent her from fixing her choice in a way +that may not meet the approval of Bonaparte, and the latter will not +give your sister in marriage to any one to whom you can object." + +There was now an end to poverty and obscurity. The rise of Napoleon was +so brilliant and rapid that Josephine was speedily placed at the head of +society in Paris, and vast crowds were eager to do her homage. Never +before did man move with strides so rapid. The lapse of a few months +transformed her from almost a homeless, friendless, impoverished widow, +to be the bride of one whose advancing greatness seemed to outvie the +wildest creations of fiction. The unsurpassed splendor of Napoleon's +achievements crowded the saloons of Josephine with statesmen, +philosophers, generals, and all who ever hasten to the shrine of rising +greatness. + +After the campaign of Italy, which gave Napoleon not only a French but a +European reputation for military genius and diplomatic skill, he took +command of the Army of Egypt. Josephine accompanied him to Toulon. +Standing upon a balcony, she with tearful eyes watched the receding +fleet which bore her husband to that far-distant land, until it +disappeared beneath the horizon of the blue Mediterranean. Eugene +accompanied his father. Hortense remained with her mother, who took up +her residence most of the time during her husband's absence at +Plombičres, a celebrated watering-place. + +Josephine, anxious in every possible way to promote the popularity of +her absent husband, and thus to secure his advancement, received with +cordiality all who came to her with their congratulations. She was +endowed with marvellous power of pleasing. Every one who saw her was +charmed with her. Hortense was bewitchingly beautiful and attractive. + +Josephine had ample means to indulge her taste in entertainments, and +was qualified eminently to shine in such scenes. The consequence was +that her saloons were the constant resort of rank and wealth and +fashion. Some enemy wrote to Napoleon, and roused his jealousy to a very +high degree, by representing Josephine as forgetting her husband, +immersed in pleasure, and coquetting with all the world. + +Napoleon was exceedingly disturbed, and wrote Josephine a very severe +letter. The following extract from her reply fully explains the nature +of this momentary estrangement: + +"Is it possible, general, that the letter I have just received comes +from you? I can scarcely credit it when I compare that letter with +others to which your love imparts so many charms. My eyes, indeed, would +persuade me that your hands traced these lines, but my heart refuses to +believe that a letter from you could ever have caused the mortal anguish +I experience on perusing these expressions of your displeasure, which +afflict me the more when I consider how much pain they must have caused +you. + +"I know not what I have done to provoke some malignant enemy to destroy +my peace by disturbing yours. But certainly a powerful motive must +influence some one in continually renewing calumnies against me, and +giving them a sufficient appearance of probability to impose on the man +who has hitherto judged me worthy of his affection and confidence. These +two sentiments are necessary to my happiness. And if they are to be so +soon withdrawn from me, I can only regret that I was ever blest in +possessing them or knowing you. + +"On my first acquaintance with you, the affliction with which I was +overwhelmed led me to believe that my heart must ever remain a stranger +to any sentiment resembling love. The sanguinary scenes of which I had +been a witness and a victim constantly haunted my thoughts. I therefore +apprehended no danger to myself from the frequent enjoyment of your +society. Still less did I imagine that I could for a single moment fix +your choice. + +"I, like every one else, admired your talents and acquirements. And +better than any one else I foresaw your future glory. But still I loved +you only for the services you rendered to my country. Why did you seek +to convert admiration into a more tender sentiment, by availing yourself +of all those powers of pleasing with which you are so eminently gifted, +since, so shortly after having united your destiny with mine, you +regret the felicity you have conferred upon me? + +"Do you think I can ever forget the love with which you once cherished +me? Can I ever become indifferent to the man who has blest me with the +most enthusiastic and ardent passion? Can I ever efface from my memory +your paternal affection for Hortense, the advice and example you have +given Eugene? If all this appears impossible, how can you, for a moment, +suspect me of bestowing a thought upon any but yourself? + +"Instead of listening to traducers, who, for reasons which I can not +explain, seek to disturb our happiness, why do you not silence them by +enumerating the benefits you have bestowed on a woman whose heart could +never be reached with ingratitude? The knowledge of what you have done +for my children would check the malignity of these calumniators; for +they would then see that the strongest link of my attachment for you +depends on my character as a mother. Your subsequent conduct, which has +claimed the admiration of all Europe, could have no other effect than to +make me adore the husband who gave me his hand when I was poor and +unfortunate. Every step you take adds to the glory of the name I bear. +Yet this is the moment which has been selected for persuading you that I +no longer love you! Surely nothing can be more wicked and absurd than +the conduct of those who are about you, and are jealous of your marked +superiority. + +"Yes, I still love you, and no less tenderly than ever. Those who allege +the contrary know that they speak falsely. To those very persons I have +frequently written to inquire about you, and to recommend them to +console you, by their friendship, for the absence of her who is your +best and truest friend. + +"I acknowledge that I see a great deal of company; for every one is +eager to compliment me on your success, and I confess that I have not +resolution to close my door against those who speak of you. I also +confess that a great portion of my visitors are gentlemen. Men +understand your bold projects better than women; and they speak with +enthusiasm of your glorious achievements, while my female friends only +complain of you for having carried away their husbands, brothers, or +fathers. + +"I take no pleasure in their society if they do not praise you. Yet +there are some among them whose hearts and understandings claim my +highest regard, because they entertain sincere friendship for you. In +this number I may mention ladies Arquillon, Tallien, and my aunt. They +are almost constantly with me; and they can tell you, ungrateful as you +are, whether _I have been coquetting with every body_. These are your +words. And they would be hateful to me were I not certain that you had +disavowed them, and are sorry for having written them. + +"I sometimes receive honors here which cause me no small degree of +embarrassment. I am not accustomed to this sort of homage. And I see +that it is displeasing to our authorities, who are always suspicious and +fearful of losing their newly-gotten power. If they are envious now, +what will they be when you return crowned with fresh laurels? Heaven +knows to what lengths their malignity will then carry them. But you will +be here, and then nothing can vex me. + +"But I will say no more of them, nor of your suspicions, which I do not +refute one by one, because they are all equally devoid of probability. +And to make amends for the unpleasant commencement of this letter, I +will tell you something which I know will please you. + +"Hortense, in her efforts to console me, endeavors as far as possible to +conceal her anxiety for you and her brother. And she exerts all her +ingenuity to banish that melancholy, the existence of which you doubt, +but which I assure you never forsakes me. If by her lively conversation +and interesting talents she sometimes succeeds in drawing a smile, she +joyfully exclaims, 'Dear mamma, that will be known at Cairo.' The fatal +word immediately calls to my mind the distance which separates me from +you and my son, and restores the melancholy which it was intended to +divert. I am obliged to make great efforts to conceal my grief from my +daughter, who, by a word or a look, transports me to the very place +which she would wish to banish from my thoughts. + +"Hortense's figure is daily becoming more and more graceful. She dresses +with great taste; and though not quite so handsome as your sisters, she +may certainly be thought agreeable when even they are present. + +"Heaven knows when or where you may receive this letter. May it restore +you to that confidence which you ought never to have lost, and convince +you, more than ever, that, long as I live, I shall love you as dearly as +I did on the day of our separation. Adieu. Believe me, love me, and +receive a thousand kisses. + + "JOSEPHINE." + +There was at that time a very celebrated female school at St. Germain, +under the care of Madame Campan. This illustrious lady was familiar with +all the etiquette of the court, and was also endowed with a superior +mind highly cultivated. At the early age of fifteen she had been +appointed reader to the daughter of Louis XV. Maria Antoinette took a +strong fancy to her, and made her a friend and companion. The crumbling +of the throne of the Bourbons and the dispersion of the court left +Madame Campan without a home, and caused what the world would call her +ruin. + +But in the view of true intelligence this reverse of fortune only +elevated her to a far higher position of responsibility, usefulness, and +power. Impelled by necessity, she opened a boarding-school for young +ladies at St. Germain. The school soon acquired celebrity. Almost every +illustrious family in France sought to place their daughters under her +care. She thus educated very many young ladies who subsequently occupied +very important positions in society as the wives and mothers of +distinguished men. Some of her pupils attained to royalty. Thus the +boarding-school of Madame Campan became a great power in France. + +Hortense was sent to this school with Napoleon's sister Caroline, who +subsequently became Queen of Naples, and with Stephanie Beauharnais, to +whom we shall have occasion hereafter to refer as Duchess of Baden. +Stephanie was a cousin of Hortense, being a daughter of her father's +brother, the Marquis de Beauharnais. + +In this school Hortense formed many very strong attachments. Her most +intimate friend, however, whom she loved with affection which never +waned, was a niece of Madame Campan, by the name of Adčle Auguié, +afterwards Madame de Broc, whose sad fate, hereafter to be described, +was one of the heaviest blows which fell upon Hortense. It would seem +that Hortense was not at all injured by the flattery lavished upon her +in consequence of the renown of her father. She retained, unchanged, all +her native simplicity of character, which she had inherited from her +mother, and which she ever saw illustrated in her mother's words and +actions. Treating the humblest with the same kindness as the most +exalted, she won all hearts, and made herself the friend of every one in +the school. + +But her cousin Stephanie was a very different character. Her father, the +Marquis, had fled from France an emigrant. He was an aristocrat by +birth, and in all his cherished sentiments. In his flight with the +nobles, from the terrors of the revolution, he had left his daughter +behind, as the protégée of Josephine. Inheriting a haughty disposition, +and elated by the grandeur which her uncle was attaining, she assumed +consequential airs which rendered her disagreeable to many of her +companions. The eagle eye of Josephine detected these faults in the +character of her niece. As Stephanie returned to school from one of her +vacations, Josephine sent by her the following letter to Madame Campan: + +"In returning to you my niece, my dear Madame Campan, I send you both +thanks and reproof:--thanks for the brilliant education you have given +her, and reproof for the faults which your acuteness must have noticed, +but which your indulgence has passed over. She is good-tempered, but +cold; well-informed, but disdainful; lively, but deficient in judgment. +She pleases no one, and it gives her no pain. She fancies the renown of +her uncle and the gallantry of her father are every thing. Teach her, +but teach her plainly, without mincing, that in reality they are +nothing. + +"We live in an age when every one is the child of his own deeds. And if +they who fill the highest ranks of public service enjoy any superior +advantage or privilege, it is the opportunity to be more useful and more +beloved. It is thus alone that good fortune becomes pardonable in the +eyes of the envious. This is what I would have you repeat to her +constantly. I wish her to treat all her companions as her equals. Many +of them are better, or at least quite as deserving as she is herself, +and their only inferiority is in not having had relations equally +skillful or equally fortunate. + + "JOSEPHINE BONAPARTE." + +On the 8th of October, 1799, Napoleon landed at Fréjus, on his return +from Egypt. His mind was still very much disturbed with the reports +which had reached him respecting Josephine. Fréjus was six hundred miles +from Paris--a long journey, when railroads were unknown. The +intelligence of his arrival was promptly communicated to the metropolis +by telegraph. Josephine received the news at midnight. Without an hour's +delay she entered her carriage with Hortense, taking as a protector +Napoleon's younger brother Louis, who subsequently married Hortense, and +set out to meet her husband. Almost at the same hour Napoleon left +Fréjus for Paris. + +When Josephine reached Lyons, a distance of two hundred and forty-two +miles from Paris, she learned, to her consternation, that Napoleon had +left the city several hours before her arrival, and that they had passed +each other by different roads. Her anguish was dreadful. For many months +she had not received a line from her husband, as all communication had +been intercepted by the British cruisers. She knew that her enemies +would be busy in poisoning the mind of her husband against her. She had +traversed the weary leagues of her journey without a moment's +intermission, and now, faint, exhausted, and despairing, she was to +retrace her steps, to reach Paris only many hours after Napoleon would +have arrived there. Probably in all France there was not then a more +unhappy woman than Josephine. + +The mystery of human love and jealousy no philosophy can explain. Secret +wretchedness was gnawing at the heart of Napoleon. He loved Josephine +with intensest passion, and all the pride of his nature was roused by +the conviction that she had trifled with him. With these conflicting +emotions rending his soul, he entered Paris and drove to his dwelling. +Josephine was not there. Even Josephine had bitter enemies, as all who +are in power ever must have. These enemies took advantage of her absence +to fan the flames of that jealousy which Napoleon could not conceal. It +was represented to him that Josephine had fled from her home, afraid to +meet the anger of her injured husband. As he paced the floor in anguish, +which led him to forget all his achievements in the past and all his +hopes for the future, an enemy maliciously remarked, + +"Josephine will soon appear before you with all her arts of fascination. +She will explain matters, you will forgive all, and tranquillity will be +restored." + +Napoleon, striding nervously up and down the floor, replied with pallid +cheek and trembling lip, + +"Never! never! Were I not sure of my resolution, I would tear out this +heart and cast it into the fire." + +Eugene had returned with Napoleon. He loved his mother to adoration. +Anxiously he sat at the window watching, hour after hour, for her +arrival. At midnight on the 19th the rattle of her carriage-wheels was +heard, as she entered the court-yard of their dwelling in the Rue +Chantereine. Eugene rushed to his mother's arms. Napoleon had ever been +the most courteous of husbands. Whenever Josephine returned, even from +an ordinary morning drive, he would leave any engagements to greet her +as she alighted from her carriage. But now, after an absence of eighteen +months, he remained sternly in his chamber, the victim of almost +unearthly misery. + +In a state of terrible agitation, with limbs tottering and heart +throbbing, Josephine, assisted by Eugene and accompanied by Hortense, +ascended the stairs to the parlor where she had so often received the +caresses of her husband. She opened the door. Napoleon stood before her, +pale, motionless as a marble statue. Without one kind word of greeting +he said sternly, in words which pierced her heart, + +"Madame, it is my wish that you retire immediately to Malmaison." + +The meek and loving Josephine uttered not a word. She would have fallen +senseless to the floor, had she not been caught in the arms of her son. +It was midnight. For a week she had lived in her carriage almost without +sleep. She was in a state of utter exhaustion, both of body and of mind. +It was twelve miles to Malmaison. Napoleon had no idea that she would +leave the house until the morning. Much to his surprise, he soon heard +the carriage in the yard, and Josephine, accompanied by Eugene and +Hortense, descending the stairs. The naturally kind heart of Napoleon +could not assent to such cruelty. Immediately going down into the yard, +though his pride would not permit him to speak to Josephine, he +addressed Eugene, and requested them all to return for refreshment and +repose. + +In silent submission, Eugene and Hortense conducted their mother to her +apartment, where she threw herself upon her couch in abject misery. In +equally sleepless woe, Napoleon retired to his cabinet. Two days of +wretchedness passed away. On the third, the love for Josephine, which +still reigned in the heart of Napoleon, so far triumphed that he +entered her apartment. Josephine was seated at a toilette-table, with +her head bowed, and her eyes buried in her handkerchief. The table was +covered with the letters which she had received from Napoleon, and which +she had evidently been perusing. Hortense, the victim of grief and +despair, was standing in the alcove of a window. + +[Illustration: THE RECONCILIATION.] + +Apparently Josephine did not hear the approaching footsteps of her +husband. He advanced softly to her chair, placed his hand upon it, and +said, in tones almost of wonted kindness, "Josephine." She started at +the sound of that well-known and dearly-loved voice, and turning towards +him her swollen and flooded eyes, responded, "My dear." The words of +tenderness, the loving voice, brought back with resistless rush the +memory of the past. Napoleon was vanquished. He extended his hand to +Josephine. She rose, threw her arms around his neck, rested her +throbbing, aching head upon his bosom, and wept in convulsions of +anguish. A long explanation ensued. Napoleon again pressed Josephine to +his loving heart, satisfied, perfectly satisfied that he had deeply +wronged her; that she had been the victim of base traducers. The +reconciliation was perfect. + +Soon after this Napoleon overthrew the Directory, and established the +Consulate. This was on the ninth of November, 1799, usually called 18th +Brumaire. Napoleon was thirty years of age, and was now First Consul of +France. After the wonderful achievements of this day of peril, during +which Napoleon had not been able to send a single line to his wife, at +four o'clock in the morning he alighted from his carriage at the door of +his dwelling at the Rue Chantereine. Josephine, in a state of great +anxiety, was watching at the window for his approach. She sprang to meet +him. Napoleon encircled her in his arms, and briefly recapitulated the +memorable scenes of the day. He assured her that since he had taken the +oath of office, he had not allowed himself to speak to a single +individual, for he wished the beloved voice of his Josephine might be +the first to congratulate him upon his virtual accession to the Empire +of France. Throwing himself upon a couch for a few moments of repose, he +exclaimed gayly, "Good-night, my Josephine. To-morrow we sleep in the +palace of the Luxembourg." + +This renowned palace, with its vast saloons, its galleries of art, its +garden, is one of the most attractive of residences. Napoleon was now +virtually the monarch of France. Josephine was a queen, Eugene and +Hortense prince and princess. Strange must have been the emotions of +Josephine and her children as, encompassed with regal splendor, they +took up their residence in the palace. But a few years before, +Josephine, in poverty, friendlessness, and intensest anguish of heart, +had led her children by the hand through those halls to visit her +imprisoned husband. From one of those apartments the husband and father +had been led to his trial, and to the scaffold, and now this mother +enters this palace virtually a queen, and her children have opening +before them the very highest positions of earthly wealth and honor. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +HORTENSE AND DUROC. + +1799-1804 + +Calumnies.--Testimony of the Berkeley men.--Remarks of Napoleon at St. +Helena.--The voice of slander.--Testimony of the Duchess of +Abrantes.--Portrait of Hortense.--Testimony of Bourrienne.--Napoleon at +the Tuileries.--Beauty of Josephine.--Malmaison.--Remarkable testimony +of Napoleon.--The infernal machine.--The royalist conspiracy.--Letter +from Josephine.--Michel Duroc.--General Duroc at Bautzen.--Death of +Duroc.--Grief of Napoleon.--Affecting scene.--Quotation from J. T. +Headley.--Character of Duroc.--Family complications.--The divorce +suggested.--Character of Louis Bonaparte.--Testimony of +Bourrienne.--Disappointed lovers. + + +It is a very unamiable trait in human nature, that many persons are more +eager to believe that which is bad in the character of others than that +which is good. The same voice of calumny, which has so mercilessly +assailed Josephine, has also traduced Hortense. It is painful to witness +the readiness with which even now the vilest slanders, devoid of all +evidence, can be heaped upon a noble and virtuous woman who is in her +grave. + +In the days of Napoleon's power, he himself, his mother, his wife, his +sisters, and his stepdaughter, Hortense, were assailed with the most +envenomed accusations malice could engender. These infamous assaults, +which generally originated with the British Tory press, still have +lingering echoes throughout the world. There are those who seem to +consider it no crime to utter the most atrocious accusations, even +without a shadow of proof, against those who are not living. Well do the +"Berkeley men" say: + +"The Bonapartes, especially the women of that family, have always been +too proud and haughty to degrade themselves. Even had they lacked what +is technically called moral character, their virtue has been intrenched +behind their ancestry, and the achievements of their own family. Nor was +there at any time an instant when any one of the Bonapartes could have +overstepped, by a hair's-breadth, the line of decency, without being +fatally exposed. None of them pursued the noiseless tenor of their way +along the vale of obscurity. They were walking in the clear sunshine, on +the topmost summits of the earth, and millions of enemies were watching +every step they took. The highest genius of historians, the bitterest +satire of dramatists, the meanest and most malignant pen of the +journalists have assailed them for half a century. We have written these +words because a Republican is the only man likely to speak well of the +Bonaparte family. It was, and is, and will be the dynasty of the people, +standing there from 1804, a fearful antagonism against the feudal age +and its souvenirs of oppression and crime." + +Napoleon at St. Helena said: "Of all the libels and pamphlets with which +the English ministers have inundated Europe, there is not one which +will reach posterity. When there shall not be a trace of those libels to +be found, the great monuments of utility which I have reared, and the +code of laws which I have formed, will descend to the remotest ages; and +future historians will avenge the wrongs done me by my contemporaries. +There was a time when all crimes seemed to belong to me of right. Thus I +poisoned Hoche, strangled Pichegru in his cell, I caused Kleber to be +assassinated in Egypt, I blew out Desaix's brains at Marengo, I cut the +throats of persons who were confined in prison, I dragged the Pope by +the hair of his head, and a hundred similar abominations. And yet I have +not seen one of those libels which is worthy of an answer. These are so +contemptible and so absurdly false, that they do not merit any other +notice than to write _false_, _false_, on every page." + +It is well known, by every one acquainted with the past history of our +country, that George Washington was assailed in the severest possible +language of vituperation. He was charged with military inability, +administrative incapacity, mental weakness, and gross personal +immorality. He was denounced as a murderer, and a hoary-headed traitor. +This is the doom of those in power. And thousands of men in those days +believed those charges. + +It is seldom possible to prove a negative. But no evidence has ever been +brought forward to substantiate the rumors brought against Hortense. +These vile slanderers have even gone so far as to accuse Napoleon of +crimes, in reference to the daughter of Josephine and the wife of his +brother, which, if true, should consign him to eternal infamy. The +"Berkeley men," after making the most thorough historic investigations +in writing the life both of Louis Bonaparte and Hortense, say: + +"Louis was a little over twenty-three years of age at the time of his +marriage. Hortense was nineteen. In his memoirs Louis treats with scorn +and contempt the absurd libels respecting his domestic affairs, +involving the purity of his wife's character and the legitimacy of his +children. Napoleon, also, in his conversations at St. Helena, thought +proper to allude to the subject, and indignantly to repel the charges +which had been made against Hortense, at the same time showing the +entire improbability of the stories about her and her offspring. _We +have found nothing, in our investigations on this subject to justify +even a suspicion against the morals or integrity of Louis or Hortense; +and we here dismiss the subject with the remark that, there is more +cause for sympathy with the parties to this unhappy union than of +censure for their conduct._" + +The Duchess of Abrantes, who was intimately acquainted with Hortense +from her childhood and with the whole Bonaparte family, in her +interesting memoirs writes: "Hortense de Beauharnais was fresh as a +rose; and though her fair complexion was not relieved by much color, she +had enough to produce that freshness and bloom which was her chief +beauty. A profusion of light hair played in silky locks round her soft +and penetrating blue eyes. The delicate roundness of her slender figure +was set off by the elegant carriage of her head. Her feet were small and +pretty, her hands very white, with pink, well-rounded nails. But what +formed the chief attraction of Hortense was the grace and suavity of her +manners. She was gay, gentle, amiable. She had wit which, without the +smallest ill-temper, had just malice enough to be amusing. A polished +education had improved her natural talents. She drew excellently, sang +harmoniously, and performed admirably in comedy. In 1800 she was a +charming young girl. She afterwards became one of the most amiable +princesses in Europe. I have seen many, both in their own courts and in +Paris, but I have never known one who had any pretensions to equal +talents. Her brother loved her tenderly. The First Consul looked upon +her as his child. And it is only in that country so fertile in the +inventions of scandal, that so foolish an accusation could have been +imagined, as that any feeling less pure than paternal affection actuated +his conduct towards her. The vile calumny met the contempt it merited." + +The testimony of Bourrienne upon this point is decisive. Bourrienne had +been the private secretary of Napoleon, had become his enemy, and had +joined the Bourbons. Upon the downfall of the Emperor he wrote a very +hostile life of Napoleon, being then in the employment of the Bourbons. +In those envenomed pages, Bourrienne says that he has written severely +enough against Napoleon, to have his word believed when he makes any +admission in his favor. He then writes: + +"Napoleon never cherished for Hortense any feeling but a real paternal +tenderness. He loved her, after his marriage with her mother, as he +would have loved his own child. For three years at least I was witness +to all their most private actions. I declare that I never saw any thing +which could furnish the least ground for suspicion or the slightest +trace of culpable intimacy. This calumny must be classed with those +which malice delights to take with the character of men who become +celebrated; calumnies which are adopted lightly and without reflection. + +"I freely declare that, did I retain the slightest doubt with regard to +this odious charge, I would avow it. But it is not true. Napoleon is no +more. Let his memory be accompanied only by that, be it good or bad, +which really took place. Let not this complaint be made against him by +the impartial historian. I must say, in conclusion, on this delicate +subject, that Napoleon's principles were rigid in the extreme; and that +any fault of the nature charged neither entered his mind, nor was in +accordance with his morals or taste." + +Notwithstanding this abundant testimony, and notwithstanding the fact +that no contradictory testimony can be adduced, which any historian +could be pardoned for treating with respect, there are still men to be +found who will repeat those foul slanders, which ought long since to +have died away. + +Napoleon remained but two months in the palace of the Luxembourg. In the +mean time the palace of the Tuileries, which had been sacked by +revolutionary mobs, was re-furnished with much splendor. In February the +Court of the Consuls was transferred to the Tuileries. Napoleon had so +entirely eclipsed his colleagues that he alone was thought of by the +Parisian populace. The royal apartments were prepared for Napoleon. The +more humble apartments, in the Pavilion of Flora, were assigned to the +two other consuls. The transfer from the Luxembourg was made with great +pomp, in one of those brilliant parades which ever delight the eyes of +the Parisians. Six thousand picked soldiers, with a gorgeous train of +officers, formed his escort. Twenty thousand troops with all the +concomitants of military parade, lined the streets. A throng, from city +and country, which could not be numbered, gazed upon the scene. Napoleon +took his seat in a magnificent carriage drawn by six beautiful white +horses. The suite of rooms assigned to Josephine consisted of two large +parlors furnished with regal splendor, and several adjoining private +rooms. Here Hortense, a beautiful girl of about eighteen, found herself +at home in the apartments of the ancient kings of France. + +In the evening a brilliant assembly was gathered in the saloons of +Josephine. As she entered, with queenly grace, leaning upon the arm of +Talleyrand, a murmur of admiration rose from the whole multitude. She +wore a robe of white muslin. Her hair fell in ringlets upon her neck and +shoulders, through which gleamed a necklace of priceless pearls. The +festivities were protracted until a late hour in the morning. It was +said that Josephine gained a social victory that evening, corresponding +with that which Napoleon had gained in the pageant of the day. In these +scenes Hortense shone with great brilliance. She was young, beautiful, +graceful, amiable, witty, and very highly accomplished. In addition to +this, she was the stepdaughter of the First Consul, who was ascending in +a career of grandeur which was to terminate no one could tell where. + +During Napoleon's absence in Egypt Josephine had purchased the beautiful +estate of Malmaison. This was their favorite home. The chateau was a +very convenient, attractive, but not very spacious rural edifice, +surrounded with extensive grounds, ornamented with lawns, shrubbery, and +forest-trees. With the Tuileries for her city residence, Malmaison for +her rural retreat, Napoleon for her father, Josephine for her mother, +Eugene for her brother; with the richest endowments of person, mind, and +heart, with glowing health, and surrounded by admirers, Hortense seemed +now to be placed upon the very highest pinnacle of earthly happiness. + +Josephine and Hortense resided at Malmaison when Napoleon made his ten +months' campaign into Italy, which was terminated by the victory of +Marengo. They both busily employed their time in making those +improvements on the place which would create a pleasant surprise for +Napoleon on his return. Here they opened a new path through the forest; +here they spanned a stream with a beautiful rustic bridge; upon a gentle +eminence a pavilion rose; and new parterres of flowers gladdened the +eye. Every charm was thrown around the place which the genius and taste +of Josephine and Hortense could suggest. At midnight, on the second of +July, Napoleon returned to Paris, and immediately hastened to the arms +of his wife and daughter at Malmaison. He was so pleased with its +retirement and rural beauty that, forgetting the splendors of +Fontainebleau and Saint Cloud, he ever after made it his favorite +residence. Fortunate is the tourist who can obtain permission to saunter +through those lovely walks, where the father, the wife, and the +daughter, for a few brief months, walked almost daily, arm in arm, in +the enjoyment of nearly all the happiness which they were destined on +earth to share. The Emperor, at the close of his career, said upon his +dying bed at St. Helena, + +"I am indebted for all the little happiness I have enjoyed on earth to +the love of Josephine." + +Hortense and her mother frequently rode on horseback, both being very +graceful riders, and very fond of that recreation. At moments when +Napoleon could unbend from the cares of state, the family amused +themselves, with such guests as were present, in the game of "prisoners" +on the lawn. For several years this continued to be the favorite pastime +at Malmaison. Kings and queens were often seen among the pursuers and +the pursued on the green sward. + +It was observed that Napoleon was always solicitous to have Josephine on +his side. And whenever, in the progress of the game, she was taken +prisoner, he was nervously anxious until she was rescued. Napoleon, who +had almost lived upon horseback, was a poor runner, and would often, in +his eagerness, fall, rolling head-long over the grass, raising shouts of +laughter. Josephine and Hortense were as agile as they were graceful. + +On the 24th of December, 1800, Napoleon, Josephine, and Hortense were +going to the opera, to hear Haydn's Oratorio of the Creation. It was +then to be performed for the first time. Napoleon, busily engaged in +business, went reluctantly at the earnest solicitation of Josephine. +Three gentlemen rode with Napoleon in his carriage. Josephine, with +Hortense and other friends, followed in her private carriage. As the +carriages were passing through the narrow street of St. Nicaire, a +tremendous explosion took place, which was heard all over Paris. An +infernal machine, of immense power, had been conveyed to the spot, +concealed beneath a cart, which was intended, at whatever sacrifice of +the lives of others, to render the assassination of the First Consul +certain. Eight persons were instantly killed; more than sixty were +wounded. Several buildings were nearly demolished. The windows of both +carriages were dashed in, and the shattered vehicles were tossed to and +fro like ships in a storm. Napoleon almost miraculously escaped +unharmed. Hortense was slightly wounded by the broken glass. Still they +all heroically went on to the opera, where, in view of their +providential escape, they were received with thunders of applause. + +It was at first supposed that the Jacobins were the authors of this +infamous plot. It was afterwards proved to be a conspiracy of the +Royalists. Josephine, whose husband had bled beneath the slide of the +guillotine, and who had narrowly escaped the axe herself, with +characteristic humanity forgot the peril to which she and her friends +had been exposed, in sympathy for those who were to suffer for the +crime. The criminals were numerous. They were the nobles with whom +Josephine had formerly lived in terms of closest intimacy. She wrote to +Fouché, the Minister of Police, in behalf of these families about to be +plunged into woe by the merited punishment of the conspirators. This +letter reflects such light upon the character of Josephine, which +character she transmitted to Hortense, that it claims insertion here. + +"CITIZEN MINISTER,--While I yet tremble at the frightful event which has +just occurred, I am disquieted and distressed through fear of the +punishment necessarily to be inflicted on the guilty, who belong, it is +said, to families with whom I once lived in habits of intercourse. I +shall be solicited by mothers, sisters, and disconsolate wives, and my +heart will be broken through my inability to obtain all the mercy for +which I would plead. + +"I know that the clemency of the First Consul is great; his attachment +to me extreme. But the crime is too dreadful that a terrible example +should not be necessary. The chief of the Government has not been alone +exposed. It is that which will render him severe, inflexible. I conjure +you, therefore, to do all in your power to prevent inquiries being +pushed too far. Do not detect all those persons who may have been +accomplices in these odious transactions. Let not France, so long +overwhelmed in consternation by public executions, groan anew beneath +such inflictions. It is even better to endeavor to soothe the public +mind than to exasperate men by fresh terrors. In short, when the +ringleaders of this nefarious attempt shall have been secured, let +severity give place to pity for inferior agents, seduced, as they may +have been, by dangerous falsehoods or exaggerated opinions. + +"When just invested with supreme power, the First Consul, as seems to +me, ought rather to gain hearts, than to be exhibited as ruling slaves. +Soften by your counsels whatever may be too violent in his just +resentment. Punish--alas! that you must certainly do--but pardon still +more. Be also the support of those unfortunate men who, by frank avowal +or repentance, shall expiate a portion of their crime. + +"Having myself narrowly escaped perishing in the Revolution, you must +regard as quite natural my interference on behalf of those who can be +saved without involving in new danger the life of my husband, precious +to me and to France. On this account do, I entreat you, make a wide +distinction between the authors of the crime and those who, through +weakness or fear, have consented to take part therein. As a woman, a +wife, a mother, I must feel the heart-rendings of those who will apply +to me. Act, citizen minister, in such a manner that the number of these +may be lessened. This will spare me much grief. Never will I turn away +from the supplications of misfortune. But in the present instance you +can do infinitely more than I, and you will, on this account, excuse my +importunity. Rely on my gratitude and esteem." + +There was a young officer about twenty-nine years of age, by the name of +Michel Duroc, who was then a frequent visitor at the Tuileries and +Malmaison. He was a great favorite of Napoleon, and was distinguished +alike for beauty of person and gallantry upon the field of battle. Born +of an ancient family, young Duroc, having received a thorough military +education, attached himself, with enthusiastic devotion, to the fortunes +of Napoleon. He attracted the attention of General Bonaparte during his +first Italian campaign, where he was appointed one of his aides. +Following Napoleon to Egypt, he gained renown in many battles, and was +speedily promoted to the rank of chief of battalion, and then to general +of brigade. At Jaffa he performed a deed of gallantry, which was +rewarded by the applauding shouts of nearly the whole army. At Jean +d'Acre he led one of the most bloody and obstinate assaults recorded in +the military annals of France, where he was severely wounded by the +bursting of a howitzer. At the battle of Aboukir he won great applause. +Napoleon's attachment to this young officer was such, that he took him +to Paris on his return from Egypt. In the eventful day of the 18th +Brumaire, Duroc stood by the side of Napoleon, and rendered him eminent +service. The subsequent career of this very noble young man brilliantly +reflects his worth and character. Rapidly rising, he became grand +marshal of the palace and Duke of Friuli. + +The memorable career of General Duroc was terminated at the battle of +Bautzen, in Germany, on the 23d of May, 1813. He was struck by the last +ball thrown from the batteries of the enemy. The affecting scene of his +death was as follows: + +"In the early dawn of the morning of the 23d of May, Napoleon was on +horseback directing the movements of his troops against the routed foe. +He soon overtook the rear-guard of the enemy, which had strongly posted +its batteries on an eminence to protect the retreat of the discomfited +army. A brief but fierce conflict ensued, and one of Napoleon's aides +was struck dead at his feet. Duroc was riding by the side of the +Emperor. Napoleon turned to him and said, 'Duroc, fortune is determined +to have one of us to-day.' Hour after hour the incessant battle raged, +as the advance-guard of the Emperor drove before it the rear-guard of +the Allies. In the afternoon, as the Emperor, with a portion of the +Imperial Guard, four abreast, was passing through a ravine, enveloped in +a blinding cloud of dust and smoke, a cannon-ball, glancing from a tree, +killed one officer, and mortally wounded Duroc, tearing out his +entrails. The tumult and obscurity were such that Napoleon did not +witness the casualty. When informed of it, he seemed for a moment +overwhelmed with grief, and then exclaimed, in faltering accents, + +"Duroc! gracious Heaven, my presentiments never deceive me. This is a +sad day, a fatal day." + +Immediately alighting from his horse, he walked to and fro for a short +time absorbed in painful thoughts, while the thunders of the battle +resounded unheeded around him. Then turning to Caulaincourt, he said, + +"Alas! when will fate relent? When will there be an end of this? My +eagles will yet triumph, but the happiness which accompanies them is +fled. Whither has he been conveyed? I must see him. Poor, poor Duroc!" + +The Emperor found the dying marshal in a cottage, still stretched upon +the camp litter by which he had been conveyed from the field. Pallid as +marble from the loss of blood, and with features distorted with agony, +he was scarcely recognizable. The Emperor approached the litter, threw +his arms around the neck of the friend he so tenderly loved, and +exclaimed, in tones of deepest grief, "Alas! then is there no hope?" + +"None whatever," the physicians replied. + +The dying man took the hand of Napoleon, and gazing upon him +affectionately, said, "Sire, my whole life has been devoted to your +service, and now my only regret is that I can no longer be useful to +you." Napoleon, in a voice almost inarticulate with emotion, said, + +"Duroc, there is another life. There you will await me." + +"Yes, sire," the marshal faintly replied, "but that will be thirty years +hence. You will then have triumphed over your enemies, and realized the +hopes of our country. I have lived an honest man. I have nothing to +reproach myself with. I have a daughter, to whom your Majesty will be a +father." + +Napoleon was so deeply affected that he remained for some time in +silence, incapable of uttering a word, but still affectionately holding +the hand of his dying friend. + +Duroc was the first to break the silence. "Sire," he said, "this sight +pains you. Leave me." + +The Emperor pressed his hand to his lips, embraced him affectionately, +and saying sadly, "Adieu, my friend," hurried out of the room. + +Supported by Marshal Soult and Caulaincourt, Napoleon, overwhelmed with +grief, retired to his tent, which had been immediately pitched in the +vicinity of the cottage. "This is horrible," he exclaimed. "My +excellent, my dear Duroc! Oh, what a loss is this!" + +His eyes were flooded with tears, and for the moment, forgetting every +thing but his grief, he retired to the solitude of his inner tent. + +The squares of the Old Guard, sympathizing in the anguish of their +commander and their sovereign, silently encamped around him. Napoleon +sat alone in his tent, wrapped in his gray great-coat, his forehead +resting upon his hand, absorbed in painful musings. For some time none +of his officers were willing to intrude upon his grief. At length two of +the generals ventured to consult him respecting arrangements which it +seemed necessary to make for the following day. Napoleon shook his head +and replied, "Ask me nothing till to-morrow," and again covering his +eyes with his hand, he resumed his attitude of meditation. Night came. +One by one the stars came out. The moon rose brilliantly in the +cloudless sky. The soldiers moved with noiseless footsteps, and spoke in +subdued tones. The rumbling of wagons and the occasional boom of a +distant gun alone disturbed the stillness of the scene. + +"Those brave soldiers," says J. T. Headley, "filled with grief to see +their beloved chief bowed down by such sorrows, stood for a long time +silent and tearful. At length, to break the mournful silence, and to +express the sympathy they might not speak, the band struck up a requiem +for the dying marshal. The melancholy strains arose and fell in +prolonged echoes over the field, and swept in softened cadences on the +ear of the fainting, dying warrior. But still Napoleon moved not. They +changed the measure to a triumphant strain, and the thrilling trumpets +breathed forth their most joyful notes till the heavens rang with the +melody. Such bursts of music welcomed Napoleon as he returned, flushed +with victory, till his eye kindled with exultation. But now they fell on +a dull and listless ear. It ceased, and again the mournful requiem +filled all the air. But nothing could rouse him from his agonizing +reflections. His friend lay dying, and the heart that he loved more than +his life was throbbing its last pulsations. What a theme for a painter, +and what a eulogy was that scene! That noble heart, which the enmity of +the world could not shake, nor the terrors of the battle-field move from +its calm repose, nor even the hatred nor the insults of his at last +victorious enemies humble, here sank in the moment of victory before the +tide of affection. What military chieftain ever mourned thus on the +field of victory, and what soldiers ever loved their leader so!" + +Before the dawn of the morning Duroc expired. When the event was +announced to Napoleon, he said sadly, "All is over. He is released from +his misery. Well, he is happier than I." The Emperor ordered a monument +to be reared to his memory, and, when afterwards dying at St. Helena, +left to the daughter of Duroc one of the largest legacies bequeathed in +his will. That Duroc was worthy of this warm affection of the Emperor, +may be inferred from the following testimony of Caulaincourt, Duke of +Vicenza: + +"Marshal Duroc was one of those men who seem too pure and perfect for +this world, and whose excellence helps to reconcile us to human nature. +In the high station to which the Emperor had wisely raised him, the +grand marshal retained all the qualities of the private citizen. The +splendor of his position had not power to dazzle or corrupt him. Duroc +remained simple, natural, and independent; a warm and generous friend, a +just and honorable man. I pronounce on him this eulogy without fear of +contradiction." + +It is not strange that Hortense, a beautiful girl of eighteen, should +have fallen deeply in love with such a young soldier, twenty-nine years +of age. It would seem that Duroc was equally inspired with love and +admiration for Hortense. Though perhaps not positively engaged, there +was such an understanding between the young lovers that a brisk +correspondence was kept up during one of Duroc's embassies to the north. + +[Illustration: THE LOVE-LETTER.] + +Bourrienne, at that time the private secretary of Napoleon, says that +this correspondence was carried on by consent through his hands. With +the rapidly rising greatness of the family, there was little retirement +to be enjoyed at the Tuileries or at Malmaison. The saloons of the First +Consul were every evening crowded with guests. Youthful love is the same +passion, and the young heart throbs with the same impulses, whether in +the palace or in the cottage. When Bourrienne whispered to Hortense that +he had a letter for her from Duroc, and slipped it unperceived into her +hand, she would immediately retire to her room for its perusal; and the +moistened eyes with which she returned to the saloon testified to the +emotions with which the epistle from her lover had been read. + +But Josephine had the strongest reasons which can well be imagined for +opposing the connection with Duroc. She was a very loving mother. She +wished to do every thing in her power to promote the happiness of +Hortense, but she probably was not aware how deeply the affections of +her daughter were fixed upon Duroc. Her knowledge of the world also +taught her that almost every young lady and every young gentleman have +several loves before reaching the one which is consummated by marriage. +She had another match in view for Hortense which she deemed far more +eligible for her, and far more promotive of the happiness of the family. + +Napoleon had already attained grandeur unsurpassed by any of the ancient +kings of France. Visions of still greater power were opening before him. +It was not only to him a bitter disappointment but apparently it might +prove a great national calamity that he had no heir to whom he could +transmit the sceptre which France had placed in his hands. Upon his +downfall, civil war might ravage the kingdom, as rival chieftains +grasped at the crown. It was earnestly urged upon him that the interests +of France imperiously demanded that, since he had no prospect of an heir +by Josephine, he should obtain a divorce and marry another. It was urged +that the welfare of thirty millions of people should not be sacrificed +to the inclinations of two individuals. + +Josephine had heard these rumors, and her life was embittered by their +terrible import. A pall of gloom shrouded her sky, and anguish began to +gnaw at her heart amidst all the splendors of the Tuileries and the +lovely retirement of Malmaison. + +Napoleon's younger brother, Louis, was of nearly the same age with +Hortense. He was a young man of fine personal appearance, very +intelligent, of scholarly tastes, and of irreproachable character. +Though pensive in temperament, he had proved himself a hero on the field +of battle, and he possessed, in all respects, a very noble character. +Many of the letters which he had written from Egypt to his friends in +Paris had been intercepted by the British cruisers, and were published. +They all bore the impress of the lofty spirit of integrity and humanity +with which he was inspired. Napoleon was very fond of his brother Louis. +He would surely place him in the highest positions of wealth and power. +As Louis Bonaparte was remarkably domestic in his tastes and +affectionate in his disposition, Josephine could not doubt that he would +make Hortense happy. Apparently it was a match full of promise, +brilliant, and in all respects desirable. Its crowning excellence, +however, in the eye of Josephine was, that should Hortense marry Louis +Bonaparte and give birth to a son, Napoleon would recognize that child +as his heir. Bearing the name of Bonaparte, with the blood of the +Bonapartes in his veins, and being the child of Hortense, whom he so +tenderly loved as a daughter, the desires of Napoleon and of France +might be satisfied. Thus the terrible divorce might be averted. + +It is not probable that at this time Napoleon seriously thought of a +divorce, though the air was filled with rumors put in circulation by +those who were endeavoring to crowd him to it. He loved Josephine +tenderly, and of course could not sympathize with her in those fears of +which it was impossible for her to speak to him. Bourrienne testifies +that Josephine one day said to him in confidence, veiling and at the +same time revealing her fears, "This projected marriage with Duroc +leaves me without support. Duroc, independent of Bonaparte's friendship, +is nothing. He has neither fortune, rank, nor even reputation. He can +afford me no protection against the enmity of the brothers. I must have +some more certain reliance for the future. My husband loves Louis very +much. If I can succeed in uniting my daughter to him, he will prove a +strong counterpoise to the calumnies and persecutions of my +brothers-in-law." + +These remarks were repeated to Napoleon. According to Bourrienne, he +replied, + +"Josephine labors in vain. Duroc and Hortense love each other, and they +shall be married. I am attached to Duroc. He is well born. I have given +Caroline to Murat, and Pauline to Le Clerc. I can as well give Hortense +to Duroc. He is as good as the others. He is general of division. +Besides, I have other views for Louis." + +Josephine, however, soon won the assent of Napoleon to her views, and he +regarded with great satisfaction the union of Hortense with Louis. The +contemplated connection with Duroc was broken off. Two young hearts were +thus crushed, with cruelty quite unintentional. Duroc was soon after +married to an heiress, who brought him a large fortune, and, it is said, +a haughty spirit and an irritable temper, which embittered all his days. + +Hortense, disappointed, heart-broken, despairing, was weary of the +world. She probably never saw another happy day. Such is life. + + "Sorrows are for the sons of men, + And weeping for earth's daughters." + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +THE MARRIAGE OF HORTENSE. + +1804-1807 + +Stephanie Beauharnais.--Love of Louis Bonaparte for +Stephanie.--Objections to the marriage.--Unavailing +remonstrances.--Marriage of Hortense.--Testimony of Louis +Bonaparte.--Statement of Napoleon.--Letter from Josephine to +Hortense.--The ball of Madame Montesson.--Birth of Napoleon +Charles.--Hortense Queen of Holland.--Composition of the +"Romances."--Madame de Staėl.--Anecdote of Napoleon Charles.--Letter +from Josephine.--Campaigns of Jena and Friedland.--Anecdote.--Death of +Napoleon Charles.--Anguish of Hortense.--Letter of +condolence.--Josephine to Hortense.--Napoleon to Hortense.--The need of +charity. + + +It will be remembered that Hortense had a cousin, Stephanie, the +daughter of her father's elder brother, Marquis de Beauharnais. Though +Viscount de Beauharnais had espoused the popular cause in the desperate +struggle of the French Revolution, the marquis was an undisguised +"aristocrat." Allying himself with the king and the court, he had fled +from France with the emigrant nobles. He had joined the allied army as +it was marching upon his native land in the endeavor to crush out +popular liberty and to reinstate the Bourbons on their throne of +despotism. For this crime he was by the laws of France a traitor, doomed +to the scaffold should he be captured. + +The marquis, in his flight from France, had left Stephanie with her aunt +Josephine. She had sent her to the school of Madame Campan in company +with Hortense and Caroline Bonaparte. Louis Bonaparte was consequently +often in the company of Stephanie, and fell desperately in love with +her. The reader will recollect the letter which Josephine wrote to +Madame Campan relative to Stephanie, which indicated that she had some +serious defects of character. Still she was a brilliant girl, with great +powers of pleasing when she condescended to use those powers. + +Louis Bonaparte was a very pensive, meditative young man, of poetic +temperament, and of unsullied purity of character. With such persons +love ever becomes an all-absorbing passion. It has been well said that +love is represented as a little Cupid shooting tiny arrows, whereas it +should be presented as a giant shaking the world. The secrets of the +heart are seldom revealed to others. Neither Napoleon nor Josephine were +probably at all aware how intense and engrossing was the affection of +Louis for Stephanie. + +Regenerated France was then struggling, with all its concentrated +energies, against the combined aristocracies of Europe. Napoleon was the +leader of the popular party. The father of Stephanie was in the counsels +and the army of the Allies. Already advances had been made to Napoleon, +and immense bribes offered to induce him, in treachery to the people, to +restore to the exiled Bourbons the sceptre which the confiding people +had placed in his hands. Napoleon, like all men in power, had bitter +enemies, who were ever watching for an opportunity to assail him. Should +his brother Louis marry a daughter of one of the old nobility, an avowed +aristocrat, an emigrant, a pronounced "traitor," doomed to death, should +he be captured, for waging war against his native land, it would expose +Napoleon to suspicion. His enemies would have new vantage-ground from +which to attack him, and in the most tender point. + +Under these circumstances Napoleon contemplated with well-founded +anxiety the idea of his brother's union with Stephanie. He was therefore +the more ready to listen to Josephine's suggestion of the marriage of +Louis and Hortense. This union in every respect seemed exceedingly +desirable. Napoleon could gratify their highest ambition in assigning to +them posts of opulence and honor. They could also be of great service to +Napoleon in his majestic plan of redeeming all Europe from the yoke of +the old feudal despotisms, and in conferring upon the peoples the new +political gospel of equal rights for all men. + +Napoleon had perceived this growing attachment just before he set out on +the expedition to Egypt. To check it, if possible, he sent Louis on a +very important mission to Toulon, where he kept him intensely occupied +until he was summoned to embark for Egypt. But such love as animated the +heart of Louis is deepened, not diminished, by absence. A naval officer, +who was a friend of Louis, and who was aware of his attachment for +Stephanie, remonstrated with him against a connection so injudicious. + +"Do you know," said he, "that a marriage of this description might be +highly injurious to your brother, and render him an object of suspicion +to the Government, and that, too, at a moment when he is setting out on +a hazardous expedition?" + +But Louis was in no mood to listen to such suggestions. It would appear +that Stephanie was a young lady who could very easily transfer her +affections. During the absence of Louis a match was arranged between +Stephanie and the Duke of Baden. The heart of Louis was hopelessly +crushed. He never recovered from the blow. These were the two saddened +hearts, to whom the world was shrouded in gloom, which met amidst the +splendors of the Tuileries. + +The genius of Napoleon and the tact of Josephine were combined to unite +in marriage the disappointed and despairing lovers, Louis and Hortense. +After a brief struggle, they both sadly submitted to their fate. The +melancholy marriage scene is minutely described by Constant, one of the +officers in the household of Napoleon. The occasion was invested with +all possible splendor. A brilliant assembly attended. But as Louis led +his beautiful bride to the altar, the deepest dejection marked his +countenance. Hortense buried her eyes in her handkerchief and wept +bitterly. + +From that hour the alienation commenced. The grief-stricken bride, +young, inexperienced, impulsive, made no attempt to conceal the +repugnance with which she regarded the husband who had been forced upon +her. On the other hand, Louis had too much pride to pursue with his +attentions a bride whom he had reluctantly received, and who openly +manifested her aversion to him. Josephine was very sad. Her maternal +instincts revealed to her the true state of the case. Conscious that +the union, which had so inauspiciously commenced, had been brought about +by her, she exerted all her powers to promote friendly relations between +the parties. But her counsels and her prayers were alike in vain. Louis +Bonaparte, in his melancholy autobiography, writes: + +"Never was there a more gloomy wedding. Never had husband and wife a +stronger presentiment of a forced and ill-suited marriage. Before the +ceremony, during the benediction, and ever afterwards, we both and +equally felt that we were not suited to each other." + +"I have seen," writes Constant, "a hundred times Madame Louis Bonaparte +seek the solitude of her apartment and the bosom of a friend, there to +shed her tears. She would often escape from her husband in the midst of +the saloon of the First Consul, where one saw with chagrin this young +woman, formerly glittering in beauty, and who gracefully performed the +honors of the palace, retire into a corner or into the embrasure of a +window, with some one of her intimate friends, sadly to confide her +griefs. During this interview, from which she would return with her eyes +her husband would remain pensive and silent at the end of the saloon." + +Napoleon at St. Helena, referring to this painful subject, said: "Louis +had been spoiled by reading the works of Rousseau. He contrived to agree +with his wife only for a few months. There were faults on both sides. On +the one hand, Louis was too teasing in his temper, and, on the other, +Hortense was too volatile. Hortense, the devoted, the generous Hortense, +was not entirely faultless in her conduct towards her husband. This I +must acknowledge, in spite of all the affection I bore her, and the +sincere attachment which I am sure she entertained for me. Though +Louis's whimsical humors were in all probability sufficiently teasing, +yet he loved Hortense. In such a case a woman should learn to subdue her +own temper, and endeavor to return her husband's attachment. Had she +acted in the way most conducive to her interest, she might have avoided +her late lawsuit, secured happiness to herself and followed her husband +to Holland. Louis would not then have fled from Amsterdam, and I should +not have been compelled to unite his kingdom to mine--a measure which +contributed to ruin my credit in Europe. Many other events might also +have taken a different turn. Perhaps an excuse might be found for the +caprice of Louis's disposition in the deplorable state of his health." + +The following admirable letter from Josephine to Hortense throws +additional light upon this unhappy union: + +"I was deeply grieved at what I heard a few days ago. What I saw +yesterday confirms and increases my distress. Why show this repugnance +to Louis? Instead of rendering it the more annoying, by caprice and +inequality of temper, why not endeavor to surmount it? You say he is not +amiable. Every thing is relative. If he is not so to you, he may be to +others, and all women do not see him through the veil of dislike. As for +myself, who am here altogether disinterested, I imagine that I behold +him as he is--more loving, doubtless, than lovable. But this is a great +and rare quality. He is generous, beneficent, affectionate. He is a good +father, and if you so will, he would prove a good husband. His +melancholy, and his taste for study and retirement, render him +disagreeable to you. But let me ask you, is this his fault? Do you +expect him to change his nature according to circumstances? Who could +have foreseen his altered fortune? But, according to you, he has not +even the courage to bear that fortune. This, I think, is a mistake. With +his secluded habits, and his invincible love of retirement and study, he +is out of place in the elevated rank to which he has been raised. + +"You wish that he resembled his brother. But he must first have his +brother's temperament. You have not failed to remark that almost our +entire existence depends upon our health, and health upon digestion. If +poor Louis's digestion were better, you would find him much more +amiable. But as he is, there is nothing to justify the indifference and +dislike you evince towards him. You, Hortense, who used to be so good, +should continue so now, when it is most requisite. Take pity on a man +who is to be pitied for what would constitute the happiness of another. +Before you condemn him, think of others who, like him, have groaned +beneath the burden of their greatness, and bathed with tears their +diadem, which they believed had never been destined for their brow. When +I advise you to love, or at least not to repulse Louis, I speak to you +as an experienced wife, a fond mother, and a friend; and in these three +characters, which are all equally dear to me, I tenderly embrace you." + +Madame Montesson gave the first ball that took place in honor of the +marriage of Louis Bonaparte and Hortense. Invitations were issued for +seven hundred persons. Though there was no imperial court at that time, +for Napoleon was but First Consul, yet every thing was arranged on a +scale of regal splendor. The foreign ambassadors were all present; and +the achievements of Napoleon had been so marvellous, and his increasing +grandeur was so sure, that all present vied alike in evincing homage to +the whole Bonaparte family. A lady who was a guest on the occasion +writes: + +"Every countenance beamed with joy save that of the bride, whose +profound melancholy formed a sad contrast to the happiness which she +might have been expected to evince. She was covered with diamonds and +flowers, and yet her countenance and manner showed nothing but regret. +It was easy to foresee the mutual misery that would arise out of this +ill-assorted union. Louis Bonaparte showed but little attention to his +bride. Hortense, on her part, seemed to shun his very looks, lest he +should read in hers the indifference she felt towards him. This +indifference daily augmented in spite of the affectionate advice of +Josephine, who earnestly desired to see Hortense in the possession of +that happiness and peace of mind to which she was herself a stranger. +But all her endeavors were unavailing." + +The first child the fruit of this marriage was born in 1803, and +received the name of Napoleon Charles. Both Napoleon and Josephine were +rendered very happy by his birth. He was an exceedingly beautiful and +promising child, and they hoped that parental endearments, lavished upon +the same object, would unite father and mother more closely. Napoleon +loved the child tenderly, was ever fond of caressing him, and distinctly +announced his intention of making him his heir. All thoughts of the +divorce were banished, and a few gleams of tremulous joy visited the +heart of Josephine. But alas! these joys proved of but short duration. +It was soon manifest to her anxious view that there was no hope of any +cordial reconciliation between Louis and Hortense. And nothing could +soothe the sorrow of Josephine's heart when she saw her daughter's +happiness apparently blighted forever. + +Napoleon, conscious that he had been an instrument in the bitter +disappointments of Hortense and Louis, did every thing in his power to +requite them for the wrong. Upon attaining the imperial dignity, he +appointed his brother Louis constable of France, and soon after, in +1805, governor-general of Piedmont. In 1806, Schimmelpennink, grand +pensionary of Batavia, resigning his office as chief magistrate of the +United Netherlands, Napoleon raised Louis to the dignity of King of +Holland. + +On the 18th of June, 1806, Louis and Hortense arrived in their new +dominions. The exalted station to which Hortense was thus elevated did +not compensate her for the sadness of separation from her beloved +mother, with whom she had been so intimately associated during her whole +life. The royal pair took up their residence at the Maison de Bois, a +rural palace about three miles from the Hague. Here they received the +various deputations, and thence made their public entrée into the +capital in the midst of a scene of universal rejoicing. The pensive air +of the queen did but add to the interest which she invariably excited. +For a time she endeavored to drown her griefs in yielding herself to the +festivities of the hour. Her fine figure, noble mien, and graceful +manners fascinated all eyes and won all hearts. Her complexion was of +dazzling purity, her eyes of a soft blue, and a profusion of fair hair +hung gracefully upon her shoulders. Her conversation was extremely +lively and vivacious, having on every occasion just the right word to +say. Her dancing was said to be the perfection of grace. With such +accomplishments for her station, naturally fond of society and gayety, +and with a disposition to recompense herself, for her heart's +disappointment, in the love of her new subjects, she secured in a very +high degree the admiration of the Hollanders. + +It was at this time that Hortense composed that beautiful collection of +airs called _romances_ which has given her position among the ablest of +musical composers. "The saloons of Paris," says a French writer, "the +solitude of exile, the most remote countries, have all acknowledged the +charm of these most delightful melodies, which need no royal name to +enhance their reputation. It is gratifying to our pride of country to +hear the airs of France sung by the Greek and by the Russian, and united +to national poetry on the banks of the Thames and the Tagus. The homage +thus rendered is the more flattering because the rank of the composer is +unknown. It is their intrinsic merit which gives to these natural +effusions of female sensibility the power of universal success. If +Hortense ever experienced matrimonial felicity, it must have been at +this time." + +When Madame de Staėl was living in exile in the old Castle of +Chaumont-sur-Loire, where she was joined by her beautiful friend Madame +Récamier, one of their favorite songs was that exquisite air composed by +Queen Hortense upon her husband's motto, "Do what is right, come what +may." + +The little son of Hortense was twining himself closely around his +mother's heart. He had become her idol. Napoleon was then in the zenith +of his power, and it was understood that Napoleon Charles was to inherit +the imperial sceptre. The warmth of his heart and his daily intellectual +development indicated that he would prove worthy of the station which he +was destined to fill. + +Shortly after the queen's arrival at the Hague, she received a New +Year's present from Josephine for the young Napoleon Charles. It +consisted of a large chest filled with the choicest playthings which +Paris could present. The little boy was seated near a window which +opened upon the park. As his mother took one after another of the +playthings from the chest to exhibit to him, she was surprised and +disappointed to find that he regarded them with so much indifference. +His attention seemed to be very much occupied in looking out into the +park. Hortense said to him, "My son, are you not grateful to your +grandmamma for sending you so many beautiful presents?" + +"Indeed I am, mamma," he replied. "But it does not surprise me, for +grandmamma is always so good that I am used to it." + +"Then you are not amused with all these pretty playthings, my son?" + +"Oh yes, mamma, but--but then I want something else." + +"What is it, my darling? You know how much I love you. You may be sure +that I will give it to you." + +"No, mamma, I am afraid you won't. I want you to let me run about +barefooted in that puddle in the avenue." + +His mother of course could not grant this request, and the little fellow +mourned very justly over the misfortune of being a prince, which +prevented him from enjoying himself like other boys in playing in the +mud. + +Hortense, absorbed in her new cares, wrote almost daily to her mother, +giving interesting recitals of the child. She did not, however, write as +frequently to her father. Josephine wrote to her from Aix-la-Chapelle, +under date of September 8th, 1804: + +"The news which you give me of Napoleon affords me great pleasure, my +dear Hortense; for in addition to the very tender interest I feel for +him, I appreciate all the anxieties from which you are relieved; and you +know, my dear child, that your happiness will ever constitute a part of +mine. The Emperor has read your letter. He has at times appeared to me +wounded, in not hearing from you. He would not accuse your heart if he +knew you as well as I do. But appearances are against you. Since he may +suppose that you neglect him, do not lose a moment to repair the wrongs +which are not intentional. Say to him that it is through discretion +that you have not written to him; that your heart suffers from that law +which even respect dictates; that having always manifested towards you +the goodness and tenderness of a father, it will ever be your happiness +to offer to him the homage of gratitude. + +"Speak to him also of the hope you cherish of seeing me at the period of +your confinement. I can not endure the thought of being absent from you +at that time. Be sure, my Hortense, that nothing can prevent me from +going to take care of you for your sake, and still more for my own. Do +you speak of this also to Bonaparte, who loves you as if you were his +own child. And this greatly increases my attachment for him. Adieu, my +good Hortense. I embrace you with the warmest affections of my heart." + +Soon after this Hortense gave birth to her second child, Napoleon Louis. +The health of the mother not long after the birth of the child rendered +it necessary for her to visit the waters of St. Armand. It seems that +little Napoleon Louis was placed under the care of a nurse where +Josephine could often see him. The Empress wrote to Hortense from St. +Cloud on the 20th of July, 1805: + +"My health requires that I should repose a little from the fatigues of +the long journey which I have just made, and particularly from the grief +which I have experienced in separating myself from Eugene in Italy. I +received yesterday a letter from him. He is very well, and works hard. +He greatly regrets being separated from his mother and his beloved +sister. Alas! there are unquestionably many people who envy his lot, and +who think him very happy. Such persons do not read his heart. In writing +to you, my dear Hortense, I would only speak to you of my tenderness for +you, and inform you how happy I have been to have your son Napoleon +Louis with me since my return. + +"The Emperor, without speaking to me about it, sent to him immediately +on our arrival at Fontainebleau. I was much touched by this attention on +his part. He had perceived that I had need of seeing a second +_yourself_; a little charming being created by thee. The child is very +well. He is very happy. He eats only the soup which his nurse gives him. +He never comes in when we are at the table. The Emperor caresses him +very much. Eugene has given me, for you, a necklace of malachite, +engraved in relief. M. Bergheim will hand you one which I purchased at +Milan. It is composed of engraved amethysts, which will be very becoming +upon your beautiful white skin. Give my most affectionate remembrance to +your husband. Embrace for me Napoleon Charles, and rely, my dear +daughter, upon the tenderness of your mother, + + "JOSEPHINE." + +[Illustration: THE LITTLE PRINCE CHARLES NAPOLEON.] + +At midnight, on the 24th of September, 1806, Napoleon left Paris to +repel a new coalition of his foes in the campaigns of Jena, Auerstadt, +Eylau, and Friedland. Josephine accompanied her husband as far as +Mayence, where she remained, that she might more easily receive tidings +from him. Just before leaving Paris, Napoleon reviewed the Imperial +Guard in the court-yard of the Tuileries. After the review he entered +the saloon of Josephine. Throwing down his hat and sword upon the sofa, +he took the arm of the Empress, and they together walked up and down the +room, earnestly engaged in conversation. Little Napoleon Charles, who +was on a visit to his grandmother, picked up the Emperor's cocked hat, +placed it upon his head, and putting the sword-belt over his neck, +with the dangling sword, began strutting behind the Emperor with a very +military tread, attempting to whistle a martial air. Napoleon, turning +around, saw the child, and catching him up in his arms, hugged and +kissed him, saying to Josephine, "What a charming picture!" Josephine +immediately ordered a portrait to be taken by the celebrated painter +Gerard of the young prince in that costume. She intended to send it a +present to the Emperor as a surprise. + +The Empress remained for some time at Mayence and its environs, daily +writing to the Emperor, and almost daily, sometimes twice a day, +receiving letters from him. These notes were very brief, but always bore +the impress of ardent affection. + +On the 13th of January, 1806, Eugene was very happily married to the +Princess Augusta Amélie, daughter of the Elector of Bavaria. When +Josephine heard of the contemplated connection, she wrote to Hortense: + +"You know very well that the Emperor would not marry Eugene without my +knowledge. Still I accept the public rumor. I should love very much to +have her for a daughter-in-law. She is a charming character, and +beautiful as an angel. She unites to an elegant figure the most graceful +carriage I have ever known." + +A few days after, on the 9th of January, she wrote from Munich: "I am +not willing to lose a moment, my dear Hortense, in informing you that +the marriage of Eugene with the daughter of the Elector of Bavaria is +just definitely arranged. You will appreciate, as I do, all the value of +this new proof of the attachment which the Emperor manifests for your +brother. Nothing in the world could be more agreeable to me than this +alliance. The young princess unites to a charming figure all the +qualities which can render a woman interesting and lovely. The marriage +is not to be celebrated here, but in Paris. Thus you will be able to +witness the happiness of your brother, and mine will be perfect, since I +shall find myself united to both of my dear children." + +The arrangements were changed subsequently, and the nuptials were +solemnized in Munich. Napoleon wrote as follows to Hortense: + + "Munich, January 9th, 1806. + +"MY DAUGHTER,--Eugene arrives to-morrow, and is to be married in four +days. I should have been very happy if you could have attended his +marriage, but there is no longer time. The Princess Augusta is tall, +beautiful, and full of good qualities, and you will have, in all +respects, a sister worthy of you. A thousand kisses to M. Napoleon. + + "NAPOLEON." + +The Empress, after remaining some time at Mayence, as the campaign on +the banks of the Vistula was protracted, returned to Paris. In a state +of great anxiety with regard to her husband, she took up her residence +at St. Cloud. Under date of March, 1807, she wrote to her daughter, then +queen of Holland, residing at the Hague: + +"I have received much pleasure in speaking of you with M. Jansens. I +perceive, from what he tells me respecting Holland, that the king is +very much beloved, and that you share in the general affection. This +renders me happy. My health is very good at the present moment, but my +heart is always sad. + +"All the private letters which I have seen agree in the declaration that +the Emperor exposed himself very much at the battle of Eylau. I +frequently receive tidings from him, and sometimes two letters a day. +This is a great consolation, but it does not replace him." + +That Napoleon, in the midst of the ten thousand cares of so arduous a +campaign, could have found time to write daily to Josephine, and often +twice a day, is surely extraordinary. There are not many husbands, it is +to be feared, who are so thoughtful of the anxieties of an absent wife. + +Early in May the Empress received the portrait, of which we have spoken, +of her idolized grandchild, Napoleon Charles, in his amusing military +costume. She was intending to send it as a pleasing memorial to the +Emperor in his distant encampment. + +Just then she received the dreadful tidings that little Napoleon Charles +had been taken sick with the croup, and, after the illness of but a few +hours, had died. It was the 5th of May, 1807. Josephine was in Paris; +Hortense at the Hague, in Holland; Napoleon was hundreds of leagues +distant in the north, with his army almost buried in snow upon the banks +of the Vistula. + +The world perhaps has never witnessed the death of a child which has +caused so much anguish. Hortense did not leave her son for a moment, as +the terrible disease advanced to its termination. When he breathed his +last she seemed completely stunned. Not a tear dimmed her eye. Not a +word, not a moan was uttered. Like a marble statue, she sat upon the +sofa where the child had died, gazing around her with a look of wild, +amazed, delirious agony. With much difficulty she was taken from the +room, being removed on the sofa upon which she reclined. Her anguish was +so great that for some time it was feared that reason was dethroned, and +that the blow would prove fatal. Her limbs were rigid, and her dry and +glassy eye was riveted upon vacancy. At length, in the endeavor to bring +her out from this dreadful state, the lifeless body of the child, +dressed for the grave, was brought in and placed in the lap of its +mother. The pent-up anguish of Hortense now found momentary relief in a +flood of tears, and in loud and uncontrollable sobbings. + +The anguish of Josephine surpassed, if possible, even that of Hortense. +The Empress knew that Napoleon had selected this child as his heir; that +consequently the terrible divorce was no longer to be thought of. In +addition to the loss of one she so tenderly loved, rose the fear that +his death would prove to her the greatest of earthly calamities. For +three days she could not leave her apartment, and did nothing but weep. + +The sad intelligence were conveyed to Napoleon in his cheerless +encampment upon the Vistula. As he received the tidings he uttered not a +word. Sitting down in silence, he buried his face in his hand, and for a +long time seemed lost in painful musings. No one ventured to disturb his +grief with attempted consolation. + +As soon as Josephine was able to move, she left Paris to visit her +bereaved, heart-broken daughter. But her strength failed her by the way, +and when she reached Luchen, a palace near Brussels, she was able to +proceed no farther. She wrote as follows to Hortense: + + "Luchen, May 14th, 1807--10 o'clock P.M. + +"I have arrived this moment at the chateau of Luchen, my dear daughter. +It is there I write to you, and there I await you. Come to restore me to +life. Your presence is necessary to me, and you must also feel the need +of seeing me, that you may weep with your mother. I earnestly wish to +proceed farther, but my strength has failed me, and moreover I have not +had time to apprise the Emperor. I have found strength to come thus far. +I hope you also will find strength to come and see your mother." + +Hortense immediately repaired to Luchen to seek a mother's sympathy. +With Josephine she returned to Paris, and soon after, by the entreaties +of her physician, continued her journey to take the waters of a mineral +spring in the south of France, seeking a change of climate and of scene. +Josephine remained in the depths of sorrow at St. Cloud. On the same day +in which Josephine arrived at Luchen, the Emperor wrote to her from the +Vistula as follows: + + "Finckenstein, May 14th, 1807. + +"I can appreciate the grief which the death of poor Napoleon has caused. +You can understand the anguish which I experience. I could wish that I +were with you, that you might become moderate and discreet in your +grief. You have had the happiness of never losing any children. But it +is one of the conditions and sorrows attached to suffering humanity. Let +me hear that you have become reasonable and tranquil. Would you magnify +my anguish?" + +Two days after Napoleon wrote the Empress: + +"I have received your letter of the sixth of May. I see in it already +the injury which you are suffering, and I fear that you are not +reasonable, and that you afflict yourself too much from the calamity +which has befallen us. + +"Adieu my love. Entirely thine, + + "NAPOLEON." + +Again, after the lapse of four days, he wrote: + +"I have received your letter of the tenth of May. I see that you have +gone to Luchen. I think that you may rest there a fortnight. That will +give much pleasure to the Belgians, and will serve to divert your mind. +I see with pain that you are not wise. Grief has bounds which it should +not pass. Preserve yourself for your friend, and believe in all my +affection." + +On the same day the Emperor wrote as follows to Hortense: + + "Finckenstein, May 20th, 1807. + +"MY DAUGHTER,--Every thing which reaches me from the Hague informs me +that you are unreasonable. However legitimate may be your grief, it +should have its bounds. Do not impair your health. Seek consolation. +Know that life is strewn with so many dangers, and may be the source of +so many calamities, that death is by no means the greatest of evils. + +"Your affectionate father, + + "NAPOLEON." + +It is to be borne in mind that these brief epistles were written from +the midst of one of the most arduous of campaigns. Four days after this, +on the 24th, Napoleon wrote to Josephine: + +"I have received your letter from Luchen. I see with pain that your +grief is still unabated, and that Hortense has not yet arrived. She is +unreasonable, and does not merit that one should love her, since she +loves only her children. Strive to calm yourself, and give me no more +pain. For every irremediable evil we should find consolation. Adieu, my +love. + +"Wholly thine, + + "NAPOLEON." + +After two days again the Emperor wrote to Josephine: + +"I have received your letter of the 16th, and see with pleasure that +Hortense has arrived at Luchen. I am indeed grieved by what you tell me +of the state of stupor in which she still continues. She should have +more fortitude, and should govern herself. I can not conceive why they +should wish her to go to the springs. Her attention would be much more +diverted at Paris, and she would find there more consolation. Control +yourself. Be cheerful, and take care of your health. Adieu, my love. I +share deeply in all your griefs. It is painful to me that I am not with +you. + + "NAPOLEON." + +It will be remembered that Hortense had another child, then but an +infant, by the name of Napoleon Louis. This child subsequently married a +daughter of Joseph Bonaparte, and died in a campaign in Italy, as he +espoused the popular cause in the endeavor to throw off the yoke of +Austria. The third and only surviving child, Louis Napoleon, now Emperor +of the French, was not then born. + +We have previously alluded in this history to a niece of Madame Campan +by the name of Adčle Auguié, who was the intimate friend and companion +of Hortense in her school-days. School-girl attachments, though often +very ardent, are not generally very lasting. This one, however, proved +of life-long duration. Adčle became Madame de Broc. There is an allusion +to her in the following letter. We shall hereafter have occasion to +refer to her in describing the disaster which terminated her life. It +was the latter part of May when Hortense left her mother to journey to +the south of France. Soon after her departure Josephine wrote to her as +follows: + + "St. Cloud, May 27th, 1807. + +"I have wept much since your departure, my dear Hortense. This +separation has been very painful to me. Nothing can give me courage to +support it but the certainty that the journey will do you good. I have +received tidings from you, through Madame Broc. I pray you to thank her +for that attention, and to request her to write to me when you may be +unable to write yourself. I had also news from your son. He is at the +chateau of Luchen, very well, and awaiting the arrival of the king. He +shares very keenly in our griefs. I have need of this consolation, for I +have had none other since your departure. Always alone by myself, every +moment dwelling upon the subject of our affliction, my tears flow +incessantly. Adieu, my beloved child. Preserve yourself for a mother +who loves you tenderly." + +Soon after this Josephine went for a short time to Malmaison. On the 2d +of June Napoleon wrote to her from that place the following letter, +inclosing also one for Hortense. + +"MY LOVE,--I have learned of your arrival at Malmaison. I am displeased +with Hortense. She does not write me a word. Every thing which you say +to me of her gives me pain. Why is it that you have not been able a +little to console her? You weep. I hope that you will control your +feelings, that I may not find you overwhelmed with sadness. I have been +at Dantzic for two days. The weather is very fine, and I am well. I +think more of you than you can think of one who is absent. Adieu my +love. My most affectionate remembrance. Send the inclosed letter to +Hortense." + +The letter to Hortense to which Napoleon refers, was as follows: + + "Dantzic, June 2d, 1807. + +"MY DAUGHTER,--You have not written me a word in your well-founded and +great affliction. You have forgotten every thing as if you had no other +loss to endure. I am informed that you no longer love; that you are +indifferent to every thing. I perceive it by your silence. This is not +right, Hortense. It is not what you promised me. Your child was every +thing to you. Had I been at Malmaison, I should have shared your +anguish. But I should also have wished that you would restore yourself +to your best friends. Adieu, my daughter. Be cheerful. We must learn +resignation. Cherish your health, that you may be able to fulfill all +your duties. My wife is very sad in view of your condition. Do not add +to her anguish." + +The next day, June 3d, the Emperor wrote to Josephine: + +"All the letters which come to me from St. Cloud say that you weep +continually. This is not right. It is necessary to control one's self +and to be contented. Hortense is entirely wrong. What you write me about +her is pitiful. Adieu, my love. Believe in the affection with which I +cherish you." + +The next day Josephine wrote from the palace of St. Cloud to Hortense, +who was then at the waters of Cauterets: + +"Your letter has greatly consoled me, my dear Hortense, and the tidings +of your health, which I have received from your ladies, contribute very +much to render me more tranquil. The Emperor has been deeply affected. +In all his letters he seeks to give me fortitude, but I know that this +severe affliction has been keenly felt by him. + +"The king[C] arrived yesterday at St. Leu. He has sent me word that he +will come to see me to-day. He will leave the little one with me during +his absence. You know how dearly I love that child, and the solicitude I +feel for him. I hope that the king will follow the same route which you +have taken. It will be, my dear Hortense, a consolation to you both to +see each other again. All the letters which I have received from him +since his departure are full of his attachment for you. Your heart is +too affectionate not to be touched by this. Adieu, my dear child. Take +care of your health. Mine can never be established till I shall no +longer suffer for those whom I love. I embrace you tenderly. + + "JOSEPHINE." + +[Footnote C: The husband of Hortense, King of Holland. He was then very +sick, suffering from an attack of paralysis. St. Leu was a beautiful +estate he owned in France. He had with him his second and then only +living child, Napoleon Louis. Leaving him with his grandmother, he +repaired to Cauterets, where he joined Hortense, his wife.] + +Two days after this, on the 6th, the Emperor wrote the Empress: + +"I am very well, my love. Your letter of yesterday gave me much pain. It +appears that you are continually sad, and that you are not reasonable. +The weather is very bad. Adieu, my love. I love you and desire to hear +that you are cheerful and contented." + +On the 11th of June, Josephine again wrote to Hortense: + +"Your son is remarkably well. He amuses me much; he is so pleasant. I +find he has all the endearing manners of the poor child over whose loss +we weep." + +Again she wrote, probably the next day, in answer to a letter from +Hortense: + +"Your letter has affected me deeply, my dear daughter. I see how +profound and unvarying is your grief. And I perceive it still more +sensibly by the anguish which I experience myself. We have lost that +which in every respect was the most worthy to be loved. My tears flow as +on the first day. Our grief is too well-founded for reason to be able to +cause it to cease. Nevertheless, my dear Hortense, it should moderate +it. You are not alone in the world. There still remains to you a +husband and a mother, whose tender love you well know, and you have too +much sensibility to regard all that with coldness and indifference. +Think of us; and let that memory calm another well grounded and +grievous. I rely upon your attachment for me and upon the strength of +your mind. I hope also that the journey and the waters will do you good. +Your son is remarkably well. He is a charming child. My health is a +little better, but you know that it depends upon yours. Adieu. I embrace +you. + + "JOSEPHINE." + +On the 16th of June, Napoleon again wrote to Hortense from his distant +encampment: + +"MY DAUGHTER,--I have received your letter dated Orleans. Your griefs +touch my heart, but I could wish that you would summon more fortitude. +To live is to suffer, and the sincere man suffers incessantly to retain +the mastery over himself. I do not love to see you unjust towards the +little Napoleon Louis, and towards all your friends. Your mother and I +had cherished the hope of being more than we are in your heart I have +gained a great victory on the 14th of June.[D] I am well and love you +very much. Adieu, my daughter. I embrace you with my whole heart." + +[Footnote D: Victory of Friedland.] + +The above extracts from the private correspondence of Napoleon and +Josephine reveal, more clearly than any thing else could possibly do, +the anguish with which Hortense was oppressed. They also exhibit, in a +very interesting light, the affectionate relationship which existed +between the members of the Imperial family. The authenticity of the +letters is beyond all possible question. How much more charitable should +we be could we but fully understand the struggles and the anguish to +which all human hearts are exposed. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +BIRTH OF LOUIS NAPOLEON AND THE DIVORCE OF JOSEPHINE. + +1808-1809 + +Birth of Louis Napoleon.--Letter from Josephine.--Public announcement of +the birth.--Napoleon's attachment to his nephews.--Letter from +Napoleon.--Josephine to Hortense.--Remarks of the Duke of +Rovigo.--Testimony of Cambaceres.--The dreadful announcement.--Anguish +of the Imperial family.--Noble conduct of Eugene.--The divorce.--The +scene of the divorce.--The legal consummation.--Josephine, Eugene, +Hortense.--Affecting interview.--Grief of Napoleon.--Testimony of Baron +Meneval.--Letter from Napoleon to Josephine.--The retirement of +Josephine.--Josephine at Malmaison.--Interview between Napoleon and +Josephine.--Napoleon's remarks on his divorce.--Sin of the divorce. + + +The latter part of July, 1807, Hortense, in the state of anguish which +the preceding chapter develops, was, with her husband, at the waters of +Cauterets, in the south of France. They were united by the ties of a +mutual grief. Napoleon was more than a thousand miles away in the north +of Europe. In considerably less than a year from that date, on the 20th +of April, 1808, Hortense gave birth, in Paris to her third child, Louis +Napoleon, now Napoleon III., Emperor of the French. Josephine was then +at Bordeaux, and wrote as follows to Hortense: + + "Bordeaux, April 23d, 1808. + +"I am, my dear Hortense, in an excess of joy. The tidings of your happy +accouchement were brought to me yesterday by M. de Villeneuve. I felt my +heart beat the moment I saw him enter. But I cherished the hope that he +had only good tidings to bring me, and my presentiments did not deceive +me. I have received a second letter, which assures me that you are very +well, and also your son. I know that Napoleon will console himself in +not having a sister, and that he already loves very much his brother. +Embrace them both for me. But I must not write you too long a letter +from fear of fatiguing you. Take care of yourself with the utmost +caution. Do not receive too much company at present. Let me hear from +you every day. I await tidings from you with as much impatience as I +love you with tenderness. + + "JOSEPHINE." + +The birth of this prince, Louis Napoleon, whose renown as Napoleon III. +now fills the world, and respecting whose character and achievements +there is so wonderful a diversity of sentiment among intelligent men, +took place in Paris. Napoleon was at that time upon the highest pinnacle +of prosperity. The Allies, vanquished in every conflict, seemed disposed +to give up the attempt to reinstate the Bourbons upon the throne of +France. The birth of Louis Napoleon, as a prince of the Empire, in the +direct line of hereditary descent, was welcomed by the guns of the +Invalides, and by military salutes all along the lines of the Imperial +army, from Hamburg to Rome, and from the Pyrenees to the Danube. The +important event was thus announced in the Moniteur of April 21st: + +"Yesterday, at one o'clock, her Majesty the Queen of Holland was safely +delivered of a prince. In conformity with Article 40, of the Act of the +Constitution of 28 Floreal, year 12, the Chancellor of the Empire +attested the birth, and wrote immediately to the Emperor, the Empress, +and the King of Holland, to communicate the intelligence. At five +o'clock in the evening, the act of birth was received by the arch +chancellor, assisted by his eminence, Reynault de St. Jean d'Angely, +minister of state and state secretary of the Imperial family. In the +absence of the Emperor, the new-born prince has not yet received his +name. This will be provided for by an ulterior act, according to the +orders of his Majesty." + +By a decree of the Senate, these two children of Louis Bonaparte and +Hortense were declared heirs to the Imperial throne, should Napoleon and +his elder brother Joseph die without children. This decree of the +Senate was submitted to the acceptation of the French people. With +wonderful unanimity it was adopted. There were 3,521,675 votes in the +affirmative, and but 2599 in the negative. + +Napoleon ever manifested the deepest interest in these two children. At +the time of the birth of Louis Napoleon he was at Bayonne, arranging +with the Spanish princes for the transfer of the crown of Spain to +Joseph Bonaparte. Josephine was at Bordeaux. From this interview he +passed, in his meteoric flight, to the Congress of Kings at Erfurt, but +a few miles from the battle-field of Jena. It was here that the +celebrated historian Müller met the Emperor and gave the following +testimony as to the impression which his presence produced upon his +mind: + +"Quite impartially and truly, as before God, I must say, that the +variety of his knowledge, the acuteness of his observation, the solidity +of his understanding, filled me with astonishment. His manner of +speaking to me inspired me with love for him. It was one of the most +remarkable days of my life. By his genius and his disinterested goodness +he has conquered me also." + +Hortense, with a saddened spirit, now lived in great seclusion, devoting +herself almost exclusively to the education of her two sons, Napoleon +Louis and Louis Napoleon. Her bodily health was feeble, and she was most +of the time deeply dejected. In May, 1809, Hortense, without consulting +the Emperor, who was absent in Germany, took the two princes with her to +the baths of Baden, where they were exposed to the danger of being +seized and held as hostages by the Austrians. The solicitude of the +Emperor for them may be seen in the following letter: + + "Ebersdorf, May 28th, 1809. + +"MY DAUGHTER,--I am very much displeased, (_trčs mécontent_) that you +should have left France without my permission, and particularly that you +should have taken my nephews from France. Since you are at the waters of +Baden, remain there. But in one hour after the reception of this letter, +send my two nephews to Strasbourg, near to the Empress. They ought never +to leave France. It is the first time that I have had occasion to be +dissatisfied with you. But you ought not to dispose of my nephews +without my permission. You ought to perceive the mischievous effects +which that may produce. + +"Since the waters of Baden are beneficial to you, you can remain there +some days. But I repeat to you, do not delay for a moment sending my +nephews to Strasbourg. Should the Empress go to the waters of Plombičres +they can accompany her there. But they ought never to cross the bridge +of Strasbourg. Your affectionate father, + + "NAPOLEON." + +This letter was sent to Josephine to be transmitted by her to Hortense. +She received it on the first of June, and immediately sent it to her +daughter, with a letter which implies that Hortense had already +anticipated the wishes of Napoleon, and had sent the princes, after a +brief visit, to Josephine at Strasbourg. Soon after this it would seem +that little Louis Napoleon, who was evidently the favorite of his +grandmother, perhaps because he was more with her, accompanied Josephine +to St Cloud. About a fortnight after this she wrote to Hortense from +that palace: + +"I am happy to have your son with me. He is charming. I am attached to +him more and more, in thinking he will be a solace to you. His little +reasons amuse me much. He grows every day, and his complexion is very +fine. I am far from you, but I frequently embrace your son, and love to +imagine to myself that it is my dear daughter whom I embrace." + +And now we approach that almost saddest of earth's tragedies, the +divorce of Josephine--the great wrong and calamity of Napoleon's life. +The event had so important a bearing upon the character and the destiny +of Hortense as to demand a brief recital here. + +It is often difficult to judge of the _motives_ of human actions; but at +times circumstances are such that it is almost impossible to misjudge +the causes which lead to conduct. General Savary, Duke of Rovigo, the +intimate personal friend of the Emperor, and one better acquainted with +his secret thoughts than any other person, gives the following account +of this momentous and fatal act: + +"A thousand idle stories have been related concerning the Emperor's +motives for breaking the bonds he had contracted upwards of fifteen +years before, and separating from one who was the partner of his life +during the most stormy events of his glorious career. It was ascribed +to his ambition to connect himself with royal blood; and malevolence has +delighted in spreading the report that to this consideration he had +sacrificed every other. This opinion was quite erroneous, and he was as +unfairly dealt with, upon the subject, as all persons are who happen to +be placed above the level of mankind. + +"Nothing can be more true than that the sacrifice of the object of his +affections was the most painful that he experienced throughout his life; +and that he would have preferred adopting any course than the one to +which he was driven by the motives which I am about to relate. Public +opinion in general was unjust to the Emperor, when he placed the +imperial crown upon his head. A feeling of personal ambition was +supposed to be the main-spring of all his actions. This was, however, a +very mistaken impression. I have already mentioned with what reluctance +he had altered the form of government, and that if he had not been +apprehensive that the State would fall again a prey to those dissensions +which are inseparable from an elective form of government, he would not +have changed an order of things which appeared to have been the first +solid conquest achieved by the revolution. Ever since he had brought +back the nation to monarchical principles, he had neglected no means of +consolidating institutions which permanently secured those principles, +and yet firmly established the superiority of modern ideas over +antiquated customs. Differences of opinion could no longer create any +disturbance respecting the form of government, when his career should be +closed. + +"But this was not enough. It was further requisite that the line of +inheritance should be defined in so clear a manner that, at his death, +no pretense might be made for the contention of any claimants to the +throne. For if such a misfortune were to take place, the least foreign +intervention would have sufficed to revive a spirit of discord among us. +This feeling of personal ambition consisted in this case, in a desire to +hand his work down to posterity, and to resign to his successor a state +resting upon his numerous trophies for its stability. He could not have +been blind to the fact, that the perpetual warfare into which a jealousy +of his strength had plunged him, had, in reality, no other object than +his own downfall, because with him must necessarily crumble that +gigantic power which was no longer upheld by the revolutionary energy +he himself had repressed. + +"The Emperor had not any children. The Empress had two, but he never +could have entertained a thought of them without exposing himself to the +most serious inconveniences. I believe, however, that if the two +children of Josephine had been the only ones in his family, he would +have made some arrangement for securing the inheritance to Eugene. He +however dismissed the idea of appointing him his heir, because he had +nearer relations, and it would have given rise to dissensions which it +was his principal object to avoid. He also considered the necessity in +which he was placed of forming an alliance sufficiently powerful, in +order that, in the event of his system being at any time threatened, +that alliance might be a resting-point, and save it from total ruin. He +likewise hoped that it would be the means of putting to an end that +series of wars, of which he was desirous, above all things, to avoid a +recurrence. These were the motives which determined him to break a union +so long contracted. He wished it less for himself than for the purpose +of interesting a powerful state in the maintenance of the order of +things established in France. He reflected often on the mode of making +this communication to the Empress. Still he was reluctant to speak to +her. He was apprehensive of the consequences of her tenderness of +feeling. His heart was never proof against the shedding of tears." + +The arch-chancellor Cambaceres states that Napoleon communicated to him +the resolution he had adopted; alluded to the reasons for the divorce, +spoke of the anguish which the stern necessity caused his affections, +and declared his intention to invest the act with forms the most +affectionate and the most honorable to Josephine. + +"I will have nothing," said he, "which can resemble a repudiation; +nothing but a mere dissolution of the conjugal tie, founded upon mutual +consent; a consent itself founded upon the interests of the empire. +Josephine is to be provided with a palace in Paris, with a princely +residence in the country with an income of six hundred thousand dollars, +and is to occupy the first rank among the princesses, after the future +Empress. I wish ever to keep her near me as my best and most +affectionate friend." + +Josephine was in some degree aware of the doom which was impending, and +her heart was consumed by unmitigated grief. Hortense, who also was +heart-stricken and world-weary, was entreated by the Emperor to prepare +her mother for the sad tidings. She did so, but very imperfectly. At +last the fatal hour arrived in which it was necessary for the Emperor to +make the dreaded announcement to the Empress. They were both at +Fontainebleau, and Hortense was with her mother. For some time there had +been much constraint in the intercourse between the Emperor and Empress; +he dreading to make the cruel communication, and her heart lacerated +with anguish in the apprehension of receiving it. + +It was the last day of November, 1809, cold and cheerless. Napoleon and +Josephine dined alone in silence, not a word being spoken during the +repast. At the close of the meal, Napoleon, pale and trembling, took the +hand of the Empress and said: + +"Josephine, my own good Josephine, you know how I have loved you. It is +to you alone that I owe the few moments of happiness I have known in the +world. Josephine, my destiny is stronger than my will. My dearest +affections must yield to the welfare of France." + +All-expected as the blow was, it was none the less dreadful. Josephine +fell, apparently lifeless, to the floor. The Count de Beaumont was +immediately summoned, and, with the aid of Napoleon, conveyed Josephine +to her apartment. Hortense came at once to her mother, whom she loved so +tenderly. The anguish of the scene overcame her. In respectful, though +reproachful tones, she said to the Emperor, "My mother will descend from +the throne, as she ascended it, in obedience to your will. Her children, +content to renounce grandeurs which have not made them happy, will +gladly go and devote their lives to comforting the best and the most +affectionate of mothers." + +Napoleon was entirely overcome. He sat down and wept bitterly. Raising +his eyes swimming in tears to his daughter, he said: + +"Do not leave me, Hortense. Stay by me with Eugene. Help me to console +your mother and render her calm, resigned, and even happy in remaining +my friend, while she ceases to be my wife." + +Eugene was summoned from Italy. Upon his arrival his sister threw +herself into his arms, and, after a brief interview of mutual anguish, +led him to their beloved mother. After a short interview with her, he +repaired to the cabinet of the Emperor. In respectful terms, but firm +and very sad, he inquired if Napoleon intended to obtain a divorce from +the Empress. Napoleon, who tenderly loved his noble son, could only +reply with the pressure of the hand. Eugene immediately recoiled and, +withdrawing his hand, said: + +"In that case, Sire, permit me to retire from your service." + +"How," exclaimed Napoleon, looking sadly upon him. "Will you, my adopted +son, forsake me?" + +"Yes, Sire," Eugene replied. "The son of her who is no longer Empress, +can not remain viceroy. I will follow my mother into her retreat. She +must now find her consolation in her children." + +Tears filled the eyes of the Emperor. "You know," said he, "the stern +necessity which compels this measure. Will you forsake me? Who then, +should I have a son, the object of my desires and preserver of my +interests, who will watch over the child when I am absent? If I die, who +will prove to him a father? Who will bring him up? Who is to make a man +of him?" + +Napoleon and Eugene then retired to the garden, and for a long time +walked, arm in arm, up and down one of its avenues, engaged in earnest +conversation. Josephine, with a mother's love, could not forget the +interests of her children, even in her own anguish. + +"The Emperor," she said to Eugene, "is your benefactor, your more than +father; to whom you are indebted for every thing, and to whom therefore +you owe boundless obedience." + +A fortnight passed away and the 15th of December arrived; the day +appointed for the consummation of this cruel sacrifice. The affecting +scene transpired in the grand saloon of the palace of the Tuileries. All +the members of the imperial family were present. Eugene and Hortense +were with their mother, sustaining her with their sympathy and love. An +extreme pallor overspread the countenance of Napoleon, as he addressed +the assembled dignitaries of the empire. + +"The political interests of my monarchy," said he, "and the wishes of my +people, which have constantly guided my actions, require that I should +transmit to an heir, inheriting my love for the people, the throne on +which Providence has placed me. For many years I have lost all hope of +having children by my beloved spouse the Empress Josephine. It is this +consideration which induces me to sacrifice the dearest affections of +my heart, to consult only the good of my subjects, and to desire the +dissolution of our marriage. Arrived at the age of forty years, I may +indulge the reasonable hope of living long enough to rear, in the spirit +of my own thoughts and disposition, the children with which it may +please Providence to bless me. God knows how much such a determination +has cost my heart. But there is no sacrifice too great for my courage +when it is proved to be for the interest of France. Far from having any +cause of complaint, I have nothing to say but in praise of the +attachment and tenderness of my beloved wife. She has embellished +fifteen years of my life, and the remembrance of them will be forever +engraven on my heart. She was crowned by my hand. She shall always +retain the rank and title of Empress. Above all, let her never doubt my +affection, or regard me but as her best and dearest friend." + +Josephine now endeavored to fulfill her part in this sad drama. +Unfolding a paper, she vainly strove to read her assent to the divorce. +But tears blinded her eyes and emotion choked her voice. Handing the +paper to a friend and sobbing aloud, she sank into a chair and buried +her face in her handkerchief. Her friend, M. Reynaud, read the paper, +which was as follows: + +[Illustration: THE DIVORCE ANNOUNCED.] + +"With the permission of my august and dear spouse, I must declare that, +retaining no hope of having children who may satisfy the requirements of +his policy and the interests of France, I have the pleasure of giving +him the greatest proof of attachment and devotedness which was ever +given on earth. I owe all to his bounty. It was his hand that crowned +me, and on his throne I have received only manifestations of love and +affection from the French people. I respond to all the sentiments of the +Emperor, in consenting to the dissolution of a marriage which is now an +obstacle to the happiness of France, by depriving it of the blessing of +being one day governed by the descendants of that great man who was +evidently raised up by Providence to efface the evils of a terrible +revolution, and to restore the altar, the throne, and social order. But +the dissolution of my marriage will in no respect change the sentiments +of my heart. The Emperor will ever find in me his best friend. I know +how much this act, commanded by policy and exalted interests, has rent +his heart. But we both glory in the sacrifices we make for the good +of the country." + +"After these words," says Thiers, "the noblest ever uttered under such +circumstances--for never, it must be confessed, did vulgar passions less +prevail in an act of this kind--Napoleon, embracing Josephine, led her +to her own apartment, where he left her, almost fainting, in the arms of +her children." + +The next day the Senate was convened in the grand saloon to sanction the +legal consummation of the divorce. Eugene presided. As he announced the +desire of the Emperor and Empress for the dissolution of their marriage, +he said: "The tears of his Majesty at this separation are sufficient for +the glory of my mother." The description of the remaining scenes of this +cruel tragedy we repeat from "Abbott's Life of Napoleon." + +"The Emperor, dressed in the robes of state, and pale as a statue of +marble, leaned against a pillar, careworn and wretched. Folding his arms +upon his breast, with his eyes fixed upon vacancy, he stood in gloomy +silence. It was a funereal scene. The low hum of mournful voices alone +disturbed the stillness of the room. A circular table was placed in the +centre of the apartment. Upon it there was a writing apparatus of gold. +A vacant arm-chair stood before the table. The company gazed silently +upon it as the instrument of the most soul-harrowing execution. + +"A side door opened, and Josephine entered. Her face was as white as the +simple muslin robe which she wore. She was leaning upon the arm of +Hortense, who, not possessing the fortitude of her mother, was sobbing +convulsively. The whole assembly, upon the entrance of Josephine, +instinctively arose. All were moved to tears. With her own peculiar +grace, Josephine advanced to the seat provided for her. Leaning her pale +forehead upon her hand, she listened with the calmness of stupor to the +reading of the act of separation. The convulsive sobbings of Hortense, +mingled with the subdued and mournful tones of the reader's voice, added +to the tragic impressiveness of the scene. Eugene, pale and trembling, +stepped forward and took a position by the side of his adored mother, to +give her the moral support of his near presence. + +"As soon as the reading of the act of separation was finished, +Josephine, for a moment, in anguish pressed her handkerchief to her +eyes, and rising, in tones clear, musical, but tremulous with repressed +emotion, pronounced the oath of acceptance. She sat down, took the pen, +and affixed her signature to the deed which sundered the dearest hopes +and the fondest ties which human hearts can feel. Eugene could endure +this anguish no longer. His brain reeled, his heart ceased to beat, and +fainting, he fell senseless to the floor. Josephine and Hortense +retired, with the attendants who bore out the inanimate form of the +affectionate son and brother. It was a fitting termination of the +heart-rending yet sublime tragedy. + +"Josephine remained in her chamber overwhelmed with speechless grief. A +sombre night darkened over the city, oppressed by the gloom of this +cruel sacrifice. The hour arrived at which Napoleon usually retired for +sleep. The Emperor, restless and wretched, had just placed himself in +the bed from which he had ejected his faithful and devoted wife, when +the private door of his chamber was slowly opened, and Josephine +tremblingly entered. + +"Her eyes were swollen with weeping, her hair disordered, and she +appeared in all the dishabille of unutterable anguish. Hardly conscious +of what she did, in the delirium of her woe, she tottered into the +middle of the room and approached the bed of her former husband. Then +irresolutely stopping, she buried her face in her hands and burst into a +flood of tears. + +"A feeling of delicacy seemed, for a moment, to have arrested her +steps--a consciousness that she had _now_ no right to enter the chamber +of Napoleon. In another moment all the pent-up love of her heart burst +forth, and forgetting every thing in the fullness of her anguish, she +threw herself upon the bed, clasped Napoleon's neck in her arms, and +exclaiming, 'My husband! my husband!' sobbed as though her heart were +breaking. The imperial spirit of Napoleon was entirely vanquished. He +also wept convulsively. He assured Josephine of his love--of his ardent, +undying love. In every way he tried to soothe and comfort her. For some +time they remained locked in each other's embrace. The valet-de-chambre, +who was still present, was dismissed, and for an hour Napoleon and +Josephine continued together in this their last private interview. +Josephine then, in the experience of an intensity of anguish such as few +human hearts have ever known, parted forever from the _husband_ whom +she had so long and so faithfully loved." + +Josephine having withdrawn, an attendant entered the apartment to remove +the lights. He found the Emperor so buried beneath the bedclothes as to +be invisible. Not a word was uttered. The lights were removed, and the +unhappy monarch was left alone in darkness and silence to the melancholy +companionship of his own thoughts. The next morning the death-like +pallor of his cheek, his sunken eye, and the haggard expression of his +countenance, attested that the Emperor had passed the night in +sleeplessness and in suffering. + +The grief of Napoleon was unquestionably sincere. It could not but be +so. He was influenced by no vagrant passion. He had formed no new +attachment. He truly loved Josephine. He consequently resolved to retire +for a time to the seclusion of Trianon, at Versailles. He seemed +desirous that the externals of mourning should accompany an event so +mournful. + +"The orders for the departure for Trianon," writes the Baron Meneval, +Napoleon's private secretary, "had been previously given. When in the +morning the Emperor was informed that his carriages were ready, he took +his hat and said, 'Meneval, come with me.' I followed him by the little +winding staircase which, from his cabinet, communicated with the +apartment of the Empress. Josephine was alone, and appeared absorbed in +the most melancholy reflections. At the noise which we made in entering, +she eagerly rose and threw herself sobbing upon the neck of the Emperor. +He pressed her to his bosom with the most ardent embraces. + +"In the excess of her emotion she fainted. I rang the bell for succor. +The Emperor wishing to avoid the renewal of scenes of anguish which he +could no longer alleviate, placed the Empress in my arms as soon as she +began to revive. Directing me not to leave her, he hastily retired to +his carriage which was waiting for him at the door. The Empress, +perceiving the departure of the Emperor, redoubled her tears and moans. +Her women placed her upon a sofa. She seized my hands, and frantically +urged me to entreat Napoleon not to forget her, and to assure him that +her love would survive every event. + +"She made me promise to write her immediately on my arrival at Trianon, +and to see that the Emperor wrote to her also. She could hardly consent +to let me go, as if my departure would break the last tie which still +connected her with the Emperor. I left her, deeply moved by the +exhibition of a grief so true and an attachment so sincere. I was +profoundly saddened during my ride, and I could not refrain from +deploring the rigorous exigencies of state which rudely sundered the +ties of a long-tried affection, to impose another union offering only +uncertainties. Having arrived at Trianon, I gave the Emperor a faithful +account of all that had transpired after his departure. He was still +oppressed by the melancholy scenes through which he had passed. He dwelt +upon the noble qualities of Josephine, and upon the sincerity of the +affection which she cherished for him. He ever after preserved for her +the most tender attachment. The same evening he wrote to her a letter to +console her solitude." The letter was as follows: + +"My love, I found you to-day more feeble than you ought to be. You have +exhibited much fortitude, and it is necessary that you should still +continue to sustain yourself. You must not yield to funereal melancholy. +Strive to be tranquil, and, above, all, to preserve your health, which +is so precious to me. If you are attached to me, if you love me, you +must maintain your energy and strive to be cheerful. You can not doubt +my constancy and my tender affection. You know too well all the +sentiments with which I regard you to suppose that I can be happy if you +are unhappy, that I can be serene if you are agitated. Adieu, my love. +Sleep well. Believe that I wish it. + + "NAPOLEON." + +After the departure of the Emperor, at eleven o'clock in the morning all +the household of the Tuileries were assembled upon the grand staircase, +to witness the retirement of their beloved mistress from the scenes +where she had so long been the brightest ornament. Josephine descended +from her apartment veiled from head to foot. Her emotions were too deep +for utterance. Silently she waved an adieu to the affectionate and +weeping friends who surrounded her. A close carriage with six horses was +before the door. She entered it, sank back upon the cushions, buried her +face in her handkerchief, and, sobbing bitterly, left the Tuileries +forever. + +After the divorce, Josephine spent most of her time at the beautiful +chateau of Malmaison, which had been assigned to her, or at the palace +of Navarre, which was embellished for her at an expense of two hundred +thousand dollars. She retained the title of Empress, and received a +jointure of about six hundred thousand dollars a year. Almost daily +letters were exchanged between her and the Emperor, and he frequently +visited her. But from motives of delicacy he never saw her alone. We +know of nothing more pathetic in history than the gleams we get of these +interviews, as revealed in the "Confidential letters of Napoleon and +Josephine," whose publication was authorized by Queen Hortense, after +the death of her mother. Josephine, in the following words, describes +one of these interviews at Malmaison. It was after the marriage with +Maria Louisa. + +"I was one day painting a violet, a flower which recalled to my memory +my more happy days, when one of my women ran towards me and made a sign +by placing her finger upon her lips. The next moment I was +overpowered--I beheld Napoleon. He threw himself with transport into the +arms of his old friend. Oh, then I was convinced that he could still +love me; for that man really loved me. It seemed impossible for him to +cease gazing upon me, and his look was that of tender affection. At +length, in a tone of deepest compassion and love, he said: + +"'My dear Josephine, I have always loved you. I love you still. Do you +still love me, excellent and good Josephine? Do you still love me, in +spite of the relations I have again contracted, and which have separated +me from you? But they have not banished you from my memory.' + +"'Sire,' I replied-- + +"'Call me Bonaparte,' said he; 'speak to me, my beloved, with the same +freedom, the same familiarity as ever.' + +"Bonaparte soon disappeared, and I heard only the sound of his retiring +footsteps. Oh, how quickly does every thing take place on earth. I had +once more felt the pleasure of being loved." + +In reference to this melancholy event, Napoleon said, at Saint Helena: + +"My divorce has no parallel in history. It did not destroy the ties +which united our families, and our mutual tenderness remained unchanged. +Our separation was a sacrifice, demanded of us by reason, for the +interests of my crown and of my dynasty. Josephine was devoted to me. +She loved me tenderly. No one ever had a preference over me in her +heart. I occupied the first place in it, her children the next. She was +right in thus loving me; and the remembrance of her is still +all-powerful in my mind. Josephine was really an amiable woman: she was +so kind, so humane. She was the best woman in France. + +"A son, by Josephine, would have completed my happiness, not only in a +political point of view, but as a source of domestic felicity. As a +political result it would have secured to me the possession of the +throne. The French people would have been as much attached to the son of +Josephine as they were to the King of Rome, and I should not have set my +foot on an abyss covered with a bed of flowers. But how vain are all +human calculations! Who can pretend to decide on what may lead to +happiness or unhappiness in this life!" + +The divorce of Josephine, strong as were the political motives which led +to it, was a violation of the immutable laws of God. Like all +wrong-doing, however seemingly prosperous for a time, it promoted final +disaster and woe. Doubtless Napoleon, educated in the midst of those +convulsions which had shaken all the foundations of Christian morality, +did not clearly perceive the extent of the wrong. He unquestionably felt +that he was doing right; that the interests of France demanded the +sacrifice. But the penalty was none the less inevitable. The laws of God +can not be violated with impunity, even though the violation be a sin of +ignorance. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +THE DEATH OF JOSEPHINE. + +1810-1816 + +Marriage of Napoleon and Maria Louisa.--Hortense goes to +Navarre.--Letter from Josephine.--Louis Bonaparte abdicates.--Madame +Broc.--"Partant pour la Syrie."--Illness of Napoleon Louis.--Letter from +Eugene.--Napoleon arrives in Paris.--Letter from Josephine.--Death of +Madame Broc.--Hortense at Aix.--Disasters to Napoleon.--Embarrassment of +Maria Louisa.--Napoleon's last interview with Josephine.--Josephine goes +to Navarre.--Letter from Napoleon.--Napoleon abdicates.--Kindness of +Alexander.--Illness of Josephine.--Death of Josephine. + + +From the sad scenes described in the last chapter, Eugene returned to +Italy. Hortense, in the deepest state of dejection, remained for a short +time in Paris, often visiting her mother at Malmaison. About five months +after the divorce, Napoleon was again married to Maria Louisa, daughter +of the Emperor of Austria. The marriage ceremony was first celebrated +with great pomp in Vienna, Napoleon being represented by proxy; and +again the ceremony was repeated in Paris. It devolved upon Hortense, as +the daughter of Napoleon, and the most prominent lady of his household, +to receive with smiles of welcome and cordiality of greeting the +princess who took the place of her mother. Seldom has it been the lot of +a woman to pass through a more painful ordeal. Josephine, that she might +be far removed from the tumult of Paris, rejoicing upon the arrival of +Maria Louisa, retired from Malmaison to the more distant palace of +Navarre. Soon after the marriage, Hortense hastened to join her mother +there. There was at this time but little sympathy between Hortense and +her husband. The power of a great sorrow in the death of their eldest +son had for a short time brought them more closely together. There was, +however, but little compatibility in their tastes and dispositions; and +Hortense, deeming it her duty to comfort her mother, and finding more +congeniality in her society than in that of her husband, made but brief +visits to Holland. + +It is easy for the prosperous and the happy to be amiable. Hortense was +in a state of great physical debility, and almost every hope of her life +had been crushed out. The letters of Hortense to Josephine have not been +made public. We can only judge of their character from the replies which +her mother made. From these it would appear that scarcely did a ray of +joy illumine the gloomy path which she was destined to tread. On the 4th +of April, 1810, Josephine wrote to Hortense from Navarre: + +"I am touched, my dear Hortense, with all the griefs which you +experience. I hope that there is no more question of your return to +Holland, and that you will have a little repose. I know how much you +must suffer from these disappointments, but I entreat you not to allow +yourself to be affected by them. As long as any thing remains to me you +shall be mistress of your destiny; grief and happiness--you know that I +share all with you. + +"Take, then, a little courage, my dear daughter. We both of us have much +need of it. Often mine is too feeble, and sorrow makes me sick. But I +seek fortitude all the time, and with my utmost efforts." + +Soon after this Hortense, taking her two children with her, rejoined her +husband, King Louis, in Holland. Josephine wrote to her on the 10th of +May, from Navarre: + +"I have received your letter, my dear Hortense, and I see, with much +pain, that your health is not good. I hope that repose will re-establish +it; and I can not doubt that the king will contribute to it every thing +in his power, by his attentions and his attachments. Every day will lead +him to see more and more how much you merit. Take care of yourself, my +dear daughter; you know how much I have need of you. My heart has +suffered to a degree which has somewhat impaired my health. But +fortitude triumphs over sorrow, and I begin to be a little better." + +Again, on the 15th, the Empress wrote to Hortense, who was still in +Amsterdam: + +"I have been extremely anxious on account of your health, my dear +Hortense. I know that you have experienced several attacks of fever, and +I have need to be tranquilized. + +"Your letter of the 10th has just reached me, but it has not given me +the consolation I had hoped for. I see in it an abandonment of yourself, +which gives me great pain. How many ties are there which should bind you +to life! And if you have so little affection for me, is it then, when I +am no longer happy, that you can think, with so much tranquillity, of +leaving me? + +"Take courage, my daughter, and especially be careful of your health. I +am confident, as I have already sent you word, that the waters which +have been prescribed for you will do you good. Speak of it to the king +with frankness. He certainly will not refuse you any thing which may be +essential to your health. I am making all my arrangements to go to the +springs in the month of June. But I do not think that I shall go to +Aix-la-Chapelle, but rather to Aix in Savoy, which place I prefer. + +"Diversion of mind is necessary for my health, and I have more hope of +finding that in a place which I have never seen, and whose situation is +picturesque. The waters of Aix are particularly efficacious for the +nerves. I earnestly recommend you to take them instead of those of +Plombičres. We can pass the time together. Reply to me immediately upon +this subject. We can lodge together. It will not be necessary for you to +take many companions with you. I shall take but very few, intending to +travel incognito. To-morrow I go to Malmaison, where I shall remain +until I leave for the springs. I see with pleasure that the health of +Louis Napoleon is good, and that he has not suffered from the change of +air. Embrace him for me, my dear Hortense, and love me as tenderly as I +love you. + + "JOSEPHINE. + +"P. S.--Remember me to the king." + +For some unexplained reason, Hortense repaired first to the waters of +Plombičres. Her youngest son, Louis Napoleon, was sent to Malmaison, to +be with Josephine, who so fondly loved the child that she was quite +unwilling to be separated from him. Hortense took her elder child, +Napoleon Louis, with her to the springs. Here she was taken very sick. +On the 14th of June Josephine wrote her from Malmaison: + +"I did not know how much you had suffered, my dear Hortense, until you +were better; but I had a presentiment of it, and my anxiety induced me +to write to one of your ladies, to indicate to her the telegraph from +Nancy, as a prompt resource to call a physician. You ask me what I am +doing. I had yesterday a day of happiness. The Emperor came to see me. +His presence made me happy, although it renewed my grief. These are +emotions such as one could wish often to experience. + +"All the time he remained with me I had sufficient fortitude to restrain +the tears which I felt were ready to flow. But after he had left, I had +no longer power to restrain them, and I found myself very unhappy. He +was kind to me, and amiable as ever; and I hope that he will have read +in my heart all the affection and all the devotion with which I cherish +him. + +"I spoke to him of your situation, and he listened to me with interest. +He is of opinion that you should not return to Holland, the king not +having conducted as he would wish to have him. The opinion of the +Emperor is that you should take the waters for the necessary time; that +you should then write to your husband that it is the opinion of your +physicians that you should reside in a warm climate for some time, and +that consequently you are going to Italy. As to your son, the Emperor +will give orders that he is not to leave France. + +"I hope to see you, perhaps at Aix in Savoy, if the waters at Plombičres +do not agree with you; perhaps in Switzerland, where the Emperor has +permitted me to journey. We shall be able to appoint for ourselves a +rendezvous where we may meet. Then I will relate to you with the living +voice those details which it would require too much time to write. I +intend to leave next Monday for Aix in Savoy. I shall travel incognito, +under the name of Madame d'Aubery. Your son (Louis Napoleon), who is now +here, is very well. He has rosy cheeks and a fair skin." + +Immediately upon Josephine's arrival at Aix, she wrote again to +Hortense, who was still at Plombičres, a letter expressive of great +anxiety for her health and happiness, and entreating her to come and +join her at Aix. "How I regret," she wrote, "not having known, before my +departure, the true state of your health. I should have been at +Plombičres to take care of you, and I should not have experienced the +anxiety which tortures me at this great distance. My only consolation is +to think that you will soon come here. Let me soon see you. Alone, +desolate, far from all my friends, and in the midst of strangers, you +can judge how sad I am, and all the need I have of your presence." + +In July, Louis Bonaparte abdicated the throne of Holland. Hortense wrote +to her mother all the details of the event. Josephine engaged a cottage +at Aix for herself and Hortense. She wrote to Hortense on the 18th of +July: + +"I am delighted with the resolution you have taken to come here. I am +occupied, in preparing your lodgings, more pleasantly than I could have +hoped. A gentleman here has relinquished his house. I have accepted it, +for it is delightfully situated, and the view is enchanting. The houses +here are very small, but that which you will inhabit is larger. You can +ride anywhere in a calčche. You will be very glad to have your own. I +have mine, and I ride out in it every day. Adieu, my dear Hortense. I am +impatient for the moment when I can embrace you." + +As it was not deemed proper for the young princes, the sons of Hortense, +to leave France, they were both left at the chateau of St. Cloud, while +Hortense visited her mother at Aix. The devoted friend of Hortense, +Madame Broc, to whom we have previously alluded, accompanied the +ex-queen to Aix. The two friends frequently enjoyed long walks together +in that region full of picturesque scenery. Hortense had a very keen +appreciation of the beauties of nature, and had attained much excellence +as a landscape painter. Aix, from its deep retirement and physical +grandeur, became quite a favorite retreat. She had but little heart for +any society but that of the solitudes of nature. + +About the first of October Hortense returned, by the advice of the +Emperor, to Fontainebleau, where she was reunited to her two sons. +Josephine was, in the mean time, taking a short tour in Switzerland. We +have previously spoken of Hortense's taste for music, and her skill as a +composer. One of the airs, or _romances_, as they were called, composed +by Hortense still retains in Europe perhaps unsurpassed popularity. It +was termed familiarly _Beau Dunois_, or the Knight Errant. Its full +title was "_Partant pour la Syrie, le jeune et beau Dunois._"[E] + +[Footnote E: The writer remembers that forty years ago this was a +favorite song in this country. At Bowdoin College it was the popular +college song. It is now, in France, one of the favorite national airs.] + +Josephine, writing from Geneva to Hortense at Fontainebleau, says: "I +have heard sung all over Switzerland your romance of Beau Dunois! I have +even heard it played upon the piano with beautiful variations." +Josephine soon returned to Navarre, which at that time she preferred to +Malmaison, as it was farther removed from the capital, and from the +tumult of joy with which the birth of the child of Maria Louisa would be +received. On the 20th of March, 1811, all France resounded with +acclamations at the birth of the young King of Rome. Hortense, devoting +herself to her children, remained in Paris and its environs. In the +autumn of this year Josephine left Navarre, and returned to Malmaison to +spend the winter there. Hortense and her husband, though much estranged +from each other, and living most of the time apart, were still not +formally separated, and occasionally dwelt together. The ostensible +cause of the frequent absence of Hortense from her husband was the state +of her health, rendering it necessary for her to make frequent visits to +the springs, and the griefs of her mother requiring often the solace of +her daughter's presence. + +Louis Bonaparte owned a very beautiful estate, called St. Leu, in +France. Early in May, 1812, Napoleon left Paris for the fatal campaign +to Moscow. Just before his departure, he called at Malmaison and took an +affectionate leave of Josephine. Hortense was at St. Leu, with her +children. After a short visit which Josephine made to St. Leu, and which +she describes as delightful, she returned to Malmaison, and Hortense +went to the springs of Aix-la-Chapelle, taking her two children with +her. Here Napoleon Louis was attacked with scarlet fever, which caused +his mother and the Empress great anxiety. + +Josephine wrote to her, on the 28th of July: "You are very kind not to +have forgotten me in the midst of your anxiety for your son. Embrace for +me that dear child, and my little _Oui Oui_" (yes, yes).[F] Again she +wrote, two days after: "I hope that our dear Napoleon continues to +improve, and that the little _Oui Oui_ is doing well." Eugene, leaving +his amiable and much-loved wife and little family at Milan, had +accompanied Napoleon on his Russian campaign. During his absence +Josephine visited Milan, and there, as everywhere else, won the love of +all who saw her. Hortense, with her children, was most of the time in +Paris. Eugene, immediately after the terrible battle of Borodino, wrote +as follows to Josephine. His letter was dated September 8, 1812. + +[Footnote F: Oui Oui was the pet name given to little Louis Napoleon.] + +"MY GOOD MOTHER,--I write you from the field of battle. The Emperor has +gained a great victory over the Russians. The battle lasted thirteen +hours. I commanded the right, and hope that the Emperor will be +satisfied. + +"I can not sufficiently thank you for your attentions and kindness to my +little family. You are adored at Milan, as everywhere else. They write +me most charming accounts of you, and you have won the love of every one +with whom you have become acquainted. Adieu! Please give tidings of me +to my sister. I will write her to-morrow. Your affectionate son, + + "EUGENE." + +The latter part of October of this year, 1812, Napoleon commenced his +awful retreat from Moscow. Josephine and Hortense were much of the time +together in a state of indescribable suspense and anguish. At midnight, +on the 18th of December, Napoleon arrived in Paris. The disasters in +Russia had caused a new coalition of all the dynasties against France. +The Emperor of Austria, unmindful of the marriage of his daughter with +Napoleon, had joined the coalition with all the military powers of his +empire. The majestic army with which Napoleon had invaded Russia was +almost annihilated, and nearly two millions of bayonets were now +directed against the Republican Empire. + +All France rose with enthusiasm to co-operate with Napoleon in his +endeavors to resist the thronging foes. By the middle of April, nearly +three hundred thousand men were on the march from France towards +Germany, gallantly to meet the onswelling flood of more than a million +of bayonets. On the 15th of April, 1813, at four o'clock in the morning, +Napoleon left St. Cloud for the seat of war. The terrific campaign of +Lutzen, Bautzen, Dresden, and Leipsic ensued. + +Days of darkness were lowering around the Empire. The health of Hortense +rendered it necessary for her to go to the springs of Aix in Savoy. Her +two children were left with her mother at Malmaison. Under date of June +11, 1813, the Empress wrote to her daughter: + +"I have received your letter of the 7th, my dear Hortense. I see with +pleasure that you have already been benefited by the waters. I advise +you to continue them, in taking, as you do, a few days of repose. Be +very tranquil respecting your children. They are perfectly well. Their +complexion is of the lily and the rose. I can assure you that since they +have been here they have not had the slightest indisposition. I must +relate to you a very pretty response on the part of _Oui Oui_. The Abbé +Bertrand caused him to read a fable where there was a question about +_metamorphosis_. Being called to explain the word, he said to the abbé: + +"'I wish I could change myself into a little bird, I would then fly away +at the hour of your lesson; but I would return when M. Hase (his teacher +of German) arrived.' + +[Illustration: THE DEATH OF MADAME BROC.] + +"'But, prince,' remarked the abbé, 'it is not very polite for you to say +that to me.' 'Oh,' replied _Oui Oui_, 'that which I say is only for +the lesson, not for the man.' + +"Do you not think, with me, that that repartee was very _spirituelle_? +It was impossible for him to extricate himself from the embarrassment +with more delicacy and gracefulness. Your children were with me when I +received your letter. They were very happy to receive tidings from their +mamma. Continue to write often, my dear daughter, for their sake and for +mine. It is the only means to enable me to support your absence." + +While upon this visit to Aix, Hortense was accompanied by her +inseparable friend, Madame Broc. One day Hortense and Adčle were +ascending a mountain, whose summit commanded a very magnificent view. +Their path led over a deep, dark, craggy ravine, which was swept by a +mountain torrent, foaming and roaring over the rocks. Alpine firs, +casting a gloomy shade, clung to its sides. A frail rustic bridge +crossed the chasm. Hortense with light step passed over in safety. +Madame Broc followed. A piercing shriek was heard, followed by a crash. +As Hortense turned round she saw that the bridge had given way, and her +companion was falling, torn and mangled, from rock to rock, till the +rushing torrent seized her and whirled her lifeless body down the gulf +in its wild waters. There was no possibility of rescue. For a moment the +fluttering robes of the unfortunate lady were seen in the midst of the +surging flood, and then the body was swept away far down the dismal +gorge. + +The shock which this frightful accident gave to the nerves of Hortense +was like that which she experienced at the death of her son. For a time +she seemed stunned by the blow, and reason tottered on its throne. +Instead of flying from Aix, she lingered there. As soon as she partially +recovered tranquillity, she sought to divert her grief by entering the +abodes of sickness, sorrow, and suffering in the neighborhood, +administering relief with her own hands. She established a hospital at +Aix from her own private funds for the indigent, and, like an angel of +mercy, clothed the naked and fed the hungry, and, while her own heart +was breaking, spoke words of consolation to the world-weary. + +In reference to this event Josephine wrote from Malmaison to Hortense at +Aix, under date of June 16, 1813: + +"What a horrible accident, my dear Hortense! What a friend you have +lost, and by what a frightful calamity! Since yesterday, when I heard of +it, I have been so horror-struck as not to be able to write to you. +Every moment I have before my eyes the fate of that poor Adčle. Every +body is in tears for her. She was so beloved, so worthy of being +beloved, by her excellent qualities and by her attachment for you. I can +think of nothing but what condition you are in. I am so anxious, that I +send my chamberlain, M. Turpin, to you, that he may give me more certain +intelligence respecting your health. I shall make haste to leave myself +for a short time, that my presence and my care may be useful to you. I +feel keenly your grief. It is too well founded. But, my dear daughter, +think of your children, who are so worthy of your love. Preserve +yourself for them! Think also of your mother, who loves you tenderly. + + "JOSEPHINE." + +Thus blow after blow fell upon the heart of poor Hortense. Two days +after the above date Josephine wrote again, in reply to a letter from +her daughter: + +"Your letter has reanimated me, my dear Hortense. In the dejection in +which I was, I experienced true consolation in seeing your hand-writing, +and in being assured by yourself that you try to conquer your grief. I +fully realize how much it must cost you. Your letter, so tender, so +touching, has renewed my tears. Ever since this frightful accident I +have been sick. Alas! my dear daughter, you did not need this new trial. + +"I have embraced your children for you. They also are deeply afflicted, +and think of you very much. I am consoled in thinking that you will not +forget us. I thank you for it, my dear Hortense, my daughter tenderly +beloved." + +Again, a few days after, this affectionate mother wrote to her +grief-stricken child: + +"I can not permit your courier to leave without transmitting to you +intelligence from me; without letting you know how much I think of you. +I fear that you may surrender yourself too much to the grief which you +have experienced. I shall not feel reassured until M. Turpin shall have +returned. Think of your charming children, my dear Hortense. Think also +of a mother who adores you, and whom your life alone attaches to the +world. I hope that all these motives will give you courage to support +with more resignation the loss of a friend so tender. + +"I have just received a letter from Eugene. He fully shares your grief, +and desires that you should go and pass some time with him, if you have +sufficient strength. I should be happy to know that you were with him. +Your children are enjoying perfect health. They are truly interesting. +It would, indeed, touch your feelings if you knew how much they think of +you. Life is very precious, and one clings to it when one has such good +children. Adieu! my daughter. Think often of a mother who loves you +tenderly, and who tenderly embraces you." + +As nothing can more clearly reveal than do these confidential letters +the character of Hortense, and the domestic relations of this +illustrious and afflicted family, I insert them freely. They give us a +rare view of, those griefs of our suffering humanity which are found in +the palace no less than in the cottage. On the 29th of June, Josephine +wrote again to Hortense: + +"M. De Turpin has brought me your letter, my dear daughter. I see with +pain how sad and melancholy you still are. But it is, at least, a great +consolation to me to be assured that your health has not severely +suffered. Take courage, my dear Hortense. I hope that happiness will yet +be your lot. You have passed through many trials. Have not all persons +their griefs? The only difference is in the greater or less fortitude of +soul with which one supports them. That which ought particularly to +soothe your grief is that every one shares it with you. There are none +who do not regret our poor Adčle as much for themselves as for you. + +"Your children mourn over your sorrows. Every thing announces in them an +excellent character, and a strong attachment for you. The more I see of +them the more I love them. Nevertheless, I do not spoil them. Feel easy +on their account. We follow exactly what you have prescribed for their +regimen and their studies. When they have done well during the week, I +invite them to breakfast and dine with me on the Sabbath. The proof that +they are in good health is that they have grown much. Napoleon had one +eye slightly inflamed yesterday from the sting of a gnat. He was not, +however, on that account, less well than usual. To-day it is no longer +manifest. It would not be worth mentioning, were we not in the habit of +rendering you an exact account of every thing which concerns them." + +On the 6th of August Josephine wrote as follows: + +"The beautiful days of summer have at last come with the month of +August. I hope that they will strengthen you, my dear daughter. Your +lungs will feel the influence of them, and the baths will do you much +more good. I see with pleasure that you have not forgotten the years of +your childhood, and you are very kind to your mother in recalling them +to her. I did right in making happy, too, children so good and so +affectionate, and they have since abundantly recompensed me for it. Your +children will do the same for you, my dear Hortense. Their hearts +resemble yours. They will never cease to love you. Their health is +wonderfully good, and they have never been more fresh and vigorous. + +"The little _Oui Oui_ is always gallant and amiable to me. Two days ago, +in seeing Madame Tascher leave us, who went to join her husband at the +springs, he said to Madame Boucheporn: + +"'She must love her husband very much indeed, to be willing, for him, to +leave my grandmother!' + +"Do you not think that was charming? On the same day he went to walk in +the woods of Butard. As soon as he was in the grand avenue, he threw his +hat in the air, shouting, 'Oh, how I love beautiful nature!'[G] + +[Footnote G: All will read with interest the above anecdotes of the +childhood of Louis Napoleon, now Emperor of France. His manhood has more +than fulfilled even the great promise of his early days. The stories +which have been circulated in this country respecting his early +dissipation are entirely unfounded. They originated in an error by which +another Prince Bonaparte was mistaken for him.] + +"Not a day passes in which some one is not amused by his amiability. The +children animate all around me. Judge if you have not rendered me happy +in leaving them with me. I can not be more happy until the day when I +shall see you." + +Disaster now followed disaster as the allied armies, in resistless +numbers, crowded down upon France. The carnage of Dresden and Leipsic +compelled the Emperor, in November, to return to Paris to raise +reinforcements. Though he had been victorious in almost every battle, +still the surging billows of his foes, flowing in upon him from all +directions, could not be rolled back. + +Maria Louisa was in a state of great embarrassment, and dreaded to see +her husband. Her father, the Emperor of Austria, at the head of an +immense army, was marching against France. When Napoleon, returning from +the terrific strife, entered her apartment, Maria Louisa threw herself +into his arms, and, unable to utter a word, burst into a flood of tears. +Napoleon, having completed his arrangements for still maintaining the +struggle, on the 25th of January, 1814, embraced his wife and child, and +returned to the seat of war. He never saw wife or child again. + +As his carriage left the door of the palace, the Emperor, pressing his +forehead with his hand, said to Caulaincourt, who accompanied him, "I +envy the lot of the meanest peasant of my empire. At my age he has +discharged his debts to his country, and may remain at home enjoying the +society of his wife and children, while I--I must fly to the camp and +engage in the strife of war. Such is the mandate of my inexplicable +destiny." + +After a moment's reverie, he added, "My good Louise is gentle and +submissive. I can depend on her. Her love and fidelity will never fail +me. In the current of events there may arise circumstances which will +decide the fate of an empire. In that case I hope that the daughter of +the Cęsars will be inspired by the spirit of her grandmother, Maria +Theresa." + +The struggle which ensued was short but awful. In the midst of these +terrific scenes Napoleon kept up an almost daily correspondence with +Josephine. On one occasion, when the surgings of the battle brought him +within a few miles of Malmaison, he turned aside and sought a hurried +interview with his most faithful friend. It was their last meeting. +Napoleon took the hand of Josephine, and, gazing tenderly upon her, +said: + +"Josephine, I have been as fortunate as ever was man upon the face of +this earth. But in this hour, when a storm is gathering over my head, I +have not in this wide world any one but you upon whom I can repose." + +Soon after this, as the seat of war approached nearer to Paris, +Josephine found it necessary to retire to Navarre. She wrote to +Hortense, on the 28th of March: "To-morrow I shall leave for Navarre. I +have but sixteen men for a guard, and all wounded. I shall take care of +them; but in truth I have no need of them. I am so unhappy in being +separated from my children that I am indifferent respecting my fate." + +At eight o'clock in the morning of the 29th Josephine took her carriage +for Navarre. The Allies were rapidly approaching Paris, and a state of +indescribable consternation filled the streets of the metropolis. +Several times on the route the Empress was alarmed by the cry that the +Cossacks were coming. The day was dark and stormy, and the rain fell in +torrents. The pole of the carriage broke as the wheels sunk in a rut. +Just at that moment a troop of horsemen appeared in the distance. The +Empress, in her terror, supposing them to be the barbarous Cossacks, +leaped from the carriage and fled through the fields. Was there ever a +more cruel reverse of fortune? Josephine, the Empress of France, the +admired of all Europe, in the frenzy of her alarm, rushing through the +storm and the rain to seek refuge in the woods! The troops proved to be +French. Her attendants followed and informed her of the mistake. She +again entered her carriage, and uttered scarcely a word during the rest +of her journey. Upon entering the palace of Navarre, she threw herself +upon a couch, exclaiming: + +"Surely Bonaparte is ignorant of what is passing within sight of the +gates of Paris, or, if he knows, how cruel the thoughts which must now +agitate his breast." + +In a hurried letter which the Emperor wrote Josephine from Brienne, just +after a desperate engagement with his vastly outnumbering foes, he said: + +"On beholding the scenes where I had passed my boyhood, and comparing my +peaceful condition then with the agitation and terrors I now experience, +I several times said, in my own mind, 'I have sought to meet death in +many conflicts. I can no longer fear it. To me death would now be a +blessing. But I would once more see Josephine.'" + +Immediately after Josephine's arrival at Navarre, she wrote to Hortense, +urging that she should join her at that place. In the letter she said: + +"I can not tell you how sad I am. I have had fortitude in afflicted +positions in which I have found myself, and I shall have enough to bear +my reverses of fortune; but I have not sufficient to sustain me under +absence from my children, and uncertainty respecting their fate. For two +days I have not ceased to weep. Send me tidings respecting yourself and +your children. If you can learn any thing respecting Eugene and his +family, inform me." + +Two days after this, Hortense, with her two sons, joined her mother at +Navarre. Paris was soon in the hands of the Allies. The Emperor +Alexander invited Josephine and Hortense to return to Malmaison, where +he established a guard for their protection. Soon after Napoleon +abdicated at Fontainebleau. Upon the eve of his departure for Elba, he +wrote to Josephine: + +"I wrote to you on the 8th. Possibly you have not received my letter. It +may have been intercepted. At present communications must be +re-established. I have formed my resolution. I have no doubt that this +billet will reach you. I will not repeat what I said to you. Then I +lamented my situation. Now I congratulate myself thereon. My head and +spirit are freed from an enormous weight. My fall is great, but at least +is useful, as men say. Adieu! my dear Josephine. Be resigned as I am, +and ever remember him who never forgets and never will forget you." + +Josephine returned to Malmaison, and Hortense repaired to Rambouillet, +to join Maria Louisa in these hours of perplexity and disaster. As soon +as Maria Louisa set out under an Austrian escort for Vienna, Hortense +rejoined her mother at Malmaison. Alexander was particularly attentive +to Josephine and Hortense. He had loved Napoleon, and his sympathies +were now deeply excited for his afflicted family. Through his kind +offices, the beautiful estate of St. Leu, which Louis Bonaparte had +owned, and which he had transferred to his wife, was erected into a +duchy for her advantage, and the right of inheritance was vested in her +children. The ex-Queen of Holland now took the title of the Duchess of +St. Leu. + +On the 10th of May the Emperor Alexander dined with Josephine at +Malmaison. Grief, and a season unusually damp and cheerless, had +seriously undermined her health. Notwithstanding acute bodily suffering, +she exerted herself to the utmost to entertain her guests. At night she +was worse and at times was delirious. Not long after this, Alexander and +the King of Prussia were both guests to dine at Malmaison. The health +of Josephine was such that she was urged by her friends not to leave her +bed. She insisted, however, upon dressing to receive the allied +sovereigns. Her sufferings increased, and she was obliged to retire, +leaving Hortense to supply her place. + +The next day Alexander kindly called to inquire for her health. Hour +after hour she seemed to be slowly failing. On the morning of the 28th +she fell into a lethargic sleep, which lasted for five hours, and her +case was pronounced hopeless. Eugene and Hortense were at her side. The +death-hour had come. The last rites of religion were administered to the +dying. The Emperor Alexander was also in this chamber of grief. +Josephine was perfectly rational. She called for the portrait of +Napoleon, and, gazing upon it long and tenderly, breathed the following +prayer: + +"O God, watch over Napoleon while he remains in the desert of this +world. Alas! though he hath committed great faults, hath he not expiated +them by great sufferings? Just God, thou hast looked into his heart, and +hast seen by how ardent a desire for useful and durable improvements he +was animated. Deign to approve this my last petition, and may this +image of my husband bear me witness that my latest wish and my latest +prayer were for him and for my children." + +Her last words were "_Island of Elba--Napoleon._" It was the 29th of +May, 1814. For four days her body remained laid out in state, surrounded +with numerous tapers. "Every road," writes a French historian, "from +Paris and its environs to Ruel was crowded with trains of mourners. Sad +groups thronged all the avenues; and I could distinguish tears even in +the splendid equipages which came rattling across the court-yard." + +More than twenty thousand persons--monarchs, nobles, statesmen, and +weeping peasants--thronged the chateau of Malmaison to take the last +look of the remains of one who had been universally beloved. The funeral +took place at noon of the 2d of June. The remains were deposited in the +little church of Ruel. A beautiful mausoleum of white marble, +representing the Empress kneeling in her coronation robes, bears the +simple inscription: + + EUGENE AND HORTENSE + TO + JOSEPHINE. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +THE SORROWS OF EXILE. + +1814-1815 + +Eugene meets Louis XVIII.--Hortense in Paris.--Interest of Napoleon in +the princes.--Anecdote of Louis Napoleon.--Removal of the remains of +Napoleon Charles.--Titles of the princes.--Conversation with the +princes.--Louis Bonaparte demands the children.--Hortense meets the +Emperor.--Reinauguration of the Emperor.--Hortense meets +Napoleon.--Departure of the Emperor.--Anger of the Royalists.--Hostility +of the Allies.--Driven into exile.--Takes refuge at Aix.--Separation of +the princes.--Continued persecutions.--Hospitality of the +Swiss.--Anguish of Hortense.--Retires to the Lake of Constance.--Prince +Eugene.--Testimony of Lady Blessington. + + +There probably never was a more tender, loving mother than Josephine. +And it is not possible that any children could be more intensely devoted +to a parent than were Eugene and Hortense to their mother. The grief of +these bereaved children was heart-rending. Poor Hortense was led from +the grave almost delirious with woe. Etiquette required that Eugene, +passing through Paris, should pay his respects to Louis XVIII. The king +had remarkable tact in paying compliments. Eugene announced himself +simply as General Beauharnais. He thanked the king for the kind +treatment extended by the allied monarchs to his mother and his sister. +Hortense was also bound, by the laws of courtesy, to call upon the king +in expression of gratitude. They were both received with so much +cordiality as to expose the king to the accusation of having become a +rank Bonapartist. On the other hand, Eugene and Hortense were censured +by the partisan press for accepting any favors from the Allies. After +the interview of Louis XVIII. with Hortense, in which she thanked him +for the Duchy of St. Leu, the king said to the Duke de Duras: "Never +have I seen a woman uniting such grace to such distinguished manners; +and I am a judge of women." + +It is very difficult to ascertain with accuracy the movements of +Hortense during the indescribable tumult of the next few succeeding +months. The Duke of Rovigo says that Hortense reproached the Emperor +Alexander for turning against Napoleon, for whom he formerly had +manifested so much friendship. But the Emperor replied: "I was compelled +to yield to the wishes of the Allies. As for myself personally, I wash +my hands of every thing which has been done." + +The death of Josephine and the departure of Eugene left Hortense, +bereaved and dejected, almost alone in Paris with her two children. +Their intelligence and vivacity had deeply interested Alexander and +other royal guests, who had cordially paid their tribute of respect and +sympathy to their mother. Napoleon had taken a deep interest in the +education of the two princes, as he was aware of the frailty of life, +and as the death of the King of Rome would bring them in the direct line +to the inheritance of the crown. + +The Emperor generally breakfasted alone when at home, at a small table +in his cabinet. The two sons of Hortense were frequently admitted, that +they might interest him with their infant prattle. The Emperor would +tell them a story, and have them repeat it after him, that he might +ascertain the accuracy of their memory. Any indication of intellectual +superiority excited in his mind the most lively satisfaction. +Mademoiselle Cochelet, who was the companion and reader of Queen +Hortense, relates the following anecdote of Louis Napoleon: + +"The two princes were in intelligence quite in advance of their years. +This proceeded from the care which their mother gave herself to form +their characters and to develop their faculties. They were, however, too +young to understand all the strange scenes which were transpiring around +them. As they had always beheld in the members of their own family, in +their uncles and aunts, kings and queens, when the Emperor of Russia and +the King of Prussia were first introduced to them, the little Louis +Napoleon asked if they were also their uncles, and if they were to be +called so. + +"'No,' was the reply; 'they are not your uncles. You will simply address +them as sire.' + +"'But are not all kings our uncles?' inquired the young prince. + +"'Far from being your uncle,' was the reply, 'they have come, in their +turn, as conquerors.' + +"'Then they are the enemies,' said Louis Napoleon, 'of our uncle, the +Emperor. Why, then, do they embrace us?' + +"'Because the Emperor of Russia, whom you see, is a generous enemy. He +wishes to be useful to you and to your mamma. But for him you would no +longer have any thing; and the condition of your uncle, the Emperor, +would be more unhappy.' + +"'We ought, then, to love this Emperor, ought we?' + +"'Yes, certainly,' was the reply; 'for you owe him your gratitude.' + +"The next time the Emperor Alexander called upon Hortense, little Louis +Napoleon, who was naturally very retiring and reticent, took a ring +which his uncle Eugene had given him, and, stealing timidly over to +Alexander, slipped the ring into his hand, and, half frightened, ran +away with all speed. Hortense called the child to her, and asked him +what he had done. Blushing deeply, the warm-hearted boy said: + +"'I have nothing but the ring. I wanted to give it to the Emperor, +because he is good to my mamma.' + +"Alexander cordially embraced the prince, and, putting the ring upon his +watch-chain, promised that he would always wear it." + +The remains of Napoleon Charles, who had died in Holland, had been +deposited, by direction of Napoleon, in the vaults of St. Denis, the +ancient burial-place of the kings of France. So great was the jealousy +of the Bourbons of the name of Napoleon, and so unwilling were they to +recognize in any way the right of the people to elect their own +sovereign, that the government of Louis XVIII. ordered the body to be +immediately removed. Hortense transferred the remains of her child to +the church of St. Leu. + +Notwithstanding this jealousy, Alexander and the King of Prussia could +not ignore the imperial character of Napoleon, whose government they had +recognized, and with whom they had exchanged ambassadors and formed +treaties: neither could they deny that the King of Holland had won a +crown recognized by all Europe. They and the other crowned heads, who +paid their respects to Hortense, in accordance with the etiquette of +courts, invariably addressed each of the princes as _Your Royal +Highness_. Hortense had not accustomed them to this homage. She had +always addressed the eldest as Napoleon, the youngest as Louis. It was +her endeavor to impress them with the idea that they could be nothing +more than their characters entitled them to be. But after this, when the +Bourbon Government assumed that Napoleon was an usurper, and that +popular suffrage could give no validity to the crown, then did Hortense, +in imitation of Napoleon at St. Helena, firmly resist the insolence. +Then did she teach her children that they were princes, that they were +entitled to the throne of France by the highest of all earthly +authority--the almost unanimous voice of the French people--and that the +Bourbons, trampling popular rights beneath their feet, and ascending the +throne through the power of foreign bayonets, were usurpers. + +[Illustration: HORTENSE AND HER CHILDREN.] + +Madame Cochelet, the reader of Queen Hortense, writes, in her +interesting memoirs: "I have often seen her take her two boys on her +knees, and talk with them in order to form their ideas. It was a curious +conversation to listen to, in those days of the splendors of the empire, +when those children were the heirs of so many crowns, which the Emperor +was distributing to his brothers, his officers, his allies. Having +questioned them on every thing they knew already, she passed in review +whatever they should know besides, if they were to rely upon their own +resources for a livelihood. + +"'Suppose you had no money,' said Hortense to the eldest, 'and were alone +in the world, what would you do, Napoleon, to support yourself?' + +"'I would become a soldier,' was the reply, 'and would fight so well that +I should soon be made an officer.' + +"'And Louis,' she inquired of the younger, 'how would you provide for +yourself?' + +"The little prince, who was then but about five years old, had listened +very thoughtfully to all that was said. Knowing that the gun and the +knapsack were altogether beyond his strength, he replied: + +"'I would sell violet bouquets, like the little boy at the gate of the +Tuileries, from whom we purchase them every day.'" + +The boy is father of the man. Such has been Louis Napoleon from that +hour to this; the quiet student--hating war, loving peace--all devoted +to the arts of utility and of beauty. He has been the great pacificator +of Europe. But for his unwearied efforts, the Continent would have been +again and again in a blaze of war. As all present at this conversation +smiled, in view of the unambitious projects of the prince, Hortense +replied: + +"This is one of my lessons. The misfortune of princes born on the throne +is that they think every thing is their due; that they are formed of a +different nature from other men, and therefore never feel under any +obligations to them. They are ignorant of human miseries, or think +themselves beyond their reach. Thus, when misfortunes come, they are +surprised, terrified, and always remain sunk below their destinies." + +The Allies retired, with their conquering armies. Hortense remained with +her children in Paris. Louis Bonaparte, sick and dejected, took up his +residence in Italy. He demanded the children. A mother's love clung to +them with tenacity which could not be relaxed. There was an appeal to +the courts. Hortense employed the most eminent counsel to plead her +cause. Eleven months passed away from the time of the abdication; and +upon the very day when the court rendered its decision, that the father +should have the eldest child, and the mother the youngest, Napoleon +landed at Cannes, and commenced his almost miraculous march to Paris. +The sublime transactions of the "One Hundred Days" caused all other +events, for a time, to be forgotten. + +Hortense was at the Tuileries, one of the first to greet the Emperor as +he was borne in triumph, upon the shoulders of the people, up the grand +staircase. "Sire," said Hortense, "I had a presentiment that you would +return, and I waited for you here." The Allies had robbed the Emperor of +his son, and the child was a prisoner with his mother in the palaces of +Vienna. Very cordially Napoleon received his two nephews, and kept them +continually near him. With characteristic devotion to the principle of +universal suffrage, Napoleon submitted the question of his re-election +to the throne of the empire to the French people. More than a million of +votes over all other parties responded in the affirmative. + +On the first of June, 1815, the Emperor was reinaugurated on the field +of Mars, and the eagles were restored to the banners. It was one of the +most imposing pageants Paris had ever witnessed. Hundreds of thousands +crowded that magnificent parade-ground. As the Emperor presented the +eagles to the army, a roar as of reverberating thunder swept along the +lines. By the side of the Emperor, upon the platform, sat his two young +nephews. He presented them separately to the departments and the army as +in the direct line of inheritance. This scene must have produced a +profound impression upon the younger child, Louis Napoleon, who was so +thoughtful, reflective, and pensive. + +In the absence of Maria Louisa, who no longer had her liberty, Hortense +presided at the Tuileries. Inheriting the spirit of her mother, she was +unfailing in deeds of kindness to the many Royalists who were again +ruined by the return of Napoleon. Her audience-chamber was ever crowded +by those who, through her, sought to obtain access to the ear of the +Emperor. Napoleon was overwhelmed by too many public cares to give much +personal attention to private interests. + +The evening before Napoleon left his cabinet for his last campaign, +which resulted in the disaster at Waterloo, he was in his cabinet +conversing with Marshal Soult. The door was gently opened, and little +Louis Napoleon crept silently into the apartment. His features were +swollen with an expression of the profoundest grief, which he seemed to +be struggling in vain to repress. Tremblingly he approached the Emperor, +and, throwing himself upon his knees, buried his face in his two hands +in the Emperor's lap, and burst into a flood of tears. + +"What is the matter, Louis?" said the Emperor, kindly; "why do you +interrupt me, and why do you weep so?" + +The young prince was so overcome with emotion that for some time he +could not utter a syllable. At last, in words interrupted by sobs, he +said, + +"Sire, my governess has told me that you are going away to the war. Oh! +do not go! do not go!" + +The Emperor, much moved, passed his fingers through the clustering +ringlets of the child, and said, tenderly, + +"My child, this is not the first time that I have been to the war. Why +are you so afflicted? Do not fear for me. I shall soon come back +again." + +"Oh! my dear uncle," exclaimed the child, weeping convulsively; "those +wicked Allies wish to kill you. Let me go with you, dear uncle, let me +go with you!" + +The Emperor made no reply, but, taking Louis Napoleon upon his knee, +pressed him to his heart with much apparent emotion. Then calling +Hortense, the mother of the child, he said to her: + +"Take away my nephew, Hortense, and reprimand his governess, who, by her +inconsiderate words, has so deeply excited his sympathies." + +Then, after a few affectionate words addressed to the young prince, he +was about to hand him to his mother, when he perceived that Marshal +Soult was much moved by the scene. + +"Embrace the child, Marshal," said the Emperor; "he has a warm heart and +a noble soul. _Perhaps he is to be the hope of my race!_" + +Napoleon returned from the disaster at Waterloo with all his hopes +blighted. Hortense hastened to meet him, and to unite her fate with his. +"It is my duty," she said. "The Emperor has always treated me as his +child, and I will try, in return, to be his devoted and grateful +daughter." In conversation with Hortense, Napoleon remarked: "Give +myself up to Austria! Never. She has seized upon my wife and my son. +Give myself up to Russia! That would be to a single man. But to give +myself up to England, that would be to throw myself upon a _people_." +His friends assured him that, though he might rely upon the honor of the +British _people_, he could not trust to the British _Government_. +Hortense repaired to Malmaison with her two sons, where the Emperor soon +rejoined her. "She restrained her own tears," writes Baron Fleury, +"reminding us, with the wisdom of a philosopher and the sweetness of an +angel, that we ought to surmount our sorrows and regrets, and submit +with docility to the decrees of Providence." + +It was necessary for Napoleon to come to a prompt decision. The Allies +now nearly surrounded Paris. On the 29th of June the Emperor sat in his +library at Malmaison, exhausted with care and grief. Hortense, though +with swollen eyes and a heart throbbing with anguish, did every thing +which a daughter's love could suggest to minister to the solace of her +afflicted father. Just before his departure to Rochefort, where he +intended to embark for some foreign land, he called for his nephews, to +take leave of them. It was a very affecting scene. Both of the children +wept bitterly. The soul of the little, pensive Louis Napoleon was +stirred to its utmost depths. He clung frantically to his uncle, +screaming and insisting that he should go and "fire off the cannon!" It +was necessary to take him away by force. + +"The Emperor was departing almost without money. Hortense, after many +entreaties, succeeded in making him accept her beautiful necklace, +valued at eight hundred thousand francs. She sewed it up in a silk +ribbon, which he concealed in his dress. He did not, however, find +himself obliged to part with this jewel till on his death-bed, when he +intrusted it to Count Montholon, with orders to restore it to Hortense. +This devoted man acquitted himself successfully of this commission."[H] + +[Footnote H: Life of Napoleon III., by Edward Roth.] + +Upon the departure of Napoleon, Hortense, with her children, returned to +Paris. She was entreated by her friends to seek refuge in the interior +of France, as the Royalists were much exasperated against her in +consequence of her reception of the Emperor. They assured her that the +army and the people would rally around her and her children as the +representatives of the Empire. But Hortense replied: + +"I must now undergo whatever fortune has in store for me. I am nothing +now. I can not pretend to make the people think that I rally the troops +around me. If I had been Empress of France, I would have done every +thing to prolong the defense. But now it does not become me to mingle my +destinies with such great interests, and I must be resigned." + +In a few days the allied armies were again in possession of Paris. The +Royalists assumed so threatening an attitude towards her, that she felt +great solicitude for the safety of her children. Many persons kindly +offered to give them shelter. But she was unwilling to compromise her +friends by receiving from them such marks of attention. A kind-hearted +woman, by the name of Madame Tessier, kept a hose establishment on the +Boulevard Montmartre. The children were intrusted to her care, where +they would be concealed from observation, and where they would still be +perfectly comfortable. + +Hortense had her residence in a hotel on the Rue Cerutti. The Austrian +Prince Schwartzenberg occupied the same hotel, and Hortense hoped that +this circumstance would add to her security. But the Allies were now +greatly exasperated against the French people, who had so cordially +received the Emperor on his return from Elba. Even the Emperor Alexander +treated Hortense with marked coldness. He called upon Prince +Schwartzenberg without making any inquiries for her. + +The hostility of the Allies towards this unfortunate lady was so great, +that on the 19th of July Baron de Muffling, who commanded Paris for the +Allies, received an order to notify the Duchess of St. Leu that she must +leave Paris within two hours. An escort of troops was offered her, which +amounted merely to an armed guard, to secure her departure and to mark +her retreat. As Hortense left Paris for exile, she wrote a few hurried +lines to a friend, in which she said: + +"I have been obliged to quit Paris, having been positively expelled from +it by the allied armies. So greatly am I, a feeble woman, with her two +children, dreaded, that the enemy's troops are posted all along our +route, as they say, to protect our passage, but in reality to insure our +departure." + +Prince Schwartzenberg, who felt much sympathy for Hortense, accompanied +her, as a companion and a protector, on her journey to the frontiers of +France. Little Louis Napoleon, though then but seven years of age, +seemed fully to comprehend the disaster which had overwhelmed them, and +that they were banished from their native land. With intelligence far +above his years he conversed with his mother, and she found great +difficulty in consoling him. It was through the influence of such +terrible scenes as these that the character of that remarkable man has +been formed. + +It was nine o'clock in the evening when Hortense and her two little +boys, accompanied by Prince Schwartzenberg, reached the Chateau de +Bercy, where they passed the night. The next morning the journey was +resumed towards the frontiers. It was the intention of Hortense to take +refuge in a very retired country-seat which she owned at Pregny, in +Switzerland, near Geneva. At some points on her journey the Royalists +assailed her with reproaches. Again she was cheered by loudly-expressed +manifestations of the sympathy and affection of the people. At Dijon the +multitude crowding around her carriage, supposing that she was being +conveyed into captivity, gallantly attempted a rescue. They were only +appeased by the assurance of Hortense that she was under the protection +of a friend. + +Scarcely had this melancholy wanderer entered upon her residence at +Pregny, with the title of the Duchess of St. Leu, ere the French +minister in Switzerland commanded the Swiss government to issue an order +expelling her from the Swiss territory. Switzerland could not safely +disregard the mandate of the Bourbons of France, who were sustained in +their enthronement by allied Europe. Thus pursued by the foes of the +Empire, Hortense repaired to Aix, in Savoy. Here she met a cordial +welcome. The people remembered her frequent visits to those celebrated +springs, her multiplied charities, and here still stood, as an +ever-during memorial of her kindness of heart, the hospital which she +had founded and so munificently endowed. The magistrates at Aix formally +invited her to remain at Aix so long as the Allied powers would allow +her to make that place her residence. + +It seemed as though Hortense were destined to drain the cup of sorrow to +its dregs. Aix was the scene of the dreadful death of Madame Broc, +which we have above described. Every thing around her reminded her of +that terrible calamity, and oppressed her spirits with the deepest +gloom. And, to add unutterably to her anguish, an agent arrived at Aix +from her husband, Louis Bonaparte, furnished with all competent legal +powers to take custody of the eldest child and convey him to his father +in Italy. It will be remembered that the court had decided that the +father should have the eldest and the mother the youngest child. The +stormy events of the "Hundred Days" had interrupted all proceedings upon +this matter. + +This separation was a terrible trial not only to the mother, but to the +two boys. The peculiarities of their dispositions and temperaments +fitted them to assimilate admirably together. Napoleon Louis, the elder, +was bold, resolute, high-spirited. Louis Napoleon, the younger, was +gentle, thoughtful, and pensive. The parting was very affecting--Louis +Napoleon throwing his arms around his elder brother, and weeping as +though his heart would break. The thoughtful child, thus companionless, +now turned to his mother with the full flow of his affectionate nature. +A French writer, speaking of these scenes, says: + +"The soul of Hortense had been already steeped in misfortune, but her +power of endurance seemed at length exhausted. When she had embraced her +son for the last time, and beheld the carriage depart which bore him +away, a deep despondency overwhelmed her spirits. Her very existence +became a dream; and it seemed a matter of indifference to her whether +her lot was to enjoy or to suffer, to be persecuted, respected, or +forgotten." + +And now came another blow upon the bewildered brain and throbbing heart +of Hortense. The Allies did not deem it safe to allow Hortense and her +child to reside so near the frontiers of France. They knew that the +French people detested the Bourbons. They knew that all France, upon the +first favorable opportunity, would rise in the attempt to re-establish +the Empire. The Sardinian government was accordingly ordered to expel +Hortense from Savoy. Where should she go? It seemed as though all Europe +would refuse a home to this bereaved, heart-broken lady and her child. +She remembered her cousin, Stephanie Beauharnais, her schoolmate, whom +her mother and Napoleon had so kindly sheltered and provided for in the +days when the Royalists were in exile. Stephanie was the lady to whom +her father had been so tenderly attached. She was now in prosperity and +power, the wife of the Grand Duke of Baden. Hortense decided to seek a +residence at Constance, in the territory of Baden, persuaded that the +duke and duchess would not drive her, homeless and friendless, from +their soil, out again into the stormy world. + +To reach Baden it was necessary to pass through Switzerland. The Swiss +government, awed by France, at first refused to give her permission to +traverse their territory. But the Duke of Richelieu intervened in her +favor, and, by remonstrating against such cruelty, obtained the +necessary passport. It was now the month of November. Cold storms swept +the snow-clad hills and the valleys. Hortense departed from Aix, taking +with her her son Louis Napoleon, his private tutor, the Abbé Bertrand, +her reader, Mademoiselle Cochelet, and an attendant. She wished to spend +the first night at her own house, at Pregny; but even this slight +gratification was forbidden her. + +The police were instructed to watch her carefully all the way. At Morat +she was even arrested, and detained a prisoner two days, until +instructions should be received from the distant authorities. At last +she reached the city of Constance. But even here she found that her +sorrows had not yet terminated. Neither the Duke of Baden nor the +Duchess ventured to welcome her. On the contrary, immediately upon her +arrival, she received an official notification that, however anxious the +grand duke and duchess might be to afford her hospitable shelter, they +were under the control of higher powers, and they must therefore request +her to leave the duchy without delay. It was now intimated that the only +countries in Europe which would be allowed to afford her a shelter were +Austria, Prussia, or Russia. + +The storms of winter were sweeping those northern latitudes. The health +of Hortense was extremely frail. She was fatherless and motherless, +alienated from her husband, bereaved of one of her children, and all her +family friends dispersed by the ban of exile. She had no kind friends to +consult, and she knew not which way to turn. Thus distracted and +crushed, she wrote an imploring letter to her cousins, the Duke and +Duchess of Baden, stating the feeble condition of her health, the +inclement weather, her utter friendlessness, and exhaustion from +fatigue and sorrow, and begging permission to remain in Constance until +the ensuing spring. + +In reply she received a private letter from the grand duchess, her +cousin Stephanie, assuring her of her sympathy, and of the cordiality +with which she would openly receive and welcome her, if she did but dare +to do so. In conclusion, the duchess wrote: "Have patience, and do not +be uneasy. Perhaps all will be right by spring. By that time passions +will be calmed, and many things will have been forgotten." + +Though this letter did not give any positive permission to remain, it +seemed at least to imply that soldiers would not be sent to transport +her, by violence, out of the territory. Somewhat cheered by this +assurance, she rented a small house, in a very retired situation upon +the western shore of the Lake of Constance. Though in the disasters of +the times she had lost much property, she still had an ample competence. +Her beloved brother, Eugene, it will be remembered, had married a +daughter of the King of Bavaria. He was one of the noblest of men and +the best of brothers. As soon as possible, he took up his residence near +his sister. He also was in the enjoyment of an ample fortune. Thus +there seemed to be for a short time a lull in those angry storms which +for so long had risen dark over the way of Hortense. + +In this distant and secluded home, upon the borders of the lake, +Hortense and her small harmonious household passed the winter of 1815. +Though she mourned over the absence of her elder child, little Louis +Napoleon cheered her by his bright intelligence and his intense +affectionateness. Prince Eugene often visited his sister; and many of +the illustrious generals and civilians, who during the glories of the +Empire had filled Europe with their renown, were allured as occasional +guests to the home of this lovely woman, who had shared with them in the +favors and the rebuffs of fortune. + +Hortense devoted herself assiduously to the education of her son. She +understood thoroughly the political position of France. Foreigners, with +immense armies, had invaded the kingdom, and forced upon the reluctant +people a detested dynasty. Napoleon was Emperor by popular election. The +people still, with almost entire unanimity, desired the Empire. And +Hortense knew full well that, so soon as the French people could get +strength to break the chains with which foreign armies had bound them, +they would again drive out the Bourbons and re-establish the Empire. + +Hortense consequently never allowed her son to forget the name he bore, +or the political principles which his uncle, the Emperor, had borne upon +his banners throughout Europe. The subsequent life of this child has +proved how deep was the impression produced upon his mind, as pensively, +silently he listened to the conversation of the statesmen and the +generals who often visited his mother's parlor. Lady Blessington about +this time visited Hortense, and she gives the following account of the +impression which the visit produced upon her mind: + +"Though prepared to meet in Hortense Bonaparte, ex-Queen of Holland, a +woman possessed of no ordinary powers of captivation, she has, I +confess, far exceeded my expectations. I have seen her frequently, and +spent two hours yesterday in her society. Never did time fly away with +greater rapidity than while listening to her conversation, and hearing +her sing those charming little French _romances_, written and composed +by herself, which, though I had often admired them, never previously +struck me as being so expressive and graceful as they now proved to be. + +"I know not that I ever encountered a person with so fine a tact or so +quick an apprehension as the Duchess of St. Leu. These give her the +power of rapidly forming an appreciation of those with whom she comes in +contact, and of suiting the subjects of conversation to their tastes and +comprehensions. Thus, with the grave she is serious, with the lively +gay, and with the scientific she only permits just a sufficient extent +of her _savoir_ to be revealed to encourage the development of theirs. + +"She is, in fact, all things to all men, without losing a single portion +of her own natural character; a peculiarity of which seems to be the +desire, as well as the power, of sending all away who approach her +satisfied with themselves and delighted with her. Yet there is no +unworthy concession of opinions made, or tacit acquiescence yielded, to +conciliate popularity. She assents to or dissents from the sentiments of +others with a mildness and good sense which gratifies those with whom +she coincides, or disarms those from whom she differs." + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +PEACEFUL DAYS, YET SAD. + +1816-1831 + +Visits the Baths of Geiss.--Watchfulness of the Allies.--The retreat of +Arenemberg.--The princes enter college.--Loveliness of Hortense.--Letter +from a visitor.--Social life at Arenemberg.--Scenery at +Arenemberg.--Pleasant neighbors.--An evening scene.--Theatric +entertainments.--Taste and culture.--Accomplishments of +Hortense.--Society at Arenemberg.--Amiability of Hortense.--The city +home of Hortense and her son.--Testimony of an English lady.--The +Duchess of St. Leu.--Pursuits of Prince Louis.--Madame Récamier meets +Hortense.--Interview with Madame Récamier.--Arrangements for +meeting.--Difficulty between Napoleon and Madame Récamier.--Banishment +of Madame de Staėl.--Cause of Madame Récamier's banishment.--She returns +to Paris.--Hortense exiled.--Interview at the Coliseum.--Subsequent +meetings.--Letter from Hortense.--Disgrace of Chateaubriand.--Revolution +in France.--Attempt of the Italian patriots.--Escape of Louis +Napoleon.--They seek refuge in France.--The vicissitudes of +life.--Obligations of Louis Philippe to Hortense.--The Duchess of +Bourbon.--Letter to Hortense. + + +As the spring of the year 1816 opened upon Europe, Hortense was found +residing undisturbed, with her son, Louis Napoleon, in their secluded +home upon the shores of Lake Constance. The Allies seemed no longer +disposed to disturb her. Still, she had many indications that she was +narrowly watched. She was much cheered by a visit which she made to her +brother at Berg, on the Wurmsee, where she was received with that warmth +of affection which her wounded heart so deeply craved. Her health being +still very frail, she, by the advice of her physicians, spent the heat +of summer at the baths of Geiss, among the mountains of Appenzell. Her +son, Louis Napoleon, was constantly with her. Nearly the whole attention +of the mother was devoted to his education. + +She had the general superintendence of all his studies, teaching him +herself drawing and dancing, often listening to his recitations and +guiding his reading. Her own highly-cultivated mind enabled her to do +this to great advantage. The young prince read aloud to his mother in +the evenings, the selections being regulated in accordance with his +studies in geography or history. Saturday Hortense devoted the entire +day to her son, reviewing all the reading and studies of the week. In +addition to the Abbé Bertrand, another teacher was employed, M. Lebas, a +young professor of much distinction from the Normal School of Paris. + +Thus the summer and autumn of 1816 passed tranquilly away. But the eagle +eye of the Bourbons was continually upon Hortense. They watched every +movement she made, she could not leave her home, or receive a visit from +any distinguished stranger, without exciting their alarm. Their +uneasiness at length became so great that, early in the year 1817, the +Duke of Baden received peremptory orders that he must immediately expel +Hortense and her child from his territory. The Bourbons could not allow +such dangerous personages to dwell so near the frontiers of France. +Hortense was a feeble, heart-broken woman. Her child was but eight years +of age. But they were representatives of the Empire. And the Bourbons +were ever terror-stricken lest the French people should rise in +insurrection, and demand the restoration of that Empire, of which +foreign armies had robbed them. + +In the extreme north-eastern portion of Switzerland, on the southern +shores of the Lake of Constance, there was the small Swiss canton of +Thurgovia. The gallant magistrates of the canton informed Hortense that +if she wished to establish herself in their country, she should be +protected by both the magistrates and the people. The ex-queen had +occasionally entered the canton in her drives, and had observed with +admiration a modest but very beautiful chateau called Arenemberg, very +picturesquely located on the borders of the lake. She purchased the +estate for about sixty thousand francs. This became a very delightful +summer residence, though in winter it presented a bleak exposure, swept +by piercing winds. Until the death of Hortense, Arenemberg continued to +be her favorite place of residence. + +To add to this transient gleam of happiness, there was now a partial +reconciliation between Hortense and her husband; and, to the unspeakable +joy of the mother and Louis Napoleon, they enjoyed a visit of several +months from Napoleon Louis. It is not easy to imagine the happiness +which this reunion created, after a separation of nearly three years. + +The judicious mother now thought it important that her sons should enjoy +the advantages of a more public education than that which they had been +receiving from private tutors at home. She accordingly took them both to +Augsburg, in Bavaria, where they entered the celebrated college of that +city. Hortense engaged a handsome residence there, that she might still +be with her sons, whom she loved so tenderly. A French gentleman of +distinction, travelling in that region, had the honor of an introduction +to her, and gives the following account of his visit: + +"Returning to France in 1819, after a long residence in Russia, I +stopped at Augsburg, where the Duchess of St. Leu was then a resident. I +had hitherto only known her by report. Some Russian officers, who had +accompanied the Emperor Alexander to Malmaison in 1814, had spoken to me +of Hortense with so much enthusiasm, that for the first few moments it +appeared as if I saw her again after a long absence, and as if I owed my +kind reception to the ties of ancient friendship. Every thing about her +is in exact harmony with the angelic expression of her face, her +conversation, demeanor, and the sweetness of her voice and disposition. + +"When she speaks of an affecting incident, the language becomes more +touching through the depths of her sensibility. She lends so much life +to every scene, that the auditor becomes witness of the transaction. Her +powers of instructing and delighting are almost magical; and her artless +fascination leaves on every heart those deep traces which even time can +never efface. + +"She introduced me to her private circle, which consisted of the two +children and their tutors, some old officers of her household, two +female friends of her infancy, and that living monument of conjugal +devotion, Count Lavallette.[I] The conversation soon became general. +They questioned me about the Ukraine, where I long had resided, and +Greece and Turkey, through which I had lately travelled. + +[Footnote I: Count Lavallette was one of the devoted friends of +Napoleon, who had long served in the armies of the Empire. For the +welcome he gave Napoleon on his return from Elba he was doomed, by the +Bourbons, to death. While preparations were being made for his +execution, his wife and daughter, with her governess, were permitted to +visit him. Very adroitly he escaped in his wife's clothes, she remaining +in his place. Irritated by this escape, the Government held his wife a +prisoner until she became a confirmed lunatic.] + +"In return, they spoke of Bavaria, St. Leu, the Lake of Constance, and, +by degrees, of events deriving their chief interest from the important +parts played by the narrators themselves. We dined at five. I afterwards +accompanied the duchess into the garden, and, in the few moments then +enjoyed of intimate conversation, I saw that no past praises had ever +been exaggerated. How admirable were her feelings when she recalled the +death of her mother, and in her tragic recital of the death of Madame +Broc. + +"But when she spoke of her children, her friends, and the fine arts, her +whole figure seemed to glow with the ardor of her imagination. Goodness +of heart was displayed in every feature, and gave additional value to +her other estimable qualities. In describing her present situation it +was impossible to avoid mentioning her beloved France. + +"'You are returning,' said she, 'to your native country;' and the last +word was pronounced with a heartfelt sigh. I had been an exile from my +cradle, yet my own eager anxiety to revisit a birth-place scarcely +remembered, enabled me to estimate her grief at the thoughts of an +eternal separation. She spoke of the measures adopted for her banishment +with that true resignation which mourns but never murmurs. After two +hours of similar conversation, it was impossible to decide which was the +most admirable, her heart, her good sense, or her imagination. + +"We returned to the drawing-room at eight, where tea was served. The +duchess observed that this was a habit learned in Holland, 'though you +are not to suppose,' she added, with a slight blush, 'that it is +preserved as a remembrance of days so brilliant, but now already so +distant. Tea is the drink of cold climates, and I have scarcely changed +my temperature.' + +"Numerous visitors came from the neighborhood, and some even from +Munich. She may, indeed, regard this attention with a feeling of proud +gratification. It is based upon esteem alone, and is far more honorable +than the tiresome adulation of sycophants while at St. Cloud or the +Hague. In the course of the evening we looked through a suite of rooms +containing, besides a few master-pieces of the different schools, a +large collection of precious curiosities. Many of these elegant trifles +had once belonged to her mother; and nearly every one was associated +with the remembrance of some distinguished personage or celebrated +event. Indeed, her museum might almost be called an abridgment of +contemporary history. Music was the next amusement; and the duchess +sang, accompanying herself with the same correct taste which inspires +her compositions. She had just finished the series of drawings intended +to illustrate her collection of _romances_. How could I avoid praising +that happy talent which thus personifies thought? The next day I +received that beautiful collection as a remembrance. + +"I took my leave at midnight, perhaps without even the hope of another +meeting. I left her as the traveller parts from the flowers of the +desert, to which he can never hope to return. But, wherever time, +accident, or destiny may place me, the remembrance of that day will +remain indelibly imprinted alike on my memory and heart. It is pleasing +to pay homage to the fallen greatness of one like Hortense, who joins +the rare gift of talents to the charms of the tenderest sensibility." + +[Illustration: HORTENSE AT ARENEMBERG.] + +The residence of Hortense in Augsburg was in a mansion, since called +Pappenheim Palace, in Holy Cross Street. After the graduation of her +children, Hortense, with Louis Napoleon, spent most of their time at +Arenemberg, interspersed with visits to Rome and Florence. The beautiful +chateau was situated upon a swell of land, with green lawns and a thick +growth of forest trees, through which there were enchanting views of the +mountain and of the lake. The spacious grounds were embellished with the +highest artistic skill, with terraces, trellis-work woodbines, and rare +exotics. + +"The views," writes an English visitor, "which were in some places +afforded through the woods, and in others, by their rapid descent, +carried over them, were broken in a manner which represented them doubly +beautiful. From one peep you caught the small vine-clad island of +Reichman, with its cottage gleams trembling upon the twilighted lake. +From another you had a noble reach of the Rhine, going forth from its +brief resting-place to battle its way down the Falls of Schaffhausen; +and beyond it the eye reposed upon the distant outline of the Black +Forest, melting warmly in the west. In a third direction you saw the +vapory steeples of Constance, apparently sinking in the waters which +almost surrounded them; and far away you distinguish the little coast +villages, like fading constellations, glimmering fainter and fainter, +till land and lake and sky were blended together in obscurity." + +Not far distant was the imposing chateau of Wolfberg, which had been +purchased by General Parguin, a young French officer of the Empire of +much distinction. He had married Mademoiselle Cochelet, and became one +of the most intimate friends of Louis Napoleon. + +Prince Eugene had also built him a house in the vicinity, that he might +be near his sister and share her solitude. Just as the house was +finished, and before he moved into it, Eugene died. This was another +crushing blow to the heart of Hortense. She was in Rome at the time, and +we shall have occasion to refer to the event again. + +Hortense, in her retirement, was no less a queen than when the diadem +was upon her brow. Though at the farthest possible remove from all +aristocratic pride, her superior mind, her extraordinary attainments, +and her queenly grace and dignity, invested her with no less influence +over the hearts of her friends than she enjoyed in her days of regal +power. A visitor at Wolfberg, in the following language, describes a +call which Hortense made upon Madame Parguin and her guests at the +chateau: + +"One fine evening, as we were all distributed about the lawn at +Wolfberg, there was an alarm that Hortense was coming to visit Madame +Parguin. As I saw her winding slowly up the hill, with all her company, +in three little summer carriages, the elegance of the cavalcade, in +scenes where elegance was so rare, was exceedingly striking. + +"The appearance of Hortense was such as could not fail to excite +admiration and kind feeling. Her countenance was full of talent, blended +with the mild expression of a perfect gentlewoman. Her figure, though +not beyond the middle height, was of a mould altogether majestic. She +lamented that she had not sooner known of the purposed length of our +stay in that part of Switzerland, as, having conceived that we were +merely passing a few days, she had been unwilling to occupy our time. +She then spoke of her regret at not being able to entertain us +according to her wishes. And, finally, she told us that she had in +agitation some little theatricals which, if we could bear with such +trifles, we should do her pleasure in attending. All this was said with +simple and winning eloquence." + +The room for this little theatric entertainment was in a small building, +beautifully decorated, near the house. Many distinguished guests were +present; many from Constance; so that the apartment was crowded to its +utmost capacity. There were two short plays enacted. In one Hortense +took a leading part in scenes of trial and sorrow, in which her peculiar +powers were admirably displayed. Even making all suitable allowance for +the politeness due from guests to their host, it is evident that +Hortense possessed dramatic talent of a very high order. + +From the theatre the guests returned to the chateau, where preparations +had been made for dancing. In the intervals between the dances there was +singing, accompanied by the piano. "Here, again," writes one of the +guests, "Hortense was perfectly at home. She sang several songs, of +which I afterwards found her to be the unacknowledged composer. Among +these was the beautiful air, _Partant pour la Syrie_, which will be a +fair guaranty that I do not say too much for the rest." + +At the close of the evening, as the guests began to depart, the +remainder were dispersed through the suite of rooms, admiring the +various objects of curiosity and of beauty with which they are +decorated. There were some beautiful paintings, and several pieces of +exquisite statuary. Upon the tables there were engravings, +drawing-books, and works of _belles-lettres_. + +"I chanced," writes the visitor from whom we have above quoted, "to +place my hand upon a splendid album, and had the further good-fortune to +seat myself beside a beautiful young _dame de compagnie_ of the duchess, +who gave me the history of all the treasures I found therein. Whatever I +found most remarkable was still the work of Hortense. Of a series of +small portraits, sketched by her in colors, the likeness of those of +which I had seen the subjects would have struck me, though turned upside +down. She had the same power and the same affectionate feeling for +fixing the remembrance of places likewise. + +"The landscapes which she had loved in forbidden France, even the +apartments which she had inhabited, were executed in a manner that put +to shame the best amateur performances I had ever seen. There was a +minute attention to fidelity in them, too, which a recollection of her +present circumstances could not fail to bring home to the spectator's +heart. + +"I know not when my interest would have cooled in this mansion of taste +and talent. Towards morning I was obliged to take my leave; and I doubt +if there were any individual who returned home by that bright moonlight, +without feeling that Hortense had been born some century and a half too +late. For an age of bigots and turncoats she, indeed, seemed unsuited. +In that of true poetry and trusty cavaliers, she would have been the +subject of the best rhymes and rencontres in romantic France. + +"After this I saw her frequently, both at her own house and at Wolfberg, +and I never found any thing to destroy the impression which I received +on my introduction. Independently of the interest attached to herself, +she had always in her company some person who had made a noise in the +world, and had become an object of curiosity. At one time it was a +distinguished painter or poet; again, it was a battered soldier, who +preferred resting in retirement to the imputation of changing his +politics for advancement; then a grand duke or duchess who had undergone +as many vicissitudes as herself; and, finally, the widow of the +unfortunate Marshal Ney. + +"There was something in the last of these characters, particularly when +associated with Hortense, more interesting than all the others. She was +a handsome, but grave and silent woman, and still clad in mourning for +her husband, whose death, so connected with the banishment of the +duchess, could not fail to render them deeply sympathetic in each +other's fortunes. The amusements provided for all this company consisted +of such as I have mentioned--expeditions to various beautiful spots in +the neighborhood, and music parties on the water. The last of these used +sometimes to have a peculiarly romantic effect; for on _fźte_ days the +young peasant girls, all glittering in their golden tinsel bonnets, +would push off with their sweethearts, like mad things, in whatever +boats they could find upon the beach. I have seen them paddling their +little fleet round the duchess's boat with all the curiosity of savages +round a man-of-war. + +"At length the time arrived for me to bid adieu to Switzerland. It was +arranged that I should set out for Italy with a small party of my +Wolfberg friends. An evening or two before we departed we paid a +leave-taking visit to the duchess. She expressed much polite regret at +our intention, and gave us a cordial invitation to renew our +acquaintance with her in the winter at Rome. Her care, indeed, to leave +a good impression of her friendly disposition upon our minds, was +exceedingly gratifying. She professed to take an interest in the plans +which each of us had formed, and, when her experience qualified her, +gave us instructions for our travels. + +"When we rose to depart, the night being fine, she volunteered to walk +part of the way home with us. She came about a quarter of a mile to +where she could command an uninterrupted view of the lake, above which +the moon was just then rising, a huge red orb which shot a burning +column to her feet. 'I will now bid you adieu,' she said; and we left +her to the calm contemplation of grandeur which could not fade, and +enjoyments which could not betray. This was the last time I saw, and +perhaps shall ever see Hortense; but I shall always remember my brief +acquaintance with her as a dip into days which gave her country the +character of being the most polished of nations." + +Hortense, with her son Louis Napoleon, had been in the habit of passing +the severity of the winter months in the cities of Augsburg or Munich, +spending about eight months of the year at Arenemberg. But after the +death of her brother Eugene, the associations which those cities +recalled were so painful that she transferred her winter residence to +Rome or Florence. An English lady who visited her at Arenemberg writes: + +"The style of living of the Duchess of St. Leu is sumptuous, without +that freezing etiquette so commonly met with in the great. Her household +still call her _Queen_, and her son _Prince_ Napoleon or _Prince_ Louis. +The suite is composed of two ladies of honor, an equerry, and the tutor +of her younger son. She has a numerous train of domestics, and it is +among them that the traces are still observable of bygone pretensions, +long since abandoned by the true nobleness of their mistress. The former +queen, the daughter of Napoleon, the mother of the Imperial +heir-apparent, has returned quietly to private life with the perfect +grace of a voluntary sacrifice. + +"The duchess receives strangers with inexpressible kindness. Ever +amiable and obliging, she is endowed with that charming simplicity which +inspires, at first sight, the confidence of intimate affection. She +speaks freely of the brilliant days of her prosperity. And history then +flows so naturally from her lips, that more may be learned as a +delighted listener, than from all the false or exaggerated works so +abundant everywhere. The deposed queen considers past events from such +an eminence that nothing can interpose itself between her and the truth. +This strict impartiality gives birth to that true greatness, which is a +thousand times preferable to all the splendors she lost in the flower of +her age. + +"I have been admitted to the intimacy of the Duchess of St. Leu, both at +Rome and in the country. I have seen her roused to enthusiasm by the +beauties of nature, and have seen her surrounded by the pomp of +ceremony; but I have never known her less than herself; nor has the +interest first inspired by her character ever been diminished by an +undignified sentiment or the slightest selfish reflection. + +"It is impossible to be a more ardent and tasteful admirer of the fine +arts than is the duchess. Every one has heard her beautiful _romances_, +which are rendered still more touching by the soft and melodious voice +of the composer. She usually sings standing; and, although a finished +performer on the harp and piano, she prefers the accompaniment of one of +her attendant ladies. Many of her leisure hours are employed in +painting. Miniatures, landscapes, and flowers are equally the subjects +of her pencil. She declaims well, is a delightful player in comedy, acts +proverbs with uncommon excellence, and I really know no one who can +surpass her in every kind of needle-work. + +"The Duchess of St. Leu never was a regular beauty, but she is still a +charming woman. She has the softest and most expressive blue eyes in the +world. Her light flaxen hair contrasts beautifully with the dark color +of her long eyelashes and eyebrows. Her complexion is fresh and of an +even tint; her figure elegantly moulded; her hands and feet perfect. In +fine, her whole appearance is captivating in the extreme. She speaks +quickly with rapid gestures, and all her movements are easy and +graceful. Her style of dress is rich, though she has parted with most +of her jewels and precious stones." + +Hortense was almost invariably accompanied by her son, Louis Napoleon, +whether residing in Italy or in Switzerland. When at Arenemberg, the +young prince availed himself of the vicinity to the city in pursuing a +rigorous course of study in physics and chemistry under the guidance of +a very distinguished French philosopher. He also connected himself, in +prosecuting his military studies, with a Baden regiment garrisoned at +Constance. He was here recognized as the Duke of St. Leu, and was always +received with much distinction. At Rome, the residence of Hortense was +the centre of the most brilliant and polished society of the city. Here +her son was introduced to the most distinguished men from all lands, and +especially to the old friends of the Empire, who kept alive in his mind +the memory of the brilliant exploits of him whose name he bore. Pauline +Bonaparte, who had married for her second husband Prince Borghese, and +who was immensely wealthy, also resided in the vicinity of Rome, in +probably the most magnificent villa in Europe. Hortense and her son were +constant visitors at her residence. + +Madame Récamier, who had ever been the warm friend of the Bourbons, and +whom Hortense had befriended when the Bourbons were in exile, gives the +following account of an interview she had with Queen Hortense in Rome, +early in the year 1824. The two friends had not met since the "Hundred +Days" in 1815. We give the narrative in the words of Madame Récamier: + +"I went one day to St. Peter's to listen to the music, so beautiful +under the vaults of that immense edifice. There, leaning against a +pillar, meditating under my veil, I followed with heart and soul the +solemn notes that died away in the depths of the dome. An +elegant-looking woman, veiled like myself, came and placed herself near +the same pillar. Every time that a more lively feeling drew from me an +involuntary movement my eyes met those of the stranger. She seemed to be +trying to recognize my features. And I, on my side, through the obstacle +of our veils, thought I distinguished blue eyes and light hair that were +not unknown to me. 'Madame Récamier!' 'Is it you, madame?' we said +almost at the same moment. 'How delighted I am to see you!' said Queen +Hortense, for she it was. 'You know,' she added, smiling, 'that I would +not have waited until now to find you out; but you have always been +ceremonious with me.' + +"'Then, madame,' I replied, 'my friends were exiled and unfortunate. You +were happy and brilliant, and my place was not near you.' + +"'If misfortune has the privilege of attracting you,' replied the queen, +'you must confess that my time has come and permit me to advance my +claims.' + +"I was a little embarrassed for a reply. My connection with the Duke de +Laval, our ambassador at Rome, and with the French Government in +general, was a barrier to any visiting between us. She understood my +silence. + +"'I know,' she said, sadly, 'that the inconveniences of greatness follow +us still, when even our prerogatives are gone. Thus, with loss of rank, +I have not acquired liberty of action. I can not to-day even taste the +pleasures of a woman's friendship, and peaceably enjoy society that is +pleasant and dear to me.' + +"I bowed my head with emotion, expressing my sympathy only by my looks. + +"'But I must talk to you,' said the queen, more warmly. 'I have so many +things to say to you. If we can not visit each other, nothing prevents +us from meeting elsewhere. We will appoint some place to meet. That will +be charming.' + +"'Charming indeed, madame,' I replied, smiling; 'and especially for me. +But how shall we fix the time and place for these interviews?' + +"'It is you,' Hortense replied, 'who must arrange that; for, thanks to +the solitude forced upon me, my time is entirely at my own disposal. But +it may not be the same with you. Sought for as you are, you mix, no +doubt, a great deal in society.' + +"'Heaven forbid!' I replied. 'On the contrary, I lead a very retired +life. It would be absurd to come to Rome to see society, and people +everywhere the same. I prefer to visit what is peculiarly her own--her +monuments and ruins.' + +"'Well, then, we can arrange every thing finely,' added Hortense; 'if it +is agreeable to you I will join you in these excursions. Let me know +each day your plans for the next; and we will meet, as if by accident, +at the appointed places.' + +"I eagerly accepted this offer, anticipating much pleasure in making the +tour of old Rome with so gracious and agreeable a companion, and one +who loved and understood art. The queen, on her side, was happy in the +thought that I would talk to her of France; whilst to both of us the +little air of mystery thrown over these interviews gave them another +charm. + +"'Where do you propose to go to-morrow?' asked the queen. + +"'To the Coliseum.' + +"'You will assuredly find me there,' Hortense replied. 'I have much to +say to you. I wish to justify myself in your eyes from an imputation +that distresses me.' + +"The queen began to enter into explanations; and the interview +threatening to be a long one, I frankly reminded her that the French +ambassador, who had brought me to St. Peter's, was coming back for me; +for I feared that a meeting would be embarrassing to both. + +"'You are right,' said the queen. 'We must not be surprised together. +Adieu, then. To-morrow at the Coliseum;' and we separated." + +Madame Récamier, the bosom-friend of Chateaubriand, was in entire +political sympathy with the illustrious poet. She regarded legitimacy as +a part of her religion, and was intensely devoted to the interests of +the Bourbons. She was one of the most beautiful and fascinating women +who ever lived. Napoleon at St. Helena, in allusion to this remarkable +lady, said: + +"I was scarcely First Consul ere I found myself at issue with Madame +Récamier. Her father had been placed in the Post-office Department. I +had found it necessary to sign, in confidence, a great number of +appointments; but I soon established a very rigid inspection in every +department A correspondence was discovered with the Chouans, going on +under the connivance of M. Bernard, the father of Madame Récamier. He +was immediately dismissed, and narrowly escaped trial and condemnation +to death. His daughter hastened to me, and upon her solicitation I +exempted M. Bernard from taking his trial, but was resolute respecting +his dismissal. Madame Récamier, accustomed to obtain every thing, would +be satisfied with nothing less than the reinstatement of her father. +Such were the morals of the times. My severity excited loud +animadversions. It was a thing quite unusual. Madame Récamier and her +party never forgave me."[J] + +[Footnote J: Abbott's "Napoleon at St. Helena," p. 94.] + +The home of Madame De Staėl, who was the very intimate friend of Madame +Récamier, became, in the early stages of the Empire, the rendezvous of +all those who were intriguing for the overthrow of the government of +Napoleon. The Emperor, speaking upon this subject at St. Helena, said: + +"The house of Madame De Staėl had become quite an arsenal against me. +People went there to be armed knights. She endeavored to raise enemies +against me, and fought against me herself. She was at once Armida and +Clorinda. It can not be denied that Madame de Staėl is a very +distinguished woman. She will go down to posterity. At the time of the +Concordat, against which Madame de Staėl was violently inflamed, she +united at once against me the aristocrats and the republicans. Having at +length tired out my patience, she was sent into exile. I informed her +that I left her the universe for the theatre of her achievements; that I +reserved only Paris for myself, which I forbade her to approach, and +resigned the rest of the world to her." + +The banishment of Madame de Staėl from Paris excited as much bitterness +in the soul of Madame Récamier as it was possible for a lady of such +rare amiability and loveliness of character to feel. Madame Récamier, in +giving an account of this transaction, says: + +"I had a passionate admiration for Madame de Staėl; and this harsh and +arbitrary act showed me despotism under its most odious aspect. The man +who banished a woman, and such a woman,--who caused her such +unhappiness, could only be regarded by me as an unmerciful tyrant; and +from that hour I was against him." + +The result was that Madame Récamier was forbidden to reside within one +hundred and twenty miles of Paris. The reason which Napoleon assigned +for these measures was, that Madame de Staėl, with the most +extraordinary endowments of mind, and Madame Récamier, with charms of +personal loveliness which had made her renowned through all Europe, were +combining their attractions in forming a conspiracy which would surely +deluge the streets of Paris in blood. Napoleon affirmed that though the +Government was so strong that it could certainly crush an insurrection +in the streets, he thought it better to prohibit these two ladies any +further residence in Paris, rather than leave them to foment rebellion, +which would cost the lives of many thousands of comparatively innocent +persons. + +When the Bourbons, at the first restoration, returned to Paris, in the +rear of the batteries of the Allies, Madame Récamier again took up her +residence in Paris. Her saloons were thronged with the partisans of the +old regime, and she was universally recognized as the queen of fashion +and beauty. She was in the enjoyment of a very large income, kept her +carriage, had a box at the opera, and on opera nights had receptions +after the performances. The wheel of fortune had turned, and she was now +in the ascendant. Lord Wellington was among her admirers. But the +brusque, unpolished duke disgusted the refined French lady by his boast +to her, "I have given Napoleon a good beating." + +Still the wheel continued its revolution. Napoleon returned from Elba. +The Bourbons and their partisans fled precipitately from France. But, in +the interim, Madame Récamier and Madame de Staėl had dined with the +Duchess of St. Leu, at her estate a few leagues from Paris. The return +of Napoleon plunged Madame Récamier and her friend into the utmost +consternation. She was very unwilling again to leave Paris. In this +emergency, Hortense, who was then at the Tuileries, wrote to her under +date of March 23, 1815: + +"I hope that you are tranquil. You may trust to me to take care of your +interests. I am convinced that I shall not have occasion to show you how +delighted I should be to be useful to you. Such would be my desire. But +under any circumstances count upon me, and believe that I shall be very +happy to prove my friendship for you. + + "HORTENSE." + +The "Hundred Days" passed away. The Bourbons were re-enthroned. Madame +Récamier was again a power in Paris. Hortense, deprived of the duchy of +St. Leu, was driven an exile out of France. Fifteen years had rolled +away, and these two distinguished ladies had not met until the +accidental interview to which we have alluded beneath the dome of St. +Peter's Cathedral. They were friends, though one was the representative +of aristocracy and the other of the rights of the people. + +According to the arrangement which they had made, Hortense and Madame +Récamier met the next day at the Coliseum. Though it is not to be +supposed that Madame Récamier would make any false representations, it +is evident that, under the circumstances, she would not soften any of +the expressions of Hortense, or represent the conversation which ensued +in any light too favorable to Napoleon. We give the narrative, however, +of this very interesting interview in the words of Madame Récamier: + +"The next day, at the Ave Maria, I was at the Coliseum, where I saw the +queen's carriage, which had arrived a few minutes before me. We entered +the amphitheatre together, complimenting each other on our punctuality, +and strolled through this immense ruin as the sun was setting, and to +the sound of distant bells. + +"Finally we seated ourselves on the steps of the cross in the centre of +the amphitheatre, while Charles Napoleon Bonaparte and M. Ampčre, who +had followed us, walked about at a little distance. The night came +on--an Italian night. The moon rose slowly in the heavens, behind the +open arcades of the Coliseum. The breeze of evening sighed through the +deserted galleries. Near me sat this woman, herself the living ruin of +so extraordinary a fortune. A confused and undefinable emotion forced me +to silence. The queen also seemed absorbed in her reflections. + +[Illustration: INTERVIEW IN THE COLISEUM.] + +"'How many events have contributed to bring us together,' she said +finally, turning towards me, 'events of which I often have been the +puppet or the victim, without having foreseen or provoked them.' + +"I could not help thinking that this pretension to the rōle of a victim +was a little hazardous. At that time I was under the conviction that she +had not been a stranger to the return from the island of Elba. Doubtless +the queen divined my thoughts, since it is hardly possible for me to +hide my sentiments. My bearing and face betray me in spite of myself. + +"'I see plainly,'she said earnestly, 'that you share an opinion that has +injured me deeply; and it was to controvert it that I wanted to speak to +you freely. Henceforth you will justify me, I hope; for I can clear +myself of the charge of ingratitude and treason, which would abase me in +my own eyes if I had been guilty of them.' + +"She was silent a moment and then resumed. 'In 1814, after the +abdication of Fontainebleau, I considered that the Emperor had renounced +all his rights to the throne, and that his family ought to follow his +example. It was my wish to remain in France, under a title that would +not give umbrage to the new Government. At the request of the Emperor of +Russia, Louis XVIII. gave me authority to assume the title of Duchess of +St. Leu, and confirmed me in the possession of my private property. In +an audience that I obtained to thank him, he treated me with so much +courtesy and kindness that I was sincerely grateful; and after having +freely accepted his favors I could not think of conspiring against him. + +"'I heard of the landing of the Emperor only through public channels, +and it gave me much more annoyance than pleasure. I knew the Emperor too +well to imagine that he would have attempted such an enterprise without +having certain reasons to hope for success. But the prospect of a civil +war afflicted me deeply, and I was convinced that we could not escape +it. The speedy arrival of the Emperor baffled all my previsions. + +"'On hearing of the departure of the king, and picturing him to myself +old, infirm, and forced to abandon his country again, I was sensibly +touched. The idea that he might be accusing me of ingratitude and +treason was insupportable to me; and, notwithstanding all the risk of +such a step, I wrote to him to exculpate myself from any participation +in the events which had just taken place. + +"'On the evening of the 20th of March, being advised of the Emperor's +approach by his old minister, I presented myself at the Tuileries to +await his coming. I saw him arrive, surrounded, pressed, and borne +onward by a crowd of officers of all ranks. In all this tumult I could +scarcely accost him. He received me coldly, said a few words to me, and +appointed an interview for next day. The Emperor has always inspired me +with fear, and his tone on this occasion was not calculated to reassure +me. I presented myself, however, with as calm a bearing as was possible. +I was introduced into his private room; and we were scarcely alone when +he advanced toward me quickly, and said brusquely, + +"'"Have you then so poorly comprehended your situation that you could +renounce your name, and the rank you held from me, to accept a title +given by the Bourbons?" + +"'"My duty sire," I replied, summoning up all my courage to answer him, +"was to think of my children's future, since the abdication of your +Majesty left me no longer any other to fulfill." + +"'"Your children," exclaimed the Emperor, "your children! Were they not +my nephews before they were your sons? Have you forgotten that? Had you +the right to strip them of the rank that belonged to them?" And as I +looked at him, all amazed, he added, with increasing rage, "Have you not +read the Code, then?" + +"'I avowed my ignorance, recalling to myself that he had formerly +considered it reprehensible, in any woman, and especially in members of +his own family, to dare to avow that they knew any thing about +legislation. Then he explained to me with volubility the article in the +law prohibiting any change in the state of minors, or the making of any +renunciation in their name. As he talked he strode up and down the room, +the windows of which were open to admit the beautiful spring sun. I +followed him, trying to make him understand that, not knowing the laws, +I had only thought of the interests of my children, and taken counsel of +my heart. The Emperor stopped all of a sudden, and turning roughly +towards me, said, + +"'"Then it should have told you, Madame, that when you shared the +prosperity of a family, you ought to know how to submit to its +misfortunes." + +"'At these last words I burst into tears. But at this moment our +conversation was interrupted by a tremendous uproar which frightened me. +The Emperor, while talking, had unconsciously approached the window +looking upon the terrace of the Tuileries, which was filled with people, +who, upon recognizing him, rent the air with frantic acclamations. The +Emperor, accustomed to control himself, saluted the people electrified +by his presence, and I hastened to dry my eyes. But they had seen my +tears, without the slightest suspicion of their cause. For the next day +the papers vied with each other in repeating that the Emperor had shown +himself at the windows of the Tuileries, accompanied by Queen Hortense, +and that the Queen was so moved by the enthusiasm manifested at the +sight of her that she could scarcely restrain her tears.' + +"This account," adds Madame Récamier, "had an air of sincerity about it, +which shook my previous convictions, and the regard I felt for the Queen +was heightened. From that time we became firm friends. We met each other +every day, sometimes at the Temple of Vesta, sometimes at the Baths of +Titus, or at the Tomb of Cecilia Metella; at others, in some one of the +numerous churches of the Christian city, in the rich galleries of its +palaces, or at one of the beautiful villas in its environs; and such was +our punctuality, that our two carriages almost always arrived together +at the appointed place. + +"I found the queen a very fascinating companion. And she showed such a +delicate tact in respecting the opinions she knew I held, that I could +not prevent myself saying that I could only accuse her of the one fault +of not being enough of a Bonapartist. Notwithstanding the species of +intimacy established between us, I had always abstained from visiting +her, when news arrived of the death of Eugene Beauharnais. The Queen +loved her brother tenderly. I understood the grief she must feel in +losing her nearest relation and the best friend she had in the world, +and came quickly to a decision. I immediately went to her, and found her +in the deepest affliction. The whole Bonaparte family was there, but +that gave me little uneasiness. In such cases it is impossible for me to +consider party interests or public opinion. I have been often blamed for +this, and probably shall be again, and I must resign myself to this +censure, since I shall never cease to deserve it." + +Hortense, immediately upon receiving the tidings of the dangerous +sickness of her brother, had written thus to Madame Récamier. The letter +was dated, + + "Rome, Friday morning, April, 1824. + +"MY DEAR MADAME,--It seems to be my fate not to be able to enjoy any +pleasures, diversions, or interest without the alloy of pain. I have +news of my brother. He has been ill. They kindly assure me that he was +better when the letter was sent, but I can not help being extremely +anxious. I have a presentiment that this is his last illness, and I am +far from him. I trust that God will not deprive me of the only friend +left me--the best and most honorable man on earth. I am going to St. +Peter's to pray. That will comfort me perhaps, for my very anxiety +frightens me. One becomes weak and superstitious in grief. I can not +therefore go with you to-day, but I shall be happy to see you, if you +would like to join me at St. Peter's. I know that you are not afraid of +the unhappy, and that you bring them happiness. To wish for you now is +enough to prove to you my regard for you. + + "HORTENSE." + +Soon after the death of Prince Eugene, Hortense returned to Arenemberg. +From that place she wrote to Madame Récamier, under date of June 10th, +1824: + +"You were kind enough, Madame, to wish to hear from me. I can not say +that I am well, when I have lost every thing on this earth. Meanwhile I +am not in ill health. I have just had another heart-break. I have seen +all my brother's things. I do not recoil from this pain, and perhaps I +may find in it some consolation. This life, so full of troubles, can +disturb no longer the friends for whom we mourn. He, no doubt, is happy. +With your sympathies you can imagine all my feelings. + +"I am at present in my retreat. The scenery is superb. In spite of the +lovely sky of Italy, I still find Arenemberg very beautiful. But I must +always be pursued by regrets. It is undoubtedly my fate. Last year I was +so contented. I was very proud of not repining, not wishing for any +thing in this world. I had a good brother, good children. To-day how +much need have I to repeat to myself that there are still some left to +whom I am necessary! + +"But I am talking a great deal about myself, and I have nothing to tell +you, if it be not that you have been a great comfort to me, and that I +shall always be pleased to see you again. You are among those persons to +whom it is not needful to relate one's life or one's feelings. The heart +is the best interpreter, and they who thus read us become necessary to +us. + +"I do not ask you about your plans, and nevertheless I am interested to +know them. Do not be like me, who live without a future, and who expect +to remain where fate puts me; for I may stay at my country-place all +winter, if I can have all the rooms heated. Sometimes the wind seems to +carry the house off, and the snow, I am told, is of frightful depth. But +it requires little courage to surmount these obstacles. On the contrary, +these great effects of nature are sometimes not without their charms. +Adieu. Do not entirely forget me. Believe me, your friendship has done +me good. You know what a comfort a friendly voice from one's native +country is, when it comes to us in misfortune and isolation. Be kind +enough to tell me that I am unjust if I complain too much of my destiny, +and that I have still some friends left. + + "HORTENSE." + +Just about this time M. de Chateaubriand, the illustrious friend of +Madame Récamier, was quite insultingly dismissed from the ministry for +not advocating a law of which the king approved. The disgrace of the +minister created a very deep sensation. In allusion to it, Hortense +wrote to Madame Récamier, from Arenemberg, Sept. 11, 1824, as follows: + +"I expected to hear from you on your return from Naples, and as I have +not heard, I know not where to find you. I have fancied that you were on +the road to Paris, because I always imagine that we go where the heart +goes, and where we can be useful to our friends. It is curious to think +what a chain the affections are. Why, I myself, secluded from the world, +stranger to every thing, am sorry to see so distinguished a man shut out +from public life. Is it on account of the interest you have made me take +in that quarter, or is it, rather, because, like a Frenchwoman, I love +to see merit and superiority honored in my country? + +"At present I am no longer alone. I have my cousin with me, the Grand +Duchess of Baden, a most accomplished person. The brilliancy of her +imagination, the vivacity of her wit, the correctness of her judgment, +together with the perfect balance of all her faculties, render her a +charming and a remarkable woman. She enlivens my solitude and softens my +profound grief. We converse in the language of our country. It is that +of the heart, you know, since at Rome we understood each other so well. + +"I claim your promise to stop on the way at Arenemberg. It will always be +to me very sweet to see you. I can not separate you from one of my +greatest sorrows; which is to say that you are very dear to me, and that +I shall be happy to have an opportunity to assure you of my affection. + + "HORTENSE." + +Madame Récamier, after leaving Rome, kept up her friendly relations and +correspondence with Queen Hortense. + +The winter of 1829 Hortense spent with her sons in Rome. Chateaubriand +was then French ambassador in that city. Upon his leaving, to return to +Paris, Hortense wrote to Madame Récamier the following letter, in which +she alludes to his departure: + + "Rome, May 10, 1829. + +"DEAR MADAME,--I am not willing that one of your friends should leave +the place where I am living, and where I have had the pleasure of +meeting you, without carrying to you a token of my remembrance. I also +wish you to convey to him my sentiments. Kindnesses show themselves in +the smallest things, and are also felt by those who are the object of +them, without their being equal to the expression of their feelings. But +the benevolence which has been able to reach me has made me regret not +being permitted to know him whom I have learned to appreciate, and who, +in a foreign land, so worthily represented to me my country, at least +such as I always should like to look upon her, as a friend and +protectress. + +"I am soon to return to my mountains, where I hope to hear from you. Do +not forget me entirely. Remember that I love you, and that your +friendship contributed to soothe one of the keenest sorrows of my life. +These are two inseparable memories. Thus never doubt my tender love, in +again assuring you of which I take such pleasure. + + "HORTENSE." + +The year 1830 came. Louis Napoleon was then twenty-two years of age. An +insurrection in Paris overthrew the old Bourbon dynasty, and established +its modification in the throne of Louis Philippe. This revolution in +France threw all Europe into commotion. All over Italy the people rose +to cast off the yoke which the Allies, who had triumphed at Waterloo, +had imposed upon them. The exiled members of the Bonaparte family met at +Rome to decide what to do in the emergency. Hortense attended the +meeting with her two sons. The eldest, Napoleon Louis, had married his +cousin, the daughter of Joseph Bonaparte. Both of the young princes, +with great enthusiasm, joined the patriots. Hortense was very much +alarmed for the safety of her sons. She could see but little hope that +the insurrection could be successful in Italy, for the "Holy Alliance" +was pledged to crush it. She wrote imploringly to her children. Louis +Napoleon replied, + +"Your affectionate heart will understand our determination. We have +contracted engagements which we can not break. Can we remain deaf to the +voice of the unfortunate who call to us? We bear a name which obliges us +to listen." + +We have not here space to describe the conflict. The Italian patriots, +overwhelmed by the armies of Austria, were crushed or dispersed. The +elder of the sons of Hortense, Napoleon Louis, died from the fatigue and +exposure of the campaign, and was buried at Florence. The younger son, +Louis Napoleon, enfeebled by sickness, was in the retreat with the +vanquished patriots to Ancona, on the shores of the Adriatic. The +distracted mother was hastening to her children when she heard of the +death of the one, and of the sickness and perilous condition of the +other. She found Louis Napoleon at Ancona, in a burning fever. The +Austrians were gathering up the vanquished patriots wherever they could +be found in their dispersion, and were mercilessly shooting them. +Hortense was in an agony of terror. She knew that her son, if captured, +would surely be shot. The Austrians were soon in possession of Ancona. +They eagerly sought for the young prince, who bore a name which despots +have ever feared. A price was set upon his head. The sagacity of the +mother rescued the child. She made arrangements for a frail skiff to +steal out from the harbor and cross the Adriatic Sea to the shores of +Illyria. Deceived by this stratagem, the Austrian police had no doubt +that the young prince had escaped. Their vigilance was accordingly +relaxed. Hortense then took a carriage for Pisa. Her son, burning with +fever and emaciate from grief and fatigue, mounted the box behind in the +disguise of a footman. In this manner, exposed every moment to the +danger of being arrested by the Austrian police, the anxious mother and +her son traversed the whole breadth of Italy. As Louis Napoleon had, +with arms in his hands, espoused the cause of the people in their +struggle against Austrian despotism, he could expect no mercy, and there +was no safety for him anywhere within reach of the Austrian arm. + +By a law of the Bourbons, enacted in 1816, which law was re-enacted by +the Government of Louis Philippe, no member of the Bonaparte family +could enter France but under the penalty of death. But Napoleon I., when +in power, had been very generous to the House of Orleans. Hortense, +also, upon the return of Napoleon from Elba, when the Royalists were +flying in terror from the kingdom, had protected and warmly befriended +distinguished members of the family. Under these circumstances, +distracted by the fear that her only surviving child would be arrested +and shot, and knowing not which way to turn for safety, the mother and +the son decided, notwithstanding the menace of death suspended over +them, to seek a momentary refuge, incognito, in France. + +Embarking in a small vessel, still under assumed names, they safely +reached Cannes. At this port Napoleon had landed sixteen years ago, in +his marvellous return from Elba. The mother and son proceeded +immediately to Paris, resolved to cast themselves upon the generosity of +Louis Philippe. Louis Napoleon was still very sick, and needed his bed +rather than the fatigues of travel. It was the intention of his mother, +so soon as the health of her son was sufficiently restored, to continue +their journey and cross over to England. + +Hortense, in her "Mémoires," speaking of these hours of adversity's +deepest gloom, writes: + +"At length I arrived at the barrier of Paris. I experienced a sort of +self-love in exhibiting to my son, by its most beautiful entrance, that +capital, of which he could probably retain but a feeble recollection. I +ordered the postillion to take us through the Boulevards to the Rue de +la Paix, and to stop at the first hotel. Chance conducted us to the +Hotel D'Hollande. I occupied a small apartment on the third floor, _du +premier_, first above the entresol. From my room I could see the +Boulevard and the column in the Place Vendōme. I experienced a sort of +saddened pleasure, in my isolation, in once more beholding that city +which I was about to leave, perhaps forever, without speaking to a +person, and without being distracted by the impression which that view +made upon me." + +Twenty-two years before, Hortense, in this city, had given birth to the +child who was now sick and a fugitive. Austria was thirsting for his +blood, and the Government of his own native land had laid upon him the +ban of exile, and it was at the peril of their lives that either mother +or son placed their feet upon the soil of France. And yet the birth of +this prince was welcomed by salvos of artillery, and by every +enthusiastic demonstration of public rejoicing, from Hamburg to Rome, +and from the Pyrenees to the Danube. + +Louis Napoleon was still suffering from a burning fever. A few days of +repose seemed essential to the preservation of his life. Hortense +immediately wrote a letter to King Louis Philippe, informing him of the +arrival of herself and son, incognito, in Paris, of the circumstances +which had rendered the step necessary, and casting themselves upon his +protection. Louis Philippe owed Hortense a deep debt of gratitude. He +had joined the Allies in their war against France. He had come back to +Paris in the rear of their batteries. By French law he was a traitor +doomed to die. When Napoleon returned from Elba he fled from France in +terror, again to join the Allies. He was then the Duke of Orleans. The +Duchess of Orleans had slipped upon the stairs and broken her leg. She +could not be moved. Both Hortense and Napoleon treated her with the +greatest kindness. Of several letters which the Duchess of Orleans wrote +Hortense, full of expressions of obligation and gratitude, we will quote +but one. + +_The Duchess of Orleans to Queen Hortense._ + + "April 19, 1815. + +"MADAME,--I am truly afflicted that the feeble state of my health +deprives me of the opportunity of expressing to your majesty, as I could +wish, my gratitude for the interest she has manifested in my situation. +I am still suffering much pain, as my limb has not yet healed. But I can +not defer expressing to your majesty, and to his majesty, the Emperor, +to whom I beg you to be my interpreter, the gratitude I feel I am, +madame, your majesty's servant, + + "LOUISE MARIE ADELAIDE DE BOURBON, DUCHESS D'ORLEANS." + +The Emperor, in response to the solicitations of Hortense, had permitted +the Duchess of Orleans to remain in Paris, and also had assured her of a +pension of four hundred thousand francs ($80,000). The Duchess of +Bourbon, also, aunt of the Duke of Orleans, was permitted to remain in +the city. And she, also, that she might be able to maintain the position +due to her rank, received from the Emperor a pension of two hundred +thousand francs ($40,000). The Duchess of Bourbon had written to +Hortense for some great favors, which Hortense obtained for her. In +reply to the assurance of Hortense that she would do what she could to +aid her, the duchess wrote, under date of April 29th, 1815: + +"I am exceedingly grateful for your kindness, and I have full confidence +in the desire which you express to aid me. I can hardly believe that the +Emperor will refuse a demand which I will venture to say is so just, and +particularly when it is presented by you. Believe me, madame, that my +gratitude equals the sentiments of which I beg you to receive, in +advance, the most sincere attestation." + +Under these circumstances Hortense could not doubt that she might +venture to appeal to the magnanimity of the king. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +LIFE AT ARENEMBERG. + +1831-1836 + +Embarrassments of Louis Philippe.--The minister's interview with +Hortense.--Hortense ordered to leave France.--Letter from Louis +Napoleon.--Right of citizenship conferred.--Response of the +prince.--Permission to pass through France.--Louis Napoleon invited +to the throne of Poland.--Visit of Madame Récamier.--Accomplishments of +the Prince.--Heirs to the Empire.--Studious habits of Louis +Napoleon.--Testimony of an English gentleman.--Personal appearance of +Louis Napoleon.--His resemblance to the Emperor.--Letter to M. +Belmontet.--Letter to a friend.--Love of Hortense for her son.--Column +in the Place Vendōme.--Arc de l'Etoile.--First heir to the Empire.--The +throne of Louis Philippe menaced.--Remarks of Louis Napoleon.--Peril of +the movements.--Letter to Hortense.--Capture of Louis Napoleon.--Anguish +of Hortense. + +It must be confessed that the position of Louis Philippe was painful +when he received the note from Hortense announcing that she and her son +were in Paris. An insurrection in the streets of Paris had overthrown +the throne of the Bourbons, and with it the doctrine of legitimacy. +Louis Philippe had been placed upon the vacant throne, not by the voice +of the French people, but by a small clique in Paris. There was danger +that allied Europe would again rouse itself to restore the Bourbons. +Louis Philippe could make no appeal to the masses of the people for +support, for he was not the king of their choice. Should he do any thing +indicative of friendship for the Bonapartes, it might exasperate all +dynastic Europe; and should the French people learn that an heir of the +Empire was in France, their enthusiasm might produce convulsions the end +of which no one could foresee. + +Thus unstably seated upon his throne, Louis Philippe was in a state of +great embarrassment. He felt that he could not consult the impulses of +his heart, but that he must listen to the colder dictates of prudence. +He therefore did not venture personally to call upon Queen Hortense, but +sent Casimir Périer, president of his council, to see her. As Périer +entered her apartment, Hortense said to him: + +"Sir, I am a mother. My only means of saving my son was to come to +France. I know very well that I have transgressed a law. I am well aware +of the risks we run. You have a right to cause our arrest. It would be +just." + +"Just?" responded the minister, "no; legal? yes." The result of some +anxious deliberation was that, in consideration of the alarming sickness +of the young prince, they were to be permitted, provided they preserved +the strictest incognito, to remain in the city one week. The king also +granted Hortense a private audience. He himself knew full well the +sorrows of exile. He spoke feelingly of the weary years which he and his +family had spent in banishment from France. + +"I have experienced," said he to Hortense, "all the griefs of exile. And +it is not in accordance with my wishes that yours have not yet ceased." +Hortense also saw the queen and the king's sister. There were but these +four persons who were allowed to know that Hortense was in Paris. And +but two of these, the king and his minister, knew that Prince Louis +Napoleon was in the city. But just then came the 5th of May. It was the +anniversary of the death of the Emperor at St. Helena. As ever, in this +anniversary, immense crowds of the Parisian people gathered around the +column on the Place Vendōme with their homage to their beloved Emperor, +and covering the railing with wreaths of immortelles and other flowers. +Had the populace known that from his window an heir of the great Emperor +was looking upon them, it would have created a flame of enthusiasm which +scarcely any earthly power could have quenched. + +The anxiety of the king, in view of the peril, was so great, that +Hortense was informed that the public safety required that she should +immediately leave France, notwithstanding the continued sickness of her +son. The order was imperative. But both the king and the minister +offered her money, that she might continue her journey to London. But +Hortense did not need pecuniary aid. She had just cashed at the bank an +order for sixteen thousand francs. Before leaving the city, Louis +Napoleon wrote to the king a very eloquent and dignified letter, in +which he claimed his right, as a French citizen, who had never committed +any crime, of residing in his native land. He recognized the king as the +representative of a great nation, and earnestly offered his services in +defense of his country in the ranks of the army. He avowed that in Italy +he had espoused the cause of the people in opposition to aristocratic +usurpation, and he demanded the privilege of taking his position, as a +French citizen, beneath the tri-color of France. + +No reply was returned to this letter. It is said that the spirit and +energy it displayed magnified the alarm of the king, and increased his +urgency to remove the writer, as speedily as possible, from the soil of +France. + +On the 6th of May Hortense and her son left Paris, and proceeded that +day to Chantilly. Travelling slowly, they were four days in reaching +Calais, where they embarked for England. Upon their arrival in London, +both Hortense and her son met with a very flattering reception from +gentlemen of all parties. For some time they were the guests of the Duke +of Bedford, at Woburn Abbey. Talleyrand, who was then French ambassador +at the Court of St. James, with characteristic diplomatic caution called +himself, and by means of an agent sought to ascertain what were the +secret plans and purposes of Queen Hortense. + +Several months were passed very profitably in England, and as pleasantly +as was possible for persons who had been so long buffetted by the storms +of adversity, who were exiles from their native land, and who knew not +in what direction to look for a home of safety. While in this state of +perplexity, both mother and son were exceedingly gratified by receiving +from the Canton of Thurgovia the following document, conferring the +rights of citizenship upon the young prince. The document bore the date +of Thurgovia, April 30th, 1832. + +"We, the President of the Council of the Canton of Thurgovia, declare +that, the Commune of Sallenstein having offered the right of communal +citizenship to his highness, Prince Louis Napoleon, out of gratitude for +the numerous favors conferred upon the canton by the family of the +Duchess of St. Leu, since her residence in Arenemberg; and the grand +council having afterwards, by its unanimous vote of the 14th of April, +sanctioned this award, and decreed unanimously to his highness the right +of honorary burghership of the canton, with the desire of proving how +highly it honors the generous character of this family, and how highly +it appreciates the preference they have shown for the canton; declares +that his highness, Prince Louis Napoleon, son of the Duke and Duchess of +St. Leu, is acknowledged as a citizen of the Canton of Thurgovia." + +The prince, in the response which he made in the name of his mother and +himself, expressed their gratitude for the kindness with which they had +ever been treated, and thanked them especially for the honor which they +had conferred upon him, in making him the "citizen of a free nation." As +a testimonial of his esteem he sent to the authorities of the canton two +brass six-pounder cannon, with complete trains and equipage. He also +founded a free school in the village of Sallenstein. + +Encouraged by these expressions of kindly feeling, both Hortense and her +son were very desirous to return to their quiet and much-loved retreat +at Arenemberg. The prince, however, who never allowed himself to waste a +moment of time, devoted himself, during this short visit to England, +assiduously to the study of the workings of British institutions, and to +the progress which the nation had attained in the sciences and the arts. +It was not easy for Hortense and her son to return to Arenemberg. The +Government of Louis Philippe would not permit them to pass through +France. Austria vigilantly and indignantly watched every pathway through +Italy. They made application for permission to pass through Belgium, but +this was denied them. The Belgian throne, which was afterwards offered +to Leopold, was then vacant. It was feared that the people would rally +at the magic name of Napoleon, and insist that the crown should be +placed upon the brow of the young prince. + +In this sore dilemma, Louis Philippe at last consented, very +reluctantly, that they might pass hurriedly through France, Hortense +assuming the name of the Baroness of Arenemberg, and both giving their +pledge not to enter Paris. Having obtained the necessary passports, +Hortense, with her son, left London in August, and, crossing the +Channel, landed at Calais, thus placing their feet once more upon the +soil of their native land, from which they were exiled by Bourbon power +simply because they bore the name of Bonaparte, which all France so +greatly revered. In conformity with their agreement they avoided Paris, +though they visited the tomb of Josephine, at Ruel. + +They had scarcely reached Switzerland when a deputation of distinguished +Poles called upon the young prince, urging him to place himself at the +head of their nation, then in arms, endeavoring to regain independence. +The letter containing this offer was dated August 31, 1831. It was +signed by General Kniazewiez, Count Plater, and many other of the most +illustrious men of Poland. + +"To whom," it was said, "can the direction of our enterprise be better +intrusted than to the nephew of the greatest captain of all ages? A +young Bonaparte appearing in our country, tri-color in hand, would +produce a moral effect of incalculable consequences. Come, then, young +hero, hope of our country. Trust to the waves, which already know your +name, the fortunes of Cęsar, and what is more, the destinies of liberty. +You will gain the gratitude of your brethren in arms and the admiration +of the world." + +The chivalric spirit of the young prince was aroused. Notwithstanding +the desperation of the enterprise and the great anxiety of his mother, +Louis Napoleon left Arenemberg to join the Poles. He had not proceeded +far when he received the intelligence that Warsaw was captured and that +the patriots were crushed. Sadly he returned to Arenemberg. Again, as +ever, he sought solace for his disappointment in intense application to +study. In August, 1832, Madame Récamier with M. de Chateaubriand made a +visit to Hortense, at the chateau of Arenemberg. The biographer of +Madame Récamier in the following terms records this visit: + +"In August, 1832, Madame Récamier decided to make a trip to Switzerland, +where she was to meet M. de Chateaubriand, who was already wandering in +the mountains. She went to Constance. The chateau of Arenemberg, where +the Duchess of St. Leu passed her summers, and which she had bought and +put in order, overlooks Lake Constance. It was impossible for Madame +Récamier not to give a few days to this kind and amiable person, +especially in her forlorn and isolated position. The duchess, too, had +lost, the year previous, her eldest son, Napoleon, who died in Italy. + +"When M. de Chateaubriand joined Madame Récamier at Constance, he was +invited to dine with her at the castle. Hortense received him with the +most gracious kindness, and read to him some extracts from her own +memoirs. The establishment at Arenemberg was elegant, and on a large +though not ostentatious scale. Hortense's manners, in her own house, +were simple and affectionate. She talked too much, perhaps, about her +taste for a life of retirement, love of nature, and aversion to +greatness, to be wholly believed. After all these protestations, her +visitor could not perceive without surprise the care the duchess and her +household took to treat Prince Louis like a sovereign. He had the +precedence of every one. + +"The prince, polite, accomplished, and taciturn, appeared to Madame +Récamier to be a very different person from his elder brother, whom she +had known in Rome, young, generous, and enthusiastic. The prince +sketched for her, in sepia, a view of Lake Constance, overlooked by the +chateau of Arenemberg. In the foreground a shepherd, leaning against a +tree, is watching his flock and playing on the flute. This design, +pleasantly associated with Madame Récamier's visit, is now historically +interesting. For the last ten years the signature of the author has +been affixed to very different things." + +But a month before this visit, in July, 1832, Napoleon's only son, the +Duke of Reichstadt, died at the age of twenty-one years. All concur in +testifying to his noble character. He died sadly, ever cherishing the +memory of his illustrious sire, who had passed to the grave through the +long agony of St. Helena. The death of the Duke of Reichstadt brought +Louis Napoleon one step nearer to the throne of the Empire, according to +the vote of the French. There were now but two heirs between him and the +crown--his uncle Joseph and his father Louis. Both of these were +advanced in life, and the latter exceedingly infirm. The legitimists +denied that the people had any right to establish a dynasty; but it was +clear that whatever rights popular suffrage could confer would descend +to Louis Napoleon upon the death of Joseph and of Louis Bonaparte. Louis +Napoleon had no doubt that the immense majority of the French people +would improve the first possible opportunity to re-establish the Empire; +and consequently the conviction which he so confidently cherished, that +he was destined to be the Emperor of France, was not a vague and +baseless impression, but the dictate of sound judgment. + +The Holy Alliance now contemplated Louis Napoleon with great anxiety, +and kept a very close watch upon all his movements. The Government of +Louis Philippe was even more unpopular in France than the Government of +the elder branch of the Bourbons had been. The crown had not been placed +upon his brow either by _legitimacy_ or by _popular suffrage_, and there +were but few whom he could rally to his support. + +With never-flagging zeal the prince prosecuted his studies in the +peaceful retreat at Arenemberg, that he might be prepared for the high +destiny which he believed awaited him. He published several very +important treatises, which attracted the attention of Europe, and which +gave him a high position, not merely as a man of letters, but as a +statesman of profound views. The _Spectateur Militaire_, in the review +of the "Manual of Artillery," by Prince Louis Napoleon, says: + +"In looking over this book, it is impossible not to be struck with the +laborious industry of which it is the fruit. Of this we can get an idea +by the list of authors, French, German, and English, which he has +consulted. And this list is no vain catalogue. We can find in the text +the ideas, and often the very expressions, of the authorities which he +has quoted. When we consider how much study and perseverance must have +been employed to succeed in producing only the literary part (for even +the illustrations scattered through the work are from the author's own +designs) of a book which requires such profound and varied attainments, +and when we remember that this author was born on the steps of a throne, +we can not help being seized with admiration for the man who thus +bravely meets the shocks of adversity." + +A gentleman, in a work entitled "Letters from London," in the following +language describes the prince's mode of life at Arenemberg: + +"From his tenderest youth Prince Louis Napoleon has despised the habits +of an effeminate life. Although his mother allowed him a considerable +sum for his amusements, these were the last things he thought of. All +this money was spent in acts of beneficence, in founding schools or +houses of refuge, in printing his military or political works, or in +making scientific experiments. His mode of life was always frugal, and +rather rude. At Arenemberg it was quite military. + +"His room, situated not in the castle, but in a small pavilion beside +it, offered none of the grandeur or elegance so prevalent in Hortense's +apartment. It was, in truth, a regular soldier's tent. Neither carpet +nor arm-chair appeared there; nothing that could indulge the body; +nothing but books of science and arms of all kinds. As for himself, he +was on horseback at break of day, and before any one had risen in the +castle he had ridden several leagues. He then went to work in his +cabinet. Accustomed to military exercises, as good a rider as could be +seen, he never let a day pass without devoting some hours to sword and +lance practice and the use of infantry arms, which he managed with +extraordinary rapidity and address." + +[Illustration: THE STUDY OF LOUIS NAPOLEON.] + +His personal appearance at that time is thus graphically sketched. "He +is middle-sized, of an agreeable countenance, and has a military air. To +personal advantages he joins the more seductive distinction of manners +simple, natural, and full of good taste and ease. At first sight I was +struck with his resemblance to Prince Eugene, and to the Empress +Josephine, his grandmother. But I did not remark a like resemblance +to the Emperor. But by attentively observing the essential features, +that is those not depending on more or less fullness or on more or less +beard, we soon discover that the Napoleonic type is reproduced with +astonishing fidelity. It is, in fact, the same lofty forehead, broad and +straight, the same nose, of fine proportions, the same gray eyes, +though, the expression is milder. It is particularly the same contour +and inclination of the head. The latter especially, when the prince +turns, is so full of the Napoleon air, as to make a soldier of the Old +Guard thrill at the sight. And if the eye rests on the outline of these +forms, it is impossible not to be struck, as if before the head of the +Emperor, with the imposing grandeur of the Roman profile, of which the +lines, so defined, so grave, I will even add and so solemn, are, as it +were, the soul of great destinies. + +"The distinguishing expression of the features of the young prince is +that of nobleness and gravity. And yet, far from being harsh, his +countenance, on the contrary, breathes a sentiment of mildness and +benevolence. It seems that the maternal type which is preserved in the +lower part of his face has come to correct the rigidity of the imperial +lines, as the blood of the Beauharnais seems to have tempered in him +the southern violence of the Napoleon blood. But what excites the +greatest interest is that indefinable tinge of melancholy and +thoughtfulness observable in the slightest movement, and revealing the +noble sufferings of exile. + +"But after this portrait you must not figure to yourself one of those +elegant young men, those Adonises of romance who excite the admiration +of the drawing-room. There is nothing of effeminacy in the young +Napoleon. The dark shadows of his countenance indicate an energetic +nature. His assured look, his glance at once quick and thoughtful, every +thing about him points out one of those exceptional natures, one of +those great souls that live by meditating on great things, and that +alone are capable of accomplishing them." + +About this time the young prince wrote as follows to his friend, the +poet Belmontet: "Still far from my country, and deprived of all that can +render life dear to a manly heart, I yet endeavor to retain my courage +in spite of fate, and find my only consolation in hard study. Adieu. +Sometimes think of all the bitter thoughts which must fill my mind when +I contrast the past glories of France with her present condition and +hopeless future. It needs no little courage to press on alone, as one +can, towards the goal which one's heart has vowed to reach. Nevertheless +I must not despair, the honor of France has so many elements of vitality +in it." + +Some months later he wrote to the same friend: "My life has been until +now marked only by profound griefs and stifled wishes. The blood of +Napoleon rebels in my veins, in not being able to flow for the national +glory. Until the present time there has been nothing remarkable in my +life, excepting my birth. The sun of glory shone upon my cradle. Alas! +that is all. But who can complain when the Emperor has suffered so much? +Faith in the future, such is my only hope; the sword of the Emperor my +only stay; a glorious death for France my ambition. Adieu! Think of the +poor exiles, whose eyes are ever turned towards the beloved shores of +France. And believe that my heart will never cease to beat at the sound +of country, honor, patriotism, and devotion." + +Hortense deeply sympathized in the sorrows of her son. Like the caged +eagle, he was struggling against his bars, longing for a lofty flight. +On the 10th of August, 1834, she wrote to their mutual friend, Belmontet +as follows: + +"The state of my affairs obliges me to remain during the winter in my +mountain home, exposed to all its winds. But what is this compared with +the dreadful sufferings which the Emperor endured upon the rock of St. +Helena? I would not complain if my son, at his age, did not find himself +deprived of all society and completely isolated, without any diversion +but the laborious pursuits to which he is devoted. His courage and +strength of soul equal his sad and painful destiny. What a generous +nature! What a good and noble young man! I am proud to be his mother, +and I should admire him if I were not so. I rejoice as much in the +nobleness of his character, as I grieve at being unable to render his +life more happy. He was born for better things. He is worthy of them. We +contemplate passing a couple of months at Geneva. There he will at least +hear the French language spoken. That will be an agreeable change for +him. The mother-tongue, is it not almost one's country?" + +It every day became more and more evident that the throne of Louis +Philippe, founded only upon the stratagem of a clique in Paris, could +not stand long. Under these circumstances, one of the leading +Republicans in Paris wrote to the prince as follows: + +"The life of the king is daily threatened. If one of these attempts +should succeed, we should be exposed to the most serious convulsions; +for there is no longer in France any party which can lead the others, +nor any man who can inspire general confidence. In this position, +prince, we have turned our eyes to you. The great name which you bear, +your opinions, your character, every thing induces us to see in you a +point of rallying for the popular cause. Hold yourself ready for action, +and when the time shall come your friends will not fail you." + +The Government of Louis Philippe had been constrained by the demand of +the French people to restore to the summit of the column in the Place +Vendōme the statue of Napoleon, which the Allies had torn from it. As +the colossal image of the Emperor was raised to its proud elevation on +that majestic shaft, the utmost enthusiasm pervaded not only the streets +of the metropolis, but entire France. Day after day immense crowds +gathered in the place, garlanding the railing with wreaths of +immortelles, and exhibiting enthusiasm which greatly alarmed the +Government. + +Hortense and Louis, from their place of exile, watched these popular +demonstrations with intensest interest. All France seemed to be honoring +Napoleon. And yet neither Hortense nor her son were allowed by the +Government to touch the soil of France under penalty of death, simply +because they were relatives of Napoleon. The completion of the Arc de +l'Etoile, at the head of the avenue of the Champs Elysee, a work which +Napoleon had originated, was another reminder to the Parisians of the +genius of the great Emperor. + +The Emperor, with dying breath, had said at St. Helena, "It is my wish +that my ashes may repose on the banks of the Seine, in the midst of the +French people whom I have loved so well." All France was now demanding +that this wish should be fulfilled. The Government dared not attempt to +resist the popular sentiment. The remains were demanded of England, and +two frigates were sent to transport them to France. And the whole +kingdom prepared to receive those remains, and honor them with a burial +more imposing than had ever been conferred upon a mortal before. + +Louis Napoleon and his friends thought that the time had now arrived in +which it was expedient for him to present himself before the people of +France, and claim their protection from the oppression of the French +Government. It was believed that the French people, should the +opportunity be presented them, would rise at the magic name of Napoleon, +overthrow the throne of Louis Philippe, and then, by the voice of +universal suffrage, would re-establish the Empire. + +This would place Joseph Bonaparte on the throne, and would at once annul +the decree of banishment against the whole Bonaparte family. Hortense +and Louis Napoleon could then return to their native land. As Louis +Napoleon was in the direct line of hereditary descent, the +re-establishment of the Empire would undoubtedly in the end secure the +crown for Louis Napoleon. The ever-increasing enthusiasm manifested for +the memory of Napoleon I., and the almost universal unpopularity of the +Government of Louis Philippe, led Louis Napoleon and his friends to +think that the time had come for the restoration of the Empire, or +rather to restore to the people the right of universal suffrage, that +they might choose a republic or empire or a monarchy, as the people +should judge best for the interests of France. + +It so happened that there was, at that time, in garrison at Strasburg +the same regiment in which General Bonaparte so brilliantly commenced +his career at the siege of Toulon, and which had received him with so +much enthusiasm at Grenoble, on his return from Elba, and had escorted +him in his triumphant march to Paris. Colonel Vaudrey, a very +enthusiastic and eloquent young man who had great influence over his +troops, was in command of the regiment. It was not doubted that these +troops would with enthusiasm rally around an heir of the Empire. In +preparation for the movement, Louis Napoleon held several interviews +with Colonel Vaudrey at Baden. In one of these interviews the prince +said to the colonel: + +"The days of prejudice are past. The prestige of divine right has +vanished from France with the old institutions. A new era has commenced. +Henceforth the people are called to the free development of their +faculties. But in this general impulse, impressed by modern +civilization, what can regulate the movement? What government will be +sufficiently strong to assure to the country the enjoyment of public +liberty without agitations, without disorders? It is necessary for a +free people that they should have a government of immense moral force. +And this moral force, where can it be found, if not in the right and the +will of all? So long as a general vote has not sanctioned a government, +no matter what that government may be, it is not built upon a solid +foundation. Adverse factions will constantly agitate society; while +institutions ratified by the voice of the nation will lead to the +abolition of parties and will annihilate individual resistances. + +"A revolution is neither legitimate nor excusable except when it is made +in the interests of the majority of the nation. One may be sure that +this is the motive which influences him, when he makes use of moral +influences only to attain his ends. If the Government have committed so +many faults as to render a revolution desirable for the nation, if the +Napoleonic cause have left sufficiently deep remembrances in French +hearts, it will be enough, for me merely to present myself before the +soldiers and the people, recalling to their memory their recent griefs +and past glory, for them to flock around my standard. + +"If I succeed in winning over a regiment, if the soldiers to whom I am +unknown are roused by the sight of the imperial eagle, then all the +chances will be mine. My cause will be morally gained, even if secondary +obstacles rise to prevent its success. It is my aim to present a popular +flag--the most popular, the most glorious of all,--which shall serve as +a rallying-point for the generous and the patriotic of all parties; to +restore to France her dignity without universal war, her liberty without +license, her stability without despotism. To arrive at such a result, +what must be done? One must receive from the people alone all his power +and all his rights." + +The man who should undertake in this way to overthrow an established +government, must of course peril his life. If unsuccessful, he could +anticipate no mercy. Hortense perceived with anxiety that the mind of +her son was intensely absorbed in thoughts which he did not reveal to +her. On the morning of the 25th of October, 1836, Louis Napoleon bade +adieu to his mother, and left Arenemberg in his private carriage, +ostensibly to visit friends at Baden. A few days after, Hortense was +plunged into the deepest distress by the reception of the following +letter: + +"MY DEAR MOTHER,--You must have been very anxious in receiving no +tidings from me--you who believed me to be with my cousin. But your +inquietude will be redoubled when you learn that I made an attempt at +Strasburg, which has failed. I am in prison, with several other +officers. It is for them only that I suffer. As for myself, in +commencing such an enterprise, I was prepared for every thing. Do not +weep, mother. I am the victim of a noble cause, of a cause entirely +French. Hereafter justice will be rendered me and I shall be +commiserated. + +"Yesterday morning I presented myself before the Fourth Artillery, and +was received with cries of _Vive l'Empereur!_ For a time all went well. +The Forty-sixth resisted. We were captured in the court-yard of their +barracks. Happily no French blood was shed. This consoles me in my +calamity. Courage, my mother! I shall know how to support, even to the +end, the honor of the name I bear. Adieu! Do not uselessly mourn my lot. +Life is but a little thing. Honor and France are every thing to me. I +embrace you with my whole heart. Your tender and respectful son, + + "LOUIS NAPOLEON BONAPARTE. + "Strasburg, November 1, 1836." + +Hortense immediately hastened to France, to do whatever a mother's love +and anguish could accomplish for the release of her son, though in +crossing the frontiers she knew that she exposed herself to the penalty +of death. Apprehensive lest her presence in Paris might irritate the +Government, she stopped at Viry, at the house of the Duchess de Raguse. +Madame Récamier repaired at once to Viry to see Hortense, where she +found her in great agony. Soon, however, a mother's fears were partially +relieved, as the Government of Louis Philippe, knowing the universal +enthusiasm with which the Emperor and the Empire were regarded, did not +dare to bring the young prince to trial, or even to allow it to be known +that he was upon the soil of France. With the utmost precipitation they +secretly hurried their prisoner through France, by day and by night, to +the seaboard, where he was placed on board a frigate, whose captain had +sealed instructions respecting the destination of his voyage, which he +was not to open until he had been several days at sea. + +Poor Hortense, utterly desolate and heart-broken, returned to +Arenemberg. She knew that the life of her son had been spared, and that +he was to be transported to some distant land. But she knew not where he +would be sent, or what would be his destiny there. It is however +probable that ere long she learned, through her numerous friends, what +were the designs of the Government respecting him. She however never saw +her son again until, upon a dying bed, she gave him her last embrace and +blessing. The hurried journey, and the terrible anxiety caused by the +arrest and peril of her son, inflicted a blow upon Hortense from which +she never recovered. Weary months passed away in the solitude of +Arenemberg, until at last the heart-stricken mother received a package +of letters from the exile. As the narrative contained in these letters +throws very interesting light upon the character of the mother as well +as of the son, we shall insert it in the next chapter. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +LETTER FROM LOUIS NAPOLEON TO HIS MOTHER. + +1836-1837 + +The attempt at Strasburg.--The march through the streets.--Peril of the +prince.--Utter failure of the enterprise.--Examination of the +captive.--Anxiety of Louis Napoleon for his companions.--Severe +treatment.--Sympathy of the guard.--Hurried through France.--Statement +of Louis Napoleon.--Remarks to Colonel Vaudrey.--The Napoleonic +system.--Louis Napoleon's plea for his confederates.--Scenes at +sea.--Life on board the frigate.--Uncertainty of the +destination.--Reflections of the captive.--Crossing the equator.--Letter +to his mother.--Arrival at Rio Janeiro.--Remembrance of friends. + + +"My Mother,--To give you a detailed recital of my misfortunes is to +renew your griefs and mine. And still it is a consolation, both for you +and for me, that you should be informed of all the impressions which I +have experienced, and of all the emotions which have agitated me since +the end of October. You know what was the pretext which I gave when I +left Arenemberg. But you do not know what was then passing in my heart. +Strong in my conviction which led me to look upon the Napoleonic cause +as the only national cause in France, as the only civilizing cause in +Europe, proud of the nobility and purity of my intentions, I was fully +resolved to raise the imperial eagle, or to fall the victim of my +political faith. + +"I left, taking in my carriage the same route which I had followed three +months before when going from Urkirch to Baden. Every thing was the +same around me. But what a difference in the impressions with which I +was animated! I was then cheerful and serene as the unclouded day. But +now, sad and thoughtful, my spirit had taken the hue of the air, gloomy +and chill, which surrounded me. I may be asked, what could have induced +me to abandon a happy existence, to encounter all the risks of a +hazardous enterprise. I reply that a secret voice constrained me; and +that nothing in the world could have induced me to postpone to another +period an attempt which seemed to me to present so many chances of +success. + +"And the most painful thought for me at this moment is--now that reality +has come to take the place of suppositions, and that, instead of +imagining, I have seen--that I am firm in the belief that if I had +followed the plan which I had marked out for myself, instead of being +now under the Equator, I should be in my own country. Of what importance +to me are those vulgar ones which call me insensate because I have not +succeeded, and which would have exaggerated my merit had I triumphed? I +take upon myself all the responsibility of the movement, for I have +acted from conviction, and not from the influence of others. Alas! if I +were the only victim I should have nothing to deplore. I have found in +my friends boundless devotion, and I have no reproaches to make against +any one whatever. + +"On the 27th I arrived at Lahr, a small town of the Grand-duchy of +Baden, where I awaited intelligence. Near that place the axle of my +carriage broke, and I was compelled to remain there for a day. On the +morning of the 28th I left Lahr, and, retracing my steps, passed through +Fribourg, Neubrisach, and Colmar, and arrived, at eleven o'clock in the +evening, at Strasburg without the least embarrassment. My carriage was +taken to the _Hotel de la Fleur_, while I went to lodge in a small +chamber, which had been engaged for me, in the _Rue de la Fontaine_. + +"There I saw, on the 29th, Colonel Vaudrey, and submitted to him the +plan of operations which I had drawn up. But the colonel, whose noble +and generous sentiments merited a better fate, said to me: + +"'There is no occasion here for a conflict with arms. Your cause is too +French and too pure to be soiled in shedding French blood. There is but +one mode of procedure which is worthy of you, because it will avoid all +collision. When you are at the head of my regiment we will march +together to General Voirol's.[K] An old soldier will not resist the +sight of you and of the imperial eagle when he knows that the garrison +follows you.' + +[Footnote K: The commanding officer of the garrison.] + +"I approved his reasons, and all things were arranged for the next +morning. A house had been engaged in a street in the neighborhood of the +quarter of Austerlitz, whence we all were to proceed to those barracks +as soon as the regiment of artillery was assembled. + +"Upon the 29th, at eleven o'clock in the evening, one of my friends came +to seek me at the _Rue de la Fontaine_, to conduct me to the general +rendezvous. We traversed together the whole city. A bright moon +illuminated the streets. I regarded the fine weather as a favorable omen +for the next day. I examined with care the places through which I +passed. The silence which reigned made an impression upon me. By what +would that calm be replaced to-morrow! + +"'Nevertheless,' said I to my companion, 'there will be no disorder if I +succeed. It is especially to avoid the troubles which frequently +accompany popular movements that I have wished to make the revolution by +means of the army. But,' I added, 'what confidence, what profound +conviction must we have of the nobleness of our cause, to encounter not +merely the dangers which we are about to meet, but that public opinion +which will load us with reproaches and overwhelm us if we do not +succeed! And still, I call God to witness that it is not to satisfy a +personal ambition, but because I believe that I have a mission to +fulfill, that I risk that which is more dear to me than life, the esteem +of my fellow-citizens.' + +"Having arrived at the house in the _Rue des Orphelins_, I found my +friends assembled in two apartments on the ground floor. I thanked them +for the devotion which they manifested for my cause, and said to them +that from that hour we would share good and bad fortune together. One of +the officers had an eagle. It was that which had belonged to the seventh +regiment of the line. 'The eagle of Labédoyčre,'[L] one exclaimed, and +each one of us pressed it to his heart with lively emotion. All the +officers were in full uniform. I had put on the uniform of the artillery +and the hat of a major-general. + +[Footnote L: Colonel Labédoyčre was a young man of fine figure and +elegant manners, descended from a respectable family, and whose heart +ever throbbed warmly in remembrance of the glories of the Empire. Upon +the abdication of Napoleon and his retirement to Elba, Labédoyčre was +in command of the seventh regiment of the line, stationed at Grenoble. +He fraternized with his troops in the enthusiasm with which one and all +were swept away at the sight of the returning Emperor. Drawing a silver +eagle from his pocket, he placed it upon the flag-staff and embraced it +in the presence of all his soldiers, who, in a state of the wildest +excitement, with shouts of joy, gathered around Napoleon, crying _Vive +l'Empereur_! + +After Waterloo and the exile to St. Helena, Labédoyčre was arrested, +tried, and shot. It is said that the judges shed tears when they +condemned the noble young man to death. His young wife threw herself at +the feet of Louis XVIII., and, frantic with grief, cried out, "Pardon, +sire, pardon!" Louis replied, "My duty as a king ties my hands. I can +only pray for the soul of him whom justice has condemned."--_Abbott's +Life of Napoleon_, vol. ii. p. 110.] + +"The night seemed to us very long. I spent it in writing my +proclamations, which I had not been willing to have printed in advance +for fear of some indiscretion. It was decided that we should remain in +that house until the colonel should notify me to proceed to the +barracks. We counted the hours, the minutes, the seconds. Six o'clock in +the morning was the moment indicated. + +"How difficult it is to express what one experiences under such +circumstances. In a second one lives more than in ten years; for to +live is to make use of our organs, our senses, our faculties--of all the +parts of ourselves which impart the sentiment of our existence. And in +these critical moments our faculties, our organs, our senses, exalted to +the highest degree, are concentrated on one single point. It is the hour +which is to decide our entire destiny. One is strong when he can say to +himself, 'To-morrow I shall be the liberator of my country, or I shall +be dead.' One is greatly to be pitied when circumstances are such that +he can neither be one nor the other. + +"Notwithstanding my precautions, the noise which a certain number of +persons meeting together can not help making, awoke the occupants of the +first story. We heard them rise and open their windows. It was five +o'clock. We redoubled our precautions, and they went to sleep again. + +"At last the clock struck six. Never before did the sound of a clock +vibrate so violently in my heart. But a moment after the bugle from the +quarter of Austerlitz came to accelerate its throbbings. The great +moment was approaching. A very considerable tumult was heard in the +street. Soldiers passed shouting; horsemen rode at full gallop by our +windows. I sent an officer to ascertain the cause of the tumult. Had the +chief officer of the garrison been informed of our projects? Had we been +discovered? My messenger soon returned to say to me that the noise came +from some soldiers whom the colonel had sent to fetch their horses, +which were outside the quarter. + +"A few more minutes passed, and I was informed that the colonel was +waiting for me. Full of hope, I hastened into the street. M. Parguin,[M] +in the uniform of a brigadier-general, and a commander of battalion, +carrying the eagle in his hand, are by my side. About a dozen officers +follow me. + +[Footnote M: M. Parguin was the gentleman to whom we have before +alluded, who was a highly esteemed young officer under Napoleon I., and +who, having married Mademoiselle Cotelet, the reader of Queen Hortense, +had purchased the estate of Wolfberg, in the vicinity of Arenemberg, and +became one of the most intimate friends of Prince Louis Napoleon.] + +"The distance was short; it was soon traversed. The regiment was drawn +up in line of battle in the barrack-yard, inside of the rails. Upon the +grass forty of the horse-artillery were stationed. + +"My mother, judge of the happiness I experienced at that moment. After +twenty-years of exile, I touched again the sacred soil of my country. I +found myself with Frenchmen whom the recollection of the Empire was +again to electrify. + +"Colonel Vaudrey was alone in the middle of the yard. I directed my +steps towards him. Immediately the colonel, whose noble countenance and +fine figure had at that moment something of the sublime, drew his sword +and exclaimed: + +"'Soldiers of the Fourth Regiment of Artillery! A great revolution is +being accomplished at this moment. You see here before you the nephew of +the Emperor Napoleon. He comes to reconquer the rights of the people. +The people and the army can rely upon him. It is around him that all +should rally who love the glory and the liberty of France. Soldiers! you +must feel, as does your chief, all the grandeur of the enterprise you +are about to undertake, all the sacredness of the cause you are about to +defend. Soldiers! can the nephew of the Emperor rely upon you?' + +"His voice was instantly drowned by unanimous cries of _Vive Napoleon! +Vive l'Empereur!_ I then addressed them in the following words: + +"'Resolved to conquer or to die for the cause of the French people, it +is to you first that I wish to present myself, because between you and +me exist grand recollections. It is in your regiment that the Emperor, +my uncle, served as captain. It is with you that he made his name famous +at the siege of Toulon, and it is your brave regiment again which opened +to him the gates of Grenoble, on his return from the isle of Elba. +Soldiers! new destinies are reserved for you. To you belongs the glory +of commencing a great enterprise; to you the honor of first saluting the +eagle of Austerlitz and of Wagram.' + +"I then seized the eagle-surmounted banner, which one of my officers, M. +de Carelles, bore, and presenting it to them, said, + +"'Soldiers! behold the symbol of the glory of France. During fifteen +years it conducted our fathers to victory. It has glittered upon all the +fields of battle. It has traversed all the capitals of Europe. Soldiers! +will you not rally around this noble standard which I confide to your +honor and to your courage? Will you not march with me against the +traitors and the oppressors of our country to the cry, _Vive la France! +Vive la liberté!_?' + +"A thousand affirmative cries responded to me. We then commenced our +march, music in front. Joy and hope beamed from every countenance. The +plan was, to hasten to the house of the general, and to present to him, +not a dagger at his throat, but the eagle before his eyes. It was +necessary, in order to reach his house, to traverse the whole city. +While on the way, I had to send an officer with a guard to publish my +proclamations; another to the prefect, to arrest him. In short, six +received special missions, so that when I arrived at the general's, I +had voluntarily parted with a considerable portion of my forces. + +"But had I then necessity to surround myself with so many soldiers? +could I not rely upon the participation of the people? and, in fine, +whatever may be said, along the whole route which I traversed I received +unequivocal signs of the sympathy of the population. I had actually to +struggle against the vehemence of the marks of interest which were +lavished upon me; and the variety of cries which greeted me showed that +there was no party which did not sympathize with my feelings. + +"Having arrived at the court of the hotel of the general, I ascended the +stairs, followed by Messieurs Vaudrey, Parguin, and two officers. The +general was not yet dressed. I said to him, + +"'General, I come to you as a friend. I should be sorry to raise our old +tri-color banner without the aid of a brave soldier like you. The +garrison is in my favor. Decide and follow me.' + +"The eagle was presented to him. He rejected it, saying, 'Prince, they +have deceived you. The army knows its duties, as I will prove to you +immediately.' + +"I then departed, and gave orders to leave a file of men to guard him. +The general afterwards presented himself to his soldiers, to induce them +to return to obedience. The artillerymen, under the orders of M. +Parguin, disregarded his authority, and replied to him only by +reiterated cries of _Vive l'Empereur_. Subsequently the general +succeeded in escaping from his hotel by an unguarded door. + +"When I left the hotel of the general, I was greeted with the same +acclamations of _Vive l'Empereur_. But this first check had already +seriously affected me. I was not prepared for it, convinced as I had +been that the sight alone of the eagle would recall to the general the +old souvenirs of glory, and would lead him to join us. + +"We resumed our march. Leaving the main street, we entered the barracks +of Finkematt, by the lane which leads there through the Faubourg of +Pierre. This barrack is a large building, erected in a place with no +outlet but the entrance. The ground in front is too narrow for a +regiment to be drawn up in line of battle. In seeing myself thus hedged +in between the ramparts and the barracks, I perceived that the plan +agreed upon had not been followed out. Upon our arrival, the soldiers +thronged around us. I harangued them. Most of them went to get their +arms, and returned to rally around me, testifying their sympathy for me +by their acclamations. + +"However, seeing them manifest a sudden hesitation, caused by the +reports circulated by some officers among them who endeavored to inspire +them with doubts of my identity, and as we were also losing precious +time in an unfavorable position, instead of hastening to the other +regiments who expected us, I requested the colonel to depart. He urged +me to remain a little longer. I complied with his advice. + +[Illustration: THE ARREST.] + +"Some infantry officers arrived, ordered the gates to be closed, and +strongly reprimanded their soldiers. The soldiers hesitated. I ordered +the arrest of the officers. Their soldiers rescued them. Then all was +confusion. The space was so contracted that each one was lost in the +crowd. The people, who had climbed upon the wall, threw stones at the +infantry. The cannoneers wished to use their arms, but we prevented it. +We saw clearly that it would cause the death of very many. I saw the +colonel by turns arrested by the infantry, and rescued by his soldiers. +I was myself upon the point of being slain by a multitude of men who, +recognizing me, crossed their bayonets upon me. I parried their thrusts +with my sabre, trying at the same time to calm them, when the cannoneers +rescued me from their guns, and placed me in the middle of themselves. + +"I then pressed forward, with some subaltern officers, towards the +mounted artillery men, to seize a horse. All the infantry followed me. I +found myself hemmed in between the horses and the wall, without power to +move. Then the soldiers, arriving from all parts, seized me and +conducted me to the guard-house. On entering I found M. Parguin. I +extended my hand to him. He said to me, speaking in tones calm and +resigned, 'Prince, we shall be shot, but it will be in a good cause.' + +"'Yes,' I replied, 'we have fallen in a grand and a glorious +enterprise.' + +"Soon after General Voirol arrived. He said to me, upon entering, + +"'Prince, you have found but one traitor in the French army.' + +"'Say rather, general,' I replied, 'that I have found one Labédoyčre.' +Some carriages were soon brought, and we were transported to the new +prison. + +"Behold me, then, between four walls, with barred windows, in the abode +of criminals. Ah! those who know what it is to pass in an instant from +the excess of happiness, caused by the noblest illusions, to the excess +of misery, which leaves no hope, and to pass over this immense interval +without having one moment to prepare for it, alone can comprehend what +was passing in my heart. + +"At the lodge we met again. M. de Querelles, pressing my hand, said to +me in a loud voice, 'Prince, notwithstanding our defeat, I am still +proud of what we have done.' They subjected me to an interrogation. I +was calm and resigned. My part was taken. The following questions were +proposed to me: + +"'What has induced you to act as you have done?' + +"'My political opinions,' I replied, 'and my desire to return to my +country, from which a foreign invasion has exiled me. In 1830, I +demanded to be treated as a simple citizen. They treated me as a +pretender. Well, I have acted as a pretender.' + +"'Did you wish,' it was asked, 'to establish a military government?' + +"'I wished,' was my reply, 'to establish a government based on popular +election.' + +"'What would you have done if successful?' + +"'I would have assembled a national Congress.' + +"I declared then, that I alone having organized every thing, that I +alone having induced others to join me, the whole responsibility should +fall upon my head alone. Reconducted to prison, I threw myself upon a +bed which had been prepared for me, and, notwithstanding my torments, +sleep, which soothes suffering, in giving repose to the anguish of the +soul, came to calm my senses. Repose does not fly from the couch of the +unfortunate. It only avoids those who are consumed by remorse. But how +frightful was my awaking. I thought that I had had a dreadful nightmare. +The fate of the persons who were compromised caused me the greatest +grief and anxiety. I wrote to General Voirol, to say to him that his +honor obliged him to interest himself in behalf of Colonel Vaudrey; for +it was, perhaps, the attachment of the colonel for him, and the regard +with which he had treated him, which were the causes of the failure of +my enterprise. I closed in beseeching him that all the rigor of the law +might fall upon me, saying that I was the most guilty, and the only one +to be feared. + +"The general came to see me, and was very affectionate. He said, upon +entering, 'Prince, when I was your prisoner, I could find no words +sufficiently severe to say to you. Now that you are mine, I have only +words of consolation to offer.' Colonel Vaudrey and I were conducted to +the citadel, where I, at least, was much more comfortable than in +prison. But the civil power claimed us, and at the end of twenty-four +hours we were conveyed back to our former abode. + +"The jailer and the director of the prison at Strasburg did their duty; +but they endeavored to alleviate as much as possible my situation, while +a certain M. Lebel, who had been sent from Paris, wishing to show his +authority, prevented me from opening my windows to breathe the air, took +from me my watch, which he only restored to me at the moment of my +departure, and, in fine, even ordered blinds to intercept the light. + +"On the evening of the 9th I was told that I was to be transferred to +another prison. I went out and met the general and the prefect, who took +me away in their carriage without informing me where I was to be +conducted. I insisted that I should be left with my companions in +misfortune. But the Government had decided otherwise. Upon arriving at +the hotel of the prefecture, I found two post-chaises. I was ordered +into one with M. Cuynat, commander of the gendarmerie of the Seine, and +Lieutenant Thiboutot. In the other there were four sub-officers. + +"When I perceived that I was to leave Strasburg, and that it was my lot +to be separated from the other accused, I experienced anguish difficult +to be described. Behold me, then, forced to abandon the men who had +devoted themselves to me. Behold me deprived of the means of making +known in my defense my views and my intentions. Behold me receiving a +so-called favor from him upon whom I had wished to inflict the greatest +evil. I vented my sorrow in complaints and regrets. I could only +protest. + +"The two officers who conducted me were two officers of the Empire, +intimate friends of M. Parguin. Thus they treated me with the kindest +attentions. I could have thought myself travelling with friends. Upon +the 11th, at two o'clock in the morning, I arrived at Paris, at the +hotel of the Prefecture of Police. M. Delessat was very polite to me. He +informed me that you had come to France to claim in my favor the +clemency of the king, and that I was to start again in two hours for +Lorient, and that thence I was to sail for the United States in a French +frigate. + +"I said to the prefect that I was in despair in not being permitted to +share the fate of my companions in misfortune; that being thus withdrawn +from prison before undergoing a general examination (the first had been +only a summary one), I was deprived of the means of testifying to many +facts in favor of the accused. But my protestations were unavailing. I +decided to write to the king. And I said to him that, having been cast +into prison after having taken up arms against his Government, I dreaded +but one thing, and that was his generosity, since it would deprive me of +my sweetest consolation, the possibility of sharing the fate of my +companions in misfortune. I added that life itself was of little value +to me; but that my gratitude to him would be great if he would spare the +lives of a few old soldiers, the remains of our ancient army, who had +been enticed by me, and seduced by glorious souvenirs. + +"At the same time I wrote to M. Odillon Barrot[N] the letter which I +send with this, begging him to take charge of the defense of Colonel +Vaudrey. At four o'clock I resumed my journey, with the same escort, and +on the 14th we arrived at the citadel of Port Louis, near Lorient. I +remained there until the twenty-first day of November, when the frigate +was ready for sea. + +[Footnote N: A distinguished advocate in Paris.] + +"After having entreated M. Odillon Barrot to assume the defense of the +accused, and in particular of Colonel Vaudrey, I added: + +"'Monsieur, notwithstanding my desire to remain with my companions in +misfortune, and to partake of their lot, notwithstanding my entreaties +upon that subject, the king, in his clemency, has ordered that I should +be conducted to Lorient, to pass thence to America. Sensible as I ought +to be of the generosity of the king, I am profoundly afflicted in +leaving my co-accused, since I cherish the conviction that could I be +present at the bar, my depositions in their favor would influence the +jury, and enlighten them as to their decision. Deprived of the +consolation of being useful to the men whom I have enticed to their +loss, I am obliged to intrust to an advocate that which I am unable to +say myself to the jury. + +"'On the part of my co-accused there was no plot. There was only the +enticement of the moment. I alone arranged all. I alone made the +necessary preparations. I had already seen Colonel Vaudrey before the +30th of October, but he had not conspired with me. On the 29th, at eight +o'clock in the evening, no person knew but myself that the movement was +to take place the next day. I did not see Colonel Vaudrey until after +this. M. Parguin had come to Strasburg on his own private business. It +was not until the evening of the 29th, that I appealed to him. The other +persons knew of my presence in France, but were ignorant of the object +of my visit. It was not until the evening of the 29th that I assembled +the persons now accused; and I did not make them acquainted with my +intentions until that moment. + +"'Colonel Vaudrey was not present. The officers of the engineers had +come to join us, ignorant at first of what was to transpire. Certainly, +in the eyes of the established Government we are all culpable of having +taken up arms against it. But I am the most culpable. It is I who, for a +long time meditating a revolution, came suddenly to lure men from an +honorable social position, to expose them to the hazards of a popular +movement. Before the laws, my companions are guilty of allowing +themselves to be enticed. But never were circumstances more extenuating +in the eyes of the country than those in their favor. When I saw Colonel +Vaudrey and the other persons on the evening of the 29th, I addressed +them in the following language: + +"'"GENTLEMEN,--You are aware of all the complaints of the nation against +the Government. But you also know that there is no party now existing +which is sufficiently strong to overthrow it; no one sufficiently strong +to unite the French of all parties, even if it should succeed in taking +possession of supreme power. This feebleness of the Government, as well +as this feebleness of parties, proceeds from the fact that each one +represents only the interests of a single class in society. Some rely +upon the clergy and nobility; others upon the middle-class aristocracy, +and others still upon the lower classes alone. + +"'"In this state of things, there is but a single flag which can rally +all parties, because it is the banner of France, and not that of a +faction; it is the eagle of the Empire. Under this banner, which recalls +so many glorious memories, there is no class excluded. It represents the +interests and the rights of all. The Emperor Napoleon held his power +from the French people. Four times his authority received the popular +sanction. In 1814, hereditary right, in the family of the Emperor, was +recognized by four millions of votes. Since then the people have not +been consulted. + +"'"As the eldest of the nephews of Napoleon, I can then consider myself +as the representative of popular election; I will not say of the Empire +because in the lapse of twenty years the ideas and wants of France may +have changed. But a principle can not be annulled by facts. It can only +be annulled by another principle. Now the principle of popular election +in 1804 can not be annulled by the twelve hundred thousand foreigners +who entered France in 1815, nor by the chamber of two hundred and +twenty-one deputies in 1830. + +"'"The Napoleon system consists in promoting the march of civilization +without disorder and without excess; in giving an impulse to ideas by +developing material interests; in strengthening power by rendering it +respectable; in disciplining the masses according to their intellectual +faculties; in fine, in uniting around the altar of the country the +French of all parties by giving them honor and glory as the motives of +action." + +"'"No," exclaimed my brave companions in reply, "you shall not die +alone. We will die with you, or we will conquer together for the cause +of the French people." + +"'You see thus, sir, that it is I who have enticed them, in speaking to +them of every thing which could move the hearts of Frenchmen. They +spoke to me of their oaths. But I reminded them that, in 1815, they had +taken the oath to Napoleon II. and his dynasty. "Invasion alone," I said +to them, "released you from that oath. Well, force can re-establish that +which force alone has destroyed."' + +"I went even so far as to say to them that the death of the king had +been spoken of. I inserted this, my mother, as you will understand, in +order to be useful to them. You see how culpable I was in the eyes of +the Government. Well, the Government has been generous to me. It has +comprehended that my position of exile, that my love for my country, +that my relationship to the great man were extenuating causes. Will the +jury be less considerate than the Government? Will it not find +extenuating causes far stronger in favor of my accomplices, in the +souvenirs of the Empire; in the intimate relations of many among them to +me; in the enticement of the moment; in the example of Labédoyčre; in +fine, in that sentiment of generosity which rendered it inevitable that, +being soldiers of the Empire, they could not see the eagle without +emotion; they preferred to sacrifice their own lives rather than abandon +the nephew of the Emperor Napoleon, than to deliver him to his +executioners, for we were far from thinking of any mercy in case of +failure? + + "In view of Madeira, December 12, 1836. + +"I remained ten days at the citadel of Port Louis. Every morning I +received a visit from the sub-prefect of Lorient, from the commander of +the place, and from the officer of the gendarmerie. They were all very +kind to me, and never ceased to speak to me of their attachment to the +memory of the Emperor. The commander, Cuynat, and Lieutenant Thiboutot, +were unfailing in their attentions to me. I could ever believe myself in +the midst of my friends, and the thought that they were in a position +hostile to me gave me much pain. + +"The winds remained contrary and prevented the frigate from leaving +port. At last, on the 21st, a steamer towed out the frigate. The +sub-prefect came to tell me that it was time to depart. The draw-bridge +of the citadel was lowered. I went forth, accompanied by the hospitable +officers of the place, in addition to those who brought me to Lorient. I +passed between two files of soldiers, who kept off the crowd of the +curious, which had gathered to see me. + +"We all entered the boats which were to convey us to the frigate, which +was waiting for us outside of the harbor. I took leave of these +gentlemen with cordiality. I ascended to the deck, and saw with sadness +of heart the shores of France disappear behind me. + +"I must now give you the details of the frigate. The commander has +assigned me a stateroom in the stern of the ship, where I sleep. I dine +with him, his son, the second officer, and the aide-de-camp. The +commander, captain of the ship, Henry de Villeneuve, is an excellent +man, frank and loyal as an old sailor. He pays me every attention. You +see that I have much less to complain of than my friends. The other +officers of the frigate are also very kind to me. + +"There are two other passengers who are two types. The one, an M. D., is +a _savant_, twenty-six years of age. He has much intelligence and +imagination, mingled with originality, and even with a little +eccentricity. For example, he believes in fortune-telling, and +undertakes to predict to each one of us his fate. He has also great +faith in magnetism, and has told me that a somnambulist had predicted to +him, two years ago, that a member of the family of the Emperor would +return to France and would dethrone Louis Philippe. He is going to +Brazil to make some experiments in electricity. The other passenger is +an ancient librarian of Don Pedro, who has preserved all the manners of +the ancient court. Maltreated at Brazil, in consequence of his +attachment to the Emperor, he returns there to obtain redress. + +"The first fifteen days of the voyage were very disagreeable. We were +continually tossed about by tempests and by contrary winds, which drove +us back almost to the entrance of the Channel. It was impossible during +that time to take a single step without clinging to whatever could be +seized with one's hand. + +"For several days we did not know that our destination was changed. The +commander had sealed orders, which he opened and which directed him to +go to Rio Janeiro; to remain there as long as should be necessary to +re-provision the vessel; to retain me on board during the whole time the +frigate remained in the harbor, and then to convey me to New York. Now +you know that this frigate was destined to go to the southern seas, +where it will remain stationed for two years. It was thus compelled to +make an additional voyage of three thousand leagues; for from New York +it will be obliged to return to Rio, making a long circuit to the east +in order to take advantage of the trade-winds. + + "In view of the Canaries, December 14th. + +"Every man carries within himself a world, composed of all which he has +seen and loved, and to which he returns incessantly, even when he is +traversing foreign lands. I do not know, at such times, which is the +most painful, the memory of the misfortunes which you have encountered, +or of the happy days which are no more. We have passed through the +winter and are again in summer. The trade-winds have succeeded the +tempests, so that I can spend most of my time on deck. Seated upon the +poop, I reflect upon all which has happened to me, and I think of you +and of Arenemberg. Situations depend upon the affections which one +cherishes. Two months ago I asked only that I might never return to +Switzerland. Now, if I should yield to my impressions, I should have no +other desire than to find myself again in my little chamber in that +beautiful country, where it seems to me that I ought to be so happy. +Alas! when one has a soul which feels deeply, one is destined to pass +his days in the languor of inaction or in the convulsions of distressing +situations. + +"When I returned, a few months ago, from conducting Matilde,[O] in +entering the park I found a tree broken by the storm, and I said to +myself, our marriage will be broken by fate. That which I vaguely +imagined has been realized. Have I, then, exhausted in 1836 all the +share of happiness which is to be allotted to me? + +[Footnote O: The Princess Matilde, his cousin, daughter of Jerome, with +whom it is supposed that he then contemplated marriage.] + +"Do not accuse me of feebleness if I allow myself to give you an account +of all my impressions. One can regret that which he has lost, without +repenting of that which he has done. Besides, our sensations are not so +independent of interior causes, but that our ideas should be somewhat +modified by the objects which surround us. The rays of the sun or the +direction of the wind have a great influence over our moral state. When +it is beautiful weather, as it is to-day, the sea being as calm as the +Lake of Constance when we used to walk upon its banks in the +evening--when the moon, the same moon, illumines us with the same +softened brilliance--when the atmosphere, in fine, is as mild as in the +month of August in Europe,--then I am more sad than usual. All memories, +pleasant or painful, fall with the same weight upon my heart. Beautiful +weather dilates the heart and renders it more impressible, while bad +weather contracts it. The passions alone are independent of the changes +of the seasons. When we left the barracks of Austerlitz, a flurry of +snow fell upon us. Colonel Vaudrey, to whom I made the remark, said to +me, 'Notwithstanding this squall, we shall have a fine day.' + + "December 29th. + +"We passed the line yesterday. The customary ceremony took place. The +commander, who is always very polite to me, exempted me from the +baptism. It is an ancient usage, but which, nevertheless, is not +sensible, to fźte the passage of the line by throwing water over one's +self and aping a divine office. It was very hot. I have found on board +enough books to occupy my time. I have read again the works of M. de +Chateaubriand and of J. J. Rousseau. Still, the motion of the ship +renders all occupation fatiguing." + + "January 1, 1837. + +"MY DEAR MAMMA, MA CHČRE MAMAN,--This is the first day of the year. I am +fifteen hundred leagues from you in another hemisphere. Happily, thought +traverses that space in less than a second. I am near you. I express to +you my profound regret for all the sorrows which I have occasioned you. +I renew to you the expression of my tenderness and of my gratitude. + +"This morning the officers came in a body to wish me a happy new year. I +was much gratified by this attention on their part. At half-past four we +were at the table. As we were seventeen degrees of longitude west of +Constance, it was at that same time seven o'clock at Arenemberg. You +were probably at dinner. I drank, in thought, to your health. You +perhaps did the same for me. At least I flattered myself in believing so +at that moment. I thought, also, of my companions in misfortune. Alas! I +think continually of them. I thought that they were more unhappy than I, +and that thought renders me more unhappy than they. + +"Present my very tender regards to good Madame Salvage, to the young +ladies, to that poor little Clairč, and to M. Cottrau, and to Arsčne. + + "January 5th. + +"We have had a squall, which struck us with extreme violence. If the +sails had not been torn to pieces by the wind the frigate would have +been in great danger. One of the masts was broken. The rain fell so +impetuously that the sea was entirely white. To-day the sky is as serene +as usual, the damages are repaired, and the tempestuous weather is +forgotten. But it is not so with the storms of life. In speaking of the +frigate, the commander told me that the frigate which bore your name is +now in the South Sea, and is called _La Flora_. + + "January 10. + +"We have arrived at Rio Janeiro. The _coup d'oeil_ of the harbor is +superb. To-morrow I shall make a drawing of it. I hope that this letter +will soon reach you. Do not think of coming to join me. I do not yet +know where I shall settle. Perhaps I may find more inducements to live +in South America. The labor to which the uncertainty of my lot will +oblige me to devote myself, in order to create for myself a position, +will be the only consolation which I can enjoy. Adieu, my mother. +Remember me to the old servants, and to our friends of Thurgovia and of +Constance. I am very well. Your affectionate and respectful son, + + "LOUIS NAPOLEON BONAPARTE." + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +THE DEATH OF HORTENSE, AND THE ENTHRONEMENT OF HER SON. + +1837-1869 + +Cruel slanders.--Brief stay in this country.--Elevated personal +character.--Testimony to his private worth.--Letter from Hortense to her +son.--Anxieties, sorrows, and sickness of Hortense.--Letter to Madame +Récamier.--Hortense receives letters from her son.--Louis Napoleon +returns to Arenemberg.--Death of Hortense.--Action of the Government of +Louis Philippe.--Burial of Hortense.--Louis Napoleon's love for his +mother.--Account of the escape from Ham.--Louis Napoleon in +London.--Overthrow of Louis Philippe.--Walter Savage Landor.--Empress +Eugénie.--Testimony of General Dix. + + +After a short tarry at Rio Janeiro, during which the prince was not +permitted to land, the frigate again set sail, and on the 30th of March, +1837, reached Norfolk, Virginia. The prince proceeded immediately to New +York. By a cruel error, which has mistaken him for one of his cousins, +Pierre Bonaparte, a very wild young man, the reputation of Louis +Napoleon has suffered very severely in this country. The evidence is +conclusive that there has been a mistake. Louis Napoleon, thoughtful, +studious, pensive, has ever been at the farthest possible remove from +vulgar dissipation. + +A writer in the _Home Journal_, whose reliability is vouched for by the +editor, says, in reference to his brief residence in New York: "He is +remembered as a quiet, melancholy man, winning esteem rather by the +unaffected modesty of his demeanor than by eclāt of lineage or the +romantic incidents which had befallen him. In the words of a +distinguished writer, who well knew him at that day: 'So unostentatious +was his deportment, so correct, so pure his life, that even the ripple +of scandal can not appear plausibly upon its surface.' We have inquired +of those who entertained him as their guest, of those who tended at his +sick-bed, of the artist who painted his miniature, of his lady friends +(and he was known to some who yet adorn society), of politicians, +clergymen, editors, gentlemen of leisure, in fact, of every source +whence reliable information could be obtained, and we have gathered but +accumulated testimonials to his intrinsic worth and fair fame." + +Prince Louis Napoleon remained in this country but seven weeks. The +testimony of all who knew him is uncontradicted, that he was peculiarly +winning in his attractions as a friend, and irreproachable as a man. +Rev. Charles S. Stewart, of the United States Navy, was intimately +acquainted with him during the whole period of his residence here. He +writes: + +"The association was not that of hours only but of days, and on one +occasion, at least, of days in succession; and was characterized by a +freedom of conversation on a great variety of topics that could scarce +fail, under the ingenuousness and frankness of his manner, to put me in +possession of his views, principles, and feelings upon most points that +give insight to character. + +"I never heard a sentiment from him and never witnessed a feeling that +could detract from his honor and purity as a man, or his dignity as a +prince. On the contrary, I often had occasion to admire the lofty +thought and exalted conceptions which seemed most to occupy his mind. He +was winning in the invariableness of his amiability, often playful in +spirits and manner, and warm in his affections. He was a most fondly +attached son and seemed to idolize his mother. When speaking of her, the +intonations of his voice and his whole manner were often as gentle and +feminine as those of a woman. + +"In both eating and drinking he was, as far as I observed, abstemious +rather than self-indulgent. I repeatedly breakfasted, dined, and supped +in his company; and never knew him to partake of any thing stronger in +drink than the light wines of France and Germany, and of these in great +moderation. I have been with him early and late, unexpectedly as well +as by appointment, and never saw reason for the slightest suspicion of +any irregularity in his habits." + +Such is the testimony, so far as can be ascertained, of every one who +enjoyed any personal acquaintance with Louis Napoleon while in this +country. He was the guest of Washington Irving, Chancellor Kent, and of +the Hamiltons, Clintons, Livingstons, and other such distinguished +families in New York. + +While busily engaged in studying the institutions of our country and +making arrangements for quite an extensive tour through the States, he +received a letter from his mother which immediately changed all his +plans. The event is thus described by Mr. Stewart: + +"With this expectation he consulted me and others as to the arrangement +of the route of travel, so as to visit the different sections of the +Union at the most desirable seasons. But his plans were suddenly changed +by intelligence of the serious illness of Queen Hortense, or, as then +styled, the Duchess of St. Leu. I was dining with him the day the letter +conveying this information was received. Recognizing the writing on the +envelope, as it was handed to him at the table, he hastily broke the +seal and had scarce glanced over half a page before he exclaimed: + +"'My mother is ill, I must see her. Instead of a tour of the States, I +shall take the next packet for England. I will apply for passports for +the Continent at every embassy in London, and if unsuccessful, will make +my way to her without them.'" + +The following was the letter which he received from his mother: + +"MY DEAR SON,--I am about to submit to an operation which has become +absolutely necessary. If it is not successful I send you, by this +letter, my benediction. We shall meet again, shall we not? in a better +world, where may you come to join me as late as possible. In leaving +this world I have but one regret; it is to leave you and your +affectionate tenderness--the greatest charm of my existence here. It +will be a consolation to you, my dear child, to reflect that by your +attentions you have rendered your mother as happy as it was possible for +her, in her circumstances, to be. Think that a loving and a watchful eye +still rests on the dear ones we leave behind, and that we shall surely +meet again. Cling to this sweet idea. It is too necessary not to be +true. I press you to my heart, my dear son. I am very calm and resigned, +and hope that we shall again meet in this world. Your affectionate +mother, + + "HORTENSE. + "Arenemberg, April 3, 1837." + +As we have mentioned, Queen Hortense, upon receiving news of the arrest +of her son, hastened to France to do what she could to save him. Madame +Récamier found her at Viry, in great anguish of spirit. When she +received tidings of his banishment she returned, overwhelmed with the +deepest grief, to her desolated home. It seems that even then an +internal disease, which, with a mother's love, she had not revealed to +her son, was threatening her life. Madame Récamier, as she bade her +adieu, was much moved by the great change in her appearance. The two +friends never met again. + +Madame Salvage, a distinguished lady, who had devoted herself with +life-long enthusiasm to the Queen of Holland, accompanied her to France +and returned with her to Arenemberg. On the 13th of April, Madame +Salvage wrote the following letter from Arenemberg to Madame Récamier. + +"I wrote you a long letter four days ago, dear friend, telling you of my +unhappiness. I received yesterday your letter of the 7th, for which I +thank you. I needed it much, and it is a consolation to me. + +"I have informed Madame, the Duchess of St. Leu, of the lively interest +you take in her troubles, and have given her your message. She was much +touched by it, even to tears; and has begged me several times to tell +you how much she appreciated it. + +"I have not replied to you sooner, because I hoped to give you better +tidings. Alas! it is quite the contrary. After a consultation of the +physicians of Constance and Zurich with Dr. Conneau, her own physician, +Professor Lisfranc, from Paris, was called in, on account of his skill, +and also because he is the recognized authority with regard to the +operation two of these gentlemen thought necessary. + +"After a careful examination, the opinion of M. Lisfranc and that of the +three other consulting physicians was, that the operation was +impossible. They were unanimous in pronouncing an irrevocable sentence, +and they have left us no hope in human resources. I still like to trust +in the infinite goodness of God, whom I implore with earnest prayers. + +"The mind of madame the duchess is as calm as one could expect in a +position like hers. They told her that they would not perform the +operation because it was not necessary, and because a mere treatment +would suffice, with time and patience, to produce a perfect cure. She +had been quite resigned to submit to the operation, showing a noble +courage. Now she is happy in not being obliged to undergo it, and is +filled with hope. + +"In anticipation of the operation, of which, against my advice, she had +been told a fortnight before M. Lisfranc came, she made her will and +attended to the last duties of religion. + +"On the 30th of March, an hour after she had partaken of the communion, +she had the joy, which she looked upon as a divine favor, of receiving a +large package from her son, the first since the departure from Lorient. +His letter, which is very long, contains a relation of all he has done, +all that has happened to him, and much that he has felt since he left +Arenemberg, until he wrote, the 10th of January, on board the frigate +Andromeda, lying in the harbor of Rio Janeiro, where he was not +permitted to go on shore. He had on board M. de Chateaubriand's works, +and re-read them during a frightful storm that lasted a fortnight, and +allowed of no other occupation, and scarcely that. Pray tell this to M. +de Chateaubriand, in recalling me personally to his kind remembrance. + +"Think of me sometimes. Think of my painful position. To give to a +person whom we love, and whom we are soon to lose, a care that is +perfectly ineffectual; to seek to alleviate sharp and almost continual +suffering, and only succeed very imperfectly; to wear a calm countenance +when the heart is torn; to deceive, to try unceasingly to inspire hopes +that we no longer cherish,--ah, believe me, this is frightful, and one +would cheerfully give up life itself. Adieu, dear friend, you know how I +love you." + +Louis Napoleon, hastening to the bedside of his dying mother, took ship +from New York for London. The hostility of the allied powers to him was +such that it was with great difficulty he could reach Arenemberg. He +arrived there just in time to receive the dying blessing of his mother +and to close her eyes in death. Just before she died, Hortense +assembled all her household in the dying chamber. She took each one +affectionately by the hand and addressed to each one a few words of +adieu. Her son, her devoted physician Dr. Conneau, and the ladies of her +household, bathed in tears, were kneeling by her bedside. Her mind, in +delirious dreams, had again been with the Emperor, sympathizing with him +in the terrible tragedy of his fall. But now, as death drew near, reason +was fully restored. "I have never," said she, "done wrong to any one. +God will have mercy upon me." Conscious that the final moment had +arrived, she made an effort to throw her arms around the neck of her son +in a mother's last embrace, when she fell, back upon her pillow dead. It +was October 5, 1837. + +The prince, with his own hands, closed his mother's eyes in that sleep +which knows no earthly waking. He remained for some time upon his knees +at her bedside, with his weeping eyes buried in his hands. At last he +was led away from the precious remains from which it seemed impossible +for him to separate himself. His home and his heart were indeed +desolate. Motherless, with neither brother nor sister, his aged and +infirm father dying in Italy, where he could not be permitted to visit +him, banished from his native land, jealously watched and menaced by all +the allied powers, his fair name maligned, all these considerations +seemed to fill his cup of sorrow to the brim. + +It was the dying wish of Hortense that she might be buried by the side +of Josephine, her mother, in the village church of Ruel, near Malmaison. +The Government of Louis Philippe, which had closed the gates of France +against Hortense while living, allowed her lifeless remains to sleep +beneath her native soil. But the son was not permitted to follow his +mother to her grave. It was feared that his appearance in France would +rouse the enthusiasm of the masses; that they would rally around him, +and, sweeping away the throne of Louis Philippe in a whirlwind of +indignation, would re-establish the Empire. Madame Récamier, speaking of +the death of Hortense, says: + +"After the unfortunate attempt of Prince Louis, grief, anxiety and +perhaps the loss of a last and secret hope, put an end to the turbulent +existence of one who was little calculated to lead such a life of +turmoil. France, closed to her living, was open to her dead, and she +was carried to Ruel and laid beside her mother. A funeral service was +celebrated in her honor at the village church. All the relics of the +Empire were there; among them the widow of Murat,[P] who there witnessed +the ceremony that shortly afterwards was to be performed over herself. + +[Footnote P: Caroline Bonaparte.] + +"It was winter. A thick snow covered the ground. The landscape was as +silent and cold as the dead herself. I gave sincere tears to this woman +so gracious and so kind; and I learned shortly afterwards that she had +remembered me in her will. It is not without a profound and a religious +emotion that we receive these remembrances from friends who are no more; +these pledges of affection which come to you, so to say, from across the +tomb, as if to assure you that thoughts of you had followed them as far +as there. Judge, then, how touched I was in receiving the legacy +destined for me--that light, elegant, and mysterious gift, chosen to +recall to me unceasingly the tie that had existed between us. It was a +lace veil, the one she wore the day of our meeting in St. Peter's." + +In reference to the mother and the son, Julie de Marguerittes writes: +"Louis Napoleon's love for his mother had in it a tenderness and +devotion even beyond that of a son. She had been his instructor and +companion; and from the hour of her change of position she had +manifested great and noble qualities, which the frivolity and prosperity +of a court might forever have left unrevealed. Hortense was a woman to +be loved and revered. And even at this distance of years, Napoleon's +love for his mother has suffered no change. He has striven, in all ways, +to associate her with his present high fortune. He has made an air of +her composition, 'Partant pour la Syrie,' the national air of France. +The ship which bore him from Marseilles to Genoa, on his Italian +expedition, is called _La Reine Hortense_, after his mother." + +Scarcely were the remains of Hortense committed to the tomb, ere the +Swiss Government received an imperative command from the Government of +Louis Philippe to banish Louis Napoleon from the soil of Switzerland. To +save the country which had so kindly adopted him from war, the prince +retired to London. He could have no hopes of regaining his rights as a +French citizen until the Government of Louis Philippe should be +overthrown. Another attempt was made at Boulogne in August, 1840. It +proved a failure. Louis Napoleon was again arrested, tried, and +condemned to imprisonment for life. Six years he passed in dreary +captivity in the Castle of Ham. The following brief account of the +wonderful escape of the prince is given in his own words, contained in a +letter to the editor of the _Journal de la Somme_. + +"MY DEAR M. DE GEORGE,--My desire to see my father once more in this +world made me attempt the boldest enterprise I ever engaged in. It +required more resolution and courage on my part than at Strasburg or +Boulogne; for I was determined not to bear the ridicule that attaches to +those who are arrested escaping under a disguise, and a failure I could +not have endured. The following are the particulars of my escape: + +"You know that the fort was guarded by four hundred men, who furnished +daily sixty soldiers, placed as sentries outside the walls. Moreover, +the principal gate of the prison was guarded by three jailers, two of +whom were constantly on duty. It was necessary that I should first elude +their vigilance, afterwards traverse the inside court before the windows +of the commandant's residence, and arriving there, I should be obliged +to pass by a gate which was guarded by soldiers. + +"Not wishing to communicate my design to any one, it was necessary to +disguise myself. As several of the rooms in the building I occupied were +undergoing repairs, it was not difficult to assume the dress of a +workman. My good and faithful valet, Charles Thelin, procured a +smock-frock and a pair of wooden shoes, and after shaving off my +mustaches I took a plank upon my shoulders. + +"On Monday morning I saw the workmen enter at half-past eight o'clock. +Charles took them some drink, in order that I should not meet any of +them on my passage. He was also to call one of the turnkeys while De +Conneau conversed with the others. Nevertheless I had scarcely got out +of my room before I was accosted by a workman who took me for one of his +comrades; and at the bottom of the stairs I found myself in front of the +keeper. Fortunately, I placed the plank I was carrying before my face, +and succeeded in reaching the yard. Whenever I passed a sentinel or any +other person I always kept the plank before my face. + +"Passing before the first sentinel, I let my pipe fall and stopped to +pick up the bits. There I met the officer on duty; but as he was reading +a letter he did not pay attention to me. The soldiers at the guard-house +appeared surprised at my dress, and a drummer turned around several +times to look at me. I placed the plank before my face, but they +appeared to be so curious that I thought I should never escape them +until I heard them cry, 'Oh, it is Bernard!' + +"Once outside, I walked quickly towards the road of St. Quentin. +Charles, who the day before had engaged a carriage, shortly overtook me, +and we arrived at St. Quentin. I passed through the town on foot, after +having thrown off my smock-frock. Charles procured a post-chaise, under +pretext of going to Cambrai. We arrived without meeting with any +hindrance at Valenciennes, where I took the railway. I had procured a +Belgian passport, but nowhere was I asked to show it. + +"During my escape, Dr. Conneau, always so devoted to me, remained in +prison, and caused them to believe that I was ill, in order to give me +time to reach the frontier. It was necessary to be convinced that the +Government would never set me at liberty if I would not consent to +dishonor myself, before I could be persuaded to quit France. It was also +a matter of duty that I should exert all my powers to be able to console +my father in his old age. + +"Adieu, my dear M. de George. Although free, I feel myself to be most +unhappy. Receive the assurance of my sincere friendship; and if you are +able, endeavor to be useful to my kind Conneau." + +It was the latter part of May, 1846, that Louis Napoleon escaped from +Ham. He repaired immediately to London. In accordance with his habits +and his tastes, he continued to devote himself earnestly to his studies, +still cherishing the unfaltering opinion that he was yet to be the +Emperor of France. In London he was cordially welcomed by his old +friends, Count d'Orsay and Lady Blessington. His cousin Maria of Baden, +then Lady Douglass, subsequently the Duchess of Hamilton, was proud to +receive him in her sumptuous abode, and to present him to her +aristocratic friends. To her, it is said that he confided his projects +and hopes more frankly than to any one else. In one of his notes he +wrote, + +"MY DEAR COUSIN,--I do not belong to myself, I belong to my name and my +country. It is because my fortune has twice betrayed me, that my destiny +is nearer its accomplishment. I bide my time." + +In the latter part of February, 1848, the throne of Philippe was +overturned, and he fled from France. Louis Napoleon immediately returned +to Paris after so many weary years of exile. This is not the place to +describe the scenes which ensued. It is sufficient simply to state that, +almost by acclamation, he was sent by the people of Paris to the +Assembly, was there elected president of the Republic, and then, by +nearly eight million of votes, the Empire was re-established and Louis +Napoleon was placed upon the imperial throne. + +As soon as Louis Napoleon was chosen president of the French Republic, +Walter Savage Landor, a brilliant scholar, a profound, original thinker, +and a highly independent and honorable man, wrote as follows to Lady +Blessington, under date of January 9th, 1849: + +"Possibly you may have never seen the two articles which I enclose. I +inserted another in the 'Examiner,' deprecating the anxieties which a +truly patriotic and, in my opinion, a singularly wise man, was about to +encounter, in accepting the presidency of France. Necessity will compel +him to assume the imperial power, to which the voice of the army and of +the people will call him. You know, who know not merely my writings but +my heart, how little I care for station. I may therefore tell you +safely, that I feel a great interest, a great anxiety for the welfare of +Louis Napoleon. I told him that if he were ever again in prison, I would +visit him there, but never if he were upon a throne would I come near +him. He is the only man living who would adorn one. But thrones are my +aversion and abhorrence. France, I fear, can exist in no other +condition. May God protect the virtuous Louis Napoleon, and prolong in +happiness the days of my dear kind friend Lady Blessington. + + "WALTER SAVAGE LANDOR. + +"P.S.--I wrote a short letter to the President, and not of +congratulation. May he find many friends as disinterested and sincere." + +Even the blunt Duke of Wellington wrote as follows to the Count d'Orsay +under date of April 9, 1849: "I rejoice at the prosperity of France and +of the success of the president of the Republic. Every thing tends +towards the permanent tranquillity of Europe," which is necessary for +the happiness of all. + +If Hortense from the spirit-land can look down upon her son, her heart +must be cheered in view of the honors which his native land, with such +unprecedented unanimity, has conferred upon him. And still more must her +heart be cheered in view of the many, many years of peace, prosperity, +and happiness which France has enjoyed under his reign. Every +well-informed man will admit that the kingdom of France has never, since +its foundations were laid, enjoyed so many years of tranquillity, and of +mental and material advancement at home, and also of respect and +influence abroad, as during the reign of the son of Hortense. + +The Emperor is eminently happy in his domestic relations. There are none +who know the Empress Eugénie who do not revere and love her. She is the +worthy successor of Josephine, upon the throne of the reinstated empire. +The following beautiful tribute to her virtues comes from the lips of +our former distinguished ambassador at the court of France, Hon. John A. +Dix. They were uttered in a speech which he addressed to the American +residents in Paris, upon the occasion of his surrendering the +ambassadorial chair to his successor, Hon. Mr. Washburne. It was in +June, 1869. + +"Of her who is the sharer of the Emperor's honors and the companion of +his toils--who in the hospital, at the altar, or on the throne is alike +exemplary in the discharge of her varied duties, whether incident to her +position, or voluntarily taken upon herself, it is difficult for me to +speak without rising above the level of the common language of eulogism. + +"But I am standing here to-day, as a citizen of the United States, +without official relations to my own Government, or any other. I have +taken my leave of the imperial family, and I know no reason why I may +not freely speak what I honestly think; especially as I know I can say +nothing which will not find a cordial response in your own breasts. + +"As in the history of the ruder sex, great luminaries have from time to +time risen high above the horizon, to break and at the same time to +illustrate, the monotony of the general movement,--so in the annals of +hers, brilliant lights have at intervals shone forth, and shed their +lustre upon the stately march of regal pomp and power. + +"When I have seen her taking part in the most imposing of all imperial +pageants--the opening of the Legislative Chambers--standing amid the +assembled magistracy of Paris, surrounded by the representatives of the +talent, the genius, and the piety of this great empire; or amidst the +resplendent scenes of the palace, moving about with a gracefulness all +her own, and with a simplicity of manner which has a double charm when +allied to exalted rank and station, I confess that I have more than once +whispered to myself, and I believe not always inaudibly, the beautiful +verse of the graceful and courtly Claudian, the last of the Roman poets, + + "'Divino semitu, gressu claruit;' + +"or, rendered in our own plain English, and stripped of its poetic +hyperbole, '_The very path she treads is radiant with her unrivalled +step._'" + +THE END. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Hortense, Makers of History Series, by +John S. 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Abbott. + </title> + <style type="text/css"> +/*<![CDATA[ XML blockout */ +<!-- + p { margin-top: .75em; + text-align: justify; + margin-bottom: .75em; + } + h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 { + text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ + clear: both; + } + hr { width: 33%; + margin-top: 2em; + margin-bottom: 2em; + margin-left: auto; + margin-right: auto; + clear: both; + } + + table {margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;} + + body{margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; + } + + div.centered {text-align:center;} /*work around for IE centering with CSS problem part 1 */ + div.centered table {margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto; text-align:left;} /* work around for IE problem part 2 */ + + .pagenum { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */ + /* visibility: hidden; */ + position: absolute; + left: 92%; + font-size: smaller; + text-align: right; + } /* page numbers */ + + .blockquot{margin-left: 5%; margin-right: 10%;} + .sidenote {width: 20%; padding-bottom: .5em; padding-top: .5em; + padding-left: .5em; padding-right: .5em; margin-left: 1em; + float: right; clear: right; margin-top: 1em; + font-size: smaller; color: black; background: #eeeeee; border: solid 1px;} + .fchange {font-size: 90%;} + .ispace {margin-top: 2em;} + + .bl {border-left: solid 2px;} + .center {text-align: center;} + .smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} + .n {text-indent:0%;} + + .caption {font-weight: bold;} + + .figcenter {margin: auto; text-align: center;} + + .footnote {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-size: 0.9em;} + .fnanchor {vertical-align: super; font-size: .8em; text-decoration: none;} + .gap {margin-top: 4em;} + .smallgap {margin-top: 2em;} + .poem {margin-left:10%; margin-right:10%; text-align: left;} + .poem br {display: none;} + .poem .stanza {margin: 1em 0em 1em 0em;} + .poem span.i0 {display: block; margin-left: 0em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} + .poem span.i2 {display: block; margin-left: 2em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} + .poem span.i25 {display: block; margin-left: 25em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} + // --> + /* XML end ]]>*/ + </style> + </head> +<body> + + +<pre> + +Project Gutenberg's Hortense, Makers of History Series, by John S. C. Abbott + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Hortense, Makers of History Series + +Author: John S. C. Abbott + +Release Date: February 20, 2008 [EBook #24659] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HORTENSE, MAKERS OF HISTORY SERIES *** + + + + +Produced by D. Alexander and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was +produced from images generously made available by The +Internet Archive) + + + + + + +</pre> + + +<h2>Makers of History</h2> + +<h1>Hortense</h1> + +<h3><span class="smcap">By</span></h3> +<h2>JOHN S. C. ABBOTT</h2> + +<p class="center">WITH ENGRAVINGS</p> + +<p class="gap"> </p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 124px;"> +<img src="images/i001.jpg" width="124" height="150" alt="" title="" /> +</div> + +<p class="smallgap"> </p> + +<p class="center">NEW YORK AND LONDON<br /> +HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS<br /> +1902 +</p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<p class="center">Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1870, by</p> + +<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Harper & Brothers</span>,</p> + +<p class="center">In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the +Southern District of New York.</p> + +<p class="center">Copyright, 1898, by <span class="smcap">Laura A. Buck</span>.</p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<p><a name="Portrait" id="Portrait"></a></p> +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 297px;"> +<img src="images/i003.jpg" width="297" height="450" alt="HORTENSE." title="" /> +<span class="caption">HORTENSE.</span> +</div> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii">[Pg vii]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="PREFACE" id="PREFACE"></a>PREFACE.</h2> + +<p class="n"><span style="float:left;font-size:50px;line-height:32px;padding-top:2px;padding-bottom:1px;">T</span><span style="margin-left:0%;">he</span> French Revolution was perhaps as important an event as has occurred +in the history of nations. It was a drama in three acts. The first was +the Revolution itself, properly so called, with its awful scenes of +terror and of blood—the exasperated millions struggling against the +accumulated oppression of ages.</p> + +<p>The second act in the drama was the overthrow of the Directory by +Napoleon, and the introduction of the Consulate and the Empire; the +tremendous struggle against the combined dynasties of Europe; the +demolition of the Empire, and the renewed crushing of the people by the +triumph of the nobles and the kings.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_viii" id="Page_viii">[Pg viii]</a></span></p><p>Then came the third act in the drama—perhaps the last, perhaps not—in +which the French people again drove out the Bourbons, re-established the +Republican Empire, with its principle of equal rights for all, and +placed upon the throne the heir of the great Emperor.</p> + +<p>No man can understand the career of Napoleon I. without being acquainted +with those scenes of anarchy and terror which preceded his reign. No man +can understand the career of Napoleon III. unless familiar with the +struggle of the people against the despots in the Revolution, their +triumph in the Empire, their defeat in its overthrow, and their renewed +triumph in its restoration.</p> + +<p>Hortense was intimately associated with all these scenes. Her father +fell beneath the slide of the guillotine; her mother was imprisoned and +doomed to die; and she and her brother were turned penniless into the +streets. By the marriage of her mother with Napoleon, she became the +daughter of the Emperor, and one of the most brilliant and illustrious +ladies of the imperial court. The triumph of the Allies sent her into +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_ix" id="Page_ix">[Pg ix]</a></span>exile, where her influence and her instruction prepared her son to +contribute powerfully to the restoration of the Empire, and to reign +with ability which is admired by his friends and acknowledged by his +foes. The mother of Napoleon III. never allowed her royally-endowed son +to forget, even in the gloomiest days of exile and of sorrow, that it +might yet be his privilege to re-establish the Republican Empire, and to +restore the dynasty of the people from its overthrow by the despotic +Allies.</p> + +<p>In this brief record of the life of one who experienced far more than +the usual vicissitudes of humanity, whose career was one of the saddest +upon record, and who ever exhibited virtues which won the enthusiastic +love of all who knew her, the writer has admitted nothing which can not +be sustained by incontrovertible evidence, and has suppressed nothing +sustained by any testimony worthy of a moment's respect. This history +will show that Hortense had her faults. Who is without them? There are +not many, however, who will read these pages without profound admiration +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_x" id="Page_x">[Pg x]</a></span>for the character of one of the noblest of women, and without finding +the eye often dimmed, in view of her heart-rending griefs.</p> + +<p>This volume will soon be followed by the History of Louis Philippe.</p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xi" id="Page_xi">[Pg xi]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="CONTENTS" id="CONTENTS"></a>CONTENTS.</h2> + +<div class="centered"> +<table border="0" width="70%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="1" summary="CONTENTS"> + +<tr> +<td>CHAPTER</td> +<td align="left"> </td> +<td align="right"> </td></tr> + +<tr> +<td align="left">I.</td> +<td align="left">PARENTAGE AND BIRTH</td> +<td align="right"><a href="#Page_15">15</a></td></tr> + +<tr> +<td align="left">II.</td> +<td align="left">MARRIAGE OF JOSEPHINE AND<br /> +GENERAL BONAPARTE</td> +<td align="right"><a href="#Page_49">49</a></td></tr> + +<tr> +<td align="left">III.</td> +<td align="left">HORTENSE AND DUROC</td> +<td align="right"><a href="#Page_80">80</a></td></tr> + +<tr> +<td align="left">IV.</td> +<td align="left">THE MARRIAGE OF HORTENSE</td> +<td align="right"><a href="#Page_110">110</a></td></tr> + +<tr> +<td align="left">V.</td> +<td align="left">THE BIRTH OF LOUIS NAPOLEON AND THE DIVORCE<br /> +OF JOSEPHINE </td> +<td align="right"><a href="#Page_148">148</a></td></tr> + +<tr> +<td align="left">VI.</td> +<td align="left">THE DEATH OF JOSEPHINE</td> +<td align="right"><a href="#Page_179">179</a></td></tr> + +<tr> +<td align="left">VII.</td> +<td align="left">THE SORROWS OF EXILE</td> +<td align="right"><a href="#Page_211">211</a></td></tr> + +<tr> +<td align="left">VIII.</td> +<td align="left">PEACEFUL DAYS, YET SAD</td> +<td align="right"><a href="#Page_239">239</a></td></tr> + +<tr> +<td align="left">IX.</td> +<td align="left">LIFE AT ARENEMBERG</td> +<td align="right"><a href="#Page_293">293</a></td></tr> + +<tr> +<td align="left">X.</td> +<td align="left">LETTER FROM LOUIS NAPOLEON TO HIS MOTHER</td> +<td align="right"><a href="#Page_322">322</a></td></tr> + +<tr> +<td align="left">XI.</td> +<td align="left"> DEATH OF HORTENSE, AND THE ENTHRONEMENT<br /> +OF HER SON</td> +<td align="right"><a href="#Page_358">358</a></td></tr> + +</table></div> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xii" id="Page_xii">[Pg xii]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="ENGRAVINGS" id="ENGRAVINGS"></a>ENGRAVINGS.</h2> + +<div class="centered"> +<table border="0" width="70%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="1" summary="ENGRAVINGS"> + +<tr> +<td align="left"> </td> +<td align="right">PAGE</td></tr> + +<tr> +<td align="left">HORTENSE</td> +<td align="right"><a href="#Portrait"><i>Frontispiece.</i></a></td></tr> + +<tr> +<td align="left">JOSEPHINE TAKING LEAVE OF HER CHILDREN</td> +<td align="right"><a href="#Page_38">38</a></td></tr> + +<tr> +<td align="left">THE RECONCILIATION</td> +<td align="right"><a href="#Page_76">76</a></td></tr> + +<tr> +<td align="left">THE LOVE-LETTER</td> +<td align="right"><a href="#Page_104">104</a></td></tr> + +<tr> +<td align="left">THE LITTLE PRINCE NAPOLEON</td> +<td align="right"><a href="#Page_129">129</a></td></tr> + +<tr> +<td align="left">THE DIVORCE ANNOUNCED</td> +<td align="right"><a href="#Page_165">165</a></td></tr> + +<tr> +<td align="left">THE DEATH OF MADAME BROC</td> +<td align="right"><a href="#Page_194">194</a></td></tr> + +<tr> +<td align="left">HORTENSE AND HER CHILDREN</td> +<td align="right"><a href="#Page_218">218</a></td></tr> + +<tr> +<td align="left">HORTENSE AT ARENEMBERG</td> +<td align="right"><a href="#Page_248">248</a></td></tr> + +<tr> +<td align="left">INTERVIEW IN THE COLISEUM</td> +<td align="right"><a href="#Page_271">271</a></td></tr> + +<tr> +<td align="left">THE STUDY OF LOUIS NAPOLEON </td> +<td align="right"><a href="#Page_307">307</a></td></tr> + +<tr> +<td align="left">THE ARREST</td> +<td align="right"><a href="#Page_336">336</a></td></tr> + +</table></div> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span></p> + +<h2><a name="HORTENSE" id="HORTENSE"></a>HORTENSE.</h2> + +<h2><a name="Chapter_I" id="Chapter_I"></a><span class="smcap">Chapter I.</span></h2> + +<h2><span class="smcap">Parentage and Birth.</span></h2> + +<h3>1776-1794</h3> + +<div class="sidenote">Josephine's voyage to France.</div> + +<p class="n"><span style="float:left;font-size:50px;line-height:32px;padding-top:2px;padding-bottom:1px;">I</span><span style="margin-left:0%;">n</span> the year 1776 a very beautiful young lady, by the name of Josephine +Rose Tascher, was crossing the Atlantic Ocean from the island of +Martinique to France. She was but fifteen years of age; and, having been +left an orphan in infancy, had been tenderly reared by an uncle and +aunt, who were wealthy, being proprietors of one of the finest +plantations upon the island. Josephine was accompanied upon the voyage +by her uncle. She was the betrothed of a young French nobleman by the +name of Viscount Alexander de Beauharnais, who had recently visited +Martinique, and who owned several large estates adjoining the property +which Josephine would probably inherit.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Viscount de Beauharnais.</div> + +<p>It was with great reluctance that Josephine yielded to the importunities +of her friends and <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span>accepted the proffered hand of the viscount. Her +affections had long been fixed upon a play-mate of her childhood by the +name of William, and her love was passionately returned. William was +then absent in France, pursuing his education. De Beauharnais was what +would usually be called a very splendid man. He was of high rank, young, +rich, intelligent, and fascinating in his manners. The marriage of +Josephine with the viscount would unite the properties. Her friends, in +their desire to accomplish the union, cruelly deceived Josephine. They +intercepted the letters of William, and withheld her letters to him, and +represented to her that William, amidst the gayeties of Paris, had +proved a false lover, and had entirely forgotten her. De Beauharnais, +attracted by the grace and beauty of Josephine, had ardently offered her +his hand. Under these circumstances the inexperienced maiden had +consented to the union, and was now crossing the Atlantic with her uncle +for the consummation of the nuptials in France.</p> + +<p>Upon her arrival she was conducted to Fontainebleau, where De +Beauharnais hastened to meet her. Proud of her attractions, he took +great pleasure in introducing her to his high-born <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span>friends, and +lavished upon her every attention. Josephine was grateful, but sad, for +her heart still yearned for William. Soon William, hearing of her +arrival, and not knowing of her engagement, anxiously repaired to +Fontainebleau. The interview was agonizing. William still loved her with +the utmost devotion. They both found that they had been the victims of a +conspiracy, though one of which De Beauharnais had no knowledge.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Josephine's reluctance.</div> + +<p>Josephine, young, inexperienced, far from home, and surrounded by the +wealthy and powerful friends of her betrothed, had gone too far in the +arrangements for the marriage to recede. Her anguish, however, was so +great that she was thrown into a violent fever. She had no friend to +whom she could confide her emotions. But in most affecting tones she +entreated that her marriage might be delayed for a few months until she +should regain her health. Her friends consented, and she took refuge for +a time in the Convent of Panthemont, under the tender care of the +sisters.</p> + +<p>It is not probable that De Beauharnais was at all aware of the real +state of Josephine's feelings. He was proud of her, and loved her as +truly as a fashionable man of the world could <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span>love. It is also to be +remembered that at that time in France it was not customary for young +ladies to have much influence in the choice of their husbands. It was +supposed that their parents could much more judiciously arrange these +matters than the young ladies themselves.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Marriage.<br /> Birth of Eugene.</div> + +<p>Josephine was sixteen years of age at the time of her marriage. Her +attractions were so remarkable that she immediately became a great +favorite at the French court, to which the rank of her husband +introduced her. Marie Antoinette was then the youthful bride of Louis +XVI. She was charmed with Josephine, and lavished upon her the most +flattering attentions. Two children were born of this marriage, both of +whom attained world-wide renown. The first was a son, Eugene. He was +born in September, 1781. His career was very elevated, and he occupied +with distinguished honor all the lofty positions to which he was raised. +He became duke of Leuchtenberg, prince of Eichstedt, viceroy of Italy. +He married the Princess Augusta, daughter of the King of Bavaria.</p> + +<p>"Prince Eugene, under a simple exterior, concealed a noble character and +great talents. Honor, integrity, humanity, and love of order <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span>and +justice were the principal traits of his character. Wise in the council, +undaunted in the field, and moderate in the exercise of power, he never +appeared greater than in the midst of reverses, as the events of 1813 +and 1814 prove. He was inaccessible to the spirit of party, benevolent +and beneficent, and more devoted to the good of others than his own."<a name="FNanchor_A_1" id="FNanchor_A_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_1" class="fnanchor">[A]</a></p> + +<div class="sidenote">Birth of Hortense.</div> + +<p>The second child was a daughter, Hortense, the subject of this brief +memoir. She was born on the 10th of January, 1783. In the opening scenes +of that most sublime of earthly tragedies, the French Revolution, M. de +Beauharnais espoused the popular cause, though of noble blood, and +though his elder brother, the Marquis de Beauharnais, earnestly +advocated the cause of the king and the court.</p> + +<p>The entire renunciation of the Christian religion was then popular in +France. Alexander de Beauharnais, like most of his young pleasure-loving +companions, was an infidel. His conduct soon became such that the heart +of poor Josephine was quite broken. Her two children, Eugene and +Hortense, both inherited the affectionate and gentle traits of their +mother, and were her only solace. In her anguish she unguardedly <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span>wrote +to her friends in Martinique, who had almost forced her into her +connection with Beauharnais:</p> + +<p>"Were it not for my children, I should, without a pang, renounce France +forever. My duty requires me to forget William. And yet, if <i>we</i> had +been united together, I should not to-day have been troubling you with +my griefs."</p> + +<p>Viscount Beauharnais chanced to see this letter. It roused his jealousy +fearfully. A sense of "honor" would allow him to lavish his attentions +upon guilty favorites, while that same sense of "honor" would urge him +to wreak vengeance upon his unhappy, injured wife, because, in her +neglect and anguish, with no false, but only a true affection, her +memory turned to the loved companion of her childhood. According to the +standard of the fashionable world, Beauharnais was a very honorable man. +According to the standard of Christianity, he was a sinner in the sight +of God, and was to answer for this conduct at the final judgment.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Separation from Beauharnais.</div> + +<p>He reproached his wife in the severest language of denunciation. He took +from her her son Eugene. He applied to the courts for a divorce, +demanding his daughter Hortense also. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span>Josephine pleaded with him in +vain, for the sake of their children, not to proclaim their disagreement +to the world. Grief-stricken, poor Josephine retired to a convent to +await the trial. The verdict was triumphantly in her favor. But her +heart was broken. She was separated from her husband, though the legal +tie was not severed.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Return to Martinique.</div> + +<p>Her friends in Martinique, informed of these events, wrote, urging her +to return to them. She decided to accept the invitation. Hortense was +with her mother. M. de Beauharnais had sent Eugene, whom he had taken +from her, to a boarding-school. Before sailing for Martinique she +obtained an interview with M. de Beauharnais, and with tears entreated +that she might take Eugene with her also. He was unrelenting; Josephine, +with a crushed and world-weary heart, folded Hortense to her bosom, then +an infant but three years of age, and returned to her tropical home, +which she had sadly left but a few years before. Here, on the retired +plantation, soothed by the sympathy of her friends, she strove to +conceal her anguish.</p> + +<p>There was never a more loving heart than that with which Josephine was +endowed. She clung to Hortense with tenderness which has <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span>rarely been +equalled. They were always together. During the day Hortense was ever by +her side, and at night she nestled in her mother's bosom. Living amidst +the scenes of tropical luxuriance and beauty, endeared to her by the +memories of childhood, Josephine could almost have been happy but for +the thoughts of her absent Eugene. Grief for her lost child preyed ever +upon her heart.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Revisits France.</div> + +<p>Her alienated husband, relieved from all restraint, plunged anew into +those scenes of fashionable dissipation for which Paris was then +renowned. But sickness, sorrows, and misfortunes came. In those dark +hours he found that no earthly friend can supply the place of a virtuous +and loving wife. He wrote to her, expressing bitter regret for his +conduct, and imploring her to return. The wounds which Josephine had +received were too deep to be easily healed. Forgiving as she was by +nature, she said to her friends that the memory of the past was so +painful that, were it not for Eugene, she should very much prefer not to +return to France again, but to spend the remainder of her days in the +seclusion of her native island. Her friends did every thing in their +power to dissuade her from returning. But a mother's <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span>love for her son +triumphed, and with Hortense she took ship for France.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The jewel caskets.</div> + +<p>An event occurred upon this voyage which is as instructive as it is +interesting. Many years afterwards, when Josephine was Empress of +France, and the wealth of the world was almost literally at her feet, on +one occasion some young ladies who were visiting the court requested +Josephine to show them her diamonds. These jewels were almost of +priceless value, and were kept in a vault, the keys of which were +confided to the most trusty persons. Josephine, who seldom wore jewels, +very amiably complied with their request. A large table was brought into +the saloon. Her maids in waiting brought in a great number of caskets, +of every size and form, containing the precious gems.</p> + +<p>As these caskets were opened, they were dazzled with the brilliancy, the +size, and the number of these ornaments. The different sets composed +probably by far the most brilliant collection in Europe. In Napoleon's +conquering career, the cities which he had entered lavished their gifts +upon Josephine. The most remarkable of these jewels consisted of large +white diamonds. There were others in the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span>shape of pears formed of +pearls of the richest colors. There were opals, rubies, sapphires, and +emeralds of such marvellous value that the large diamonds that encircled +them were considered as mere mountings not regarded in the estimation +made of the value of the jewels.</p> + +<p>As the ladies gazed upon the splendor of this collection, they were lost +in wonder and admiration. Josephine, after enjoying for a while their +expressions of delight, and having allowed them to examine the beautiful +gems thoroughly, said to them kindly:</p> + +<p>"I had no other motive, in ordering my jewels to be opened before you, +than to spoil your fancy for such ornaments. After having seen such +splendid sets, you can never feel a wish for inferior ones; the less so +when you reflect how unhappy I have been, although with so rare a +collection at my command. During the first dawn of my extraordinary +elevation, I delighted in these trifles, many of which were presented to +me in Italy. I grew by degrees so tired of them that I no longer wear +any, except when I am in some respects compelled to do so by my new rank +in the world. A thousand accidents may, besides, contribute to deprive +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span>me of these brilliant, though useless objects. Do I not possess the +pendants of Queen Marie Antoinette? And yet am I quite sure of retaining +them? Trust to me, ladies, and do not envy a splendor which does not +constitute happiness. I shall not fail to surprise you when I relate +that I once felt more pleasure at receiving an old pair of shoes than at +being presented with all the diamonds which are now spread before you."</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The old pair of shoes.</div> + +<p>The young ladies could not help smiling at this observation, persuaded +as they were that Josephine was not in earnest. But she repeated her +assertions in so serious a manner that they felt the utmost curiosity to +hear the story of this <i>wonderful pair of shoes</i>.</p> + +<p>"I repeat it, ladies," said her majesty, "it is strictly true, that the +present which, of all others, has afforded me most pleasure was a pair +of old shoes of the coarsest leather; and you will readily believe it +when you have heard my story.</p> + +<p>"I had set sail from Martinique, with Hortense, on board a ship in which +we received such marked attentions that they are indelibly impressed on +my memory. Being separated from my first husband, my pecuniary resources +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span>were not very flourishing. The expense of my return to France, which the +state of my affairs rendered necessary, had nearly drained me of every +thing, and I found great difficulty in making the purchases which were +indispensably requisite for the voyage. Hortense, who was a smart, +lively child, sang negro songs, and performed negro dances with +admirable accuracy. She was the delight of the sailors, and, in return +for their fondness, she made them her favorite company. I no sooner fell +asleep than she slipped upon deck and rehearsed her various little +exercises, to the renewed delight and admiration of all on board.</p> + +<p>"An old mate was particularly fond of her, and whenever he found a +moment's leisure from his daily occupations, he devoted it to his little +friend, who was also exceedingly attached to him. My daughter's shoes +were soon worn out with her constant dancing and skipping. Knowing as +she did that I had no other pair for her, and fearing lest I should +prevent her going upon deck if I should discover the plight of those she +was fast wearing away, she concealed the trifling accident from my +knowledge. I saw her once returning with bleeding feet, and asked her, +in the utmost alarm, if she had <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span>hurt herself; 'No, mamma.' 'But your +feet are bleeding.' 'It really is nothing.' I insisted upon ascertaining +what ailed her, and found that her shoes were all in tatters, and her +flesh dreadfully torn by a nail.</p> + +<p>"We had as yet only performed half the voyage; a long time would +necessarily elapse before I could procure a fresh pair of shoes; I was +mortified at the bare anticipation of the distress my poor Hortense +would feel at being compelled to remain confined in my wretched little +cabin, and of the injury her health might experience from the want of +exercise. At the moment when I was wrapped up in sorrow, and giving free +vent to my tears, our friend the mate made his appearance, and inquired, +with his honest bluntness, the cause of our <i>whimperings</i>. Hortense +replied, in a sobbing voice, that she could no longer go upon deck +because she had torn her shoes, and I had no others to give her.</p> + +<p>"'Is that all?' said the sailor. 'I have an old pair in my trunk; let me +go for them. You, madame, will cut them up, and I shall sew them over +again to the best of my power; every thing on board ship shall be turned +to account; this is not the place for being too nice <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span>or particular; we +have our most important wants gratified when we have the needful.'</p> + +<p>"He did not wait for our reply, but went in quest of his old shoes, +which he brought to us with an air of exultation, and offered them to +Hortense, who received the gift with every demonstration of delight.</p> + +<p>"We set to work with the greatest alacrity, and my daughter was enabled, +towards the close of the day, to enjoy the pleasure of again amusing the +ship's company. I repeat it, that no present was ever received by me +with more sincere gratitude. I greatly reproach myself for having +neglected to make inquiries after the worthy seaman, who was only known +on board by the name of James. I should have felt a sincere satisfaction +in rendering him some service, since it was afterwards in my power to do +so."</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Commencement of the Reign of Terror. Arrest of Beauharnais.</div> + +<p>Josephine had spent three years in Martinique. Consequently, upon her +return to France, Hortense was six years of age. Soon after her arrival +the Reign of Terror commenced. The guillotine was erected, and its knife +was busy beheading those who were suspected of not being in full +sympathy with the reformers whom revolution had brought into +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span>power. Though Viscount Beauharnais had earnestly espoused the popular +cause; though he had been president of the National Assembly, and +afterwards general of the Army of the Rhine, still he was of noble +birth, and his older brother was an aristocrat, and an emigrant. He was +consequently suspected, and arrested. Having conducted him to prison, a +committee of the Convention called at the residence of Josephine to +examine the children, hoping to extort from them some evidence against +their father. Josephine, in a letter to her aunt, thus describes this +singular scene:</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Domiciliary visit.</div> + +<p>"You would hardly believe, dear aunt, that my children have just +undergone a long and minute examination. That wicked old man, the +member of the committee whom I have already mentioned to you, called +upon me, and, affecting to feel uneasy in regard to my husband, and to +converse with me respecting him, opened a conversation with my children. +I acknowledge that I at first fell into the snare. What surprised me, +however, was the sudden affability of the man. But he soon betrayed +himself by the malignity and even bitterness which he displayed when the +children replied in such a manner as to give him no advantage +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span>over their unhappy parents. I soon penetrated his artful intentions.</p> + +<p>"When he found me on my guard, he threw off the mask, and admitted that +he was desired to procure information from my children, which, he said, +might be more relied on, as it would bear the stamp of candor. He then +entered into a formal examination. At that moment I felt an +indescribable emotion; and the conflicting effects of fear, anger, and +indignation alternately agitated me. I was even upon the point of openly +giving vent to my feelings against the hoary revolutionist, when I +reflected that I might, by so doing, materially injure M. de +Beauharnais, against whom that atrocious villain appeared to have vowed +perpetual enmity. I accordingly checked my angry passions. He desired me +to leave him alone with my children; I attempted to resist, but his +ferocious glance compelled me to give way.</p> + +<p>"He confined Hortense in the closet, and began to put questions to her +brother. My daughter's turn came next. As for this child, in whom he +discovered a premature quickness and penetration far above her age, he +kept questioning her for a great length of time. After having sounded +them respecting our common <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span>topics of conversation, our opinions, the +visits and letters we were in the habit of receiving, but more +particularly the occurrences they might have witnessed, he came to the +main point—I mean, to the expressions used by Alexander. My children +gave very proper replies; such, in fact, as were suited to their +respective dispositions. And notwithstanding the artfulness of a +mischievous man whose object is to discover guilt, the frankness of my +son and the quick penetration of my daughter disconcerted his low +cunning, and even defeated the object he had in view."</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Beauharnais in prison.</div> + +<p>Viscount Beauharnais, when arrested, was conveyed to the palace of the +Luxembourg, where he was imprisoned with many other captives. To spare +the feelings of the children, the fact of his imprisonment was concealed +from them by Josephine, and they were given to understand that their +father, not being very well, had placed himself under the care of a +celebrated physician, who had recommended him to take up his residence +at the Luxembourg, where there was much vacant space, and consequently +purer air. The imprisoned father was very anxious to see his wife and +children. The authorities consented, allowing the children +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span>to go in first under the care of an attendant, and afterwards their +mother.</p> + +<p>Hortense, child as she was, was bewildered by the scene, and her +suspicions were evidently excited. As she came out, she said to her +mother, "I think papa's apartments are very small, and the patients are +very numerous."</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Affecting interview.</div> + +<p>After the children had left, Josephine was introduced. She knew that her +husband's life was in imminent peril. His penitence and grateful love +had produced entire reconciliation, and had won back Josephine's heart. +She was not willing that the children should witness the tender and +affecting interview which, under such circumstances, must take place.</p> + +<p>Beauharnais had but little hope that he should escape the guillotine. As +Josephine, bathed in tears, rushed into his arms, all his fortitude +forsook him. His emotion was so great that his wife, struggling against +her own anguish, used her utmost endeavors to calm and console him.</p> + +<p>In the midst of this heart-rending scene, to their consternation, the +children, by some misunderstanding, were again led into the apartment. +The father and mother struggled to disguise from them the cause of that +emotion <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span>which they could not conceal. For a time the children were silent and +bewildered; then Hortense, though with evident misgivings, attempted to +console her parents. The events of her saddened life had rendered her +unusually precocious. Turning to her mother, she begged her not to give +way to so much sorrow, assuring her that she could not think that her +father was dangerously ill. Then addressing Eugene, she said, in a +peculiar tone which her parents felt as a reproach,</p> + +<p>"I do not think, brother, that papa is very sick. At any rate, it is not +such a sickness as doctors can cure." Josephine felt the reproach, and +conscious that it was in some degree deserved, said:</p> + +<p>"What do you mean, my child? Do you think your father and I have +combined to deceive you?"</p> + +<p>"Pardon me, mamma, but I do think so."</p> + +<p>"Oh, sister," exclaimed Eugene, "how can you speak so strangely?"</p> + +<p>"On the contrary," Hortense replied, "it is very plain and natural. +Surely affectionate parents may be allowed to deceive their children +when they wish to spare their feelings."</p> + +<p>Josephine was seated in the lap of her husband. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span>Hortense sprang into +her mother's arms, and encircled the neck of both father and mother in a +loving embrace. Eugene caught the contagion, and by his tears and +affecting caresses added to this domestic scene of love and woe.</p> + +<p>It is the universal testimony that Eugene and Hortense were so lovely in +person and in character that they instantly won the affection of all who +saw them. The father was conscious that he was soon to die. He knew that +all his property would be confiscated. It was probable that Josephine +would also be led to her execution. The guillotine spared neither sex +who had incurred the suspicions of enthroned democracy. Both parents +forgot themselves, in their anxiety for their children. The execution of +Beauharnais would undoubtedly lead to the arrest and execution of +Josephine. The property of the condemned was invariably confiscated. +There was thus danger that the children would be turned in beggary into +the streets. It is difficult to conceive the anguish which must have +rent the hearts of affectionate parents in hours of woe so awful.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Scene in prison.</div> + +<p>The prisons were crowded with victims. Brief as were the trials, and +rapid as was the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span>execution of the guillotine, there was some +considerable delay before Beauharnais was led before the revolutionary +tribunal. In the mean time Josephine made several calls, with her +children, upon her imprisoned husband. Little Hortense, whose suspicions +were strongly excited, watched every word, and soon became so convinced +that her father was a prisoner that it became impossible for her parents +any longer to conceal the fact.</p> + +<p>"What has papa done," inquired Hortense, "that they will not let him +come home?"</p> + +<p>"He has done nothing wrong," said Josephine, timidly, for she knew not +what spies might be listening. "He is only accused of being unfriendly +to the Government."</p> + +<p>Holding the hand of Eugene, Hortense exclaimed impetuously, "Oh, we will +punish your accusers as soon as we are strong enough."</p> + +<p>"Be silent, my child," said her father anxiously. "If you are overheard +I am lost. Both your mother and I may be made to suffer for any +imprudent remark which you may make."</p> + +<p>"But, papa, have you not often told us," said Eugene, "that it was +proper to resist an act of oppression?"</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span></p><p>"Yes," said the father proudly, though conscious that his words might be +reported and misrepresented to his merciless judges. "And I repeat it. +Our conduct, however, must be guided by rules of prudence; and whoever +attempts to defeat the views of tyranny must beware of awaking it from +its slumbers."</p> + +<p>No philosophy has yet been able to explain the delicate mechanism of the +human soul; its fleeting and varying emotions of joy and sadness, its +gleams of hope and shades of despair come and go, controlled by +influences which entirely elude human scrutiny. In these days of gloom, +rays of hope occasionally penetrated the cell of Beauharnais.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Trial of Beauharnais.</div> + +<p>At last the hour of dread came. Beauharnais was led before the terrible +tribunal. He was falsely accused of having promoted the surrender of +Mentz to the Allies. He was doomed to death, and was sent to the +Conciergerie, whence he was to be conducted to his execution. This was +in July, 1794. Beauharnais was then thirty-four years of age.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 37-38]</a></span></p> +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 251px;"> +<img src="images/i035.jpg" class="ispace" width="251" height="450" alt="JOSEPHINE TAKING LEAVE OF HER CHILDREN." title="" /> +<span class="caption">JOSEPHINE TAKING LEAVE OF HER CHILDREN.</span> +</div> + +<p>It seems that the conversation which we have reported as having taken +place in the cell of Beauharnais had been overheard by listening ears, +and reported to the committee as a conspiracy <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span>for the overthrow of +the Republic. The arrest of Josephine was ordered. A warning letter from +some friend reached her a few moments before the officers arrived, +urging her to fly. It was an early hour in the morning. There was little +sleep for Josephine amidst those scenes of terror, and she was watching +by the side of her slumbering children. What could she do? Should she +abandon her children, and seek to save her own life by flight? A +mother's love rendered that impossible. Should she take them with her in +her flight? That would render her arrest certain; and the fact of her +attempting to escape would be urged as evidence of her guilt.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Anguish of Josephine.</div> + +<p>While distracted with these thoughts, the clatter of armed men was heard +at her door. With anguish which none but a mother can comprehend, she +bent over her children and imprinted, as she supposed, a last kiss upon +their cheeks. The affectionate little Hortense, though asleep, was +evidently agitated by troubled dreams. As she felt the imprint of her +mother's lips, she threw her arms around her neck and exclaimed, "Come +to bed, dear mamma; they shall not take you away to-night. I have prayed +to God for you."</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Arrest of Josephine.</div> + +<p>Josephine, to avoid waking the children, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span>stepped softly from the room, +closed the door, and entered her parlor. Here she was rudely seized by +the soldiers, who regarded her as a hated aristocrat. They took +possession of the house and all its furniture in the name of the +Republic, left the children to suffer or to die as fate might decide, +and dragged the mother to imprisonment in the Convent of the Carmelites.</p> + +<p>When the children awoke in the morning, they found themselves alone and +friendless in the heart of Paris. The wonderful events of their lives +thus far had rendered them both unusually precocious. Eugene in +particular seemed to be endowed with all the thoughtfulness and wisdom +of a full-grown man. After a few moments of anguish and tears, in view +of their dreadful situation, they sat down to deliberate upon the course +to be pursued. Hortense suggested that they should repair to the +Luxembourg and seek the protection of their father in his imprisonment +there. But Eugene, apprehensive that such a step might in some way +compromise the safety of their father, recalled to mind that they had a +great-aunt, far advanced in life, who was residing at Versailles in deep +retirement. He proposed <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span>that they should seek refuge with her. Finding +a former domestic of the family, she kindly led them to their aunt, +where the desolate children were tenderly received.</p> + +<p>Beauharnais was now in the Conciergerie, doomed to die, and awaiting his +execution. Josephine was in the prison of the Carmelites, expecting +hourly to be led to the tribunal to receive also her doom of death.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Impulsiveness of Hortense.</div> + +<p>Hortense, an affectionate child, ardent and unreflecting in her +impatience to see her mother, one morning left her aunt's house at +Fontainebleau, to which place her aunt had removed, and in a market-cart +travelled thirty miles to Paris. Here the energetic child, impelled by +grief and love, succeeded in finding her mother's maid, Victorine. It +was however impossible for them to obtain access to the prison, and +Hortense the next day returned to Fontainebleau. Josephine, upon being +informed of this imprudent act, to which affection had impelled her +child, wrote to her the following letter:</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Letter from Josephine.</div> + +<p>"I should be entirely satisfied with the good heart of my Hortense, were +I not displeased with her bad head. How is it, my daughter, that, +without permission from your aunt, you <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span>have come to Paris? 'But it was +to see me, you will say.' You ought to be aware that no one can see me +without an order, to obtain which requires both means and precautions. +And besides, you got upon M. Dorset's cart, at the risk of incommoding +him, and retarding the conveyance of his merchandise. In all this you +have been very inconsiderate. My child, observe: it is not sufficient to +do good, you must also do good properly. At your age, the first of all +virtues is confidence and docility towards your relations. I am +therefore obliged to tell you that I prefer your tranquil attachment to +your misplaced warmth. This, however, does not prevent me from embracing +you, but less tenderly than I shall do when I learn that you have +returned to your aunt."</p> + +<p>On the evening of the 24th of July M. de Beauharnais received the +announcement in his cell, that with the dawn of the next morning he was +to be led to the guillotine. Under these circumstances he wrote the +following farewell letter to his wife:</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Letter from Beauharnais.</div> + +<p>"I have yet a few minutes to devote to affection, tears, and regret, and +then I must wholly give myself up to the glory of my fate and to +thoughts of immortality. When you receive this letter, my dear +Josephine, your husband <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span>will have ceased to live, and will be tasting +true existence in the bosom of his Creator. Do not weep for him. The +wicked and senseless beings who survive him are more worthy of your +tears, for they are doing mischief which they can never repair. But let +us not cloud the present moments by any thoughts of their guilt. I wish, +on the contrary, to brighten these hours by the reflection that I have +enjoyed the affection of a lovely woman, and that our union would have +been an uninterrupted course of happiness, but for errors which I was +too late to acknowledge and atone for. This thought wrings tears from my +eyes, though your generous heart pardons me. But this is no time to +revive the recollection of my errors and of your wrongs. What thanks I +owe to Providence, who will reward you.</p> + +<p>"That Providence disposes of me before my time. This is another +blessing, for which I am grateful. Can a virtuous man live happy when he +sees the whole world a prey to the wicked? I should rejoice in being +taken away, were it not for the thought of leaving those I love behind +me. But if the thoughts of the dying are presentiments, something in my +heart tells me that these horrible butcheries are drawing to a close; +that the executioners will, in their turn, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span>become victims; that the +arts and sciences will again flourish in France; that wise and moderate +laws will take the place of cruel sacrifices, and that you will at +length enjoy the happiness which you have deserved. Our children will +discharge the debt for their father.</p> + +<hr style='width: 25%;' /> + +<p>"I resume these incoherent and almost illegible lines, which were +interrupted by the entrance of my jailer. I have submitted to a cruel +ceremony, which, under any other circumstances, I would have resisted at +the sacrifice of my life. Yet why should we rebel against necessity? +Reason tells us to make the best of it we can. My hair has been cut off. +I had some idea of buying a part of it, in order to leave to my wife and +children an unequivocal pledge of my last recollection of them. Alas! my +heart breaks at the very thought, and my tears bedew the paper on which +I am writing. Adieu, all that I love. Think of me, and do not forget +that to die the victim of tyrants and the martyrs of liberty sheds +lustre on the scaffold."</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Execution of Beauharnais.</div> + +<p>Josephine did not receive this letter until after her husband's +execution. The next afternoon one of the daily papers was brought +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span>into the prison of the Carmelites. Josephine anxiously ran her eye over +the record of the executions, and found the name of her husband in the +fatal list. She fell senseless to the floor in a long-continued swoon. +When consciousness returned, she exclaimed at first, in the delirium of +her anguish, "O God, let me die! let me die! There is no peace for me +but in the grave." And then again a mother's love, as she thought of her +orphan children, led her to cling to the misery of existence for their +sake. Soon, however, the unpitying agents of the revolutionary tribunal +came to her with the announcement that in two days she was to be led to +the Conciergerie, and thence to her execution.</p> + +<p>In the following letter Josephine informed her children of the death of +their father, and of her own approaching execution. It is a letter +highly characteristic of this wonderful woman in the attempt, by the +assumption of calmness, to avoid as far as possible lacerating the +feelings of Eugene and Hortense.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Josephine to her children.</div> + +<p>"The hand which will deliver this to you is faithful and sure. You will +receive it from a friend who knows and has shared my sorrows. I know not +by what accident she has <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span>hitherto been spared. I call this accident +fortunate; she regards it as a calamity. 'Is it not disgraceful to +live,' said she yesterday, 'when all who are good have the honor of +dying?' May Heaven, as the reward of her courage, refuse her the fatal +honor she desires.</p> + +<p>"As to me, I am qualified for that honor, and I am preparing myself for +receiving it. Why has disease spared me so long? But I must not murmur. +As a wife, I ought to follow the fate of my husband, and can there now +be any fate more glorious than to ascend the scaffold? It is a patent of +immortality, purchased by a prompt and pleasing death.</p> + +<p>"My children, your father is dead, and your mother is about to follow +him. But as before that final stroke the assassins leave me a few +moments to myself, I wish to employ them in writing to you. Socrates, +when condemned, philosophized with his disciples. A mother, on the point +of undergoing a similar fate, may discourse with her children.</p> + +<p>"My last sigh will be for you, and I wish to make my last words a +lasting lesson. Time was, when I gave you lessons in a more pleasing +way. But the present will not be the less useful, that it is given at so +serious a moment. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span>I have the weakness to water it with my tears. I +shall soon have the courage to seal it with my blood.</p> + +<p>"Hitherto it was impossible to be happier than I have been. While to my +union with your father I owed my felicity, I may venture to think and to +say that to my character I was indebted for that union. I found in my +heart the means of winning the affection of my husband's relations. +Patience and gentleness always succeed in gaining the good-will of +others. You also, my dear children, possess natural advantages which +cost little, and are of great value. But you must learn how to employ +them, and that is what I still feel a pleasure in teaching you by my +example.</p> + +<hr style='width: 25%;' /> + +<p>"Here I must record the gratitude I owe to my excellent brother-in-law, +who has, under various circumstances, given me proofs of the most +sincere friendship, though he was of quite a different opinion from your +father, who embraced the new ideas with all the enthusiasm of a lively +imagination. He fancied liberty was to be secured by obtaining +concessions from the king, whom he venerated. But all was lost, and +nothing gained but anarchy. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span>Who will arrest the torrent? O God! unless +thy powerful hand control and restrain it, we are undone.</p> + +<p>"For my part, my children, I am about to die, as your father died, a +victim of the fury he always opposed, but to which he fell a sacrifice. +I leave life without hatred of France and its assassins, whom I despise. +But I am penetrated with sorrow for the misfortunes of my country. Honor +my memory in sharing my sentiments. I leave for your inheritance the +glory of your father and the name of your mother, whom some who have +been unfortunate will bear in remembrance."</p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span></p> +<h2><span class="smcap">Chapter II.</span></h2> + +<h2><span class="smcap">The Marriage of Josephine and<br /> +General Bonaparte.</span></h2> + +<h3>1794-1799</h3> + +<div class="sidenote">Release of Josephine.</div> + +<p class="n"><span style="float:left;font-size:50px;line-height:32px;padding-top:2px;padding-bottom:1px;">T</span><span style="margin-left:0%;">he</span> day before Josephine was to be led to her execution there was a new +revolution in Paris. Robespierre and the party then in power were +overthrown. From condemning others, they were condemned themselves. They +had sent hundreds, in the cart of the executioner, to the guillotine. +Now it was their turn to take that fatal ride, to ascend the steps of +the scaffold, and to have their own heads severed by the keen edge of +the knife. Those whom they had imprisoned were set at liberty.</p> + +<p>As Josephine emerged from the gloom of her prison into the streets of +Paris, she found herself a widow, homeless, almost friendless, and in +the extreme of penury. But for her children, life would have been a +burden from which she would have been glad to be relieved by the +executioner's axe. The storms of revolution had dispersed all her +friends, and terror <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span>reigned in Paris. Her children were living upon the +charity of others. It was necessary to conceal their birth as the +children of a noble, for the brutal threat of Marat ever rang in her +ears, "We must exterminate all the whelps of aristocracy."</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Apprenticeship of Eugene and Hortense.</div> + +<p>Hoping to conceal the illustrious lineage of Eugene and Hortense, and +probably also impelled by the necessities of poverty, Josephine +apprenticed her son to a house carpenter, and her daughter was placed, +with other girls of more lowly birth, in the shop of a milliner. But +Josephine's beauty of person, grace of manners, and culture of mind +could not leave her long in obscurity. Every one who met her was charmed +with her unaffected loveliness. New friends were created, among them +some who were in power. Through their interposition, a portion of her +husband's confiscated estates was restored to her. She was thus provided +with means of a frugal support for herself and her children. Engaging +humble apartments, she devoted herself entirely to their education. Both +of the children were richly endowed; inheriting from their mother and +their father talents, personal loveliness, and an instinctive power of +attraction. Thus <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span>there came a brief lull in those dreadful storms of +life by which Josephine had been so long buffeted.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Napoleon Bonaparte.<br />Josephine and Napoleon.</div> + +<p>But suddenly, like the transformations of the kaleidoscope, there came +another and a marvellous change. All are familiar with the circumstances +of her marriage to the young and rising general, Napoleon Bonaparte. +This remarkable young man, enjoying the renown of having captured +Toulon, and of having quelled a very formidable insurrection in the +streets of Paris, was ordered by the then existing Government to disarm +the whole Parisian population, that there might be no further attempt at +insurrection. The officers who were sent, in performance of this duty, +from house to house, took from Josephine the sword of her husband, which +she had preserved as a sacred relic. The next day Eugene repaired to the +head-quarters of General Bonaparte to implore that the sword of his +father might be restored to him. The young general was so much impressed +with the grace and beauty of the boy, and with his artless and touching +eloquence, that he made many inquiries respecting his parentage, treated +him with marked tenderness, and promptly restored the sword. Josephine +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span>was so grateful for the kindness of General Bonaparte to Eugene, that +the next day she drove to his quarters to express a mother's thanks. +General Bonaparte was even more deeply impressed with the grace and +loveliness of the mother than he had been with the child. He sought her +acquaintance; this led to intimacy, to love, and to the proffer of +marriage.</p> + +<p>In the following letter to a friend Josephine expressed her views in +reference to her marriage with General Bonaparte:</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Josephine to her aunt.</div> + +<p>"I am urged, my dear, to marry again by the advice of all my friends, +and I may almost say, by the commands of my aunt and the prayers of my +children. Why are you not here to help me by your advice, and to tell me +whether I ought or not to consent to a union which certainly seems +calculated to relieve me from the discomforts of my present situation? +Your friendship would render you clear-sighted to my interests, and a +word from you would suffice to bring me to a decision.</p> + +<p>"Among my visitors you have seen General Bonaparte. He is the man who +wishes to become a father to the orphans of Alexander de Beauharnais, +and husband to his widow.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span></p><p>"'Do you love him?' is naturally your first question. My answer is +perhaps '<i>no</i>.' 'Do you dislike him?' 'No,' again. But the sentiments I +entertain towards him are of that lukewarm kind which true devotees +think worst of all, in matters of religion. Now love being a sort of +religion, my feelings ought to be very different from what they really +are. This is the point on which I want your advice, which would fix the +wavering of my irresolute disposition. To come to a decision has always +been too much for my Creole inertness, and I find it easier to obey the +wishes of others.</p> + +<p>"I admire the general's courage, the extent of his information on every +subject on which he converses; his shrewd intelligence, which enables +him to understand the thoughts of others before they are expressed. But +I confess that I am somewhat fearful of that control which he seems +anxious to exercise over all about him. There is something in his +scrutinizing glance that can not be described. It awes even our +Directors. Therefore it may well be supposed to intimidate a woman. He +talks of his passion for me with a degree of earnestness which renders +it impossible to doubt his sincerity. Yet this very circumstance, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span>which +you would suppose likely to please me, is precisely that which has +withheld me from giving the consent which I have often been upon the +point of uttering.</p> + +<p>"My spring of life is past. Can I then hope to preserve for any length +of time that ardor of affection which in the general amounts almost to +madness? If his love should cool, as it certainly will after our +marriage, will he not reproach me for having prevented him from forming +a more advantageous connection? What, then, shall I say? What shall I +do? I may shut myself up and weep. Fine consolation truly, methinks I +hear you say. But unavailing as I know it is, weeping is, I assure you, +my only consolation whenever my poor heart receives a wound. Write to me +quickly, and pray scold me if you think me wrong. You know every thing +is welcome that comes from you.</p> + +<p>"Barras<a name="FNanchor_B_2" id="FNanchor_B_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_B_2" class="fnanchor">[B]</a> assures me that if I marry the general, he will get him +appointed commander-in-chief of the Army of Italy. This favor, though +not yet granted, occasions some murmuring among Bonaparte's +brother-officers. When <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span>speaking to me on the subject yesterday, General +Bonaparte said:</p> + +<p>"'Do they think that I can not get forward without their patronage? One +day or other they will all be too happy if I grant them mine. I have a +good sword by my side, which will carry me on.'</p> + +<p>"What do you think of this self-confidence? Does it not savor of +excessive vanity? A general of brigade to talk of patronizing the chiefs +of Government? It is very ridiculous. Yet I know not how it happens, his +ambitious spirit sometimes wins upon me so far that I am almost tempted +to believe in the practicability of any project he takes into his head; +and who can foresee what he may attempt?</p> + +<p>"Madame Tallien desires me to present her love to you. She is still fair +and good as ever. She employs her immense influence only for the benefit +of the unfortunate. And when she performs a favor, she appears as +pleased and satisfied as though she herself were the obliged party. Her +friendship for me is most affectionate and sincere. And of my regard for +her I need only say that it is equal to that which I entertain for you.</p> + +<p>"Hortense grows more and more interesting <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span>every day. Her pretty figure +is fully developed, and, if I were so inclined, I should have ample +reason to rail at Time, who confers charms on the daughter at the +expense of the mother. But truly I have other things to think of. I try +to banish gloomy thoughts, and look forward to a more propitious future, +for we shall soon meet, never to part again.</p> + +<p>"But for this marriage, which harasses and unsettles me, I could be +cheerful in spite of every thing. Were it once over, happen what might, +I could resign myself to my fate. I am inured to suffering, and, if I be +destined to taste fresh sorrow, I can support it, provided my children, +my aunt, and you remain to comfort me.</p> + +<p>"You know we have agreed to dispense with all formal terminations to our +letters. So adieu, my friend,</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"<span class="smcap">Josephine</span>."<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<div class="sidenote">Marriage of Josephine.</div> + +<p>In March, 1796, Josephine became the bride of Napoleon Bonaparte, then +the most promising young general in France, and destined to become, in +achievements and renown, the foremost man in all the world. Eugene was +immediately taken into the service of his stepfather.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span></p><p>In the following letter to Eugene we have a pleasing revelation of the +character of Hortense at that time, and of the affectionate relations +existing between the mother and her children:</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Letter to Eugene.</div> + +<p>"I learn with pleasure, my dear Eugene, that your conduct is worthy of +the name you bear, and of the protector under whom it is so easy to +learn to become a great captain. Bonaparte has written to me that you +are every thing that he can wish. As he is no flatterer, my heart is +proud to read your eulogy sketched by a hand which is usually far from +being lavish in praise. You well know that I never doubted your +capability to undertake great things, or the brilliant courage which you +inherit. But you, alas! know how much I dislike your removal from me, +fearing that your natural impetuosity might carry you too far, and that +it might prevent you from submitting to the numerous petty details of +discipline which must be very disagreeable when the rank is only +subaltern.</p> + +<p>"Judge, then, of my joy on learning that you remember my advice, and +that you are as obedient to your superiors in command as you are kind +and humane to those beneath you.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span> This conduct, my child, makes me quite +happy, and these words, I know, will reward you more than all the favors +you can receive. Read them often, and repeat to yourself that your +mother, though far from you, complains not of her lot, since she knows +that yours will be brilliant, and will deserve so to be.</p> + +<p>"Your sister shares all my feelings, and will tell you so herself. But +that of which I am sure she will not speak, and which is therefore my +duty to tell, is her attention to me and her aunt. Love her, my son, for +to me she brings consolation, and she overflows with affection for you. +She prosecutes her studies with uncommon success, but music, I think, +will be the art she will carry to the highest perfection. With her sweet +voice, which is now well cultivated, she sings romances in a manner that +would surprise you. I have just bought her a new piano from the best +maker, Erard, which redoubles her passion for that charming art which +you prefer to every other. That perhaps accounts for your sister +applying to it with so much assiduity.</p> + +<p>"Were you here, you would be telling me a thousand times a day to beware +of the men who pay particular attention to Hortense. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span>Some there are who +do so whom you do not like, and whom you seem to fear she may prefer. +Set your mind at rest. She is a bit of a coquette, is pleased with her +success, and torments her victims, but her heart is free. I am the +confidante of all her thoughts and feelings, which have hitherto been +just what they ought to be. She now knows that when she thinks of +marrying, it is not my consent alone she has to seek, and that my will +is subordinate to that of the man to whom we owe every thing. The +knowledge of this fact must prevent her from fixing her choice in a way +that may not meet the approval of Bonaparte, and the latter will not +give your sister in marriage to any one to whom you can object."</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Rising greatness of Napoleon.</div> + +<p>There was now an end to poverty and obscurity. The rise of Napoleon was +so brilliant and rapid that Josephine was speedily placed at the head of +society in Paris, and vast crowds were eager to do her homage. Never +before did man move with strides so rapid. The lapse of a few months +transformed her from almost a homeless, friendless, impoverished widow, +to be the bride of one whose advancing greatness seemed to outvie the +wildest creations of fiction. The unsurpassed splendor of Napoleon's +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span>achievements crowded the saloons of Josephine with statesmen, +philosophers, generals, and all who ever hasten to the shrine of rising +greatness.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Expedition to Egypt.</div> + +<p>After the campaign of Italy, which gave Napoleon not only a French but a +European reputation for military genius and diplomatic skill, he took +command of the Army of Egypt. Josephine accompanied him to Toulon. +Standing upon a balcony, she with tearful eyes watched the receding +fleet which bore her husband to that far-distant land, until it +disappeared beneath the horizon of the blue Mediterranean. Eugene +accompanied his father. Hortense remained with her mother, who took up +her residence most of the time during her husband's absence at +Plombières, a celebrated watering-place.</p> + +<p>Josephine, anxious in every possible way to promote the popularity of +her absent husband, and thus to secure his advancement, received with +cordiality all who came to her with their congratulations. She was +endowed with marvellous power of pleasing. Every one who saw her was +charmed with her. Hortense was bewitchingly beautiful and attractive.</p> + +<p>Josephine had ample means to indulge her <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span>taste in entertainments, and +was qualified eminently to shine in such scenes. The consequence was +that her saloons were the constant resort of rank and wealth and +fashion. Some enemy wrote to Napoleon, and roused his jealousy to a very +high degree, by representing Josephine as forgetting her husband, +immersed in pleasure, and coquetting with all the world.</p> + +<p>Napoleon was exceedingly disturbed, and wrote Josephine a very severe +letter. The following extract from her reply fully explains the nature +of this momentary estrangement:</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Letter to Bonaparte.</div> + +<p>"Is it possible, general, that the letter I have just received comes +from you? I can scarcely credit it when I compare that letter with +others to which your love imparts so many charms. My eyes, indeed, would +persuade me that your hands traced these lines, but my heart refuses to +believe that a letter from you could ever have caused the mortal anguish +I experience on perusing these expressions of your displeasure, which +afflict me the more when I consider how much pain they must have caused +you.</p> + +<p>"I know not what I have done to provoke some malignant enemy to destroy +my peace by disturbing yours. But certainly a powerful motive must +influence some one in continuall<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span>y renewing calumnies against me, and +giving them a sufficient appearance of probability to impose on the man +who has hitherto judged me worthy of his affection and confidence. These +two sentiments are necessary to my happiness. And if they are to be so +soon withdrawn from me, I can only regret that I was ever blest in +possessing them or knowing you.</p> + +<p>"On my first acquaintance with you, the affliction with which I was +overwhelmed led me to believe that my heart must ever remain a stranger +to any sentiment resembling love. The sanguinary scenes of which I had +been a witness and a victim constantly haunted my thoughts. I therefore +apprehended no danger to myself from the frequent enjoyment of your +society. Still less did I imagine that I could for a single moment fix +your choice.</p> + +<p>"I, like every one else, admired your talents and acquirements. And +better than any one else I foresaw your future glory. But still I loved +you only for the services you rendered to my country. Why did you seek +to convert admiration into a more tender sentiment, by availing yourself +of all those powers of pleasing with which you are so eminently gifted, +since, so shortly after having united your destiny <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span>with mine, you +regret the felicity you have conferred upon me?</p> + +<p>"Do you think I can ever forget the love with which you once cherished +me? Can I ever become indifferent to the man who has blest me with the +most enthusiastic and ardent passion? Can I ever efface from my memory +your paternal affection for Hortense, the advice and example you have +given Eugene? If all this appears impossible, how can you, for a moment, +suspect me of bestowing a thought upon any but yourself?</p> + +<p>"Instead of listening to traducers, who, for reasons which I can not +explain, seek to disturb our happiness, why do you not silence them by +enumerating the benefits you have bestowed on a woman whose heart could +never be reached with ingratitude? The knowledge of what you have done +for my children would check the malignity of these calumniators; for +they would then see that the strongest link of my attachment for you +depends on my character as a mother. Your subsequent conduct, which has +claimed the admiration of all Europe, could have no other effect than to +make me adore the husband who gave me his hand when I was poor and +unfortunate. Every step you <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span>take adds to the glory of the name I bear. +Yet this is the moment which has been selected for persuading you that I +no longer love you! Surely nothing can be more wicked and absurd than +the conduct of those who are about you, and are jealous of your marked +superiority.</p> + +<p>"Yes, I still love you, and no less tenderly than ever. Those who allege +the contrary know that they speak falsely. To those very persons I have +frequently written to inquire about you, and to recommend them to +console you, by their friendship, for the absence of her who is your +best and truest friend.</p> + +<p>"I acknowledge that I see a great deal of company; for every one is +eager to compliment me on your success, and I confess that I have not +resolution to close my door against those who speak of you. I also +confess that a great portion of my visitors are gentlemen. Men +understand your bold projects better than women; and they speak with +enthusiasm of your glorious achievements, while my female friends only +complain of you for having carried away their husbands, brothers, or +fathers.</p> + +<p>"I take no pleasure in their society if they do not praise you. Yet +there are some among them whose hearts and understandings claim +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span>my highest regard, because they entertain sincere friendship for you. In +this number I may mention ladies Arquillon, Tallien, and my aunt. They +are almost constantly with me; and they can tell you, ungrateful as you +are, whether <i>I have been coquetting with every body</i>. These are your +words. And they would be hateful to me were I not certain that you had +disavowed them, and are sorry for having written them.</p> + +<p>"I sometimes receive honors here which cause me no small degree of +embarrassment. I am not accustomed to this sort of homage. And I see +that it is displeasing to our authorities, who are always suspicious and +fearful of losing their newly-gotten power. If they are envious now, +what will they be when you return crowned with fresh laurels? Heaven +knows to what lengths their malignity will then carry them. But you will +be here, and then nothing can vex me.</p> + +<p>"But I will say no more of them, nor of your suspicions, which I do not +refute one by one, because they are all equally devoid of probability. +And to make amends for the unpleasant commencement of this letter, I +will tell you something which I know will please you.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span></p><p>"Hortense, in her efforts to console me, endeavors as far as possible to +conceal her anxiety for you and her brother. And she exerts all her +ingenuity to banish that melancholy, the existence of which you doubt, +but which I assure you never forsakes me. If by her lively conversation +and interesting talents she sometimes succeeds in drawing a smile, she +joyfully exclaims, 'Dear mamma, that will be known at Cairo.' The fatal +word immediately calls to my mind the distance which separates me from +you and my son, and restores the melancholy which it was intended to +divert. I am obliged to make great efforts to conceal my grief from my +daughter, who, by a word or a look, transports me to the very place +which she would wish to banish from my thoughts.</p> + +<p>"Hortense's figure is daily becoming more and more graceful. She dresses +with great taste; and though not quite so handsome as your sisters, she +may certainly be thought agreeable when even they are present.</p> + +<p>"Heaven knows when or where you may receive this letter. May it restore +you to that confidence which you ought never to have lost, and convince +you, more than ever, that, long as I live, I shall love you as dearly as +I did <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span>on the day of our separation. Adieu. Believe me, love me, and +receive a thousand kisses.</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"<span class="smcap">Josephine.</span>"<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<div class="sidenote">Madame Campan.</div> + +<p>There was at that time a very celebrated female school at St. Germain, +under the care of Madame Campan. This illustrious lady was familiar with +all the etiquette of the court, and was also endowed with a superior +mind highly cultivated. At the early age of fifteen she had been +appointed reader to the daughter of Louis XV. Maria Antoinette took a +strong fancy to her, and made her a friend and companion. The crumbling +of the throne of the Bourbons and the dispersion of the court left +Madame Campan without a home, and caused what the world would call her +ruin.</p> + +<p>But in the view of true intelligence this reverse of fortune only +elevated her to a far higher position of responsibility, usefulness, and +power. Impelled by necessity, she opened a boarding-school for young +ladies at St. Germain. The school soon acquired celebrity. Almost every +illustrious family in France sought to place their daughters under her +care. She thus educated very many young ladies who subsequently occupied +very important <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span>positions in society as the wives and mothers of +distinguished men. Some of her pupils attained to royalty. Thus the +boarding-school of Madame Campan became a great power in France.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">School-girl days.</div> + +<p>Hortense was sent to this school with Napoleon's sister Caroline, who +subsequently became Queen of Naples, and with Stephanie Beauharnais, to +whom we shall have occasion hereafter to refer as Duchess of Baden. +Stephanie was a cousin of Hortense, being a daughter of her father's +brother, the Marquis de Beauharnais.</p> + +<p>In this school Hortense formed many very strong attachments. Her most +intimate friend, however, whom she loved with affection which never +waned, was a niece of Madame Campan, by the name of Adèle Auguié, +afterwards Madame de Broc, whose sad fate, hereafter to be described, +was one of the heaviest blows which fell upon Hortense. It would seem +that Hortense was not at all injured by the flattery lavished upon her +in consequence of the renown of her father. She retained, unchanged, all +her native simplicity of character, which she had inherited from her +mother, and which she ever saw illustrated in her mother's words and +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span>actions. Treating the humblest with the same kindness as the most +exalted, she won all hearts, and made herself the friend of every one in +the school.</p> + +<p>But her cousin Stephanie was a very different character. Her father, the +Marquis, had fled from France an emigrant. He was an aristocrat by +birth, and in all his cherished sentiments. In his flight with the +nobles, from the terrors of the revolution, he had left his daughter +behind, as the protégée of Josephine. Inheriting a haughty disposition, +and elated by the grandeur which her uncle was attaining, she assumed +consequential airs which rendered her disagreeable to many of her +companions. The eagle eye of Josephine detected these faults in the +character of her niece. As Stephanie returned to school from one of her +vacations, Josephine sent by her the following letter to Madame Campan:</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Letter from Josephine.</div> + +<p>"In returning to you my niece, my dear Madame Campan, I send you both +thanks and reproof:—thanks for the brilliant education you have given +her, and reproof for the faults which your acuteness must have noticed, +but which your indulgence has passed over. She is good-tempered, but +cold; well-informed, but <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span>disdainful; lively, but deficient in judgment. +She pleases no one, and it gives her no pain. She fancies the renown of +her uncle and the gallantry of her father are every thing. Teach her, +but teach her plainly, without mincing, that in reality they are +nothing.</p> + +<p>"We live in an age when every one is the child of his own deeds. And if +they who fill the highest ranks of public service enjoy any superior +advantage or privilege, it is the opportunity to be more useful and more +beloved. It is thus alone that good fortune becomes pardonable in the +eyes of the envious. This is what I would have you repeat to her +constantly. I wish her to treat all her companions as her equals. Many +of them are better, or at least quite as deserving as she is herself, +and their only inferiority is in not having had relations equally +skillful or equally fortunate.</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"<span class="smcap">Josephine Bonaparte</span>."</span> +</div></div> + +<div class="sidenote">Napoleon's return from Egypt.</div> + +<p>On the 8th of October, 1799, Napoleon landed at Fréjus, on his return +from Egypt. His mind was still very much disturbed with the reports +which had reached him respecting Josephine. Fréjus was six hundred miles +from Paris—a long journey, when railroads were <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span>unknown. The +intelligence of his arrival was promptly communicated to the metropolis +by telegraph. Josephine received the news at midnight. Without an hour's +delay she entered her carriage with Hortense, taking as a protector +Napoleon's younger brother Louis, who subsequently married Hortense, and +set out to meet her husband. Almost at the same hour Napoleon left +Fréjus for Paris.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Josephine's anguish.</div> + +<p>When Josephine reached Lyons, a distance of two hundred and forty-two +miles from Paris, she learned, to her consternation, that Napoleon had +left the city several hours before her arrival, and that they had passed +each other by different roads. Her anguish was dreadful. For many months +she had not received a line from her husband, as all communication had +been intercepted by the British cruisers. She knew that her enemies +would be busy in poisoning the mind of her husband against her. She had +traversed the weary leagues of her journey without a moment's +intermission, and now, faint, exhausted, and despairing, she was to +retrace her steps, to reach Paris only many hours after Napoleon would +have arrived there. Probably in all France there was not then a more +unhappy woman than Josephine.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Jealousy of Napoleon.</div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span></p><p>The mystery of human love and jealousy no philosophy can explain. Secret +wretchedness was gnawing at the heart of Napoleon. He loved Josephine +with intensest passion, and all the pride of his nature was roused by +the conviction that she had trifled with him. With these conflicting +emotions rending his soul, he entered Paris and drove to his dwelling. +Josephine was not there. Even Josephine had bitter enemies, as all who +are in power ever must have. These enemies took advantage of her absence +to fan the flames of that jealousy which Napoleon could not conceal. It +was represented to him that Josephine had fled from her home, afraid to +meet the anger of her injured husband. As he paced the floor in anguish, +which led him to forget all his achievements in the past and all his +hopes for the future, an enemy maliciously remarked,</p> + +<p>"Josephine will soon appear before you with all her arts of fascination. +She will explain matters, you will forgive all, and tranquillity will be +restored."</p> + +<p>Napoleon, striding nervously up and down the floor, replied with pallid +cheek and trembling lip,</p> + +<p>"Never! never! Were I not sure of my resolution, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span>I would tear out this +heart and cast it into the fire."</p> + +<p>Eugene had returned with Napoleon. He loved his mother to adoration. +Anxiously he sat at the window watching, hour after hour, for her +arrival. At midnight on the 19th the rattle of her carriage-wheels was +heard, as she entered the court-yard of their dwelling in the Rue +Chantereine. Eugene rushed to his mother's arms. Napoleon had ever been +the most courteous of husbands. Whenever Josephine returned, even from +an ordinary morning drive, he would leave any engagements to greet her +as she alighted from her carriage. But now, after an absence of eighteen +months, he remained sternly in his chamber, the victim of almost +unearthly misery.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The meeting in Paris.<br />The cruel repulse.</div> + +<p>In a state of terrible agitation, with limbs tottering and heart +throbbing, Josephine, assisted by Eugene and accompanied by Hortense, +ascended the stairs to the parlor where she had so often received the +caresses of her husband. She opened the door. Napoleon stood before her, +pale, motionless as a marble statue. Without one kind word of greeting +he said sternly, in words which pierced her heart,</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span></p><p>"Madame, it is my wish that you retire immediately to Malmaison."</p> + +<p>The meek and loving Josephine uttered not a word. She would have fallen +senseless to the floor, had she not been caught in the arms of her son. +It was midnight. For a week she had lived in her carriage almost without +sleep. She was in a state of utter exhaustion, both of body and of mind. +It was twelve miles to Malmaison. Napoleon had no idea that she would +leave the house until the morning. Much to his surprise, he soon heard +the carriage in the yard, and Josephine, accompanied by Eugene and +Hortense, descending the stairs. The naturally kind heart of Napoleon +could not assent to such cruelty. Immediately going down into the yard, +though his pride would not permit him to speak to Josephine, he +addressed Eugene, and requested them all to return for refreshment and +repose.</p> + +<p>In silent submission, Eugene and Hortense conducted their mother to her +apartment, where she threw herself upon her couch in abject misery. In +equally sleepless woe, Napoleon retired to his cabinet. Two days of +wretchedness passed away. On the third, the love for Josephine, which +still reigned in the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span> heart of Napoleon, so far triumphed that he +entered her apartment. Josephine was seated at a toilette-table, with +her head bowed, and her eyes buried in her handkerchief. The table was +covered with the letters which she had received from Napoleon, and which +she had evidently been perusing. Hortense, the victim of grief and +despair, was standing in the alcove of a window.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76-77]</a></span></p> +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 252px;"> +<img src="images/i073.jpg" class="ispace" width="252" height="450" alt="THE RECONCILIATION." title="" /> +<span class="caption">THE RECONCILIATION.</span> +</div> + +<div class="sidenote">The reconciliation.</div> + +<p>Apparently Josephine did not hear the approaching footsteps of her +husband. He advanced softly to her chair, placed his hand upon it, and +said, in tones almost of wonted kindness, "Josephine." She started at +the sound of that well-known and dearly-loved voice, and turning towards +him her swollen and flooded eyes, responded, "My dear." The words of +tenderness, the loving voice, brought back with resistless rush the +memory of the past. Napoleon was vanquished. He extended his hand to +Josephine. She rose, threw her arms around his neck, rested her +throbbing, aching head upon his bosom, and wept in convulsions of +anguish. A long explanation ensued. Napoleon again pressed Josephine to +his loving heart, satisfied, perfectly satisfied that he had deeply +wronged her; that she had <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span>been the victim of base traducers. The +reconciliation was perfect.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Napoleon First Consul.</div> + +<p>Soon after this Napoleon overthrew the Directory, and established the +Consulate. This was on the ninth of November, 1799, usually called 18th +Brumaire. Napoleon was thirty years of age, and was now First Consul of +France. After the wonderful achievements of this day of peril, during +which Napoleon had not been able to send a single line to his wife, at +four o'clock in the morning he alighted from his carriage at the door of +his dwelling at the Rue Chantereine. Josephine, in a state of great +anxiety, was watching at the window for his approach. She sprang to meet +him. Napoleon encircled her in his arms, and briefly recapitulated the +memorable scenes of the day. He assured her that since he had taken the +oath of office, he had not allowed himself to speak to a single +individual, for he wished the beloved voice of his Josephine might be +the first to congratulate him upon his virtual accession to the Empire +of France. Throwing himself upon a couch for a few moments of repose, he +exclaimed gayly, "Good-night, my Josephine. To-morrow we sleep in the +palace of the Luxembourg."</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The Luxembourg.</div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span></p><p>This renowned palace, with its vast saloons, its galleries of art, its +garden, is one of the most attractive of residences. Napoleon was now +virtually the monarch of France. Josephine was a queen, Eugene and +Hortense prince and princess. Strange must have been the emotions of +Josephine and her children as, encompassed with regal splendor, they +took up their residence in the palace. But a few years before, +Josephine, in poverty, friendlessness, and intensest anguish of heart, +had led her children by the hand through those halls to visit her +imprisoned husband. From one of those apartments the husband and father +had been led to his trial, and to the scaffold, and now this mother +enters this palace virtually a queen, and her children have opening +before them the very highest positions of earthly wealth and honor.</p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span></p> +<h2><span class="smcap">Chapter III.</span></h2> + +<h2><span class="smcap">Hortense and Duroc.</span></h2> + +<h3>1799-1804</h3> + +<div class="sidenote">Calumnies.</div> + +<p class="n"><span style="float:left;font-size:50px;line-height:32px;padding-top:2px;padding-bottom:1px;">I</span><span style="margin-left:0%;">t</span> is a very unamiable trait in human nature, that many persons are more +eager to believe that which is bad in the character of others than that +which is good. The same voice of calumny, which has so mercilessly +assailed Josephine, has also traduced Hortense. It is painful to witness +the readiness with which even now the vilest slanders, devoid of all +evidence, can be heaped upon a noble and virtuous woman who is in her +grave.</p> + +<p>In the days of Napoleon's power, he himself, his mother, his wife, his +sisters, and his stepdaughter, Hortense, were assailed with the most +envenomed accusations malice could engender. These infamous assaults, +which generally originated with the British Tory press, still have +lingering echoes throughout the world. There are those who seem to +consider it no crime to utter the most atrocious accusations, even +without a shadow of proof, against those who are not living. Well do the +"Berkeley men" say:</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Testimony of the Berkeley men.</div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span></p><p>"The Bonapartes, especially the women of that family, have always been +too proud and haughty to degrade themselves. Even had they lacked what +is technically called moral character, their virtue has been intrenched +behind their ancestry, and the achievements of their own family. Nor was +there at any time an instant when any one of the Bonapartes could have +overstepped, by a hair's-breadth, the line of decency, without being +fatally exposed. None of them pursued the noiseless tenor of their way +along the vale of obscurity. They were walking in the clear sunshine, on +the topmost summits of the earth, and millions of enemies were watching +every step they took. The highest genius of historians, the bitterest +satire of dramatists, the meanest and most malignant pen of the +journalists have assailed them for half a century. We have written these +words because a Republican is the only man likely to speak well of the +Bonaparte family. It was, and is, and will be the dynasty of the people, +standing there from 1804, a fearful antagonism against the feudal age +and its souvenirs of oppression and crime."</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Remarks of Napoleon at St. Helena.</div> + +<p>Napoleon at St. Helena said: "Of all the libels and pamphlets with which +the English <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span>ministers have inundated Europe, there is not one which +will reach posterity. When there shall not be a trace of those libels to +be found, the great monuments of utility which I have reared, and the +code of laws which I have formed, will descend to the remotest ages; and +future historians will avenge the wrongs done me by my contemporaries. +There was a time when all crimes seemed to belong to me of right. Thus I +poisoned Hoche, strangled Pichegru in his cell, I caused Kleber to be +assassinated in Egypt, I blew out Desaix's brains at Marengo, I cut the +throats of persons who were confined in prison, I dragged the Pope by +the hair of his head, and a hundred similar abominations. And yet I have +not seen one of those libels which is worthy of an answer. These are so +contemptible and so absurdly false, that they do not merit any other +notice than to write <i>false</i>, <i>false</i>, on every page."</p> + +<p>It is well known, by every one acquainted with the past history of our +country, that George Washington was assailed in the severest possible +language of vituperation. He was charged with military inability, +administrative incapacity, mental weakness, and gross personal +immorality. He was denounced as a murderer, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span>and a hoary-headed traitor. +This is the doom of those in power. And thousands of men in those days +believed those charges.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The voice of slander.</div> + +<p>It is seldom possible to prove a negative. But no evidence has ever been +brought forward to substantiate the rumors brought against Hortense. +These vile slanderers have even gone so far as to accuse Napoleon of +crimes, in reference to the daughter of Josephine and the wife of his +brother, which, if true, should consign him to eternal infamy. The +"Berkeley men," after making the most thorough historic investigations +in writing the life both of Louis Bonaparte and Hortense, say:</p> + +<p>"Louis was a little over twenty-three years of age at the time of his +marriage. Hortense was nineteen. In his memoirs Louis treats with scorn +and contempt the absurd libels respecting his domestic affairs, +involving the purity of his wife's character and the legitimacy of his +children. Napoleon, also, in his conversations at St. Helena, thought +proper to allude to the subject, and indignantly to repel the charges +which had been made against Hortense, at the same time showing the +entire improbability of the stories about her and her offspring. <i>We +have found nothing, in our investigations on this subject </i><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span><i>to justify +even a suspicion against the morals or integrity of Louis or Hortense; +and we here dismiss the subject with the remark that, there is more +cause for sympathy with the parties to this unhappy union than of +censure for their conduct.</i>"</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Testimony of the Duchess of Abrantes.<br />Portrait of Hortense.</div> + +<p>The Duchess of Abrantes, who was intimately acquainted with Hortense +from her childhood and with the whole Bonaparte family, in her +interesting memoirs writes: "Hortense de Beauharnais was fresh as a +rose; and though her fair complexion was not relieved by much color, she +had enough to produce that freshness and bloom which was her chief +beauty. A profusion of light hair played in silky locks round her soft +and penetrating blue eyes. The delicate roundness of her slender figure +was set off by the elegant carriage of her head. Her feet were small and +pretty, her hands very white, with pink, well-rounded nails. But what +formed the chief attraction of Hortense was the grace and suavity of her +manners. She was gay, gentle, amiable. She had wit which, without the +smallest ill-temper, had just malice enough to be amusing. A polished +education had improved her natural talents. She drew excellently, sang +harmoniously, and <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span>performed admirably in comedy. In 1800 she was a +charming young girl. She afterwards became one of the most amiable +princesses in Europe. I have seen many, both in their own courts and in +Paris, but I have never known one who had any pretensions to equal +talents. Her brother loved her tenderly. The First Consul looked upon +her as his child. And it is only in that country so fertile in the +inventions of scandal, that so foolish an accusation could have been +imagined, as that any feeling less pure than paternal affection actuated +his conduct towards her. The vile calumny met the contempt it merited."</p> + +<p>The testimony of Bourrienne upon this point is decisive. Bourrienne had +been the private secretary of Napoleon, had become his enemy, and had +joined the Bourbons. Upon the downfall of the Emperor he wrote a very +hostile life of Napoleon, being then in the employment of the Bourbons. +In those envenomed pages, Bourrienne says that he has written severely +enough against Napoleon, to have his word believed when he makes any +admission in his favor. He then writes:</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Testimony of Bourrienne.</div> + +<p>"Napoleon never cherished for Hortense any feeling but a real paternal +tenderness. He <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span>loved her, after his marriage with her mother, as he +would have loved his own child. For three years at least I was witness +to all their most private actions. I declare that I never saw any thing +which could furnish the least ground for suspicion or the slightest +trace of culpable intimacy. This calumny must be classed with those +which malice delights to take with the character of men who become +celebrated; calumnies which are adopted lightly and without reflection.</p> + +<p>"I freely declare that, did I retain the slightest doubt with regard to +this odious charge, I would avow it. But it is not true. Napoleon is no +more. Let his memory be accompanied only by that, be it good or bad, +which really took place. Let not this complaint be made against him by +the impartial historian. I must say, in conclusion, on this delicate +subject, that Napoleon's principles were rigid in the extreme; and that +any fault of the nature charged neither entered his mind, nor was in +accordance with his morals or taste."</p> + +<p>Notwithstanding this abundant testimony, and notwithstanding the fact +that no contradictory testimony can be adduced, which any historian +could be pardoned for treating with respect, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span>there are still men to be +found who will repeat those foul slanders, which ought long since to +have died away.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Napoleon at the Tuileries.</div> + +<p>Napoleon remained but two months in the palace of the Luxembourg. In the +mean time the palace of the Tuileries, which had been sacked by +revolutionary mobs, was re-furnished with much splendor. In February the +Court of the Consuls was transferred to the Tuileries. Napoleon had so +entirely eclipsed his colleagues that he alone was thought of by the +Parisian populace. The royal apartments were prepared for Napoleon. The +more humble apartments, in the Pavilion of Flora, were assigned to the +two other consuls. The transfer from the Luxembourg was made with great +pomp, in one of those brilliant parades which ever delight the eyes of +the Parisians. Six thousand picked soldiers, with a gorgeous train of +officers, formed his escort. Twenty thousand troops with all the +concomitants of military parade, lined the streets. A throng, from city +and country, which could not be numbered, gazed upon the scene. Napoleon +took his seat in a magnificent carriage drawn by six beautiful white +horses. The suite of rooms assigned to Josephine consisted of two large +parlors furnished with regal <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span>splendor, and several adjoining private +rooms. Here Hortense, a beautiful girl of about eighteen, found herself +at home in the apartments of the ancient kings of France.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Beauty of Josephine.</div> + +<p>In the evening a brilliant assembly was gathered in the saloons of +Josephine. As she entered, with queenly grace, leaning upon the arm of +Talleyrand, a murmur of admiration rose from the whole multitude. She +wore a robe of white muslin. Her hair fell in ringlets upon her neck and +shoulders, through which gleamed a necklace of priceless pearls. The +festivities were protracted until a late hour in the morning. It was +said that Josephine gained a social victory that evening, corresponding +with that which Napoleon had gained in the pageant of the day. In these +scenes Hortense shone with great brilliance. She was young, beautiful, +graceful, amiable, witty, and very highly accomplished. In addition to +this, she was the stepdaughter of the First Consul, who was ascending in +a career of grandeur which was to terminate no one could tell where.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Malmaison.</div> + +<p>During Napoleon's absence in Egypt Josephine had purchased the beautiful +estate of Malmaison. This was their favorite home. The chateau was a +very convenient, attractive, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span>but not very spacious rural edifice, +surrounded with extensive grounds, ornamented with lawns, shrubbery, and +forest-trees. With the Tuileries for her city residence, Malmaison for +her rural retreat, Napoleon for her father, Josephine for her mother, +Eugene for her brother; with the richest endowments of person, mind, and +heart, with glowing health, and surrounded by admirers, Hortense seemed +now to be placed upon the very highest pinnacle of earthly happiness.</p> + +<p>Josephine and Hortense resided at Malmaison when Napoleon made his ten +months' campaign into Italy, which was terminated by the victory of +Marengo. They both busily employed their time in making those +improvements on the place which would create a pleasant surprise for +Napoleon on his return. Here they opened a new path through the forest; +here they spanned a stream with a beautiful rustic bridge; upon a gentle +eminence a pavilion rose; and new parterres of flowers gladdened the +eye. Every charm was thrown around the place which the genius and taste +of Josephine and Hortense could suggest. At midnight, on the second of +July, Napoleon returned to Paris, and immediately hastened to the arms +of his wife and <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span>daughter at Malmaison. He was so pleased with its +retirement and rural beauty that, forgetting the splendors of +Fontainebleau and Saint Cloud, he ever after made it his favorite +residence. Fortunate is the tourist who can obtain permission to saunter +through those lovely walks, where the father, the wife, and the +daughter, for a few brief months, walked almost daily, arm in arm, in +the enjoyment of nearly all the happiness which they were destined on +earth to share. The Emperor, at the close of his career, said upon his +dying bed at St. Helena,</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Remarkable testimony of Napoleon.</div> + +<p>"I am indebted for all the little happiness I have enjoyed on earth to +the love of Josephine."</p> + +<p>Hortense and her mother frequently rode on horseback, both being very +graceful riders, and very fond of that recreation. At moments when +Napoleon could unbend from the cares of state, the family amused +themselves, with such guests as were present, in the game of "prisoners" +on the lawn. For several years this continued to be the favorite pastime +at Malmaison. Kings and queens were often seen among the pursuers and +the pursued on the green sward.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span></p><p>It was observed that Napoleon was always solicitous to have Josephine on +his side. And whenever, in the progress of the game, she was taken +prisoner, he was nervously anxious until she was rescued. Napoleon, who +had almost lived upon horseback, was a poor runner, and would often, in +his eagerness, fall, rolling head-long over the grass, raising shouts of +laughter. Josephine and Hortense were as agile as they were graceful.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The infernal machine.</div> + +<p>On the 24th of December, 1800, Napoleon, Josephine, and Hortense were +going to the opera, to hear Haydn's Oratorio of the Creation. It was +then to be performed for the first time. Napoleon, busily engaged in +business, went reluctantly at the earnest solicitation of Josephine. +Three gentlemen rode with Napoleon in his carriage. Josephine, with +Hortense and other friends, followed in her private carriage. As the +carriages were passing through the narrow street of St. Nicaire, a +tremendous explosion took place, which was heard all over Paris. An +infernal machine, of immense power, had been conveyed to the spot, +concealed beneath a cart, which was intended, at whatever sacrifice of +the lives of others, to render the assassination of the First Consul +certain. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span>Eight persons were instantly killed; more than sixty were +wounded. Several buildings were nearly demolished. The windows of both +carriages were dashed in, and the shattered vehicles were tossed to and +fro like ships in a storm. Napoleon almost miraculously escaped +unharmed. Hortense was slightly wounded by the broken glass. Still they +all heroically went on to the opera, where, in view of their +providential escape, they were received with thunders of applause.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The royalist conspiracy.</div> + +<p>It was at first supposed that the Jacobins were the authors of this +infamous plot. It was afterwards proved to be a conspiracy of the +Royalists. Josephine, whose husband had bled beneath the slide of the +guillotine, and who had narrowly escaped the axe herself, with +characteristic humanity forgot the peril to which she and her friends +had been exposed, in sympathy for those who were to suffer for the +crime. The criminals were numerous. They were the nobles with whom +Josephine had formerly lived in terms of closest intimacy. She wrote to +Fouché, the Minister of Police, in behalf of these families about to be +plunged into woe by the merited punishment of the conspirators. This +letter reflects such light upon the character <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span>of Josephine, which +character she transmitted to Hortense, that it claims insertion here.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Letter from Josephine.</div> + +<p>"<span class="smcap">Citizen Minister</span>,—While I yet tremble at the frightful event which has +just occurred, I am disquieted and distressed through fear of the +punishment necessarily to be inflicted on the guilty, who belong, it is +said, to families with whom I once lived in habits of intercourse. I +shall be solicited by mothers, sisters, and disconsolate wives, and my +heart will be broken through my inability to obtain all the mercy for +which I would plead.</p> + +<p>"I know that the clemency of the First Consul is great; his attachment +to me extreme. But the crime is too dreadful that a terrible example +should not be necessary. The chief of the Government has not been alone +exposed. It is that which will render him severe, inflexible. I conjure +you, therefore, to do all in your power to prevent inquiries being +pushed too far. Do not detect all those persons who may have been +accomplices in these odious transactions. Let not France, so long +overwhelmed in consternation by public executions, groan anew beneath +such inflictions. It is even better to endeavor to soothe the public +mind than to exasperate men by fresh terrors. In short, when the +ringleaders <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span>of this nefarious attempt shall have been secured, let +severity give place to pity for inferior agents, seduced, as they may +have been, by dangerous falsehoods or exaggerated opinions.</p> + +<p>"When just invested with supreme power, the First Consul, as seems to +me, ought rather to gain hearts, than to be exhibited as ruling slaves. +Soften by your counsels whatever may be too violent in his just +resentment. Punish—alas! that you must certainly do—but pardon still +more. Be also the support of those unfortunate men who, by frank avowal +or repentance, shall expiate a portion of their crime.</p> + +<p>"Having myself narrowly escaped perishing in the Revolution, you must +regard as quite natural my interference on behalf of those who can be +saved without involving in new danger the life of my husband, precious +to me and to France. On this account do, I entreat you, make a wide +distinction between the authors of the crime and those who, through +weakness or fear, have consented to take part therein. As a woman, a +wife, a mother, I must feel the heart-rendings of those who will apply +to me. Act, citizen minister, in such a manner that the number of these +may be lessened. This <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span>will spare me much grief. Never will I turn away +from the supplications of misfortune. But in the present instance you +can do infinitely more than I, and you will, on this account, excuse my +importunity. Rely on my gratitude and esteem."</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Michel Duroc.</div> + +<p>There was a young officer about twenty-nine years of age, by the name of +Michel Duroc, who was then a frequent visitor at the Tuileries and +Malmaison. He was a great favorite of Napoleon, and was distinguished +alike for beauty of person and gallantry upon the field of battle. Born +of an ancient family, young Duroc, having received a thorough military +education, attached himself, with enthusiastic devotion, to the fortunes +of Napoleon. He attracted the attention of General Bonaparte during his +first Italian campaign, where he was appointed one of his aides. +Following Napoleon to Egypt, he gained renown in many battles, and was +speedily promoted to the rank of chief of battalion, and then to general +of brigade. At Jaffa he performed a deed of gallantry, which was +rewarded by the applauding shouts of nearly the whole army. At Jean +d'Acre he led one of the most bloody and obstinate assaults recorded in +the military annals of France, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span>where he was severely wounded by the +bursting of a howitzer. At the battle of Aboukir he won great applause. +Napoleon's attachment to this young officer was such, that he took him +to Paris on his return from Egypt. In the eventful day of the 18th +Brumaire, Duroc stood by the side of Napoleon, and rendered him eminent +service. The subsequent career of this very noble young man brilliantly +reflects his worth and character. Rapidly rising, he became grand +marshal of the palace and Duke of Friuli.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">General Duroc at Bautzen.</div> + +<p>The memorable career of General Duroc was terminated at the battle of +Bautzen, in Germany, on the 23d of May, 1813. He was struck by the last +ball thrown from the batteries of the enemy. The affecting scene of his +death was as follows:</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Death of Duroc.</div> + +<p>"In the early dawn of the morning of the 23d of May, Napoleon was on +horseback directing the movements of his troops against the routed foe. +He soon overtook the rear-guard of the enemy, which had strongly posted +its batteries on an eminence to protect the retreat of the discomfited +army. A brief but fierce conflict ensued, and one of Napoleon's aides +was struck dead at his feet. Duroc was riding by <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span>the side of the +Emperor. Napoleon turned to him and said, 'Duroc, fortune is determined +to have one of us to-day.' Hour after hour the incessant battle raged, +as the advance-guard of the Emperor drove before it the rear-guard of +the Allies. In the afternoon, as the Emperor, with a portion of the +Imperial Guard, four abreast, was passing through a ravine, enveloped in +a blinding cloud of dust and smoke, a cannon-ball, glancing from a tree, +killed one officer, and mortally wounded Duroc, tearing out his +entrails. The tumult and obscurity were such that Napoleon did not +witness the casualty. When informed of it, he seemed for a moment +overwhelmed with grief, and then exclaimed, in faltering accents,</p> + +<p>"Duroc! gracious Heaven, my presentiments never deceive me. This is a +sad day, a fatal day."</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Grief of Napoleon.</div> + +<p>Immediately alighting from his horse, he walked to and fro for a short +time absorbed in painful thoughts, while the thunders of the battle +resounded unheeded around him. Then turning to Caulaincourt, he said,</p> + +<p>"Alas! when will fate relent? When will there be an end of this? My +eagles will yet triumph, but the happiness which accompanies +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span>them is fled. Whither has he been conveyed? I must see him. Poor, poor +Duroc!"</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Affecting scene.</div> + +<p>The Emperor found the dying marshal in a cottage, still stretched upon +the camp litter by which he had been conveyed from the field. Pallid as +marble from the loss of blood, and with features distorted with agony, +he was scarcely recognizable. The Emperor approached the litter, threw +his arms around the neck of the friend he so tenderly loved, and +exclaimed, in tones of deepest grief, "Alas! then is there no hope?"</p> + +<p>"None whatever," the physicians replied.</p> + +<p>The dying man took the hand of Napoleon, and gazing upon him +affectionately, said, "Sire, my whole life has been devoted to your +service, and now my only regret is that I can no longer be useful to +you." Napoleon, in a voice almost inarticulate with emotion, said,</p> + +<p>"Duroc, there is another life. There you will await me."</p> + +<p>"Yes, sire," the marshal faintly replied, "but that will be thirty years +hence. You will then have triumphed over your enemies, and realized the +hopes of our country. I have lived an honest man. I have nothing to +reproach myself with. I have a daughter, to whom your Majesty will be a +father."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span></p><p>Napoleon was so deeply affected that he remained for some time in +silence, incapable of uttering a word, but still affectionately holding +the hand of his dying friend.</p> + +<p>Duroc was the first to break the silence. "Sire," he said, "this sight +pains you. Leave me."</p> + +<p>The Emperor pressed his hand to his lips, embraced him affectionately, +and saying sadly, "Adieu, my friend," hurried out of the room.</p> + +<p>Supported by Marshal Soult and Caulaincourt, Napoleon, overwhelmed with +grief, retired to his tent, which had been immediately pitched in the +vicinity of the cottage. "This is horrible," he exclaimed. "My +excellent, my dear Duroc! Oh, what a loss is this!"</p> + +<p>His eyes were flooded with tears, and for the moment, forgetting every +thing but his grief, he retired to the solitude of his inner tent.</p> + +<p>The squares of the Old Guard, sympathizing in the anguish of their +commander and their sovereign, silently encamped around him. Napoleon +sat alone in his tent, wrapped in his gray great-coat, his forehead +resting upon his hand, absorbed in painful musings. For some time none +of his officers were willing to intrude upon his grief. At length two of +the generals <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span>ventured to consult him respecting arrangements which it +seemed necessary to make for the following day. Napoleon shook his head +and replied, "Ask me nothing till to-morrow," and again covering his +eyes with his hand, he resumed his attitude of meditation. Night came. +One by one the stars came out. The moon rose brilliantly in the +cloudless sky. The soldiers moved with noiseless footsteps, and spoke in +subdued tones. The rumbling of wagons and the occasional boom of a +distant gun alone disturbed the stillness of the scene.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Quotation from J. T. Headley.</div> + +<p>"Those brave soldiers," says J. T. Headley, "filled with grief to see +their beloved chief bowed down by such sorrows, stood for a long time +silent and tearful. At length, to break the mournful silence, and to +express the sympathy they might not speak, the band struck up a requiem +for the dying marshal. The melancholy strains arose and fell in +prolonged echoes over the field, and swept in softened cadences on the +ear of the fainting, dying warrior. But still Napoleon moved not. They +changed the measure to a triumphant strain, and the thrilling trumpets +breathed forth their most joyful notes till the heavens rang with the +melody. Such bursts of music welcomed Napoleon <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span>as he returned, flushed +with victory, till his eye kindled with exultation. But now they fell on +a dull and listless ear. It ceased, and again the mournful requiem +filled all the air. But nothing could rouse him from his agonizing +reflections. His friend lay dying, and the heart that he loved more than +his life was throbbing its last pulsations. What a theme for a painter, +and what a eulogy was that scene! That noble heart, which the enmity of +the world could not shake, nor the terrors of the battle-field move from +its calm repose, nor even the hatred nor the insults of his at last +victorious enemies humble, here sank in the moment of victory before the +tide of affection. What military chieftain ever mourned thus on the +field of victory, and what soldiers ever loved their leader so!"</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Death of Duroc.</div> + +<p>Before the dawn of the morning Duroc expired. When the event was +announced to Napoleon, he said sadly, "All is over. He is released from +his misery. Well, he is happier than I." The Emperor ordered a monument +to be reared to his memory, and, when afterwards dying at St. Helena, +left to the daughter of Duroc one of the largest legacies bequeathed in +his will. That Duroc was worthy <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span>of this warm affection of the Emperor, +may be inferred from the following testimony of Caulaincourt, Duke of +Vicenza:</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Character of Duroc.</div> + +<p>"Marshal Duroc was one of those men who seem too pure and perfect for +this world, and whose excellence helps to reconcile us to human nature. +In the high station to which the Emperor had wisely raised him, the +grand marshal retained all the qualities of the private citizen. The +splendor of his position had not power to dazzle or corrupt him. Duroc +remained simple, natural, and independent; a warm and generous friend, a +just and honorable man. I pronounce on him this eulogy without fear of +contradiction."</p> + +<p>It is not strange that Hortense, a beautiful girl of eighteen, should +have fallen deeply in love with such a young soldier, twenty-nine years +of age. It would seem that Duroc was equally inspired with love and +admiration for Hortense. Though perhaps not positively engaged, there +was such an understanding between the young lovers that a brisk +correspondence was kept up during one of Duroc's embassies to the north.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 103-104]</a></span></p> +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 254px;"> +<img src="images/i101.jpg" class="ispace" width="254" height="450" alt="THE LOVE-LETTER." title="" /> +<span class="caption">THE LOVE-LETTER.</span> +</div> + +<p>Bourrienne, at that time the private secretary of Napoleon, says that +this correspondence <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span>was carried on by consent through his hands. With +the rapidly rising greatness of the family, there was little retirement +to be enjoyed at the Tuileries or at Malmaison. The saloons of the First +Consul were every evening crowded with guests. Youthful love is the same +passion, and the young heart throbs with the same impulses, whether in +the palace or in the cottage. When Bourrienne whispered to Hortense that +he had a letter for her from Duroc, and slipped it unperceived into her +hand, she would immediately retire to her room for its perusal; and the +moistened eyes with which she returned to the saloon testified to the +emotions with which the epistle from her lover had been read.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Family complications.</div> + +<p>But Josephine had the strongest reasons which can well be imagined for +opposing the connection with Duroc. She was a very loving mother. She +wished to do every thing in her power to promote the happiness of +Hortense, but she probably was not aware how deeply the affections of +her daughter were fixed upon Duroc. Her knowledge of the world also +taught her that almost every young lady and every young gentleman have +several loves before reaching the one which is consummated by marriage. +She had another match in view <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span>for Hortense which she deemed far more +eligible for her, and far more promotive of the happiness of the family.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The divorce suggested.</div> + +<p>Napoleon had already attained grandeur unsurpassed by any of the ancient +kings of France. Visions of still greater power were opening before him. +It was not only to him a bitter disappointment but apparently it might +prove a great national calamity that he had no heir to whom he could +transmit the sceptre which France had placed in his hands. Upon his +downfall, civil war might ravage the kingdom, as rival chieftains +grasped at the crown. It was earnestly urged upon him that the interests +of France imperiously demanded that, since he had no prospect of an heir +by Josephine, he should obtain a divorce and marry another. It was urged +that the welfare of thirty millions of people should not be sacrificed +to the inclinations of two individuals.</p> + +<p>Josephine had heard these rumors, and her life was embittered by their +terrible import. A pall of gloom shrouded her sky, and anguish began to +gnaw at her heart amidst all the splendors of the Tuileries and the +lovely retirement of Malmaison.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Character of Louis Bonaparte.</div> + +<p>Napoleon's younger brother, Louis, was of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span>nearly the same age with +Hortense. He was a young man of fine personal appearance, very +intelligent, of scholarly tastes, and of irreproachable character. +Though pensive in temperament, he had proved himself a hero on the field +of battle, and he possessed, in all respects, a very noble character. +Many of the letters which he had written from Egypt to his friends in +Paris had been intercepted by the British cruisers, and were published. +They all bore the impress of the lofty spirit of integrity and humanity +with which he was inspired. Napoleon was very fond of his brother Louis. +He would surely place him in the highest positions of wealth and power. +As Louis Bonaparte was remarkably domestic in his tastes and +affectionate in his disposition, Josephine could not doubt that he would +make Hortense happy. Apparently it was a match full of promise, +brilliant, and in all respects desirable. Its crowning excellence, +however, in the eye of Josephine was, that should Hortense marry Louis +Bonaparte and give birth to a son, Napoleon would recognize that child +as his heir. Bearing the name of Bonaparte, with the blood of the +Bonapartes in his veins, and being the child of Hortense, whom he so +tenderly loved <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span>as a daughter, the desires of Napoleon and of France +might be satisfied. Thus the terrible divorce might be averted.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Testimony of Bourrienne.</div> + +<p>It is not probable that at this time Napoleon seriously thought of a +divorce, though the air was filled with rumors put in circulation by +those who were endeavoring to crowd him to it. He loved Josephine +tenderly, and of course could not sympathize with her in those fears of +which it was impossible for her to speak to him. Bourrienne testifies +that Josephine one day said to him in confidence, veiling and at the +same time revealing her fears, "This projected marriage with Duroc +leaves me without support. Duroc, independent of Bonaparte's friendship, +is nothing. He has neither fortune, rank, nor even reputation. He can +afford me no protection against the enmity of the brothers. I must have +some more certain reliance for the future. My husband loves Louis very +much. If I can succeed in uniting my daughter to him, he will prove a +strong counterpoise to the calumnies and persecutions of my +brothers-in-law."</p> + +<p>These remarks were repeated to Napoleon. According to Bourrienne, he +replied,</p> + +<p>"Josephine labors in vain. Duroc and Hortense <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span>love each other, and they +shall be married. I am attached to Duroc. He is well born. I have given +Caroline to Murat, and Pauline to Le Clerc. I can as well give Hortense +to Duroc. He is as good as the others. He is general of division. +Besides, I have other views for Louis."</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Disappointed lovers.</div> + +<p>Josephine, however, soon won the assent of Napoleon to her views, and he +regarded with great satisfaction the union of Hortense with Louis. The +contemplated connection with Duroc was broken off. Two young hearts were +thus crushed, with cruelty quite unintentional. Duroc was soon after +married to an heiress, who brought him a large fortune, and, it is said, +a haughty spirit and an irritable temper, which embittered all his days.</p> + +<p>Hortense, disappointed, heart-broken, despairing, was weary of the +world. She probably never saw another happy day. Such is life.</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"Sorrows are for the sons of men,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And weeping for earth's daughters."<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span></p> +<h2><span class="smcap">Chapter IV.</span></h2> + +<h2><span class="smcap">The Marriage of Hortense.</span></h2> + +<h3>1804-1807</h3> + +<div class="sidenote">Stephanie Beauharnais.</div> + +<p class="n"><span style="float:left;font-size:50px;line-height:32px;padding-top:2px;padding-bottom:1px;">I</span><span style="margin-left:0%;">t</span> will be remembered that Hortense had a cousin, Stephanie, the +daughter of her father's elder brother, Marquis de Beauharnais. Though +Viscount de Beauharnais had espoused the popular cause in the desperate +struggle of the French Revolution, the marquis was an undisguised +"aristocrat." Allying himself with the king and the court, he had fled +from France with the emigrant nobles. He had joined the allied army as +it was marching upon his native land in the endeavor to crush out +popular liberty and to reinstate the Bourbons on their throne of +despotism. For this crime he was by the laws of France a traitor, doomed +to the scaffold should he be captured.</p> + +<p>The marquis, in his flight from France, had left Stephanie with her aunt +Josephine. She had sent her to the school of Madame Campan in company +with Hortense and Caroline Bonaparte. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span>Louis Bonaparte was consequently +often in the company of Stephanie, and fell desperately in love with +her. The reader will recollect the letter which Josephine wrote to +Madame Campan relative to Stephanie, which indicated that she had some +serious defects of character. Still she was a brilliant girl, with great +powers of pleasing when she condescended to use those powers.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Love of Louis Bonaparte for Stephanie.</div> + +<p>Louis Bonaparte was a very pensive, meditative young man, of poetic +temperament, and of unsullied purity of character. With such persons +love ever becomes an all-absorbing passion. It has been well said that +love is represented as a little Cupid shooting tiny arrows, whereas it +should be presented as a giant shaking the world. The secrets of the +heart are seldom revealed to others. Neither Napoleon nor Josephine were +probably at all aware how intense and engrossing was the affection of +Louis for Stephanie.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Objections to the marriage.</div> + +<p>Regenerated France was then struggling, with all its concentrated +energies, against the combined aristocracies of Europe. Napoleon was the +leader of the popular party. The father of Stephanie was in the counsels +and the army of the Allies. Already advances had <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span>been made to Napoleon, +and immense bribes offered to induce him, in treachery to the people, to +restore to the exiled Bourbons the sceptre which the confiding people +had placed in his hands. Napoleon, like all men in power, had bitter +enemies, who were ever watching for an opportunity to assail him. Should +his brother Louis marry a daughter of one of the old nobility, an avowed +aristocrat, an emigrant, a pronounced "traitor," doomed to death, should +he be captured, for waging war against his native land, it would expose +Napoleon to suspicion. His enemies would have new vantage-ground from +which to attack him, and in the most tender point.</p> + +<p>Under these circumstances Napoleon contemplated with well-founded +anxiety the idea of his brother's union with Stephanie. He was therefore +the more ready to listen to Josephine's suggestion of the marriage of +Louis and Hortense. This union in every respect seemed exceedingly +desirable. Napoleon could gratify their highest ambition in assigning to +them posts of opulence and honor. They could also be of great service to +Napoleon in his majestic plan of redeeming all Europe from the yoke of +the old feudal despotisms, and in <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span>conferring upon the peoples the new +political gospel of equal rights for all men.</p> + +<p>Napoleon had perceived this growing attachment just before he set out on +the expedition to Egypt. To check it, if possible, he sent Louis on a +very important mission to Toulon, where he kept him intensely occupied +until he was summoned to embark for Egypt. But such love as animated the +heart of Louis is deepened, not diminished, by absence. A naval officer, +who was a friend of Louis, and who was aware of his attachment for +Stephanie, remonstrated with him against a connection so injudicious.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Unavailing remonstrances.</div> + +<p>"Do you know," said he, "that a marriage of this description might be +highly injurious to your brother, and render him an object of suspicion +to the Government, and that, too, at a moment when he is setting out on +a hazardous expedition?"</p> + +<p>But Louis was in no mood to listen to such suggestions. It would appear +that Stephanie was a young lady who could very easily transfer her +affections. During the absence of Louis a match was arranged between +Stephanie and the Duke of Baden. The heart of Louis was hopelessly +crushed. He never recovered <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span>from the blow. These were the two saddened +hearts, to whom the world was shrouded in gloom, which met amidst the +splendors of the Tuileries.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Marriage of Hortense.</div> + +<p>The genius of Napoleon and the tact of Josephine were combined to unite +in marriage the disappointed and despairing lovers, Louis and Hortense. +After a brief struggle, they both sadly submitted to their fate. The +melancholy marriage scene is minutely described by Constant, one of the +officers in the household of Napoleon. The occasion was invested with +all possible splendor. A brilliant assembly attended. But as Louis led +his beautiful bride to the altar, the deepest dejection marked his +countenance. Hortense buried her eyes in her handkerchief and wept +bitterly.</p> + +<p>From that hour the alienation commenced. The grief-stricken bride, +young, inexperienced, impulsive, made no attempt to conceal the +repugnance with which she regarded the husband who had been forced upon +her. On the other hand, Louis had too much pride to pursue with his +attentions a bride whom he had reluctantly received, and who openly +manifested her aversion to him. Josephine was very sad. Her maternal +instincts revealed to <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span>her the true state of the case. Conscious that +the union, which had so inauspiciously commenced, had been brought about +by her, she exerted all her powers to promote friendly relations between +the parties. But her counsels and her prayers were alike in vain. Louis +Bonaparte, in his melancholy autobiography, writes:</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Testimony of Louis Bonaparte.</div> + +<p>"Never was there a more gloomy wedding. Never had husband and wife a +stronger presentiment of a forced and ill-suited marriage. Before the +ceremony, during the benediction, and ever afterwards, we both and +equally felt that we were not suited to each other."</p> + +<p>"I have seen," writes Constant, "a hundred times Madame Louis Bonaparte +seek the solitude of her apartment and the bosom of a friend, there to +shed her tears. She would often escape from her husband in the midst of +the saloon of the First Consul, where one saw with chagrin this young +woman, formerly glittering in beauty, and who gracefully performed the +honors of the palace, retire into a corner or into the embrasure of a +window, with some one of her intimate friends, sadly to confide her +griefs. During this interview, from which she would return with her eyes +red and flooded, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span>her husband would remain pensive and silent at the end +of the saloon."</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Statement of Napoleon.</div> + +<p>Napoleon at St. Helena, referring to this painful subject, said: "Louis +had been spoiled by reading the works of Rousseau. He contrived to agree +with his wife only for a few months. There were faults on both sides. On +the one hand, Louis was too teasing in his temper, and, on the other, +Hortense was too volatile. Hortense, the devoted, the generous Hortense, +was not entirely faultless in her conduct towards her husband. This I +must acknowledge, in spite of all the affection I bore her, and the +sincere attachment which I am sure she entertained for me. Though +Louis's whimsical humors were in all probability sufficiently teasing, +yet he loved Hortense. In such a case a woman should learn to subdue her +own temper, and endeavor to return her husband's attachment. Had she +acted in the way most conducive to her interest, she might have avoided +her late lawsuit, secured happiness to herself and followed her husband +to Holland. Louis would not then have fled from Amsterdam, and I should +not have been compelled to unite his kingdom to mine—a measure which +contributed to ruin my credit <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span>in Europe. Many other events might also +have taken a different turn. Perhaps an excuse might be found for the +caprice of Louis's disposition in the deplorable state of his health."</p> + +<p>The following admirable letter from Josephine to Hortense throws +additional light upon this unhappy union:</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Letter from Josephine to Hortense.</div> + +<p>"I was deeply grieved at what I heard a few days ago. What I saw +yesterday confirms and increases my distress. Why show this repugnance +to Louis? Instead of rendering it the more annoying, by caprice and +inequality of temper, why not endeavor to surmount it? You say he is not +amiable. Every thing is relative. If he is not so to you, he may be to +others, and all women do not see him through the veil of dislike. As for +myself, who am here altogether disinterested, I imagine that I behold +him as he is—more loving, doubtless, than lovable. But this is a great +and rare quality. He is generous, beneficent, affectionate. He is a good +father, and if you so will, he would prove a good husband. His +melancholy, and his taste for study and retirement, render him +disagreeable to you. But let me ask you, is this his fault? Do you +expect <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span>him to change his nature according to circumstances? Who could +have foreseen his altered fortune? But, according to you, he has not +even the courage to bear that fortune. This, I think, is a mistake. With +his secluded habits, and his invincible love of retirement and study, he +is out of place in the elevated rank to which he has been raised.</p> + +<p>"You wish that he resembled his brother. But he must first have his +brother's temperament. You have not failed to remark that almost our +entire existence depends upon our health, and health upon digestion. If +poor Louis's digestion were better, you would find him much more +amiable. But as he is, there is nothing to justify the indifference and +dislike you evince towards him. You, Hortense, who used to be so good, +should continue so now, when it is most requisite. Take pity on a man +who is to be pitied for what would constitute the happiness of another. +Before you condemn him, think of others who, like him, have groaned +beneath the burden of their greatness, and bathed with tears their +diadem, which they believed had never been destined for their brow. When +I advise you to love, or at least not to repulse Louis, I speak to you +as <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span>an experienced wife, a fond mother, and a friend; and in these three +characters, which are all equally dear to me, I tenderly embrace you."</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The ball of Madame Montesson.</div> + +<p>Madame Montesson gave the first ball that took place in honor of the +marriage of Louis Bonaparte and Hortense. Invitations were issued for +seven hundred persons. Though there was no imperial court at that time, +for Napoleon was but First Consul, yet every thing was arranged on a +scale of regal splendor. The foreign ambassadors were all present; and +the achievements of Napoleon had been so marvellous, and his increasing +grandeur was so sure, that all present vied alike in evincing homage to +the whole Bonaparte family. A lady who was a guest on the occasion +writes:</p> + +<p>"Every countenance beamed with joy save that of the bride, whose +profound melancholy formed a sad contrast to the happiness which she +might have been expected to evince. She was covered with diamonds and +flowers, and yet her countenance and manner showed nothing but regret. +It was easy to foresee the mutual misery that would arise out of this +ill-assorted union. Louis Bonaparte showed but <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span>little attention to his +bride. Hortense, on her part, seemed to shun his very looks, lest he +should read in hers the indifference she felt towards him. This +indifference daily augmented in spite of the affectionate advice of +Josephine, who earnestly desired to see Hortense in the possession of +that happiness and peace of mind to which she was herself a stranger. +But all her endeavors were unavailing."</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Birth of Napoleon Charles.</div> + +<p>The first child the fruit of this marriage was born in 1803, and +received the name of Napoleon Charles. Both Napoleon and Josephine were +rendered very happy by his birth. He was an exceedingly beautiful and +promising child, and they hoped that parental endearments, lavished upon +the same object, would unite father and mother more closely. Napoleon +loved the child tenderly, was ever fond of caressing him, and distinctly +announced his intention of making him his heir. All thoughts of the +divorce were banished, and a few gleams of tremulous joy visited the +heart of Josephine. But alas! these joys proved of but short duration. +It was soon manifest to her anxious view that there was no hope of any +cordial reconciliation between Louis and Hortense. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span>And nothing could +soothe the sorrow of Josephine's heart when she saw her daughter's +happiness apparently blighted forever.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Hortense Queen of Holland.</div> + +<p>Napoleon, conscious that he had been an instrument in the bitter +disappointments of Hortense and Louis, did every thing in his power to +requite them for the wrong. Upon attaining the imperial dignity, he +appointed his brother Louis constable of France, and soon after, in +1805, governor-general of Piedmont. In 1806, Schimmelpennink, grand +pensionary of Batavia, resigning his office as chief magistrate of the +United Netherlands, Napoleon raised Louis to the dignity of King of +Holland.</p> + +<p>On the 18th of June, 1806, Louis and Hortense arrived in their new +dominions. The exalted station to which Hortense was thus elevated did +not compensate her for the sadness of separation from her beloved +mother, with whom she had been so intimately associated during her whole +life. The royal pair took up their residence at the Maison de Bois, a +rural palace about three miles from the Hague. Here they received the +various deputations, and thence made their public entrée into the +capital in the midst of a scene of universal <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span>rejoicing. The pensive air +of the queen did but add to the interest which she invariably excited. +For a time she endeavored to drown her griefs in yielding herself to the +festivities of the hour. Her fine figure, noble mien, and graceful +manners fascinated all eyes and won all hearts. Her complexion was of +dazzling purity, her eyes of a soft blue, and a profusion of fair hair +hung gracefully upon her shoulders. Her conversation was extremely +lively and vivacious, having on every occasion just the right word to +say. Her dancing was said to be the perfection of grace. With such +accomplishments for her station, naturally fond of society and gayety, +and with a disposition to recompense herself, for her heart's +disappointment, in the love of her new subjects, she secured in a very +high degree the admiration of the Hollanders.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Composition of the "Romances."</div> + +<p>It was at this time that Hortense composed that beautiful collection of +airs called <i>romances</i> which has given her position among the ablest of +musical composers. "The saloons of Paris," says a French writer, "the +solitude of exile, the most remote countries, have all acknowledged the +charm of these most delightful melodies, which need no royal name to +enhance <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span>their reputation. It is gratifying to our pride of country to +hear the airs of France sung by the Greek and by the Russian, and united +to national poetry on the banks of the Thames and the Tagus. The homage +thus rendered is the more flattering because the rank of the composer is +unknown. It is their intrinsic merit which gives to these natural +effusions of female sensibility the power of universal success. If +Hortense ever experienced matrimonial felicity, it must have been at +this time."</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Madame de Staël.</div> + +<p>When Madame de Staël was living in exile in the old Castle of +Chaumont-sur-Loire, where she was joined by her beautiful friend Madame +Récamier, one of their favorite songs was that exquisite air composed by +Queen Hortense upon her husband's motto, "Do what is right, come what +may."</p> + +<p>The little son of Hortense was twining himself closely around his +mother's heart. He had become her idol. Napoleon was then in the zenith +of his power, and it was understood that Napoleon Charles was to inherit +the imperial sceptre. The warmth of his heart and his daily intellectual +development indicated that he would prove worthy of the station which he +was destined to fill.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Anecdote of Napoleon Charles.</div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span></p><p>Shortly after the queen's arrival at the Hague, she received a New +Year's present from Josephine for the young Napoleon Charles. It +consisted of a large chest filled with the choicest playthings which +Paris could present. The little boy was seated near a window which +opened upon the park. As his mother took one after another of the +playthings from the chest to exhibit to him, she was surprised and +disappointed to find that he regarded them with so much indifference. +His attention seemed to be very much occupied in looking out into the +park. Hortense said to him, "My son, are you not grateful to your +grandmamma for sending you so many beautiful presents?"</p> + +<p>"Indeed I am, mamma," he replied. "But it does not surprise me, for +grandmamma is always so good that I am used to it."</p> + +<p>"Then you are not amused with all these pretty playthings, my son?"</p> + +<p>"Oh yes, mamma, but—but then I want something else."</p> + +<p>"What is it, my darling? You know how much I love you. You may be sure +that I will give it to you."</p> + +<p>"No, mamma, I am afraid you won't. I <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span>want you to let me run about +barefooted in that puddle in the avenue."</p> + +<p>His mother of course could not grant this request, and the little fellow +mourned very justly over the misfortune of being a prince, which +prevented him from enjoying himself like other boys in playing in the +mud.</p> + +<p>Hortense, absorbed in her new cares, wrote almost daily to her mother, +giving interesting recitals of the child. She did not, however, write as +frequently to her father. Josephine wrote to her from Aix-la-Chapelle, +under date of September 8th, 1804:</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Letter from Josephine.</div> + +<p>"The news which you give me of Napoleon affords me great pleasure, my +dear Hortense; for in addition to the very tender interest I feel for +him, I appreciate all the anxieties from which you are relieved; and you +know, my dear child, that your happiness will ever constitute a part of +mine. The Emperor has read your letter. He has at times appeared to me +wounded, in not hearing from you. He would not accuse your heart if he +knew you as well as I do. But appearances are against you. Since he may +suppose that you neglect him, do not lose a moment to repair the wrongs +which are not intentional. Say to him that it <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span>is through discretion +that you have not written to him; that your heart suffers from that law +which even respect dictates; that having always manifested towards you +the goodness and tenderness of a father, it will ever be your happiness +to offer to him the homage of gratitude.</p> + +<p>"Speak to him also of the hope you cherish of seeing me at the period of +your confinement. I can not endure the thought of being absent from you +at that time. Be sure, my Hortense, that nothing can prevent me from +going to take care of you for your sake, and still more for my own. Do +you speak of this also to Bonaparte, who loves you as if you were his +own child. And this greatly increases my attachment for him. Adieu, my +good Hortense. I embrace you with the warmest affections of my heart."</p> + +<p>Soon after this Hortense gave birth to her second child, Napoleon Louis. +The health of the mother not long after the birth of the child rendered +it necessary for her to visit the waters of St. Armand. It seems that +little Napoleon Louis was placed under the care of a nurse where +Josephine could often see him. The Empress wrote to Hortense from St. +Cloud on the 20th of July, 1805:</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Letter from Josephine.</div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span></p><p>"My health requires that I should repose a little from the fatigues of +the long journey which I have just made, and particularly from the grief +which I have experienced in separating myself from Eugene in Italy. I +received yesterday a letter from him. He is very well, and works hard. +He greatly regrets being separated from his mother and his beloved +sister. Alas! there are unquestionably many people who envy his lot, and +who think him very happy. Such persons do not read his heart. In writing +to you, my dear Hortense, I would only speak to you of my tenderness for +you, and inform you how happy I have been to have your son Napoleon +Louis with me since my return.</p> + +<p>"The Emperor, without speaking to me about it, sent to him immediately +on our arrival at Fontainebleau. I was much touched by this attention on +his part. He had perceived that I had need of seeing a second +<i>yourself</i>; a little charming being created by thee. The child is very +well. He is very happy. He eats only the soup which his nurse gives him. +He never comes in when we are at the table. The Emperor caresses him +very much. Eugene has given me, for you, a necklace of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span>malachite, +engraved in relief. M. Bergheim will hand you one which I purchased at +Milan. It is composed of engraved amethysts, which will be very becoming +upon your beautiful white skin. Give my most affectionate remembrance to +your husband. Embrace for me Napoleon Charles, and rely, my dear +daughter, upon the tenderness of your mother,</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"<span class="smcap">Josephine.</span>"<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129-130]</a></span></p> +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 251px;"> +<img src="images/i126.jpg" class="ispace" width="251" height="450" alt="THE LITTLE PRINCE CHARLES NAPOLEON." title="" /> +<span class="caption">THE LITTLE PRINCE CHARLES NAPOLEON.</span> +</div> + +<div class="sidenote">Campaigns of Jena and Friedland.<br />Anecdote.</div> + +<p>At midnight, on the 24th of September, 1806, Napoleon left Paris to +repel a new coalition of his foes in the campaigns of Jena, Auerstadt, +Eylau, and Friedland. Josephine accompanied her husband as far as +Mayence, where she remained, that she might more easily receive tidings +from him. Just before leaving Paris, Napoleon reviewed the Imperial +Guard in the court-yard of the Tuileries. After the review he entered +the saloon of Josephine. Throwing down his hat and sword upon the sofa, +he took the arm of the Empress, and they together walked up and down the +room, earnestly engaged in conversation. Little Napoleon Charles, who +was on a visit to his grandmother, picked up the Emperor's cocked hat, +placed it upon his head, and putting <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span>the sword-belt over his neck, +with the dangling sword, began strutting behind the Emperor with a very +military tread, attempting to whistle a martial air. Napoleon, turning +around, saw the child, and catching him up in his arms, hugged and +kissed him, saying to Josephine, "What a charming picture!" Josephine +immediately ordered a portrait to be taken by the celebrated painter +Gerard of the young prince in that costume. She intended to send it a +present to the Emperor as a surprise.</p> + +<p>The Empress remained for some time at Mayence and its environs, daily +writing to the Emperor, and almost daily, sometimes twice a day, +receiving letters from him. These notes were very brief, but always bore +the impress of ardent affection.</p> + +<p>On the 13th of January, 1806, Eugene was very happily married to the +Princess Augusta Amélie, daughter of the Elector of Bavaria. When +Josephine heard of the contemplated connection, she wrote to Hortense:</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Letter from Josephine to Hortense.</div> + +<p>"You know very well that the Emperor would not marry Eugene without my +knowledge. Still I accept the public rumor. I should love very much to +have her for a daughter-in-law. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span>She is a charming character, and +beautiful as an angel. She unites to an elegant figure the most graceful +carriage I have ever known."</p> + +<p>A few days after, on the 9th of January, she wrote from Munich: "I am +not willing to lose a moment, my dear Hortense, in informing you that +the marriage of Eugene with the daughter of the Elector of Bavaria is +just definitely arranged. You will appreciate, as I do, all the value of +this new proof of the attachment which the Emperor manifests for your +brother. Nothing in the world could be more agreeable to me than this +alliance. The young princess unites to a charming figure all the +qualities which can render a woman interesting and lovely. The marriage +is not to be celebrated here, but in Paris. Thus you will be able to +witness the happiness of your brother, and mine will be perfect, since I +shall find myself united to both of my dear children."</p> + +<p>The arrangements were changed subsequently, and the nuptials were +solemnized in Munich. Napoleon wrote as follows to Hortense:</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i25">"Munich, January 9th, 1806.</span> +</div></div> + +<p>"<span class="smcap">My Daughter</span>,—Eugene arrives to-morrow, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span>and is to be married in four +days. I should have been very happy if you could have attended his +marriage, but there is no longer time. The Princess Augusta is tall, +beautiful, and full of good qualities, and you will have, in all +respects, a sister worthy of you. A thousand kisses to M. Napoleon.</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"<span class="smcap">Napoleon.</span>"</span> +</div></div> + +<p>The Empress, after remaining some time at Mayence, as the campaign on +the banks of the Vistula was protracted, returned to Paris. In a state +of great anxiety with regard to her husband, she took up her residence +at St. Cloud. Under date of March, 1807, she wrote to her daughter, then +queen of Holland, residing at the Hague:</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Josephine to Hortense.</div> + +<p>"I have received much pleasure in speaking of you with M. Jansens. I +perceive, from what he tells me respecting Holland, that the king is +very much beloved, and that you share in the general affection. This +renders me happy. My health is very good at the present moment, but my +heart is always sad.</p> + +<p>"All the private letters which I have seen agree in the declaration that +the Emperor exposed himself very much at the battle of Eylau. +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span>I frequently receive tidings from him, and sometimes two letters a day. +This is a great consolation, but it does not replace him."</p> + +<p>That Napoleon, in the midst of the ten thousand cares of so arduous a +campaign, could have found time to write daily to Josephine, and often +twice a day, is surely extraordinary. There are not many husbands, it is +to be feared, who are so thoughtful of the anxieties of an absent wife.</p> + +<p>Early in May the Empress received the portrait, of which we have spoken, +of her idolized grandchild, Napoleon Charles, in his amusing military +costume. She was intending to send it as a pleasing memorial to the +Emperor in his distant encampment.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Death of Napoleon Charles.</div> + +<p>Just then she received the dreadful tidings that little Napoleon Charles +had been taken sick with the croup, and, after the illness of but a few +hours, had died. It was the 5th of May, 1807. Josephine was in Paris; +Hortense at the Hague, in Holland; Napoleon was hundreds of leagues +distant in the north, with his army almost buried in snow upon the banks +of the Vistula.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Anguish of Hortense.</div> + +<p>The world perhaps has never witnessed the death of a child which has +caused so much anguish. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span>Hortense did not leave her son for a moment, as +the terrible disease advanced to its termination. When he breathed his +last she seemed completely stunned. Not a tear dimmed her eye. Not a +word, not a moan was uttered. Like a marble statue, she sat upon the +sofa where the child had died, gazing around her with a look of wild, +amazed, delirious agony. With much difficulty she was taken from the +room, being removed on the sofa upon which she reclined. Her anguish was +so great that for some time it was feared that reason was dethroned, and +that the blow would prove fatal. Her limbs were rigid, and her dry and +glassy eye was riveted upon vacancy. At length, in the endeavor to bring +her out from this dreadful state, the lifeless body of the child, +dressed for the grave, was brought in and placed in the lap of its +mother. The pent-up anguish of Hortense now found momentary relief in a +flood of tears, and in loud and uncontrollable sobbings.</p> + +<p>The anguish of Josephine surpassed, if possible, even that of Hortense. +The Empress knew that Napoleon had selected this child as his heir; that +consequently the terrible divorce was no longer to be thought of. In +addition <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span>to the loss of one she so tenderly loved, rose the fear that +his death would prove to her the greatest of earthly calamities. For +three days she could not leave her apartment, and did nothing but weep.</p> + +<p>The sad intelligence were conveyed to Napoleon in his cheerless +encampment upon the Vistula. As he received the tidings he uttered not a +word. Sitting down in silence, he buried his face in his hand, and for a +long time seemed lost in painful musings. No one ventured to disturb his +grief with attempted consolation.</p> + +<p>As soon as Josephine was able to move, she left Paris to visit her +bereaved, heart-broken daughter. But her strength failed her by the way, +and when she reached Luchen, a palace near Brussels, she was able to +proceed no farther. She wrote as follows to Hortense:</p> + + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i25">"Luchen, May 14th, 1807—10 o'clock <span class="smcap">P.M.</span><br /></span> +</div></div> + +<div class="sidenote">Letter of condolence.</div> + +<p>"I have arrived this moment at the chateau of Luchen, my dear daughter. +It is there I write to you, and there I await you. Come to restore me to +life. Your presence is necessary to me, and you must also feel the need +of seeing me, that you may weep with your mother. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span>I earnestly wish to +proceed farther, but my strength has failed me, and moreover I have not +had time to apprise the Emperor. I have found strength to come thus far. +I hope you also will find strength to come and see your mother."</p> + +<p>Hortense immediately repaired to Luchen to seek a mother's sympathy. +With Josephine she returned to Paris, and soon after, by the entreaties +of her physician, continued her journey to take the waters of a mineral +spring in the south of France, seeking a change of climate and of scene. +Josephine remained in the depths of sorrow at St. Cloud. On the same day +in which Josephine arrived at Luchen, the Emperor wrote to her from the +Vistula as follows:</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i25">"Finckenstein, May 14th, 1807.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<div class="sidenote">Napoleon to Hortense.</div> + +<p>"I can appreciate the grief which the death of poor Napoleon has caused. +You can understand the anguish which I experience. I could wish that I +were with you, that you might become moderate and discreet in your +grief. You have had the happiness of never losing any children. But it +is one of the conditions and sorrows attached to suffering humanity. Let +me hear that you have become reasonable <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span>and tranquil. Would you magnify +my anguish?"</p> + +<p>Two days after Napoleon wrote the Empress:</p> + +<p>"I have received your letter of the sixth of May. I see in it already +the injury which you are suffering, and I fear that you are not +reasonable, and that you afflict yourself too much from the calamity +which has befallen us.</p> + +<p>"Adieu my love. Entirely thine,</p> +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"<span class="smcap">Napoleon</span>."<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>Again, after the lapse of four days, he wrote:</p> + +<p>"I have received your letter of the tenth of May. I see that you have +gone to Luchen. I think that you may rest there a fortnight. That will +give much pleasure to the Belgians, and will serve to divert your mind. +I see with pain that you are not wise. Grief has bounds which it should +not pass. Preserve yourself for your friend, and believe in all my +affection."</p> + +<p>On the same day the Emperor wrote as follows to Hortense:</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i25">"Finckenstein, May 20th, 1807.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<div class="sidenote">Napoleon to Hortense.</div> + +<p>"<span class="smcap">My Daughter</span>,—Every thing which reaches <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span>me from the Hague informs me +that you are unreasonable. However legitimate may be your grief, it +should have its bounds. Do not impair your health. Seek consolation. +Know that life is strewn with so many dangers, and may be the source of +so many calamities, that death is by no means the greatest of evils.</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"Your affectionate father,</span> +<span class="i0">"<span class="smcap">Napoleon</span>."</span> +</div></div> + +<p>It is to be borne in mind that these brief epistles were written from +the midst of one of the most arduous of campaigns. Four days after this, +on the 24th, Napoleon wrote to Josephine:</p> + +<p>"I have received your letter from Luchen. I see with pain that your +grief is still unabated, and that Hortense has not yet arrived. She is +unreasonable, and does not merit that one should love her, since she +loves only her children. Strive to calm yourself, and give me no more +pain. For every irremediable evil we should find consolation. Adieu, my +love.</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"Wholly thine,</span> +<span class="i0">"<span class="smcap">Napoleon</span>."</span> +</div></div> + +<p>After two days again the Emperor wrote to Josephine:</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Napoleon to Josephine.</div> + +<p>"I have received your letter of the 16th, and <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span>see with pleasure that +Hortense has arrived at Luchen. I am indeed grieved by what you tell me +of the state of stupor in which she still continues. She should have +more fortitude, and should govern herself. I can not conceive why they +should wish her to go to the springs. Her attention would be much more +diverted at Paris, and she would find there more consolation. Control +yourself. Be cheerful, and take care of your health. Adieu, my love. I +share deeply in all your griefs. It is painful to me that I am not with +you.</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"<span class="smcap">Napoleon</span>."</span> +</div></div> + +<p>It will be remembered that Hortense had another child, then but an +infant, by the name of Napoleon Louis. This child subsequently married a +daughter of Joseph Bonaparte, and died in a campaign in Italy, as he +espoused the popular cause in the endeavor to throw off the yoke of +Austria. The third and only surviving child, Louis Napoleon, now Emperor +of the French, was not then born.</p> + +<p>We have previously alluded in this history to a niece of Madame Campan +by the name of Adèle Auguié, who was the intimate friend and companion +of Hortense in her school-days. School-girl attachments, though often +very ardent, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span>are not generally very lasting. This one, however, proved +of life-long duration. Adèle became Madame de Broc. There is an allusion +to her in the following letter. We shall hereafter have occasion to +refer to her in describing the disaster which terminated her life. It +was the latter part of May when Hortense left her mother to journey to +the south of France. Soon after her departure Josephine wrote to her as +follows:</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i25">"St. Cloud, May 27th, 1807.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<div class="sidenote">Josephine to Hortense.</div> + +<p>"I have wept much since your departure, my dear Hortense. This +separation has been very painful to me. Nothing can give me courage to +support it but the certainty that the journey will do you good. I have +received tidings from you, through Madame Broc. I pray you to thank her +for that attention, and to request her to write to me when you may be +unable to write yourself. I had also news from your son. He is at the +chateau of Luchen, very well, and awaiting the arrival of the king. He +shares very keenly in our griefs. I have need of this consolation, for I +have had none other since your departure. Always alone by myself, every +moment dwelling upon the subject of our affliction, my tears flow +incessantly. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span>Adieu, my beloved child. Preserve yourself for a mother +who loves you tenderly."</p> + +<p>Soon after this Josephine went for a short time to Malmaison. On the 2d +of June Napoleon wrote to her from that place the following letter, +inclosing also one for Hortense.</p> + +<p>"<span class="smcap">My Love</span>,—I have learned of your arrival at Malmaison. I am displeased +with Hortense. She does not write me a word. Every thing which you say +to me of her gives me pain. Why is it that you have not been able a +little to console her? You weep. I hope that you will control your +feelings, that I may not find you overwhelmed with sadness. I have been +at Dantzic for two days. The weather is very fine, and I am well. I +think more of you than you can think of one who is absent. Adieu my +love. My most affectionate remembrance. Send the inclosed letter to +Hortense."</p> + +<p>The letter to Hortense to which Napoleon refers, was as follows:</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i25">"Dantzic, June 2d, 1807.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<div class="sidenote">Napoleon to Hortense.</div> + +<p>"<span class="smcap">My Daughter</span>,—You have not written me a word in your well-founded and +great affliction. You have forgotten every thing as if you had no other +loss to endure. I am informed <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span>that you no longer love; that you are +indifferent to every thing. I perceive it by your silence. This is not +right, Hortense. It is not what you promised me. Your child was every +thing to you. Had I been at Malmaison, I should have shared your +anguish. But I should also have wished that you would restore yourself +to your best friends. Adieu, my daughter. Be cheerful. We must learn +resignation. Cherish your health, that you may be able to fulfill all +your duties. My wife is very sad in view of your condition. Do not add +to her anguish."</p> + +<p>The next day, June 3d, the Emperor wrote to Josephine:</p> + +<p>"All the letters which come to me from St. Cloud say that you weep +continually. This is not right. It is necessary to control one's self +and to be contented. Hortense is entirely wrong. What you write me about +her is pitiful. Adieu, my love. Believe in the affection with which I +cherish you."</p> + +<p>The next day Josephine wrote from the palace of St. Cloud to Hortense, +who was then at the waters of Cauterets:</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Josephine to Hortense.</div> + +<p>"Your letter has greatly consoled me, my dear Hortense, and the tidings +of your health, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span>which I have received from your ladies, contribute very +much to render me more tranquil. The Emperor has been deeply affected. +In all his letters he seeks to give me fortitude, but I know that this +severe affliction has been keenly felt by him.</p> + +<p>"The king<a name="FNanchor_C_3" id="FNanchor_C_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_C_3" class="fnanchor">[C]</a> arrived yesterday at St. Leu. He has sent me word that he +will come to see me to-day. He will leave the little one with me during +his absence. You know how dearly I love that child, and the solicitude I +feel for him. I hope that the king will follow the same route which you +have taken. It will be, my dear Hortense, a consolation to you both to +see each other again. All the letters which I have received from him +since his departure are full of his attachment for you. Your heart is +too affectionate not to be touched by this. Adieu, my dear child. Take +care of your health. Mine can never be established till I shall no +longer suffer for those whom I love. I embrace you tenderly.</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"<span class="smcap">Josephine</span>."</span> +</div></div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span></p><p>Two days after this, on the 6th, the Emperor wrote the Empress:</p> + +<p>"I am very well, my love. Your letter of yesterday gave me much pain. It +appears that you are continually sad, and that you are not reasonable. +The weather is very bad. Adieu, my love. I love you and desire to hear +that you are cheerful and contented."</p> + +<p>On the 11th of June, Josephine again wrote to Hortense:</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Josephine to Hortense.</div> + +<p>"Your son is remarkably well. He amuses me much; he is so pleasant. I +find he has all the endearing manners of the poor child over whose loss +we weep."</p> + +<p>Again she wrote, probably the next day, in answer to a letter from +Hortense:</p> + +<p>"Your letter has affected me deeply, my dear daughter. I see how +profound and unvarying is your grief. And I perceive it still more +sensibly by the anguish which I experience myself. We have lost that +which in every respect was the most worthy to be loved. My tears flow as +on the first day. Our grief is too well-founded for reason to be able to +cause it to cease. Nevertheless, my dear Hortense, it should moderate +it. You are not alone in the world. There still remains to you <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span>a +husband and a mother, whose tender love you well know, and you have too +much sensibility to regard all that with coldness and indifference. +Think of us; and let that memory calm another well grounded and +grievous. I rely upon your attachment for me and upon the strength of +your mind. I hope also that the journey and the waters will do you good. +Your son is remarkably well. He is a charming child. My health is a +little better, but you know that it depends upon yours. Adieu. I embrace +you.</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"<span class="smcap">Josephine</span>."</span> +</div></div> + +<p>On the 16th of June, Napoleon again wrote to Hortense from his distant +encampment:</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Napoleon to Hortense.</div> + +<p>"<span class="smcap">My Daughter</span>,—I have received your letter dated Orleans. Your griefs +touch my heart, but I could wish that you would summon more fortitude. +To live is to suffer, and the sincere man suffers incessantly to retain +the mastery over himself. I do not love to see you unjust towards the +little Napoleon Louis, and towards all your friends. Your mother and I +had cherished the hope of being more than we are in your heart I have +gained a great victory on the 14th of June.<a name="FNanchor_D_4" id="FNanchor_D_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_D_4" class="fnanchor">[D]</a> I <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span>am well and love you +very much. Adieu, my daughter. I embrace you with my whole heart."</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The need of charity.</div> + +<p>The above extracts from the private correspondence of Napoleon and +Josephine reveal, more clearly than any thing else could possibly do, +the anguish with which Hortense was oppressed. They also exhibit, in a +very interesting light, the affectionate relationship which existed +between the members of the Imperial family. The authenticity of the +letters is beyond all possible question. How much more charitable should +we be could we but fully understand the struggles and the anguish to +which all human hearts are exposed.</p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span></p> +<h2><span class="smcap">Chapter V.</span></h2> + +<h2><span class="smcap">Birth of Louis Napoleon and<br />the Divorce of Josephine.</span></h2> + +<h3>1808-1809</h3> + +<div class="sidenote">Birth of Louis Napoleon.</div> + +<p class="n"><span style="float:left;font-size:50px;line-height:32px;padding-top:2px;padding-bottom:1px;">T</span><span style="margin-left:0%;">he</span> latter part of July, 1807, Hortense, in the state of anguish which +the preceding chapter develops, was, with her husband, at the waters of +Cauterets, in the south of France. They were united by the ties of a +mutual grief. Napoleon was more than a thousand miles away in the north +of Europe. In considerably less than a year from that date, on the 20th +of April, 1808, Hortense gave birth, in Paris to her third child, Louis +Napoleon, now Napoleon III., Emperor of the French. Josephine was then +at Bordeaux, and wrote as follows to Hortense:</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i25">"Bordeaux, April 23d, 1808.</span> +</div></div> + +<div class="sidenote">Letter from Josephine.</div> + +<p>"I am, my dear Hortense, in an excess of joy. The tidings of your happy +accouchement were brought to me yesterday by M. de Villeneuve. I felt my +heart beat the moment <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span>I saw him enter. But I cherished the hope that he +had only good tidings to bring me, and my presentiments did not deceive +me. I have received a second letter, which assures me that you are very +well, and also your son. I know that Napoleon will console himself in +not having a sister, and that he already loves very much his brother. +Embrace them both for me. But I must not write you too long a letter +from fear of fatiguing you. Take care of yourself with the utmost +caution. Do not receive too much company at present. Let me hear from +you every day. I await tidings from you with as much impatience as I +love you with tenderness.</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"<span class="smcap">Josephine</span>."</span> +</div></div> + + +<p>The birth of this prince, Louis Napoleon, whose renown as Napoleon III. +now fills the world, and respecting whose character and achievements +there is so wonderful a diversity of sentiment among intelligent men, +took place in Paris. Napoleon was at that time upon the highest pinnacle +of prosperity. The Allies, vanquished in every conflict, seemed disposed +to give up the attempt to reinstate the Bourbons upon the throne of +France. The birth of Louis Napoleon, as a prince of the Empire, +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span>in the direct line of hereditary descent, was welcomed by the guns of +the Invalides, and by military salutes all along the lines of the +Imperial army, from Hamburg to Rome, and from the Pyrenees to the +Danube. The important event was thus announced in the Moniteur of April +21st:</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Public announcement of the birth.</div> + +<p>"Yesterday, at one o'clock, her Majesty the Queen of Holland was safely +delivered of a prince. In conformity with Article 40, of the Act of the +Constitution of 28 Floreal, year 12, the Chancellor of the Empire +attested the birth, and wrote immediately to the Emperor, the Empress, +and the King of Holland, to communicate the intelligence. At five +o'clock in the evening, the act of birth was received by the arch +chancellor, assisted by his eminence, Reynault de St. Jean d'Angely, +minister of state and state secretary of the Imperial family. In the +absence of the Emperor, the new-born prince has not yet received his +name. This will be provided for by an ulterior act, according to the +orders of his Majesty."</p> + +<p>By a decree of the Senate, these two children of Louis Bonaparte and +Hortense were declared heirs to the Imperial throne, should Napoleon and +his elder brother Joseph die <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span>without children. This decree of the +Senate was submitted to the acceptation of the French people. With +wonderful unanimity it was adopted. There were 3,521,675 votes in the +affirmative, and but 2599 in the negative.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Napoleon's attachment to his nephews.</div> + +<p>Napoleon ever manifested the deepest interest in these two children. At +the time of the birth of Louis Napoleon he was at Bayonne, arranging +with the Spanish princes for the transfer of the crown of Spain to +Joseph Bonaparte. Josephine was at Bordeaux. From this interview he +passed, in his meteoric flight, to the Congress of Kings at Erfurt, but +a few miles from the battle-field of Jena. It was here that the +celebrated historian Müller met the Emperor and gave the following +testimony as to the impression which his presence produced upon his +mind:</p> + +<p>"Quite impartially and truly, as before God, I must say, that the +variety of his knowledge, the acuteness of his observation, the solidity +of his understanding, filled me with astonishment. His manner of +speaking to me inspired me with love for him. It was one of the most +remarkable days of my life. By his genius and his disinterested goodness +he has conquered me also."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span></p><p>Hortense, with a saddened spirit, now lived in great seclusion, devoting +herself almost exclusively to the education of her two sons, Napoleon +Louis and Louis Napoleon. Her bodily health was feeble, and she was most +of the time deeply dejected. In May, 1809, Hortense, without consulting +the Emperor, who was absent in Germany, took the two princes with her to +the baths of Baden, where they were exposed to the danger of being +seized and held as hostages by the Austrians. The solicitude of the +Emperor for them may be seen in the following letter:</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i25">"Ebersdorf, May 28th, 1809.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<div class="sidenote">Letter from Napoleon.</div> + +<p>"<span class="smcap">My Daughter</span>,—I am very much displeased, (<i>très mécontent</i>) that you +should have left France without my permission, and particularly that you +should have taken my nephews from France. Since you are at the waters of +Baden, remain there. But in one hour after the reception of this letter, +send my two nephews to Strasbourg, near to the Empress. They ought never +to leave France. It is the first time that I have had occasion to be +dissatisfied with you. But you ought not to dispose of my nephews +without my permission. You ought <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span>to perceive the mischievous effects +which that may produce.</p> + +<p>"Since the waters of Baden are beneficial to you, you can remain there +some days. But I repeat to you, do not delay for a moment sending my +nephews to Strasbourg. Should the Empress go to the waters of Plombières +they can accompany her there. But they ought never to cross the bridge +of Strasbourg. Your affectionate father,</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"<span class="smcap">Napoleon</span>."<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>This letter was sent to Josephine to be transmitted by her to Hortense. +She received it on the first of June, and immediately sent it to her +daughter, with a letter which implies that Hortense had already +anticipated the wishes of Napoleon, and had sent the princes, after a +brief visit, to Josephine at Strasbourg. Soon after this it would seem +that little Louis Napoleon, who was evidently the favorite of his +grandmother, perhaps because he was more with her, accompanied Josephine +to St Cloud. About a fortnight after this she wrote to Hortense from +that palace:</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Josephine to Hortense.</div> + +<p>"I am happy to have your son with me. He is charming. I am attached to +him more and more, in thinking he will be a solace to <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span>you. His little +reasons amuse me much. He grows every day, and his complexion is very +fine. I am far from you, but I frequently embrace your son, and love to +imagine to myself that it is my dear daughter whom I embrace."</p> + +<p>And now we approach that almost saddest of earth's tragedies, the +divorce of Josephine—the great wrong and calamity of Napoleon's life. +The event had so important a bearing upon the character and the destiny +of Hortense as to demand a brief recital here.</p> + +<p>It is often difficult to judge of the <i>motives</i> of human actions; but at +times circumstances are such that it is almost impossible to misjudge +the causes which lead to conduct. General Savary, Duke of Rovigo, the +intimate personal friend of the Emperor, and one better acquainted with +his secret thoughts than any other person, gives the following account +of this momentous and fatal act:</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Remarks of the Duke of Rovigo.</div> + +<p>"A thousand idle stories have been related concerning the Emperor's +motives for breaking the bonds he had contracted upwards of fifteen +years before, and separating from one who was the partner of his life +during the most stormy events of his glorious career. It was ascribed +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span>to his ambition to connect himself with royal blood; and malevolence has +delighted in spreading the report that to this consideration he had +sacrificed every other. This opinion was quite erroneous, and he was as +unfairly dealt with, upon the subject, as all persons are who happen to +be placed above the level of mankind.</p> + +<p>"Nothing can be more true than that the sacrifice of the object of his +affections was the most painful that he experienced throughout his life; +and that he would have preferred adopting any course than the one to +which he was driven by the motives which I am about to relate. Public +opinion in general was unjust to the Emperor, when he placed the +imperial crown upon his head. A feeling of personal ambition was +supposed to be the main-spring of all his actions. This was, however, a +very mistaken impression. I have already mentioned with what reluctance +he had altered the form of government, and that if he had not been +apprehensive that the State would fall again a prey to those dissensions +which are inseparable from an elective form of government, he would not +have changed an order of things which appeared to have been the first +solid conquest achieved by the revolution. Ever <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span>since he had brought +back the nation to monarchical principles, he had neglected no means of +consolidating institutions which permanently secured those principles, +and yet firmly established the superiority of modern ideas over +antiquated customs. Differences of opinion could no longer create any +disturbance respecting the form of government, when his career should be +closed.</p> + +<p>"But this was not enough. It was further requisite that the line of +inheritance should be defined in so clear a manner that, at his death, +no pretense might be made for the contention of any claimants to the +throne. For if such a misfortune were to take place, the least foreign +intervention would have sufficed to revive a spirit of discord among us. +This feeling of personal ambition consisted in this case, in a desire to +hand his work down to posterity, and to resign to his successor a state +resting upon his numerous trophies for its stability. He could not have +been blind to the fact, that the perpetual warfare into which a jealousy +of his strength had plunged him, had, in reality, no other object than +his own downfall, because with him must necessarily crumble that +gigantic power which was no longer upheld by <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</a></span>the revolutionary energy +he himself had repressed.</p> + +<p>"The Emperor had not any children. The Empress had two, but he never +could have entertained a thought of them without exposing himself to the +most serious inconveniences. I believe, however, that if the two +children of Josephine had been the only ones in his family, he would +have made some arrangement for securing the inheritance to Eugene. He +however dismissed the idea of appointing him his heir, because he had +nearer relations, and it would have given rise to dissensions which it +was his principal object to avoid. He also considered the necessity in +which he was placed of forming an alliance sufficiently powerful, in +order that, in the event of his system being at any time threatened, +that alliance might be a resting-point, and save it from total ruin. He +likewise hoped that it would be the means of putting to an end that +series of wars, of which he was desirous, above all things, to avoid a +recurrence. These were the motives which determined him to break a union +so long contracted. He wished it less for himself than for the purpose +of interesting a powerful state in the maintenance of the order of +things established <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</a></span>in France. He reflected often on the mode of making +this communication to the Empress. Still he was reluctant to speak to +her. He was apprehensive of the consequences of her tenderness of +feeling. His heart was never proof against the shedding of tears."</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Testimony of Cambaceres.</div> + +<p>The arch-chancellor Cambaceres states that Napoleon communicated to him +the resolution he had adopted; alluded to the reasons for the divorce, +spoke of the anguish which the stern necessity caused his affections, +and declared his intention to invest the act with forms the most +affectionate and the most honorable to Josephine.</p> + +<p>"I will have nothing," said he, "which can resemble a repudiation; +nothing but a mere dissolution of the conjugal tie, founded upon mutual +consent; a consent itself founded upon the interests of the empire. +Josephine is to be provided with a palace in Paris, with a princely +residence in the country with an income of six hundred thousand dollars, +and is to occupy the first rank among the princesses, after the future +Empress. I wish ever to keep her near me as my best and most +affectionate friend."</p> + +<p>Josephine was in some degree aware of the doom which was impending, and +her heart was consumed by unmitigated grief. Hortense, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span>who also was +heart-stricken and world-weary, was entreated by the Emperor to prepare +her mother for the sad tidings. She did so, but very imperfectly. At +last the fatal hour arrived in which it was necessary for the Emperor to +make the dreaded announcement to the Empress. They were both at +Fontainebleau, and Hortense was with her mother. For some time there had +been much constraint in the intercourse between the Emperor and Empress; +he dreading to make the cruel communication, and her heart lacerated +with anguish in the apprehension of receiving it.</p> + +<p>It was the last day of November, 1809, cold and cheerless. Napoleon and +Josephine dined alone in silence, not a word being spoken during the +repast. At the close of the meal, Napoleon, pale and trembling, took the +hand of the Empress and said:</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The dreadful announcement.</div> + +<p>"Josephine, my own good Josephine, you know how I have loved you. It is +to you alone that I owe the few moments of happiness I have known in the +world. Josephine, my destiny is stronger than my will. My dearest +affections must yield to the welfare of France."</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Anguish of the Imperial family.</div> + +<p>All-expected as the blow was, it was none the less dreadful. Josephine +fell, apparently <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</a></span>lifeless, to the floor. The Count de Beaumont was +immediately summoned, and, with the aid of Napoleon, conveyed Josephine +to her apartment. Hortense came at once to her mother, whom she loved so +tenderly. The anguish of the scene overcame her. In respectful, though +reproachful tones, she said to the Emperor, "My mother will descend from +the throne, as she ascended it, in obedience to your will. Her children, +content to renounce grandeurs which have not made them happy, will +gladly go and devote their lives to comforting the best and the most +affectionate of mothers."</p> + +<p>Napoleon was entirely overcome. He sat down and wept bitterly. Raising +his eyes swimming in tears to his daughter, he said:</p> + +<p>"Do not leave me, Hortense. Stay by me with Eugene. Help me to console +your mother and render her calm, resigned, and even happy in remaining +my friend, while she ceases to be my wife."</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Noble conduct of Eugene.</div> + +<p>Eugene was summoned from Italy. Upon his arrival his sister threw +herself into his arms, and, after a brief interview of mutual anguish, +led him to their beloved mother. After a short interview with her, he +repaired to the cabinet of the Emperor. In respectful terms, but firm +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</a></span>and very sad, he inquired if Napoleon intended to obtain a divorce from +the Empress. Napoleon, who tenderly loved his noble son, could only +reply with the pressure of the hand. Eugene immediately recoiled and, +withdrawing his hand, said:</p> + +<p>"In that case, Sire, permit me to retire from your service."</p> + +<p>"How," exclaimed Napoleon, looking sadly upon him. "Will you, my adopted +son, forsake me?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, Sire," Eugene replied. "The son of her who is no longer Empress, +can not remain viceroy. I will follow my mother into her retreat. She +must now find her consolation in her children."</p> + +<p>Tears filled the eyes of the Emperor. "You know," said he, "the stern +necessity which compels this measure. Will you forsake me? Who then, +should I have a son, the object of my desires and preserver of my +interests, who will watch over the child when I am absent? If I die, who +will prove to him a father? Who will bring him up? Who is to make a man +of him?"</p> + +<p>Napoleon and Eugene then retired to the garden, and for a long time +walked, arm in arm, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</a></span>up and down one of its avenues, engaged in earnest +conversation. Josephine, with a mother's love, could not forget the +interests of her children, even in her own anguish.</p> + +<p>"The Emperor," she said to Eugene, "is your benefactor, your more than +father; to whom you are indebted for every thing, and to whom therefore +you owe boundless obedience."</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The divorce.</div> + +<p>A fortnight passed away and the 15th of December arrived; the day +appointed for the consummation of this cruel sacrifice. The affecting +scene transpired in the grand saloon of the palace of the Tuileries. All +the members of the imperial family were present. Eugene and Hortense +were with their mother, sustaining her with their sympathy and love. An +extreme pallor overspread the countenance of Napoleon, as he addressed +the assembled dignitaries of the empire.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The scene of the divorce.</div> + +<p>"The political interests of my monarchy," said he, "and the wishes of my +people, which have constantly guided my actions, require that I should +transmit to an heir, inheriting my love for the people, the throne on +which Providence has placed me. For many years I have lost all hope of +having children by my beloved spouse the Empress Josephine. It is this +consideration <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</a></span>which induces me to sacrifice the dearest affections of +my heart, to consult only the good of my subjects, and to desire the +dissolution of our marriage. Arrived at the age of forty years, I may +indulge the reasonable hope of living long enough to rear, in the spirit +of my own thoughts and disposition, the children with which it may +please Providence to bless me. God knows how much such a determination +has cost my heart. But there is no sacrifice too great for my courage +when it is proved to be for the interest of France. Far from having any +cause of complaint, I have nothing to say but in praise of the +attachment and tenderness of my beloved wife. She has embellished +fifteen years of my life, and the remembrance of them will be forever +engraven on my heart. She was crowned by my hand. She shall always +retain the rank and title of Empress. Above all, let her never doubt my +affection, or regard me but as her best and dearest friend."</p> + +<p>Josephine now endeavored to fulfill her part in this sad drama. +Unfolding a paper, she vainly strove to read her assent to the divorce. +But tears blinded her eyes and emotion choked her voice. Handing the +paper to a friend and <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</a></span>sobbing aloud, she sank into a chair and buried +her face in her handkerchief. Her friend, M. Reynaud, read the paper, +which was as follows:</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg 165-166]</a></span></p> +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 250px;"> +<img src="images/i162.jpg" class="ispace" width="250" height="450" alt="THE DIVORCE ANNOUNCED." title="" /> +<span class="caption">THE DIVORCE ANNOUNCED.</span> +</div> + +<p>"With the permission of my august and dear spouse, I must declare that, +retaining no hope of having children who may satisfy the requirements of +his policy and the interests of France, I have the pleasure of giving +him the greatest proof of attachment and devotedness which was ever +given on earth. I owe all to his bounty. It was his hand that crowned +me, and on his throne I have received only manifestations of love and +affection from the French people. I respond to all the sentiments of the +Emperor, in consenting to the dissolution of a marriage which is now an +obstacle to the happiness of France, by depriving it of the blessing of +being one day governed by the descendants of that great man who was +evidently raised up by Providence to efface the evils of a terrible +revolution, and to restore the altar, the throne, and social order. But +the dissolution of my marriage will in no respect change the sentiments +of my heart. The Emperor will ever find in me his best friend. I know +how much this act, commanded by policy and exalted interests, has rent +his heart. But we both glory <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</a></span>in the sacrifices we make for the good +of the country."</p> + +<p>"After these words," says Thiers, "the noblest ever uttered under such +circumstances—for never, it must be confessed, did vulgar passions less +prevail in an act of this kind—Napoleon, embracing Josephine, led her +to her own apartment, where he left her, almost fainting, in the arms of +her children."</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The legal consummation.</div> + +<p>The next day the Senate was convened in the grand saloon to sanction the +legal consummation of the divorce. Eugene presided. As he announced the +desire of the Emperor and Empress for the dissolution of their marriage, +he said: "The tears of his Majesty at this separation are sufficient for +the glory of my mother." The description of the remaining scenes of this +cruel tragedy we repeat from "Abbott's Life of Napoleon."</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The scene of the divorce.</div> + +<p>"The Emperor, dressed in the robes of state, and pale as a statue of +marble, leaned against a pillar, careworn and wretched. Folding his arms +upon his breast, with his eyes fixed upon vacancy, he stood in gloomy +silence. It was a funereal scene. The low hum of mournful voices alone +disturbed the stillness of the room. A circular table was placed in the +centre of the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</a></span>apartment. Upon it there was a writing apparatus of gold. +A vacant arm-chair stood before the table. The company gazed silently +upon it as the instrument of the most soul-harrowing execution.</p> + +<p>"A side door opened, and Josephine entered. Her face was as white as the +simple muslin robe which she wore. She was leaning upon the arm of +Hortense, who, not possessing the fortitude of her mother, was sobbing +convulsively. The whole assembly, upon the entrance of Josephine, +instinctively arose. All were moved to tears. With her own peculiar +grace, Josephine advanced to the seat provided for her. Leaning her pale +forehead upon her hand, she listened with the calmness of stupor to the +reading of the act of separation. The convulsive sobbings of Hortense, +mingled with the subdued and mournful tones of the reader's voice, added +to the tragic impressiveness of the scene. Eugene, pale and trembling, +stepped forward and took a position by the side of his adored mother, to +give her the moral support of his near presence.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Josephine, Eugene, Hortense.</div> + +<p>"As soon as the reading of the act of separation was finished, +Josephine, for a moment, in anguish pressed her handkerchief to her +eyes, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</a></span>and rising, in tones clear, musical, but tremulous with repressed +emotion, pronounced the oath of acceptance. She sat down, took the pen, +and affixed her signature to the deed which sundered the dearest hopes +and the fondest ties which human hearts can feel. Eugene could endure +this anguish no longer. His brain reeled, his heart ceased to beat, and +fainting, he fell senseless to the floor. Josephine and Hortense +retired, with the attendants who bore out the inanimate form of the +affectionate son and brother. It was a fitting termination of the +heart-rending yet sublime tragedy.</p> + +<p>"Josephine remained in her chamber overwhelmed with speechless grief. A +sombre night darkened over the city, oppressed by the gloom of this +cruel sacrifice. The hour arrived at which Napoleon usually retired for +sleep. The Emperor, restless and wretched, had just placed himself in +the bed from which he had ejected his faithful and devoted wife, when +the private door of his chamber was slowly opened, and Josephine +tremblingly entered.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Affecting interview.</div> + +<p>"Her eyes were swollen with weeping, her hair disordered, and she +appeared in all the dishabille of unutterable anguish. Hardly conscious +of what she did, in the delirium of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</a></span>her woe, she tottered into the +middle of the room and approached the bed of her former husband. Then +irresolutely stopping, she buried her face in her hands and burst into a +flood of tears.</p> + +<p>"A feeling of delicacy seemed, for a moment, to have arrested her +steps—a consciousness that she had <i>now</i> no right to enter the chamber +of Napoleon. In another moment all the pent-up love of her heart burst +forth, and forgetting every thing in the fullness of her anguish, she +threw herself upon the bed, clasped Napoleon's neck in her arms, and +exclaiming, 'My husband! my husband!' sobbed as though her heart were +breaking. The imperial spirit of Napoleon was entirely vanquished. He +also wept convulsively. He assured Josephine of his love—of his ardent, +undying love. In every way he tried to soothe and comfort her. For some +time they remained locked in each other's embrace. The valet-de-chambre, +who was still present, was dismissed, and for an hour Napoleon and +Josephine continued together in this their last private interview. +Josephine then, in the experience of an intensity of anguish such as few +human hearts have ever known, parted forever from the <i>husband</i> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</a></span>whom she had so long and so faithfully loved."</p> + +<p>Josephine having withdrawn, an attendant entered the apartment to remove +the lights. He found the Emperor so buried beneath the bedclothes as to +be invisible. Not a word was uttered. The lights were removed, and the +unhappy monarch was left alone in darkness and silence to the melancholy +companionship of his own thoughts. The next morning the death-like +pallor of his cheek, his sunken eye, and the haggard expression of his +countenance, attested that the Emperor had passed the night in +sleeplessness and in suffering.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Grief of Napoleon.</div> + +<p>The grief of Napoleon was unquestionably sincere. It could not but be +so. He was influenced by no vagrant passion. He had formed no new +attachment. He truly loved Josephine. He consequently resolved to retire +for a time to the seclusion of Trianon, at Versailles. He seemed +desirous that the externals of mourning should accompany an event so +mournful.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Testimony of Baron Meneval.</div> + +<p>"The orders for the departure for Trianon," writes the Baron Meneval, +Napoleon's private secretary, "had been previously given. When in the +morning the Emperor was informed <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</a></span>that his carriages were ready, he took +his hat and said, 'Meneval, come with me.' I followed him by the little +winding staircase which, from his cabinet, communicated with the +apartment of the Empress. Josephine was alone, and appeared absorbed in +the most melancholy reflections. At the noise which we made in entering, +she eagerly rose and threw herself sobbing upon the neck of the Emperor. +He pressed her to his bosom with the most ardent embraces.</p> + +<p>"In the excess of her emotion she fainted. I rang the bell for succor. +The Emperor wishing to avoid the renewal of scenes of anguish which he +could no longer alleviate, placed the Empress in my arms as soon as she +began to revive. Directing me not to leave her, he hastily retired to +his carriage which was waiting for him at the door. The Empress, +perceiving the departure of the Emperor, redoubled her tears and moans. +Her women placed her upon a sofa. She seized my hands, and frantically +urged me to entreat Napoleon not to forget her, and to assure him that +her love would survive every event.</p> + +<p>"She made me promise to write her immediately on my arrival at Trianon, +and to see <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</a></span>that the Emperor wrote to her also. She could hardly consent +to let me go, as if my departure would break the last tie which still +connected her with the Emperor. I left her, deeply moved by the +exhibition of a grief so true and an attachment so sincere. I was +profoundly saddened during my ride, and I could not refrain from +deploring the rigorous exigencies of state which rudely sundered the +ties of a long-tried affection, to impose another union offering only +uncertainties. Having arrived at Trianon, I gave the Emperor a faithful +account of all that had transpired after his departure. He was still +oppressed by the melancholy scenes through which he had passed. He dwelt +upon the noble qualities of Josephine, and upon the sincerity of the +affection which she cherished for him. He ever after preserved for her +the most tender attachment. The same evening he wrote to her a letter to +console her solitude." The letter was as follows:</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Letter from Napoleon to Josephine.</div> + +<p>"My love, I found you to-day more feeble than you ought to be. You have +exhibited much fortitude, and it is necessary that you should still +continue to sustain yourself. You must not yield to funereal melancholy. +Strive<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</a></span> to be tranquil, and, above, all, to preserve your health, which +is so precious to me. If you are attached to me, if you love me, you +must maintain your energy and strive to be cheerful. You can not doubt +my constancy and my tender affection. You know too well all the +sentiments with which I regard you to suppose that I can be happy if you +are unhappy, that I can be serene if you are agitated. Adieu, my love. +Sleep well. Believe that I wish it.</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"<span class="smcap">Napoleon</span>."</span> +</div></div> + +<div class="sidenote">The retirement of Josephine.</div> + +<p>After the departure of the Emperor, at eleven o'clock in the morning all +the household of the Tuileries were assembled upon the grand staircase, +to witness the retirement of their beloved mistress from the scenes +where she had so long been the brightest ornament. Josephine descended +from her apartment veiled from head to foot. Her emotions were too deep +for utterance. Silently she waved an adieu to the affectionate and +weeping friends who surrounded her. A close carriage with six horses was +before the door. She entered it, sank back upon the cushions, buried her +face in her handkerchief, and, sobbing bitterly, left the Tuileries +forever.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Josephine at Malmaison.</div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</a></span></p><p>After the divorce, Josephine spent most of her time at the beautiful +chateau of Malmaison, which had been assigned to her, or at the palace +of Navarre, which was embellished for her at an expense of two hundred +thousand dollars. She retained the title of Empress, and received a +jointure of about six hundred thousand dollars a year. Almost daily +letters were exchanged between her and the Emperor, and he frequently +visited her. But from motives of delicacy he never saw her alone. We +know of nothing more pathetic in history than the gleams we get of these +interviews, as revealed in the "Confidential letters of Napoleon and +Josephine," whose publication was authorized by Queen Hortense, after +the death of her mother. Josephine, in the following words, describes +one of these interviews at Malmaison. It was after the marriage with +Maria Louisa.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Interview between Napoleon and Josephine.</div> + +<p>"I was one day painting a violet, a flower which recalled to my memory +my more happy days, when one of my women ran towards me and made a sign +by placing her finger upon her lips. The next moment I was +overpowered—I beheld Napoleon. He threw himself with transport into the +arms of his old friend. Oh, then I was convinced that he could still +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</a></span>love me; for that man really loved me. It seemed impossible for him to +cease gazing upon me, and his look was that of tender affection. At +length, in a tone of deepest compassion and love, he said:</p> + +<p>"'My dear Josephine, I have always loved you. I love you still. Do you +still love me, excellent and good Josephine? Do you still love me, in +spite of the relations I have again contracted, and which have separated +me from you? But they have not banished you from my memory.'</p> + +<p>"'Sire,' I replied—</p> + +<p>"'Call me Bonaparte,' said he; 'speak to me, my beloved, with the same +freedom, the same familiarity as ever.'</p> + +<p>"Bonaparte soon disappeared, and I heard only the sound of his retiring +footsteps. Oh, how quickly does every thing take place on earth. I had +once more felt the pleasure of being loved."</p> + +<p>In reference to this melancholy event, Napoleon said, at Saint Helena:</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Napoleon's remarks on his divorce.</div> + +<p>"My divorce has no parallel in history. It did not destroy the ties +which united our families, and our mutual tenderness remained unchanged. +Our separation was a sacrifice, demanded <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</a></span>of us by reason, for the +interests of my crown and of my dynasty. Josephine was devoted to me. +She loved me tenderly. No one ever had a preference over me in her +heart. I occupied the first place in it, her children the next. She was +right in thus loving me; and the remembrance of her is still +all-powerful in my mind. Josephine was really an amiable woman: she was +so kind, so humane. She was the best woman in France.</p> + +<p>"A son, by Josephine, would have completed my happiness, not only in a +political point of view, but as a source of domestic felicity. As a +political result it would have secured to me the possession of the +throne. The French people would have been as much attached to the son of +Josephine as they were to the King of Rome, and I should not have set my +foot on an abyss covered with a bed of flowers. But how vain are all +human calculations! Who can pretend to decide on what may lead to +happiness or unhappiness in this life!"</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Sin of the divorce.</div> + +<p>The divorce of Josephine, strong as were the political motives which led +to it, was a violation of the immutable laws of God. Like all +wrong-doing, however seemingly prosperous for a time, it promoted final +disaster and woe<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</a></span>. Doubtless Napoleon, educated in the midst of those +convulsions which had shaken all the foundations of Christian morality, +did not clearly perceive the extent of the wrong. He unquestionably felt +that he was doing right; that the interests of France demanded the +sacrifice. But the penalty was none the less inevitable. The laws of God +can not be violated with impunity, even though the violation be a sin of +ignorance.</p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</a></span></p> +<h2><span class="smcap">Chapter VI.</span></h2> + +<h2><span class="smcap">The Death of Josephine.</span></h2> + +<h3>1810-1814</h3> + +<div class="sidenote">Marriage of Napoleon and Maria Louisa.<br />Hortense goes to Navarre.</div> + +<p class="n"><span style="float:left;font-size:50px;line-height:32px;padding-top:2px;padding-bottom:1px;">F</span><span style="margin-left:0%;">rom</span> the sad scenes described in the last chapter, Eugene returned to +Italy. Hortense, in the deepest state of dejection, remained for a short +time in Paris, often visiting her mother at Malmaison. About five months +after the divorce, Napoleon was again married to Maria Louisa, daughter +of the Emperor of Austria. The marriage ceremony was first celebrated +with great pomp in Vienna, Napoleon being represented by proxy; and +again the ceremony was repeated in Paris. It devolved upon Hortense, as +the daughter of Napoleon, and the most prominent lady of his household, +to receive with smiles of welcome and cordiality of greeting the +princess who took the place of her mother. Seldom has it been the lot of +a woman to pass through a more painful ordeal. Josephine, that she might +be far removed from the tumult of Paris, rejoicing upon the arrival of +Maria Louisa, retired from Malmaison to the more distant <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</a></span>palace of +Navarre. Soon after the marriage, Hortense hastened to join her mother +there. There was at this time but little sympathy between Hortense and +her husband. The power of a great sorrow in the death of their eldest +son had for a short time brought them more closely together. There was, +however, but little compatibility in their tastes and dispositions; and +Hortense, deeming it her duty to comfort her mother, and finding more +congeniality in her society than in that of her husband, made but brief +visits to Holland.</p> + +<p>It is easy for the prosperous and the happy to be amiable. Hortense was +in a state of great physical debility, and almost every hope of her life +had been crushed out. The letters of Hortense to Josephine have not been +made public. We can only judge of their character from the replies which +her mother made. From these it would appear that scarcely did a ray of +joy illumine the gloomy path which she was destined to tread. On the 4th +of April, 1810, Josephine wrote to Hortense from Navarre:</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Letter from Josephine.</div> + +<p>"I am touched, my dear Hortense, with all the griefs which you +experience. I hope that there is no more question of your return to +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</a></span>Holland, and that you will have a little repose. I know how much you +must suffer from these disappointments, but I entreat you not to allow +yourself to be affected by them. As long as any thing remains to me you +shall be mistress of your destiny; grief and happiness—you know that I +share all with you.</p> + +<p>"Take, then, a little courage, my dear daughter. We both of us have much +need of it. Often mine is too feeble, and sorrow makes me sick. But I +seek fortitude all the time, and with my utmost efforts."</p> + +<p>Soon after this Hortense, taking her two children with her, rejoined her +husband, King Louis, in Holland. Josephine wrote to her on the 10th of +May, from Navarre:</p> + +<p>"I have received your letter, my dear Hortense, and I see, with much +pain, that your health is not good. I hope that repose will re-establish +it; and I can not doubt that the king will contribute to it every thing +in his power, by his attentions and his attachments. Every day will lead +him to see more and more how much you merit. Take care of yourself, my +dear daughter; you know how much I have need of you. My heart has +suffered to a degree which has somewhat impaired my <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</a></span>health. But +fortitude triumphs over sorrow, and I begin to be a little better."</p> + +<p>Again, on the 15th, the Empress wrote to Hortense, who was still in +Amsterdam:</p> + +<p>"I have been extremely anxious on account of your health, my dear +Hortense. I know that you have experienced several attacks of fever, and +I have need to be tranquilized.</p> + +<p>"Your letter of the 10th has just reached me, but it has not given me +the consolation I had hoped for. I see in it an abandonment of yourself, +which gives me great pain. How many ties are there which should bind you +to life! And if you have so little affection for me, is it then, when I +am no longer happy, that you can think, with so much tranquillity, of +leaving me?</p> + +<p>"Take courage, my daughter, and especially be careful of your health. I +am confident, as I have already sent you word, that the waters which +have been prescribed for you will do you good. Speak of it to the king +with frankness. He certainly will not refuse you any thing which may be +essential to your health. I am making all my arrangements to go to the +springs in the month of June. But I do not think that I shall go to +Aix-la-Chapelle, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</a></span>but rather to Aix in Savoy, which place I prefer.</p> + +<p>"Diversion of mind is necessary for my health, and I have more hope of +finding that in a place which I have never seen, and whose situation is +picturesque. The waters of Aix are particularly efficacious for the +nerves. I earnestly recommend you to take them instead of those of +Plombières. We can pass the time together. Reply to me immediately upon +this subject. We can lodge together. It will not be necessary for you to +take many companions with you. I shall take but very few, intending to +travel incognito. To-morrow I go to Malmaison, where I shall remain +until I leave for the springs. I see with pleasure that the health of +Louis Napoleon is good, and that he has not suffered from the change of +air. Embrace him for me, my dear Hortense, and love me as tenderly as I +love you.</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"<span class="smcap">Josephine</span>.</span> +</div></div> + +<p>"P. S.—Remember me to the king."</p> + +<p>For some unexplained reason, Hortense repaired first to the waters of +Plombières. Her youngest son, Louis Napoleon, was sent to Malmaison, to +be with Josephine, who so fondly <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</a></span>loved the child that she was quite +unwilling to be separated from him. Hortense took her elder child, +Napoleon Louis, with her to the springs. Here she was taken very sick. +On the 14th of June Josephine wrote her from Malmaison:</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Letter from Josephine.</div> + +<p>"I did not know how much you had suffered, my dear Hortense, until you +were better; but I had a presentiment of it, and my anxiety induced me +to write to one of your ladies, to indicate to her the telegraph from +Nancy, as a prompt resource to call a physician. You ask me what I am +doing. I had yesterday a day of happiness. The Emperor came to see me. +His presence made me happy, although it renewed my grief. These are +emotions such as one could wish often to experience.</p> + +<p>"All the time he remained with me I had sufficient fortitude to restrain +the tears which I felt were ready to flow. But after he had left, I had +no longer power to restrain them, and I found myself very unhappy. He +was kind to me, and amiable as ever; and I hope that he will have read +in my heart all the affection and all the devotion with which I cherish +him.</p> + +<p>"I spoke to him of your situation, and he listened to me with interest. +He is of opinion <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</a></span>that you should not return to Holland, the king not +having conducted as he would wish to have him. The opinion of the +Emperor is that you should take the waters for the necessary time; that +you should then write to your husband that it is the opinion of your +physicians that you should reside in a warm climate for some time, and +that consequently you are going to Italy. As to your son, the Emperor +will give orders that he is not to leave France.</p> + +<p>"I hope to see you, perhaps at Aix in Savoy, if the waters at Plombières +do not agree with you; perhaps in Switzerland, where the Emperor has +permitted me to journey. We shall be able to appoint for ourselves a +rendezvous where we may meet. Then I will relate to you with the living +voice those details which it would require too much time to write. I +intend to leave next Monday for Aix in Savoy. I shall travel incognito, +under the name of Madame d'Aubery. Your son (Louis Napoleon), who is now +here, is very well. He has rosy cheeks and a fair skin."</p> + +<p>Immediately upon Josephine's arrival at Aix, she wrote again to +Hortense, who was still at Plombières, a letter expressive of great +anxiety for her health and happiness, and entreating <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</a></span>her to come and +join her at Aix. "How I regret," she wrote, "not having known, before my +departure, the true state of your health. I should have been at +Plombières to take care of you, and I should not have experienced the +anxiety which tortures me at this great distance. My only consolation is +to think that you will soon come here. Let me soon see you. Alone, +desolate, far from all my friends, and in the midst of strangers, you +can judge how sad I am, and all the need I have of your presence."</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Louis Bonaparte abdicates.</div> + +<p>In July, Louis Bonaparte abdicated the throne of Holland. Hortense wrote +to her mother all the details of the event. Josephine engaged a cottage +at Aix for herself and Hortense. She wrote to Hortense on the 18th of +July:</p> + +<p>"I am delighted with the resolution you have taken to come here. I am +occupied, in preparing your lodgings, more pleasantly than I could have +hoped. A gentleman here has relinquished his house. I have accepted it, +for it is delightfully situated, and the view is enchanting. The houses +here are very small, but that which you will inhabit is larger. You can +ride anywhere in a calèche. You will be <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</a></span>very glad to have your own. I +have mine, and I ride out in it every day. Adieu, my dear Hortense. I am +impatient for the moment when I can embrace you."</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Madame Broc.</div> + +<p>As it was not deemed proper for the young princes, the sons of Hortense, +to leave France, they were both left at the chateau of St. Cloud, while +Hortense visited her mother at Aix. The devoted friend of Hortense, +Madame Broc, to whom we have previously alluded, accompanied the +ex-queen to Aix. The two friends frequently enjoyed long walks together +in that region full of picturesque scenery. Hortense had a very keen +appreciation of the beauties of nature, and had attained much excellence +as a landscape painter. Aix, from its deep retirement and physical +grandeur, became quite a favorite retreat. She had but little heart for +any society but that of the solitudes of nature.</p> + +<p>About the first of October Hortense returned, by the advice of the +Emperor, to Fontainebleau, where she was reunited to her two sons. +Josephine was, in the mean time, taking a short tour in Switzerland. We +have previously spoken of Hortense's taste for music, and her skill as a +composer. One of the airs, or <i>romances</i>, as they were called, composed +by Hortense <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</a></span>still retains in Europe perhaps unsurpassed popularity. It +was termed familiarly <i>Beau Dunois</i>, or the Knight Errant. Its full +title was "<i>Partant pour la Syrie, le jeune et beau Dunois.</i>"<a name="FNanchor_E_5" id="FNanchor_E_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_E_5" class="fnanchor">[E]</a></p> + +<div class="sidenote">"Partant pour la Syrie."</div> + +<p>Josephine, writing from Geneva to Hortense at Fontainebleau, says: "I +have heard sung all over Switzerland your romance of Beau Dunois! I have +even heard it played upon the piano with beautiful variations." +Josephine soon returned to Navarre, which at that time she preferred to +Malmaison, as it was farther removed from the capital, and from the +tumult of joy with which the birth of the child of Maria Louisa would be +received. On the 20th of March, 1811, all France resounded with +acclamations at the birth of the young King of Rome. Hortense, devoting +herself to her children, remained in Paris and its environs. In the +autumn of this year Josephine left Navarre, and returned to Malmaison to +spend the winter there. Hortense and her husband, though much estranged +from each other, and living most of the time apart, were still not +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</a></span>formally separated, and occasionally dwelt together. The ostensible +cause of the frequent absence of Hortense from her husband was the state +of her health, rendering it necessary for her to make frequent visits to +the springs, and the griefs of her mother requiring often the solace of +her daughter's presence.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Illness of Napoleon Louis.</div> + +<p>Louis Bonaparte owned a very beautiful estate, called St. Leu, in +France. Early in May, 1812, Napoleon left Paris for the fatal campaign +to Moscow. Just before his departure, he called at Malmaison and took an +affectionate leave of Josephine. Hortense was at St. Leu, with her +children. After a short visit which Josephine made to St. Leu, and which +she describes as delightful, she returned to Malmaison, and Hortense +went to the springs of Aix-la-Chapelle, taking her two children with +her. Here Napoleon Louis was attacked with scarlet fever, which caused +his mother and the Empress great anxiety.</p> + +<p>Josephine wrote to her, on the 28th of July: "You are very kind not to +have forgotten me in the midst of your anxiety for your son. Embrace for +me that dear child, and my little <i>Oui Oui</i>" (yes, yes).<a name="FNanchor_F_6" id="FNanchor_F_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_F_6" class="fnanchor">[F]</a> Again she +wrote, two days <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</a></span>after: "I hope that our dear Napoleon continues to +improve, and that the little <i>Oui Oui</i> is doing well." Eugene, leaving +his amiable and much-loved wife and little family at Milan, had +accompanied Napoleon on his Russian campaign. During his absence +Josephine visited Milan, and there, as everywhere else, won the love of +all who saw her. Hortense, with her children, was most of the time in +Paris. Eugene, immediately after the terrible battle of Borodino, wrote +as follows to Josephine. His letter was dated September 8, 1812.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Letter from Eugene.</div> + +<p>"<span class="smcap">My good Mother</span>,—I write you from the field of battle. The Emperor has +gained a great victory over the Russians. The battle lasted thirteen +hours. I commanded the right, and hope that the Emperor will be +satisfied.</p> + +<p>"I can not sufficiently thank you for your attentions and kindness to my +little family. You are adored at Milan, as everywhere else. They write +me most charming accounts of you, and you have won the love of every one +with whom you have become acquainted. Adieu! Please give tidings of me +to my sister. I will write her to-morrow. Your affectionate son,</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"<span class="smcap">Eugene</span>."</span> +</div></div> + +<div class="sidenote">Napoleon arrives in Paris.</div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</a></span></p><p>The latter part of October of this year, 1812, Napoleon commenced his +awful retreat from Moscow. Josephine and Hortense were much of the time +together in a state of indescribable suspense and anguish. At midnight, +on the 18th of December, Napoleon arrived in Paris. The disasters in +Russia had caused a new coalition of all the dynasties against France. +The Emperor of Austria, unmindful of the marriage of his daughter with +Napoleon, had joined the coalition with all the military powers of his +empire. The majestic army with which Napoleon had invaded Russia was +almost annihilated, and nearly two millions of bayonets were now +directed against the Republican Empire.</p> + +<p>All France rose with enthusiasm to co-operate with Napoleon in his +endeavors to resist the thronging foes. By the middle of April, nearly +three hundred thousand men were on the march from France towards +Germany, gallantly to meet the onswelling flood of more than a million +of bayonets. On the 15th of April, 1813, at four o'clock in the morning, +Napoleon left St. Cloud for the seat of war. The terrific campaign of +Lutzen, Bautzen, Dresden, and Leipsic ensued.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</a></span></p><p>Days of darkness were lowering around the Empire. The health of Hortense +rendered it necessary for her to go to the springs of Aix in Savoy. Her +two children were left with her mother at Malmaison. Under date of June +11, 1813, the Empress wrote to her daughter:</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Letter from Josephine.</div> + +<p>"I have received your letter of the 7th, my dear Hortense. I see with +pleasure that you have already been benefited by the waters. I advise +you to continue them, in taking, as you do, a few days of repose. Be +very tranquil respecting your children. They are perfectly well. Their +complexion is of the lily and the rose. I can assure you that since they +have been here they have not had the slightest indisposition. I must +relate to you a very pretty response on the part of <i>Oui Oui</i>. The Abbé +Bertrand caused him to read a fable where there was a question about +<i>metamorphosis</i>. Being called to explain the word, he said to the abbé:</p> + +<p>"'I wish I could change myself into a little bird, I would then fly away +at the hour of your lesson; but I would return when M. Hase (his teacher +of German) arrived.'</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[Pg 193-194]</a></span></p> +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 253px;"> +<img src="images/i191.jpg" class="ispace" width="253" height="450" alt="THE DEATH OF MADAME BROC." title="" /> +<span class="caption">THE DEATH OF MADAME BROC.</span> +</div> + +<p>"'But, prince,' remarked the abbé, 'it is not very polite for you to say +that to me.' 'Oh,' <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</a></span>replied <i>Oui Oui</i>, 'that which I say is only for +the lesson, not for the man.'</p> + +<p>"Do you not think, with me, that that repartee was very <i>spirituelle</i>? +It was impossible for him to extricate himself from the embarrassment +with more delicacy and gracefulness. Your children were with me when I +received your letter. They were very happy to receive tidings from their +mamma. Continue to write often, my dear daughter, for their sake and for +mine. It is the only means to enable me to support your absence."</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Death of Madame Broc.</div> + +<p>While upon this visit to Aix, Hortense was accompanied by her +inseparable friend, Madame Broc. One day Hortense and Adèle were +ascending a mountain, whose summit commanded a very magnificent view. +Their path led over a deep, dark, craggy ravine, which was swept by a +mountain torrent, foaming and roaring over the rocks. Alpine firs, +casting a gloomy shade, clung to its sides. A frail rustic bridge +crossed the chasm. Hortense with light step passed over in safety. +Madame Broc followed. A piercing shriek was heard, followed by a crash. +As Hortense turned round she saw that the bridge had given way, and her +companion was falling, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</a></span>torn and mangled, from rock to rock, till the +rushing torrent seized her and whirled her lifeless body down the gulf +in its wild waters. There was no possibility of rescue. For a moment the +fluttering robes of the unfortunate lady were seen in the midst of the +surging flood, and then the body was swept away far down the dismal +gorge.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Hortense at Aix.</div> + +<p>The shock which this frightful accident gave to the nerves of Hortense +was like that which she experienced at the death of her son. For a time +she seemed stunned by the blow, and reason tottered on its throne. +Instead of flying from Aix, she lingered there. As soon as she partially +recovered tranquillity, she sought to divert her grief by entering the +abodes of sickness, sorrow, and suffering in the neighborhood, +administering relief with her own hands. She established a hospital at +Aix from her own private funds for the indigent, and, like an angel of +mercy, clothed the naked and fed the hungry, and, while her own heart +was breaking, spoke words of consolation to the world-weary.</p> + +<p>In reference to this event Josephine wrote from Malmaison to Hortense at +Aix, under date of June 16, 1813:</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Letter from Josephine.</div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</a></span></p><p>"What a horrible accident, my dear Hortense! What a friend you have +lost, and by what a frightful calamity! Since yesterday, when I heard of +it, I have been so horror-struck as not to be able to write to you. +Every moment I have before my eyes the fate of that poor Adèle. Every +body is in tears for her. She was so beloved, so worthy of being +beloved, by her excellent qualities and by her attachment for you. I can +think of nothing but what condition you are in. I am so anxious, that I +send my chamberlain, M. Turpin, to you, that he may give me more certain +intelligence respecting your health. I shall make haste to leave myself +for a short time, that my presence and my care may be useful to you. I +feel keenly your grief. It is too well founded. But, my dear daughter, +think of your children, who are so worthy of your love. Preserve +yourself for them! Think also of your mother, who loves you tenderly.</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"<span class="smcap">Josephine</span>."</span> +</div></div> + +<p>Thus blow after blow fell upon the heart of poor Hortense. Two days +after the above date Josephine wrote again, in reply to a letter from +her daughter:</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Letter from Josephine.</div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</a></span></p><p>"Your letter has reanimated me, my dear Hortense. In the dejection in +which I was, I experienced true consolation in seeing your hand-writing, +and in being assured by yourself that you try to conquer your grief. I +fully realize how much it must cost you. Your letter, so tender, so +touching, has renewed my tears. Ever since this frightful accident I +have been sick. Alas! my dear daughter, you did not need this new trial.</p> + +<p>"I have embraced your children for you. They also are deeply afflicted, +and think of you very much. I am consoled in thinking that you will not +forget us. I thank you for it, my dear Hortense, my daughter tenderly +beloved."</p> + +<p>Again, a few days after, this affectionate mother wrote to her +grief-stricken child:</p> + +<p>"I can not permit your courier to leave without transmitting to you +intelligence from me; without letting you know how much I think of you. +I fear that you may surrender yourself too much to the grief which you +have experienced. I shall not feel reassured until M. Turpin shall have +returned. Think of your charming children, my dear Hortense. Think also +of a mother who adores you, and <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</a></span>whom your life alone attaches to the +world. I hope that all these motives will give you courage to support +with more resignation the loss of a friend so tender.</p> + +<p>"I have just received a letter from Eugene. He fully shares your grief, +and desires that you should go and pass some time with him, if you have +sufficient strength. I should be happy to know that you were with him. +Your children are enjoying perfect health. They are truly interesting. +It would, indeed, touch your feelings if you knew how much they think of +you. Life is very precious, and one clings to it when one has such good +children. Adieu! my daughter. Think often of a mother who loves you +tenderly, and who tenderly embraces you."</p> + +<p>As nothing can more clearly reveal than do these confidential letters +the character of Hortense, and the domestic relations of this +illustrious and afflicted family, I insert them freely. They give us a +rare view of, those griefs of our suffering humanity which are found in +the palace no less than in the cottage. On the 29th of June, Josephine +wrote again to Hortense:</p> + +<p>"M. De Turpin has brought me your letter, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</a></span>my dear daughter. I see with +pain how sad and melancholy you still are. But it is, at least, a great +consolation to me to be assured that your health has not severely +suffered. Take courage, my dear Hortense. I hope that happiness will yet +be your lot. You have passed through many trials. Have not all persons +their griefs? The only difference is in the greater or less fortitude of +soul with which one supports them. That which ought particularly to +soothe your grief is that every one shares it with you. There are none +who do not regret our poor Adèle as much for themselves as for you.</p> + +<p>"Your children mourn over your sorrows. Every thing announces in them an +excellent character, and a strong attachment for you. The more I see of +them the more I love them. Nevertheless, I do not spoil them. Feel easy +on their account. We follow exactly what you have prescribed for their +regimen and their studies. When they have done well during the week, I +invite them to breakfast and dine with me on the Sabbath. The proof that +they are in good health is that they have grown much. Napoleon had one +eye slightly inflamed yesterday from the sting of a gnat.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</a></span> He was not, +however, on that account, less well than usual. To-day it is no longer +manifest. It would not be worth mentioning, were we not in the habit of +rendering you an exact account of every thing which concerns them."</p> + +<p>On the 6th of August Josephine wrote as follows:</p> + +<p>"The beautiful days of summer have at last come with the month of +August. I hope that they will strengthen you, my dear daughter. Your +lungs will feel the influence of them, and the baths will do you much +more good. I see with pleasure that you have not forgotten the years of +your childhood, and you are very kind to your mother in recalling them +to her. I did right in making happy, too, children so good and so +affectionate, and they have since abundantly recompensed me for it. Your +children will do the same for you, my dear Hortense. Their hearts +resemble yours. They will never cease to love you. Their health is +wonderfully good, and they have never been more fresh and vigorous.</p> + +<p>"The little <i>Oui Oui</i> is always gallant and amiable to me. Two days ago, +in seeing Madame Tascher leave us, who went to join her <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</a></span>husband at the +springs, he said to Madame Boucheporn:</p> + +<p>"'She must love her husband very much indeed, to be willing, for him, to +leave my grandmother!'</p> + +<p>"Do you not think that was charming? On the same day he went to walk in +the woods of Butard. As soon as he was in the grand avenue, he threw his +hat in the air, shouting, 'Oh, how I love beautiful nature!'<a name="FNanchor_G_7" id="FNanchor_G_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_G_7" class="fnanchor">[G]</a></p> + +<p>"Not a day passes in which some one is not amused by his amiability. The +children animate all around me. Judge if you have not rendered me happy +in leaving them with me. I can not be more happy until the day when I +shall see you."</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Disasters to Napoleon.</div> + +<p>Disaster now followed disaster as the allied armies, in resistless +numbers, crowded down upon France. The carnage of Dresden and Leipsic +compelled the Emperor, in November, to return to Paris to raise +reinforcements. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</a></span>Though he had been victorious in almost every battle, +still the surging billows of his foes, flowing in upon him from all +directions, could not be rolled back.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Embarrassment of Maria Louisa.</div> + +<p>Maria Louisa was in a state of great embarrassment, and dreaded to see +her husband. Her father, the Emperor of Austria, at the head of an +immense army, was marching against France. When Napoleon, returning from +the terrific strife, entered her apartment, Maria Louisa threw herself +into his arms, and, unable to utter a word, burst into a flood of tears. +Napoleon, having completed his arrangements for still maintaining the +struggle, on the 25th of January, 1814, embraced his wife and child, and +returned to the seat of war. He never saw wife or child again.</p> + +<p>As his carriage left the door of the palace, the Emperor, pressing his +forehead with his hand, said to Caulaincourt, who accompanied him, "I +envy the lot of the meanest peasant of my empire. At my age he has +discharged his debts to his country, and may remain at home enjoying the +society of his wife and children, while I—I must fly to the camp and +engage in the strife of war. Such is the mandate of my inexplicable +destiny."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</a></span></p><p>After a moment's reverie, he added, "My good Louise is gentle and +submissive. I can depend on her. Her love and fidelity will never fail +me. In the current of events there may arise circumstances which will +decide the fate of an empire. In that case I hope that the daughter of +the Cæsars will be inspired by the spirit of her grandmother, Maria +Theresa."</p> + +<p>The struggle which ensued was short but awful. In the midst of these +terrific scenes Napoleon kept up an almost daily correspondence with +Josephine. On one occasion, when the surgings of the battle brought him +within a few miles of Malmaison, he turned aside and sought a hurried +interview with his most faithful friend. It was their last meeting. +Napoleon took the hand of Josephine, and, gazing tenderly upon her, +said:</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Napoleon's last interview with Josephine.</div> + +<p>"Josephine, I have been as fortunate as ever was man upon the face of +this earth. But in this hour, when a storm is gathering over my head, I +have not in this wide world any one but you upon whom I can repose."</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Josephine goes to Navarre.</div> + +<p>Soon after this, as the seat of war approached nearer to Paris, +Josephine found it necessary to retire to Navarre. She wrote to +Hortense, on the 28th of March: "To-morrow I <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</a></span>shall leave for Navarre. I +have but sixteen men for a guard, and all wounded. I shall take care of +them; but in truth I have no need of them. I am so unhappy in being +separated from my children that I am indifferent respecting my fate."</p> + +<p>At eight o'clock in the morning of the 29th Josephine took her carriage +for Navarre. The Allies were rapidly approaching Paris, and a state of +indescribable consternation filled the streets of the metropolis. +Several times on the route the Empress was alarmed by the cry that the +Cossacks were coming. The day was dark and stormy, and the rain fell in +torrents. The pole of the carriage broke as the wheels sunk in a rut. +Just at that moment a troop of horsemen appeared in the distance. The +Empress, in her terror, supposing them to be the barbarous Cossacks, +leaped from the carriage and fled through the fields. Was there ever a +more cruel reverse of fortune? Josephine, the Empress of France, the +admired of all Europe, in the frenzy of her alarm, rushing through the +storm and the rain to seek refuge in the woods! The troops proved to be +French. Her attendants followed and informed her of the mistake. She +again entered her carriage, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[Pg 206]</a></span>and uttered scarcely a word during the rest +of her journey. Upon entering the palace of Navarre, she threw herself +upon a couch, exclaiming:</p> + +<p>"Surely Bonaparte is ignorant of what is passing within sight of the +gates of Paris, or, if he knows, how cruel the thoughts which must now +agitate his breast."</p> + +<p>In a hurried letter which the Emperor wrote Josephine from Brienne, just +after a desperate engagement with his vastly outnumbering foes, he said:</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Letter from Napoleon.</div> + +<p>"On beholding the scenes where I had passed my boyhood, and comparing my +peaceful condition then with the agitation and terrors I now experience, +I several times said, in my own mind, 'I have sought to meet death in +many conflicts. I can no longer fear it. To me death would now be a +blessing. But I would once more see Josephine.'"</p> + +<p>Immediately after Josephine's arrival at Navarre, she wrote to Hortense, +urging that she should join her at that place. In the letter she said:</p> + +<p>"I can not tell you how sad I am. I have had fortitude in afflicted +positions in which I have found myself, and I shall have enough +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[Pg 207]</a></span>to bear my reverses of fortune; but I have not sufficient to sustain me +under absence from my children, and uncertainty respecting their fate. +For two days I have not ceased to weep. Send me tidings respecting +yourself and your children. If you can learn any thing respecting Eugene +and his family, inform me."</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Napoleon abdicates.</div> + +<p>Two days after this, Hortense, with her two sons, joined her mother at +Navarre. Paris was soon in the hands of the Allies. The Emperor +Alexander invited Josephine and Hortense to return to Malmaison, where +he established a guard for their protection. Soon after Napoleon +abdicated at Fontainebleau. Upon the eve of his departure for Elba, he +wrote to Josephine:</p> + +<p>"I wrote to you on the 8th. Possibly you have not received my letter. It +may have been intercepted. At present communications must be +re-established. I have formed my resolution. I have no doubt that this +billet will reach you. I will not repeat what I said to you. Then I +lamented my situation. Now I congratulate myself thereon. My head and +spirit are freed from an enormous weight. My fall is great, but at least +is useful, as men say. Adieu! my dear Josephine. Be resigned as I <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[Pg 208]</a></span>am, +and ever remember him who never forgets and never will forget you."</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Kindness of Alexander.</div> + +<p>Josephine returned to Malmaison, and Hortense repaired to Rambouillet, +to join Maria Louisa in these hours of perplexity and disaster. As soon +as Maria Louisa set out under an Austrian escort for Vienna, Hortense +rejoined her mother at Malmaison. Alexander was particularly attentive +to Josephine and Hortense. He had loved Napoleon, and his sympathies +were now deeply excited for his afflicted family. Through his kind +offices, the beautiful estate of St. Leu, which Louis Bonaparte had +owned, and which he had transferred to his wife, was erected into a +duchy for her advantage, and the right of inheritance was vested in her +children. The ex-Queen of Holland now took the title of the Duchess of +St. Leu.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Illness of Josephine.</div> + +<p>On the 10th of May the Emperor Alexander dined with Josephine at +Malmaison. Grief, and a season unusually damp and cheerless, had +seriously undermined her health. Notwithstanding acute bodily suffering, +she exerted herself to the utmost to entertain her guests. At night she +was worse and at times was delirious. Not long after this, Alexander and +the King of Prussia were both guests to dine <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</a></span>at Malmaison. The health +of Josephine was such that she was urged by her friends not to leave her +bed. She insisted, however, upon dressing to receive the allied +sovereigns. Her sufferings increased, and she was obliged to retire, +leaving Hortense to supply her place.</p> + +<p>The next day Alexander kindly called to inquire for her health. Hour +after hour she seemed to be slowly failing. On the morning of the 28th +she fell into a lethargic sleep, which lasted for five hours, and her +case was pronounced hopeless. Eugene and Hortense were at her side. The +death-hour had come. The last rites of religion were administered to the +dying. The Emperor Alexander was also in this chamber of grief. +Josephine was perfectly rational. She called for the portrait of +Napoleon, and, gazing upon it long and tenderly, breathed the following +prayer:</p> + +<p>"O God, watch over Napoleon while he remains in the desert of this +world. Alas! though he hath committed great faults, hath he not expiated +them by great sufferings? Just God, thou hast looked into his heart, and +hast seen by how ardent a desire for useful and durable improvements he +was animated. Deign to approve this my last petition, and <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[Pg 210]</a></span>may this +image of my husband bear me witness that my latest wish and my latest +prayer were for him and for my children."</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Death of Josephine.</div> + +<p>Her last words were "<i>Island of Elba—Napoleon.</i>" It was the 29th of +May, 1814. For four days her body remained laid out in state, surrounded +with numerous tapers. "Every road," writes a French historian, "from +Paris and its environs to Ruel was crowded with trains of mourners. Sad +groups thronged all the avenues; and I could distinguish tears even in +the splendid equipages which came rattling across the court-yard."</p> + +<p>More than twenty thousand persons—monarchs, nobles, statesmen, and +weeping peasants—thronged the chateau of Malmaison to take the last +look of the remains of one who had been universally beloved. The funeral +took place at noon of the 2d of June. The remains were deposited in the +little church of Ruel. A beautiful mausoleum of white marble, +representing the Empress kneeling in her coronation robes, bears the +simple inscription:</p> + +<p class="center">EUGENE AND HORTENSE</p> +<p class="center"><span class="fchange">TO</span></p> +<p class="center">JOSEPHINE.</p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</a></span></p> +<h2><span class="smcap">Chapter VII.</span></h2> + +<h2><span class="smcap">The Sorrows of Exile.</span></h2> + +<h3>1814-1815</h3> + +<div class="sidenote">Eugene meets Louis XVIII.</div> + +<p class="n"><span style="float:left;font-size:50px;line-height:32px;padding-top:2px;padding-bottom:1px;">T</span><span style="margin-left:0%;">here</span> probably never was a more tender, loving mother than Josephine. +And it is not possible that any children could be more intensely devoted +to a parent than were Eugene and Hortense to their mother. The grief of +these bereaved children was heart-rending. Poor Hortense was led from +the grave almost delirious with woe. Etiquette required that Eugene, +passing through Paris, should pay his respects to Louis XVIII. The king +had remarkable tact in paying compliments. Eugene announced himself +simply as General Beauharnais. He thanked the king for the kind +treatment extended by the allied monarchs to his mother and his sister. +Hortense was also bound, by the laws of courtesy, to call upon the king +in expression of gratitude. They were both received with so much +cordiality as to expose the king to the accusation of having become a +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</a></span>censured by the partisan press for accepting any favors from the +Allies. After the interview of Louis XVIII. with Hortense, in which she +thanked him for the Duchy of St. Leu, the king said to the Duke de +Duras: "Never have I seen a woman uniting such grace to such +distinguished manners; and I am a judge of women."</p> + +<p>It is very difficult to ascertain with accuracy the movements of +Hortense during the indescribable tumult of the next few succeeding +months. The Duke of Rovigo says that Hortense reproached the Emperor +Alexander for turning against Napoleon, for whom he formerly had +manifested so much friendship. But the Emperor replied: "I was compelled +to yield to the wishes of the Allies. As for myself personally, I wash +my hands of every thing which has been done."</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Hortense in Paris.<br />Interest of Napoleon in the princes.</div> + +<p>The death of Josephine and the departure of Eugene left Hortense, +bereaved and dejected, almost alone in Paris with her two children. +Their intelligence and vivacity had deeply interested Alexander and +other royal guests, who had cordially paid their tribute of respect and +sympathy to their mother. Napoleon had taken a deep interest in the +education of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[Pg 213]</a></span>the two princes, as he was aware of the frailty of life, +and as the death of the King of Rome would bring them in the direct line +to the inheritance of the crown.</p> + +<p>The Emperor generally breakfasted alone when at home, at a small table +in his cabinet. The two sons of Hortense were frequently admitted, that +they might interest him with their infant prattle. The Emperor would +tell them a story, and have them repeat it after him, that he might +ascertain the accuracy of their memory. Any indication of intellectual +superiority excited in his mind the most lively satisfaction. +Mademoiselle Cochelet, who was the companion and reader of Queen +Hortense, relates the following anecdote of Louis Napoleon:</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Anecdote of Louis Napoleon.</div> + +<p>"The two princes were in intelligence quite in advance of their years. +This proceeded from the care which their mother gave herself to form +their characters and to develop their faculties. They were, however, too +young to understand all the strange scenes which were transpiring around +them. As they had always beheld in the members of their own family, in +their uncles and aunts, kings and queens, when the Emperor of Russia and +the King of Prussia <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[Pg 214]</a></span>were first introduced to them, the little Louis +Napoleon asked if they were also their uncles, and if they were to be +called so.</p> + +<p>"'No,' was the reply; 'they are not your uncles. You will simply address +them as sire.'</p> + +<p>"'But are not all kings our uncles?' inquired the young prince.</p> + +<p>"'Far from being your uncle,' was the reply, 'they have come, in their +turn, as conquerors.'</p> + +<p>"'Then they are the enemies,' said Louis Napoleon, 'of our uncle, the +Emperor. Why, then, do they embrace us?'</p> + +<p>"'Because the Emperor of Russia, whom you see, is a generous enemy. He +wishes to be useful to you and to your mamma. But for him you would no +longer have any thing; and the condition of your uncle, the Emperor, +would be more unhappy.'</p> + +<p>"'We ought, then, to love this Emperor, ought we?'</p> + +<p>"'Yes, certainly,' was the reply; 'for you owe him your gratitude.'</p> + +<p>"The next time the Emperor Alexander called upon Hortense, little Louis +Napoleon, who was naturally very retiring and reticent, took a ring +which his uncle Eugene had given him, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[Pg 215]</a></span>and, stealing timidly over to +Alexander, slipped the ring into his hand, and, half frightened, ran +away with all speed. Hortense called the child to her, and asked him +what he had done. Blushing deeply, the warm-hearted boy said:</p> + +<p>"'I have nothing but the ring. I wanted to give it to the Emperor, +because he is good to my mamma.'</p> + +<p>"Alexander cordially embraced the prince, and, putting the ring upon his +watch-chain, promised that he would always wear it."</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Removal of the remains of Napoleon Charles.</div> + +<p>The remains of Napoleon Charles, who had died in Holland, had been +deposited, by direction of Napoleon, in the vaults of St. Denis, the +ancient burial-place of the kings of France. So great was the jealousy +of the Bourbons of the name of Napoleon, and so unwilling were they to +recognize in any way the right of the people to elect their own +sovereign, that the government of Louis XVIII. ordered the body to be +immediately removed. Hortense transferred the remains of her child to +the church of St. Leu.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Titles of the princes.</div> + +<p>Notwithstanding this jealousy, Alexander and the King of Prussia could +not ignore the imperial character of Napoleon, whose government they had +recognized, and with whom <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[Pg 216]</a></span>they had exchanged ambassadors and formed +treaties: neither could they deny that the King of Holland had won a +crown recognized by all Europe. They and the other crowned heads, who +paid their respects to Hortense, in accordance with the etiquette of +courts, invariably addressed each of the princes as <i>Your Royal +Highness</i>. Hortense had not accustomed them to this homage. She had +always addressed the eldest as Napoleon, the youngest as Louis. It was +her endeavor to impress them with the idea that they could be nothing +more than their characters entitled them to be. But after this, when the +Bourbon Government assumed that Napoleon was an usurper, and that +popular suffrage could give no validity to the crown, then did Hortense, +in imitation of Napoleon at St. Helena, firmly resist the insolence. +Then did she teach her children that they were princes, that they were +entitled to the throne of France by the highest of all earthly +authority—the almost unanimous voice of the French people—and that the +Bourbons, trampling popular rights beneath their feet, and ascending the +throne through the power of foreign bayonets, were usurpers.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[Pg 217-218]</a></span></p> +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 250px;"> +<img src="images/i215.jpg" class="ispace" width="250" height="450" alt="HORTENSE AND HER CHILDREN." title="" /> +<span class="caption">HORTENSE AND HER CHILDREN.</span> +</div> + +<div class="sidenote">Conversation with the princes.</div> + +<p>Madame Cochelet, the reader of Queen Hortense, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[Pg 219]</a></span>writes, in her +interesting memoirs: "I have often seen her take her two boys on her +knees, and talk with them in order to form their ideas. It was a curious +conversation to listen to, in those days of the splendors of the empire, +when those children were the heirs of so many crowns, which the Emperor +was distributing to his brothers, his officers, his allies. Having +questioned them on every thing they knew already, she passed in review +whatever they should know besides, if they were to rely upon their own +resources for a livelihood.</p> + +<p>"'Suppose you had no money,' said Hortense to the eldest, 'and were alone +in the world, what would you do, Napoleon, to support yourself?'</p> + +<p>"'I would become a soldier,' was the reply, 'and would fight so well that +I should soon be made an officer.'</p> + +<p>"'And Louis,' she inquired of the younger, 'how would you provide for +yourself?'</p> + +<p>"The little prince, who was then but about five years old, had listened +very thoughtfully to all that was said. Knowing that the gun and the +knapsack were altogether beyond his strength, he replied:</p> + +<p>"'I would sell violet bouquets, like the little <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[Pg 220]</a></span>boy at the gate of the +Tuileries, from whom we purchase them every day.'"</p> + +<p>The boy is father of the man. Such has been Louis Napoleon from that +hour to this; the quiet student—hating war, loving peace—all devoted +to the arts of utility and of beauty. He has been the great pacificator +of Europe. But for his unwearied efforts, the Continent would have been +again and again in a blaze of war. As all present at this conversation +smiled, in view of the unambitious projects of the prince, Hortense +replied:</p> + +<p>"This is one of my lessons. The misfortune of princes born on the throne +is that they think every thing is their due; that they are formed of a +different nature from other men, and therefore never feel under any +obligations to them. They are ignorant of human miseries, or think +themselves beyond their reach. Thus, when misfortunes come, they are +surprised, terrified, and always remain sunk below their destinies."</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Louis Bonaparte demands the children.</div> + +<p>The Allies retired, with their conquering armies. Hortense remained with +her children in Paris. Louis Bonaparte, sick and dejected, took up his +residence in Italy. He demanded the children. A mother's love clung to +them with tenacity which could not be relaxed. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[Pg 221]</a></span>There was an appeal to +the courts. Hortense employed the most eminent counsel to plead her +cause. Eleven months passed away from the time of the abdication; and +upon the very day when the court rendered its decision, that the father +should have the eldest child, and the mother the youngest, Napoleon +landed at Cannes, and commenced his almost miraculous march to Paris. +The sublime transactions of the "One Hundred Days" caused all other +events, for a time, to be forgotten.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Hortense meets the Emperor.</div> + +<p>Hortense was at the Tuileries, one of the first to greet the Emperor as +he was borne in triumph, upon the shoulders of the people, up the grand +staircase. "Sire," said Hortense, "I had a presentiment that you would +return, and I waited for you here." The Allies had robbed the Emperor of +his son, and the child was a prisoner with his mother in the palaces of +Vienna. Very cordially Napoleon received his two nephews, and kept them +continually near him. With characteristic devotion to the principle of +universal suffrage, Napoleon submitted the question of his re-election +to the throne of the empire to the French people. More than a million of +votes over all other parties responded in the affirmative.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Reinauguration of the Emperor.</div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[Pg 222]</a></span></p><p>On the first of June, 1815, the Emperor was reinaugurated on the field +of Mars, and the eagles were restored to the banners. It was one of the +most imposing pageants Paris had ever witnessed. Hundreds of thousands +crowded that magnificent parade-ground. As the Emperor presented the +eagles to the army, a roar as of reverberating thunder swept along the +lines. By the side of the Emperor, upon the platform, sat his two young +nephews. He presented them separately to the departments and the army as +in the direct line of inheritance. This scene must have produced a +profound impression upon the younger child, Louis Napoleon, who was so +thoughtful, reflective, and pensive.</p> + +<p>In the absence of Maria Louisa, who no longer had her liberty, Hortense +presided at the Tuileries. Inheriting the spirit of her mother, she was +unfailing in deeds of kindness to the many Royalists who were again +ruined by the return of Napoleon. Her audience-chamber was ever crowded +by those who, through her, sought to obtain access to the ear of the +Emperor. Napoleon was overwhelmed by too many public cares to give much +personal attention to private interests.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Anecdote of Louis Napoleon.</div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[Pg 223]</a></span></p><p>The evening before Napoleon left his cabinet for his last campaign, +which resulted in the disaster at Waterloo, he was in his cabinet +conversing with Marshal Soult. The door was gently opened, and little +Louis Napoleon crept silently into the apartment. His features were +swollen with an expression of the profoundest grief, which he seemed to +be struggling in vain to repress. Tremblingly he approached the Emperor, +and, throwing himself upon his knees, buried his face in his two hands +in the Emperor's lap, and burst into a flood of tears.</p> + +<p>"What is the matter, Louis?" said the Emperor, kindly; "why do you +interrupt me, and why do you weep so?"</p> + +<p>The young prince was so overcome with emotion that for some time he +could not utter a syllable. At last, in words interrupted by sobs, he +said,</p> + +<p>"Sire, my governess has told me that you are going away to the war. Oh! +do not go! do not go!"</p> + +<p>The Emperor, much moved, passed his fingers through the clustering +ringlets of the child, and said, tenderly,</p> + +<p>"My child, this is not the first time that I have been to the war. Why +are you so afflicted? <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[Pg 224]</a></span>Do not fear for me. I shall soon come back +again."</p> + +<p>"Oh! my dear uncle," exclaimed the child, weeping convulsively; "those +wicked Allies wish to kill you. Let me go with you, dear uncle, let me +go with you!"</p> + +<p>The Emperor made no reply, but, taking Louis Napoleon upon his knee, +pressed him to his heart with much apparent emotion. Then calling +Hortense, the mother of the child, he said to her:</p> + +<p>"Take away my nephew, Hortense, and reprimand his governess, who, by her +inconsiderate words, has so deeply excited his sympathies."</p> + +<p>Then, after a few affectionate words addressed to the young prince, he +was about to hand him to his mother, when he perceived that Marshal +Soult was much moved by the scene.</p> + +<p>"Embrace the child, Marshal," said the Emperor; "he has a warm heart and +a noble soul. <i>Perhaps he is to be the hope of my race!</i>"</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Hortense meets Napoleon.</div> + +<p>Napoleon returned from the disaster at Waterloo with all his hopes +blighted. Hortense hastened to meet him, and to unite her fate with his. +"It is my duty," she said. "The Emperor has always treated me as his +child, and I <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[Pg 225]</a></span>will try, in return, to be his devoted and grateful +daughter." In conversation with Hortense, Napoleon remarked: "Give +myself up to Austria! Never. She has seized upon my wife and my son. +Give myself up to Russia! That would be to a single man. But to give +myself up to England, that would be to throw myself upon a <i>people</i>." +His friends assured him that, though he might rely upon the honor of the +British <i>people</i>, he could not trust to the British <i>Government</i>. +Hortense repaired to Malmaison with her two sons, where the Emperor soon +rejoined her. "She restrained her own tears," writes Baron Fleury, +"reminding us, with the wisdom of a philosopher and the sweetness of an +angel, that we ought to surmount our sorrows and regrets, and submit +with docility to the decrees of Providence."</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Departure of the Emperor.</div> + +<p>It was necessary for Napoleon to come to a prompt decision. The Allies +now nearly surrounded Paris. On the 29th of June the Emperor sat in his +library at Malmaison, exhausted with care and grief. Hortense, though +with swollen eyes and a heart throbbing with anguish, did every thing +which a daughter's love could suggest to minister to the solace of her +afflicted father. Just before his departure to <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[Pg 226]</a></span>Rochefort, where he +intended to embark for some foreign land, he called for his nephews, to +take leave of them. It was a very affecting scene. Both of the children +wept bitterly. The soul of the little, pensive Louis Napoleon was +stirred to its utmost depths. He clung frantically to his uncle, +screaming and insisting that he should go and "fire off the cannon!" It +was necessary to take him away by force.</p> + +<p>"The Emperor was departing almost without money. Hortense, after many +entreaties, succeeded in making him accept her beautiful necklace, +valued at eight hundred thousand francs. She sewed it up in a silk +ribbon, which he concealed in his dress. He did not, however, find +himself obliged to part with this jewel till on his death-bed, when he +intrusted it to Count Montholon, with orders to restore it to Hortense. +This devoted man acquitted himself successfully of this commission."<a name="FNanchor_H_8" id="FNanchor_H_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_H_8" class="fnanchor">[H]</a></p> + +<div class="sidenote">Anger of the Royalists.</div> + +<p>Upon the departure of Napoleon, Hortense, with her children, returned to +Paris. She was entreated by her friends to seek refuge in the interior +of France, as the Royalists were much exasperated against her in +consequence of her reception of the Emperor. They assured her <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[Pg 227]</a></span>that the +army and the people would rally around her and her children as the +representatives of the Empire. But Hortense replied:</p> + +<p>"I must now undergo whatever fortune has in store for me. I am nothing +now. I can not pretend to make the people think that I rally the troops +around me. If I had been Empress of France, I would have done every +thing to prolong the defense. But now it does not become me to mingle my +destinies with such great interests, and I must be resigned."</p> + +<p>In a few days the allied armies were again in possession of Paris. The +Royalists assumed so threatening an attitude towards her, that she felt +great solicitude for the safety of her children. Many persons kindly +offered to give them shelter. But she was unwilling to compromise her +friends by receiving from them such marks of attention. A kind-hearted +woman, by the name of Madame Tessier, kept a hose establishment on the +Boulevard Montmartre. The children were intrusted to her care, where +they would be concealed from observation, and where they would still be +perfectly comfortable.</p> + +<p>Hortense had her residence in a hotel on the Rue Cerutti. The Austrian +Prince Schwartzenberg <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[Pg 228]</a></span>occupied the same hotel, and Hortense hoped that +this circumstance would add to her security. But the Allies were now +greatly exasperated against the French people, who had so cordially +received the Emperor on his return from Elba. Even the Emperor Alexander +treated Hortense with marked coldness. He called upon Prince +Schwartzenberg without making any inquiries for her.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Hostility of the Allies.</div> + +<p>The hostility of the Allies towards this unfortunate lady was so great, +that on the 19th of July Baron de Muffling, who commanded Paris for the +Allies, received an order to notify the Duchess of St. Leu that she must +leave Paris within two hours. An escort of troops was offered her, which +amounted merely to an armed guard, to secure her departure and to mark +her retreat. As Hortense left Paris for exile, she wrote a few hurried +lines to a friend, in which she said:</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Driven into exile.</div> + +<p>"I have been obliged to quit Paris, having been positively expelled from +it by the allied armies. So greatly am I, a feeble woman, with her two +children, dreaded, that the enemy's troops are posted all along our +route, as they say, to protect our passage, but in reality to insure our +departure."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[Pg 229]</a></span></p><p>Prince Schwartzenberg, who felt much sympathy for Hortense, accompanied +her, as a companion and a protector, on her journey to the frontiers of +France. Little Louis Napoleon, though then but seven years of age, +seemed fully to comprehend the disaster which had overwhelmed them, and +that they were banished from their native land. With intelligence far +above his years he conversed with his mother, and she found great +difficulty in consoling him. It was through the influence of such +terrible scenes as these that the character of that remarkable man has +been formed.</p> + +<p>It was nine o'clock in the evening when Hortense and her two little +boys, accompanied by Prince Schwartzenberg, reached the Chateau de +Bercy, where they passed the night. The next morning the journey was +resumed towards the frontiers. It was the intention of Hortense to take +refuge in a very retired country-seat which she owned at Pregny, in +Switzerland, near Geneva. At some points on her journey the Royalists +assailed her with reproaches. Again she was cheered by loudly-expressed +manifestations of the sympathy and affection of the people. At Dijon the +multitude crowding around her carriage, supposing <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[Pg 230]</a></span>that she was being +conveyed into captivity, gallantly attempted a rescue. They were only +appeased by the assurance of Hortense that she was under the protection +of a friend.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Takes refuge at Aix.</div> + +<p>Scarcely had this melancholy wanderer entered upon her residence at +Pregny, with the title of the Duchess of St. Leu, ere the French +minister in Switzerland commanded the Swiss government to issue an order +expelling her from the Swiss territory. Switzerland could not safely +disregard the mandate of the Bourbons of France, who were sustained in +their enthronement by allied Europe. Thus pursued by the foes of the +Empire, Hortense repaired to Aix, in Savoy. Here she met a cordial +welcome. The people remembered her frequent visits to those celebrated +springs, her multiplied charities, and here still stood, as an +ever-during memorial of her kindness of heart, the hospital which she +had founded and so munificently endowed. The magistrates at Aix formally +invited her to remain at Aix so long as the Allied powers would allow +her to make that place her residence.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Separation of the princes.</div> + +<p>It seemed as though Hortense were destined to drain the cup of sorrow to +its dregs. Aix was the scene of the dreadful death of Madame <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[Pg 231]</a></span>Broc, +which we have above described. Every thing around her reminded her of +that terrible calamity, and oppressed her spirits with the deepest +gloom. And, to add unutterably to her anguish, an agent arrived at Aix +from her husband, Louis Bonaparte, furnished with all competent legal +powers to take custody of the eldest child and convey him to his father +in Italy. It will be remembered that the court had decided that the +father should have the eldest and the mother the youngest child. The +stormy events of the "Hundred Days" had interrupted all proceedings upon +this matter.</p> + +<p>This separation was a terrible trial not only to the mother, but to the +two boys. The peculiarities of their dispositions and temperaments +fitted them to assimilate admirably together. Napoleon Louis, the elder, +was bold, resolute, high-spirited. Louis Napoleon, the younger, was +gentle, thoughtful, and pensive. The parting was very affecting—Louis +Napoleon throwing his arms around his elder brother, and weeping as +though his heart would break. The thoughtful child, thus companionless, +now turned to his mother with the full flow of his affectionate nature. +A French writer, speaking of these scenes, says:</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[Pg 232]</a></span></p><p>"The soul of Hortense had been already steeped in misfortune, but her +power of endurance seemed at length exhausted. When she had embraced her +son for the last time, and beheld the carriage depart which bore him +away, a deep despondency overwhelmed her spirits. Her very existence +became a dream; and it seemed a matter of indifference to her whether +her lot was to enjoy or to suffer, to be persecuted, respected, or +forgotten."</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Continued persecutions.</div> + +<p>And now came another blow upon the bewildered brain and throbbing heart +of Hortense. The Allies did not deem it safe to allow Hortense and her +child to reside so near the frontiers of France. They knew that the +French people detested the Bourbons. They knew that all France, upon the +first favorable opportunity, would rise in the attempt to re-establish +the Empire. The Sardinian government was accordingly ordered to expel +Hortense from Savoy. Where should she go? It seemed as though all Europe +would refuse a home to this bereaved, heart-broken lady and her child. +She remembered her cousin, Stephanie Beauharnais, her schoolmate, whom +her mother and Napoleon had so kindly sheltered and provided for in the +days when the Royalists <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[Pg 233]</a></span>were in exile. Stephanie was the lady to whom +her father had been so tenderly attached. She was now in prosperity and +power, the wife of the Grand Duke of Baden. Hortense decided to seek a +residence at Constance, in the territory of Baden, persuaded that the +duke and duchess would not drive her, homeless and friendless, from +their soil, out again into the stormy world.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Hospitality of the Swiss.</div> + +<p>To reach Baden it was necessary to pass through Switzerland. The Swiss +government, awed by France, at first refused to give her permission to +traverse their territory. But the Duke of Richelieu intervened in her +favor, and, by remonstrating against such cruelty, obtained the +necessary passport. It was now the month of November. Cold storms swept +the snow-clad hills and the valleys. Hortense departed from Aix, taking +with her her son Louis Napoleon, his private tutor, the Abbé Bertrand, +her reader, Mademoiselle Cochelet, and an attendant. She wished to spend +the first night at her own house, at Pregny; but even this slight +gratification was forbidden her.</p> + +<p>The police were instructed to watch her carefully all the way. At Morat +she was even arrested, and detained a prisoner two days, until +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[Pg 234]</a></span>instructions should be received from the distant authorities. At last +she reached the city of Constance. But even here she found that her +sorrows had not yet terminated. Neither the Duke of Baden nor the +Duchess ventured to welcome her. On the contrary, immediately upon her +arrival, she received an official notification that, however anxious the +grand duke and duchess might be to afford her hospitable shelter, they +were under the control of higher powers, and they must therefore request +her to leave the duchy without delay. It was now intimated that the only +countries in Europe which would be allowed to afford her a shelter were +Austria, Prussia, or Russia.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Anguish of Hortense.</div> + +<p>The storms of winter were sweeping those northern latitudes. The health +of Hortense was extremely frail. She was fatherless and motherless, +alienated from her husband, bereaved of one of her children, and all her +family friends dispersed by the ban of exile. She had no kind friends to +consult, and she knew not which way to turn. Thus distracted and +crushed, she wrote an imploring letter to her cousins, the Duke and +Duchess of Baden, stating the feeble condition of her health, the +inclement weather, her utter friendlessness, and <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[Pg 235]</a></span>exhaustion from +fatigue and sorrow, and begging permission to remain in Constance until +the ensuing spring.</p> + +<p>In reply she received a private letter from the grand duchess, her +cousin Stephanie, assuring her of her sympathy, and of the cordiality +with which she would openly receive and welcome her, if she did but dare +to do so. In conclusion, the duchess wrote: "Have patience, and do not +be uneasy. Perhaps all will be right by spring. By that time passions +will be calmed, and many things will have been forgotten."</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Retires to the Lake of Constance.<br />Prince Eugene.</div> + +<p>Though this letter did not give any positive permission to remain, it +seemed at least to imply that soldiers would not be sent to transport +her, by violence, out of the territory. Somewhat cheered by this +assurance, she rented a small house, in a very retired situation upon +the western shore of the Lake of Constance. Though in the disasters of +the times she had lost much property, she still had an ample competence. +Her beloved brother, Eugene, it will be remembered, had married a +daughter of the King of Bavaria. He was one of the noblest of men and +the best of brothers. As soon as possible, he took up his residence near +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[Pg 236]</a></span>his sister. He also was in the enjoyment of an ample fortune. Thus +there seemed to be for a short time a lull in those angry storms which +for so long had risen dark over the way of Hortense.</p> + +<p>In this distant and secluded home, upon the borders of the lake, +Hortense and her small harmonious household passed the winter of 1815. +Though she mourned over the absence of her elder child, little Louis +Napoleon cheered her by his bright intelligence and his intense +affectionateness. Prince Eugene often visited his sister; and many of +the illustrious generals and civilians, who during the glories of the +Empire had filled Europe with their renown, were allured as occasional +guests to the home of this lovely woman, who had shared with them in the +favors and the rebuffs of fortune.</p> + +<p>Hortense devoted herself assiduously to the education of her son. She +understood thoroughly the political position of France. Foreigners, with +immense armies, had invaded the kingdom, and forced upon the reluctant +people a detested dynasty. Napoleon was Emperor by popular election. The +people still, with almost entire unanimity, desired the Empire. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[Pg 237]</a></span>And +Hortense knew full well that, so soon as the French people could get +strength to break the chains with which foreign armies had bound them, +they would again drive out the Bourbons and re-establish the Empire.</p> + +<p>Hortense consequently never allowed her son to forget the name he bore, +or the political principles which his uncle, the Emperor, had borne upon +his banners throughout Europe. The subsequent life of this child has +proved how deep was the impression produced upon his mind, as pensively, +silently he listened to the conversation of the statesmen and the +generals who often visited his mother's parlor. Lady Blessington about +this time visited Hortense, and she gives the following account of the +impression which the visit produced upon her mind:</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Testimony of Lady Blessington.</div> + +<p>"Though prepared to meet in Hortense Bonaparte, ex-Queen of Holland, a +woman possessed of no ordinary powers of captivation, she has, I +confess, far exceeded my expectations. I have seen her frequently, and +spent two hours yesterday in her society. Never did time fly away with +greater rapidity than while listening to her conversation, and hearing +her sing those charming little French <i>romances</i>, written <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[Pg 238]</a></span>and composed +by herself, which, though I had often admired them, never previously +struck me as being so expressive and graceful as they now proved to be.</p> + +<p>"I know not that I ever encountered a person with so fine a tact or so +quick an apprehension as the Duchess of St. Leu. These give her the +power of rapidly forming an appreciation of those with whom she comes in +contact, and of suiting the subjects of conversation to their tastes and +comprehensions. Thus, with the grave she is serious, with the lively +gay, and with the scientific she only permits just a sufficient extent +of her <i>savoir</i> to be revealed to encourage the development of theirs.</p> + +<p>"She is, in fact, all things to all men, without losing a single portion +of her own natural character; a peculiarity of which seems to be the +desire, as well as the power, of sending all away who approach her +satisfied with themselves and delighted with her. Yet there is no +unworthy concession of opinions made, or tacit acquiescence yielded, to +conciliate popularity. She assents to or dissents from the sentiments of +others with a mildness and good sense which gratifies those with whom +she coincides, or disarms those from whom she differs."</p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[Pg 239]</a></span></p> +<h2><span class="smcap">Chapter VIII.</span></h2> + +<h2><span class="smcap">Peaceful Days, yet Sad.</span></h2> + +<h3>1816-1831</h3> + +<div class="sidenote">Visits the Baths of Geiss.</div> + +<p class="n"><span style="float:left;font-size:50px;line-height:32px;padding-top:2px;padding-bottom:1px;">A</span><span style="margin-left:0%;">s</span> the spring of the year 1816 opened upon Europe, Hortense was found +residing undisturbed, with her son, Louis Napoleon, in their secluded +home upon the shores of Lake Constance. The Allies seemed no longer +disposed to disturb her. Still, she had many indications that she was +narrowly watched. She was much cheered by a visit which she made to her +brother at Berg, on the Wurmsee, where she was received with that warmth +of affection which her wounded heart so deeply craved. Her health being +still very frail, she, by the advice of her physicians, spent the heat +of summer at the baths of Geiss, among the mountains of Appenzell. Her +son, Louis Napoleon, was constantly with her. Nearly the whole attention +of the mother was devoted to his education.</p> + +<p>She had the general superintendence of all his studies, teaching him +herself drawing and dancing, often listening to his recitations and +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[Pg 240]</a></span>guiding his reading. Her own highly-cultivated mind enabled her to do +this to great advantage. The young prince read aloud to his mother in +the evenings, the selections being regulated in accordance with his +studies in geography or history. Saturday Hortense devoted the entire +day to her son, reviewing all the reading and studies of the week. In +addition to the Abbé Bertrand, another teacher was employed, M. Lebas, a +young professor of much distinction from the Normal School of Paris.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Watchfulness of the Allies.</div> + +<p>Thus the summer and autumn of 1816 passed tranquilly away. But the eagle +eye of the Bourbons was continually upon Hortense. They watched every +movement she made, she could not leave her home, or receive a visit from +any distinguished stranger, without exciting their alarm. Their +uneasiness at length became so great that, early in the year 1817, the +Duke of Baden received peremptory orders that he must immediately expel +Hortense and her child from his territory. The Bourbons could not allow +such dangerous personages to dwell so near the frontiers of France. +Hortense was a feeble, heart-broken woman. Her child was but eight years +of age. But they <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[Pg 241]</a></span>were representatives of the Empire. And the Bourbons +were ever terror-stricken lest the French people should rise in +insurrection, and demand the restoration of that Empire, of which +foreign armies had robbed them.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The retreat of Arenemberg.</div> + +<p>In the extreme north-eastern portion of Switzerland, on the southern +shores of the Lake of Constance, there was the small Swiss canton of +Thurgovia. The gallant magistrates of the canton informed Hortense that +if she wished to establish herself in their country, she should be +protected by both the magistrates and the people. The ex-queen had +occasionally entered the canton in her drives, and had observed with +admiration a modest but very beautiful chateau called Arenemberg, very +picturesquely located on the borders of the lake. She purchased the +estate for about sixty thousand francs. This became a very delightful +summer residence, though in winter it presented a bleak exposure, swept +by piercing winds. Until the death of Hortense, Arenemberg continued to +be her favorite place of residence.</p> + +<p>To add to this transient gleam of happiness, there was now a partial +reconciliation between Hortense and her husband; and, to the unspeakable +joy of the mother and Louis Napoleon, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[Pg 242]</a></span>they enjoyed a visit of several +months from Napoleon Louis. It is not easy to imagine the happiness +which this reunion created, after a separation of nearly three years.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The princes enter college.</div> + +<p>The judicious mother now thought it important that her sons should enjoy +the advantages of a more public education than that which they had been +receiving from private tutors at home. She accordingly took them both to +Augsburg, in Bavaria, where they entered the celebrated college of that +city. Hortense engaged a handsome residence there, that she might still +be with her sons, whom she loved so tenderly. A French gentleman of +distinction, travelling in that region, had the honor of an introduction +to her, and gives the following account of his visit:</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Loveliness of Hortense.<br />Letter from a visitor.</div> + +<p>"Returning to France in 1819, after a long residence in Russia, I +stopped at Augsburg, where the Duchess of St. Leu was then a resident. I +had hitherto only known her by report. Some Russian officers, who had +accompanied the Emperor Alexander to Malmaison in 1814, had spoken to me +of Hortense with so much enthusiasm, that for the first few moments it +appeared as if I saw her again after a long absence, and as if I owed my +kind reception <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[Pg 243]</a></span>to the ties of ancient friendship. Every thing about her +is in exact harmony with the angelic expression of her face, her +conversation, demeanor, and the sweetness of her voice and disposition.</p> + +<p>"When she speaks of an affecting incident, the language becomes more +touching through the depths of her sensibility. She lends so much life +to every scene, that the auditor becomes witness of the transaction. Her +powers of instructing and delighting are almost magical; and her artless +fascination leaves on every heart those deep traces which even time can +never efface.</p> + +<p>"She introduced me to her private circle, which consisted of the two +children and their tutors, some old officers of her household, two +female friends of her infancy, and that living monument of conjugal +devotion, Count Lavallette.<a name="FNanchor_I_9" id="FNanchor_I_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_I_9" class="fnanchor">[I]</a> The conversation soon became general. +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[Pg 244]</a></span>They questioned me about the Ukraine, where I long had resided, and +Greece and Turkey, through which I had lately travelled.</p> + +<p>"In return, they spoke of Bavaria, St. Leu, the Lake of Constance, and, +by degrees, of events deriving their chief interest from the important +parts played by the narrators themselves. We dined at five. I afterwards +accompanied the duchess into the garden, and, in the few moments then +enjoyed of intimate conversation, I saw that no past praises had ever +been exaggerated. How admirable were her feelings when she recalled the +death of her mother, and in her tragic recital of the death of Madame +Broc.</p> + +<p>"But when she spoke of her children, her friends, and the fine arts, her +whole figure seemed to glow with the ardor of her imagination. Goodness +of heart was displayed in every feature, and gave additional value to +her other estimable qualities. In describing her present situation it +was impossible to avoid mentioning her beloved France.</p> + +<p>"'You are returning,' said she, 'to your native country;' and the last +word was pronounced with a heartfelt sigh. I had been an exile from my +cradle, yet my own eager anxiety <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[Pg 245]</a></span>to revisit a birth-place scarcely +remembered, enabled me to estimate her grief at the thoughts of an +eternal separation. She spoke of the measures adopted for her banishment +with that true resignation which mourns but never murmurs. After two +hours of similar conversation, it was impossible to decide which was the +most admirable, her heart, her good sense, or her imagination.</p> + +<p>"We returned to the drawing-room at eight, where tea was served. The +duchess observed that this was a habit learned in Holland, 'though you +are not to suppose,' she added, with a slight blush, 'that it is +preserved as a remembrance of days so brilliant, but now already so +distant. Tea is the drink of cold climates, and I have scarcely changed +my temperature.'</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Social life at Arenemberg.</div> + +<p>"Numerous visitors came from the neighborhood, and some even from +Munich. She may, indeed, regard this attention with a feeling of proud +gratification. It is based upon esteem alone, and is far more honorable +than the tiresome adulation of sycophants while at St. Cloud or the +Hague. In the course of the evening we looked through a suite of rooms +containing, besides a few master-pieces of the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[Pg 246]</a></span>different schools, a +large collection of precious curiosities. Many of these elegant trifles +had once belonged to her mother; and nearly every one was associated +with the remembrance of some distinguished personage or celebrated +event. Indeed, her museum might almost be called an abridgment of +contemporary history. Music was the next amusement; and the duchess +sang, accompanying herself with the same correct taste which inspires +her compositions. She had just finished the series of drawings intended +to illustrate her collection of <i>romances</i>. How could I avoid praising +that happy talent which thus personifies thought? The next day I +received that beautiful collection as a remembrance.</p> + +<p>"I took my leave at midnight, perhaps without even the hope of another +meeting. I left her as the traveller parts from the flowers of the +desert, to which he can never hope to return. But, wherever time, +accident, or destiny may place me, the remembrance of that day will +remain indelibly imprinted alike on my memory and heart. It is pleasing +to pay homage to the fallen greatness of one like Hortense, who joins +the rare gift of talents to the charms of the tenderest sensibility."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[Pg 247-248]</a></span></p> +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 248px;"> +<img src="images/i245.jpg" class="ispace" width="248" height="450" alt="HORTENSE AT ARENEMBERG." title="" /> +<span class="caption">HORTENSE AT ARENEMBERG.</span> +</div> + +<div class="sidenote">Scenery at Arenemberg.</div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[Pg 249]</a></span></p><p>The residence of Hortense in Augsburg was in a mansion, since called +Pappenheim Palace, in Holy Cross Street. After the graduation of her +children, Hortense, with Louis Napoleon, spent most of their time at +Arenemberg, interspersed with visits to Rome and Florence. The beautiful +chateau was situated upon a swell of land, with green lawns and a thick +growth of forest trees, through which there were enchanting views of the +mountain and of the lake. The spacious grounds were embellished with the +highest artistic skill, with terraces, trellis-work woodbines, and rare +exotics.</p> + +<p>"The views," writes an English visitor, "which were in some places +afforded through the woods, and in others, by their rapid descent, +carried over them, were broken in a manner which represented them doubly +beautiful. From one peep you caught the small vine-clad island of +Reichman, with its cottage gleams trembling upon the twilighted lake. +From another you had a noble reach of the Rhine, going forth from its +brief resting-place to battle its way down the Falls of Schaffhausen; +and beyond it the eye reposed upon the distant outline of the Black +Forest, melting <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[Pg 250]</a></span>warmly in the west. In a third direction you saw the +vapory steeples of Constance, apparently sinking in the waters which +almost surrounded them; and far away you distinguish the little coast +villages, like fading constellations, glimmering fainter and fainter, +till land and lake and sky were blended together in obscurity."</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Pleasant neighbors.</div> + +<p>Not far distant was the imposing chateau of Wolfberg, which had been +purchased by General Parguin, a young French officer of the Empire of +much distinction. He had married Mademoiselle Cochelet, and became one +of the most intimate friends of Louis Napoleon.</p> + +<p>Prince Eugene had also built him a house in the vicinity, that he might +be near his sister and share her solitude. Just as the house was +finished, and before he moved into it, Eugene died. This was another +crushing blow to the heart of Hortense. She was in Rome at the time, and +we shall have occasion to refer to the event again.</p> + +<p>Hortense, in her retirement, was no less a queen than when the diadem +was upon her brow. Though at the farthest possible remove from all +aristocratic pride, her superior mind, her extraordinary attainments, +and her queenly <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[Pg 251]</a></span>grace and dignity, invested her with no less influence +over the hearts of her friends than she enjoyed in her days of regal +power. A visitor at Wolfberg, in the following language, describes a +call which Hortense made upon Madame Parguin and her guests at the +chateau:</p> + +<div class="sidenote">An evening scene.</div> + +<p>"One fine evening, as we were all distributed about the lawn at +Wolfberg, there was an alarm that Hortense was coming to visit Madame +Parguin. As I saw her winding slowly up the hill, with all her company, +in three little summer carriages, the elegance of the cavalcade, in +scenes where elegance was so rare, was exceedingly striking.</p> + +<p>"The appearance of Hortense was such as could not fail to excite +admiration and kind feeling. Her countenance was full of talent, blended +with the mild expression of a perfect gentlewoman. Her figure, though +not beyond the middle height, was of a mould altogether majestic. She +lamented that she had not sooner known of the purposed length of our +stay in that part of Switzerland, as, having conceived that we were +merely passing a few days, she had been unwilling to occupy our time. +She then spoke of her regret at not <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[Pg 252]</a></span>being able to entertain us +according to her wishes. And, finally, she told us that she had in +agitation some little theatricals which, if we could bear with such +trifles, we should do her pleasure in attending. All this was said with +simple and winning eloquence."</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Theatric entertainments.</div> + +<p>The room for this little theatric entertainment was in a small building, +beautifully decorated, near the house. Many distinguished guests were +present; many from Constance; so that the apartment was crowded to its +utmost capacity. There were two short plays enacted. In one Hortense +took a leading part in scenes of trial and sorrow, in which her peculiar +powers were admirably displayed. Even making all suitable allowance for +the politeness due from guests to their host, it is evident that +Hortense possessed dramatic talent of a very high order.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Taste and culture.</div> + +<p>From the theatre the guests returned to the chateau, where preparations +had been made for dancing. In the intervals between the dances there was +singing, accompanied by the piano. "Here, again," writes one of the +guests, "Hortense was perfectly at home. She sang several songs, of +which I afterwards found her to be the unacknowledged composer. Among +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[Pg 253]</a></span>these was the beautiful air, <i>Partant pour la Syrie</i>, which will be a +fair guaranty that I do not say too much for the rest."</p> + +<p>At the close of the evening, as the guests began to depart, the +remainder were dispersed through the suite of rooms, admiring the +various objects of curiosity and of beauty with which they are +decorated. There were some beautiful paintings, and several pieces of +exquisite statuary. Upon the tables there were engravings, +drawing-books, and works of <i>belles-lettres</i>.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Accomplishments of Hortense.</div> + +<p>"I chanced," writes the visitor from whom we have above quoted, "to +place my hand upon a splendid album, and had the further good-fortune to +seat myself beside a beautiful young <i>dame de compagnie</i> of the duchess, +who gave me the history of all the treasures I found therein. Whatever I +found most remarkable was still the work of Hortense. Of a series of +small portraits, sketched by her in colors, the likeness of those of +which I had seen the subjects would have struck me, though turned upside +down. She had the same power and the same affectionate feeling for +fixing the remembrance of places likewise.</p> + +<p>"The landscapes which she had loved in forbidden <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[Pg 254]</a></span>France, even the +apartments which she had inhabited, were executed in a manner that put +to shame the best amateur performances I had ever seen. There was a +minute attention to fidelity in them, too, which a recollection of her +present circumstances could not fail to bring home to the spectator's +heart.</p> + +<p>"I know not when my interest would have cooled in this mansion of taste +and talent. Towards morning I was obliged to take my leave; and I doubt +if there were any individual who returned home by that bright moonlight, +without feeling that Hortense had been born some century and a half too +late. For an age of bigots and turncoats she, indeed, seemed unsuited. +In that of true poetry and trusty cavaliers, she would have been the +subject of the best rhymes and rencontres in romantic France.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Society at Arenemberg.</div> + +<p>"After this I saw her frequently, both at her own house and at Wolfberg, +and I never found any thing to destroy the impression which I received +on my introduction. Independently of the interest attached to herself, +she had always in her company some person who had made a noise in the +world, and had become an object of curiosity. At one time it was a +distinguished painter or poet; again, it was a battered soldier, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[Pg 255]</a></span>who +preferred resting in retirement to the imputation of changing his +politics for advancement; then a grand duke or duchess who had undergone +as many vicissitudes as herself; and, finally, the widow of the +unfortunate Marshal Ney.</p> + +<p>"There was something in the last of these characters, particularly when +associated with Hortense, more interesting than all the others. She was +a handsome, but grave and silent woman, and still clad in mourning for +her husband, whose death, so connected with the banishment of the +duchess, could not fail to render them deeply sympathetic in each +other's fortunes. The amusements provided for all this company consisted +of such as I have mentioned—expeditions to various beautiful spots in +the neighborhood, and music parties on the water. The last of these used +sometimes to have a peculiarly romantic effect; for on <i>fête</i> days the +young peasant girls, all glittering in their golden tinsel bonnets, +would push off with their sweethearts, like mad things, in whatever +boats they could find upon the beach. I have seen them paddling their +little fleet round the duchess's boat with all the curiosity of savages +round a man-of-war.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Amiability of Hortense.</div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[Pg 256]</a></span></p><p>"At length the time arrived for me to bid adieu to Switzerland. It was +arranged that I should set out for Italy with a small party of my +Wolfberg friends. An evening or two before we departed we paid a +leave-taking visit to the duchess. She expressed much polite regret at +our intention, and gave us a cordial invitation to renew our +acquaintance with her in the winter at Rome. Her care, indeed, to leave +a good impression of her friendly disposition upon our minds, was +exceedingly gratifying. She professed to take an interest in the plans +which each of us had formed, and, when her experience qualified her, +gave us instructions for our travels.</p> + +<p>"When we rose to depart, the night being fine, she volunteered to walk +part of the way home with us. She came about a quarter of a mile to +where she could command an uninterrupted view of the lake, above which +the moon was just then rising, a huge red orb which shot a burning +column to her feet. 'I will now bid you adieu,' she said; and we left +her to the calm contemplation of grandeur which could not fade, and +enjoyments which could not betray. This was the last time I saw, and +perhaps shall ever see Hortense; but I shall always <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[Pg 257]</a></span>remember my brief +acquaintance with her as a dip into days which gave her country the +character of being the most polished of nations."</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The city home of Hortense and her son.</div> + +<p>Hortense, with her son Louis Napoleon, had been in the habit of passing +the severity of the winter months in the cities of Augsburg or Munich, +spending about eight months of the year at Arenemberg. But after the +death of her brother Eugene, the associations which those cities +recalled were so painful that she transferred her winter residence to +Rome or Florence. An English lady who visited her at Arenemberg writes:</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Testimony of an English lady.</div> + +<p>"The style of living of the Duchess of St. Leu is sumptuous, without +that freezing etiquette so commonly met with in the great. Her household +still call her <i>Queen</i>, and her son <i>Prince</i> Napoleon or <i>Prince</i> Louis. +The suite is composed of two ladies of honor, an equerry, and the tutor +of her younger son. She has a numerous train of domestics, and it is +among them that the traces are still observable of bygone pretensions, +long since abandoned by the true nobleness of their mistress. The former +queen, the daughter of Napoleon, the mother of the Imperial +heir-apparent, has returned <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[Pg 258]</a></span>quietly to private life with the perfect +grace of a voluntary sacrifice.</p> + +<p>"The duchess receives strangers with inexpressible kindness. Ever +amiable and obliging, she is endowed with that charming simplicity which +inspires, at first sight, the confidence of intimate affection. She +speaks freely of the brilliant days of her prosperity. And history then +flows so naturally from her lips, that more may be learned as a +delighted listener, than from all the false or exaggerated works so +abundant everywhere. The deposed queen considers past events from such +an eminence that nothing can interpose itself between her and the truth. +This strict impartiality gives birth to that true greatness, which is a +thousand times preferable to all the splendors she lost in the flower of +her age.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The Duchess of St. Leu.</div> + +<p>"I have been admitted to the intimacy of the Duchess of St. Leu, both at +Rome and in the country. I have seen her roused to enthusiasm by the +beauties of nature, and have seen her surrounded by the pomp of +ceremony; but I have never known her less than herself; nor has the +interest first inspired by her character ever been diminished by an +undignified sentiment or the slightest selfish reflection.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[Pg 259]</a></span></p><p>"It is impossible to be a more ardent and tasteful admirer of the fine +arts than is the duchess. Every one has heard her beautiful <i>romances</i>, +which are rendered still more touching by the soft and melodious voice +of the composer. She usually sings standing; and, although a finished +performer on the harp and piano, she prefers the accompaniment of one of +her attendant ladies. Many of her leisure hours are employed in +painting. Miniatures, landscapes, and flowers are equally the subjects +of her pencil. She declaims well, is a delightful player in comedy, acts +proverbs with uncommon excellence, and I really know no one who can +surpass her in every kind of needle-work.</p> + +<p>"The Duchess of St. Leu never was a regular beauty, but she is still a +charming woman. She has the softest and most expressive blue eyes in the +world. Her light flaxen hair contrasts beautifully with the dark color +of her long eyelashes and eyebrows. Her complexion is fresh and of an +even tint; her figure elegantly moulded; her hands and feet perfect. In +fine, her whole appearance is captivating in the extreme. She speaks +quickly with rapid gestures, and all her movements are easy and +graceful. Her style of dress is rich, though she <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[Pg 260]</a></span>has parted with most +of her jewels and precious stones."</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Pursuits of Prince Louis.</div> + +<p>Hortense was almost invariably accompanied by her son, Louis Napoleon, +whether residing in Italy or in Switzerland. When at Arenemberg, the +young prince availed himself of the vicinity to the city in pursuing a +rigorous course of study in physics and chemistry under the guidance of +a very distinguished French philosopher. He also connected himself, in +prosecuting his military studies, with a Baden regiment garrisoned at +Constance. He was here recognized as the Duke of St. Leu, and was always +received with much distinction. At Rome, the residence of Hortense was +the centre of the most brilliant and polished society of the city. Here +her son was introduced to the most distinguished men from all lands, and +especially to the old friends of the Empire, who kept alive in his mind +the memory of the brilliant exploits of him whose name he bore. Pauline +Bonaparte, who had married for her second husband Prince Borghese, and +who was immensely wealthy, also resided in the vicinity of Rome, in +probably the most magnificent villa in Europe. Hortense and her son were +constant visitors at her residence.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Madame Récamier meets Hortense.</div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[Pg 261]</a></span></p><p>Madame Récamier, who had ever been the warm friend of the Bourbons, and +whom Hortense had befriended when the Bourbons were in exile, gives the +following account of an interview she had with Queen Hortense in Rome, +early in the year 1824. The two friends had not met since the "Hundred +Days" in 1815. We give the narrative in the words of Madame Récamier:</p> + +<p>"I went one day to St. Peter's to listen to the music, so beautiful +under the vaults of that immense edifice. There, leaning against a +pillar, meditating under my veil, I followed with heart and soul the +solemn notes that died away in the depths of the dome. An +elegant-looking woman, veiled like myself, came and placed herself near +the same pillar. Every time that a more lively feeling drew from me an +involuntary movement my eyes met those of the stranger. She seemed to be +trying to recognize my features. And I, on my side, through the obstacle +of our veils, thought I distinguished blue eyes and light hair that were +not unknown to me. 'Madame Récamier!' 'Is it you, madame?' we said +almost at the same moment. 'How delighted I am to see you!' said Queen +Hortense, for she it was. 'You know,' she added, smiling, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[Pg 262]</a></span>'that I would +not have waited until now to find you out; but you have always been +ceremonious with me.'</p> + +<p>"'Then, madame,' I replied, 'my friends were exiled and unfortunate. You +were happy and brilliant, and my place was not near you.'</p> + +<p>"'If misfortune has the privilege of attracting you,' replied the queen, +'you must confess that my time has come and permit me to advance my +claims.'</p> + +<p>"I was a little embarrassed for a reply. My connection with the Duke de +Laval, our ambassador at Rome, and with the French Government in +general, was a barrier to any visiting between us. She understood my +silence.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Interview with Madame Récamier.</div> + +<p>"'I know,' she said, sadly, 'that the inconveniences of greatness follow +us still, when even our prerogatives are gone. Thus, with loss of rank, +I have not acquired liberty of action. I can not to-day even taste the +pleasures of a woman's friendship, and peaceably enjoy society that is +pleasant and dear to me.'</p> + +<p>"I bowed my head with emotion, expressing my sympathy only by my looks.</p> + +<p>"'But I must talk to you,' said the queen, more warmly. 'I have so many +things to say to you. If we can not visit each other, nothing <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[Pg 263]</a></span>prevents +us from meeting elsewhere. We will appoint some place to meet. That will +be charming.'</p> + +<p>"'Charming indeed, madame,' I replied, smiling; 'and especially for me. +But how shall we fix the time and place for these interviews?'</p> + +<p>"'It is you,' Hortense replied, 'who must arrange that; for, thanks to +the solitude forced upon me, my time is entirely at my own disposal. But +it may not be the same with you. Sought for as you are, you mix, no +doubt, a great deal in society.'</p> + +<p>"'Heaven forbid!' I replied. 'On the contrary, I lead a very retired +life. It would be absurd to come to Rome to see society, and people +everywhere the same. I prefer to visit what is peculiarly her own—her +monuments and ruins.'</p> + +<p>"'Well, then, we can arrange every thing finely,' added Hortense; 'if it +is agreeable to you I will join you in these excursions. Let me know +each day your plans for the next; and we will meet, as if by accident, +at the appointed places.'</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Arrangements for meeting.</div> + +<p>"I eagerly accepted this offer, anticipating much pleasure in making the +tour of old Rome with so gracious and agreeable a companion, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[Pg 264]</a></span>and one +who loved and understood art. The queen, on her side, was happy in the +thought that I would talk to her of France; whilst to both of us the +little air of mystery thrown over these interviews gave them another +charm.</p> + +<p>"'Where do you propose to go to-morrow?' asked the queen.</p> + +<p>"'To the Coliseum.'</p> + +<p>"'You will assuredly find me there,' Hortense replied. 'I have much to +say to you. I wish to justify myself in your eyes from an imputation +that distresses me.'</p> + +<p>"The queen began to enter into explanations; and the interview +threatening to be a long one, I frankly reminded her that the French +ambassador, who had brought me to St. Peter's, was coming back for me; +for I feared that a meeting would be embarrassing to both.</p> + +<p>"'You are right,' said the queen. 'We must not be surprised together. +Adieu, then. To-morrow at the Coliseum;' and we separated."</p> + +<p>Madame Récamier, the bosom-friend of Chateaubriand, was in entire +political sympathy with the illustrious poet. She regarded legitimacy as +a part of her religion, and was intensely <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[Pg 265]</a></span>devoted to the interests of +the Bourbons. She was one of the most beautiful and fascinating women +who ever lived. Napoleon at St. Helena, in allusion to this remarkable +lady, said:</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Difficulty between Napoleon and Madame Récamier.</div> + +<p>"I was scarcely First Consul ere I found myself at issue with Madame +Récamier. Her father had been placed in the Post-office Department. I +had found it necessary to sign, in confidence, a great number of +appointments; but I soon established a very rigid inspection in every +department A correspondence was discovered with the Chouans, going on +under the connivance of M. Bernard, the father of Madame Récamier. He +was immediately dismissed, and narrowly escaped trial and condemnation +to death. His daughter hastened to me, and upon her solicitation I +exempted M. Bernard from taking his trial, but was resolute respecting +his dismissal. Madame Récamier, accustomed to obtain every thing, would +be satisfied with nothing less than the reinstatement of her father. +Such were the morals of the times. My severity excited loud +animadversions. It was a thing quite unusual. Madame Récamier and her +party never forgave me."<a name="FNanchor_J_10" id="FNanchor_J_10"></a><a href="#Footnote_J_10" class="fnanchor">[J]</a></p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[Pg 266]</a></span></p><p>The home of Madame De Staël, who was the very intimate friend of Madame +Récamier, became, in the early stages of the Empire, the rendezvous of +all those who were intriguing for the overthrow of the government of +Napoleon. The Emperor, speaking upon this subject at St. Helena, said:</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Banishment of Madame de Staël.</div> + +<p>"The house of Madame De Staël had become quite an arsenal against me. +People went there to be armed knights. She endeavored to raise enemies +against me, and fought against me herself. She was at once Armida and +Clorinda. It can not be denied that Madame de Staël is a very +distinguished woman. She will go down to posterity. At the time of the +Concordat, against which Madame de Staël was violently inflamed, she +united at once against me the aristocrats and the republicans. Having at +length tired out my patience, she was sent into exile. I informed her +that I left her the universe for the theatre of her achievements; that I +reserved only Paris for myself, which I forbade her to approach, and +resigned the rest of the world to her."</p> + +<p>The banishment of Madame de Staël from Paris excited as much bitterness +in the soul of Madame Récamier as it was possible for a lady <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[Pg 267]</a></span>of such +rare amiability and loveliness of character to feel. Madame Récamier, in +giving an account of this transaction, says:</p> + +<p>"I had a passionate admiration for Madame de Staël; and this harsh and +arbitrary act showed me despotism under its most odious aspect. The man +who banished a woman, and such a woman,—who caused her such +unhappiness, could only be regarded by me as an unmerciful tyrant; and +from that hour I was against him."</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Cause of Madame Récamier's banishment.</div> + +<p>The result was that Madame Récamier was forbidden to reside within one +hundred and twenty miles of Paris. The reason which Napoleon assigned +for these measures was, that Madame de Staël, with the most +extraordinary endowments of mind, and Madame Récamier, with charms of +personal loveliness which had made her renowned through all Europe, were +combining their attractions in forming a conspiracy which would surely +deluge the streets of Paris in blood. Napoleon affirmed that though the +Government was so strong that it could certainly crush an insurrection +in the streets, he thought it better to prohibit these two ladies any +further residence in Paris, rather than leave them to foment rebellion, +which <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[Pg 268]</a></span>would cost the lives of many thousands of comparatively innocent +persons.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">She returns to Paris.</div> + +<p>When the Bourbons, at the first restoration, returned to Paris, in the +rear of the batteries of the Allies, Madame Récamier again took up her +residence in Paris. Her saloons were thronged with the partisans of the +old regime, and she was universally recognized as the queen of fashion +and beauty. She was in the enjoyment of a very large income, kept her +carriage, had a box at the opera, and on opera nights had receptions +after the performances. The wheel of fortune had turned, and she was now +in the ascendant. Lord Wellington was among her admirers. But the +brusque, unpolished duke disgusted the refined French lady by his boast +to her, "I have given Napoleon a good beating."</p> + +<p>Still the wheel continued its revolution. Napoleon returned from Elba. +The Bourbons and their partisans fled precipitately from France. But, in +the interim, Madame Récamier and Madame de Staël had dined with the +Duchess of St. Leu, at her estate a few leagues from Paris. The return +of Napoleon plunged Madame Récamier and her friend into the utmost +consternation. She was very unwilling again to leave Paris. In this +emergency, Hortense, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[Pg 269]</a></span>who was then at the Tuileries, wrote to her under +date of March 23, 1815:</p> + +<p>"I hope that you are tranquil. You may trust to me to take care of your +interests. I am convinced that I shall not have occasion to show you how +delighted I should be to be useful to you. Such would be my desire. But +under any circumstances count upon me, and believe that I shall be very +happy to prove my friendship for you.</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0"><span class="smcap">Hortense</span>."<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<div class="sidenote">Hortense exiled.</div> + +<p>The "Hundred Days" passed away. The Bourbons were re-enthroned. Madame +Récamier was again a power in Paris. Hortense, deprived of the duchy of +St. Leu, was driven an exile out of France. Fifteen years had rolled +away, and these two distinguished ladies had not met until the +accidental interview to which we have alluded beneath the dome of St. +Peter's Cathedral. They were friends, though one was the representative +of aristocracy and the other of the rights of the people.</p> + +<p>According to the arrangement which they had made, Hortense and Madame +Récamier met the next day at the Coliseum. Though it is not to be +supposed that Madame Récamier would make any false representations, it +is evident <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[Pg 270]</a></span>that, under the circumstances, she would not soften any of +the expressions of Hortense, or represent the conversation which ensued +in any light too favorable to Napoleon. We give the narrative, however, +of this very interesting interview in the words of Madame Récamier:</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Interview at the Coliseum.</div> + +<p>"The next day, at the Ave Maria, I was at the Coliseum, where I saw the +queen's carriage, which had arrived a few minutes before me. We entered +the amphitheatre together, complimenting each other on our punctuality, +and strolled through this immense ruin as the sun was setting, and to +the sound of distant bells.</p> + +<p>"Finally we seated ourselves on the steps of the cross in the centre of +the amphitheatre, while Charles Napoleon Bonaparte and M. Ampère, who +had followed us, walked about at a little distance. The night came +on—an Italian night. The moon rose slowly in the heavens, behind the +open arcades of the Coliseum. The breeze of evening sighed through the +deserted galleries. Near me sat this woman, herself the living ruin of +so extraordinary a fortune. A confused and undefinable emotion forced me +to silence. The queen also seemed absorbed in her reflections.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[Pg 271-272]</a></span></p> +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 249px;"> +<img src="images/i268.jpg" class="ispace" width="249" height="450" alt="INTERVIEW IN THE COLISEUM." title="" /> +<span class="caption">INTERVIEW IN THE COLISEUM.</span> +</div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[Pg 273]</a></span></p><p>"'How many events have contributed to bring us together,' she said +finally, turning towards me, 'events of which I often have been the +puppet or the victim, without having foreseen or provoked them.'</p> + +<p>"I could not help thinking that this pretension to the rôle of a victim +was a little hazardous. At that time I was under the conviction that she +had not been a stranger to the return from the island of Elba. Doubtless +the queen divined my thoughts, since it is hardly possible for me to +hide my sentiments. My bearing and face betray me in spite of myself.</p> + +<p>"'I see plainly,'she said earnestly, 'that you share an opinion that has +injured me deeply; and it was to controvert it that I wanted to speak to +you freely. Henceforth you will justify me, I hope; for I can clear +myself of the charge of ingratitude and treason, which would abase me in +my own eyes if I had been guilty of them.'</p> + +<p>"She was silent a moment and then resumed. 'In 1814, after the +abdication of Fontainebleau, I considered that the Emperor had renounced +all his rights to the throne, and that his family ought to follow his +example. It was my wish to remain in France, under a title that would +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[Pg 274]</a></span>not give umbrage to the new Government. At the request of the Emperor of +Russia, Louis XVIII. gave me authority to assume the title of Duchess of +St. Leu, and confirmed me in the possession of my private property. In +an audience that I obtained to thank him, he treated me with so much +courtesy and kindness that I was sincerely grateful; and after having +freely accepted his favors I could not think of conspiring against him.</p> + +<p>"'I heard of the landing of the Emperor only through public channels, +and it gave me much more annoyance than pleasure. I knew the Emperor too +well to imagine that he would have attempted such an enterprise without +having certain reasons to hope for success. But the prospect of a civil +war afflicted me deeply, and I was convinced that we could not escape +it. The speedy arrival of the Emperor baffled all my previsions.</p> + +<p>"'On hearing of the departure of the king, and picturing him to myself +old, infirm, and forced to abandon his country again, I was sensibly +touched. The idea that he might be accusing me of ingratitude and +treason was insupportable to me; and, notwithstanding all the risk of +such a step, I wrote to him to exculpate <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[Pg 275]</a></span>myself from any participation +in the events which had just taken place.</p> + +<p>"'On the evening of the 20th of March, being advised of the Emperor's +approach by his old minister, I presented myself at the Tuileries to +await his coming. I saw him arrive, surrounded, pressed, and borne +onward by a crowd of officers of all ranks. In all this tumult I could +scarcely accost him. He received me coldly, said a few words to me, and +appointed an interview for next day. The Emperor has always inspired me +with fear, and his tone on this occasion was not calculated to reassure +me. I presented myself, however, with as calm a bearing as was possible. +I was introduced into his private room; and we were scarcely alone when +he advanced toward me quickly, and said brusquely,</p> + +<p>"'"Have you then so poorly comprehended your situation that you could +renounce your name, and the rank you held from me, to accept a title +given by the Bourbons?"</p> + +<p>"'"My duty sire," I replied, summoning up all my courage to answer him, +"was to think of my children's future, since the abdication of your +Majesty left me no longer any other to fulfill."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[Pg 276]</a></span></p><p>"'"Your children," exclaimed the Emperor, "your children! Were they not +my nephews before they were your sons? Have you forgotten that? Had you +the right to strip them of the rank that belonged to them?" And as I +looked at him, all amazed, he added, with increasing rage, "Have you not +read the Code, then?"</p> + +<p>"'I avowed my ignorance, recalling to myself that he had formerly +considered it reprehensible, in any woman, and especially in members of +his own family, to dare to avow that they knew any thing about +legislation. Then he explained to me with volubility the article in the +law prohibiting any change in the state of minors, or the making of any +renunciation in their name. As he talked he strode up and down the room, +the windows of which were open to admit the beautiful spring sun. I +followed him, trying to make him understand that, not knowing the laws, +I had only thought of the interests of my children, and taken counsel of +my heart. The Emperor stopped all of a sudden, and turning roughly +towards me, said,</p> + +<p>"'"Then it should have told you, Madame, that when you shared the +prosperity of a family, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[Pg 277]</a></span>you ought to know how to submit to its +misfortunes."</p> + +<p>"'At these last words I burst into tears. But at this moment our +conversation was interrupted by a tremendous uproar which frightened me. +The Emperor, while talking, had unconsciously approached the window +looking upon the terrace of the Tuileries, which was filled with people, +who, upon recognizing him, rent the air with frantic acclamations. The +Emperor, accustomed to control himself, saluted the people electrified +by his presence, and I hastened to dry my eyes. But they had seen my +tears, without the slightest suspicion of their cause. For the next day +the papers vied with each other in repeating that the Emperor had shown +himself at the windows of the Tuileries, accompanied by Queen Hortense, +and that the Queen was so moved by the enthusiasm manifested at the +sight of her that she could scarcely restrain her tears.'</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Subsequent meetings.</div> + +<p>"This account," adds Madame Récamier, "had an air of sincerity about it, +which shook my previous convictions, and the regard I felt for the Queen +was heightened. From that time we became firm friends. We met each other +every day, sometimes at the Temple of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[Pg 278]</a></span>Vesta, sometimes at the Baths of +Titus, or at the Tomb of Cecilia Metella; at others, in some one of the +numerous churches of the Christian city, in the rich galleries of its +palaces, or at one of the beautiful villas in its environs; and such was +our punctuality, that our two carriages almost always arrived together +at the appointed place.</p> + +<p>"I found the queen a very fascinating companion. And she showed such a +delicate tact in respecting the opinions she knew I held, that I could +not prevent myself saying that I could only accuse her of the one fault +of not being enough of a Bonapartist. Notwithstanding the species of +intimacy established between us, I had always abstained from visiting +her, when news arrived of the death of Eugene Beauharnais. The Queen +loved her brother tenderly. I understood the grief she must feel in +losing her nearest relation and the best friend she had in the world, +and came quickly to a decision. I immediately went to her, and found her +in the deepest affliction. The whole Bonaparte family was there, but +that gave me little uneasiness. In such cases it is impossible for me to +consider party interests or public opinion. I have been often blamed for +this, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[Pg 279]</a></span>and probably shall be again, and I must resign myself to this +censure, since I shall never cease to deserve it."</p> + +<p>Hortense, immediately upon receiving the tidings of the dangerous +sickness of her brother, had written thus to Madame Récamier. The letter +was dated,</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i25">"Rome, Friday morning, April, 1824.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<div class="sidenote">Letter from Hortense.</div> + +<p>"<span class="smcap">My Dear Madame</span>,—It seems to be my fate not to be able to enjoy any +pleasures, diversions, or interest without the alloy of pain. I have +news of my brother. He has been ill. They kindly assure me that he was +better when the letter was sent, but I can not help being extremely +anxious. I have a presentiment that this is his last illness, and I am +far from him. I trust that God will not deprive me of the only friend +left me—the best and most honorable man on earth. I am going to St. +Peter's to pray. That will comfort me perhaps, for my very anxiety +frightens me. One becomes weak and superstitious in grief. I can not +therefore go with you to-day, but I shall be happy to see you, if you +would like to join me at St. Peter's. I know that you are not afraid of +the unhappy, and that <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[Pg 280]</a></span>you bring them happiness. To wish for you now is +enough to prove to you my regard for you.</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"<span class="smcap">Hortense</span>."<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>Soon after the death of Prince Eugene, Hortense returned to Arenemberg. +From that place she wrote to Madame Récamier, under date of June 10th, +1824:</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Letter from Hortense.</div> + +<p>"You were kind enough, Madame, to wish to hear from me. I can not say +that I am well, when I have lost every thing on this earth. Meanwhile I +am not in ill health. I have just had another heart-break. I have seen +all my brother's things. I do not recoil from this pain, and perhaps I +may find in it some consolation. This life, so full of troubles, can +disturb no longer the friends for whom we mourn. He, no doubt, is happy. +With your sympathies you can imagine all my feelings.</p> + +<p>"I am at present in my retreat. The scenery is superb. In spite of the +lovely sky of Italy, I still find Arenemberg very beautiful. But I must +always be pursued by regrets. It is undoubtedly my fate. Last year I was +so contented. I was very proud of not repining, not wishing for any +thing in this world. I had a good brother, good children. To-day <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[Pg 281]</a></span>how +much need have I to repeat to myself that there are still some left to +whom I am necessary!</p> + +<p>"But I am talking a great deal about myself, and I have nothing to tell +you, if it be not that you have been a great comfort to me, and that I +shall always be pleased to see you again. You are among those persons to +whom it is not needful to relate one's life or one's feelings. The heart +is the best interpreter, and they who thus read us become necessary to +us.</p> + +<p>"I do not ask you about your plans, and nevertheless I am interested to +know them. Do not be like me, who live without a future, and who expect +to remain where fate puts me; for I may stay at my country-place all +winter, if I can have all the rooms heated. Sometimes the wind seems to +carry the house off, and the snow, I am told, is of frightful depth. But +it requires little courage to surmount these obstacles. On the contrary, +these great effects of nature are sometimes not without their charms. +Adieu. Do not entirely forget me. Believe me, your friendship has done +me good. You know what a comfort a friendly voice from one's native +country is, when it comes to us in misfortune and isolation. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[Pg 282]</a></span>Be kind +enough to tell me that I am unjust if I complain too much of my destiny, +and that I have still some friends left.</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"<span class="smcap">Hortense</span>."</span> +</div></div> + +<div class="sidenote">Disgrace of Chateaubriand.</div> + +<p>Just about this time M. de Chateaubriand, the illustrious friend of +Madame Récamier, was quite insultingly dismissed from the ministry for +not advocating a law of which the king approved. The disgrace of the +minister created a very deep sensation. In allusion to it, Hortense +wrote to Madame Récamier, from Arenemberg, Sept. 11, 1824, as follows:</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Letter from Hortense.</div> + +<p>"I expected to hear from you on your return from Naples, and as I have +not heard, I know not where to find you. I have fancied that you were on +the road to Paris, because I always imagine that we go where the heart +goes, and where we can be useful to our friends. It is curious to think +what a chain the affections are. Why, I myself, secluded from the world, +stranger to every thing, am sorry to see so distinguished a man shut out +from public life. Is it on account of the interest you have made me take +in that quarter, or is it, rather, because, like a Frenchwoman, I love +to see merit and superiority honored in my country?</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[Pg 283]</a></span></p><p>"At present I am no longer alone. I have my cousin with me, the Grand +Duchess of Baden, a most accomplished person. The brilliancy of her +imagination, the vivacity of her wit, the correctness of her judgment, +together with the perfect balance of all her faculties, render her a +charming and a remarkable woman. She enlivens my solitude and softens my +profound grief. We converse in the language of our country. It is that +of the heart, you know, since at Rome we understood each other so well.</p> + +<p>"I claim your promise to stop on the way at Arenemberg. It will always be +to me very sweet to see you. I can not separate you from one of my +greatest sorrows; which is to say that you are very dear to me, and that +I shall be happy to have an opportunity to assure you of my affection.</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0"><span class="smcap">"Hortense."</span><br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>Madame Récamier, after leaving Rome, kept up her friendly relations and +correspondence with Queen Hortense.</p> + +<p>The winter of 1829 Hortense spent with her sons in Rome. Chateaubriand +was then French ambassador in that city. Upon his leaving, to return to +Paris, Hortense wrote to Madame <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[Pg 284]</a></span>Récamier the following letter, in which +she alludes to his departure:</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i25">"Rome, May 10, 1829.</span> +</div></div> + +<div class="sidenote">Letter from Hortense.</div> + +<p>"<span class="smcap">Dear Madame</span>,—I am not willing that one of your friends should leave +the place where I am living, and where I have had the pleasure of +meeting you, without carrying to you a token of my remembrance. I also +wish you to convey to him my sentiments. Kindnesses show themselves in +the smallest things, and are also felt by those who are the object of +them, without their being equal to the expression of their feelings. But +the benevolence which has been able to reach me has made me regret not +being permitted to know him whom I have learned to appreciate, and who, +in a foreign land, so worthily represented to me my country, at least +such as I always should like to look upon her, as a friend and +protectress.</p> + +<p>"I am soon to return to my mountains, where I hope to hear from you. Do +not forget me entirely. Remember that I love you, and that your +friendship contributed to soothe one of the keenest sorrows of my life. +These are two inseparable memories. Thus never doubt my tender love, in +again assuring you of which I take such pleasure.</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"<span class="smcap">Hortense</span>."</span> +</div></div> + +<div class="sidenote">Revolution in France.</div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[Pg 285]</a></span></p><p>The year 1830 came. Louis Napoleon was then twenty-two years of age. An +insurrection in Paris overthrew the old Bourbon dynasty, and established +its modification in the throne of Louis Philippe. This revolution in +France threw all Europe into commotion. All over Italy the people rose +to cast off the yoke which the Allies, who had triumphed at Waterloo, +had imposed upon them. The exiled members of the Bonaparte family met at +Rome to decide what to do in the emergency. Hortense attended the +meeting with her two sons. The eldest, Napoleon Louis, had married his +cousin, the daughter of Joseph Bonaparte. Both of the young princes, +with great enthusiasm, joined the patriots. Hortense was very much +alarmed for the safety of her sons. She could see but little hope that +the insurrection could be successful in Italy, for the "Holy Alliance" +was pledged to crush it. She wrote imploringly to her children. Louis +Napoleon replied,</p> + +<p>"Your affectionate heart will understand our determination. We have +contracted engagements which we can not break. Can we remain deaf to the +voice of the unfortunate who call to us? We bear a name which obliges us +to listen."</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Attempt of the Italian patriots.<br />Escape of Louis Napoleon.</div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[Pg 286]</a></span></p><p>We have not here space to describe the conflict. The Italian patriots, +overwhelmed by the armies of Austria, were crushed or dispersed. The +elder of the sons of Hortense, Napoleon Louis, died from the fatigue and +exposure of the campaign, and was buried at Florence. The younger son, +Louis Napoleon, enfeebled by sickness, was in the retreat with the +vanquished patriots to Ancona, on the shores of the Adriatic. The +distracted mother was hastening to her children when she heard of the +death of the one, and of the sickness and perilous condition of the +other. She found Louis Napoleon at Ancona, in a burning fever. The +Austrians were gathering up the vanquished patriots wherever they could +be found in their dispersion, and were mercilessly shooting them. +Hortense was in an agony of terror. She knew that her son, if captured, +would surely be shot. The Austrians were soon in possession of Ancona. +They eagerly sought for the young prince, who bore a name which despots +have ever feared. A price was set upon his head. The sagacity of the +mother rescued the child. She made arrangements for a frail skiff to +steal out from the harbor and cross the Adriatic Sea to the shores of +Illyria. Deceived by this stratagem, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[Pg 287]</a></span>the Austrian police had no doubt +that the young prince had escaped. Their vigilance was accordingly +relaxed. Hortense then took a carriage for Pisa. Her son, burning with +fever and emaciate from grief and fatigue, mounted the box behind in the +disguise of a footman. In this manner, exposed every moment to the +danger of being arrested by the Austrian police, the anxious mother and +her son traversed the whole breadth of Italy. As Louis Napoleon had, +with arms in his hands, espoused the cause of the people in their +struggle against Austrian despotism, he could expect no mercy, and there +was no safety for him anywhere within reach of the Austrian arm.</p> + +<p>By a law of the Bourbons, enacted in 1816, which law was re-enacted by +the Government of Louis Philippe, no member of the Bonaparte family +could enter France but under the penalty of death. But Napoleon I., when +in power, had been very generous to the House of Orleans. Hortense, +also, upon the return of Napoleon from Elba, when the Royalists were +flying in terror from the kingdom, had protected and warmly befriended +distinguished members of the family. Under these circumstances, +distracted by the fear that her only surviving child <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[Pg 288]</a></span>would be arrested +and shot, and knowing not which way to turn for safety, the mother and +the son decided, notwithstanding the menace of death suspended over +them, to seek a momentary refuge, incognito, in France.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">They seek refuge in France.</div> + +<p>Embarking in a small vessel, still under assumed names, they safely +reached Cannes. At this port Napoleon had landed sixteen years ago, in +his marvellous return from Elba. The mother and son proceeded +immediately to Paris, resolved to cast themselves upon the generosity of +Louis Philippe. Louis Napoleon was still very sick, and needed his bed +rather than the fatigues of travel. It was the intention of his mother, +so soon as the health of her son was sufficiently restored, to continue +their journey and cross over to England.</p> + +<p>Hortense, in her "Mémoires," speaking of these hours of adversity's +deepest gloom, writes:</p> + +<p>"At length I arrived at the barrier of Paris. I experienced a sort of +self-love in exhibiting to my son, by its most beautiful entrance, that +capital, of which he could probably retain but a feeble recollection. I +ordered the postillion to take us through the Boulevards to the Rue de +la Paix, and to stop at the first hotel. Chance conducted us to the +Hotel D'Hollande. I occupied <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">[Pg 289]</a></span>a small apartment on the third floor, <i>du +premier</i>, first above the entresol. From my room I could see the +Boulevard and the column in the Place Vendôme. I experienced a sort of +saddened pleasure, in my isolation, in once more beholding that city +which I was about to leave, perhaps forever, without speaking to a +person, and without being distracted by the impression which that view +made upon me."</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The vicissitudes of life.</div> + +<p>Twenty-two years before, Hortense, in this city, had given birth to the +child who was now sick and a fugitive. Austria was thirsting for his +blood, and the Government of his own native land had laid upon him the +ban of exile, and it was at the peril of their lives that either mother +or son placed their feet upon the soil of France. And yet the birth of +this prince was welcomed by salvos of artillery, and by every +enthusiastic demonstration of public rejoicing, from Hamburg to Rome, +and from the Pyrenees to the Danube.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Obligations of Louis Philippe to Hortense.</div> + +<p>Louis Napoleon was still suffering from a burning fever. A few days of +repose seemed essential to the preservation of his life. Hortense +immediately wrote a letter to King Louis Philippe, informing him of the +arrival of herself and son, incognito, in Paris, of the circumstances +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">[Pg 290]</a></span>which had rendered the step necessary, and casting themselves upon his +protection. Louis Philippe owed Hortense a deep debt of gratitude. He +had joined the Allies in their war against France. He had come back to +Paris in the rear of their batteries. By French law he was a traitor +doomed to die. When Napoleon returned from Elba he fled from France in +terror, again to join the Allies. He was then the Duke of Orleans. The +Duchess of Orleans had slipped upon the stairs and broken her leg. She +could not be moved. Both Hortense and Napoleon treated her with the +greatest kindness. Of several letters which the Duchess of Orleans wrote +Hortense, full of expressions of obligation and gratitude, we will quote +but one.</p> + +<p class="center"><i>The Duchess of Orleans to Queen Hortense.</i></p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i25">"April 19, 1815.</span> +</div></div> + +<p>"<span class="smcap">Madame</span>,—I am truly afflicted that the feeble state of my health +deprives me of the opportunity of expressing to your majesty, as I could +wish, my gratitude for the interest she has manifested in my situation. +I am still suffering much pain, as my limb has not yet healed. But I can +not defer expressing to your majesty, and to his majesty, the Emperor, +to whom I beg <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">[Pg 291]</a></span>you to be my interpreter, the gratitude I feel I am, +madame, your majesty's servant,</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"<span class="smcap">Louise Marie Adelaide De</span></span> +<span class="i2"><span class="smcap">Bourbon, Duchess D'Orleans"</span>."</span> +</div></div> + +<div class="sidenote">The Duchess of Bourbon.</div> + +<p>The Emperor, in response to the solicitations of Hortense, had permitted +the Duchess of Orleans to remain in Paris, and also had assured her of a +pension of four hundred thousand francs ($80,000). The Duchess of +Bourbon, also, aunt of the Duke of Orleans, was permitted to remain in +the city. And she, also, that she might be able to maintain the position +due to her rank, received from the Emperor a pension of two hundred +thousand francs ($40,000). The Duchess of Bourbon had written to +Hortense for some great favors, which Hortense obtained for her. In +reply to the assurance of Hortense that she would do what she could to +aid her, the duchess wrote, under date of April 29th, 1815:</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Letter to Hortense.</div> + +<p>"I am exceedingly grateful for your kindness, and I have full confidence +in the desire which you express to aid me. I can hardly believe that the +Emperor will refuse a demand which I will venture to say is so just, and +particularly when it is presented by you. Believe <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">[Pg 292]</a></span>me, madame, that my +gratitude equals the sentiments of which I beg you to receive, in +advance, the most sincere attestation."</p> + +<p>Under these circumstances Hortense could not doubt that she might +venture to appeal to the magnanimity of the king.</p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">[Pg 293]</a></span></p> +<h2><span class="smcap">Chapter IX</span>.</h2> + +<h2><span class="smcap">LIFE AT ARENEMBERG</span>.</h2> + +<h3>1831-1836</h3> + +<div class="sidenote">Embarrassments of Louis Philippe.</div> + +<p class="n"><span style="float:left;font-size:50px;line-height:32px;padding-top:2px;padding-bottom:1px;">I</span><span style="margin-left:0%;">t</span> must be confessed that the position of Louis Philippe was painful +when he received the note from Hortense announcing that she and her son +were in Paris. An insurrection in the streets of Paris had overthrown +the throne of the Bourbons, and with it the doctrine of legitimacy. +Louis Philippe had been placed upon the vacant throne, not by the voice +of the French people, but by a small clique in Paris. There was danger +that allied Europe would again rouse itself to restore the Bourbons. +Louis Philippe could make no appeal to the masses of the people for +support, for he was not the king of their choice. Should he do any thing +indicative of friendship for the Bonapartes, it might exasperate all +dynastic Europe; and should the French people learn that an heir of the +Empire was in France, their enthusiasm might produce convulsions the end +of which no one could foresee.</p> + +<p>Thus unstably seated upon his throne, Louis <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">[Pg 294]</a></span>Philippe was in a state of +great embarrassment. He felt that he could not consult the impulses of +his heart, but that he must listen to the colder dictates of prudence. +He therefore did not venture personally to call upon Queen Hortense, but +sent Casimir Périer, president of his council, to see her. As Périer +entered her apartment, Hortense said to him:</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The minister's interview with Hortense.</div> + +<p>"Sir, I am a mother. My only means of saving my son was to come to +France. I know very well that I have transgressed a law. I am well aware +of the risks we run. You have a right to cause our arrest. It would be +just."</p> + +<p>"Just?" responded the minister, "no; legal? yes." The result of some +anxious deliberation was that, in consideration of the alarming sickness +of the young prince, they were to be permitted, provided they preserved +the strictest incognito, to remain in the city one week. The king also +granted Hortense a private audience. He himself knew full well the +sorrows of exile. He spoke feelingly of the weary years which he and his +family had spent in banishment from France.</p> + +<p>"I have experienced," said he to Hortense, "all the griefs of exile. And +it is not in accordance with my wishes that yours have not <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">[Pg 295]</a></span>yet ceased." +Hortense also saw the queen and the king's sister. There were but these +four persons who were allowed to know that Hortense was in Paris. And +but two of these, the king and his minister, knew that Prince Louis +Napoleon was in the city. But just then came the 5th of May. It was the +anniversary of the death of the Emperor at St. Helena. As ever, in this +anniversary, immense crowds of the Parisian people gathered around the +column on the Place Vendôme with their homage to their beloved Emperor, +and covering the railing with wreaths of immortelles and other flowers. +Had the populace known that from his window an heir of the great Emperor +was looking upon them, it would have created a flame of enthusiasm which +scarcely any earthly power could have quenched.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Hortense ordered to leave France.<br />Letter from Louis Napoleon.</div> + +<p>The anxiety of the king, in view of the peril, was so great, that +Hortense was informed that the public safety required that she should +immediately leave France, notwithstanding the continued sickness of her +son. The order was imperative. But both the king and the minister +offered her money, that she might continue her journey to London. But +Hortense did not need pecuniary aid. She had just cashed <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">[Pg 296]</a></span>at the bank an +order for sixteen thousand francs. Before leaving the city, Louis +Napoleon wrote to the king a very eloquent and dignified letter, in +which he claimed his right, as a French citizen, who had never committed +any crime, of residing in his native land. He recognized the king as the +representative of a great nation, and earnestly offered his services in +defense of his country in the ranks of the army. He avowed that in Italy +he had espoused the cause of the people in opposition to aristocratic +usurpation, and he demanded the privilege of taking his position, as a +French citizen, beneath the tri-color of France.</p> + +<p>No reply was returned to this letter. It is said that the spirit and +energy it displayed magnified the alarm of the king, and increased his +urgency to remove the writer, as speedily as possible, from the soil of +France.</p> + +<p>On the 6th of May Hortense and her son left Paris, and proceeded that +day to Chantilly. Travelling slowly, they were four days in reaching +Calais, where they embarked for England. Upon their arrival in London, +both Hortense and her son met with a very flattering reception from +gentlemen of all parties. For some time they were the guests of the Duke +of Bedford, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">[Pg 297]</a></span>at Woburn Abbey. Talleyrand, who was then French ambassador +at the Court of St. James, with characteristic diplomatic caution called +himself, and by means of an agent sought to ascertain what were the +secret plans and purposes of Queen Hortense.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Right of citizenship conferred.</div> + +<p>Several months were passed very profitably in England, and as pleasantly +as was possible for persons who had been so long buffetted by the storms +of adversity, who were exiles from their native land, and who knew not +in what direction to look for a home of safety. While in this state of +perplexity, both mother and son were exceedingly gratified by receiving +from the Canton of Thurgovia the following document, conferring the +rights of citizenship upon the young prince. The document bore the date +of Thurgovia, April 30th, 1832.</p> + +<p>"We, the President of the Council of the Canton of Thurgovia, declare +that, the Commune of Sallenstein having offered the right of communal +citizenship to his highness, Prince Louis Napoleon, out of gratitude for +the numerous favors conferred upon the canton by the family of the +Duchess of St. Leu, since her residence in Arenemberg; and the grand +council having afterwards, by its unanimous vote <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">[Pg 298]</a></span>of the 14th of April, +sanctioned this award, and decreed unanimously to his highness the right +of honorary burghership of the canton, with the desire of proving how +highly it honors the generous character of this family, and how highly +it appreciates the preference they have shown for the canton; declares +that his highness, Prince Louis Napoleon, son of the Duke and Duchess of +St. Leu, is acknowledged as a citizen of the Canton of Thurgovia."</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Response of the prince.</div> + +<p>The prince, in the response which he made in the name of his mother and +himself, expressed their gratitude for the kindness with which they had +ever been treated, and thanked them especially for the honor which they +had conferred upon him, in making him the "citizen of a free nation." As +a testimonial of his esteem he sent to the authorities of the canton two +brass six-pounder cannon, with complete trains and equipage. He also +founded a free school in the village of Sallenstein.</p> + +<p>Encouraged by these expressions of kindly feeling, both Hortense and her +son were very desirous to return to their quiet and much-loved retreat +at Arenemberg. The prince, however, who never allowed himself to waste a +moment of time, devoted himself, during this <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_299" id="Page_299">[Pg 299]</a></span>short visit to England, +assiduously to the study of the workings of British institutions, and to +the progress which the nation had attained in the sciences and the arts. +It was not easy for Hortense and her son to return to Arenemberg. The +Government of Louis Philippe would not permit them to pass through +France. Austria vigilantly and indignantly watched every pathway through +Italy. They made application for permission to pass through Belgium, but +this was denied them. The Belgian throne, which was afterwards offered +to Leopold, was then vacant. It was feared that the people would rally +at the magic name of Napoleon, and insist that the crown should be +placed upon the brow of the young prince.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Permission to pass through France.</div> + +<p>In this sore dilemma, Louis Philippe at last consented, very +reluctantly, that they might pass hurriedly through France, Hortense +assuming the name of the Baroness of Arenemberg, and both giving their +pledge not to enter Paris. Having obtained the necessary passports, +Hortense, with her son, left London in August, and, crossing the +Channel, landed at Calais, thus placing their feet once more upon the +soil of their native land, from which they were exiled by Bourbon power +simply because <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300">[Pg 300]</a></span>they bore the name of Bonaparte, which all France so +greatly revered. In conformity with their agreement they avoided Paris, +though they visited the tomb of Josephine, at Ruel.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Louis Napoleon invited to the throne of Poland.</div> + +<p>They had scarcely reached Switzerland when a deputation of distinguished +Poles called upon the young prince, urging him to place himself at the +head of their nation, then in arms, endeavoring to regain independence. +The letter containing this offer was dated August 31, 1831. It was +signed by General Kniazewiez, Count Plater, and many other of the most +illustrious men of Poland.</p> + +<p>"To whom," it was said, "can the direction of our enterprise be better +intrusted than to the nephew of the greatest captain of all ages? A +young Bonaparte appearing in our country, tri-color in hand, would +produce a moral effect of incalculable consequences. Come, then, young +hero, hope of our country. Trust to the waves, which already know your +name, the fortunes of Cæsar, and what is more, the destinies of liberty. +You will gain the gratitude of your brethren in arms and the admiration +of the world."</p> + +<p>The chivalric spirit of the young prince was aroused. Notwithstanding +the desperation of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_301" id="Page_301">[Pg 301]</a></span>the enterprise and the great anxiety of his mother, +Louis Napoleon left Arenemberg to join the Poles. He had not proceeded +far when he received the intelligence that Warsaw was captured and that +the patriots were crushed. Sadly he returned to Arenemberg. Again, as +ever, he sought solace for his disappointment in intense application to +study. In August, 1832, Madame Récamier with M. de Chateaubriand made a +visit to Hortense, at the chateau of Arenemberg. The biographer of +Madame Récamier in the following terms records this visit:</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Visit of Madame Récamier.</div> + +<p>"In August, 1832, Madame Récamier decided to make a trip to Switzerland, +where she was to meet M. de Chateaubriand, who was already wandering in +the mountains. She went to Constance. The chateau of Arenemberg, where +the Duchess of St. Leu passed her summers, and which she had bought and +put in order, overlooks Lake Constance. It was impossible for Madame +Récamier not to give a few days to this kind and amiable person, +especially in her forlorn and isolated position. The duchess, too, had +lost, the year previous, her eldest son, Napoleon, who died in Italy.</p> + +<p>"When M. de Chateaubriand joined Madame <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302">[Pg 302]</a></span>Récamier at Constance, he was +invited to dine with her at the castle. Hortense received him with the +most gracious kindness, and read to him some extracts from her own +memoirs. The establishment at Arenemberg was elegant, and on a large +though not ostentatious scale. Hortense's manners, in her own house, +were simple and affectionate. She talked too much, perhaps, about her +taste for a life of retirement, love of nature, and aversion to +greatness, to be wholly believed. After all these protestations, her +visitor could not perceive without surprise the care the duchess and her +household took to treat Prince Louis like a sovereign. He had the +precedence of every one.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Accomplishments of the Prince.</div> + +<p>"The prince, polite, accomplished, and taciturn, appeared to Madame +Récamier to be a very different person from his elder brother, whom she +had known in Rome, young, generous, and enthusiastic. The prince +sketched for her, in sepia, a view of Lake Constance, overlooked by the +chateau of Arenemberg. In the foreground a shepherd, leaning against a +tree, is watching his flock and playing on the flute. This design, +pleasantly associated with Madame Récamier's visit, is now historically +interesting. For the last ten years the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303">[Pg 303]</a></span>signature of the author has +been affixed to very different things."</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Heirs to the Empire.</div> + +<p>But a month before this visit, in July, 1832, Napoleon's only son, the +Duke of Reichstadt, died at the age of twenty-one years. All concur in +testifying to his noble character. He died sadly, ever cherishing the +memory of his illustrious sire, who had passed to the grave through the +long agony of St. Helena. The death of the Duke of Reichstadt brought +Louis Napoleon one step nearer to the throne of the Empire, according to +the vote of the French. There were now but two heirs between him and the +crown—his uncle Joseph and his father Louis. Both of these were +advanced in life, and the latter exceedingly infirm. The legitimists +denied that the people had any right to establish a dynasty; but it was +clear that whatever rights popular suffrage could confer would descend +to Louis Napoleon upon the death of Joseph and of Louis Bonaparte. Louis +Napoleon had no doubt that the immense majority of the French people +would improve the first possible opportunity to re-establish the Empire; +and consequently the conviction which he so confidently cherished, that +he was destined to be the Emperor of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304">[Pg 304]</a></span>France, was not a vague and +baseless impression, but the dictate of sound judgment.</p> + +<p>The Holy Alliance now contemplated Louis Napoleon with great anxiety, +and kept a very close watch upon all his movements. The Government of +Louis Philippe was even more unpopular in France than the Government of +the elder branch of the Bourbons had been. The crown had not been placed +upon his brow either by <i>legitimacy</i> or by <i>popular suffrage</i>, and there +were but few whom he could rally to his support.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Studious habits of Louis Napoleon.</div> + +<p>With never-flagging zeal the prince prosecuted his studies in the +peaceful retreat at Arenemberg, that he might be prepared for the high +destiny which he believed awaited him. He published several very +important treatises, which attracted the attention of Europe, and which +gave him a high position, not merely as a man of letters, but as a +statesman of profound views. The <i>Spectateur Militaire</i>, in the review +of the "Manual of Artillery," by Prince Louis Napoleon, says:</p> + +<p>"In looking over this book, it is impossible not to be struck with the +laborious industry of which it is the fruit. Of this we can get an idea +by the list of authors, French, German, and <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_305" id="Page_305">[Pg 305]</a></span>English, which he has +consulted. And this list is no vain catalogue. We can find in the text +the ideas, and often the very expressions, of the authorities which he +has quoted. When we consider how much study and perseverance must have +been employed to succeed in producing only the literary part (for even +the illustrations scattered through the work are from the author's own +designs) of a book which requires such profound and varied attainments, +and when we remember that this author was born on the steps of a throne, +we can not help being seized with admiration for the man who thus +bravely meets the shocks of adversity."</p> + +<p>A gentleman, in a work entitled "Letters from London," in the following +language describes the prince's mode of life at Arenemberg:</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Testimony of an English gentleman.</div> + +<p>"From his tenderest youth Prince Louis Napoleon has despised the habits +of an effeminate life. Although his mother allowed him a considerable +sum for his amusements, these were the last things he thought of. All +this money was spent in acts of beneficence, in founding schools or +houses of refuge, in printing his military or political works, or in +making scientific experiments. His mode of life was always <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306">[Pg 306]</a></span>frugal, and +rather rude. At Arenemberg it was quite military.</p> + +<p>"His room, situated not in the castle, but in a small pavilion beside +it, offered none of the grandeur or elegance so prevalent in Hortense's +apartment. It was, in truth, a regular soldier's tent. Neither carpet +nor arm-chair appeared there; nothing that could indulge the body; +nothing but books of science and arms of all kinds. As for himself, he +was on horseback at break of day, and before any one had risen in the +castle he had ridden several leagues. He then went to work in his +cabinet. Accustomed to military exercises, as good a rider as could be +seen, he never let a day pass without devoting some hours to sword and +lance practice and the use of infantry arms, which he managed with +extraordinary rapidity and address."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_307" id="Page_307">[Pg 307-308]</a></span></p> +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 250px;"> +<img src="images/i304.jpg" class="ispace" width="250" height="450" alt="THE STUDY OF LOUIS NAPOLEON." title="" /> +<span class="caption">THE STUDY OF LOUIS NAPOLEON.</span> +</div> + +<div class="sidenote">Personal appearance of Louis Napoleon.<br />His resemblance to the Emperor.</div> + +<p>His personal appearance at that time is thus graphically sketched. "He +is middle-sized, of an agreeable countenance, and has a military air. To +personal advantages he joins the more seductive distinction of manners +simple, natural, and full of good taste and ease. At first sight I was +struck with his resemblance to Prince Eugene, and to the Empress +Josephine, his grandmother. But I did not remark a like <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_309" id="Page_309">[Pg 309]</a></span>resemblance +to the Emperor. But by attentively observing the essential features, +that is those not depending on more or less fullness or on more or less +beard, we soon discover that the Napoleonic type is reproduced with +astonishing fidelity. It is, in fact, the same lofty forehead, broad and +straight, the same nose, of fine proportions, the same gray eyes, +though, the expression is milder. It is particularly the same contour +and inclination of the head. The latter especially, when the prince +turns, is so full of the Napoleon air, as to make a soldier of the Old +Guard thrill at the sight. And if the eye rests on the outline of these +forms, it is impossible not to be struck, as if before the head of the +Emperor, with the imposing grandeur of the Roman profile, of which the +lines, so defined, so grave, I will even add and so solemn, are, as it +were, the soul of great destinies.</p> + +<p>"The distinguishing expression of the features of the young prince is +that of nobleness and gravity. And yet, far from being harsh, his +countenance, on the contrary, breathes a sentiment of mildness and +benevolence. It seems that the maternal type which is preserved in the +lower part of his face has come to correct the rigidity of the imperial +lines, as <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_310" id="Page_310">[Pg 310]</a></span>the blood of the Beauharnais seems to have tempered in him +the southern violence of the Napoleon blood. But what excites the +greatest interest is that indefinable tinge of melancholy and +thoughtfulness observable in the slightest movement, and revealing the +noble sufferings of exile.</p> + +<p>"But after this portrait you must not figure to yourself one of those +elegant young men, those Adonises of romance who excite the admiration +of the drawing-room. There is nothing of effeminacy in the young +Napoleon. The dark shadows of his countenance indicate an energetic +nature. His assured look, his glance at once quick and thoughtful, every +thing about him points out one of those exceptional natures, one of +those great souls that live by meditating on great things, and that +alone are capable of accomplishing them."</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Letter to M. Belmontet.</div> + +<p>About this time the young prince wrote as follows to his friend, the +poet Belmontet: "Still far from my country, and deprived of all that can +render life dear to a manly heart, I yet endeavor to retain my courage +in spite of fate, and find my only consolation in hard study. Adieu. +Sometimes think of all the bitter thoughts which must fill my mind when +I<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_311" id="Page_311">[Pg 311]</a></span> contrast the past glories of France with her present condition and +hopeless future. It needs no little courage to press on alone, as one +can, towards the goal which one's heart has vowed to reach. Nevertheless +I must not despair, the honor of France has so many elements of vitality +in it."</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Letter to a friend.</div> + +<p>Some months later he wrote to the same friend: "My life has been until +now marked only by profound griefs and stifled wishes. The blood of +Napoleon rebels in my veins, in not being able to flow for the national +glory. Until the present time there has been nothing remarkable in my +life, excepting my birth. The sun of glory shone upon my cradle. Alas! +that is all. But who can complain when the Emperor has suffered so much? +Faith in the future, such is my only hope; the sword of the Emperor my +only stay; a glorious death for France my ambition. Adieu! Think of the +poor exiles, whose eyes are ever turned towards the beloved shores of +France. And believe that my heart will never cease to beat at the sound +of country, honor, patriotism, and devotion."</p> + +<p>Hortense deeply sympathized in the sorrows of her son. Like the caged +eagle, he was <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_312" id="Page_312">[Pg 312]</a></span>struggling against his bars, longing for a lofty flight. +On the 10th of August, 1834, she wrote to their mutual friend, Belmontet +as follows:</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Love of Hortense for her son.</div> + +<p>"The state of my affairs obliges me to remain during the winter in my +mountain home, exposed to all its winds. But what is this compared with +the dreadful sufferings which the Emperor endured upon the rock of St. +Helena? I would not complain if my son, at his age, did not find himself +deprived of all society and completely isolated, without any diversion +but the laborious pursuits to which he is devoted. His courage and +strength of soul equal his sad and painful destiny. What a generous +nature! What a good and noble young man! I am proud to be his mother, +and I should admire him if I were not so. I rejoice as much in the +nobleness of his character, as I grieve at being unable to render his +life more happy. He was born for better things. He is worthy of them. We +contemplate passing a couple of months at Geneva. There he will at least +hear the French language spoken. That will be an agreeable change for +him. The mother-tongue, is it not almost one's country?"</p> + +<p>It every day became more and more evident <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_313" id="Page_313">[Pg 313]</a></span>that the throne of Louis +Philippe, founded only upon the stratagem of a clique in Paris, could +not stand long. Under these circumstances, one of the leading +Republicans in Paris wrote to the prince as follows:</p> + +<p>"The life of the king is daily threatened. If one of these attempts +should succeed, we should be exposed to the most serious convulsions; +for there is no longer in France any party which can lead the others, +nor any man who can inspire general confidence. In this position, +prince, we have turned our eyes to you. The great name which you bear, +your opinions, your character, every thing induces us to see in you a +point of rallying for the popular cause. Hold yourself ready for action, +and when the time shall come your friends will not fail you."</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Column in the Place Vendôme.</div> + +<p>The Government of Louis Philippe had been constrained by the demand of +the French people to restore to the summit of the column in the Place +Vendôme the statue of Napoleon, which the Allies had torn from it. As +the colossal image of the Emperor was raised to its proud elevation on +that majestic shaft, the utmost enthusiasm pervaded not only the streets +of the metropolis, but entire France. Day after <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_314" id="Page_314">[Pg 314]</a></span>day immense crowds +gathered in the place, garlanding the railing with wreaths of +immortelles, and exhibiting enthusiasm which greatly alarmed the +Government.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Arc de l'Etoile.</div> + +<p>Hortense and Louis, from their place of exile, watched these popular +demonstrations with intensest interest. All France seemed to be honoring +Napoleon. And yet neither Hortense nor her son were allowed by the +Government to touch the soil of France under penalty of death, simply +because they were relatives of Napoleon. The completion of the Arc de +l'Etoile, at the head of the avenue of the Champs Elysee, a work which +Napoleon had originated, was another reminder to the Parisians of the +genius of the great Emperor.</p> + +<p>The Emperor, with dying breath, had said at St. Helena, "It is my wish +that my ashes may repose on the banks of the Seine, in the midst of the +French people whom I have loved so well." All France was now demanding +that this wish should be fulfilled. The Government dared not attempt to +resist the popular sentiment. The remains were demanded of England, and +two frigates were sent to transport them to France. And the whole +kingdom prepared to receive those remains, and <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_315" id="Page_315">[Pg 315]</a></span>honor them with a burial +more imposing than had ever been conferred upon a mortal before.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">First heir to the Empire.</div> + +<p>Louis Napoleon and his friends thought that the time had now arrived in +which it was expedient for him to present himself before the people of +France, and claim their protection from the oppression of the French +Government. It was believed that the French people, should the +opportunity be presented them, would rise at the magic name of Napoleon, +overthrow the throne of Louis Philippe, and then, by the voice of +universal suffrage, would re-establish the Empire.</p> + +<p>This would place Joseph Bonaparte on the throne, and would at once annul +the decree of banishment against the whole Bonaparte family. Hortense +and Louis Napoleon could then return to their native land. As Louis +Napoleon was in the direct line of hereditary descent, the +re-establishment of the Empire would undoubtedly in the end secure the +crown for Louis Napoleon. The ever-increasing enthusiasm manifested for +the memory of Napoleon I., and the almost universal unpopularity of the +Government of Louis Philippe, led Louis Napoleon and his friends to +think that the time had come for the restoration of the Empire, or +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_316" id="Page_316">[Pg 316]</a></span>rather to restore to the people the right of universal suffrage, that +they might choose a republic or empire or a monarchy, as the people +should judge best for the interests of France.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The throne of Louis Philippe menaced.</div> + +<p>It so happened that there was, at that time, in garrison at Strasburg +the same regiment in which General Bonaparte so brilliantly commenced +his career at the siege of Toulon, and which had received him with so +much enthusiasm at Grenoble, on his return from Elba, and had escorted +him in his triumphant march to Paris. Colonel Vaudrey, a very +enthusiastic and eloquent young man who had great influence over his +troops, was in command of the regiment. It was not doubted that these +troops would with enthusiasm rally around an heir of the Empire. In +preparation for the movement, Louis Napoleon held several interviews +with Colonel Vaudrey at Baden. In one of these interviews the prince +said to the colonel:</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Remarks of Louis Napoleon.</div> + +<p>"The days of prejudice are past. The prestige of divine right has +vanished from France with the old institutions. A new era has commenced. +Henceforth the people are called to the free development of their +faculties. But in this general impulse, impressed by modern +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_317" id="Page_317">[Pg 317]</a></span>civilization, what can regulate the movement? What government will be +sufficiently strong to assure to the country the enjoyment of public +liberty without agitations, without disorders? It is necessary for a +free people that they should have a government of immense moral force. +And this moral force, where can it be found, if not in the right and the +will of all? So long as a general vote has not sanctioned a government, +no matter what that government may be, it is not built upon a solid +foundation. Adverse factions will constantly agitate society; while +institutions ratified by the voice of the nation will lead to the +abolition of parties and will annihilate individual resistances.</p> + +<p>"A revolution is neither legitimate nor excusable except when it is made +in the interests of the majority of the nation. One may be sure that +this is the motive which influences him, when he makes use of moral +influences only to attain his ends. If the Government have committed so +many faults as to render a revolution desirable for the nation, if the +Napoleonic cause have left sufficiently deep remembrances in French +hearts, it will be enough, for me merely to present myself before the +soldiers and the people, recalling to their memory <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_318" id="Page_318">[Pg 318]</a></span>their recent griefs +and past glory, for them to flock around my standard.</p> + +<p>"If I succeed in winning over a regiment, if the soldiers to whom I am +unknown are roused by the sight of the imperial eagle, then all the +chances will be mine. My cause will be morally gained, even if secondary +obstacles rise to prevent its success. It is my aim to present a popular +flag—the most popular, the most glorious of all,—which shall serve as +a rallying-point for the generous and the patriotic of all parties; to +restore to France her dignity without universal war, her liberty without +license, her stability without despotism. To arrive at such a result, +what must be done? One must receive from the people alone all his power +and all his rights."</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Peril of the movements.</div> + +<p>The man who should undertake in this way to overthrow an established +government, must of course peril his life. If unsuccessful, he could +anticipate no mercy. Hortense perceived with anxiety that the mind of +her son was intensely absorbed in thoughts which he did not reveal to +her. On the morning of the 25th of October, 1836, Louis Napoleon bade +adieu to his mother, and left Arenemberg in his private carriage, +ostensibly to visit friends at Baden. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_319" id="Page_319">[Pg 319]</a></span>A few days after, Hortense was +plunged into the deepest distress by the reception of the following +letter:</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Letter to Hortense.</div> + +<p>"<span class="smcap">My dear Mother</span>,—You must have been very anxious in receiving no +tidings from me—you who believed me to be with my cousin. But your +inquietude will be redoubled when you learn that I made an attempt at +Strasburg, which has failed. I am in prison, with several other +officers. It is for them only that I suffer. As for myself, in +commencing such an enterprise, I was prepared for every thing. Do not +weep, mother. I am the victim of a noble cause, of a cause entirely +French. Hereafter justice will be rendered me and I shall be +commiserated.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Capture of Louis Napoleon.</div> + +<p>"Yesterday morning I presented myself before the Fourth Artillery, and +was received with cries of <i>Vive l'Empereur!</i> For a time all went well. +The Forty-sixth resisted. We were captured in the court-yard of their +barracks. Happily no French blood was shed. This consoles me in my +calamity. Courage, my mother! I shall know how to support, even to the +end, the honor of the name I bear. Adieu! Do not uselessly mourn my lot. +Life is but a little <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_320" id="Page_320">[Pg 320]</a></span>thing. Honor and France are every thing to me. I +embrace you with my whole heart. Your tender and respectful son,</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"<span class="smcap">Louis Napoleon Bonaparte</span>.</span> +<span class="i2">"Strasburg, November 1, 1836."</span> +</div></div> + +<p>Hortense immediately hastened to France, to do whatever a mother's love +and anguish could accomplish for the release of her son, though in +crossing the frontiers she knew that she exposed herself to the penalty +of death. Apprehensive lest her presence in Paris might irritate the +Government, she stopped at Viry, at the house of the Duchess de Raguse. +Madame Récamier repaired at once to Viry to see Hortense, where she +found her in great agony. Soon, however, a mother's fears were partially +relieved, as the Government of Louis Philippe, knowing the universal +enthusiasm with which the Emperor and the Empire were regarded, did not +dare to bring the young prince to trial, or even to allow it to be known +that he was upon the soil of France. With the utmost precipitation they +secretly hurried their prisoner through France, by day and by night, to +the seaboard, where he was placed on board a frigate, whose captain had +sealed instructions <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_321" id="Page_321">[Pg 321]</a></span>respecting the destination of his voyage, which he +was not to open until he had been several days at sea.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Anguish of Hortense.</div> + +<p>Poor Hortense, utterly desolate and heart-broken, returned to +Arenemberg. She knew that the life of her son had been spared, and that +he was to be transported to some distant land. But she knew not where he +would be sent, or what would be his destiny there. It is however +probable that ere long she learned, through her numerous friends, what +were the designs of the Government respecting him. She however never saw +her son again until, upon a dying bed, she gave him her last embrace and +blessing. The hurried journey, and the terrible anxiety caused by the +arrest and peril of her son, inflicted a blow upon Hortense from which +she never recovered. Weary months passed away in the solitude of +Arenemberg, until at last the heart-stricken mother received a package +of letters from the exile. As the narrative contained in these letters +throws very interesting light upon the character of the mother as well +as of the son, we shall insert it in the next chapter.</p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_322" id="Page_322">[Pg 322]</a></span></p> +<h2><span class="smcap">Chapter X.</span></h2> + +<h2><span class="smcap">Letter from Louis Napoleon to<br />His Mother</span>.</h2> + +<h3>1836-1837</h3> + +<div class="sidenote">The attempt at Strasburg.</div> + +<p class="n"><span style="float:left;font-size:50px;line-height:32px;padding-top:2px;padding-bottom:1px;">M</span><span style="margin-left:0%;">y</span> Mother,—To give you a detailed recital of my misfortunes is to +renew your griefs and mine. And still it is a consolation, both for you +and for me, that you should be informed of all the impressions which I +have experienced, and of all the emotions which have agitated me since +the end of October. You know what was the pretext which I gave when I +left Arenemberg. But you do not know what was then passing in my heart. +Strong in my conviction which led me to look upon the Napoleonic cause +as the only national cause in France, as the only civilizing cause in +Europe, proud of the nobility and purity of my intentions, I was fully +resolved to raise the imperial eagle, or to fall the victim of my +political faith.</p> + +<p>"I left, taking in my carriage the same route which I had followed three +months before <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_323" id="Page_323">[Pg 323]</a></span>when going from Urkirch to Baden. Every thing was the +same around me. But what a difference in the impressions with which I +was animated! I was then cheerful and serene as the unclouded day. But +now, sad and thoughtful, my spirit had taken the hue of the air, gloomy +and chill, which surrounded me. I may be asked, what could have induced +me to abandon a happy existence, to encounter all the risks of a +hazardous enterprise. I reply that a secret voice constrained me; and +that nothing in the world could have induced me to postpone to another +period an attempt which seemed to me to present so many chances of +success.</p> + +<p>"And the most painful thought for me at this moment is—now that reality +has come to take the place of suppositions, and that, instead of +imagining, I have seen—that I am firm in the belief that if I had +followed the plan which I had marked out for myself, instead of being +now under the Equator, I should be in my own country. Of what importance +to me are those vulgar ones which call me insensate because I have not +succeeded, and which would have exaggerated my merit had I triumphed? I +take upon myself all the responsibility of the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_324" id="Page_324">[Pg 324]</a></span>movement, for I have +acted from conviction, and not from the influence of others. Alas! if I +were the only victim I should have nothing to deplore. I have found in +my friends boundless devotion, and I have no reproaches to make against +any one whatever.</p> + +<p>"On the 27th I arrived at Lahr, a small town of the Grand-duchy of +Baden, where I awaited intelligence. Near that place the axle of my +carriage broke, and I was compelled to remain there for a day. On the +morning of the 28th I left Lahr, and, retracing my steps, passed through +Fribourg, Neubrisach, and Colmar, and arrived, at eleven o'clock in the +evening, at Strasburg without the least embarrassment. My carriage was +taken to the <i>Hotel de la Fleur</i>, while I went to lodge in a small +chamber, which had been engaged for me, in the <i>Rue de la Fontaine</i>.</p> + +<p>"There I saw, on the 29th, Colonel Vaudrey, and submitted to him the +plan of operations which I had drawn up. But the colonel, whose noble +and generous sentiments merited a better fate, said to me:</p> + +<p>"'There is no occasion here for a conflict with arms. Your cause is too +French and too pure to be soiled in shedding French blood. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_325" id="Page_325">[Pg 325]</a></span>There is but +one mode of procedure which is worthy of you, because it will avoid all +collision. When you are at the head of my regiment we will march +together to General Voirol's.<a name="FNanchor_K_11" id="FNanchor_K_11"></a><a href="#Footnote_K_11" class="fnanchor">[K]</a> An old soldier will not resist the +sight of you and of the imperial eagle when he knows that the garrison +follows you.'</p> + +<p>"I approved his reasons, and all things were arranged for the next +morning. A house had been engaged in a street in the neighborhood of the +quarter of Austerlitz, whence we all were to proceed to those barracks +as soon as the regiment of artillery was assembled.</p> + +<p>"Upon the 29th, at eleven o'clock in the evening, one of my friends came +to seek me at the <i>Rue de la Fontaine</i>, to conduct me to the general +rendezvous. We traversed together the whole city. A bright moon +illuminated the streets. I regarded the fine weather as a favorable omen +for the next day. I examined with care the places through which I +passed. The silence which reigned made an impression upon me. By what +would that calm be replaced to-morrow!</p> + +<p>"'Nevertheless,' said I to my companion, 'there will be no disorder if I +succeed. It is <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_326" id="Page_326">[Pg 326]</a></span>especially to avoid the troubles which frequently +accompany popular movements that I have wished to make the revolution by +means of the army. But,' I added, 'what confidence, what profound +conviction must we have of the nobleness of our cause, to encounter not +merely the dangers which we are about to meet, but that public opinion +which will load us with reproaches and overwhelm us if we do not +succeed! And still, I call God to witness that it is not to satisfy a +personal ambition, but because I believe that I have a mission to +fulfill, that I risk that which is more dear to me than life, the esteem +of my fellow-citizens.'</p> + +<p>"Having arrived at the house in the <i>Rue des Orphelins</i>, I found my +friends assembled in two apartments on the ground floor. I thanked them +for the devotion which they manifested for my cause, and said to them +that from that hour we would share good and bad fortune together. One of +the officers had an eagle. It was that which had belonged to the seventh +regiment of the line. 'The eagle of Labédoyère,'<a name="FNanchor_L_12" id="FNanchor_L_12"></a><a href="#Footnote_L_12" class="fnanchor">[L]</a> one exclaimed, and +each one of us <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_327" id="Page_327">[Pg 327]</a></span>pressed it to his heart with lively emotion. All the +officers were in full uniform. I had put on the uniform of the artillery +and the hat of a major-general.</p> + +<p>"The night seemed to us very long. I spent it in writing my +proclamations, which I had not been willing to have printed in advance +for fear of some indiscretion. It was decided that we should remain in +that house until the colonel should notify me to proceed to the +barracks. We counted the hours, the minutes, the seconds. Six o'clock in +the morning was the moment indicated.</p> + +<p>"How difficult it is to express what one experiences under such +circumstances. In a <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_328" id="Page_328">[Pg 328]</a></span>second one lives more than in ten years; for to +live is to make use of our organs, our senses, our faculties—of all the +parts of ourselves which impart the sentiment of our existence. And in +these critical moments our faculties, our organs, our senses, exalted to +the highest degree, are concentrated on one single point. It is the hour +which is to decide our entire destiny. One is strong when he can say to +himself, 'To-morrow I shall be the liberator of my country, or I shall +be dead.' One is greatly to be pitied when circumstances are such that +he can neither be one nor the other.</p> + +<p>"Notwithstanding my precautions, the noise which a certain number of +persons meeting together can not help making, awoke the occupants of the +first story. We heard them rise and open their windows. It was five +o'clock. We redoubled our precautions, and they went to sleep again.</p> + +<p>"At last the clock struck six. Never before did the sound of a clock +vibrate so violently in my heart. But a moment after the bugle from the +quarter of Austerlitz came to accelerate its throbbings. The great +moment was approaching. A very considerable tumult was heard in the +street. Soldiers passed shouting; <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_329" id="Page_329">[Pg 329]</a></span>horsemen rode at full gallop by our +windows. I sent an officer to ascertain the cause of the tumult. Had the +chief officer of the garrison been informed of our projects? Had we been +discovered? My messenger soon returned to say to me that the noise came +from some soldiers whom the colonel had sent to fetch their horses, +which were outside the quarter.</p> + +<p>"A few more minutes passed, and I was informed that the colonel was +waiting for me. Full of hope, I hastened into the street. M. Parguin,<a name="FNanchor_M_13" id="FNanchor_M_13"></a><a href="#Footnote_M_13" class="fnanchor">[M]</a> +in the uniform of a brigadier-general, and a commander of battalion, +carrying the eagle in his hand, are by my side. About a dozen officers +follow me.</p> + +<p>"The distance was short; it was soon traversed. The regiment was drawn +up in line of battle in the barrack-yard, inside of the rails. Upon the +grass forty of the horse-artillery were stationed.</p> + +<p>"My mother, judge of the happiness I experienced <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_330" id="Page_330">[Pg 330]</a></span>at that moment. After +twenty-years of exile, I touched again the sacred soil of my country. I +found myself with Frenchmen whom the recollection of the Empire was +again to electrify.</p> + +<p>"Colonel Vaudrey was alone in the middle of the yard. I directed my +steps towards him. Immediately the colonel, whose noble countenance and +fine figure had at that moment something of the sublime, drew his sword +and exclaimed:</p> + +<p>"'Soldiers of the Fourth Regiment of Artillery! A great revolution is +being accomplished at this moment. You see here before you the nephew of +the Emperor Napoleon. He comes to reconquer the rights of the people. +The people and the army can rely upon him. It is around him that all +should rally who love the glory and the liberty of France. Soldiers! you +must feel, as does your chief, all the grandeur of the enterprise you +are about to undertake, all the sacredness of the cause you are about to +defend. Soldiers! can the nephew of the Emperor rely upon you?'</p> + +<p>"His voice was instantly drowned by unanimous cries of <i>Vive Napoleon! +Vive l'Empereur!</i> I then addressed them in the following words:</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_331" id="Page_331">[Pg 331]</a></span></p><p>"'Resolved to conquer or to die for the cause of the French people, it +is to you first that I wish to present myself, because between you and +me exist grand recollections. It is in your regiment that the Emperor, +my uncle, served as captain. It is with you that he made his name famous +at the siege of Toulon, and it is your brave regiment again which opened +to him the gates of Grenoble, on his return from the isle of Elba. +Soldiers! new destinies are reserved for you. To you belongs the glory +of commencing a great enterprise; to you the honor of first saluting the +eagle of Austerlitz and of Wagram.'</p> + +<p>"I then seized the eagle-surmounted banner, which one of my officers, M. +de Carelles, bore, and presenting it to them, said,</p> + +<p>"'Soldiers! behold the symbol of the glory of France. During fifteen +years it conducted our fathers to victory. It has glittered upon all the +fields of battle. It has traversed all the capitals of Europe. Soldiers! +will you not rally around this noble standard which I confide to your +honor and to your courage? Will you not march with me against the +traitors and the oppressors of our country to the cry, <i>Vive la France! +Vive la liberté!</i>?'</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_332" id="Page_332">[Pg 332]</a></span></p><p>"A thousand affirmative cries responded to me. We then commenced our +march, music in front. Joy and hope beamed from every countenance. The +plan was, to hasten to the house of the general, and to present to him, +not a dagger at his throat, but the eagle before his eyes. It was +necessary, in order to reach his house, to traverse the whole city. +While on the way, I had to send an officer with a guard to publish my +proclamations; another to the prefect, to arrest him. In short, six +received special missions, so that when I arrived at the general's, I +had voluntarily parted with a considerable portion of my forces.</p> + +<p>"But had I then necessity to surround myself with so many soldiers? +could I not rely upon the participation of the people? and, in fine, +whatever may be said, along the whole route which I traversed I received +unequivocal signs of the sympathy of the population. I had actually to +struggle against the vehemence of the marks of interest which were +lavished upon me; and the variety of cries which greeted me showed that +there was no party which did not sympathize with my feelings.</p> + +<p>"Having arrived at the court of the hotel of the general, I ascended the +stairs, followed by <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_333" id="Page_333">[Pg 333]</a></span>Messieurs Vaudrey, Parguin, and two officers. The +general was not yet dressed. I said to him,</p> + +<p>"'General, I come to you as a friend. I should be sorry to raise our old +tri-color banner without the aid of a brave soldier like you. The +garrison is in my favor. Decide and follow me.'</p> + +<p>"The eagle was presented to him. He rejected it, saying, 'Prince, they +have deceived you. The army knows its duties, as I will prove to you +immediately.'</p> + +<p>"I then departed, and gave orders to leave a file of men to guard him. +The general afterwards presented himself to his soldiers, to induce them +to return to obedience. The artillerymen, under the orders of M. +Parguin, disregarded his authority, and replied to him only by +reiterated cries of <i>Vive l'Empereur</i>. Subsequently the general +succeeded in escaping from his hotel by an unguarded door.</p> + +<p>"When I left the hotel of the general, I was greeted with the same +acclamations of <i>Vive l'Empereur</i>. But this first check had already +seriously affected me. I was not prepared for it, convinced as I had +been that the sight alone of the eagle would recall to the general the +old <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_334" id="Page_334">[Pg 334]</a></span>souvenirs of glory, and would lead him to join us.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The march through the streets.</div> + +<p>"We resumed our march. Leaving the main street, we entered the barracks +of Finkematt, by the lane which leads there through the Faubourg of +Pierre. This barrack is a large building, erected in a place with no +outlet but the entrance. The ground in front is too narrow for a +regiment to be drawn up in line of battle. In seeing myself thus hedged +in between the ramparts and the barracks, I perceived that the plan +agreed upon had not been followed out. Upon our arrival, the soldiers +thronged around us. I harangued them. Most of them went to get their +arms, and returned to rally around me, testifying their sympathy for me +by their acclamations.</p> + +<p>"However, seeing them manifest a sudden hesitation, caused by the +reports circulated by some officers among them who endeavored to inspire +them with doubts of my identity, and as we were also losing precious +time in an unfavorable position, instead of hastening to the other +regiments who expected us, I requested the colonel to depart. He urged +me to remain a little longer. I complied with his advice.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_336" id="Page_336">[Pg 335-336]</a></span></p> +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 252px;"> +<img src="images/i333.jpg" class="ispace" width="252" height="450" alt="THE ARREST." title="" /> +<span class="caption">THE ARREST.</span> +</div> + +<div class="sidenote">Peril of the prince.</div> + +<p>"Some infantry officers arrived, ordered the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_337" id="Page_337">[Pg 337]</a></span>gates to be closed, and +strongly reprimanded their soldiers. The soldiers hesitated. I ordered +the arrest of the officers. Their soldiers rescued them. Then all was +confusion. The space was so contracted that each one was lost in the +crowd. The people, who had climbed upon the wall, threw stones at the +infantry. The cannoneers wished to use their arms, but we prevented it. +We saw clearly that it would cause the death of very many. I saw the +colonel by turns arrested by the infantry, and rescued by his soldiers. +I was myself upon the point of being slain by a multitude of men who, +recognizing me, crossed their bayonets upon me. I parried their thrusts +with my sabre, trying at the same time to calm them, when the cannoneers +rescued me from their guns, and placed me in the middle of themselves.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Utter failure of the enterprise.</div> + +<p>"I then pressed forward, with some subaltern officers, towards the +mounted artillery men, to seize a horse. All the infantry followed me. I +found myself hemmed in between the horses and the wall, without power to +move. Then the soldiers, arriving from all parts, seized me and +conducted me to the guard-house. On entering I found M. Parguin. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_338" id="Page_338">[Pg 338]</a></span>I +extended my hand to him. He said to me, speaking in tones calm and +resigned, 'Prince, we shall be shot, but it will be in a good cause.'</p> + +<p>"'Yes,' I replied, 'we have fallen in a grand and a glorious +enterprise.'</p> + +<p>"Soon after General Voirol arrived. He said to me, upon entering,</p> + +<p>"'Prince, you have found but one traitor in the French army.'</p> + +<p>"'Say rather, general,' I replied, 'that I have found one Labédoyère.' +Some carriages were soon brought, and we were transported to the new +prison.</p> + +<p>"Behold me, then, between four walls, with barred windows, in the abode +of criminals. Ah! those who know what it is to pass in an instant from +the excess of happiness, caused by the noblest illusions, to the excess +of misery, which leaves no hope, and to pass over this immense interval +without having one moment to prepare for it, alone can comprehend what +was passing in my heart.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Examination of the captive.</div> + +<p>"At the lodge we met again. M. de Querelles, pressing my hand, said to +me in a loud voice, 'Prince, notwithstanding our defeat, I am still +proud of what we have done.' They <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_339" id="Page_339">[Pg 339]</a></span>subjected me to an interrogation. I +was calm and resigned. My part was taken. The following questions were +proposed to me:</p> + +<p>"'What has induced you to act as you have done?'</p> + +<p>"'My political opinions,' I replied, 'and my desire to return to my +country, from which a foreign invasion has exiled me. In 1830, I +demanded to be treated as a simple citizen. They treated me as a +pretender. Well, I have acted as a pretender.'</p> + +<p>"'Did you wish,' it was asked, 'to establish a military government?'</p> + +<p>"'I wished,' was my reply, 'to establish a government based on popular +election.'</p> + +<p>"'What would you have done if successful?'</p> + +<p>"'I would have assembled a national Congress.'</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Anxiety of Louis Napoleon for his companions.</div> + +<p>"I declared then, that I alone having organized every thing, that I +alone having induced others to join me, the whole responsibility should +fall upon my head alone. Reconducted to prison, I threw myself upon a +bed which had been prepared for me, and, notwithstanding my torments, +sleep, which soothes suffering, in giving repose to the anguish of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_340" id="Page_340">[Pg 340]</a></span>the +soul, came to calm my senses. Repose does not fly from the couch of the +unfortunate. It only avoids those who are consumed by remorse. But how +frightful was my awaking. I thought that I had had a dreadful nightmare. +The fate of the persons who were compromised caused me the greatest +grief and anxiety. I wrote to General Voirol, to say to him that his +honor obliged him to interest himself in behalf of Colonel Vaudrey; for +it was, perhaps, the attachment of the colonel for him, and the regard +with which he had treated him, which were the causes of the failure of +my enterprise. I closed in beseeching him that all the rigor of the law +might fall upon me, saying that I was the most guilty, and the only one +to be feared.</p> + +<p>"The general came to see me, and was very affectionate. He said, upon +entering, 'Prince, when I was your prisoner, I could find no words +sufficiently severe to say to you. Now that you are mine, I have only +words of consolation to offer.' Colonel Vaudrey and I were conducted to +the citadel, where I, at least, was much more comfortable than in +prison. But the civil power claimed us, and at the end of twenty-four +hours we were conveyed back to our former abode.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Severe treatment.</div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_341" id="Page_341">[Pg 341]</a></span></p><p>"The jailer and the director of the prison at Strasburg did their duty; +but they endeavored to alleviate as much as possible my situation, while +a certain M. Lebel, who had been sent from Paris, wishing to show his +authority, prevented me from opening my windows to breathe the air, took +from me my watch, which he only restored to me at the moment of my +departure, and, in fine, even ordered blinds to intercept the light.</p> + +<p>"On the evening of the 9th I was told that I was to be transferred to +another prison. I went out and met the general and the prefect, who took +me away in their carriage without informing me where I was to be +conducted. I insisted that I should be left with my companions in +misfortune. But the Government had decided otherwise. Upon arriving at +the hotel of the prefecture, I found two post-chaises. I was ordered +into one with M. Cuynat, commander of the gendarmerie of the Seine, and +Lieutenant Thiboutot. In the other there were four sub-officers.</p> + +<p>"When I perceived that I was to leave Strasburg, and that it was my lot +to be separated from the other accused, I experienced anguish difficult +to be described. Behold me, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_342" id="Page_342">[Pg 342]</a></span>then, forced to abandon the men who had +devoted themselves to me. Behold me deprived of the means of making +known in my defense my views and my intentions. Behold me receiving a +so-called favor from him upon whom I had wished to inflict the greatest +evil. I vented my sorrow in complaints and regrets. I could only +protest.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Sympathy of the guard.</div> + +<p>"The two officers who conducted me were two officers of the Empire, +intimate friends of M. Parguin. Thus they treated me with the kindest +attentions. I could have thought myself travelling with friends. Upon +the 11th, at two o'clock in the morning, I arrived at Paris, at the +hotel of the Prefecture of Police. M. Delessat was very polite to me. He +informed me that you had come to France to claim in my favor the +clemency of the king, and that I was to start again in two hours for +Lorient, and that thence I was to sail for the United States in a French +frigate.</p> + +<p>"I said to the prefect that I was in despair in not being permitted to +share the fate of my companions in misfortune; that being thus withdrawn +from prison before undergoing a general examination (the first had been +only a summary one), I was deprived of the means <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_343" id="Page_343">[Pg 343]</a></span>of testifying to many +facts in favor of the accused. But my protestations were unavailing. I +decided to write to the king. And I said to him that, having been cast +into prison after having taken up arms against his Government, I dreaded +but one thing, and that was his generosity, since it would deprive me of +my sweetest consolation, the possibility of sharing the fate of my +companions in misfortune. I added that life itself was of little value +to me; but that my gratitude to him would be great if he would spare the +lives of a few old soldiers, the remains of our ancient army, who had +been enticed by me, and seduced by glorious souvenirs.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Hurried through France.</div> + +<p>"At the same time I wrote to M. Odillon Barrot<a name="FNanchor_N_14" id="FNanchor_N_14"></a><a href="#Footnote_N_14" class="fnanchor">[N]</a> the letter which I +send with this, begging him to take charge of the defense of Colonel +Vaudrey. At four o'clock I resumed my journey, with the same escort, and +on the 14th we arrived at the citadel of Port Louis, near Lorient. I +remained there until the twenty-first day of November, when the frigate +was ready for sea.</p> + +<p>"After having entreated M. Odillon Barrot to assume the defense of the +accused, and in particular of Colonel Vaudrey, I added:</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Statement of Louis Napoleon.</div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_344" id="Page_344">[Pg 344]</a></span></p><p>"'Monsieur, notwithstanding my desire to remain with my companions in +misfortune, and to partake of their lot, notwithstanding my entreaties +upon that subject, the king, in his clemency, has ordered that I should +be conducted to Lorient, to pass thence to America. Sensible as I ought +to be of the generosity of the king, I am profoundly afflicted in +leaving my co-accused, since I cherish the conviction that could I be +present at the bar, my depositions in their favor would influence the +jury, and enlighten them as to their decision. Deprived of the +consolation of being useful to the men whom I have enticed to their +loss, I am obliged to intrust to an advocate that which I am unable to +say myself to the jury.</p> + +<p>"'On the part of my co-accused there was no plot. There was only the +enticement of the moment. I alone arranged all. I alone made the +necessary preparations. I had already seen Colonel Vaudrey before the +30th of October, but he had not conspired with me. On the 29th, at eight +o'clock in the evening, no person knew but myself that the movement was +to take place the next day. I did not see Colonel Vaudrey until after +this. M. Parguin had come to Strasburg on his own private business. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_345" id="Page_345">[Pg 345]</a></span>It +was not until the evening of the 29th, that I appealed to him. The other +persons knew of my presence in France, but were ignorant of the object +of my visit. It was not until the evening of the 29th that I assembled +the persons now accused; and I did not make them acquainted with my +intentions until that moment.</p> + +<p>"'Colonel Vaudrey was not present. The officers of the engineers had +come to join us, ignorant at first of what was to transpire. Certainly, +in the eyes of the established Government we are all culpable of having +taken up arms against it. But I am the most culpable. It is I who, for a +long time meditating a revolution, came suddenly to lure men from an +honorable social position, to expose them to the hazards of a popular +movement. Before the laws, my companions are guilty of allowing +themselves to be enticed. But never were circumstances more extenuating +in the eyes of the country than those in their favor. When I saw Colonel +Vaudrey and the other persons on the evening of the 29th, I addressed +them in the following language:</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Remarks to Colonel Vaudrey.</div> + +<p>"'"<span class="smcap">Gentlemen</span>,—You are aware of all the complaints of the nation against +the Government. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_346" id="Page_346">[Pg 346]</a></span>But you also know that there is no party now existing +which is sufficiently strong to overthrow it; no one sufficiently strong +to unite the French of all parties, even if it should succeed in taking +possession of supreme power. This feebleness of the Government, as well +as this feebleness of parties, proceeds from the fact that each one +represents only the interests of a single class in society. Some rely +upon the clergy and nobility; others upon the middle-class aristocracy, +and others still upon the lower classes alone.</p> + +<p>"'"In this state of things, there is but a single flag which can rally +all parties, because it is the banner of France, and not that of a +faction; it is the eagle of the Empire. Under this banner, which recalls +so many glorious memories, there is no class excluded. It represents the +interests and the rights of all. The Emperor Napoleon held his power +from the French people. Four times his authority received the popular +sanction. In 1814, hereditary right, in the family of the Emperor, was +recognized by four millions of votes. Since then the people have not +been consulted.</p> + +<p>"'"As the eldest of the nephews of Napoleon, I can then consider myself +as the representative <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_347" id="Page_347">[Pg 347]</a></span>of popular election; I will not say of the Empire +because in the lapse of twenty years the ideas and wants of France may +have changed. But a principle can not be annulled by facts. It can only +be annulled by another principle. Now the principle of popular election +in 1804 can not be annulled by the twelve hundred thousand foreigners +who entered France in 1815, nor by the chamber of two hundred and +twenty-one deputies in 1830.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The Napoleonic system.</div> + +<p>"'"The Napoleon system consists in promoting the march of civilization +without disorder and without excess; in giving an impulse to ideas by +developing material interests; in strengthening power by rendering it +respectable; in disciplining the masses according to their intellectual +faculties; in fine, in uniting around the altar of the country the +French of all parties by giving them honor and glory as the motives of +action."</p> + +<p>"'"No," exclaimed my brave companions in reply, "you shall not die +alone. We will die with you, or we will conquer together for the cause +of the French people."</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Louis Napoleon's plea for his confederates.</div> + +<p>"'You see thus, sir, that it is I who have enticed them, in speaking to +them of every thing which could move the hearts of Frenchmen. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_348" id="Page_348">[Pg 348]</a></span>They +spoke to me of their oaths. But I reminded them that, in 1815, they had +taken the oath to Napoleon II. and his dynasty. "Invasion alone," I said +to them, "released you from that oath. Well, force can re-establish that +which force alone has destroyed."'</p> + +<p>"I went even so far as to say to them that the death of the king had +been spoken of. I inserted this, my mother, as you will understand, in +order to be useful to them. You see how culpable I was in the eyes of +the Government. Well, the Government has been generous to me. It has +comprehended that my position of exile, that my love for my country, +that my relationship to the great man were extenuating causes. Will the +jury be less considerate than the Government? Will it not find +extenuating causes far stronger in favor of my accomplices, in the +souvenirs of the Empire; in the intimate relations of many among them to +me; in the enticement of the moment; in the example of Labédoyère; in +fine, in that sentiment of generosity which rendered it inevitable that, +being soldiers of the Empire, they could not see the eagle without +emotion; they preferred to sacrifice their own lives rather than abandon +the nephew of the Emperor <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_349" id="Page_349">[Pg 349]</a></span>Napoleon, than to deliver him to his +executioners, for we were far from thinking of any mercy in case of +failure?</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i25">"In view of Madeira, December 12, 1836.</span> +</div></div> + +<div class="sidenote">Scenes at sea.</div> + +<p>"I remained ten days at the citadel of Port Louis. Every morning I +received a visit from the sub-prefect of Lorient, from the commander of +the place, and from the officer of the gendarmerie. They were all very +kind to me, and never ceased to speak to me of their attachment to the +memory of the Emperor. The commander, Cuynat, and Lieutenant Thiboutot, +were unfailing in their attentions to me. I could ever believe myself in +the midst of my friends, and the thought that they were in a position +hostile to me gave me much pain.</p> + +<p>"The winds remained contrary and prevented the frigate from leaving +port. At last, on the 21st, a steamer towed out the frigate. The +sub-prefect came to tell me that it was time to depart. The draw-bridge +of the citadel was lowered. I went forth, accompanied by the hospitable +officers of the place, in addition to those who brought me to Lorient. I +passed between two files of soldiers, who kept off the crowd of the +curious, which had gathered to see me.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_350" id="Page_350">[Pg 350]</a></span></p><p>"We all entered the boats which were to convey us to the frigate, which +was waiting for us outside of the harbor. I took leave of these +gentlemen with cordiality. I ascended to the deck, and saw with sadness +of heart the shores of France disappear behind me.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Life on board the frigate.</div> + +<p>"I must now give you the details of the frigate. The commander has +assigned me a stateroom in the stern of the ship, where I sleep. I dine +with him, his son, the second officer, and the aide-de-camp. The +commander, captain of the ship, Henry de Villeneuve, is an excellent +man, frank and loyal as an old sailor. He pays me every attention. You +see that I have much less to complain of than my friends. The other +officers of the frigate are also very kind to me.</p> + +<p>"There are two other passengers who are two types. The one, an M. D., is +a <i>savant</i>, twenty-six years of age. He has much intelligence and +imagination, mingled with originality, and even with a little +eccentricity. For example, he believes in fortune-telling, and +undertakes to predict to each one of us his fate. He has also great +faith in magnetism, and has told me that a somnambulist had predicted to +him, two years ago, that a member <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_351" id="Page_351">[Pg 351]</a></span>of the family of the Emperor would +return to France and would dethrone Louis Philippe. He is going to +Brazil to make some experiments in electricity. The other passenger is +an ancient librarian of Don Pedro, who has preserved all the manners of +the ancient court. Maltreated at Brazil, in consequence of his +attachment to the Emperor, he returns there to obtain redress.</p> + +<p>"The first fifteen days of the voyage were very disagreeable. We were +continually tossed about by tempests and by contrary winds, which drove +us back almost to the entrance of the Channel. It was impossible during +that time to take a single step without clinging to whatever could be +seized with one's hand.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Uncertainty of the destination.</div> + +<p>"For several days we did not know that our destination was changed. The +commander had sealed orders, which he opened and which directed him to +go to Rio Janeiro; to remain there as long as should be necessary to +re-provision the vessel; to retain me on board during the whole time the +frigate remained in the harbor, and then to convey me to New York. Now +you know that this frigate was destined to go to the southern seas, +where it will remain stationed for two years. It was thus compelled <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_352" id="Page_352">[Pg 352]</a></span>to +make an additional voyage of three thousand leagues; for from New York +it will be obliged to return to Rio, making a long circuit to the east +in order to take advantage of the trade-winds.</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i25">"In view of the Canaries, December 14th.</span> +</div></div> + +<div class="sidenote">Reflections of the captive.</div> + +<p>"Every man carries within himself a world, composed of all which he has +seen and loved, and to which he returns incessantly, even when he is +traversing foreign lands. I do not know, at such times, which is the +most painful, the memory of the misfortunes which you have encountered, +or of the happy days which are no more. We have passed through the +winter and are again in summer. The trade-winds have succeeded the +tempests, so that I can spend most of my time on deck. Seated upon the +poop, I reflect upon all which has happened to me, and I think of you +and of Arenemberg. Situations depend upon the affections which one +cherishes. Two months ago I asked only that I might never return to +Switzerland. Now, if I should yield to my impressions, I should have no +other desire than to find myself again in my little chamber in that +beautiful country, where it seems to me that I ought to be so happy. +Alas! when one has a soul <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_353" id="Page_353">[Pg 353]</a></span>which feels deeply, one is destined to pass +his days in the languor of inaction or in the convulsions of distressing +situations.</p> + +<p>"When I returned, a few months ago, from conducting Matilde,<a name="FNanchor_O_15" id="FNanchor_O_15"></a><a href="#Footnote_O_15" class="fnanchor">[O]</a> in +entering the park I found a tree broken by the storm, and I said to +myself, our marriage will be broken by fate. That which I vaguely +imagined has been realized. Have I, then, exhausted in 1836 all the +share of happiness which is to be allotted to me?</p> + +<p>"Do not accuse me of feebleness if I allow myself to give you an account +of all my impressions. One can regret that which he has lost, without +repenting of that which he has done. Besides, our sensations are not so +independent of interior causes, but that our ideas should be somewhat +modified by the objects which surround us. The rays of the sun or the +direction of the wind have a great influence over our moral state. When +it is beautiful weather, as it is to-day, the sea being as calm as the +Lake of Constance when we used to walk upon its banks in the +evening—when the moon, the same moon, illumines us with the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_354" id="Page_354">[Pg 354]</a></span>same +softened brilliance—when the atmosphere, in fine, is as mild as in the +month of August in Europe,—then I am more sad than usual. All memories, +pleasant or painful, fall with the same weight upon my heart. Beautiful +weather dilates the heart and renders it more impressible, while bad +weather contracts it. The passions alone are independent of the changes +of the seasons. When we left the barracks of Austerlitz, a flurry of +snow fell upon us. Colonel Vaudrey, to whom I made the remark, said to +me, 'Notwithstanding this squall, we shall have a fine day.'</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i25">"December 29th.</span> +</div></div> + +<div class="sidenote">Crossing the equator.</div> + +<p>"We passed the line yesterday. The customary ceremony took place. The +commander, who is always very polite to me, exempted me from the +baptism. It is an ancient usage, but which, nevertheless, is not +sensible, to fête the passage of the line by throwing water over one's +self and aping a divine office. It was very hot. I have found on board +enough books to occupy my time. I have read again the works of M. de +Chateaubriand and of J. J. Rousseau. Still, the motion of the ship +renders all occupation fatiguing."</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_355" id="Page_355">[Pg 355]</a></span><span class="i25">"January 1, 1837.</span> +</div></div> + +<div class="sidenote">Letter to his mother.</div> + +<p>"<span class="smcap">My dear Mamma, Ma chère Maman</span>,—This is the first day of the year. I am +fifteen hundred leagues from you in another hemisphere. Happily, thought +traverses that space in less than a second. I am near you. I express to +you my profound regret for all the sorrows which I have occasioned you. +I renew to you the expression of my tenderness and of my gratitude.</p> + +<p>"This morning the officers came in a body to wish me a happy new year. I +was much gratified by this attention on their part. At half-past four we +were at the table. As we were seventeen degrees of longitude west of +Constance, it was at that same time seven o'clock at Arenemberg. You +were probably at dinner. I drank, in thought, to your health. You +perhaps did the same for me. At least I flattered myself in believing so +at that moment. I thought, also, of my companions in misfortune. Alas! I +think continually of them. I thought that they were more unhappy than I, +and that thought renders me more unhappy than they.</p> + +<p>"Present my very tender regards to good Madame Salvage, to the young +ladies, to that <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_356" id="Page_356">[Pg 356]</a></span>poor little Clairè, and to M. Cottrau, and to Arsène.</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i25">"January 5th.</span> +</div></div> + +<p>"We have had a squall, which struck us with extreme violence. If the +sails had not been torn to pieces by the wind the frigate would have +been in great danger. One of the masts was broken. The rain fell so +impetuously that the sea was entirely white. To-day the sky is as serene +as usual, the damages are repaired, and the tempestuous weather is +forgotten. But it is not so with the storms of life. In speaking of the +frigate, the commander told me that the frigate which bore your name is +now in the South Sea, and is called <i>La Flora</i>.</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i25">"January 10.</span> +</div></div> + +<div class="sidenote">Arrival at Rio Janeiro.<br />Remembrance of friends.</div> + +<p>"We have arrived at Rio Janeiro. The <i>coup d'œil</i> of the harbor is +superb. To-morrow I shall make a drawing of it. I hope that this letter +will soon reach you. Do not think of coming to join me. I do not yet +know where I shall settle. Perhaps I may find more inducements to live +in South America. The labor to which the uncertainty of my lot will +oblige me to devote myself, in order to create for myself a position, +will be the only consolation <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_357" id="Page_357">[Pg 357]</a></span>which I can enjoy. Adieu, my mother. +Remember me to the old servants, and to our friends of Thurgovia and of +Constance. I am very well. Your affectionate and respectful son,</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"<span class="smcap">Louis Napoleon Bonaparte</span>."</span> +</div></div> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_358" id="Page_358">[Pg 358]</a></span></p> +<h2><span class="smcap">Chapter XI.</span></h2> + +<h2><span class="smcap">The Death of Hortense, and the<br />Enthronement of her Son.</span></h2> + +<h3>1837-1869</h3> + +<div class="sidenote">Cruel slanders.</div> + +<p class="n"><span style="float:left;font-size:50px;line-height:32px;padding-top:2px;padding-bottom:1px;">A</span><span style="margin-left:0%;">fter</span> a short tarry at Rio Janeiro, during which the prince was not +permitted to land, the frigate again set sail, and on the 30th of March, +1837, reached Norfolk, Virginia. The prince proceeded immediately to New +York. By a cruel error, which has mistaken him for one of his cousins, +Pierre Bonaparte, a very wild young man, the reputation of Louis +Napoleon has suffered very severely in this country. The evidence is +conclusive that there has been a mistake. Louis Napoleon, thoughtful, +studious, pensive, has ever been at the farthest possible remove from +vulgar dissipation.</p> + +<p>A writer in the <i>Home Journal</i>, whose reliability is vouched for by the +editor, says, in reference to his brief residence in New York: "He is +remembered as a quiet, melancholy man, winning esteem rather by the +unaffected modesty of his demeanor than by eclât of lineage <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_359" id="Page_359">[Pg 359]</a></span>or the +romantic incidents which had befallen him. In the words of a +distinguished writer, who well knew him at that day: 'So unostentatious +was his deportment, so correct, so pure his life, that even the ripple +of scandal can not appear plausibly upon its surface.' We have inquired +of those who entertained him as their guest, of those who tended at his +sick-bed, of the artist who painted his miniature, of his lady friends +(and he was known to some who yet adorn society), of politicians, +clergymen, editors, gentlemen of leisure, in fact, of every source +whence reliable information could be obtained, and we have gathered but +accumulated testimonials to his intrinsic worth and fair fame."</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Brief stay in this country.</div> + +<p>Prince Louis Napoleon remained in this country but seven weeks. The +testimony of all who knew him is uncontradicted, that he was peculiarly +winning in his attractions as a friend, and irreproachable as a man. +Rev. Charles S. Stewart, of the United States Navy, was intimately +acquainted with him during the whole period of his residence here. He +writes:</p> + +<p>"The association was not that of hours only but of days, and on one +occasion, at least, of days in succession; and was characterized by <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_360" id="Page_360">[Pg 360]</a></span>a +freedom of conversation on a great variety of topics that could scarce +fail, under the ingenuousness and frankness of his manner, to put me in +possession of his views, principles, and feelings upon most points that +give insight to character.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Elevated personal character.</div> + +<p>"I never heard a sentiment from him and never witnessed a feeling that +could detract from his honor and purity as a man, or his dignity as a +prince. On the contrary, I often had occasion to admire the lofty +thought and exalted conceptions which seemed most to occupy his mind. He +was winning in the invariableness of his amiability, often playful in +spirits and manner, and warm in his affections. He was a most fondly +attached son and seemed to idolize his mother. When speaking of her, the +intonations of his voice and his whole manner were often as gentle and +feminine as those of a woman.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Testimony to his private worth.</div> + +<p>"In both eating and drinking he was, as far as I observed, abstemious +rather than self-indulgent. I repeatedly breakfasted, dined, and supped +in his company; and never knew him to partake of any thing stronger in +drink than the light wines of France and Germany, and of these in great +moderation. I have been with <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_361" id="Page_361">[Pg 361]</a></span>him early and late, unexpectedly as well +as by appointment, and never saw reason for the slightest suspicion of +any irregularity in his habits."</p> + +<p>Such is the testimony, so far as can be ascertained, of every one who +enjoyed any personal acquaintance with Louis Napoleon while in this +country. He was the guest of Washington Irving, Chancellor Kent, and of +the Hamiltons, Clintons, Livingstons, and other such distinguished +families in New York.</p> + +<p>While busily engaged in studying the institutions of our country and +making arrangements for quite an extensive tour through the States, he +received a letter from his mother which immediately changed all his +plans. The event is thus described by Mr. Stewart:</p> + +<p>"With this expectation he consulted me and others as to the arrangement +of the route of travel, so as to visit the different sections of the +Union at the most desirable seasons. But his plans were suddenly changed +by intelligence of the serious illness of Queen Hortense, or, as then +styled, the Duchess of St. Leu. I was dining with him the day the letter +conveying this information was received. Recognizing the writing on the +envelope, as it was handed <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_362" id="Page_362">[Pg 362]</a></span>to him at the table, he hastily broke the +seal and had scarce glanced over half a page before he exclaimed:</p> + +<p>"'My mother is ill, I must see her. Instead of a tour of the States, I +shall take the next packet for England. I will apply for passports for +the Continent at every embassy in London, and if unsuccessful, will make +my way to her without them.'"</p> + +<p>The following was the letter which he received from his mother:</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Letter from Hortense to her son.</div> + +<p>"<span class="smcap">My dear Son</span>,—I am about to submit to an operation which has become +absolutely necessary. If it is not successful I send you, by this +letter, my benediction. We shall meet again, shall we not? in a better +world, where may you come to join me as late as possible. In leaving +this world I have but one regret; it is to leave you and your +affectionate tenderness—the greatest charm of my existence here. It +will be a consolation to you, my dear child, to reflect that by your +attentions you have rendered your mother as happy as it was possible for +her, in her circumstances, to be. Think that a loving and a watchful eye +still rests on the dear ones we leave behind, and that we shall surely +meet <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_363" id="Page_363">[Pg 363]</a></span>again. Cling to this sweet idea. It is too necessary not to be +true. I press you to my heart, my dear son. I am very calm and resigned, +and hope that we shall again meet in this world. Your affectionate +mother,</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"<span class="smcap">Hortense</span>.</span> +<span class="i2">"Arenemberg, April 3, 1837."</span> +</div></div> + +<div class="sidenote">Anxieties, sorrows, and sickness of Hortense.</div> + +<p>As we have mentioned, Queen Hortense, upon receiving news of the arrest +of her son, hastened to France to do what she could to save him. Madame +Récamier found her at Viry, in great anguish of spirit. When she +received tidings of his banishment she returned, overwhelmed with the +deepest grief, to her desolated home. It seems that even then an +internal disease, which, with a mother's love, she had not revealed to +her son, was threatening her life. Madame Récamier, as she bade her +adieu, was much moved by the great change in her appearance. The two +friends never met again.</p> + +<p>Madame Salvage, a distinguished lady, who had devoted herself with +life-long enthusiasm to the Queen of Holland, accompanied her to France +and returned with her to Arenemberg. On the 13th of April, Madame +Salvage wrote <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_364" id="Page_364">[Pg 364]</a></span>the following letter from Arenemberg to Madame Récamier.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Letter to Madame Récamier.</div> + +<p>"I wrote you a long letter four days ago, dear friend, telling you of my +unhappiness. I received yesterday your letter of the 7th, for which I +thank you. I needed it much, and it is a consolation to me.</p> + +<p>"I have informed Madame, the Duchess of St. Leu, of the lively interest +you take in her troubles, and have given her your message. She was much +touched by it, even to tears; and has begged me several times to tell +you how much she appreciated it.</p> + +<p>"I have not replied to you sooner, because I hoped to give you better +tidings. Alas! it is quite the contrary. After a consultation of the +physicians of Constance and Zurich with Dr. Conneau, her own physician, +Professor Lisfranc, from Paris, was called in, on account of his skill, +and also because he is the recognized authority with regard to the +operation two of these gentlemen thought necessary.</p> + +<p>"After a careful examination, the opinion of M. Lisfranc and that of the +three other consulting physicians was, that the operation was +impossible. They were unanimous in pronouncing an irrevocable sentence, +and they <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_365" id="Page_365">[Pg 365]</a></span>have left us no hope in human resources. I still like to trust +in the infinite goodness of God, whom I implore with earnest prayers.</p> + +<p>"The mind of madame the duchess is as calm as one could expect in a +position like hers. They told her that they would not perform the +operation because it was not necessary, and because a mere treatment +would suffice, with time and patience, to produce a perfect cure. She +had been quite resigned to submit to the operation, showing a noble +courage. Now she is happy in not being obliged to undergo it, and is +filled with hope.</p> + +<p>"In anticipation of the operation, of which, against my advice, she had +been told a fortnight before M. Lisfranc came, she made her will and +attended to the last duties of religion.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Hortense receives letters from her son.</div> + +<p>"On the 30th of March, an hour after she had partaken of the communion, +she had the joy, which she looked upon as a divine favor, of receiving a +large package from her son, the first since the departure from Lorient. +His letter, which is very long, contains a relation of all he has done, +all that has happened to him, and much that he has felt since he left +Arenemberg, until he wrote, the 10th of January, on board the frigate +Andromeda, lying in <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_366" id="Page_366">[Pg 366]</a></span>the harbor of Rio Janeiro, where he was not +permitted to go on shore. He had on board M. de Chateaubriand's works, +and re-read them during a frightful storm that lasted a fortnight, and +allowed of no other occupation, and scarcely that. Pray tell this to M. +de Chateaubriand, in recalling me personally to his kind remembrance.</p> + +<p>"Think of me sometimes. Think of my painful position. To give to a +person whom we love, and whom we are soon to lose, a care that is +perfectly ineffectual; to seek to alleviate sharp and almost continual +suffering, and only succeed very imperfectly; to wear a calm countenance +when the heart is torn; to deceive, to try unceasingly to inspire hopes +that we no longer cherish,—ah, believe me, this is frightful, and one +would cheerfully give up life itself. Adieu, dear friend, you know how I +love you."</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Louis Napoleon returns to Arenemberg.<br />Death of Hortense.</div> + +<p>Louis Napoleon, hastening to the bedside of his dying mother, took ship +from New York for London. The hostility of the allied powers to him was +such that it was with great difficulty he could reach Arenemberg. He +arrived there just in time to receive the dying blessing of his mother +and to close her eyes in death. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_367" id="Page_367">[Pg 367]</a></span>Just before she died, Hortense +assembled all her household in the dying chamber. She took each one +affectionately by the hand and addressed to each one a few words of +adieu. Her son, her devoted physician Dr. Conneau, and the ladies of her +household, bathed in tears, were kneeling by her bedside. Her mind, in +delirious dreams, had again been with the Emperor, sympathizing with him +in the terrible tragedy of his fall. But now, as death drew near, reason +was fully restored. "I have never," said she, "done wrong to any one. +God will have mercy upon me." Conscious that the final moment had +arrived, she made an effort to throw her arms around the neck of her son +in a mother's last embrace, when she fell, back upon her pillow dead. It +was October 5, 1837.</p> + +<p>The prince, with his own hands, closed his mother's eyes in that sleep +which knows no earthly waking. He remained for some time upon his knees +at her bedside, with his weeping eyes buried in his hands. At last he +was led away from the precious remains from which it seemed impossible +for him to separate himself. His home and his heart were indeed +desolate. Motherless, with neither brother nor sister, his <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_368" id="Page_368">[Pg 368]</a></span>aged and +infirm father dying in Italy, where he could not be permitted to visit +him, banished from his native land, jealously watched and menaced by all +the allied powers, his fair name maligned, all these considerations +seemed to fill his cup of sorrow to the brim.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Action of the Government of Louis Philippe.</div> + +<p>It was the dying wish of Hortense that she might be buried by the side +of Josephine, her mother, in the village church of Ruel, near Malmaison. +The Government of Louis Philippe, which had closed the gates of France +against Hortense while living, allowed her lifeless remains to sleep +beneath her native soil. But the son was not permitted to follow his +mother to her grave. It was feared that his appearance in France would +rouse the enthusiasm of the masses; that they would rally around him, +and, sweeping away the throne of Louis Philippe in a whirlwind of +indignation, would re-establish the Empire. Madame Récamier, speaking of +the death of Hortense, says:</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Burial of Hortense.</div> + +<p>"After the unfortunate attempt of Prince Louis, grief, anxiety and +perhaps the loss of a last and secret hope, put an end to the turbulent +existence of one who was little calculated to lead such a life of +turmoil. France, closed to her living, was open to her dead, and she +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_369" id="Page_369">[Pg 369]</a></span>was carried to Ruel and laid beside her mother. A funeral service was +celebrated in her honor at the village church. All the relics of the +Empire were there; among them the widow of Murat,<a name="FNanchor_P_16" id="FNanchor_P_16"></a><a href="#Footnote_P_16" class="fnanchor">[P]</a> who there witnessed +the ceremony that shortly afterwards was to be performed over herself.</p> + +<p>"It was winter. A thick snow covered the ground. The landscape was as +silent and cold as the dead herself. I gave sincere tears to this woman +so gracious and so kind; and I learned shortly afterwards that she had +remembered me in her will. It is not without a profound and a religious +emotion that we receive these remembrances from friends who are no more; +these pledges of affection which come to you, so to say, from across the +tomb, as if to assure you that thoughts of you had followed them as far +as there. Judge, then, how touched I was in receiving the legacy +destined for me—that light, elegant, and mysterious gift, chosen to +recall to me unceasingly the tie that had existed between us. It was a +lace veil, the one she wore the day of our meeting in St. Peter's."</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Louis Napoleon's love for his mother.</div> + +<p>In reference to the mother and the son, Julie de Marguerittes writes: +"Louis Napoleon's <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_370" id="Page_370">[Pg 370]</a></span>love for his mother had in it a tenderness and +devotion even beyond that of a son. She had been his instructor and +companion; and from the hour of her change of position she had +manifested great and noble qualities, which the frivolity and prosperity +of a court might forever have left unrevealed. Hortense was a woman to +be loved and revered. And even at this distance of years, Napoleon's +love for his mother has suffered no change. He has striven, in all ways, +to associate her with his present high fortune. He has made an air of +her composition, 'Partant pour la Syrie,' the national air of France. +The ship which bore him from Marseilles to Genoa, on his Italian +expedition, is called <i>La Reine Hortense</i>, after his mother."</p> + +<p>Scarcely were the remains of Hortense committed to the tomb, ere the +Swiss Government received an imperative command from the Government of +Louis Philippe to banish Louis Napoleon from the soil of Switzerland. To +save the country which had so kindly adopted him from war, the prince +retired to London. He could have no hopes of regaining his rights as a +French citizen until the Government of Louis Philippe should be +overthrown. Another attempt was made at Boulogne in August, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_371" id="Page_371">[Pg 371]</a></span>1840. It +proved a failure. Louis Napoleon was again arrested, tried, and +condemned to imprisonment for life. Six years he passed in dreary +captivity in the Castle of Ham. The following brief account of the +wonderful escape of the prince is given in his own words, contained in a +letter to the editor of the <i>Journal de la Somme</i>.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Account of the escape from Ham.</div> + +<p>"<span class="smcap">My dear M. de George</span>,—My desire to see my father once more in this +world made me attempt the boldest enterprise I ever engaged in. It +required more resolution and courage on my part than at Strasburg or +Boulogne; for I was determined not to bear the ridicule that attaches to +those who are arrested escaping under a disguise, and a failure I could +not have endured. The following are the particulars of my escape:</p> + +<p>"You know that the fort was guarded by four hundred men, who furnished +daily sixty soldiers, placed as sentries outside the walls. Moreover, +the principal gate of the prison was guarded by three jailers, two of +whom were constantly on duty. It was necessary that I should first elude +their vigilance, afterwards traverse the inside court before the windows +of the commandant's residence, and arriving <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_372" id="Page_372">[Pg 372]</a></span>there, I should be obliged +to pass by a gate which was guarded by soldiers.</p> + +<p>"Not wishing to communicate my design to any one, it was necessary to +disguise myself. As several of the rooms in the building I occupied were +undergoing repairs, it was not difficult to assume the dress of a +workman. My good and faithful valet, Charles Thelin, procured a +smock-frock and a pair of wooden shoes, and after shaving off my +mustaches I took a plank upon my shoulders.</p> + +<p>"On Monday morning I saw the workmen enter at half-past eight o'clock. +Charles took them some drink, in order that I should not meet any of +them on my passage. He was also to call one of the turnkeys while De +Conneau conversed with the others. Nevertheless I had scarcely got out +of my room before I was accosted by a workman who took me for one of his +comrades; and at the bottom of the stairs I found myself in front of the +keeper. Fortunately, I placed the plank I was carrying before my face, +and succeeded in reaching the yard. Whenever I passed a sentinel or any +other person I always kept the plank before my face.</p> + +<p>"Passing before the first sentinel, I let my <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_373" id="Page_373">[Pg 373]</a></span>pipe fall and stopped to +pick up the bits. There I met the officer on duty; but as he was reading +a letter he did not pay attention to me. The soldiers at the guard-house +appeared surprised at my dress, and a drummer turned around several +times to look at me. I placed the plank before my face, but they +appeared to be so curious that I thought I should never escape them +until I heard them cry, 'Oh, it is Bernard!'</p> + +<p>"Once outside, I walked quickly towards the road of St. Quentin. +Charles, who the day before had engaged a carriage, shortly overtook me, +and we arrived at St. Quentin. I passed through the town on foot, after +having thrown off my smock-frock. Charles procured a post-chaise, under +pretext of going to Cambrai. We arrived without meeting with any +hindrance at Valenciennes, where I took the railway. I had procured a +Belgian passport, but nowhere was I asked to show it.</p> + +<p>"During my escape, Dr. Conneau, always so devoted to me, remained in +prison, and caused them to believe that I was ill, in order to give me +time to reach the frontier. It was necessary to be convinced that the +Government would never set me at liberty if I would not <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_374" id="Page_374">[Pg 374]</a></span>consent to +dishonor myself, before I could be persuaded to quit France. It was also +a matter of duty that I should exert all my powers to be able to console +my father in his old age.</p> + +<p>"Adieu, my dear M. de George. Although free, I feel myself to be most +unhappy. Receive the assurance of my sincere friendship; and if you are +able, endeavor to be useful to my kind Conneau."</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Louis Napoleon in London.</div> + +<p>It was the latter part of May, 1846, that Louis Napoleon escaped from +Ham. He repaired immediately to London. In accordance with his habits +and his tastes, he continued to devote himself earnestly to his studies, +still cherishing the unfaltering opinion that he was yet to be the +Emperor of France. In London he was cordially welcomed by his old +friends, Count d'Orsay and Lady Blessington. His cousin Maria of Baden, +then Lady Douglass, subsequently the Duchess of Hamilton, was proud to +receive him in her sumptuous abode, and to present him to her +aristocratic friends. To her, it is said that he confided his projects +and hopes more frankly than to any one else. In one of his notes he +wrote,</p> + +<p>"<span class="smcap">My dear Cousin</span>,—I do not belong to <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_375" id="Page_375">[Pg 375]</a></span>myself, I belong to my name and my +country. It is because my fortune has twice betrayed me, that my destiny +is nearer its accomplishment. I bide my time."</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Overthrow of Louis Philippe.</div> + +<p>In the latter part of February, 1848, the throne of Philippe was +overturned, and he fled from France. Louis Napoleon immediately returned +to Paris after so many weary years of exile. This is not the place to +describe the scenes which ensued. It is sufficient simply to state that, +almost by acclamation, he was sent by the people of Paris to the +Assembly, was there elected president of the Republic, and then, by +nearly eight million of votes, the Empire was re-established and Louis +Napoleon was placed upon the imperial throne.</p> + +<p>As soon as Louis Napoleon was chosen president of the French Republic, +Walter Savage Landor, a brilliant scholar, a profound, original thinker, +and a highly independent and honorable man, wrote as follows to Lady +Blessington, under date of January 9th, 1849:</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Walter Savage Landor.</div> + +<p>"Possibly you may have never seen the two articles which I enclose. I +inserted another in the 'Examiner,' deprecating the anxieties which a +truly patriotic and, in my opinion, a singularly wise man, was about to +encounter, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_376" id="Page_376">[Pg 376]</a></span>in accepting the presidency of France. Necessity will compel +him to assume the imperial power, to which the voice of the army and of +the people will call him. You know, who know not merely my writings but +my heart, how little I care for station. I may therefore tell you +safely, that I feel a great interest, a great anxiety for the welfare of +Louis Napoleon. I told him that if he were ever again in prison, I would +visit him there, but never if he were upon a throne would I come near +him. He is the only man living who would adorn one. But thrones are my +aversion and abhorrence. France, I fear, can exist in no other +condition. May God protect the virtuous Louis Napoleon, and prolong in +happiness the days of my dear kind friend Lady Blessington.</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"<span class="smcap">Walter Savage Landor</span>.</span> +</div></div> + +<p>"P.S.—I wrote a short letter to the President, and not of +congratulation. May he find many friends as disinterested and sincere."</p> + +<p>Even the blunt Duke of Wellington wrote as follows to the Count d'Orsay +under date of April 9, 1849: "I rejoice at the prosperity of France and +of the success of the president of the Republic. Every thing tends +towards the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_377" id="Page_377">[Pg 377]</a></span>permanent tranquillity of Europe," which is necessary for +the happiness of all.</p> + +<p>If Hortense from the spirit-land can look down upon her son, her heart +must be cheered in view of the honors which his native land, with such +unprecedented unanimity, has conferred upon him. And still more must her +heart be cheered in view of the many, many years of peace, prosperity, +and happiness which France has enjoyed under his reign. Every +well-informed man will admit that the kingdom of France has never, since +its foundations were laid, enjoyed so many years of tranquillity, and of +mental and material advancement at home, and also of respect and +influence abroad, as during the reign of the son of Hortense.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Empress Eugénie.</div> + +<p>The Emperor is eminently happy in his domestic relations. There are none +who know the Empress Eugénie who do not revere and love her. She is the +worthy successor of Josephine, upon the throne of the reinstated empire. +The following beautiful tribute to her virtues comes from the lips of +our former distinguished ambassador at the court of France, Hon. John A. +Dix. They were uttered in a speech which he addressed to the American +residents in Paris, upon the occasion of his <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_378" id="Page_378">[Pg 378]</a></span>surrendering the +ambassadorial chair to his successor, Hon. Mr. Washburne. It was in +June, 1869.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Testimony of General Dix.</div> + +<p>"Of her who is the sharer of the Emperor's honors and the companion of +his toils—who in the hospital, at the altar, or on the throne is alike +exemplary in the discharge of her varied duties, whether incident to her +position, or voluntarily taken upon herself, it is difficult for me to +speak without rising above the level of the common language of eulogism.</p> + +<p>"But I am standing here to-day, as a citizen of the United States, +without official relations to my own Government, or any other. I have +taken my leave of the imperial family, and I know no reason why I may +not freely speak what I honestly think; especially as I know I can say +nothing which will not find a cordial response in your own breasts.</p> + +<p>"As in the history of the ruder sex, great luminaries have from time to +time risen high above the horizon, to break and at the same time to +illustrate, the monotony of the general movement,—so in the annals of +hers, brilliant lights have at intervals shone forth, and shed their +lustre upon the stately march of regal pomp and power.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_379" id="Page_379">[Pg 379]</a></span></p><p>"When I have seen her taking part in the most imposing of all imperial +pageants—the opening of the Legislative Chambers—standing amid the +assembled magistracy of Paris, surrounded by the representatives of the +talent, the genius, and the piety of this great empire; or amidst the +resplendent scenes of the palace, moving about with a gracefulness all +her own, and with a simplicity of manner which has a double charm when +allied to exalted rank and station, I confess that I have more than once +whispered to myself, and I believe not always inaudibly, the beautiful +verse of the graceful and courtly Claudian, the last of the Roman poets,</p> + +<p class="center">"'Divino semitu, gressu claruit;'</p> + +<p>"or, rendered in our own plain English, and stripped of its poetic +hyperbole, '<i>The very path she treads is radiant with her unrivalled +step</i>.'"</p> + +<p class="center">THE END.</p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<h2><span class="smcap">Footnotes</span></h2> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_A_1" id="Footnote_A_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_1"><span class="label">[A]</span></a> Encyclopædia Americana.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_B_2" id="Footnote_B_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_B_2"><span class="label">[B]</span></a> Barras, a leading member of the Directory, and a strong +friend of General Bonaparte.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_C_3" id="Footnote_C_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_C_3"><span class="label">[C]</span></a> The husband of Hortense, King of Holland. He was then very +sick, suffering from an attack of paralysis. St. Leu was a beautiful +estate he owned in France. He had with him his second and then only +living child, Napoleon Louis. Leaving him with his grandmother, he +repaired to Cauterets, where he joined Hortense, his wife.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_D_4" id="Footnote_D_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_D_4"><span class="label">[D]</span></a> Victory of Friedland.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E_5" id="Footnote_E_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_E_5"><span class="label">[E]</span></a> The writer remembers that forty years ago this was a +favorite song in this country. At Bowdoin College it was the popular +college song. It is now, in France, one of the favorite national airs.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_F_6" id="Footnote_F_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_F_6"><span class="label">[F]</span></a> Oui Oui was the pet name given to little Louis Napoleon.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_G_7" id="Footnote_G_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_G_7"><span class="label">[G]</span></a> All will read with interest the above anecdotes of the +childhood of Louis Napoleon, now Emperor of France. His manhood has more +than fulfilled even the great promise of his early days. The stories +which have been circulated in this country respecting his early +dissipation are entirely unfounded. They originated in an error by which +another Prince Bonaparte was mistaken for him.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_H_8" id="Footnote_H_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_H_8"><span class="label">[H]</span></a> Life of Napoleon III., by Edward Roth.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_I_9" id="Footnote_I_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_I_9"><span class="label">[I]</span></a> Count Lavallette was one of the devoted friends of +Napoleon, who had long served in the armies of the Empire. For the +welcome he gave Napoleon on his return from Elba he was doomed, by the +Bourbons, to death. While preparations were being made for his +execution, his wife and daughter, with her governess, were permitted to +visit him. Very adroitly he escaped in his wife's clothes, she remaining +in his place. Irritated by this escape, the Government held his wife a +prisoner until she became a confirmed lunatic.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_J_10" id="Footnote_J_10"></a><a href="#FNanchor_J_10"><span class="label">[J]</span></a> Abbott's "Napoleon at St. Helena," p. 94.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_K_11" id="Footnote_K_11"></a><a href="#FNanchor_K_11"><span class="label">[K]</span></a> The commanding officer of the garrison.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_L_12" id="Footnote_L_12"></a><a href="#FNanchor_L_12"><span class="label">[L]</span></a> Colonel Labédoyère was a young man of fine figure and +elegant manners, descended from a respectable family, and whose heart +ever throbbed warmly in remembrance of the glories of the Empire. Upon +the abdication of Napoleon and his retirement to Elba, Labédoyère was +in command of the seventh regiment of the line, stationed at Grenoble. +He fraternized with his troops in the enthusiasm with which one and all +were swept away at the sight of the returning Emperor. Drawing a silver +eagle from his pocket, he placed it upon the flag-staff and embraced it +in the presence of all his soldiers, who, in a state of the wildest +excitement, with shouts of joy, gathered around Napoleon, crying <i>Vive +l'Empereur</i>!</p> + +<p>After Waterloo and the exile to St. Helena, Labédoyère was arrested, +tried, and shot. It is said that the judges shed tears when they +condemned the noble young man to death. His young wife threw herself at +the feet of Louis XVIII., and, frantic with grief, cried out, "Pardon, +sire, pardon!" Louis replied, "My duty as a king ties my hands. I can +only pray for the soul of him whom justice has condemned."—<i>Abbott's +Life of Napoleon</i>, vol. ii. p. 110.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_M_13" id="Footnote_M_13"></a><a href="#FNanchor_M_13"><span class="label">[M]</span></a> M. Parguin was the gentleman to whom we have before +alluded, who was a highly esteemed young officer under Napoleon I., and +who, having married Mademoiselle Cotelet, the reader of Queen Hortense, +had purchased the estate of Wolfberg, in the vicinity of Arenemberg, and +became one of the most intimate friends of Prince Louis Napoleon.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_N_14" id="Footnote_N_14"></a><a href="#FNanchor_N_14"><span class="label">[N]</span></a> A distinguished advocate in Paris.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_O_15" id="Footnote_O_15"></a><a href="#FNanchor_O_15"><span class="label">[O]</span></a> The Princess Matilde, his cousin, daughter of Jerome, with +whom it is supposed that he then contemplated marriage.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_P_16" id="Footnote_P_16"></a><a href="#FNanchor_P_16"><span class="label">[P]</span></a> Caroline Bonaparte.</p></div> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Hortense, Makers of History Series, by +John S. 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C. Abbott + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Hortense, Makers of History Series + +Author: John S. C. Abbott + +Release Date: February 20, 2008 [EBook #24659] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HORTENSE, MAKERS OF HISTORY SERIES *** + + + + +Produced by D. Alexander and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was +produced from images generously made available by The +Internet Archive) + + + + + + + + + + Makers of History + + Hortense + + BY JOHN S. C. ABBOTT + + WITH ENGRAVINGS + + NEW YORK AND LONDON + HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS + 1902 + + + + + Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1870, by + + HARPER & BROTHERS, + + In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the + Southern District of New York. + + Copyright, 1898, by LAURA A. BUCK. + + +[Illustration: HORTENSE.] + + + + +PREFACE. + + +The French Revolution was perhaps as important an event as has occurred +in the history of nations. It was a drama in three acts. The first was +the Revolution itself, properly so called, with its awful scenes of +terror and of blood--the exasperated millions struggling against the +accumulated oppression of ages. + +The second act in the drama was the overthrow of the Directory by +Napoleon, and the introduction of the Consulate and the Empire; the +tremendous struggle against the combined dynasties of Europe; the +demolition of the Empire, and the renewed crushing of the people by the +triumph of the nobles and the kings. + +Then came the third act in the drama--perhaps the last, perhaps not--in +which the French people again drove out the Bourbons, re-established the +Republican Empire, with its principle of equal rights for all, and +placed upon the throne the heir of the great Emperor. + +No man can understand the career of Napoleon I. without being acquainted +with those scenes of anarchy and terror which preceded his reign. No man +can understand the career of Napoleon III. unless familiar with the +struggle of the people against the despots in the Revolution, their +triumph in the Empire, their defeat in its overthrow, and their renewed +triumph in its restoration. + +Hortense was intimately associated with all these scenes. Her father +fell beneath the slide of the guillotine; her mother was imprisoned and +doomed to die; and she and her brother were turned penniless into the +streets. By the marriage of her mother with Napoleon, she became the +daughter of the Emperor, and one of the most brilliant and illustrious +ladies of the imperial court. The triumph of the Allies sent her into +exile, where her influence and her instruction prepared her son to +contribute powerfully to the restoration of the Empire, and to reign +with ability which is admired by his friends and acknowledged by his +foes. The mother of Napoleon III. never allowed her royally-endowed son +to forget, even in the gloomiest days of exile and of sorrow, that it +might yet be his privilege to re-establish the Republican Empire, and to +restore the dynasty of the people from its overthrow by the despotic +Allies. + +In this brief record of the life of one who experienced far more than +the usual vicissitudes of humanity, whose career was one of the saddest +upon record, and who ever exhibited virtues which won the enthusiastic +love of all who knew her, the writer has admitted nothing which can not +be sustained by incontrovertible evidence, and has suppressed nothing +sustained by any testimony worthy of a moment's respect. This history +will show that Hortense had her faults. Who is without them? There are +not many, however, who will read these pages without profound admiration +for the character of one of the noblest of women, and without finding +the eye often dimmed, in view of her heart-rending griefs. + +This volume will soon be followed by the History of Louis Philippe. + + + + + CONTENTS. + + + CHAPTER PAGE + + I. PARENTAGE AND BIRTH 15 + + II. MARRIAGE OF JOSEPHINE AND GENERAL BONAPARTE 49 + + III. HORTENSE AND DUROC 80 + + IV. THE MARRIAGE OF HORTENSE 110 + + V. THE BIRTH OF LOUIS NAPOLEON AND THE DIVORCE OF JOSEPHINE 148 + + VI. THE DEATH OF JOSEPHINE 179 + + VII. THE SORROWS OF EXILE 211 + + VIII. PEACEFUL DAYS, YET SAD 239 + + IX. LIFE AT ARENEMBERG 293 + + X. LETTER FROM LOUIS NAPOLEON TO HIS MOTHER 322 + + XI. DEATH OF HORTENSE, AND THE ENTHRONEMENT OF HER SON 358 + + + + +ENGRAVINGS. + + + PAGE + + HORTENSE _Frontispiece._ + + JOSEPHINE TAKING LEAVE OF HER CHILDREN 38 + + THE RECONCILIATION 76 + + THE LOVE-LETTER 104 + + THE LITTLE PRINCE NAPOLEON 129 + + THE DIVORCE ANNOUNCED 165 + + THE DEATH OF MADAME BROC 194 + + HORTENSE AND HER CHILDREN 218 + + HORTENSE AT ARENEMBERG 248 + + INTERVIEW IN THE COLISEUM 271 + + THE STUDY OF LOUIS NAPOLEON 307 + + THE ARREST 336 + + + + +HORTENSE. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +PARENTAGE AND BIRTH. + +1776-1794 + +Josephine's voyage to France.--Viscount de Beauharnais.--Josephine's +reluctance.--Marriage.--Birth of Eugene.--Birth of Hortense.--Separation +from Beauharnais.--Return to Martinique.--Revisits France.--The jewel +caskets.--The old pair of shoes.--Commencement of the Reign of +Terror.--Arrest of Beauharnais.--Domiciliary visit.--Beauharnais in +prison.--Affecting interview.--Scene in prison.--Trial of +Beauharnais.--Anguish of Josephine.--Arrest of Josephine.--Impulsiveness +of Hortense.--Letter from Josephine.--Letter from Beauharnais.--Execution +of Beauharnais.--Josephine to her children. + + +In the year 1776 a very beautiful young lady, by the name of Josephine +Rose Tascher, was crossing the Atlantic Ocean from the island of +Martinique to France. She was but fifteen years of age; and, having been +left an orphan in infancy, had been tenderly reared by an uncle and +aunt, who were wealthy, being proprietors of one of the finest +plantations upon the island. Josephine was accompanied upon the voyage +by her uncle. She was the betrothed of a young French nobleman by the +name of Viscount Alexander de Beauharnais, who had recently visited +Martinique, and who owned several large estates adjoining the property +which Josephine would probably inherit. + +It was with great reluctance that Josephine yielded to the importunities +of her friends and accepted the proffered hand of the viscount. Her +affections had long been fixed upon a play-mate of her childhood by the +name of William, and her love was passionately returned. William was +then absent in France, pursuing his education. De Beauharnais was what +would usually be called a very splendid man. He was of high rank, young, +rich, intelligent, and fascinating in his manners. The marriage of +Josephine with the viscount would unite the properties. Her friends, in +their desire to accomplish the union, cruelly deceived Josephine. They +intercepted the letters of William, and withheld her letters to him, and +represented to her that William, amidst the gayeties of Paris, had +proved a false lover, and had entirely forgotten her. De Beauharnais, +attracted by the grace and beauty of Josephine, had ardently offered her +his hand. Under these circumstances the inexperienced maiden had +consented to the union, and was now crossing the Atlantic with her uncle +for the consummation of the nuptials in France. + +Upon her arrival she was conducted to Fontainebleau, where De +Beauharnais hastened to meet her. Proud of her attractions, he took +great pleasure in introducing her to his high-born friends, and +lavished upon her every attention. Josephine was grateful, but sad, for +her heart still yearned for William. Soon William, hearing of her +arrival, and not knowing of her engagement, anxiously repaired to +Fontainebleau. The interview was agonizing. William still loved her with +the utmost devotion. They both found that they had been the victims of a +conspiracy, though one of which De Beauharnais had no knowledge. + +Josephine, young, inexperienced, far from home, and surrounded by the +wealthy and powerful friends of her betrothed, had gone too far in the +arrangements for the marriage to recede. Her anguish, however, was so +great that she was thrown into a violent fever. She had no friend to +whom she could confide her emotions. But in most affecting tones she +entreated that her marriage might be delayed for a few months until she +should regain her health. Her friends consented, and she took refuge for +a time in the Convent of Panthemont, under the tender care of the +sisters. + +It is not probable that De Beauharnais was at all aware of the real +state of Josephine's feelings. He was proud of her, and loved her as +truly as a fashionable man of the world could love. It is also to be +remembered that at that time in France it was not customary for young +ladies to have much influence in the choice of their husbands. It was +supposed that their parents could much more judiciously arrange these +matters than the young ladies themselves. + +Josephine was sixteen years of age at the time of her marriage. Her +attractions were so remarkable that she immediately became a great +favorite at the French court, to which the rank of her husband +introduced her. Marie Antoinette was then the youthful bride of Louis +XVI. She was charmed with Josephine, and lavished upon her the most +flattering attentions. Two children were born of this marriage, both of +whom attained world-wide renown. The first was a son, Eugene. He was +born in September, 1781. His career was very elevated, and he occupied +with distinguished honor all the lofty positions to which he was raised. +He became duke of Leuchtenberg, prince of Eichstedt, viceroy of Italy. +He married the Princess Augusta, daughter of the King of Bavaria. + +"Prince Eugene, under a simple exterior, concealed a noble character and +great talents. Honor, integrity, humanity, and love of order and +justice were the principal traits of his character. Wise in the council, +undaunted in the field, and moderate in the exercise of power, he never +appeared greater than in the midst of reverses, as the events of 1813 +and 1814 prove. He was inaccessible to the spirit of party, benevolent +and beneficent, and more devoted to the good of others than his own."[A] + +[Footnote A: Encyclopaedia Americana.] + +The second child was a daughter, Hortense, the subject of this brief +memoir. She was born on the 10th of January, 1783. In the opening scenes +of that most sublime of earthly tragedies, the French Revolution, M. de +Beauharnais espoused the popular cause, though of noble blood, and +though his elder brother, the Marquis de Beauharnais, earnestly +advocated the cause of the king and the court. + +The entire renunciation of the Christian religion was then popular in +France. Alexander de Beauharnais, like most of his young pleasure-loving +companions, was an infidel. His conduct soon became such that the heart +of poor Josephine was quite broken. Her two children, Eugene and +Hortense, both inherited the affectionate and gentle traits of their +mother, and were her only solace. In her anguish she unguardedly wrote +to her friends in Martinique, who had almost forced her into her +connection with Beauharnais: + +"Were it not for my children, I should, without a pang, renounce France +forever. My duty requires me to forget William. And yet, if _we_ had +been united together, I should not to-day have been troubling you with +my griefs." + +Viscount Beauharnais chanced to see this letter. It roused his jealousy +fearfully. A sense of "honor" would allow him to lavish his attentions +upon guilty favorites, while that same sense of "honor" would urge him +to wreak vengeance upon his unhappy, injured wife, because, in her +neglect and anguish, with no false, but only a true affection, her +memory turned to the loved companion of her childhood. According to the +standard of the fashionable world, Beauharnais was a very honorable man. +According to the standard of Christianity, he was a sinner in the sight +of God, and was to answer for this conduct at the final judgment. + +He reproached his wife in the severest language of denunciation. He took +from her her son Eugene. He applied to the courts for a divorce, +demanding his daughter Hortense also. Josephine pleaded with him in +vain, for the sake of their children, not to proclaim their disagreement +to the world. Grief-stricken, poor Josephine retired to a convent to +await the trial. The verdict was triumphantly in her favor. But her +heart was broken. She was separated from her husband, though the legal +tie was not severed. + +Her friends in Martinique, informed of these events, wrote, urging her +to return to them. She decided to accept the invitation. Hortense was +with her mother. M. de Beauharnais had sent Eugene, whom he had taken +from her, to a boarding-school. Before sailing for Martinique she +obtained an interview with M. de Beauharnais, and with tears entreated +that she might take Eugene with her also. He was unrelenting; Josephine, +with a crushed and world-weary heart, folded Hortense to her bosom, then +an infant but three years of age, and returned to her tropical home, +which she had sadly left but a few years before. Here, on the retired +plantation, soothed by the sympathy of her friends, she strove to +conceal her anguish. + +There was never a more loving heart than that with which Josephine was +endowed. She clung to Hortense with tenderness which has rarely been +equalled. They were always together. During the day Hortense was ever by +her side, and at night she nestled in her mother's bosom. Living amidst +the scenes of tropical luxuriance and beauty, endeared to her by the +memories of childhood, Josephine could almost have been happy but for +the thoughts of her absent Eugene. Grief for her lost child preyed ever +upon her heart. + +Her alienated husband, relieved from all restraint, plunged anew into +those scenes of fashionable dissipation for which Paris was then +renowned. But sickness, sorrows, and misfortunes came. In those dark +hours he found that no earthly friend can supply the place of a virtuous +and loving wife. He wrote to her, expressing bitter regret for his +conduct, and imploring her to return. The wounds which Josephine had +received were too deep to be easily healed. Forgiving as she was by +nature, she said to her friends that the memory of the past was so +painful that, were it not for Eugene, she should very much prefer not to +return to France again, but to spend the remainder of her days in the +seclusion of her native island. Her friends did every thing in their +power to dissuade her from returning. But a mother's love for her son +triumphed, and with Hortense she took ship for France. + +An event occurred upon this voyage which is as instructive as it is +interesting. Many years afterwards, when Josephine was Empress of +France, and the wealth of the world was almost literally at her feet, on +one occasion some young ladies who were visiting the court requested +Josephine to show them her diamonds. These jewels were almost of +priceless value, and were kept in a vault, the keys of which were +confided to the most trusty persons. Josephine, who seldom wore jewels, +very amiably complied with their request. A large table was brought into +the saloon. Her maids in waiting brought in a great number of caskets, +of every size and form, containing the precious gems. + +As these caskets were opened, they were dazzled with the brilliancy, the +size, and the number of these ornaments. The different sets composed +probably by far the most brilliant collection in Europe. In Napoleon's +conquering career, the cities which he had entered lavished their gifts +upon Josephine. The most remarkable of these jewels consisted of large +white diamonds. There were others in the shape of pears formed of +pearls of the richest colors. There were opals, rubies, sapphires, and +emeralds of such marvellous value that the large diamonds that encircled +them were considered as mere mountings not regarded in the estimation +made of the value of the jewels. + +As the ladies gazed upon the splendor of this collection, they were lost +in wonder and admiration. Josephine, after enjoying for a while their +expressions of delight, and having allowed them to examine the beautiful +gems thoroughly, said to them kindly: + +"I had no other motive, in ordering my jewels to be opened before you, +than to spoil your fancy for such ornaments. After having seen such +splendid sets, you can never feel a wish for inferior ones; the less so +when you reflect how unhappy I have been, although with so rare a +collection at my command. During the first dawn of my extraordinary +elevation, I delighted in these trifles, many of which were presented to +me in Italy. I grew by degrees so tired of them that I no longer wear +any, except when I am in some respects compelled to do so by my new rank +in the world. A thousand accidents may, besides, contribute to deprive +me of these brilliant, though useless objects. Do I not possess the +pendants of Queen Marie Antoinette? And yet am I quite sure of retaining +them? Trust to me, ladies, and do not envy a splendor which does not +constitute happiness. I shall not fail to surprise you when I relate +that I once felt more pleasure at receiving an old pair of shoes than at +being presented with all the diamonds which are now spread before you." + +The young ladies could not help smiling at this observation, persuaded +as they were that Josephine was not in earnest. But she repeated her +assertions in so serious a manner that they felt the utmost curiosity to +hear the story of this _wonderful pair of shoes_. + +"I repeat it, ladies," said her majesty, "it is strictly true, that the +present which, of all others, has afforded me most pleasure was a pair +of old shoes of the coarsest leather; and you will readily believe it +when you have heard my story. + +"I had set sail from Martinique, with Hortense, on board a ship in which +we received such marked attentions that they are indelibly impressed on +my memory. Being separated from my first husband, my pecuniary resources +were not very flourishing. The expense of my return to France, which +the state of my affairs rendered necessary, had nearly drained me of +every thing, and I found great difficulty in making the purchases which +were indispensably requisite for the voyage. Hortense, who was a smart, +lively child, sang negro songs, and performed negro dances with +admirable accuracy. She was the delight of the sailors, and, in return +for their fondness, she made them her favorite company. I no sooner fell +asleep than she slipped upon deck and rehearsed her various little +exercises, to the renewed delight and admiration of all on board. + +"An old mate was particularly fond of her, and whenever he found a +moment's leisure from his daily occupations, he devoted it to his little +friend, who was also exceedingly attached to him. My daughter's shoes +were soon worn out with her constant dancing and skipping. Knowing as +she did that I had no other pair for her, and fearing lest I should +prevent her going upon deck if I should discover the plight of those she +was fast wearing away, she concealed the trifling accident from my +knowledge. I saw her once returning with bleeding feet, and asked her, +in the utmost alarm, if she had hurt herself; 'No, mamma.' 'But your +feet are bleeding.' 'It really is nothing.' I insisted upon ascertaining +what ailed her, and found that her shoes were all in tatters, and her +flesh dreadfully torn by a nail. + +"We had as yet only performed half the voyage; a long time would +necessarily elapse before I could procure a fresh pair of shoes; I was +mortified at the bare anticipation of the distress my poor Hortense +would feel at being compelled to remain confined in my wretched little +cabin, and of the injury her health might experience from the want of +exercise. At the moment when I was wrapped up in sorrow, and giving free +vent to my tears, our friend the mate made his appearance, and inquired, +with his honest bluntness, the cause of our _whimperings_. Hortense +replied, in a sobbing voice, that she could no longer go upon deck +because she had torn her shoes, and I had no others to give her. + +"'Is that all?' said the sailor. 'I have an old pair in my trunk; let me +go for them. You, madame, will cut them up, and I shall sew them over +again to the best of my power; every thing on board ship shall be turned +to account; this is not the place for being too nice or particular; we +have our most important wants gratified when we have the needful.' + +"He did not wait for our reply, but went in quest of his old shoes, +which he brought to us with an air of exultation, and offered them to +Hortense, who received the gift with every demonstration of delight. + +"We set to work with the greatest alacrity, and my daughter was enabled, +towards the close of the day, to enjoy the pleasure of again amusing the +ship's company. I repeat it, that no present was ever received by me +with more sincere gratitude. I greatly reproach myself for having +neglected to make inquiries after the worthy seaman, who was only known +on board by the name of James. I should have felt a sincere satisfaction +in rendering him some service, since it was afterwards in my power to do +so." + +Josephine had spent three years in Martinique. Consequently, upon her +return to France, Hortense was six years of age. Soon after her arrival +the Reign of Terror commenced. The guillotine was erected, and its knife +was busy beheading those who were suspected of not being in full +sympathy with the reformers whom revolution had brought into power. +Though Viscount Beauharnais had earnestly espoused the popular cause; +though he had been president of the National Assembly, and afterwards +general of the Army of the Rhine, still he was of noble birth, and his +older brother was an aristocrat, and an emigrant. He was consequently +suspected, and arrested. Having conducted him to prison, a committee of +the Convention called at the residence of Josephine to examine the +children, hoping to extort from them some evidence against their father. +Josephine, in a letter to her aunt, thus describes this singular scene: + +"You would hardly believe, dear aunt, that my children have just +undergone a long and minute examination. That wicked old man, the +member of the committee whom I have already mentioned to you, called +upon me, and, affecting to feel uneasy in regard to my husband, and to +converse with me respecting him, opened a conversation with my children. +I acknowledge that I at first fell into the snare. What surprised me, +however, was the sudden affability of the man. But he soon betrayed +himself by the malignity and even bitterness which he displayed when the +children replied in such a manner as to give him no advantage over +their unhappy parents. I soon penetrated his artful intentions. + +"When he found me on my guard, he threw off the mask, and admitted that +he was desired to procure information from my children, which, he said, +might be more relied on, as it would bear the stamp of candor. He then +entered into a formal examination. At that moment I felt an +indescribable emotion; and the conflicting effects of fear, anger, and +indignation alternately agitated me. I was even upon the point of openly +giving vent to my feelings against the hoary revolutionist, when I +reflected that I might, by so doing, materially injure M. de +Beauharnais, against whom that atrocious villain appeared to have vowed +perpetual enmity. I accordingly checked my angry passions. He desired me +to leave him alone with my children; I attempted to resist, but his +ferocious glance compelled me to give way. + +"He confined Hortense in the closet, and began to put questions to her +brother. My daughter's turn came next. As for this child, in whom he +discovered a premature quickness and penetration far above her age, he +kept questioning her for a great length of time. After having sounded +them respecting our common topics of conversation, our opinions, the +visits and letters we were in the habit of receiving, but more +particularly the occurrences they might have witnessed, he came to the +main point--I mean, to the expressions used by Alexander. My children +gave very proper replies; such, in fact, as were suited to their +respective dispositions. And notwithstanding the artfulness of a +mischievous man whose object is to discover guilt, the frankness of my +son and the quick penetration of my daughter disconcerted his low +cunning, and even defeated the object he had in view." + +Viscount Beauharnais, when arrested, was conveyed to the palace of the +Luxembourg, where he was imprisoned with many other captives. To spare +the feelings of the children, the fact of his imprisonment was concealed +from them by Josephine, and they were given to understand that their +father, not being very well, had placed himself under the care of a +celebrated physician, who had recommended him to take up his residence +at the Luxembourg, where there was much vacant space, and consequently +purer air. The imprisoned father was very anxious to see his wife and +children. The authorities consented, allowing the children to go in +first under the care of an attendant, and afterwards their mother. + +Hortense, child as she was, was bewildered by the scene, and her +suspicions were evidently excited. As she came out, she said to her +mother, "I think papa's apartments are very small, and the patients are +very numerous." + +After the children had left, Josephine was introduced. She knew that her +husband's life was in imminent peril. His penitence and grateful love +had produced entire reconciliation, and had won back Josephine's heart. +She was not willing that the children should witness the tender and +affecting interview which, under such circumstances, must take place. + +Beauharnais had but little hope that he should escape the guillotine. As +Josephine, bathed in tears, rushed into his arms, all his fortitude +forsook him. His emotion was so great that his wife, struggling against +her own anguish, used her utmost endeavors to calm and console him. + +In the midst of this heart-rending scene, to their consternation, the +children, by some misunderstanding, were again led into the apartment. +The father and mother struggled to disguise from them the cause of that +emotion which they could not conceal. For a time the children were +silent and bewildered; then Hortense, though with evident misgivings, +attempted to console her parents. The events of her saddened life had +rendered her unusually precocious. Turning to her mother, she begged her +not to give way to so much sorrow, assuring her that she could not think +that her father was dangerously ill. Then addressing Eugene, she said, +in a peculiar tone which her parents felt as a reproach, + +"I do not think, brother, that papa is very sick. At any rate, it is not +such a sickness as doctors can cure." Josephine felt the reproach, and +conscious that it was in some degree deserved, said: + +"What do you mean, my child? Do you think your father and I have +combined to deceive you?" + +"Pardon me, mamma, but I do think so." + +"Oh, sister," exclaimed Eugene, "how can you speak so strangely?" + +"On the contrary," Hortense replied, "it is very plain and natural. +Surely affectionate parents may be allowed to deceive their children +when they wish to spare their feelings." + +Josephine was seated in the lap of her husband. Hortense sprang into +her mother's arms, and encircled the neck of both father and mother in a +loving embrace. Eugene caught the contagion, and by his tears and +affecting caresses added to this domestic scene of love and woe. + +It is the universal testimony that Eugene and Hortense were so lovely in +person and in character that they instantly won the affection of all who +saw them. The father was conscious that he was soon to die. He knew that +all his property would be confiscated. It was probable that Josephine +would also be led to her execution. The guillotine spared neither sex +who had incurred the suspicions of enthroned democracy. Both parents +forgot themselves, in their anxiety for their children. The execution of +Beauharnais would undoubtedly lead to the arrest and execution of +Josephine. The property of the condemned was invariably confiscated. +There was thus danger that the children would be turned in beggary into +the streets. It is difficult to conceive the anguish which must have +rent the hearts of affectionate parents in hours of woe so awful. + +The prisons were crowded with victims. Brief as were the trials, and +rapid as was the execution of the guillotine, there was some +considerable delay before Beauharnais was led before the revolutionary +tribunal. In the mean time Josephine made several calls, with her +children, upon her imprisoned husband. Little Hortense, whose suspicions +were strongly excited, watched every word, and soon became so convinced +that her father was a prisoner that it became impossible for her parents +any longer to conceal the fact. + +"What has papa done," inquired Hortense, "that they will not let him +come home?" + +"He has done nothing wrong," said Josephine, timidly, for she knew not +what spies might be listening. "He is only accused of being unfriendly +to the Government." + +Holding the hand of Eugene, Hortense exclaimed impetuously, "Oh, we will +punish your accusers as soon as we are strong enough." + +"Be silent, my child," said her father anxiously. "If you are overheard +I am lost. Both your mother and I may be made to suffer for any +imprudent remark which you may make." + +"But, papa, have you not often told us," said Eugene, "that it was +proper to resist an act of oppression?" + +"Yes," said the father proudly, though conscious that his words might be +reported and misrepresented to his merciless judges. "And I repeat it. +Our conduct, however, must be guided by rules of prudence; and whoever +attempts to defeat the views of tyranny must beware of awaking it from +its slumbers." + +No philosophy has yet been able to explain the delicate mechanism of the +human soul; its fleeting and varying emotions of joy and sadness, its +gleams of hope and shades of despair come and go, controlled by +influences which entirely elude human scrutiny. In these days of gloom, +rays of hope occasionally penetrated the cell of Beauharnais. + +At last the hour of dread came. Beauharnais was led before the terrible +tribunal. He was falsely accused of having promoted the surrender of +Mentz to the Allies. He was doomed to death, and was sent to the +Conciergerie, whence he was to be conducted to his execution. This was +in July, 1794. Beauharnais was then thirty-four years of age. + +[Illustration: JOSEPHINE TAKING LEAVE OF HER CHILDREN.] + +It seems that the conversation which we have reported as having taken +place in the cell of Beauharnais had been overheard by listening ears, +and reported to the committee as a conspiracy for the overthrow of +the Republic. The arrest of Josephine was ordered. A warning letter from +some friend reached her a few moments before the officers arrived, +urging her to fly. It was an early hour in the morning. There was little +sleep for Josephine amidst those scenes of terror, and she was watching +by the side of her slumbering children. What could she do? Should she +abandon her children, and seek to save her own life by flight? A +mother's love rendered that impossible. Should she take them with her in +her flight? That would render her arrest certain; and the fact of her +attempting to escape would be urged as evidence of her guilt. + +While distracted with these thoughts, the clatter of armed men was heard +at her door. With anguish which none but a mother can comprehend, she +bent over her children and imprinted, as she supposed, a last kiss upon +their cheeks. The affectionate little Hortense, though asleep, was +evidently agitated by troubled dreams. As she felt the imprint of her +mother's lips, she threw her arms around her neck and exclaimed, "Come +to bed, dear mamma; they shall not take you away to-night. I have prayed +to God for you." + +Josephine, to avoid waking the children, stepped softly from the room, +closed the door, and entered her parlor. Here she was rudely seized by +the soldiers, who regarded her as a hated aristocrat. They took +possession of the house and all its furniture in the name of the +Republic, left the children to suffer or to die as fate might decide, +and dragged the mother to imprisonment in the Convent of the Carmelites. + +When the children awoke in the morning, they found themselves alone and +friendless in the heart of Paris. The wonderful events of their lives +thus far had rendered them both unusually precocious. Eugene in +particular seemed to be endowed with all the thoughtfulness and wisdom +of a full-grown man. After a few moments of anguish and tears, in view +of their dreadful situation, they sat down to deliberate upon the course +to be pursued. Hortense suggested that they should repair to the +Luxembourg and seek the protection of their father in his imprisonment +there. But Eugene, apprehensive that such a step might in some way +compromise the safety of their father, recalled to mind that they had a +great-aunt, far advanced in life, who was residing at Versailles in deep +retirement. He proposed that they should seek refuge with her. Finding +a former domestic of the family, she kindly led them to their aunt, +where the desolate children were tenderly received. + +Beauharnais was now in the Conciergerie, doomed to die, and awaiting his +execution. Josephine was in the prison of the Carmelites, expecting +hourly to be led to the tribunal to receive also her doom of death. + +Hortense, an affectionate child, ardent and unreflecting in her +impatience to see her mother, one morning left her aunt's house at +Fontainebleau, to which place her aunt had removed, and in a market-cart +travelled thirty miles to Paris. Here the energetic child, impelled by +grief and love, succeeded in finding her mother's maid, Victorine. It +was however impossible for them to obtain access to the prison, and +Hortense the next day returned to Fontainebleau. Josephine, upon being +informed of this imprudent act, to which affection had impelled her +child, wrote to her the following letter: + +"I should be entirely satisfied with the good heart of my Hortense, were +I not displeased with her bad head. How is it, my daughter, that, +without permission from your aunt, you have come to Paris? 'But it was +to see me, you will say.' You ought to be aware that no one can see me +without an order, to obtain which requires both means and precautions. +And besides, you got upon M. Dorset's cart, at the risk of incommoding +him, and retarding the conveyance of his merchandise. In all this you +have been very inconsiderate. My child, observe: it is not sufficient to +do good, you must also do good properly. At your age, the first of all +virtues is confidence and docility towards your relations. I am +therefore obliged to tell you that I prefer your tranquil attachment to +your misplaced warmth. This, however, does not prevent me from embracing +you, but less tenderly than I shall do when I learn that you have +returned to your aunt." + +On the evening of the 24th of July M. de Beauharnais received the +announcement in his cell, that with the dawn of the next morning he was +to be led to the guillotine. Under these circumstances he wrote the +following farewell letter to his wife: + +"I have yet a few minutes to devote to affection, tears, and regret, and +then I must wholly give myself up to the glory of my fate and to +thoughts of immortality. When you receive this letter, my dear +Josephine, your husband will have ceased to live, and will be tasting +true existence in the bosom of his Creator. Do not weep for him. The +wicked and senseless beings who survive him are more worthy of your +tears, for they are doing mischief which they can never repair. But let +us not cloud the present moments by any thoughts of their guilt. I wish, +on the contrary, to brighten these hours by the reflection that I have +enjoyed the affection of a lovely woman, and that our union would have +been an uninterrupted course of happiness, but for errors which I was +too late to acknowledge and atone for. This thought wrings tears from my +eyes, though your generous heart pardons me. But this is no time to +revive the recollection of my errors and of your wrongs. What thanks I +owe to Providence, who will reward you. + +"That Providence disposes of me before my time. This is another +blessing, for which I am grateful. Can a virtuous man live happy when he +sees the whole world a prey to the wicked? I should rejoice in being +taken away, were it not for the thought of leaving those I love behind +me. But if the thoughts of the dying are presentiments, something in my +heart tells me that these horrible butcheries are drawing to a close; +that the executioners will, in their turn, become victims; that the +arts and sciences will again flourish in France; that wise and moderate +laws will take the place of cruel sacrifices, and that you will at +length enjoy the happiness which you have deserved. Our children will +discharge the debt for their father. + + * * * * * + +"I resume these incoherent and almost illegible lines, which were +interrupted by the entrance of my jailer. I have submitted to a cruel +ceremony, which, under any other circumstances, I would have resisted at +the sacrifice of my life. Yet why should we rebel against necessity? +Reason tells us to make the best of it we can. My hair has been cut off. +I had some idea of buying a part of it, in order to leave to my wife and +children an unequivocal pledge of my last recollection of them. Alas! my +heart breaks at the very thought, and my tears bedew the paper on which +I am writing. Adieu, all that I love. Think of me, and do not forget +that to die the victim of tyrants and the martyrs of liberty sheds +lustre on the scaffold." + +Josephine did not receive this letter until after her husband's +execution. The next afternoon one of the daily papers was brought into +the prison of the Carmelites. Josephine anxiously ran her eye over the +record of the executions, and found the name of her husband in the fatal +list. She fell senseless to the floor in a long-continued swoon. When +consciousness returned, she exclaimed at first, in the delirium of her +anguish, "O God, let me die! let me die! There is no peace for me but in +the grave." And then again a mother's love, as she thought of her orphan +children, led her to cling to the misery of existence for their sake. +Soon, however, the unpitying agents of the revolutionary tribunal came +to her with the announcement that in two days she was to be led to the +Conciergerie, and thence to her execution. + +In the following letter Josephine informed her children of the death of +their father, and of her own approaching execution. It is a letter +highly characteristic of this wonderful woman in the attempt, by the +assumption of calmness, to avoid as far as possible lacerating the +feelings of Eugene and Hortense. + +"The hand which will deliver this to you is faithful and sure. You will +receive it from a friend who knows and has shared my sorrows. I know not +by what accident she has hitherto been spared. I call this accident +fortunate; she regards it as a calamity. 'Is it not disgraceful to +live,' said she yesterday, 'when all who are good have the honor of +dying?' May Heaven, as the reward of her courage, refuse her the fatal +honor she desires. + +"As to me, I am qualified for that honor, and I am preparing myself for +receiving it. Why has disease spared me so long? But I must not murmur. +As a wife, I ought to follow the fate of my husband, and can there now +be any fate more glorious than to ascend the scaffold? It is a patent of +immortality, purchased by a prompt and pleasing death. + +"My children, your father is dead, and your mother is about to follow +him. But as before that final stroke the assassins leave me a few +moments to myself, I wish to employ them in writing to you. Socrates, +when condemned, philosophized with his disciples. A mother, on the point +of undergoing a similar fate, may discourse with her children. + +"My last sigh will be for you, and I wish to make my last words a +lasting lesson. Time was, when I gave you lessons in a more pleasing +way. But the present will not be the less useful, that it is given at so +serious a moment. I have the weakness to water it with my tears. I +shall soon have the courage to seal it with my blood. + +"Hitherto it was impossible to be happier than I have been. While to my +union with your father I owed my felicity, I may venture to think and to +say that to my character I was indebted for that union. I found in my +heart the means of winning the affection of my husband's relations. +Patience and gentleness always succeed in gaining the good-will of +others. You also, my dear children, possess natural advantages which +cost little, and are of great value. But you must learn how to employ +them, and that is what I still feel a pleasure in teaching you by my +example. + + * * * * * + +"Here I must record the gratitude I owe to my excellent brother-in-law, +who has, under various circumstances, given me proofs of the most +sincere friendship, though he was of quite a different opinion from your +father, who embraced the new ideas with all the enthusiasm of a lively +imagination. He fancied liberty was to be secured by obtaining +concessions from the king, whom he venerated. But all was lost, and +nothing gained but anarchy. Who will arrest the torrent? O God! unless +thy powerful hand control and restrain it, we are undone. + +"For my part, my children, I am about to die, as your father died, a +victim of the fury he always opposed, but to which he fell a sacrifice. +I leave life without hatred of France and its assassins, whom I despise. +But I am penetrated with sorrow for the misfortunes of my country. Honor +my memory in sharing my sentiments. I leave for your inheritance the +glory of your father and the name of your mother, whom some who have +been unfortunate will bear in remembrance." + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +THE MARRIAGE OF JOSEPHINE AND GENERAL BONAPARTE. + +1794-1799 + +Release of Josephine.--Apprenticeship of Eugene and Hortense.--Napoleon +Bonaparte.--Josephine and Napoleon.--Josephine to her aunt.--Marriage of +Josephine.--Letter to Eugene.--Rising greatness of Napoleon.--Expedition +to Egypt.--Letter to Bonaparte.--Madame Campan.--School-girl +days.--Letter from Josephine.--Napoleon's return from +Egypt.--Josephine's anguish.--Jealousy of Napoleon.--The meeting in +Paris.--The cruel repulse.--The reconciliation.--Napoleon First +Consul.--The Luxembourg. + + +The day before Josephine was to be led to her execution there was a new +revolution in Paris. Robespierre and the party then in power were +overthrown. From condemning others, they were condemned themselves. They +had sent hundreds, in the cart of the executioner, to the guillotine. +Now it was their turn to take that fatal ride, to ascend the steps of +the scaffold, and to have their own heads severed by the keen edge of +the knife. Those whom they had imprisoned were set at liberty. + +As Josephine emerged from the gloom of her prison into the streets of +Paris, she found herself a widow, homeless, almost friendless, and in +the extreme of penury. But for her children, life would have been a +burden from which she would have been glad to be relieved by the +executioner's axe. The storms of revolution had dispersed all her +friends, and terror reigned in Paris. Her children were living upon the +charity of others. It was necessary to conceal their birth as the +children of a noble, for the brutal threat of Marat ever rang in her +ears, "We must exterminate all the whelps of aristocracy." + +Hoping to conceal the illustrious lineage of Eugene and Hortense, and +probably also impelled by the necessities of poverty, Josephine +apprenticed her son to a house carpenter, and her daughter was placed, +with other girls of more lowly birth, in the shop of a milliner. But +Josephine's beauty of person, grace of manners, and culture of mind +could not leave her long in obscurity. Every one who met her was charmed +with her unaffected loveliness. New friends were created, among them +some who were in power. Through their interposition, a portion of her +husband's confiscated estates was restored to her. She was thus provided +with means of a frugal support for herself and her children. Engaging +humble apartments, she devoted herself entirely to their education. Both +of the children were richly endowed; inheriting from their mother and +their father talents, personal loveliness, and an instinctive power of +attraction. Thus there came a brief lull in those dreadful storms of +life by which Josephine had been so long buffeted. + +But suddenly, like the transformations of the kaleidoscope, there came +another and a marvellous change. All are familiar with the circumstances +of her marriage to the young and rising general, Napoleon Bonaparte. +This remarkable young man, enjoying the renown of having captured +Toulon, and of having quelled a very formidable insurrection in the +streets of Paris, was ordered by the then existing Government to disarm +the whole Parisian population, that there might be no further attempt at +insurrection. The officers who were sent, in performance of this duty, +from house to house, took from Josephine the sword of her husband, which +she had preserved as a sacred relic. The next day Eugene repaired to the +head-quarters of General Bonaparte to implore that the sword of his +father might be restored to him. The young general was so much impressed +with the grace and beauty of the boy, and with his artless and touching +eloquence, that he made many inquiries respecting his parentage, treated +him with marked tenderness, and promptly restored the sword. Josephine +was so grateful for the kindness of General Bonaparte to Eugene, that +the next day she drove to his quarters to express a mother's thanks. +General Bonaparte was even more deeply impressed with the grace and +loveliness of the mother than he had been with the child. He sought her +acquaintance; this led to intimacy, to love, and to the proffer of +marriage. + +In the following letter to a friend Josephine expressed her views in +reference to her marriage with General Bonaparte: + +"I am urged, my dear, to marry again by the advice of all my friends, +and I may almost say, by the commands of my aunt and the prayers of my +children. Why are you not here to help me by your advice, and to tell me +whether I ought or not to consent to a union which certainly seems +calculated to relieve me from the discomforts of my present situation? +Your friendship would render you clear-sighted to my interests, and a +word from you would suffice to bring me to a decision. + +"Among my visitors you have seen General Bonaparte. He is the man who +wishes to become a father to the orphans of Alexander de Beauharnais, +and husband to his widow. + +"'Do you love him?' is naturally your first question. My answer is +perhaps '_no_.' 'Do you dislike him?' 'No,' again. But the sentiments I +entertain towards him are of that lukewarm kind which true devotees +think worst of all, in matters of religion. Now love being a sort of +religion, my feelings ought to be very different from what they really +are. This is the point on which I want your advice, which would fix the +wavering of my irresolute disposition. To come to a decision has always +been too much for my Creole inertness, and I find it easier to obey the +wishes of others. + +"I admire the general's courage, the extent of his information on every +subject on which he converses; his shrewd intelligence, which enables +him to understand the thoughts of others before they are expressed. But +I confess that I am somewhat fearful of that control which he seems +anxious to exercise over all about him. There is something in his +scrutinizing glance that can not be described. It awes even our +Directors. Therefore it may well be supposed to intimidate a woman. He +talks of his passion for me with a degree of earnestness which renders +it impossible to doubt his sincerity. Yet this very circumstance, which +you would suppose likely to please me, is precisely that which has +withheld me from giving the consent which I have often been upon the +point of uttering. + +"My spring of life is past. Can I then hope to preserve for any length +of time that ardor of affection which in the general amounts almost to +madness? If his love should cool, as it certainly will after our +marriage, will he not reproach me for having prevented him from forming +a more advantageous connection? What, then, shall I say? What shall I +do? I may shut myself up and weep. Fine consolation truly, methinks I +hear you say. But unavailing as I know it is, weeping is, I assure you, +my only consolation whenever my poor heart receives a wound. Write to me +quickly, and pray scold me if you think me wrong. You know every thing +is welcome that comes from you. + +"Barras[B] assures me that if I marry the general, he will get him +appointed commander-in-chief of the Army of Italy. This favor, though +not yet granted, occasions some murmuring among Bonaparte's +brother-officers. When speaking to me on the subject yesterday, General +Bonaparte said: + +[Footnote B: Barras, a leading member of the Directory, and a strong +friend of General Bonaparte.] + +"'Do they think that I can not get forward without their patronage? One +day or other they will all be too happy if I grant them mine. I have a +good sword by my side, which will carry me on.' + +"What do you think of this self-confidence? Does it not savor of +excessive vanity? A general of brigade to talk of patronizing the chiefs +of Government? It is very ridiculous. Yet I know not how it happens, his +ambitious spirit sometimes wins upon me so far that I am almost tempted +to believe in the practicability of any project he takes into his head; +and who can foresee what he may attempt? + +"Madame Tallien desires me to present her love to you. She is still fair +and good as ever. She employs her immense influence only for the benefit +of the unfortunate. And when she performs a favor, she appears as +pleased and satisfied as though she herself were the obliged party. Her +friendship for me is most affectionate and sincere. And of my regard for +her I need only say that it is equal to that which I entertain for you. + +"Hortense grows more and more interesting every day. Her pretty figure +is fully developed, and, if I were so inclined, I should have ample +reason to rail at Time, who confers charms on the daughter at the +expense of the mother. But truly I have other things to think of. I try +to banish gloomy thoughts, and look forward to a more propitious future, +for we shall soon meet, never to part again. + +"But for this marriage, which harasses and unsettles me, I could be +cheerful in spite of every thing. Were it once over, happen what might, +I could resign myself to my fate. I am inured to suffering, and, if I be +destined to taste fresh sorrow, I can support it, provided my children, +my aunt, and you remain to comfort me. + +"You know we have agreed to dispense with all formal terminations to our +letters. So adieu, my friend, + + "JOSEPHINE." + +In March, 1796, Josephine became the bride of Napoleon Bonaparte, then +the most promising young general in France, and destined to become, in +achievements and renown, the foremost man in all the world. Eugene was +immediately taken into the service of his stepfather. + +In the following letter to Eugene we have a pleasing revelation of the +character of Hortense at that time, and of the affectionate relations +existing between the mother and her children: + +"I learn with pleasure, my dear Eugene, that your conduct is worthy of +the name you bear, and of the protector under whom it is so easy to +learn to become a great captain. Bonaparte has written to me that you +are every thing that he can wish. As he is no flatterer, my heart is +proud to read your eulogy sketched by a hand which is usually far from +being lavish in praise. You well know that I never doubted your +capability to undertake great things, or the brilliant courage which you +inherit. But you, alas! know how much I dislike your removal from me, +fearing that your natural impetuosity might carry you too far, and that +it might prevent you from submitting to the numerous petty details of +discipline which must be very disagreeable when the rank is only +subaltern. + +"Judge, then, of my joy on learning that you remember my advice, and +that you are as obedient to your superiors in command as you are kind +and humane to those beneath you. This conduct, my child, makes me quite +happy, and these words, I know, will reward you more than all the favors +you can receive. Read them often, and repeat to yourself that your +mother, though far from you, complains not of her lot, since she knows +that yours will be brilliant, and will deserve so to be. + +"Your sister shares all my feelings, and will tell you so herself. But +that of which I am sure she will not speak, and which is therefore my +duty to tell, is her attention to me and her aunt. Love her, my son, for +to me she brings consolation, and she overflows with affection for you. +She prosecutes her studies with uncommon success, but music, I think, +will be the art she will carry to the highest perfection. With her sweet +voice, which is now well cultivated, she sings romances in a manner that +would surprise you. I have just bought her a new piano from the best +maker, Erard, which redoubles her passion for that charming art which +you prefer to every other. That perhaps accounts for your sister +applying to it with so much assiduity. + +"Were you here, you would be telling me a thousand times a day to beware +of the men who pay particular attention to Hortense. Some there are who +do so whom you do not like, and whom you seem to fear she may prefer. +Set your mind at rest. She is a bit of a coquette, is pleased with her +success, and torments her victims, but her heart is free. I am the +confidante of all her thoughts and feelings, which have hitherto been +just what they ought to be. She now knows that when she thinks of +marrying, it is not my consent alone she has to seek, and that my will +is subordinate to that of the man to whom we owe every thing. The +knowledge of this fact must prevent her from fixing her choice in a way +that may not meet the approval of Bonaparte, and the latter will not +give your sister in marriage to any one to whom you can object." + +There was now an end to poverty and obscurity. The rise of Napoleon was +so brilliant and rapid that Josephine was speedily placed at the head of +society in Paris, and vast crowds were eager to do her homage. Never +before did man move with strides so rapid. The lapse of a few months +transformed her from almost a homeless, friendless, impoverished widow, +to be the bride of one whose advancing greatness seemed to outvie the +wildest creations of fiction. The unsurpassed splendor of Napoleon's +achievements crowded the saloons of Josephine with statesmen, +philosophers, generals, and all who ever hasten to the shrine of rising +greatness. + +After the campaign of Italy, which gave Napoleon not only a French but a +European reputation for military genius and diplomatic skill, he took +command of the Army of Egypt. Josephine accompanied him to Toulon. +Standing upon a balcony, she with tearful eyes watched the receding +fleet which bore her husband to that far-distant land, until it +disappeared beneath the horizon of the blue Mediterranean. Eugene +accompanied his father. Hortense remained with her mother, who took up +her residence most of the time during her husband's absence at +Plombieres, a celebrated watering-place. + +Josephine, anxious in every possible way to promote the popularity of +her absent husband, and thus to secure his advancement, received with +cordiality all who came to her with their congratulations. She was +endowed with marvellous power of pleasing. Every one who saw her was +charmed with her. Hortense was bewitchingly beautiful and attractive. + +Josephine had ample means to indulge her taste in entertainments, and +was qualified eminently to shine in such scenes. The consequence was +that her saloons were the constant resort of rank and wealth and +fashion. Some enemy wrote to Napoleon, and roused his jealousy to a very +high degree, by representing Josephine as forgetting her husband, +immersed in pleasure, and coquetting with all the world. + +Napoleon was exceedingly disturbed, and wrote Josephine a very severe +letter. The following extract from her reply fully explains the nature +of this momentary estrangement: + +"Is it possible, general, that the letter I have just received comes +from you? I can scarcely credit it when I compare that letter with +others to which your love imparts so many charms. My eyes, indeed, would +persuade me that your hands traced these lines, but my heart refuses to +believe that a letter from you could ever have caused the mortal anguish +I experience on perusing these expressions of your displeasure, which +afflict me the more when I consider how much pain they must have caused +you. + +"I know not what I have done to provoke some malignant enemy to destroy +my peace by disturbing yours. But certainly a powerful motive must +influence some one in continually renewing calumnies against me, and +giving them a sufficient appearance of probability to impose on the man +who has hitherto judged me worthy of his affection and confidence. These +two sentiments are necessary to my happiness. And if they are to be so +soon withdrawn from me, I can only regret that I was ever blest in +possessing them or knowing you. + +"On my first acquaintance with you, the affliction with which I was +overwhelmed led me to believe that my heart must ever remain a stranger +to any sentiment resembling love. The sanguinary scenes of which I had +been a witness and a victim constantly haunted my thoughts. I therefore +apprehended no danger to myself from the frequent enjoyment of your +society. Still less did I imagine that I could for a single moment fix +your choice. + +"I, like every one else, admired your talents and acquirements. And +better than any one else I foresaw your future glory. But still I loved +you only for the services you rendered to my country. Why did you seek +to convert admiration into a more tender sentiment, by availing yourself +of all those powers of pleasing with which you are so eminently gifted, +since, so shortly after having united your destiny with mine, you +regret the felicity you have conferred upon me? + +"Do you think I can ever forget the love with which you once cherished +me? Can I ever become indifferent to the man who has blest me with the +most enthusiastic and ardent passion? Can I ever efface from my memory +your paternal affection for Hortense, the advice and example you have +given Eugene? If all this appears impossible, how can you, for a moment, +suspect me of bestowing a thought upon any but yourself? + +"Instead of listening to traducers, who, for reasons which I can not +explain, seek to disturb our happiness, why do you not silence them by +enumerating the benefits you have bestowed on a woman whose heart could +never be reached with ingratitude? The knowledge of what you have done +for my children would check the malignity of these calumniators; for +they would then see that the strongest link of my attachment for you +depends on my character as a mother. Your subsequent conduct, which has +claimed the admiration of all Europe, could have no other effect than to +make me adore the husband who gave me his hand when I was poor and +unfortunate. Every step you take adds to the glory of the name I bear. +Yet this is the moment which has been selected for persuading you that I +no longer love you! Surely nothing can be more wicked and absurd than +the conduct of those who are about you, and are jealous of your marked +superiority. + +"Yes, I still love you, and no less tenderly than ever. Those who allege +the contrary know that they speak falsely. To those very persons I have +frequently written to inquire about you, and to recommend them to +console you, by their friendship, for the absence of her who is your +best and truest friend. + +"I acknowledge that I see a great deal of company; for every one is +eager to compliment me on your success, and I confess that I have not +resolution to close my door against those who speak of you. I also +confess that a great portion of my visitors are gentlemen. Men +understand your bold projects better than women; and they speak with +enthusiasm of your glorious achievements, while my female friends only +complain of you for having carried away their husbands, brothers, or +fathers. + +"I take no pleasure in their society if they do not praise you. Yet +there are some among them whose hearts and understandings claim my +highest regard, because they entertain sincere friendship for you. In +this number I may mention ladies Arquillon, Tallien, and my aunt. They +are almost constantly with me; and they can tell you, ungrateful as you +are, whether _I have been coquetting with every body_. These are your +words. And they would be hateful to me were I not certain that you had +disavowed them, and are sorry for having written them. + +"I sometimes receive honors here which cause me no small degree of +embarrassment. I am not accustomed to this sort of homage. And I see +that it is displeasing to our authorities, who are always suspicious and +fearful of losing their newly-gotten power. If they are envious now, +what will they be when you return crowned with fresh laurels? Heaven +knows to what lengths their malignity will then carry them. But you will +be here, and then nothing can vex me. + +"But I will say no more of them, nor of your suspicions, which I do not +refute one by one, because they are all equally devoid of probability. +And to make amends for the unpleasant commencement of this letter, I +will tell you something which I know will please you. + +"Hortense, in her efforts to console me, endeavors as far as possible to +conceal her anxiety for you and her brother. And she exerts all her +ingenuity to banish that melancholy, the existence of which you doubt, +but which I assure you never forsakes me. If by her lively conversation +and interesting talents she sometimes succeeds in drawing a smile, she +joyfully exclaims, 'Dear mamma, that will be known at Cairo.' The fatal +word immediately calls to my mind the distance which separates me from +you and my son, and restores the melancholy which it was intended to +divert. I am obliged to make great efforts to conceal my grief from my +daughter, who, by a word or a look, transports me to the very place +which she would wish to banish from my thoughts. + +"Hortense's figure is daily becoming more and more graceful. She dresses +with great taste; and though not quite so handsome as your sisters, she +may certainly be thought agreeable when even they are present. + +"Heaven knows when or where you may receive this letter. May it restore +you to that confidence which you ought never to have lost, and convince +you, more than ever, that, long as I live, I shall love you as dearly as +I did on the day of our separation. Adieu. Believe me, love me, and +receive a thousand kisses. + + "JOSEPHINE." + +There was at that time a very celebrated female school at St. Germain, +under the care of Madame Campan. This illustrious lady was familiar with +all the etiquette of the court, and was also endowed with a superior +mind highly cultivated. At the early age of fifteen she had been +appointed reader to the daughter of Louis XV. Maria Antoinette took a +strong fancy to her, and made her a friend and companion. The crumbling +of the throne of the Bourbons and the dispersion of the court left +Madame Campan without a home, and caused what the world would call her +ruin. + +But in the view of true intelligence this reverse of fortune only +elevated her to a far higher position of responsibility, usefulness, and +power. Impelled by necessity, she opened a boarding-school for young +ladies at St. Germain. The school soon acquired celebrity. Almost every +illustrious family in France sought to place their daughters under her +care. She thus educated very many young ladies who subsequently occupied +very important positions in society as the wives and mothers of +distinguished men. Some of her pupils attained to royalty. Thus the +boarding-school of Madame Campan became a great power in France. + +Hortense was sent to this school with Napoleon's sister Caroline, who +subsequently became Queen of Naples, and with Stephanie Beauharnais, to +whom we shall have occasion hereafter to refer as Duchess of Baden. +Stephanie was a cousin of Hortense, being a daughter of her father's +brother, the Marquis de Beauharnais. + +In this school Hortense formed many very strong attachments. Her most +intimate friend, however, whom she loved with affection which never +waned, was a niece of Madame Campan, by the name of Adele Auguie, +afterwards Madame de Broc, whose sad fate, hereafter to be described, +was one of the heaviest blows which fell upon Hortense. It would seem +that Hortense was not at all injured by the flattery lavished upon her +in consequence of the renown of her father. She retained, unchanged, all +her native simplicity of character, which she had inherited from her +mother, and which she ever saw illustrated in her mother's words and +actions. Treating the humblest with the same kindness as the most +exalted, she won all hearts, and made herself the friend of every one in +the school. + +But her cousin Stephanie was a very different character. Her father, the +Marquis, had fled from France an emigrant. He was an aristocrat by +birth, and in all his cherished sentiments. In his flight with the +nobles, from the terrors of the revolution, he had left his daughter +behind, as the protegee of Josephine. Inheriting a haughty disposition, +and elated by the grandeur which her uncle was attaining, she assumed +consequential airs which rendered her disagreeable to many of her +companions. The eagle eye of Josephine detected these faults in the +character of her niece. As Stephanie returned to school from one of her +vacations, Josephine sent by her the following letter to Madame Campan: + +"In returning to you my niece, my dear Madame Campan, I send you both +thanks and reproof:--thanks for the brilliant education you have given +her, and reproof for the faults which your acuteness must have noticed, +but which your indulgence has passed over. She is good-tempered, but +cold; well-informed, but disdainful; lively, but deficient in judgment. +She pleases no one, and it gives her no pain. She fancies the renown of +her uncle and the gallantry of her father are every thing. Teach her, +but teach her plainly, without mincing, that in reality they are +nothing. + +"We live in an age when every one is the child of his own deeds. And if +they who fill the highest ranks of public service enjoy any superior +advantage or privilege, it is the opportunity to be more useful and more +beloved. It is thus alone that good fortune becomes pardonable in the +eyes of the envious. This is what I would have you repeat to her +constantly. I wish her to treat all her companions as her equals. Many +of them are better, or at least quite as deserving as she is herself, +and their only inferiority is in not having had relations equally +skillful or equally fortunate. + + "JOSEPHINE BONAPARTE." + +On the 8th of October, 1799, Napoleon landed at Frejus, on his return +from Egypt. His mind was still very much disturbed with the reports +which had reached him respecting Josephine. Frejus was six hundred miles +from Paris--a long journey, when railroads were unknown. The +intelligence of his arrival was promptly communicated to the metropolis +by telegraph. Josephine received the news at midnight. Without an hour's +delay she entered her carriage with Hortense, taking as a protector +Napoleon's younger brother Louis, who subsequently married Hortense, and +set out to meet her husband. Almost at the same hour Napoleon left +Frejus for Paris. + +When Josephine reached Lyons, a distance of two hundred and forty-two +miles from Paris, she learned, to her consternation, that Napoleon had +left the city several hours before her arrival, and that they had passed +each other by different roads. Her anguish was dreadful. For many months +she had not received a line from her husband, as all communication had +been intercepted by the British cruisers. She knew that her enemies +would be busy in poisoning the mind of her husband against her. She had +traversed the weary leagues of her journey without a moment's +intermission, and now, faint, exhausted, and despairing, she was to +retrace her steps, to reach Paris only many hours after Napoleon would +have arrived there. Probably in all France there was not then a more +unhappy woman than Josephine. + +The mystery of human love and jealousy no philosophy can explain. Secret +wretchedness was gnawing at the heart of Napoleon. He loved Josephine +with intensest passion, and all the pride of his nature was roused by +the conviction that she had trifled with him. With these conflicting +emotions rending his soul, he entered Paris and drove to his dwelling. +Josephine was not there. Even Josephine had bitter enemies, as all who +are in power ever must have. These enemies took advantage of her absence +to fan the flames of that jealousy which Napoleon could not conceal. It +was represented to him that Josephine had fled from her home, afraid to +meet the anger of her injured husband. As he paced the floor in anguish, +which led him to forget all his achievements in the past and all his +hopes for the future, an enemy maliciously remarked, + +"Josephine will soon appear before you with all her arts of fascination. +She will explain matters, you will forgive all, and tranquillity will be +restored." + +Napoleon, striding nervously up and down the floor, replied with pallid +cheek and trembling lip, + +"Never! never! Were I not sure of my resolution, I would tear out this +heart and cast it into the fire." + +Eugene had returned with Napoleon. He loved his mother to adoration. +Anxiously he sat at the window watching, hour after hour, for her +arrival. At midnight on the 19th the rattle of her carriage-wheels was +heard, as she entered the court-yard of their dwelling in the Rue +Chantereine. Eugene rushed to his mother's arms. Napoleon had ever been +the most courteous of husbands. Whenever Josephine returned, even from +an ordinary morning drive, he would leave any engagements to greet her +as she alighted from her carriage. But now, after an absence of eighteen +months, he remained sternly in his chamber, the victim of almost +unearthly misery. + +In a state of terrible agitation, with limbs tottering and heart +throbbing, Josephine, assisted by Eugene and accompanied by Hortense, +ascended the stairs to the parlor where she had so often received the +caresses of her husband. She opened the door. Napoleon stood before her, +pale, motionless as a marble statue. Without one kind word of greeting +he said sternly, in words which pierced her heart, + +"Madame, it is my wish that you retire immediately to Malmaison." + +The meek and loving Josephine uttered not a word. She would have fallen +senseless to the floor, had she not been caught in the arms of her son. +It was midnight. For a week she had lived in her carriage almost without +sleep. She was in a state of utter exhaustion, both of body and of mind. +It was twelve miles to Malmaison. Napoleon had no idea that she would +leave the house until the morning. Much to his surprise, he soon heard +the carriage in the yard, and Josephine, accompanied by Eugene and +Hortense, descending the stairs. The naturally kind heart of Napoleon +could not assent to such cruelty. Immediately going down into the yard, +though his pride would not permit him to speak to Josephine, he +addressed Eugene, and requested them all to return for refreshment and +repose. + +In silent submission, Eugene and Hortense conducted their mother to her +apartment, where she threw herself upon her couch in abject misery. In +equally sleepless woe, Napoleon retired to his cabinet. Two days of +wretchedness passed away. On the third, the love for Josephine, which +still reigned in the heart of Napoleon, so far triumphed that he +entered her apartment. Josephine was seated at a toilette-table, with +her head bowed, and her eyes buried in her handkerchief. The table was +covered with the letters which she had received from Napoleon, and which +she had evidently been perusing. Hortense, the victim of grief and +despair, was standing in the alcove of a window. + +[Illustration: THE RECONCILIATION.] + +Apparently Josephine did not hear the approaching footsteps of her +husband. He advanced softly to her chair, placed his hand upon it, and +said, in tones almost of wonted kindness, "Josephine." She started at +the sound of that well-known and dearly-loved voice, and turning towards +him her swollen and flooded eyes, responded, "My dear." The words of +tenderness, the loving voice, brought back with resistless rush the +memory of the past. Napoleon was vanquished. He extended his hand to +Josephine. She rose, threw her arms around his neck, rested her +throbbing, aching head upon his bosom, and wept in convulsions of +anguish. A long explanation ensued. Napoleon again pressed Josephine to +his loving heart, satisfied, perfectly satisfied that he had deeply +wronged her; that she had been the victim of base traducers. The +reconciliation was perfect. + +Soon after this Napoleon overthrew the Directory, and established the +Consulate. This was on the ninth of November, 1799, usually called 18th +Brumaire. Napoleon was thirty years of age, and was now First Consul of +France. After the wonderful achievements of this day of peril, during +which Napoleon had not been able to send a single line to his wife, at +four o'clock in the morning he alighted from his carriage at the door of +his dwelling at the Rue Chantereine. Josephine, in a state of great +anxiety, was watching at the window for his approach. She sprang to meet +him. Napoleon encircled her in his arms, and briefly recapitulated the +memorable scenes of the day. He assured her that since he had taken the +oath of office, he had not allowed himself to speak to a single +individual, for he wished the beloved voice of his Josephine might be +the first to congratulate him upon his virtual accession to the Empire +of France. Throwing himself upon a couch for a few moments of repose, he +exclaimed gayly, "Good-night, my Josephine. To-morrow we sleep in the +palace of the Luxembourg." + +This renowned palace, with its vast saloons, its galleries of art, its +garden, is one of the most attractive of residences. Napoleon was now +virtually the monarch of France. Josephine was a queen, Eugene and +Hortense prince and princess. Strange must have been the emotions of +Josephine and her children as, encompassed with regal splendor, they +took up their residence in the palace. But a few years before, +Josephine, in poverty, friendlessness, and intensest anguish of heart, +had led her children by the hand through those halls to visit her +imprisoned husband. From one of those apartments the husband and father +had been led to his trial, and to the scaffold, and now this mother +enters this palace virtually a queen, and her children have opening +before them the very highest positions of earthly wealth and honor. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +HORTENSE AND DUROC. + +1799-1804 + +Calumnies.--Testimony of the Berkeley men.--Remarks of Napoleon at St. +Helena.--The voice of slander.--Testimony of the Duchess of +Abrantes.--Portrait of Hortense.--Testimony of Bourrienne.--Napoleon at +the Tuileries.--Beauty of Josephine.--Malmaison.--Remarkable testimony +of Napoleon.--The infernal machine.--The royalist conspiracy.--Letter +from Josephine.--Michel Duroc.--General Duroc at Bautzen.--Death of +Duroc.--Grief of Napoleon.--Affecting scene.--Quotation from J. T. +Headley.--Character of Duroc.--Family complications.--The divorce +suggested.--Character of Louis Bonaparte.--Testimony of +Bourrienne.--Disappointed lovers. + + +It is a very unamiable trait in human nature, that many persons are more +eager to believe that which is bad in the character of others than that +which is good. The same voice of calumny, which has so mercilessly +assailed Josephine, has also traduced Hortense. It is painful to witness +the readiness with which even now the vilest slanders, devoid of all +evidence, can be heaped upon a noble and virtuous woman who is in her +grave. + +In the days of Napoleon's power, he himself, his mother, his wife, his +sisters, and his stepdaughter, Hortense, were assailed with the most +envenomed accusations malice could engender. These infamous assaults, +which generally originated with the British Tory press, still have +lingering echoes throughout the world. There are those who seem to +consider it no crime to utter the most atrocious accusations, even +without a shadow of proof, against those who are not living. Well do the +"Berkeley men" say: + +"The Bonapartes, especially the women of that family, have always been +too proud and haughty to degrade themselves. Even had they lacked what +is technically called moral character, their virtue has been intrenched +behind their ancestry, and the achievements of their own family. Nor was +there at any time an instant when any one of the Bonapartes could have +overstepped, by a hair's-breadth, the line of decency, without being +fatally exposed. None of them pursued the noiseless tenor of their way +along the vale of obscurity. They were walking in the clear sunshine, on +the topmost summits of the earth, and millions of enemies were watching +every step they took. The highest genius of historians, the bitterest +satire of dramatists, the meanest and most malignant pen of the +journalists have assailed them for half a century. We have written these +words because a Republican is the only man likely to speak well of the +Bonaparte family. It was, and is, and will be the dynasty of the people, +standing there from 1804, a fearful antagonism against the feudal age +and its souvenirs of oppression and crime." + +Napoleon at St. Helena said: "Of all the libels and pamphlets with which +the English ministers have inundated Europe, there is not one which +will reach posterity. When there shall not be a trace of those libels to +be found, the great monuments of utility which I have reared, and the +code of laws which I have formed, will descend to the remotest ages; and +future historians will avenge the wrongs done me by my contemporaries. +There was a time when all crimes seemed to belong to me of right. Thus I +poisoned Hoche, strangled Pichegru in his cell, I caused Kleber to be +assassinated in Egypt, I blew out Desaix's brains at Marengo, I cut the +throats of persons who were confined in prison, I dragged the Pope by +the hair of his head, and a hundred similar abominations. And yet I have +not seen one of those libels which is worthy of an answer. These are so +contemptible and so absurdly false, that they do not merit any other +notice than to write _false_, _false_, on every page." + +It is well known, by every one acquainted with the past history of our +country, that George Washington was assailed in the severest possible +language of vituperation. He was charged with military inability, +administrative incapacity, mental weakness, and gross personal +immorality. He was denounced as a murderer, and a hoary-headed traitor. +This is the doom of those in power. And thousands of men in those days +believed those charges. + +It is seldom possible to prove a negative. But no evidence has ever been +brought forward to substantiate the rumors brought against Hortense. +These vile slanderers have even gone so far as to accuse Napoleon of +crimes, in reference to the daughter of Josephine and the wife of his +brother, which, if true, should consign him to eternal infamy. The +"Berkeley men," after making the most thorough historic investigations +in writing the life both of Louis Bonaparte and Hortense, say: + +"Louis was a little over twenty-three years of age at the time of his +marriage. Hortense was nineteen. In his memoirs Louis treats with scorn +and contempt the absurd libels respecting his domestic affairs, +involving the purity of his wife's character and the legitimacy of his +children. Napoleon, also, in his conversations at St. Helena, thought +proper to allude to the subject, and indignantly to repel the charges +which had been made against Hortense, at the same time showing the +entire improbability of the stories about her and her offspring. _We +have found nothing, in our investigations on this subject to justify +even a suspicion against the morals or integrity of Louis or Hortense; +and we here dismiss the subject with the remark that, there is more +cause for sympathy with the parties to this unhappy union than of +censure for their conduct._" + +The Duchess of Abrantes, who was intimately acquainted with Hortense +from her childhood and with the whole Bonaparte family, in her +interesting memoirs writes: "Hortense de Beauharnais was fresh as a +rose; and though her fair complexion was not relieved by much color, she +had enough to produce that freshness and bloom which was her chief +beauty. A profusion of light hair played in silky locks round her soft +and penetrating blue eyes. The delicate roundness of her slender figure +was set off by the elegant carriage of her head. Her feet were small and +pretty, her hands very white, with pink, well-rounded nails. But what +formed the chief attraction of Hortense was the grace and suavity of her +manners. She was gay, gentle, amiable. She had wit which, without the +smallest ill-temper, had just malice enough to be amusing. A polished +education had improved her natural talents. She drew excellently, sang +harmoniously, and performed admirably in comedy. In 1800 she was a +charming young girl. She afterwards became one of the most amiable +princesses in Europe. I have seen many, both in their own courts and in +Paris, but I have never known one who had any pretensions to equal +talents. Her brother loved her tenderly. The First Consul looked upon +her as his child. And it is only in that country so fertile in the +inventions of scandal, that so foolish an accusation could have been +imagined, as that any feeling less pure than paternal affection actuated +his conduct towards her. The vile calumny met the contempt it merited." + +The testimony of Bourrienne upon this point is decisive. Bourrienne had +been the private secretary of Napoleon, had become his enemy, and had +joined the Bourbons. Upon the downfall of the Emperor he wrote a very +hostile life of Napoleon, being then in the employment of the Bourbons. +In those envenomed pages, Bourrienne says that he has written severely +enough against Napoleon, to have his word believed when he makes any +admission in his favor. He then writes: + +"Napoleon never cherished for Hortense any feeling but a real paternal +tenderness. He loved her, after his marriage with her mother, as he +would have loved his own child. For three years at least I was witness +to all their most private actions. I declare that I never saw any thing +which could furnish the least ground for suspicion or the slightest +trace of culpable intimacy. This calumny must be classed with those +which malice delights to take with the character of men who become +celebrated; calumnies which are adopted lightly and without reflection. + +"I freely declare that, did I retain the slightest doubt with regard to +this odious charge, I would avow it. But it is not true. Napoleon is no +more. Let his memory be accompanied only by that, be it good or bad, +which really took place. Let not this complaint be made against him by +the impartial historian. I must say, in conclusion, on this delicate +subject, that Napoleon's principles were rigid in the extreme; and that +any fault of the nature charged neither entered his mind, nor was in +accordance with his morals or taste." + +Notwithstanding this abundant testimony, and notwithstanding the fact +that no contradictory testimony can be adduced, which any historian +could be pardoned for treating with respect, there are still men to be +found who will repeat those foul slanders, which ought long since to +have died away. + +Napoleon remained but two months in the palace of the Luxembourg. In the +mean time the palace of the Tuileries, which had been sacked by +revolutionary mobs, was re-furnished with much splendor. In February the +Court of the Consuls was transferred to the Tuileries. Napoleon had so +entirely eclipsed his colleagues that he alone was thought of by the +Parisian populace. The royal apartments were prepared for Napoleon. The +more humble apartments, in the Pavilion of Flora, were assigned to the +two other consuls. The transfer from the Luxembourg was made with great +pomp, in one of those brilliant parades which ever delight the eyes of +the Parisians. Six thousand picked soldiers, with a gorgeous train of +officers, formed his escort. Twenty thousand troops with all the +concomitants of military parade, lined the streets. A throng, from city +and country, which could not be numbered, gazed upon the scene. Napoleon +took his seat in a magnificent carriage drawn by six beautiful white +horses. The suite of rooms assigned to Josephine consisted of two large +parlors furnished with regal splendor, and several adjoining private +rooms. Here Hortense, a beautiful girl of about eighteen, found herself +at home in the apartments of the ancient kings of France. + +In the evening a brilliant assembly was gathered in the saloons of +Josephine. As she entered, with queenly grace, leaning upon the arm of +Talleyrand, a murmur of admiration rose from the whole multitude. She +wore a robe of white muslin. Her hair fell in ringlets upon her neck and +shoulders, through which gleamed a necklace of priceless pearls. The +festivities were protracted until a late hour in the morning. It was +said that Josephine gained a social victory that evening, corresponding +with that which Napoleon had gained in the pageant of the day. In these +scenes Hortense shone with great brilliance. She was young, beautiful, +graceful, amiable, witty, and very highly accomplished. In addition to +this, she was the stepdaughter of the First Consul, who was ascending in +a career of grandeur which was to terminate no one could tell where. + +During Napoleon's absence in Egypt Josephine had purchased the beautiful +estate of Malmaison. This was their favorite home. The chateau was a +very convenient, attractive, but not very spacious rural edifice, +surrounded with extensive grounds, ornamented with lawns, shrubbery, and +forest-trees. With the Tuileries for her city residence, Malmaison for +her rural retreat, Napoleon for her father, Josephine for her mother, +Eugene for her brother; with the richest endowments of person, mind, and +heart, with glowing health, and surrounded by admirers, Hortense seemed +now to be placed upon the very highest pinnacle of earthly happiness. + +Josephine and Hortense resided at Malmaison when Napoleon made his ten +months' campaign into Italy, which was terminated by the victory of +Marengo. They both busily employed their time in making those +improvements on the place which would create a pleasant surprise for +Napoleon on his return. Here they opened a new path through the forest; +here they spanned a stream with a beautiful rustic bridge; upon a gentle +eminence a pavilion rose; and new parterres of flowers gladdened the +eye. Every charm was thrown around the place which the genius and taste +of Josephine and Hortense could suggest. At midnight, on the second of +July, Napoleon returned to Paris, and immediately hastened to the arms +of his wife and daughter at Malmaison. He was so pleased with its +retirement and rural beauty that, forgetting the splendors of +Fontainebleau and Saint Cloud, he ever after made it his favorite +residence. Fortunate is the tourist who can obtain permission to saunter +through those lovely walks, where the father, the wife, and the +daughter, for a few brief months, walked almost daily, arm in arm, in +the enjoyment of nearly all the happiness which they were destined on +earth to share. The Emperor, at the close of his career, said upon his +dying bed at St. Helena, + +"I am indebted for all the little happiness I have enjoyed on earth to +the love of Josephine." + +Hortense and her mother frequently rode on horseback, both being very +graceful riders, and very fond of that recreation. At moments when +Napoleon could unbend from the cares of state, the family amused +themselves, with such guests as were present, in the game of "prisoners" +on the lawn. For several years this continued to be the favorite pastime +at Malmaison. Kings and queens were often seen among the pursuers and +the pursued on the green sward. + +It was observed that Napoleon was always solicitous to have Josephine on +his side. And whenever, in the progress of the game, she was taken +prisoner, he was nervously anxious until she was rescued. Napoleon, who +had almost lived upon horseback, was a poor runner, and would often, in +his eagerness, fall, rolling head-long over the grass, raising shouts of +laughter. Josephine and Hortense were as agile as they were graceful. + +On the 24th of December, 1800, Napoleon, Josephine, and Hortense were +going to the opera, to hear Haydn's Oratorio of the Creation. It was +then to be performed for the first time. Napoleon, busily engaged in +business, went reluctantly at the earnest solicitation of Josephine. +Three gentlemen rode with Napoleon in his carriage. Josephine, with +Hortense and other friends, followed in her private carriage. As the +carriages were passing through the narrow street of St. Nicaire, a +tremendous explosion took place, which was heard all over Paris. An +infernal machine, of immense power, had been conveyed to the spot, +concealed beneath a cart, which was intended, at whatever sacrifice of +the lives of others, to render the assassination of the First Consul +certain. Eight persons were instantly killed; more than sixty were +wounded. Several buildings were nearly demolished. The windows of both +carriages were dashed in, and the shattered vehicles were tossed to and +fro like ships in a storm. Napoleon almost miraculously escaped +unharmed. Hortense was slightly wounded by the broken glass. Still they +all heroically went on to the opera, where, in view of their +providential escape, they were received with thunders of applause. + +It was at first supposed that the Jacobins were the authors of this +infamous plot. It was afterwards proved to be a conspiracy of the +Royalists. Josephine, whose husband had bled beneath the slide of the +guillotine, and who had narrowly escaped the axe herself, with +characteristic humanity forgot the peril to which she and her friends +had been exposed, in sympathy for those who were to suffer for the +crime. The criminals were numerous. They were the nobles with whom +Josephine had formerly lived in terms of closest intimacy. She wrote to +Fouche, the Minister of Police, in behalf of these families about to be +plunged into woe by the merited punishment of the conspirators. This +letter reflects such light upon the character of Josephine, which +character she transmitted to Hortense, that it claims insertion here. + +"CITIZEN MINISTER,--While I yet tremble at the frightful event which has +just occurred, I am disquieted and distressed through fear of the +punishment necessarily to be inflicted on the guilty, who belong, it is +said, to families with whom I once lived in habits of intercourse. I +shall be solicited by mothers, sisters, and disconsolate wives, and my +heart will be broken through my inability to obtain all the mercy for +which I would plead. + +"I know that the clemency of the First Consul is great; his attachment +to me extreme. But the crime is too dreadful that a terrible example +should not be necessary. The chief of the Government has not been alone +exposed. It is that which will render him severe, inflexible. I conjure +you, therefore, to do all in your power to prevent inquiries being +pushed too far. Do not detect all those persons who may have been +accomplices in these odious transactions. Let not France, so long +overwhelmed in consternation by public executions, groan anew beneath +such inflictions. It is even better to endeavor to soothe the public +mind than to exasperate men by fresh terrors. In short, when the +ringleaders of this nefarious attempt shall have been secured, let +severity give place to pity for inferior agents, seduced, as they may +have been, by dangerous falsehoods or exaggerated opinions. + +"When just invested with supreme power, the First Consul, as seems to +me, ought rather to gain hearts, than to be exhibited as ruling slaves. +Soften by your counsels whatever may be too violent in his just +resentment. Punish--alas! that you must certainly do--but pardon still +more. Be also the support of those unfortunate men who, by frank avowal +or repentance, shall expiate a portion of their crime. + +"Having myself narrowly escaped perishing in the Revolution, you must +regard as quite natural my interference on behalf of those who can be +saved without involving in new danger the life of my husband, precious +to me and to France. On this account do, I entreat you, make a wide +distinction between the authors of the crime and those who, through +weakness or fear, have consented to take part therein. As a woman, a +wife, a mother, I must feel the heart-rendings of those who will apply +to me. Act, citizen minister, in such a manner that the number of these +may be lessened. This will spare me much grief. Never will I turn away +from the supplications of misfortune. But in the present instance you +can do infinitely more than I, and you will, on this account, excuse my +importunity. Rely on my gratitude and esteem." + +There was a young officer about twenty-nine years of age, by the name of +Michel Duroc, who was then a frequent visitor at the Tuileries and +Malmaison. He was a great favorite of Napoleon, and was distinguished +alike for beauty of person and gallantry upon the field of battle. Born +of an ancient family, young Duroc, having received a thorough military +education, attached himself, with enthusiastic devotion, to the fortunes +of Napoleon. He attracted the attention of General Bonaparte during his +first Italian campaign, where he was appointed one of his aides. +Following Napoleon to Egypt, he gained renown in many battles, and was +speedily promoted to the rank of chief of battalion, and then to general +of brigade. At Jaffa he performed a deed of gallantry, which was +rewarded by the applauding shouts of nearly the whole army. At Jean +d'Acre he led one of the most bloody and obstinate assaults recorded in +the military annals of France, where he was severely wounded by the +bursting of a howitzer. At the battle of Aboukir he won great applause. +Napoleon's attachment to this young officer was such, that he took him +to Paris on his return from Egypt. In the eventful day of the 18th +Brumaire, Duroc stood by the side of Napoleon, and rendered him eminent +service. The subsequent career of this very noble young man brilliantly +reflects his worth and character. Rapidly rising, he became grand +marshal of the palace and Duke of Friuli. + +The memorable career of General Duroc was terminated at the battle of +Bautzen, in Germany, on the 23d of May, 1813. He was struck by the last +ball thrown from the batteries of the enemy. The affecting scene of his +death was as follows: + +"In the early dawn of the morning of the 23d of May, Napoleon was on +horseback directing the movements of his troops against the routed foe. +He soon overtook the rear-guard of the enemy, which had strongly posted +its batteries on an eminence to protect the retreat of the discomfited +army. A brief but fierce conflict ensued, and one of Napoleon's aides +was struck dead at his feet. Duroc was riding by the side of the +Emperor. Napoleon turned to him and said, 'Duroc, fortune is determined +to have one of us to-day.' Hour after hour the incessant battle raged, +as the advance-guard of the Emperor drove before it the rear-guard of +the Allies. In the afternoon, as the Emperor, with a portion of the +Imperial Guard, four abreast, was passing through a ravine, enveloped in +a blinding cloud of dust and smoke, a cannon-ball, glancing from a tree, +killed one officer, and mortally wounded Duroc, tearing out his +entrails. The tumult and obscurity were such that Napoleon did not +witness the casualty. When informed of it, he seemed for a moment +overwhelmed with grief, and then exclaimed, in faltering accents, + +"Duroc! gracious Heaven, my presentiments never deceive me. This is a +sad day, a fatal day." + +Immediately alighting from his horse, he walked to and fro for a short +time absorbed in painful thoughts, while the thunders of the battle +resounded unheeded around him. Then turning to Caulaincourt, he said, + +"Alas! when will fate relent? When will there be an end of this? My +eagles will yet triumph, but the happiness which accompanies them is +fled. Whither has he been conveyed? I must see him. Poor, poor Duroc!" + +The Emperor found the dying marshal in a cottage, still stretched upon +the camp litter by which he had been conveyed from the field. Pallid as +marble from the loss of blood, and with features distorted with agony, +he was scarcely recognizable. The Emperor approached the litter, threw +his arms around the neck of the friend he so tenderly loved, and +exclaimed, in tones of deepest grief, "Alas! then is there no hope?" + +"None whatever," the physicians replied. + +The dying man took the hand of Napoleon, and gazing upon him +affectionately, said, "Sire, my whole life has been devoted to your +service, and now my only regret is that I can no longer be useful to +you." Napoleon, in a voice almost inarticulate with emotion, said, + +"Duroc, there is another life. There you will await me." + +"Yes, sire," the marshal faintly replied, "but that will be thirty years +hence. You will then have triumphed over your enemies, and realized the +hopes of our country. I have lived an honest man. I have nothing to +reproach myself with. I have a daughter, to whom your Majesty will be a +father." + +Napoleon was so deeply affected that he remained for some time in +silence, incapable of uttering a word, but still affectionately holding +the hand of his dying friend. + +Duroc was the first to break the silence. "Sire," he said, "this sight +pains you. Leave me." + +The Emperor pressed his hand to his lips, embraced him affectionately, +and saying sadly, "Adieu, my friend," hurried out of the room. + +Supported by Marshal Soult and Caulaincourt, Napoleon, overwhelmed with +grief, retired to his tent, which had been immediately pitched in the +vicinity of the cottage. "This is horrible," he exclaimed. "My +excellent, my dear Duroc! Oh, what a loss is this!" + +His eyes were flooded with tears, and for the moment, forgetting every +thing but his grief, he retired to the solitude of his inner tent. + +The squares of the Old Guard, sympathizing in the anguish of their +commander and their sovereign, silently encamped around him. Napoleon +sat alone in his tent, wrapped in his gray great-coat, his forehead +resting upon his hand, absorbed in painful musings. For some time none +of his officers were willing to intrude upon his grief. At length two of +the generals ventured to consult him respecting arrangements which it +seemed necessary to make for the following day. Napoleon shook his head +and replied, "Ask me nothing till to-morrow," and again covering his +eyes with his hand, he resumed his attitude of meditation. Night came. +One by one the stars came out. The moon rose brilliantly in the +cloudless sky. The soldiers moved with noiseless footsteps, and spoke in +subdued tones. The rumbling of wagons and the occasional boom of a +distant gun alone disturbed the stillness of the scene. + +"Those brave soldiers," says J. T. Headley, "filled with grief to see +their beloved chief bowed down by such sorrows, stood for a long time +silent and tearful. At length, to break the mournful silence, and to +express the sympathy they might not speak, the band struck up a requiem +for the dying marshal. The melancholy strains arose and fell in +prolonged echoes over the field, and swept in softened cadences on the +ear of the fainting, dying warrior. But still Napoleon moved not. They +changed the measure to a triumphant strain, and the thrilling trumpets +breathed forth their most joyful notes till the heavens rang with the +melody. Such bursts of music welcomed Napoleon as he returned, flushed +with victory, till his eye kindled with exultation. But now they fell on +a dull and listless ear. It ceased, and again the mournful requiem +filled all the air. But nothing could rouse him from his agonizing +reflections. His friend lay dying, and the heart that he loved more than +his life was throbbing its last pulsations. What a theme for a painter, +and what a eulogy was that scene! That noble heart, which the enmity of +the world could not shake, nor the terrors of the battle-field move from +its calm repose, nor even the hatred nor the insults of his at last +victorious enemies humble, here sank in the moment of victory before the +tide of affection. What military chieftain ever mourned thus on the +field of victory, and what soldiers ever loved their leader so!" + +Before the dawn of the morning Duroc expired. When the event was +announced to Napoleon, he said sadly, "All is over. He is released from +his misery. Well, he is happier than I." The Emperor ordered a monument +to be reared to his memory, and, when afterwards dying at St. Helena, +left to the daughter of Duroc one of the largest legacies bequeathed in +his will. That Duroc was worthy of this warm affection of the Emperor, +may be inferred from the following testimony of Caulaincourt, Duke of +Vicenza: + +"Marshal Duroc was one of those men who seem too pure and perfect for +this world, and whose excellence helps to reconcile us to human nature. +In the high station to which the Emperor had wisely raised him, the +grand marshal retained all the qualities of the private citizen. The +splendor of his position had not power to dazzle or corrupt him. Duroc +remained simple, natural, and independent; a warm and generous friend, a +just and honorable man. I pronounce on him this eulogy without fear of +contradiction." + +It is not strange that Hortense, a beautiful girl of eighteen, should +have fallen deeply in love with such a young soldier, twenty-nine years +of age. It would seem that Duroc was equally inspired with love and +admiration for Hortense. Though perhaps not positively engaged, there +was such an understanding between the young lovers that a brisk +correspondence was kept up during one of Duroc's embassies to the north. + +[Illustration: THE LOVE-LETTER.] + +Bourrienne, at that time the private secretary of Napoleon, says that +this correspondence was carried on by consent through his hands. With +the rapidly rising greatness of the family, there was little retirement +to be enjoyed at the Tuileries or at Malmaison. The saloons of the First +Consul were every evening crowded with guests. Youthful love is the same +passion, and the young heart throbs with the same impulses, whether in +the palace or in the cottage. When Bourrienne whispered to Hortense that +he had a letter for her from Duroc, and slipped it unperceived into her +hand, she would immediately retire to her room for its perusal; and the +moistened eyes with which she returned to the saloon testified to the +emotions with which the epistle from her lover had been read. + +But Josephine had the strongest reasons which can well be imagined for +opposing the connection with Duroc. She was a very loving mother. She +wished to do every thing in her power to promote the happiness of +Hortense, but she probably was not aware how deeply the affections of +her daughter were fixed upon Duroc. Her knowledge of the world also +taught her that almost every young lady and every young gentleman have +several loves before reaching the one which is consummated by marriage. +She had another match in view for Hortense which she deemed far more +eligible for her, and far more promotive of the happiness of the family. + +Napoleon had already attained grandeur unsurpassed by any of the ancient +kings of France. Visions of still greater power were opening before him. +It was not only to him a bitter disappointment but apparently it might +prove a great national calamity that he had no heir to whom he could +transmit the sceptre which France had placed in his hands. Upon his +downfall, civil war might ravage the kingdom, as rival chieftains +grasped at the crown. It was earnestly urged upon him that the interests +of France imperiously demanded that, since he had no prospect of an heir +by Josephine, he should obtain a divorce and marry another. It was urged +that the welfare of thirty millions of people should not be sacrificed +to the inclinations of two individuals. + +Josephine had heard these rumors, and her life was embittered by their +terrible import. A pall of gloom shrouded her sky, and anguish began to +gnaw at her heart amidst all the splendors of the Tuileries and the +lovely retirement of Malmaison. + +Napoleon's younger brother, Louis, was of nearly the same age with +Hortense. He was a young man of fine personal appearance, very +intelligent, of scholarly tastes, and of irreproachable character. +Though pensive in temperament, he had proved himself a hero on the field +of battle, and he possessed, in all respects, a very noble character. +Many of the letters which he had written from Egypt to his friends in +Paris had been intercepted by the British cruisers, and were published. +They all bore the impress of the lofty spirit of integrity and humanity +with which he was inspired. Napoleon was very fond of his brother Louis. +He would surely place him in the highest positions of wealth and power. +As Louis Bonaparte was remarkably domestic in his tastes and +affectionate in his disposition, Josephine could not doubt that he would +make Hortense happy. Apparently it was a match full of promise, +brilliant, and in all respects desirable. Its crowning excellence, +however, in the eye of Josephine was, that should Hortense marry Louis +Bonaparte and give birth to a son, Napoleon would recognize that child +as his heir. Bearing the name of Bonaparte, with the blood of the +Bonapartes in his veins, and being the child of Hortense, whom he so +tenderly loved as a daughter, the desires of Napoleon and of France +might be satisfied. Thus the terrible divorce might be averted. + +It is not probable that at this time Napoleon seriously thought of a +divorce, though the air was filled with rumors put in circulation by +those who were endeavoring to crowd him to it. He loved Josephine +tenderly, and of course could not sympathize with her in those fears of +which it was impossible for her to speak to him. Bourrienne testifies +that Josephine one day said to him in confidence, veiling and at the +same time revealing her fears, "This projected marriage with Duroc +leaves me without support. Duroc, independent of Bonaparte's friendship, +is nothing. He has neither fortune, rank, nor even reputation. He can +afford me no protection against the enmity of the brothers. I must have +some more certain reliance for the future. My husband loves Louis very +much. If I can succeed in uniting my daughter to him, he will prove a +strong counterpoise to the calumnies and persecutions of my +brothers-in-law." + +These remarks were repeated to Napoleon. According to Bourrienne, he +replied, + +"Josephine labors in vain. Duroc and Hortense love each other, and they +shall be married. I am attached to Duroc. He is well born. I have given +Caroline to Murat, and Pauline to Le Clerc. I can as well give Hortense +to Duroc. He is as good as the others. He is general of division. +Besides, I have other views for Louis." + +Josephine, however, soon won the assent of Napoleon to her views, and he +regarded with great satisfaction the union of Hortense with Louis. The +contemplated connection with Duroc was broken off. Two young hearts were +thus crushed, with cruelty quite unintentional. Duroc was soon after +married to an heiress, who brought him a large fortune, and, it is said, +a haughty spirit and an irritable temper, which embittered all his days. + +Hortense, disappointed, heart-broken, despairing, was weary of the +world. She probably never saw another happy day. Such is life. + + "Sorrows are for the sons of men, + And weeping for earth's daughters." + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +THE MARRIAGE OF HORTENSE. + +1804-1807 + +Stephanie Beauharnais.--Love of Louis Bonaparte for +Stephanie.--Objections to the marriage.--Unavailing +remonstrances.--Marriage of Hortense.--Testimony of Louis +Bonaparte.--Statement of Napoleon.--Letter from Josephine to +Hortense.--The ball of Madame Montesson.--Birth of Napoleon +Charles.--Hortense Queen of Holland.--Composition of the +"Romances."--Madame de Stael.--Anecdote of Napoleon Charles.--Letter +from Josephine.--Campaigns of Jena and Friedland.--Anecdote.--Death of +Napoleon Charles.--Anguish of Hortense.--Letter of +condolence.--Josephine to Hortense.--Napoleon to Hortense.--The need of +charity. + + +It will be remembered that Hortense had a cousin, Stephanie, the +daughter of her father's elder brother, Marquis de Beauharnais. Though +Viscount de Beauharnais had espoused the popular cause in the desperate +struggle of the French Revolution, the marquis was an undisguised +"aristocrat." Allying himself with the king and the court, he had fled +from France with the emigrant nobles. He had joined the allied army as +it was marching upon his native land in the endeavor to crush out +popular liberty and to reinstate the Bourbons on their throne of +despotism. For this crime he was by the laws of France a traitor, doomed +to the scaffold should he be captured. + +The marquis, in his flight from France, had left Stephanie with her aunt +Josephine. She had sent her to the school of Madame Campan in company +with Hortense and Caroline Bonaparte. Louis Bonaparte was consequently +often in the company of Stephanie, and fell desperately in love with +her. The reader will recollect the letter which Josephine wrote to +Madame Campan relative to Stephanie, which indicated that she had some +serious defects of character. Still she was a brilliant girl, with great +powers of pleasing when she condescended to use those powers. + +Louis Bonaparte was a very pensive, meditative young man, of poetic +temperament, and of unsullied purity of character. With such persons +love ever becomes an all-absorbing passion. It has been well said that +love is represented as a little Cupid shooting tiny arrows, whereas it +should be presented as a giant shaking the world. The secrets of the +heart are seldom revealed to others. Neither Napoleon nor Josephine were +probably at all aware how intense and engrossing was the affection of +Louis for Stephanie. + +Regenerated France was then struggling, with all its concentrated +energies, against the combined aristocracies of Europe. Napoleon was the +leader of the popular party. The father of Stephanie was in the counsels +and the army of the Allies. Already advances had been made to Napoleon, +and immense bribes offered to induce him, in treachery to the people, to +restore to the exiled Bourbons the sceptre which the confiding people +had placed in his hands. Napoleon, like all men in power, had bitter +enemies, who were ever watching for an opportunity to assail him. Should +his brother Louis marry a daughter of one of the old nobility, an avowed +aristocrat, an emigrant, a pronounced "traitor," doomed to death, should +he be captured, for waging war against his native land, it would expose +Napoleon to suspicion. His enemies would have new vantage-ground from +which to attack him, and in the most tender point. + +Under these circumstances Napoleon contemplated with well-founded +anxiety the idea of his brother's union with Stephanie. He was therefore +the more ready to listen to Josephine's suggestion of the marriage of +Louis and Hortense. This union in every respect seemed exceedingly +desirable. Napoleon could gratify their highest ambition in assigning to +them posts of opulence and honor. They could also be of great service to +Napoleon in his majestic plan of redeeming all Europe from the yoke of +the old feudal despotisms, and in conferring upon the peoples the new +political gospel of equal rights for all men. + +Napoleon had perceived this growing attachment just before he set out on +the expedition to Egypt. To check it, if possible, he sent Louis on a +very important mission to Toulon, where he kept him intensely occupied +until he was summoned to embark for Egypt. But such love as animated the +heart of Louis is deepened, not diminished, by absence. A naval officer, +who was a friend of Louis, and who was aware of his attachment for +Stephanie, remonstrated with him against a connection so injudicious. + +"Do you know," said he, "that a marriage of this description might be +highly injurious to your brother, and render him an object of suspicion +to the Government, and that, too, at a moment when he is setting out on +a hazardous expedition?" + +But Louis was in no mood to listen to such suggestions. It would appear +that Stephanie was a young lady who could very easily transfer her +affections. During the absence of Louis a match was arranged between +Stephanie and the Duke of Baden. The heart of Louis was hopelessly +crushed. He never recovered from the blow. These were the two saddened +hearts, to whom the world was shrouded in gloom, which met amidst the +splendors of the Tuileries. + +The genius of Napoleon and the tact of Josephine were combined to unite +in marriage the disappointed and despairing lovers, Louis and Hortense. +After a brief struggle, they both sadly submitted to their fate. The +melancholy marriage scene is minutely described by Constant, one of the +officers in the household of Napoleon. The occasion was invested with +all possible splendor. A brilliant assembly attended. But as Louis led +his beautiful bride to the altar, the deepest dejection marked his +countenance. Hortense buried her eyes in her handkerchief and wept +bitterly. + +From that hour the alienation commenced. The grief-stricken bride, +young, inexperienced, impulsive, made no attempt to conceal the +repugnance with which she regarded the husband who had been forced upon +her. On the other hand, Louis had too much pride to pursue with his +attentions a bride whom he had reluctantly received, and who openly +manifested her aversion to him. Josephine was very sad. Her maternal +instincts revealed to her the true state of the case. Conscious that +the union, which had so inauspiciously commenced, had been brought about +by her, she exerted all her powers to promote friendly relations between +the parties. But her counsels and her prayers were alike in vain. Louis +Bonaparte, in his melancholy autobiography, writes: + +"Never was there a more gloomy wedding. Never had husband and wife a +stronger presentiment of a forced and ill-suited marriage. Before the +ceremony, during the benediction, and ever afterwards, we both and +equally felt that we were not suited to each other." + +"I have seen," writes Constant, "a hundred times Madame Louis Bonaparte +seek the solitude of her apartment and the bosom of a friend, there to +shed her tears. She would often escape from her husband in the midst of +the saloon of the First Consul, where one saw with chagrin this young +woman, formerly glittering in beauty, and who gracefully performed the +honors of the palace, retire into a corner or into the embrasure of a +window, with some one of her intimate friends, sadly to confide her +griefs. During this interview, from which she would return with her eyes +her husband would remain pensive and silent at the end of the saloon." + +Napoleon at St. Helena, referring to this painful subject, said: "Louis +had been spoiled by reading the works of Rousseau. He contrived to agree +with his wife only for a few months. There were faults on both sides. On +the one hand, Louis was too teasing in his temper, and, on the other, +Hortense was too volatile. Hortense, the devoted, the generous Hortense, +was not entirely faultless in her conduct towards her husband. This I +must acknowledge, in spite of all the affection I bore her, and the +sincere attachment which I am sure she entertained for me. Though +Louis's whimsical humors were in all probability sufficiently teasing, +yet he loved Hortense. In such a case a woman should learn to subdue her +own temper, and endeavor to return her husband's attachment. Had she +acted in the way most conducive to her interest, she might have avoided +her late lawsuit, secured happiness to herself and followed her husband +to Holland. Louis would not then have fled from Amsterdam, and I should +not have been compelled to unite his kingdom to mine--a measure which +contributed to ruin my credit in Europe. Many other events might also +have taken a different turn. Perhaps an excuse might be found for the +caprice of Louis's disposition in the deplorable state of his health." + +The following admirable letter from Josephine to Hortense throws +additional light upon this unhappy union: + +"I was deeply grieved at what I heard a few days ago. What I saw +yesterday confirms and increases my distress. Why show this repugnance +to Louis? Instead of rendering it the more annoying, by caprice and +inequality of temper, why not endeavor to surmount it? You say he is not +amiable. Every thing is relative. If he is not so to you, he may be to +others, and all women do not see him through the veil of dislike. As for +myself, who am here altogether disinterested, I imagine that I behold +him as he is--more loving, doubtless, than lovable. But this is a great +and rare quality. He is generous, beneficent, affectionate. He is a good +father, and if you so will, he would prove a good husband. His +melancholy, and his taste for study and retirement, render him +disagreeable to you. But let me ask you, is this his fault? Do you +expect him to change his nature according to circumstances? Who could +have foreseen his altered fortune? But, according to you, he has not +even the courage to bear that fortune. This, I think, is a mistake. With +his secluded habits, and his invincible love of retirement and study, he +is out of place in the elevated rank to which he has been raised. + +"You wish that he resembled his brother. But he must first have his +brother's temperament. You have not failed to remark that almost our +entire existence depends upon our health, and health upon digestion. If +poor Louis's digestion were better, you would find him much more +amiable. But as he is, there is nothing to justify the indifference and +dislike you evince towards him. You, Hortense, who used to be so good, +should continue so now, when it is most requisite. Take pity on a man +who is to be pitied for what would constitute the happiness of another. +Before you condemn him, think of others who, like him, have groaned +beneath the burden of their greatness, and bathed with tears their +diadem, which they believed had never been destined for their brow. When +I advise you to love, or at least not to repulse Louis, I speak to you +as an experienced wife, a fond mother, and a friend; and in these three +characters, which are all equally dear to me, I tenderly embrace you." + +Madame Montesson gave the first ball that took place in honor of the +marriage of Louis Bonaparte and Hortense. Invitations were issued for +seven hundred persons. Though there was no imperial court at that time, +for Napoleon was but First Consul, yet every thing was arranged on a +scale of regal splendor. The foreign ambassadors were all present; and +the achievements of Napoleon had been so marvellous, and his increasing +grandeur was so sure, that all present vied alike in evincing homage to +the whole Bonaparte family. A lady who was a guest on the occasion +writes: + +"Every countenance beamed with joy save that of the bride, whose +profound melancholy formed a sad contrast to the happiness which she +might have been expected to evince. She was covered with diamonds and +flowers, and yet her countenance and manner showed nothing but regret. +It was easy to foresee the mutual misery that would arise out of this +ill-assorted union. Louis Bonaparte showed but little attention to his +bride. Hortense, on her part, seemed to shun his very looks, lest he +should read in hers the indifference she felt towards him. This +indifference daily augmented in spite of the affectionate advice of +Josephine, who earnestly desired to see Hortense in the possession of +that happiness and peace of mind to which she was herself a stranger. +But all her endeavors were unavailing." + +The first child the fruit of this marriage was born in 1803, and +received the name of Napoleon Charles. Both Napoleon and Josephine were +rendered very happy by his birth. He was an exceedingly beautiful and +promising child, and they hoped that parental endearments, lavished upon +the same object, would unite father and mother more closely. Napoleon +loved the child tenderly, was ever fond of caressing him, and distinctly +announced his intention of making him his heir. All thoughts of the +divorce were banished, and a few gleams of tremulous joy visited the +heart of Josephine. But alas! these joys proved of but short duration. +It was soon manifest to her anxious view that there was no hope of any +cordial reconciliation between Louis and Hortense. And nothing could +soothe the sorrow of Josephine's heart when she saw her daughter's +happiness apparently blighted forever. + +Napoleon, conscious that he had been an instrument in the bitter +disappointments of Hortense and Louis, did every thing in his power to +requite them for the wrong. Upon attaining the imperial dignity, he +appointed his brother Louis constable of France, and soon after, in +1805, governor-general of Piedmont. In 1806, Schimmelpennink, grand +pensionary of Batavia, resigning his office as chief magistrate of the +United Netherlands, Napoleon raised Louis to the dignity of King of +Holland. + +On the 18th of June, 1806, Louis and Hortense arrived in their new +dominions. The exalted station to which Hortense was thus elevated did +not compensate her for the sadness of separation from her beloved +mother, with whom she had been so intimately associated during her whole +life. The royal pair took up their residence at the Maison de Bois, a +rural palace about three miles from the Hague. Here they received the +various deputations, and thence made their public entree into the +capital in the midst of a scene of universal rejoicing. The pensive air +of the queen did but add to the interest which she invariably excited. +For a time she endeavored to drown her griefs in yielding herself to the +festivities of the hour. Her fine figure, noble mien, and graceful +manners fascinated all eyes and won all hearts. Her complexion was of +dazzling purity, her eyes of a soft blue, and a profusion of fair hair +hung gracefully upon her shoulders. Her conversation was extremely +lively and vivacious, having on every occasion just the right word to +say. Her dancing was said to be the perfection of grace. With such +accomplishments for her station, naturally fond of society and gayety, +and with a disposition to recompense herself, for her heart's +disappointment, in the love of her new subjects, she secured in a very +high degree the admiration of the Hollanders. + +It was at this time that Hortense composed that beautiful collection of +airs called _romances_ which has given her position among the ablest of +musical composers. "The saloons of Paris," says a French writer, "the +solitude of exile, the most remote countries, have all acknowledged the +charm of these most delightful melodies, which need no royal name to +enhance their reputation. It is gratifying to our pride of country to +hear the airs of France sung by the Greek and by the Russian, and united +to national poetry on the banks of the Thames and the Tagus. The homage +thus rendered is the more flattering because the rank of the composer is +unknown. It is their intrinsic merit which gives to these natural +effusions of female sensibility the power of universal success. If +Hortense ever experienced matrimonial felicity, it must have been at +this time." + +When Madame de Stael was living in exile in the old Castle of +Chaumont-sur-Loire, where she was joined by her beautiful friend Madame +Recamier, one of their favorite songs was that exquisite air composed by +Queen Hortense upon her husband's motto, "Do what is right, come what +may." + +The little son of Hortense was twining himself closely around his +mother's heart. He had become her idol. Napoleon was then in the zenith +of his power, and it was understood that Napoleon Charles was to inherit +the imperial sceptre. The warmth of his heart and his daily intellectual +development indicated that he would prove worthy of the station which he +was destined to fill. + +Shortly after the queen's arrival at the Hague, she received a New +Year's present from Josephine for the young Napoleon Charles. It +consisted of a large chest filled with the choicest playthings which +Paris could present. The little boy was seated near a window which +opened upon the park. As his mother took one after another of the +playthings from the chest to exhibit to him, she was surprised and +disappointed to find that he regarded them with so much indifference. +His attention seemed to be very much occupied in looking out into the +park. Hortense said to him, "My son, are you not grateful to your +grandmamma for sending you so many beautiful presents?" + +"Indeed I am, mamma," he replied. "But it does not surprise me, for +grandmamma is always so good that I am used to it." + +"Then you are not amused with all these pretty playthings, my son?" + +"Oh yes, mamma, but--but then I want something else." + +"What is it, my darling? You know how much I love you. You may be sure +that I will give it to you." + +"No, mamma, I am afraid you won't. I want you to let me run about +barefooted in that puddle in the avenue." + +His mother of course could not grant this request, and the little fellow +mourned very justly over the misfortune of being a prince, which +prevented him from enjoying himself like other boys in playing in the +mud. + +Hortense, absorbed in her new cares, wrote almost daily to her mother, +giving interesting recitals of the child. She did not, however, write as +frequently to her father. Josephine wrote to her from Aix-la-Chapelle, +under date of September 8th, 1804: + +"The news which you give me of Napoleon affords me great pleasure, my +dear Hortense; for in addition to the very tender interest I feel for +him, I appreciate all the anxieties from which you are relieved; and you +know, my dear child, that your happiness will ever constitute a part of +mine. The Emperor has read your letter. He has at times appeared to me +wounded, in not hearing from you. He would not accuse your heart if he +knew you as well as I do. But appearances are against you. Since he may +suppose that you neglect him, do not lose a moment to repair the wrongs +which are not intentional. Say to him that it is through discretion +that you have not written to him; that your heart suffers from that law +which even respect dictates; that having always manifested towards you +the goodness and tenderness of a father, it will ever be your happiness +to offer to him the homage of gratitude. + +"Speak to him also of the hope you cherish of seeing me at the period of +your confinement. I can not endure the thought of being absent from you +at that time. Be sure, my Hortense, that nothing can prevent me from +going to take care of you for your sake, and still more for my own. Do +you speak of this also to Bonaparte, who loves you as if you were his +own child. And this greatly increases my attachment for him. Adieu, my +good Hortense. I embrace you with the warmest affections of my heart." + +Soon after this Hortense gave birth to her second child, Napoleon Louis. +The health of the mother not long after the birth of the child rendered +it necessary for her to visit the waters of St. Armand. It seems that +little Napoleon Louis was placed under the care of a nurse where +Josephine could often see him. The Empress wrote to Hortense from St. +Cloud on the 20th of July, 1805: + +"My health requires that I should repose a little from the fatigues of +the long journey which I have just made, and particularly from the grief +which I have experienced in separating myself from Eugene in Italy. I +received yesterday a letter from him. He is very well, and works hard. +He greatly regrets being separated from his mother and his beloved +sister. Alas! there are unquestionably many people who envy his lot, and +who think him very happy. Such persons do not read his heart. In writing +to you, my dear Hortense, I would only speak to you of my tenderness for +you, and inform you how happy I have been to have your son Napoleon +Louis with me since my return. + +"The Emperor, without speaking to me about it, sent to him immediately +on our arrival at Fontainebleau. I was much touched by this attention on +his part. He had perceived that I had need of seeing a second +_yourself_; a little charming being created by thee. The child is very +well. He is very happy. He eats only the soup which his nurse gives him. +He never comes in when we are at the table. The Emperor caresses him +very much. Eugene has given me, for you, a necklace of malachite, +engraved in relief. M. Bergheim will hand you one which I purchased at +Milan. It is composed of engraved amethysts, which will be very becoming +upon your beautiful white skin. Give my most affectionate remembrance to +your husband. Embrace for me Napoleon Charles, and rely, my dear +daughter, upon the tenderness of your mother, + + "JOSEPHINE." + +[Illustration: THE LITTLE PRINCE CHARLES NAPOLEON.] + +At midnight, on the 24th of September, 1806, Napoleon left Paris to +repel a new coalition of his foes in the campaigns of Jena, Auerstadt, +Eylau, and Friedland. Josephine accompanied her husband as far as +Mayence, where she remained, that she might more easily receive tidings +from him. Just before leaving Paris, Napoleon reviewed the Imperial +Guard in the court-yard of the Tuileries. After the review he entered +the saloon of Josephine. Throwing down his hat and sword upon the sofa, +he took the arm of the Empress, and they together walked up and down the +room, earnestly engaged in conversation. Little Napoleon Charles, who +was on a visit to his grandmother, picked up the Emperor's cocked hat, +placed it upon his head, and putting the sword-belt over his neck, +with the dangling sword, began strutting behind the Emperor with a very +military tread, attempting to whistle a martial air. Napoleon, turning +around, saw the child, and catching him up in his arms, hugged and +kissed him, saying to Josephine, "What a charming picture!" Josephine +immediately ordered a portrait to be taken by the celebrated painter +Gerard of the young prince in that costume. She intended to send it a +present to the Emperor as a surprise. + +The Empress remained for some time at Mayence and its environs, daily +writing to the Emperor, and almost daily, sometimes twice a day, +receiving letters from him. These notes were very brief, but always bore +the impress of ardent affection. + +On the 13th of January, 1806, Eugene was very happily married to the +Princess Augusta Amelie, daughter of the Elector of Bavaria. When +Josephine heard of the contemplated connection, she wrote to Hortense: + +"You know very well that the Emperor would not marry Eugene without my +knowledge. Still I accept the public rumor. I should love very much to +have her for a daughter-in-law. She is a charming character, and +beautiful as an angel. She unites to an elegant figure the most graceful +carriage I have ever known." + +A few days after, on the 9th of January, she wrote from Munich: "I am +not willing to lose a moment, my dear Hortense, in informing you that +the marriage of Eugene with the daughter of the Elector of Bavaria is +just definitely arranged. You will appreciate, as I do, all the value of +this new proof of the attachment which the Emperor manifests for your +brother. Nothing in the world could be more agreeable to me than this +alliance. The young princess unites to a charming figure all the +qualities which can render a woman interesting and lovely. The marriage +is not to be celebrated here, but in Paris. Thus you will be able to +witness the happiness of your brother, and mine will be perfect, since I +shall find myself united to both of my dear children." + +The arrangements were changed subsequently, and the nuptials were +solemnized in Munich. Napoleon wrote as follows to Hortense: + + "Munich, January 9th, 1806. + +"MY DAUGHTER,--Eugene arrives to-morrow, and is to be married in four +days. I should have been very happy if you could have attended his +marriage, but there is no longer time. The Princess Augusta is tall, +beautiful, and full of good qualities, and you will have, in all +respects, a sister worthy of you. A thousand kisses to M. Napoleon. + + "NAPOLEON." + +The Empress, after remaining some time at Mayence, as the campaign on +the banks of the Vistula was protracted, returned to Paris. In a state +of great anxiety with regard to her husband, she took up her residence +at St. Cloud. Under date of March, 1807, she wrote to her daughter, then +queen of Holland, residing at the Hague: + +"I have received much pleasure in speaking of you with M. Jansens. I +perceive, from what he tells me respecting Holland, that the king is +very much beloved, and that you share in the general affection. This +renders me happy. My health is very good at the present moment, but my +heart is always sad. + +"All the private letters which I have seen agree in the declaration that +the Emperor exposed himself very much at the battle of Eylau. I +frequently receive tidings from him, and sometimes two letters a day. +This is a great consolation, but it does not replace him." + +That Napoleon, in the midst of the ten thousand cares of so arduous a +campaign, could have found time to write daily to Josephine, and often +twice a day, is surely extraordinary. There are not many husbands, it is +to be feared, who are so thoughtful of the anxieties of an absent wife. + +Early in May the Empress received the portrait, of which we have spoken, +of her idolized grandchild, Napoleon Charles, in his amusing military +costume. She was intending to send it as a pleasing memorial to the +Emperor in his distant encampment. + +Just then she received the dreadful tidings that little Napoleon Charles +had been taken sick with the croup, and, after the illness of but a few +hours, had died. It was the 5th of May, 1807. Josephine was in Paris; +Hortense at the Hague, in Holland; Napoleon was hundreds of leagues +distant in the north, with his army almost buried in snow upon the banks +of the Vistula. + +The world perhaps has never witnessed the death of a child which has +caused so much anguish. Hortense did not leave her son for a moment, as +the terrible disease advanced to its termination. When he breathed his +last she seemed completely stunned. Not a tear dimmed her eye. Not a +word, not a moan was uttered. Like a marble statue, she sat upon the +sofa where the child had died, gazing around her with a look of wild, +amazed, delirious agony. With much difficulty she was taken from the +room, being removed on the sofa upon which she reclined. Her anguish was +so great that for some time it was feared that reason was dethroned, and +that the blow would prove fatal. Her limbs were rigid, and her dry and +glassy eye was riveted upon vacancy. At length, in the endeavor to bring +her out from this dreadful state, the lifeless body of the child, +dressed for the grave, was brought in and placed in the lap of its +mother. The pent-up anguish of Hortense now found momentary relief in a +flood of tears, and in loud and uncontrollable sobbings. + +The anguish of Josephine surpassed, if possible, even that of Hortense. +The Empress knew that Napoleon had selected this child as his heir; that +consequently the terrible divorce was no longer to be thought of. In +addition to the loss of one she so tenderly loved, rose the fear that +his death would prove to her the greatest of earthly calamities. For +three days she could not leave her apartment, and did nothing but weep. + +The sad intelligence were conveyed to Napoleon in his cheerless +encampment upon the Vistula. As he received the tidings he uttered not a +word. Sitting down in silence, he buried his face in his hand, and for a +long time seemed lost in painful musings. No one ventured to disturb his +grief with attempted consolation. + +As soon as Josephine was able to move, she left Paris to visit her +bereaved, heart-broken daughter. But her strength failed her by the way, +and when she reached Luchen, a palace near Brussels, she was able to +proceed no farther. She wrote as follows to Hortense: + + "Luchen, May 14th, 1807--10 o'clock P.M. + +"I have arrived this moment at the chateau of Luchen, my dear daughter. +It is there I write to you, and there I await you. Come to restore me to +life. Your presence is necessary to me, and you must also feel the need +of seeing me, that you may weep with your mother. I earnestly wish to +proceed farther, but my strength has failed me, and moreover I have not +had time to apprise the Emperor. I have found strength to come thus far. +I hope you also will find strength to come and see your mother." + +Hortense immediately repaired to Luchen to seek a mother's sympathy. +With Josephine she returned to Paris, and soon after, by the entreaties +of her physician, continued her journey to take the waters of a mineral +spring in the south of France, seeking a change of climate and of scene. +Josephine remained in the depths of sorrow at St. Cloud. On the same day +in which Josephine arrived at Luchen, the Emperor wrote to her from the +Vistula as follows: + + "Finckenstein, May 14th, 1807. + +"I can appreciate the grief which the death of poor Napoleon has caused. +You can understand the anguish which I experience. I could wish that I +were with you, that you might become moderate and discreet in your +grief. You have had the happiness of never losing any children. But it +is one of the conditions and sorrows attached to suffering humanity. Let +me hear that you have become reasonable and tranquil. Would you magnify +my anguish?" + +Two days after Napoleon wrote the Empress: + +"I have received your letter of the sixth of May. I see in it already +the injury which you are suffering, and I fear that you are not +reasonable, and that you afflict yourself too much from the calamity +which has befallen us. + +"Adieu my love. Entirely thine, + + "NAPOLEON." + +Again, after the lapse of four days, he wrote: + +"I have received your letter of the tenth of May. I see that you have +gone to Luchen. I think that you may rest there a fortnight. That will +give much pleasure to the Belgians, and will serve to divert your mind. +I see with pain that you are not wise. Grief has bounds which it should +not pass. Preserve yourself for your friend, and believe in all my +affection." + +On the same day the Emperor wrote as follows to Hortense: + + "Finckenstein, May 20th, 1807. + +"MY DAUGHTER,--Every thing which reaches me from the Hague informs me +that you are unreasonable. However legitimate may be your grief, it +should have its bounds. Do not impair your health. Seek consolation. +Know that life is strewn with so many dangers, and may be the source of +so many calamities, that death is by no means the greatest of evils. + +"Your affectionate father, + + "NAPOLEON." + +It is to be borne in mind that these brief epistles were written from +the midst of one of the most arduous of campaigns. Four days after this, +on the 24th, Napoleon wrote to Josephine: + +"I have received your letter from Luchen. I see with pain that your +grief is still unabated, and that Hortense has not yet arrived. She is +unreasonable, and does not merit that one should love her, since she +loves only her children. Strive to calm yourself, and give me no more +pain. For every irremediable evil we should find consolation. Adieu, my +love. + +"Wholly thine, + + "NAPOLEON." + +After two days again the Emperor wrote to Josephine: + +"I have received your letter of the 16th, and see with pleasure that +Hortense has arrived at Luchen. I am indeed grieved by what you tell me +of the state of stupor in which she still continues. She should have +more fortitude, and should govern herself. I can not conceive why they +should wish her to go to the springs. Her attention would be much more +diverted at Paris, and she would find there more consolation. Control +yourself. Be cheerful, and take care of your health. Adieu, my love. I +share deeply in all your griefs. It is painful to me that I am not with +you. + + "NAPOLEON." + +It will be remembered that Hortense had another child, then but an +infant, by the name of Napoleon Louis. This child subsequently married a +daughter of Joseph Bonaparte, and died in a campaign in Italy, as he +espoused the popular cause in the endeavor to throw off the yoke of +Austria. The third and only surviving child, Louis Napoleon, now Emperor +of the French, was not then born. + +We have previously alluded in this history to a niece of Madame Campan +by the name of Adele Auguie, who was the intimate friend and companion +of Hortense in her school-days. School-girl attachments, though often +very ardent, are not generally very lasting. This one, however, proved +of life-long duration. Adele became Madame de Broc. There is an allusion +to her in the following letter. We shall hereafter have occasion to +refer to her in describing the disaster which terminated her life. It +was the latter part of May when Hortense left her mother to journey to +the south of France. Soon after her departure Josephine wrote to her as +follows: + + "St. Cloud, May 27th, 1807. + +"I have wept much since your departure, my dear Hortense. This +separation has been very painful to me. Nothing can give me courage to +support it but the certainty that the journey will do you good. I have +received tidings from you, through Madame Broc. I pray you to thank her +for that attention, and to request her to write to me when you may be +unable to write yourself. I had also news from your son. He is at the +chateau of Luchen, very well, and awaiting the arrival of the king. He +shares very keenly in our griefs. I have need of this consolation, for I +have had none other since your departure. Always alone by myself, every +moment dwelling upon the subject of our affliction, my tears flow +incessantly. Adieu, my beloved child. Preserve yourself for a mother +who loves you tenderly." + +Soon after this Josephine went for a short time to Malmaison. On the 2d +of June Napoleon wrote to her from that place the following letter, +inclosing also one for Hortense. + +"MY LOVE,--I have learned of your arrival at Malmaison. I am displeased +with Hortense. She does not write me a word. Every thing which you say +to me of her gives me pain. Why is it that you have not been able a +little to console her? You weep. I hope that you will control your +feelings, that I may not find you overwhelmed with sadness. I have been +at Dantzic for two days. The weather is very fine, and I am well. I +think more of you than you can think of one who is absent. Adieu my +love. My most affectionate remembrance. Send the inclosed letter to +Hortense." + +The letter to Hortense to which Napoleon refers, was as follows: + + "Dantzic, June 2d, 1807. + +"MY DAUGHTER,--You have not written me a word in your well-founded and +great affliction. You have forgotten every thing as if you had no other +loss to endure. I am informed that you no longer love; that you are +indifferent to every thing. I perceive it by your silence. This is not +right, Hortense. It is not what you promised me. Your child was every +thing to you. Had I been at Malmaison, I should have shared your +anguish. But I should also have wished that you would restore yourself +to your best friends. Adieu, my daughter. Be cheerful. We must learn +resignation. Cherish your health, that you may be able to fulfill all +your duties. My wife is very sad in view of your condition. Do not add +to her anguish." + +The next day, June 3d, the Emperor wrote to Josephine: + +"All the letters which come to me from St. Cloud say that you weep +continually. This is not right. It is necessary to control one's self +and to be contented. Hortense is entirely wrong. What you write me about +her is pitiful. Adieu, my love. Believe in the affection with which I +cherish you." + +The next day Josephine wrote from the palace of St. Cloud to Hortense, +who was then at the waters of Cauterets: + +"Your letter has greatly consoled me, my dear Hortense, and the tidings +of your health, which I have received from your ladies, contribute very +much to render me more tranquil. The Emperor has been deeply affected. +In all his letters he seeks to give me fortitude, but I know that this +severe affliction has been keenly felt by him. + +"The king[C] arrived yesterday at St. Leu. He has sent me word that he +will come to see me to-day. He will leave the little one with me during +his absence. You know how dearly I love that child, and the solicitude I +feel for him. I hope that the king will follow the same route which you +have taken. It will be, my dear Hortense, a consolation to you both to +see each other again. All the letters which I have received from him +since his departure are full of his attachment for you. Your heart is +too affectionate not to be touched by this. Adieu, my dear child. Take +care of your health. Mine can never be established till I shall no +longer suffer for those whom I love. I embrace you tenderly. + + "JOSEPHINE." + +[Footnote C: The husband of Hortense, King of Holland. He was then very +sick, suffering from an attack of paralysis. St. Leu was a beautiful +estate he owned in France. He had with him his second and then only +living child, Napoleon Louis. Leaving him with his grandmother, he +repaired to Cauterets, where he joined Hortense, his wife.] + +Two days after this, on the 6th, the Emperor wrote the Empress: + +"I am very well, my love. Your letter of yesterday gave me much pain. It +appears that you are continually sad, and that you are not reasonable. +The weather is very bad. Adieu, my love. I love you and desire to hear +that you are cheerful and contented." + +On the 11th of June, Josephine again wrote to Hortense: + +"Your son is remarkably well. He amuses me much; he is so pleasant. I +find he has all the endearing manners of the poor child over whose loss +we weep." + +Again she wrote, probably the next day, in answer to a letter from +Hortense: + +"Your letter has affected me deeply, my dear daughter. I see how +profound and unvarying is your grief. And I perceive it still more +sensibly by the anguish which I experience myself. We have lost that +which in every respect was the most worthy to be loved. My tears flow as +on the first day. Our grief is too well-founded for reason to be able to +cause it to cease. Nevertheless, my dear Hortense, it should moderate +it. You are not alone in the world. There still remains to you a +husband and a mother, whose tender love you well know, and you have too +much sensibility to regard all that with coldness and indifference. +Think of us; and let that memory calm another well grounded and +grievous. I rely upon your attachment for me and upon the strength of +your mind. I hope also that the journey and the waters will do you good. +Your son is remarkably well. He is a charming child. My health is a +little better, but you know that it depends upon yours. Adieu. I embrace +you. + + "JOSEPHINE." + +On the 16th of June, Napoleon again wrote to Hortense from his distant +encampment: + +"MY DAUGHTER,--I have received your letter dated Orleans. Your griefs +touch my heart, but I could wish that you would summon more fortitude. +To live is to suffer, and the sincere man suffers incessantly to retain +the mastery over himself. I do not love to see you unjust towards the +little Napoleon Louis, and towards all your friends. Your mother and I +had cherished the hope of being more than we are in your heart I have +gained a great victory on the 14th of June.[D] I am well and love you +very much. Adieu, my daughter. I embrace you with my whole heart." + +[Footnote D: Victory of Friedland.] + +The above extracts from the private correspondence of Napoleon and +Josephine reveal, more clearly than any thing else could possibly do, +the anguish with which Hortense was oppressed. They also exhibit, in a +very interesting light, the affectionate relationship which existed +between the members of the Imperial family. The authenticity of the +letters is beyond all possible question. How much more charitable should +we be could we but fully understand the struggles and the anguish to +which all human hearts are exposed. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +BIRTH OF LOUIS NAPOLEON AND THE DIVORCE OF JOSEPHINE. + +1808-1809 + +Birth of Louis Napoleon.--Letter from Josephine.--Public announcement of +the birth.--Napoleon's attachment to his nephews.--Letter from +Napoleon.--Josephine to Hortense.--Remarks of the Duke of +Rovigo.--Testimony of Cambaceres.--The dreadful announcement.--Anguish +of the Imperial family.--Noble conduct of Eugene.--The divorce.--The +scene of the divorce.--The legal consummation.--Josephine, Eugene, +Hortense.--Affecting interview.--Grief of Napoleon.--Testimony of Baron +Meneval.--Letter from Napoleon to Josephine.--The retirement of +Josephine.--Josephine at Malmaison.--Interview between Napoleon and +Josephine.--Napoleon's remarks on his divorce.--Sin of the divorce. + + +The latter part of July, 1807, Hortense, in the state of anguish which +the preceding chapter develops, was, with her husband, at the waters of +Cauterets, in the south of France. They were united by the ties of a +mutual grief. Napoleon was more than a thousand miles away in the north +of Europe. In considerably less than a year from that date, on the 20th +of April, 1808, Hortense gave birth, in Paris to her third child, Louis +Napoleon, now Napoleon III., Emperor of the French. Josephine was then +at Bordeaux, and wrote as follows to Hortense: + + "Bordeaux, April 23d, 1808. + +"I am, my dear Hortense, in an excess of joy. The tidings of your happy +accouchement were brought to me yesterday by M. de Villeneuve. I felt my +heart beat the moment I saw him enter. But I cherished the hope that he +had only good tidings to bring me, and my presentiments did not deceive +me. I have received a second letter, which assures me that you are very +well, and also your son. I know that Napoleon will console himself in +not having a sister, and that he already loves very much his brother. +Embrace them both for me. But I must not write you too long a letter +from fear of fatiguing you. Take care of yourself with the utmost +caution. Do not receive too much company at present. Let me hear from +you every day. I await tidings from you with as much impatience as I +love you with tenderness. + + "JOSEPHINE." + +The birth of this prince, Louis Napoleon, whose renown as Napoleon III. +now fills the world, and respecting whose character and achievements +there is so wonderful a diversity of sentiment among intelligent men, +took place in Paris. Napoleon was at that time upon the highest pinnacle +of prosperity. The Allies, vanquished in every conflict, seemed disposed +to give up the attempt to reinstate the Bourbons upon the throne of +France. The birth of Louis Napoleon, as a prince of the Empire, in the +direct line of hereditary descent, was welcomed by the guns of the +Invalides, and by military salutes all along the lines of the Imperial +army, from Hamburg to Rome, and from the Pyrenees to the Danube. The +important event was thus announced in the Moniteur of April 21st: + +"Yesterday, at one o'clock, her Majesty the Queen of Holland was safely +delivered of a prince. In conformity with Article 40, of the Act of the +Constitution of 28 Floreal, year 12, the Chancellor of the Empire +attested the birth, and wrote immediately to the Emperor, the Empress, +and the King of Holland, to communicate the intelligence. At five +o'clock in the evening, the act of birth was received by the arch +chancellor, assisted by his eminence, Reynault de St. Jean d'Angely, +minister of state and state secretary of the Imperial family. In the +absence of the Emperor, the new-born prince has not yet received his +name. This will be provided for by an ulterior act, according to the +orders of his Majesty." + +By a decree of the Senate, these two children of Louis Bonaparte and +Hortense were declared heirs to the Imperial throne, should Napoleon and +his elder brother Joseph die without children. This decree of the +Senate was submitted to the acceptation of the French people. With +wonderful unanimity it was adopted. There were 3,521,675 votes in the +affirmative, and but 2599 in the negative. + +Napoleon ever manifested the deepest interest in these two children. At +the time of the birth of Louis Napoleon he was at Bayonne, arranging +with the Spanish princes for the transfer of the crown of Spain to +Joseph Bonaparte. Josephine was at Bordeaux. From this interview he +passed, in his meteoric flight, to the Congress of Kings at Erfurt, but +a few miles from the battle-field of Jena. It was here that the +celebrated historian Mueller met the Emperor and gave the following +testimony as to the impression which his presence produced upon his +mind: + +"Quite impartially and truly, as before God, I must say, that the +variety of his knowledge, the acuteness of his observation, the solidity +of his understanding, filled me with astonishment. His manner of +speaking to me inspired me with love for him. It was one of the most +remarkable days of my life. By his genius and his disinterested goodness +he has conquered me also." + +Hortense, with a saddened spirit, now lived in great seclusion, devoting +herself almost exclusively to the education of her two sons, Napoleon +Louis and Louis Napoleon. Her bodily health was feeble, and she was most +of the time deeply dejected. In May, 1809, Hortense, without consulting +the Emperor, who was absent in Germany, took the two princes with her to +the baths of Baden, where they were exposed to the danger of being +seized and held as hostages by the Austrians. The solicitude of the +Emperor for them may be seen in the following letter: + + "Ebersdorf, May 28th, 1809. + +"MY DAUGHTER,--I am very much displeased, (_tres mecontent_) that you +should have left France without my permission, and particularly that you +should have taken my nephews from France. Since you are at the waters of +Baden, remain there. But in one hour after the reception of this letter, +send my two nephews to Strasbourg, near to the Empress. They ought never +to leave France. It is the first time that I have had occasion to be +dissatisfied with you. But you ought not to dispose of my nephews +without my permission. You ought to perceive the mischievous effects +which that may produce. + +"Since the waters of Baden are beneficial to you, you can remain there +some days. But I repeat to you, do not delay for a moment sending my +nephews to Strasbourg. Should the Empress go to the waters of Plombieres +they can accompany her there. But they ought never to cross the bridge +of Strasbourg. Your affectionate father, + + "NAPOLEON." + +This letter was sent to Josephine to be transmitted by her to Hortense. +She received it on the first of June, and immediately sent it to her +daughter, with a letter which implies that Hortense had already +anticipated the wishes of Napoleon, and had sent the princes, after a +brief visit, to Josephine at Strasbourg. Soon after this it would seem +that little Louis Napoleon, who was evidently the favorite of his +grandmother, perhaps because he was more with her, accompanied Josephine +to St Cloud. About a fortnight after this she wrote to Hortense from +that palace: + +"I am happy to have your son with me. He is charming. I am attached to +him more and more, in thinking he will be a solace to you. His little +reasons amuse me much. He grows every day, and his complexion is very +fine. I am far from you, but I frequently embrace your son, and love to +imagine to myself that it is my dear daughter whom I embrace." + +And now we approach that almost saddest of earth's tragedies, the +divorce of Josephine--the great wrong and calamity of Napoleon's life. +The event had so important a bearing upon the character and the destiny +of Hortense as to demand a brief recital here. + +It is often difficult to judge of the _motives_ of human actions; but at +times circumstances are such that it is almost impossible to misjudge +the causes which lead to conduct. General Savary, Duke of Rovigo, the +intimate personal friend of the Emperor, and one better acquainted with +his secret thoughts than any other person, gives the following account +of this momentous and fatal act: + +"A thousand idle stories have been related concerning the Emperor's +motives for breaking the bonds he had contracted upwards of fifteen +years before, and separating from one who was the partner of his life +during the most stormy events of his glorious career. It was ascribed +to his ambition to connect himself with royal blood; and malevolence has +delighted in spreading the report that to this consideration he had +sacrificed every other. This opinion was quite erroneous, and he was as +unfairly dealt with, upon the subject, as all persons are who happen to +be placed above the level of mankind. + +"Nothing can be more true than that the sacrifice of the object of his +affections was the most painful that he experienced throughout his life; +and that he would have preferred adopting any course than the one to +which he was driven by the motives which I am about to relate. Public +opinion in general was unjust to the Emperor, when he placed the +imperial crown upon his head. A feeling of personal ambition was +supposed to be the main-spring of all his actions. This was, however, a +very mistaken impression. I have already mentioned with what reluctance +he had altered the form of government, and that if he had not been +apprehensive that the State would fall again a prey to those dissensions +which are inseparable from an elective form of government, he would not +have changed an order of things which appeared to have been the first +solid conquest achieved by the revolution. Ever since he had brought +back the nation to monarchical principles, he had neglected no means of +consolidating institutions which permanently secured those principles, +and yet firmly established the superiority of modern ideas over +antiquated customs. Differences of opinion could no longer create any +disturbance respecting the form of government, when his career should be +closed. + +"But this was not enough. It was further requisite that the line of +inheritance should be defined in so clear a manner that, at his death, +no pretense might be made for the contention of any claimants to the +throne. For if such a misfortune were to take place, the least foreign +intervention would have sufficed to revive a spirit of discord among us. +This feeling of personal ambition consisted in this case, in a desire to +hand his work down to posterity, and to resign to his successor a state +resting upon his numerous trophies for its stability. He could not have +been blind to the fact, that the perpetual warfare into which a jealousy +of his strength had plunged him, had, in reality, no other object than +his own downfall, because with him must necessarily crumble that +gigantic power which was no longer upheld by the revolutionary energy +he himself had repressed. + +"The Emperor had not any children. The Empress had two, but he never +could have entertained a thought of them without exposing himself to the +most serious inconveniences. I believe, however, that if the two +children of Josephine had been the only ones in his family, he would +have made some arrangement for securing the inheritance to Eugene. He +however dismissed the idea of appointing him his heir, because he had +nearer relations, and it would have given rise to dissensions which it +was his principal object to avoid. He also considered the necessity in +which he was placed of forming an alliance sufficiently powerful, in +order that, in the event of his system being at any time threatened, +that alliance might be a resting-point, and save it from total ruin. He +likewise hoped that it would be the means of putting to an end that +series of wars, of which he was desirous, above all things, to avoid a +recurrence. These were the motives which determined him to break a union +so long contracted. He wished it less for himself than for the purpose +of interesting a powerful state in the maintenance of the order of +things established in France. He reflected often on the mode of making +this communication to the Empress. Still he was reluctant to speak to +her. He was apprehensive of the consequences of her tenderness of +feeling. His heart was never proof against the shedding of tears." + +The arch-chancellor Cambaceres states that Napoleon communicated to him +the resolution he had adopted; alluded to the reasons for the divorce, +spoke of the anguish which the stern necessity caused his affections, +and declared his intention to invest the act with forms the most +affectionate and the most honorable to Josephine. + +"I will have nothing," said he, "which can resemble a repudiation; +nothing but a mere dissolution of the conjugal tie, founded upon mutual +consent; a consent itself founded upon the interests of the empire. +Josephine is to be provided with a palace in Paris, with a princely +residence in the country with an income of six hundred thousand dollars, +and is to occupy the first rank among the princesses, after the future +Empress. I wish ever to keep her near me as my best and most +affectionate friend." + +Josephine was in some degree aware of the doom which was impending, and +her heart was consumed by unmitigated grief. Hortense, who also was +heart-stricken and world-weary, was entreated by the Emperor to prepare +her mother for the sad tidings. She did so, but very imperfectly. At +last the fatal hour arrived in which it was necessary for the Emperor to +make the dreaded announcement to the Empress. They were both at +Fontainebleau, and Hortense was with her mother. For some time there had +been much constraint in the intercourse between the Emperor and Empress; +he dreading to make the cruel communication, and her heart lacerated +with anguish in the apprehension of receiving it. + +It was the last day of November, 1809, cold and cheerless. Napoleon and +Josephine dined alone in silence, not a word being spoken during the +repast. At the close of the meal, Napoleon, pale and trembling, took the +hand of the Empress and said: + +"Josephine, my own good Josephine, you know how I have loved you. It is +to you alone that I owe the few moments of happiness I have known in the +world. Josephine, my destiny is stronger than my will. My dearest +affections must yield to the welfare of France." + +All-expected as the blow was, it was none the less dreadful. Josephine +fell, apparently lifeless, to the floor. The Count de Beaumont was +immediately summoned, and, with the aid of Napoleon, conveyed Josephine +to her apartment. Hortense came at once to her mother, whom she loved so +tenderly. The anguish of the scene overcame her. In respectful, though +reproachful tones, she said to the Emperor, "My mother will descend from +the throne, as she ascended it, in obedience to your will. Her children, +content to renounce grandeurs which have not made them happy, will +gladly go and devote their lives to comforting the best and the most +affectionate of mothers." + +Napoleon was entirely overcome. He sat down and wept bitterly. Raising +his eyes swimming in tears to his daughter, he said: + +"Do not leave me, Hortense. Stay by me with Eugene. Help me to console +your mother and render her calm, resigned, and even happy in remaining +my friend, while she ceases to be my wife." + +Eugene was summoned from Italy. Upon his arrival his sister threw +herself into his arms, and, after a brief interview of mutual anguish, +led him to their beloved mother. After a short interview with her, he +repaired to the cabinet of the Emperor. In respectful terms, but firm +and very sad, he inquired if Napoleon intended to obtain a divorce from +the Empress. Napoleon, who tenderly loved his noble son, could only +reply with the pressure of the hand. Eugene immediately recoiled and, +withdrawing his hand, said: + +"In that case, Sire, permit me to retire from your service." + +"How," exclaimed Napoleon, looking sadly upon him. "Will you, my adopted +son, forsake me?" + +"Yes, Sire," Eugene replied. "The son of her who is no longer Empress, +can not remain viceroy. I will follow my mother into her retreat. She +must now find her consolation in her children." + +Tears filled the eyes of the Emperor. "You know," said he, "the stern +necessity which compels this measure. Will you forsake me? Who then, +should I have a son, the object of my desires and preserver of my +interests, who will watch over the child when I am absent? If I die, who +will prove to him a father? Who will bring him up? Who is to make a man +of him?" + +Napoleon and Eugene then retired to the garden, and for a long time +walked, arm in arm, up and down one of its avenues, engaged in earnest +conversation. Josephine, with a mother's love, could not forget the +interests of her children, even in her own anguish. + +"The Emperor," she said to Eugene, "is your benefactor, your more than +father; to whom you are indebted for every thing, and to whom therefore +you owe boundless obedience." + +A fortnight passed away and the 15th of December arrived; the day +appointed for the consummation of this cruel sacrifice. The affecting +scene transpired in the grand saloon of the palace of the Tuileries. All +the members of the imperial family were present. Eugene and Hortense +were with their mother, sustaining her with their sympathy and love. An +extreme pallor overspread the countenance of Napoleon, as he addressed +the assembled dignitaries of the empire. + +"The political interests of my monarchy," said he, "and the wishes of my +people, which have constantly guided my actions, require that I should +transmit to an heir, inheriting my love for the people, the throne on +which Providence has placed me. For many years I have lost all hope of +having children by my beloved spouse the Empress Josephine. It is this +consideration which induces me to sacrifice the dearest affections of +my heart, to consult only the good of my subjects, and to desire the +dissolution of our marriage. Arrived at the age of forty years, I may +indulge the reasonable hope of living long enough to rear, in the spirit +of my own thoughts and disposition, the children with which it may +please Providence to bless me. God knows how much such a determination +has cost my heart. But there is no sacrifice too great for my courage +when it is proved to be for the interest of France. Far from having any +cause of complaint, I have nothing to say but in praise of the +attachment and tenderness of my beloved wife. She has embellished +fifteen years of my life, and the remembrance of them will be forever +engraven on my heart. She was crowned by my hand. She shall always +retain the rank and title of Empress. Above all, let her never doubt my +affection, or regard me but as her best and dearest friend." + +Josephine now endeavored to fulfill her part in this sad drama. +Unfolding a paper, she vainly strove to read her assent to the divorce. +But tears blinded her eyes and emotion choked her voice. Handing the +paper to a friend and sobbing aloud, she sank into a chair and buried +her face in her handkerchief. Her friend, M. Reynaud, read the paper, +which was as follows: + +[Illustration: THE DIVORCE ANNOUNCED.] + +"With the permission of my august and dear spouse, I must declare that, +retaining no hope of having children who may satisfy the requirements of +his policy and the interests of France, I have the pleasure of giving +him the greatest proof of attachment and devotedness which was ever +given on earth. I owe all to his bounty. It was his hand that crowned +me, and on his throne I have received only manifestations of love and +affection from the French people. I respond to all the sentiments of the +Emperor, in consenting to the dissolution of a marriage which is now an +obstacle to the happiness of France, by depriving it of the blessing of +being one day governed by the descendants of that great man who was +evidently raised up by Providence to efface the evils of a terrible +revolution, and to restore the altar, the throne, and social order. But +the dissolution of my marriage will in no respect change the sentiments +of my heart. The Emperor will ever find in me his best friend. I know +how much this act, commanded by policy and exalted interests, has rent +his heart. But we both glory in the sacrifices we make for the good +of the country." + +"After these words," says Thiers, "the noblest ever uttered under such +circumstances--for never, it must be confessed, did vulgar passions less +prevail in an act of this kind--Napoleon, embracing Josephine, led her +to her own apartment, where he left her, almost fainting, in the arms of +her children." + +The next day the Senate was convened in the grand saloon to sanction the +legal consummation of the divorce. Eugene presided. As he announced the +desire of the Emperor and Empress for the dissolution of their marriage, +he said: "The tears of his Majesty at this separation are sufficient for +the glory of my mother." The description of the remaining scenes of this +cruel tragedy we repeat from "Abbott's Life of Napoleon." + +"The Emperor, dressed in the robes of state, and pale as a statue of +marble, leaned against a pillar, careworn and wretched. Folding his arms +upon his breast, with his eyes fixed upon vacancy, he stood in gloomy +silence. It was a funereal scene. The low hum of mournful voices alone +disturbed the stillness of the room. A circular table was placed in the +centre of the apartment. Upon it there was a writing apparatus of gold. +A vacant arm-chair stood before the table. The company gazed silently +upon it as the instrument of the most soul-harrowing execution. + +"A side door opened, and Josephine entered. Her face was as white as the +simple muslin robe which she wore. She was leaning upon the arm of +Hortense, who, not possessing the fortitude of her mother, was sobbing +convulsively. The whole assembly, upon the entrance of Josephine, +instinctively arose. All were moved to tears. With her own peculiar +grace, Josephine advanced to the seat provided for her. Leaning her pale +forehead upon her hand, she listened with the calmness of stupor to the +reading of the act of separation. The convulsive sobbings of Hortense, +mingled with the subdued and mournful tones of the reader's voice, added +to the tragic impressiveness of the scene. Eugene, pale and trembling, +stepped forward and took a position by the side of his adored mother, to +give her the moral support of his near presence. + +"As soon as the reading of the act of separation was finished, +Josephine, for a moment, in anguish pressed her handkerchief to her +eyes, and rising, in tones clear, musical, but tremulous with repressed +emotion, pronounced the oath of acceptance. She sat down, took the pen, +and affixed her signature to the deed which sundered the dearest hopes +and the fondest ties which human hearts can feel. Eugene could endure +this anguish no longer. His brain reeled, his heart ceased to beat, and +fainting, he fell senseless to the floor. Josephine and Hortense +retired, with the attendants who bore out the inanimate form of the +affectionate son and brother. It was a fitting termination of the +heart-rending yet sublime tragedy. + +"Josephine remained in her chamber overwhelmed with speechless grief. A +sombre night darkened over the city, oppressed by the gloom of this +cruel sacrifice. The hour arrived at which Napoleon usually retired for +sleep. The Emperor, restless and wretched, had just placed himself in +the bed from which he had ejected his faithful and devoted wife, when +the private door of his chamber was slowly opened, and Josephine +tremblingly entered. + +"Her eyes were swollen with weeping, her hair disordered, and she +appeared in all the dishabille of unutterable anguish. Hardly conscious +of what she did, in the delirium of her woe, she tottered into the +middle of the room and approached the bed of her former husband. Then +irresolutely stopping, she buried her face in her hands and burst into a +flood of tears. + +"A feeling of delicacy seemed, for a moment, to have arrested her +steps--a consciousness that she had _now_ no right to enter the chamber +of Napoleon. In another moment all the pent-up love of her heart burst +forth, and forgetting every thing in the fullness of her anguish, she +threw herself upon the bed, clasped Napoleon's neck in her arms, and +exclaiming, 'My husband! my husband!' sobbed as though her heart were +breaking. The imperial spirit of Napoleon was entirely vanquished. He +also wept convulsively. He assured Josephine of his love--of his ardent, +undying love. In every way he tried to soothe and comfort her. For some +time they remained locked in each other's embrace. The valet-de-chambre, +who was still present, was dismissed, and for an hour Napoleon and +Josephine continued together in this their last private interview. +Josephine then, in the experience of an intensity of anguish such as few +human hearts have ever known, parted forever from the _husband_ whom +she had so long and so faithfully loved." + +Josephine having withdrawn, an attendant entered the apartment to remove +the lights. He found the Emperor so buried beneath the bedclothes as to +be invisible. Not a word was uttered. The lights were removed, and the +unhappy monarch was left alone in darkness and silence to the melancholy +companionship of his own thoughts. The next morning the death-like +pallor of his cheek, his sunken eye, and the haggard expression of his +countenance, attested that the Emperor had passed the night in +sleeplessness and in suffering. + +The grief of Napoleon was unquestionably sincere. It could not but be +so. He was influenced by no vagrant passion. He had formed no new +attachment. He truly loved Josephine. He consequently resolved to retire +for a time to the seclusion of Trianon, at Versailles. He seemed +desirous that the externals of mourning should accompany an event so +mournful. + +"The orders for the departure for Trianon," writes the Baron Meneval, +Napoleon's private secretary, "had been previously given. When in the +morning the Emperor was informed that his carriages were ready, he took +his hat and said, 'Meneval, come with me.' I followed him by the little +winding staircase which, from his cabinet, communicated with the +apartment of the Empress. Josephine was alone, and appeared absorbed in +the most melancholy reflections. At the noise which we made in entering, +she eagerly rose and threw herself sobbing upon the neck of the Emperor. +He pressed her to his bosom with the most ardent embraces. + +"In the excess of her emotion she fainted. I rang the bell for succor. +The Emperor wishing to avoid the renewal of scenes of anguish which he +could no longer alleviate, placed the Empress in my arms as soon as she +began to revive. Directing me not to leave her, he hastily retired to +his carriage which was waiting for him at the door. The Empress, +perceiving the departure of the Emperor, redoubled her tears and moans. +Her women placed her upon a sofa. She seized my hands, and frantically +urged me to entreat Napoleon not to forget her, and to assure him that +her love would survive every event. + +"She made me promise to write her immediately on my arrival at Trianon, +and to see that the Emperor wrote to her also. She could hardly consent +to let me go, as if my departure would break the last tie which still +connected her with the Emperor. I left her, deeply moved by the +exhibition of a grief so true and an attachment so sincere. I was +profoundly saddened during my ride, and I could not refrain from +deploring the rigorous exigencies of state which rudely sundered the +ties of a long-tried affection, to impose another union offering only +uncertainties. Having arrived at Trianon, I gave the Emperor a faithful +account of all that had transpired after his departure. He was still +oppressed by the melancholy scenes through which he had passed. He dwelt +upon the noble qualities of Josephine, and upon the sincerity of the +affection which she cherished for him. He ever after preserved for her +the most tender attachment. The same evening he wrote to her a letter to +console her solitude." The letter was as follows: + +"My love, I found you to-day more feeble than you ought to be. You have +exhibited much fortitude, and it is necessary that you should still +continue to sustain yourself. You must not yield to funereal melancholy. +Strive to be tranquil, and, above, all, to preserve your health, which +is so precious to me. If you are attached to me, if you love me, you +must maintain your energy and strive to be cheerful. You can not doubt +my constancy and my tender affection. You know too well all the +sentiments with which I regard you to suppose that I can be happy if you +are unhappy, that I can be serene if you are agitated. Adieu, my love. +Sleep well. Believe that I wish it. + + "NAPOLEON." + +After the departure of the Emperor, at eleven o'clock in the morning all +the household of the Tuileries were assembled upon the grand staircase, +to witness the retirement of their beloved mistress from the scenes +where she had so long been the brightest ornament. Josephine descended +from her apartment veiled from head to foot. Her emotions were too deep +for utterance. Silently she waved an adieu to the affectionate and +weeping friends who surrounded her. A close carriage with six horses was +before the door. She entered it, sank back upon the cushions, buried her +face in her handkerchief, and, sobbing bitterly, left the Tuileries +forever. + +After the divorce, Josephine spent most of her time at the beautiful +chateau of Malmaison, which had been assigned to her, or at the palace +of Navarre, which was embellished for her at an expense of two hundred +thousand dollars. She retained the title of Empress, and received a +jointure of about six hundred thousand dollars a year. Almost daily +letters were exchanged between her and the Emperor, and he frequently +visited her. But from motives of delicacy he never saw her alone. We +know of nothing more pathetic in history than the gleams we get of these +interviews, as revealed in the "Confidential letters of Napoleon and +Josephine," whose publication was authorized by Queen Hortense, after +the death of her mother. Josephine, in the following words, describes +one of these interviews at Malmaison. It was after the marriage with +Maria Louisa. + +"I was one day painting a violet, a flower which recalled to my memory +my more happy days, when one of my women ran towards me and made a sign +by placing her finger upon her lips. The next moment I was +overpowered--I beheld Napoleon. He threw himself with transport into the +arms of his old friend. Oh, then I was convinced that he could still +love me; for that man really loved me. It seemed impossible for him to +cease gazing upon me, and his look was that of tender affection. At +length, in a tone of deepest compassion and love, he said: + +"'My dear Josephine, I have always loved you. I love you still. Do you +still love me, excellent and good Josephine? Do you still love me, in +spite of the relations I have again contracted, and which have separated +me from you? But they have not banished you from my memory.' + +"'Sire,' I replied-- + +"'Call me Bonaparte,' said he; 'speak to me, my beloved, with the same +freedom, the same familiarity as ever.' + +"Bonaparte soon disappeared, and I heard only the sound of his retiring +footsteps. Oh, how quickly does every thing take place on earth. I had +once more felt the pleasure of being loved." + +In reference to this melancholy event, Napoleon said, at Saint Helena: + +"My divorce has no parallel in history. It did not destroy the ties +which united our families, and our mutual tenderness remained unchanged. +Our separation was a sacrifice, demanded of us by reason, for the +interests of my crown and of my dynasty. Josephine was devoted to me. +She loved me tenderly. No one ever had a preference over me in her +heart. I occupied the first place in it, her children the next. She was +right in thus loving me; and the remembrance of her is still +all-powerful in my mind. Josephine was really an amiable woman: she was +so kind, so humane. She was the best woman in France. + +"A son, by Josephine, would have completed my happiness, not only in a +political point of view, but as a source of domestic felicity. As a +political result it would have secured to me the possession of the +throne. The French people would have been as much attached to the son of +Josephine as they were to the King of Rome, and I should not have set my +foot on an abyss covered with a bed of flowers. But how vain are all +human calculations! Who can pretend to decide on what may lead to +happiness or unhappiness in this life!" + +The divorce of Josephine, strong as were the political motives which led +to it, was a violation of the immutable laws of God. Like all +wrong-doing, however seemingly prosperous for a time, it promoted final +disaster and woe. Doubtless Napoleon, educated in the midst of those +convulsions which had shaken all the foundations of Christian morality, +did not clearly perceive the extent of the wrong. He unquestionably felt +that he was doing right; that the interests of France demanded the +sacrifice. But the penalty was none the less inevitable. The laws of God +can not be violated with impunity, even though the violation be a sin of +ignorance. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +THE DEATH OF JOSEPHINE. + +1810-1816 + +Marriage of Napoleon and Maria Louisa.--Hortense goes to +Navarre.--Letter from Josephine.--Louis Bonaparte abdicates.--Madame +Broc.--"Partant pour la Syrie."--Illness of Napoleon Louis.--Letter from +Eugene.--Napoleon arrives in Paris.--Letter from Josephine.--Death of +Madame Broc.--Hortense at Aix.--Disasters to Napoleon.--Embarrassment of +Maria Louisa.--Napoleon's last interview with Josephine.--Josephine goes +to Navarre.--Letter from Napoleon.--Napoleon abdicates.--Kindness of +Alexander.--Illness of Josephine.--Death of Josephine. + + +From the sad scenes described in the last chapter, Eugene returned to +Italy. Hortense, in the deepest state of dejection, remained for a short +time in Paris, often visiting her mother at Malmaison. About five months +after the divorce, Napoleon was again married to Maria Louisa, daughter +of the Emperor of Austria. The marriage ceremony was first celebrated +with great pomp in Vienna, Napoleon being represented by proxy; and +again the ceremony was repeated in Paris. It devolved upon Hortense, as +the daughter of Napoleon, and the most prominent lady of his household, +to receive with smiles of welcome and cordiality of greeting the +princess who took the place of her mother. Seldom has it been the lot of +a woman to pass through a more painful ordeal. Josephine, that she might +be far removed from the tumult of Paris, rejoicing upon the arrival of +Maria Louisa, retired from Malmaison to the more distant palace of +Navarre. Soon after the marriage, Hortense hastened to join her mother +there. There was at this time but little sympathy between Hortense and +her husband. The power of a great sorrow in the death of their eldest +son had for a short time brought them more closely together. There was, +however, but little compatibility in their tastes and dispositions; and +Hortense, deeming it her duty to comfort her mother, and finding more +congeniality in her society than in that of her husband, made but brief +visits to Holland. + +It is easy for the prosperous and the happy to be amiable. Hortense was +in a state of great physical debility, and almost every hope of her life +had been crushed out. The letters of Hortense to Josephine have not been +made public. We can only judge of their character from the replies which +her mother made. From these it would appear that scarcely did a ray of +joy illumine the gloomy path which she was destined to tread. On the 4th +of April, 1810, Josephine wrote to Hortense from Navarre: + +"I am touched, my dear Hortense, with all the griefs which you +experience. I hope that there is no more question of your return to +Holland, and that you will have a little repose. I know how much you +must suffer from these disappointments, but I entreat you not to allow +yourself to be affected by them. As long as any thing remains to me you +shall be mistress of your destiny; grief and happiness--you know that I +share all with you. + +"Take, then, a little courage, my dear daughter. We both of us have much +need of it. Often mine is too feeble, and sorrow makes me sick. But I +seek fortitude all the time, and with my utmost efforts." + +Soon after this Hortense, taking her two children with her, rejoined her +husband, King Louis, in Holland. Josephine wrote to her on the 10th of +May, from Navarre: + +"I have received your letter, my dear Hortense, and I see, with much +pain, that your health is not good. I hope that repose will re-establish +it; and I can not doubt that the king will contribute to it every thing +in his power, by his attentions and his attachments. Every day will lead +him to see more and more how much you merit. Take care of yourself, my +dear daughter; you know how much I have need of you. My heart has +suffered to a degree which has somewhat impaired my health. But +fortitude triumphs over sorrow, and I begin to be a little better." + +Again, on the 15th, the Empress wrote to Hortense, who was still in +Amsterdam: + +"I have been extremely anxious on account of your health, my dear +Hortense. I know that you have experienced several attacks of fever, and +I have need to be tranquilized. + +"Your letter of the 10th has just reached me, but it has not given me +the consolation I had hoped for. I see in it an abandonment of yourself, +which gives me great pain. How many ties are there which should bind you +to life! And if you have so little affection for me, is it then, when I +am no longer happy, that you can think, with so much tranquillity, of +leaving me? + +"Take courage, my daughter, and especially be careful of your health. I +am confident, as I have already sent you word, that the waters which +have been prescribed for you will do you good. Speak of it to the king +with frankness. He certainly will not refuse you any thing which may be +essential to your health. I am making all my arrangements to go to the +springs in the month of June. But I do not think that I shall go to +Aix-la-Chapelle, but rather to Aix in Savoy, which place I prefer. + +"Diversion of mind is necessary for my health, and I have more hope of +finding that in a place which I have never seen, and whose situation is +picturesque. The waters of Aix are particularly efficacious for the +nerves. I earnestly recommend you to take them instead of those of +Plombieres. We can pass the time together. Reply to me immediately upon +this subject. We can lodge together. It will not be necessary for you to +take many companions with you. I shall take but very few, intending to +travel incognito. To-morrow I go to Malmaison, where I shall remain +until I leave for the springs. I see with pleasure that the health of +Louis Napoleon is good, and that he has not suffered from the change of +air. Embrace him for me, my dear Hortense, and love me as tenderly as I +love you. + + "JOSEPHINE. + +"P. S.--Remember me to the king." + +For some unexplained reason, Hortense repaired first to the waters of +Plombieres. Her youngest son, Louis Napoleon, was sent to Malmaison, to +be with Josephine, who so fondly loved the child that she was quite +unwilling to be separated from him. Hortense took her elder child, +Napoleon Louis, with her to the springs. Here she was taken very sick. +On the 14th of June Josephine wrote her from Malmaison: + +"I did not know how much you had suffered, my dear Hortense, until you +were better; but I had a presentiment of it, and my anxiety induced me +to write to one of your ladies, to indicate to her the telegraph from +Nancy, as a prompt resource to call a physician. You ask me what I am +doing. I had yesterday a day of happiness. The Emperor came to see me. +His presence made me happy, although it renewed my grief. These are +emotions such as one could wish often to experience. + +"All the time he remained with me I had sufficient fortitude to restrain +the tears which I felt were ready to flow. But after he had left, I had +no longer power to restrain them, and I found myself very unhappy. He +was kind to me, and amiable as ever; and I hope that he will have read +in my heart all the affection and all the devotion with which I cherish +him. + +"I spoke to him of your situation, and he listened to me with interest. +He is of opinion that you should not return to Holland, the king not +having conducted as he would wish to have him. The opinion of the +Emperor is that you should take the waters for the necessary time; that +you should then write to your husband that it is the opinion of your +physicians that you should reside in a warm climate for some time, and +that consequently you are going to Italy. As to your son, the Emperor +will give orders that he is not to leave France. + +"I hope to see you, perhaps at Aix in Savoy, if the waters at Plombieres +do not agree with you; perhaps in Switzerland, where the Emperor has +permitted me to journey. We shall be able to appoint for ourselves a +rendezvous where we may meet. Then I will relate to you with the living +voice those details which it would require too much time to write. I +intend to leave next Monday for Aix in Savoy. I shall travel incognito, +under the name of Madame d'Aubery. Your son (Louis Napoleon), who is now +here, is very well. He has rosy cheeks and a fair skin." + +Immediately upon Josephine's arrival at Aix, she wrote again to +Hortense, who was still at Plombieres, a letter expressive of great +anxiety for her health and happiness, and entreating her to come and +join her at Aix. "How I regret," she wrote, "not having known, before my +departure, the true state of your health. I should have been at +Plombieres to take care of you, and I should not have experienced the +anxiety which tortures me at this great distance. My only consolation is +to think that you will soon come here. Let me soon see you. Alone, +desolate, far from all my friends, and in the midst of strangers, you +can judge how sad I am, and all the need I have of your presence." + +In July, Louis Bonaparte abdicated the throne of Holland. Hortense wrote +to her mother all the details of the event. Josephine engaged a cottage +at Aix for herself and Hortense. She wrote to Hortense on the 18th of +July: + +"I am delighted with the resolution you have taken to come here. I am +occupied, in preparing your lodgings, more pleasantly than I could have +hoped. A gentleman here has relinquished his house. I have accepted it, +for it is delightfully situated, and the view is enchanting. The houses +here are very small, but that which you will inhabit is larger. You can +ride anywhere in a caleche. You will be very glad to have your own. I +have mine, and I ride out in it every day. Adieu, my dear Hortense. I am +impatient for the moment when I can embrace you." + +As it was not deemed proper for the young princes, the sons of Hortense, +to leave France, they were both left at the chateau of St. Cloud, while +Hortense visited her mother at Aix. The devoted friend of Hortense, +Madame Broc, to whom we have previously alluded, accompanied the +ex-queen to Aix. The two friends frequently enjoyed long walks together +in that region full of picturesque scenery. Hortense had a very keen +appreciation of the beauties of nature, and had attained much excellence +as a landscape painter. Aix, from its deep retirement and physical +grandeur, became quite a favorite retreat. She had but little heart for +any society but that of the solitudes of nature. + +About the first of October Hortense returned, by the advice of the +Emperor, to Fontainebleau, where she was reunited to her two sons. +Josephine was, in the mean time, taking a short tour in Switzerland. We +have previously spoken of Hortense's taste for music, and her skill as a +composer. One of the airs, or _romances_, as they were called, composed +by Hortense still retains in Europe perhaps unsurpassed popularity. It +was termed familiarly _Beau Dunois_, or the Knight Errant. Its full +title was "_Partant pour la Syrie, le jeune et beau Dunois._"[E] + +[Footnote E: The writer remembers that forty years ago this was a +favorite song in this country. At Bowdoin College it was the popular +college song. It is now, in France, one of the favorite national airs.] + +Josephine, writing from Geneva to Hortense at Fontainebleau, says: "I +have heard sung all over Switzerland your romance of Beau Dunois! I have +even heard it played upon the piano with beautiful variations." +Josephine soon returned to Navarre, which at that time she preferred to +Malmaison, as it was farther removed from the capital, and from the +tumult of joy with which the birth of the child of Maria Louisa would be +received. On the 20th of March, 1811, all France resounded with +acclamations at the birth of the young King of Rome. Hortense, devoting +herself to her children, remained in Paris and its environs. In the +autumn of this year Josephine left Navarre, and returned to Malmaison to +spend the winter there. Hortense and her husband, though much estranged +from each other, and living most of the time apart, were still not +formally separated, and occasionally dwelt together. The ostensible +cause of the frequent absence of Hortense from her husband was the state +of her health, rendering it necessary for her to make frequent visits to +the springs, and the griefs of her mother requiring often the solace of +her daughter's presence. + +Louis Bonaparte owned a very beautiful estate, called St. Leu, in +France. Early in May, 1812, Napoleon left Paris for the fatal campaign +to Moscow. Just before his departure, he called at Malmaison and took an +affectionate leave of Josephine. Hortense was at St. Leu, with her +children. After a short visit which Josephine made to St. Leu, and which +she describes as delightful, she returned to Malmaison, and Hortense +went to the springs of Aix-la-Chapelle, taking her two children with +her. Here Napoleon Louis was attacked with scarlet fever, which caused +his mother and the Empress great anxiety. + +Josephine wrote to her, on the 28th of July: "You are very kind not to +have forgotten me in the midst of your anxiety for your son. Embrace for +me that dear child, and my little _Oui Oui_" (yes, yes).[F] Again she +wrote, two days after: "I hope that our dear Napoleon continues to +improve, and that the little _Oui Oui_ is doing well." Eugene, leaving +his amiable and much-loved wife and little family at Milan, had +accompanied Napoleon on his Russian campaign. During his absence +Josephine visited Milan, and there, as everywhere else, won the love of +all who saw her. Hortense, with her children, was most of the time in +Paris. Eugene, immediately after the terrible battle of Borodino, wrote +as follows to Josephine. His letter was dated September 8, 1812. + +[Footnote F: Oui Oui was the pet name given to little Louis Napoleon.] + +"MY GOOD MOTHER,--I write you from the field of battle. The Emperor has +gained a great victory over the Russians. The battle lasted thirteen +hours. I commanded the right, and hope that the Emperor will be +satisfied. + +"I can not sufficiently thank you for your attentions and kindness to my +little family. You are adored at Milan, as everywhere else. They write +me most charming accounts of you, and you have won the love of every one +with whom you have become acquainted. Adieu! Please give tidings of me +to my sister. I will write her to-morrow. Your affectionate son, + + "EUGENE." + +The latter part of October of this year, 1812, Napoleon commenced his +awful retreat from Moscow. Josephine and Hortense were much of the time +together in a state of indescribable suspense and anguish. At midnight, +on the 18th of December, Napoleon arrived in Paris. The disasters in +Russia had caused a new coalition of all the dynasties against France. +The Emperor of Austria, unmindful of the marriage of his daughter with +Napoleon, had joined the coalition with all the military powers of his +empire. The majestic army with which Napoleon had invaded Russia was +almost annihilated, and nearly two millions of bayonets were now +directed against the Republican Empire. + +All France rose with enthusiasm to co-operate with Napoleon in his +endeavors to resist the thronging foes. By the middle of April, nearly +three hundred thousand men were on the march from France towards +Germany, gallantly to meet the onswelling flood of more than a million +of bayonets. On the 15th of April, 1813, at four o'clock in the morning, +Napoleon left St. Cloud for the seat of war. The terrific campaign of +Lutzen, Bautzen, Dresden, and Leipsic ensued. + +Days of darkness were lowering around the Empire. The health of Hortense +rendered it necessary for her to go to the springs of Aix in Savoy. Her +two children were left with her mother at Malmaison. Under date of June +11, 1813, the Empress wrote to her daughter: + +"I have received your letter of the 7th, my dear Hortense. I see with +pleasure that you have already been benefited by the waters. I advise +you to continue them, in taking, as you do, a few days of repose. Be +very tranquil respecting your children. They are perfectly well. Their +complexion is of the lily and the rose. I can assure you that since they +have been here they have not had the slightest indisposition. I must +relate to you a very pretty response on the part of _Oui Oui_. The Abbe +Bertrand caused him to read a fable where there was a question about +_metamorphosis_. Being called to explain the word, he said to the abbe: + +"'I wish I could change myself into a little bird, I would then fly away +at the hour of your lesson; but I would return when M. Hase (his teacher +of German) arrived.' + +[Illustration: THE DEATH OF MADAME BROC.] + +"'But, prince,' remarked the abbe, 'it is not very polite for you to say +that to me.' 'Oh,' replied _Oui Oui_, 'that which I say is only for +the lesson, not for the man.' + +"Do you not think, with me, that that repartee was very _spirituelle_? +It was impossible for him to extricate himself from the embarrassment +with more delicacy and gracefulness. Your children were with me when I +received your letter. They were very happy to receive tidings from their +mamma. Continue to write often, my dear daughter, for their sake and for +mine. It is the only means to enable me to support your absence." + +While upon this visit to Aix, Hortense was accompanied by her +inseparable friend, Madame Broc. One day Hortense and Adele were +ascending a mountain, whose summit commanded a very magnificent view. +Their path led over a deep, dark, craggy ravine, which was swept by a +mountain torrent, foaming and roaring over the rocks. Alpine firs, +casting a gloomy shade, clung to its sides. A frail rustic bridge +crossed the chasm. Hortense with light step passed over in safety. +Madame Broc followed. A piercing shriek was heard, followed by a crash. +As Hortense turned round she saw that the bridge had given way, and her +companion was falling, torn and mangled, from rock to rock, till the +rushing torrent seized her and whirled her lifeless body down the gulf +in its wild waters. There was no possibility of rescue. For a moment the +fluttering robes of the unfortunate lady were seen in the midst of the +surging flood, and then the body was swept away far down the dismal +gorge. + +The shock which this frightful accident gave to the nerves of Hortense +was like that which she experienced at the death of her son. For a time +she seemed stunned by the blow, and reason tottered on its throne. +Instead of flying from Aix, she lingered there. As soon as she partially +recovered tranquillity, she sought to divert her grief by entering the +abodes of sickness, sorrow, and suffering in the neighborhood, +administering relief with her own hands. She established a hospital at +Aix from her own private funds for the indigent, and, like an angel of +mercy, clothed the naked and fed the hungry, and, while her own heart +was breaking, spoke words of consolation to the world-weary. + +In reference to this event Josephine wrote from Malmaison to Hortense at +Aix, under date of June 16, 1813: + +"What a horrible accident, my dear Hortense! What a friend you have +lost, and by what a frightful calamity! Since yesterday, when I heard of +it, I have been so horror-struck as not to be able to write to you. +Every moment I have before my eyes the fate of that poor Adele. Every +body is in tears for her. She was so beloved, so worthy of being +beloved, by her excellent qualities and by her attachment for you. I can +think of nothing but what condition you are in. I am so anxious, that I +send my chamberlain, M. Turpin, to you, that he may give me more certain +intelligence respecting your health. I shall make haste to leave myself +for a short time, that my presence and my care may be useful to you. I +feel keenly your grief. It is too well founded. But, my dear daughter, +think of your children, who are so worthy of your love. Preserve +yourself for them! Think also of your mother, who loves you tenderly. + + "JOSEPHINE." + +Thus blow after blow fell upon the heart of poor Hortense. Two days +after the above date Josephine wrote again, in reply to a letter from +her daughter: + +"Your letter has reanimated me, my dear Hortense. In the dejection in +which I was, I experienced true consolation in seeing your hand-writing, +and in being assured by yourself that you try to conquer your grief. I +fully realize how much it must cost you. Your letter, so tender, so +touching, has renewed my tears. Ever since this frightful accident I +have been sick. Alas! my dear daughter, you did not need this new trial. + +"I have embraced your children for you. They also are deeply afflicted, +and think of you very much. I am consoled in thinking that you will not +forget us. I thank you for it, my dear Hortense, my daughter tenderly +beloved." + +Again, a few days after, this affectionate mother wrote to her +grief-stricken child: + +"I can not permit your courier to leave without transmitting to you +intelligence from me; without letting you know how much I think of you. +I fear that you may surrender yourself too much to the grief which you +have experienced. I shall not feel reassured until M. Turpin shall have +returned. Think of your charming children, my dear Hortense. Think also +of a mother who adores you, and whom your life alone attaches to the +world. I hope that all these motives will give you courage to support +with more resignation the loss of a friend so tender. + +"I have just received a letter from Eugene. He fully shares your grief, +and desires that you should go and pass some time with him, if you have +sufficient strength. I should be happy to know that you were with him. +Your children are enjoying perfect health. They are truly interesting. +It would, indeed, touch your feelings if you knew how much they think of +you. Life is very precious, and one clings to it when one has such good +children. Adieu! my daughter. Think often of a mother who loves you +tenderly, and who tenderly embraces you." + +As nothing can more clearly reveal than do these confidential letters +the character of Hortense, and the domestic relations of this +illustrious and afflicted family, I insert them freely. They give us a +rare view of, those griefs of our suffering humanity which are found in +the palace no less than in the cottage. On the 29th of June, Josephine +wrote again to Hortense: + +"M. De Turpin has brought me your letter, my dear daughter. I see with +pain how sad and melancholy you still are. But it is, at least, a great +consolation to me to be assured that your health has not severely +suffered. Take courage, my dear Hortense. I hope that happiness will yet +be your lot. You have passed through many trials. Have not all persons +their griefs? The only difference is in the greater or less fortitude of +soul with which one supports them. That which ought particularly to +soothe your grief is that every one shares it with you. There are none +who do not regret our poor Adele as much for themselves as for you. + +"Your children mourn over your sorrows. Every thing announces in them an +excellent character, and a strong attachment for you. The more I see of +them the more I love them. Nevertheless, I do not spoil them. Feel easy +on their account. We follow exactly what you have prescribed for their +regimen and their studies. When they have done well during the week, I +invite them to breakfast and dine with me on the Sabbath. The proof that +they are in good health is that they have grown much. Napoleon had one +eye slightly inflamed yesterday from the sting of a gnat. He was not, +however, on that account, less well than usual. To-day it is no longer +manifest. It would not be worth mentioning, were we not in the habit of +rendering you an exact account of every thing which concerns them." + +On the 6th of August Josephine wrote as follows: + +"The beautiful days of summer have at last come with the month of +August. I hope that they will strengthen you, my dear daughter. Your +lungs will feel the influence of them, and the baths will do you much +more good. I see with pleasure that you have not forgotten the years of +your childhood, and you are very kind to your mother in recalling them +to her. I did right in making happy, too, children so good and so +affectionate, and they have since abundantly recompensed me for it. Your +children will do the same for you, my dear Hortense. Their hearts +resemble yours. They will never cease to love you. Their health is +wonderfully good, and they have never been more fresh and vigorous. + +"The little _Oui Oui_ is always gallant and amiable to me. Two days ago, +in seeing Madame Tascher leave us, who went to join her husband at the +springs, he said to Madame Boucheporn: + +"'She must love her husband very much indeed, to be willing, for him, to +leave my grandmother!' + +"Do you not think that was charming? On the same day he went to walk in +the woods of Butard. As soon as he was in the grand avenue, he threw his +hat in the air, shouting, 'Oh, how I love beautiful nature!'[G] + +[Footnote G: All will read with interest the above anecdotes of the +childhood of Louis Napoleon, now Emperor of France. His manhood has more +than fulfilled even the great promise of his early days. The stories +which have been circulated in this country respecting his early +dissipation are entirely unfounded. They originated in an error by which +another Prince Bonaparte was mistaken for him.] + +"Not a day passes in which some one is not amused by his amiability. The +children animate all around me. Judge if you have not rendered me happy +in leaving them with me. I can not be more happy until the day when I +shall see you." + +Disaster now followed disaster as the allied armies, in resistless +numbers, crowded down upon France. The carnage of Dresden and Leipsic +compelled the Emperor, in November, to return to Paris to raise +reinforcements. Though he had been victorious in almost every battle, +still the surging billows of his foes, flowing in upon him from all +directions, could not be rolled back. + +Maria Louisa was in a state of great embarrassment, and dreaded to see +her husband. Her father, the Emperor of Austria, at the head of an +immense army, was marching against France. When Napoleon, returning from +the terrific strife, entered her apartment, Maria Louisa threw herself +into his arms, and, unable to utter a word, burst into a flood of tears. +Napoleon, having completed his arrangements for still maintaining the +struggle, on the 25th of January, 1814, embraced his wife and child, and +returned to the seat of war. He never saw wife or child again. + +As his carriage left the door of the palace, the Emperor, pressing his +forehead with his hand, said to Caulaincourt, who accompanied him, "I +envy the lot of the meanest peasant of my empire. At my age he has +discharged his debts to his country, and may remain at home enjoying the +society of his wife and children, while I--I must fly to the camp and +engage in the strife of war. Such is the mandate of my inexplicable +destiny." + +After a moment's reverie, he added, "My good Louise is gentle and +submissive. I can depend on her. Her love and fidelity will never fail +me. In the current of events there may arise circumstances which will +decide the fate of an empire. In that case I hope that the daughter of +the Caesars will be inspired by the spirit of her grandmother, Maria +Theresa." + +The struggle which ensued was short but awful. In the midst of these +terrific scenes Napoleon kept up an almost daily correspondence with +Josephine. On one occasion, when the surgings of the battle brought him +within a few miles of Malmaison, he turned aside and sought a hurried +interview with his most faithful friend. It was their last meeting. +Napoleon took the hand of Josephine, and, gazing tenderly upon her, +said: + +"Josephine, I have been as fortunate as ever was man upon the face of +this earth. But in this hour, when a storm is gathering over my head, I +have not in this wide world any one but you upon whom I can repose." + +Soon after this, as the seat of war approached nearer to Paris, +Josephine found it necessary to retire to Navarre. She wrote to +Hortense, on the 28th of March: "To-morrow I shall leave for Navarre. I +have but sixteen men for a guard, and all wounded. I shall take care of +them; but in truth I have no need of them. I am so unhappy in being +separated from my children that I am indifferent respecting my fate." + +At eight o'clock in the morning of the 29th Josephine took her carriage +for Navarre. The Allies were rapidly approaching Paris, and a state of +indescribable consternation filled the streets of the metropolis. +Several times on the route the Empress was alarmed by the cry that the +Cossacks were coming. The day was dark and stormy, and the rain fell in +torrents. The pole of the carriage broke as the wheels sunk in a rut. +Just at that moment a troop of horsemen appeared in the distance. The +Empress, in her terror, supposing them to be the barbarous Cossacks, +leaped from the carriage and fled through the fields. Was there ever a +more cruel reverse of fortune? Josephine, the Empress of France, the +admired of all Europe, in the frenzy of her alarm, rushing through the +storm and the rain to seek refuge in the woods! The troops proved to be +French. Her attendants followed and informed her of the mistake. She +again entered her carriage, and uttered scarcely a word during the rest +of her journey. Upon entering the palace of Navarre, she threw herself +upon a couch, exclaiming: + +"Surely Bonaparte is ignorant of what is passing within sight of the +gates of Paris, or, if he knows, how cruel the thoughts which must now +agitate his breast." + +In a hurried letter which the Emperor wrote Josephine from Brienne, just +after a desperate engagement with his vastly outnumbering foes, he said: + +"On beholding the scenes where I had passed my boyhood, and comparing my +peaceful condition then with the agitation and terrors I now experience, +I several times said, in my own mind, 'I have sought to meet death in +many conflicts. I can no longer fear it. To me death would now be a +blessing. But I would once more see Josephine.'" + +Immediately after Josephine's arrival at Navarre, she wrote to Hortense, +urging that she should join her at that place. In the letter she said: + +"I can not tell you how sad I am. I have had fortitude in afflicted +positions in which I have found myself, and I shall have enough to bear +my reverses of fortune; but I have not sufficient to sustain me under +absence from my children, and uncertainty respecting their fate. For two +days I have not ceased to weep. Send me tidings respecting yourself and +your children. If you can learn any thing respecting Eugene and his +family, inform me." + +Two days after this, Hortense, with her two sons, joined her mother at +Navarre. Paris was soon in the hands of the Allies. The Emperor +Alexander invited Josephine and Hortense to return to Malmaison, where +he established a guard for their protection. Soon after Napoleon +abdicated at Fontainebleau. Upon the eve of his departure for Elba, he +wrote to Josephine: + +"I wrote to you on the 8th. Possibly you have not received my letter. It +may have been intercepted. At present communications must be +re-established. I have formed my resolution. I have no doubt that this +billet will reach you. I will not repeat what I said to you. Then I +lamented my situation. Now I congratulate myself thereon. My head and +spirit are freed from an enormous weight. My fall is great, but at least +is useful, as men say. Adieu! my dear Josephine. Be resigned as I am, +and ever remember him who never forgets and never will forget you." + +Josephine returned to Malmaison, and Hortense repaired to Rambouillet, +to join Maria Louisa in these hours of perplexity and disaster. As soon +as Maria Louisa set out under an Austrian escort for Vienna, Hortense +rejoined her mother at Malmaison. Alexander was particularly attentive +to Josephine and Hortense. He had loved Napoleon, and his sympathies +were now deeply excited for his afflicted family. Through his kind +offices, the beautiful estate of St. Leu, which Louis Bonaparte had +owned, and which he had transferred to his wife, was erected into a +duchy for her advantage, and the right of inheritance was vested in her +children. The ex-Queen of Holland now took the title of the Duchess of +St. Leu. + +On the 10th of May the Emperor Alexander dined with Josephine at +Malmaison. Grief, and a season unusually damp and cheerless, had +seriously undermined her health. Notwithstanding acute bodily suffering, +she exerted herself to the utmost to entertain her guests. At night she +was worse and at times was delirious. Not long after this, Alexander and +the King of Prussia were both guests to dine at Malmaison. The health +of Josephine was such that she was urged by her friends not to leave her +bed. She insisted, however, upon dressing to receive the allied +sovereigns. Her sufferings increased, and she was obliged to retire, +leaving Hortense to supply her place. + +The next day Alexander kindly called to inquire for her health. Hour +after hour she seemed to be slowly failing. On the morning of the 28th +she fell into a lethargic sleep, which lasted for five hours, and her +case was pronounced hopeless. Eugene and Hortense were at her side. The +death-hour had come. The last rites of religion were administered to the +dying. The Emperor Alexander was also in this chamber of grief. +Josephine was perfectly rational. She called for the portrait of +Napoleon, and, gazing upon it long and tenderly, breathed the following +prayer: + +"O God, watch over Napoleon while he remains in the desert of this +world. Alas! though he hath committed great faults, hath he not expiated +them by great sufferings? Just God, thou hast looked into his heart, and +hast seen by how ardent a desire for useful and durable improvements he +was animated. Deign to approve this my last petition, and may this +image of my husband bear me witness that my latest wish and my latest +prayer were for him and for my children." + +Her last words were "_Island of Elba--Napoleon._" It was the 29th of +May, 1814. For four days her body remained laid out in state, surrounded +with numerous tapers. "Every road," writes a French historian, "from +Paris and its environs to Ruel was crowded with trains of mourners. Sad +groups thronged all the avenues; and I could distinguish tears even in +the splendid equipages which came rattling across the court-yard." + +More than twenty thousand persons--monarchs, nobles, statesmen, and +weeping peasants--thronged the chateau of Malmaison to take the last +look of the remains of one who had been universally beloved. The funeral +took place at noon of the 2d of June. The remains were deposited in the +little church of Ruel. A beautiful mausoleum of white marble, +representing the Empress kneeling in her coronation robes, bears the +simple inscription: + + EUGENE AND HORTENSE + TO + JOSEPHINE. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +THE SORROWS OF EXILE. + +1814-1815 + +Eugene meets Louis XVIII.--Hortense in Paris.--Interest of Napoleon in +the princes.--Anecdote of Louis Napoleon.--Removal of the remains of +Napoleon Charles.--Titles of the princes.--Conversation with the +princes.--Louis Bonaparte demands the children.--Hortense meets the +Emperor.--Reinauguration of the Emperor.--Hortense meets +Napoleon.--Departure of the Emperor.--Anger of the Royalists.--Hostility +of the Allies.--Driven into exile.--Takes refuge at Aix.--Separation of +the princes.--Continued persecutions.--Hospitality of the +Swiss.--Anguish of Hortense.--Retires to the Lake of Constance.--Prince +Eugene.--Testimony of Lady Blessington. + + +There probably never was a more tender, loving mother than Josephine. +And it is not possible that any children could be more intensely devoted +to a parent than were Eugene and Hortense to their mother. The grief of +these bereaved children was heart-rending. Poor Hortense was led from +the grave almost delirious with woe. Etiquette required that Eugene, +passing through Paris, should pay his respects to Louis XVIII. The king +had remarkable tact in paying compliments. Eugene announced himself +simply as General Beauharnais. He thanked the king for the kind +treatment extended by the allied monarchs to his mother and his sister. +Hortense was also bound, by the laws of courtesy, to call upon the king +in expression of gratitude. They were both received with so much +cordiality as to expose the king to the accusation of having become a +rank Bonapartist. On the other hand, Eugene and Hortense were censured +by the partisan press for accepting any favors from the Allies. After +the interview of Louis XVIII. with Hortense, in which she thanked him +for the Duchy of St. Leu, the king said to the Duke de Duras: "Never +have I seen a woman uniting such grace to such distinguished manners; +and I am a judge of women." + +It is very difficult to ascertain with accuracy the movements of +Hortense during the indescribable tumult of the next few succeeding +months. The Duke of Rovigo says that Hortense reproached the Emperor +Alexander for turning against Napoleon, for whom he formerly had +manifested so much friendship. But the Emperor replied: "I was compelled +to yield to the wishes of the Allies. As for myself personally, I wash +my hands of every thing which has been done." + +The death of Josephine and the departure of Eugene left Hortense, +bereaved and dejected, almost alone in Paris with her two children. +Their intelligence and vivacity had deeply interested Alexander and +other royal guests, who had cordially paid their tribute of respect and +sympathy to their mother. Napoleon had taken a deep interest in the +education of the two princes, as he was aware of the frailty of life, +and as the death of the King of Rome would bring them in the direct line +to the inheritance of the crown. + +The Emperor generally breakfasted alone when at home, at a small table +in his cabinet. The two sons of Hortense were frequently admitted, that +they might interest him with their infant prattle. The Emperor would +tell them a story, and have them repeat it after him, that he might +ascertain the accuracy of their memory. Any indication of intellectual +superiority excited in his mind the most lively satisfaction. +Mademoiselle Cochelet, who was the companion and reader of Queen +Hortense, relates the following anecdote of Louis Napoleon: + +"The two princes were in intelligence quite in advance of their years. +This proceeded from the care which their mother gave herself to form +their characters and to develop their faculties. They were, however, too +young to understand all the strange scenes which were transpiring around +them. As they had always beheld in the members of their own family, in +their uncles and aunts, kings and queens, when the Emperor of Russia and +the King of Prussia were first introduced to them, the little Louis +Napoleon asked if they were also their uncles, and if they were to be +called so. + +"'No,' was the reply; 'they are not your uncles. You will simply address +them as sire.' + +"'But are not all kings our uncles?' inquired the young prince. + +"'Far from being your uncle,' was the reply, 'they have come, in their +turn, as conquerors.' + +"'Then they are the enemies,' said Louis Napoleon, 'of our uncle, the +Emperor. Why, then, do they embrace us?' + +"'Because the Emperor of Russia, whom you see, is a generous enemy. He +wishes to be useful to you and to your mamma. But for him you would no +longer have any thing; and the condition of your uncle, the Emperor, +would be more unhappy.' + +"'We ought, then, to love this Emperor, ought we?' + +"'Yes, certainly,' was the reply; 'for you owe him your gratitude.' + +"The next time the Emperor Alexander called upon Hortense, little Louis +Napoleon, who was naturally very retiring and reticent, took a ring +which his uncle Eugene had given him, and, stealing timidly over to +Alexander, slipped the ring into his hand, and, half frightened, ran +away with all speed. Hortense called the child to her, and asked him +what he had done. Blushing deeply, the warm-hearted boy said: + +"'I have nothing but the ring. I wanted to give it to the Emperor, +because he is good to my mamma.' + +"Alexander cordially embraced the prince, and, putting the ring upon his +watch-chain, promised that he would always wear it." + +The remains of Napoleon Charles, who had died in Holland, had been +deposited, by direction of Napoleon, in the vaults of St. Denis, the +ancient burial-place of the kings of France. So great was the jealousy +of the Bourbons of the name of Napoleon, and so unwilling were they to +recognize in any way the right of the people to elect their own +sovereign, that the government of Louis XVIII. ordered the body to be +immediately removed. Hortense transferred the remains of her child to +the church of St. Leu. + +Notwithstanding this jealousy, Alexander and the King of Prussia could +not ignore the imperial character of Napoleon, whose government they had +recognized, and with whom they had exchanged ambassadors and formed +treaties: neither could they deny that the King of Holland had won a +crown recognized by all Europe. They and the other crowned heads, who +paid their respects to Hortense, in accordance with the etiquette of +courts, invariably addressed each of the princes as _Your Royal +Highness_. Hortense had not accustomed them to this homage. She had +always addressed the eldest as Napoleon, the youngest as Louis. It was +her endeavor to impress them with the idea that they could be nothing +more than their characters entitled them to be. But after this, when the +Bourbon Government assumed that Napoleon was an usurper, and that +popular suffrage could give no validity to the crown, then did Hortense, +in imitation of Napoleon at St. Helena, firmly resist the insolence. +Then did she teach her children that they were princes, that they were +entitled to the throne of France by the highest of all earthly +authority--the almost unanimous voice of the French people--and that the +Bourbons, trampling popular rights beneath their feet, and ascending the +throne through the power of foreign bayonets, were usurpers. + +[Illustration: HORTENSE AND HER CHILDREN.] + +Madame Cochelet, the reader of Queen Hortense, writes, in her +interesting memoirs: "I have often seen her take her two boys on her +knees, and talk with them in order to form their ideas. It was a curious +conversation to listen to, in those days of the splendors of the empire, +when those children were the heirs of so many crowns, which the Emperor +was distributing to his brothers, his officers, his allies. Having +questioned them on every thing they knew already, she passed in review +whatever they should know besides, if they were to rely upon their own +resources for a livelihood. + +"'Suppose you had no money,' said Hortense to the eldest, 'and were alone +in the world, what would you do, Napoleon, to support yourself?' + +"'I would become a soldier,' was the reply, 'and would fight so well that +I should soon be made an officer.' + +"'And Louis,' she inquired of the younger, 'how would you provide for +yourself?' + +"The little prince, who was then but about five years old, had listened +very thoughtfully to all that was said. Knowing that the gun and the +knapsack were altogether beyond his strength, he replied: + +"'I would sell violet bouquets, like the little boy at the gate of the +Tuileries, from whom we purchase them every day.'" + +The boy is father of the man. Such has been Louis Napoleon from that +hour to this; the quiet student--hating war, loving peace--all devoted +to the arts of utility and of beauty. He has been the great pacificator +of Europe. But for his unwearied efforts, the Continent would have been +again and again in a blaze of war. As all present at this conversation +smiled, in view of the unambitious projects of the prince, Hortense +replied: + +"This is one of my lessons. The misfortune of princes born on the throne +is that they think every thing is their due; that they are formed of a +different nature from other men, and therefore never feel under any +obligations to them. They are ignorant of human miseries, or think +themselves beyond their reach. Thus, when misfortunes come, they are +surprised, terrified, and always remain sunk below their destinies." + +The Allies retired, with their conquering armies. Hortense remained with +her children in Paris. Louis Bonaparte, sick and dejected, took up his +residence in Italy. He demanded the children. A mother's love clung to +them with tenacity which could not be relaxed. There was an appeal to +the courts. Hortense employed the most eminent counsel to plead her +cause. Eleven months passed away from the time of the abdication; and +upon the very day when the court rendered its decision, that the father +should have the eldest child, and the mother the youngest, Napoleon +landed at Cannes, and commenced his almost miraculous march to Paris. +The sublime transactions of the "One Hundred Days" caused all other +events, for a time, to be forgotten. + +Hortense was at the Tuileries, one of the first to greet the Emperor as +he was borne in triumph, upon the shoulders of the people, up the grand +staircase. "Sire," said Hortense, "I had a presentiment that you would +return, and I waited for you here." The Allies had robbed the Emperor of +his son, and the child was a prisoner with his mother in the palaces of +Vienna. Very cordially Napoleon received his two nephews, and kept them +continually near him. With characteristic devotion to the principle of +universal suffrage, Napoleon submitted the question of his re-election +to the throne of the empire to the French people. More than a million of +votes over all other parties responded in the affirmative. + +On the first of June, 1815, the Emperor was reinaugurated on the field +of Mars, and the eagles were restored to the banners. It was one of the +most imposing pageants Paris had ever witnessed. Hundreds of thousands +crowded that magnificent parade-ground. As the Emperor presented the +eagles to the army, a roar as of reverberating thunder swept along the +lines. By the side of the Emperor, upon the platform, sat his two young +nephews. He presented them separately to the departments and the army as +in the direct line of inheritance. This scene must have produced a +profound impression upon the younger child, Louis Napoleon, who was so +thoughtful, reflective, and pensive. + +In the absence of Maria Louisa, who no longer had her liberty, Hortense +presided at the Tuileries. Inheriting the spirit of her mother, she was +unfailing in deeds of kindness to the many Royalists who were again +ruined by the return of Napoleon. Her audience-chamber was ever crowded +by those who, through her, sought to obtain access to the ear of the +Emperor. Napoleon was overwhelmed by too many public cares to give much +personal attention to private interests. + +The evening before Napoleon left his cabinet for his last campaign, +which resulted in the disaster at Waterloo, he was in his cabinet +conversing with Marshal Soult. The door was gently opened, and little +Louis Napoleon crept silently into the apartment. His features were +swollen with an expression of the profoundest grief, which he seemed to +be struggling in vain to repress. Tremblingly he approached the Emperor, +and, throwing himself upon his knees, buried his face in his two hands +in the Emperor's lap, and burst into a flood of tears. + +"What is the matter, Louis?" said the Emperor, kindly; "why do you +interrupt me, and why do you weep so?" + +The young prince was so overcome with emotion that for some time he +could not utter a syllable. At last, in words interrupted by sobs, he +said, + +"Sire, my governess has told me that you are going away to the war. Oh! +do not go! do not go!" + +The Emperor, much moved, passed his fingers through the clustering +ringlets of the child, and said, tenderly, + +"My child, this is not the first time that I have been to the war. Why +are you so afflicted? Do not fear for me. I shall soon come back +again." + +"Oh! my dear uncle," exclaimed the child, weeping convulsively; "those +wicked Allies wish to kill you. Let me go with you, dear uncle, let me +go with you!" + +The Emperor made no reply, but, taking Louis Napoleon upon his knee, +pressed him to his heart with much apparent emotion. Then calling +Hortense, the mother of the child, he said to her: + +"Take away my nephew, Hortense, and reprimand his governess, who, by her +inconsiderate words, has so deeply excited his sympathies." + +Then, after a few affectionate words addressed to the young prince, he +was about to hand him to his mother, when he perceived that Marshal +Soult was much moved by the scene. + +"Embrace the child, Marshal," said the Emperor; "he has a warm heart and +a noble soul. _Perhaps he is to be the hope of my race!_" + +Napoleon returned from the disaster at Waterloo with all his hopes +blighted. Hortense hastened to meet him, and to unite her fate with his. +"It is my duty," she said. "The Emperor has always treated me as his +child, and I will try, in return, to be his devoted and grateful +daughter." In conversation with Hortense, Napoleon remarked: "Give +myself up to Austria! Never. She has seized upon my wife and my son. +Give myself up to Russia! That would be to a single man. But to give +myself up to England, that would be to throw myself upon a _people_." +His friends assured him that, though he might rely upon the honor of the +British _people_, he could not trust to the British _Government_. +Hortense repaired to Malmaison with her two sons, where the Emperor soon +rejoined her. "She restrained her own tears," writes Baron Fleury, +"reminding us, with the wisdom of a philosopher and the sweetness of an +angel, that we ought to surmount our sorrows and regrets, and submit +with docility to the decrees of Providence." + +It was necessary for Napoleon to come to a prompt decision. The Allies +now nearly surrounded Paris. On the 29th of June the Emperor sat in his +library at Malmaison, exhausted with care and grief. Hortense, though +with swollen eyes and a heart throbbing with anguish, did every thing +which a daughter's love could suggest to minister to the solace of her +afflicted father. Just before his departure to Rochefort, where he +intended to embark for some foreign land, he called for his nephews, to +take leave of them. It was a very affecting scene. Both of the children +wept bitterly. The soul of the little, pensive Louis Napoleon was +stirred to its utmost depths. He clung frantically to his uncle, +screaming and insisting that he should go and "fire off the cannon!" It +was necessary to take him away by force. + +"The Emperor was departing almost without money. Hortense, after many +entreaties, succeeded in making him accept her beautiful necklace, +valued at eight hundred thousand francs. She sewed it up in a silk +ribbon, which he concealed in his dress. He did not, however, find +himself obliged to part with this jewel till on his death-bed, when he +intrusted it to Count Montholon, with orders to restore it to Hortense. +This devoted man acquitted himself successfully of this commission."[H] + +[Footnote H: Life of Napoleon III., by Edward Roth.] + +Upon the departure of Napoleon, Hortense, with her children, returned to +Paris. She was entreated by her friends to seek refuge in the interior +of France, as the Royalists were much exasperated against her in +consequence of her reception of the Emperor. They assured her that the +army and the people would rally around her and her children as the +representatives of the Empire. But Hortense replied: + +"I must now undergo whatever fortune has in store for me. I am nothing +now. I can not pretend to make the people think that I rally the troops +around me. If I had been Empress of France, I would have done every +thing to prolong the defense. But now it does not become me to mingle my +destinies with such great interests, and I must be resigned." + +In a few days the allied armies were again in possession of Paris. The +Royalists assumed so threatening an attitude towards her, that she felt +great solicitude for the safety of her children. Many persons kindly +offered to give them shelter. But she was unwilling to compromise her +friends by receiving from them such marks of attention. A kind-hearted +woman, by the name of Madame Tessier, kept a hose establishment on the +Boulevard Montmartre. The children were intrusted to her care, where +they would be concealed from observation, and where they would still be +perfectly comfortable. + +Hortense had her residence in a hotel on the Rue Cerutti. The Austrian +Prince Schwartzenberg occupied the same hotel, and Hortense hoped that +this circumstance would add to her security. But the Allies were now +greatly exasperated against the French people, who had so cordially +received the Emperor on his return from Elba. Even the Emperor Alexander +treated Hortense with marked coldness. He called upon Prince +Schwartzenberg without making any inquiries for her. + +The hostility of the Allies towards this unfortunate lady was so great, +that on the 19th of July Baron de Muffling, who commanded Paris for the +Allies, received an order to notify the Duchess of St. Leu that she must +leave Paris within two hours. An escort of troops was offered her, which +amounted merely to an armed guard, to secure her departure and to mark +her retreat. As Hortense left Paris for exile, she wrote a few hurried +lines to a friend, in which she said: + +"I have been obliged to quit Paris, having been positively expelled from +it by the allied armies. So greatly am I, a feeble woman, with her two +children, dreaded, that the enemy's troops are posted all along our +route, as they say, to protect our passage, but in reality to insure our +departure." + +Prince Schwartzenberg, who felt much sympathy for Hortense, accompanied +her, as a companion and a protector, on her journey to the frontiers of +France. Little Louis Napoleon, though then but seven years of age, +seemed fully to comprehend the disaster which had overwhelmed them, and +that they were banished from their native land. With intelligence far +above his years he conversed with his mother, and she found great +difficulty in consoling him. It was through the influence of such +terrible scenes as these that the character of that remarkable man has +been formed. + +It was nine o'clock in the evening when Hortense and her two little +boys, accompanied by Prince Schwartzenberg, reached the Chateau de +Bercy, where they passed the night. The next morning the journey was +resumed towards the frontiers. It was the intention of Hortense to take +refuge in a very retired country-seat which she owned at Pregny, in +Switzerland, near Geneva. At some points on her journey the Royalists +assailed her with reproaches. Again she was cheered by loudly-expressed +manifestations of the sympathy and affection of the people. At Dijon the +multitude crowding around her carriage, supposing that she was being +conveyed into captivity, gallantly attempted a rescue. They were only +appeased by the assurance of Hortense that she was under the protection +of a friend. + +Scarcely had this melancholy wanderer entered upon her residence at +Pregny, with the title of the Duchess of St. Leu, ere the French +minister in Switzerland commanded the Swiss government to issue an order +expelling her from the Swiss territory. Switzerland could not safely +disregard the mandate of the Bourbons of France, who were sustained in +their enthronement by allied Europe. Thus pursued by the foes of the +Empire, Hortense repaired to Aix, in Savoy. Here she met a cordial +welcome. The people remembered her frequent visits to those celebrated +springs, her multiplied charities, and here still stood, as an +ever-during memorial of her kindness of heart, the hospital which she +had founded and so munificently endowed. The magistrates at Aix formally +invited her to remain at Aix so long as the Allied powers would allow +her to make that place her residence. + +It seemed as though Hortense were destined to drain the cup of sorrow to +its dregs. Aix was the scene of the dreadful death of Madame Broc, +which we have above described. Every thing around her reminded her of +that terrible calamity, and oppressed her spirits with the deepest +gloom. And, to add unutterably to her anguish, an agent arrived at Aix +from her husband, Louis Bonaparte, furnished with all competent legal +powers to take custody of the eldest child and convey him to his father +in Italy. It will be remembered that the court had decided that the +father should have the eldest and the mother the youngest child. The +stormy events of the "Hundred Days" had interrupted all proceedings upon +this matter. + +This separation was a terrible trial not only to the mother, but to the +two boys. The peculiarities of their dispositions and temperaments +fitted them to assimilate admirably together. Napoleon Louis, the elder, +was bold, resolute, high-spirited. Louis Napoleon, the younger, was +gentle, thoughtful, and pensive. The parting was very affecting--Louis +Napoleon throwing his arms around his elder brother, and weeping as +though his heart would break. The thoughtful child, thus companionless, +now turned to his mother with the full flow of his affectionate nature. +A French writer, speaking of these scenes, says: + +"The soul of Hortense had been already steeped in misfortune, but her +power of endurance seemed at length exhausted. When she had embraced her +son for the last time, and beheld the carriage depart which bore him +away, a deep despondency overwhelmed her spirits. Her very existence +became a dream; and it seemed a matter of indifference to her whether +her lot was to enjoy or to suffer, to be persecuted, respected, or +forgotten." + +And now came another blow upon the bewildered brain and throbbing heart +of Hortense. The Allies did not deem it safe to allow Hortense and her +child to reside so near the frontiers of France. They knew that the +French people detested the Bourbons. They knew that all France, upon the +first favorable opportunity, would rise in the attempt to re-establish +the Empire. The Sardinian government was accordingly ordered to expel +Hortense from Savoy. Where should she go? It seemed as though all Europe +would refuse a home to this bereaved, heart-broken lady and her child. +She remembered her cousin, Stephanie Beauharnais, her schoolmate, whom +her mother and Napoleon had so kindly sheltered and provided for in the +days when the Royalists were in exile. Stephanie was the lady to whom +her father had been so tenderly attached. She was now in prosperity and +power, the wife of the Grand Duke of Baden. Hortense decided to seek a +residence at Constance, in the territory of Baden, persuaded that the +duke and duchess would not drive her, homeless and friendless, from +their soil, out again into the stormy world. + +To reach Baden it was necessary to pass through Switzerland. The Swiss +government, awed by France, at first refused to give her permission to +traverse their territory. But the Duke of Richelieu intervened in her +favor, and, by remonstrating against such cruelty, obtained the +necessary passport. It was now the month of November. Cold storms swept +the snow-clad hills and the valleys. Hortense departed from Aix, taking +with her her son Louis Napoleon, his private tutor, the Abbe Bertrand, +her reader, Mademoiselle Cochelet, and an attendant. She wished to spend +the first night at her own house, at Pregny; but even this slight +gratification was forbidden her. + +The police were instructed to watch her carefully all the way. At Morat +she was even arrested, and detained a prisoner two days, until +instructions should be received from the distant authorities. At last +she reached the city of Constance. But even here she found that her +sorrows had not yet terminated. Neither the Duke of Baden nor the +Duchess ventured to welcome her. On the contrary, immediately upon her +arrival, she received an official notification that, however anxious the +grand duke and duchess might be to afford her hospitable shelter, they +were under the control of higher powers, and they must therefore request +her to leave the duchy without delay. It was now intimated that the only +countries in Europe which would be allowed to afford her a shelter were +Austria, Prussia, or Russia. + +The storms of winter were sweeping those northern latitudes. The health +of Hortense was extremely frail. She was fatherless and motherless, +alienated from her husband, bereaved of one of her children, and all her +family friends dispersed by the ban of exile. She had no kind friends to +consult, and she knew not which way to turn. Thus distracted and +crushed, she wrote an imploring letter to her cousins, the Duke and +Duchess of Baden, stating the feeble condition of her health, the +inclement weather, her utter friendlessness, and exhaustion from +fatigue and sorrow, and begging permission to remain in Constance until +the ensuing spring. + +In reply she received a private letter from the grand duchess, her +cousin Stephanie, assuring her of her sympathy, and of the cordiality +with which she would openly receive and welcome her, if she did but dare +to do so. In conclusion, the duchess wrote: "Have patience, and do not +be uneasy. Perhaps all will be right by spring. By that time passions +will be calmed, and many things will have been forgotten." + +Though this letter did not give any positive permission to remain, it +seemed at least to imply that soldiers would not be sent to transport +her, by violence, out of the territory. Somewhat cheered by this +assurance, she rented a small house, in a very retired situation upon +the western shore of the Lake of Constance. Though in the disasters of +the times she had lost much property, she still had an ample competence. +Her beloved brother, Eugene, it will be remembered, had married a +daughter of the King of Bavaria. He was one of the noblest of men and +the best of brothers. As soon as possible, he took up his residence near +his sister. He also was in the enjoyment of an ample fortune. Thus +there seemed to be for a short time a lull in those angry storms which +for so long had risen dark over the way of Hortense. + +In this distant and secluded home, upon the borders of the lake, +Hortense and her small harmonious household passed the winter of 1815. +Though she mourned over the absence of her elder child, little Louis +Napoleon cheered her by his bright intelligence and his intense +affectionateness. Prince Eugene often visited his sister; and many of +the illustrious generals and civilians, who during the glories of the +Empire had filled Europe with their renown, were allured as occasional +guests to the home of this lovely woman, who had shared with them in the +favors and the rebuffs of fortune. + +Hortense devoted herself assiduously to the education of her son. She +understood thoroughly the political position of France. Foreigners, with +immense armies, had invaded the kingdom, and forced upon the reluctant +people a detested dynasty. Napoleon was Emperor by popular election. The +people still, with almost entire unanimity, desired the Empire. And +Hortense knew full well that, so soon as the French people could get +strength to break the chains with which foreign armies had bound them, +they would again drive out the Bourbons and re-establish the Empire. + +Hortense consequently never allowed her son to forget the name he bore, +or the political principles which his uncle, the Emperor, had borne upon +his banners throughout Europe. The subsequent life of this child has +proved how deep was the impression produced upon his mind, as pensively, +silently he listened to the conversation of the statesmen and the +generals who often visited his mother's parlor. Lady Blessington about +this time visited Hortense, and she gives the following account of the +impression which the visit produced upon her mind: + +"Though prepared to meet in Hortense Bonaparte, ex-Queen of Holland, a +woman possessed of no ordinary powers of captivation, she has, I +confess, far exceeded my expectations. I have seen her frequently, and +spent two hours yesterday in her society. Never did time fly away with +greater rapidity than while listening to her conversation, and hearing +her sing those charming little French _romances_, written and composed +by herself, which, though I had often admired them, never previously +struck me as being so expressive and graceful as they now proved to be. + +"I know not that I ever encountered a person with so fine a tact or so +quick an apprehension as the Duchess of St. Leu. These give her the +power of rapidly forming an appreciation of those with whom she comes in +contact, and of suiting the subjects of conversation to their tastes and +comprehensions. Thus, with the grave she is serious, with the lively +gay, and with the scientific she only permits just a sufficient extent +of her _savoir_ to be revealed to encourage the development of theirs. + +"She is, in fact, all things to all men, without losing a single portion +of her own natural character; a peculiarity of which seems to be the +desire, as well as the power, of sending all away who approach her +satisfied with themselves and delighted with her. Yet there is no +unworthy concession of opinions made, or tacit acquiescence yielded, to +conciliate popularity. She assents to or dissents from the sentiments of +others with a mildness and good sense which gratifies those with whom +she coincides, or disarms those from whom she differs." + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +PEACEFUL DAYS, YET SAD. + +1816-1831 + +Visits the Baths of Geiss.--Watchfulness of the Allies.--The retreat of +Arenemberg.--The princes enter college.--Loveliness of Hortense.--Letter +from a visitor.--Social life at Arenemberg.--Scenery at +Arenemberg.--Pleasant neighbors.--An evening scene.--Theatric +entertainments.--Taste and culture.--Accomplishments of +Hortense.--Society at Arenemberg.--Amiability of Hortense.--The city +home of Hortense and her son.--Testimony of an English lady.--The +Duchess of St. Leu.--Pursuits of Prince Louis.--Madame Recamier meets +Hortense.--Interview with Madame Recamier.--Arrangements for +meeting.--Difficulty between Napoleon and Madame Recamier.--Banishment +of Madame de Stael.--Cause of Madame Recamier's banishment.--She returns +to Paris.--Hortense exiled.--Interview at the Coliseum.--Subsequent +meetings.--Letter from Hortense.--Disgrace of Chateaubriand.--Revolution +in France.--Attempt of the Italian patriots.--Escape of Louis +Napoleon.--They seek refuge in France.--The vicissitudes of +life.--Obligations of Louis Philippe to Hortense.--The Duchess of +Bourbon.--Letter to Hortense. + + +As the spring of the year 1816 opened upon Europe, Hortense was found +residing undisturbed, with her son, Louis Napoleon, in their secluded +home upon the shores of Lake Constance. The Allies seemed no longer +disposed to disturb her. Still, she had many indications that she was +narrowly watched. She was much cheered by a visit which she made to her +brother at Berg, on the Wurmsee, where she was received with that warmth +of affection which her wounded heart so deeply craved. Her health being +still very frail, she, by the advice of her physicians, spent the heat +of summer at the baths of Geiss, among the mountains of Appenzell. Her +son, Louis Napoleon, was constantly with her. Nearly the whole attention +of the mother was devoted to his education. + +She had the general superintendence of all his studies, teaching him +herself drawing and dancing, often listening to his recitations and +guiding his reading. Her own highly-cultivated mind enabled her to do +this to great advantage. The young prince read aloud to his mother in +the evenings, the selections being regulated in accordance with his +studies in geography or history. Saturday Hortense devoted the entire +day to her son, reviewing all the reading and studies of the week. In +addition to the Abbe Bertrand, another teacher was employed, M. Lebas, a +young professor of much distinction from the Normal School of Paris. + +Thus the summer and autumn of 1816 passed tranquilly away. But the eagle +eye of the Bourbons was continually upon Hortense. They watched every +movement she made, she could not leave her home, or receive a visit from +any distinguished stranger, without exciting their alarm. Their +uneasiness at length became so great that, early in the year 1817, the +Duke of Baden received peremptory orders that he must immediately expel +Hortense and her child from his territory. The Bourbons could not allow +such dangerous personages to dwell so near the frontiers of France. +Hortense was a feeble, heart-broken woman. Her child was but eight years +of age. But they were representatives of the Empire. And the Bourbons +were ever terror-stricken lest the French people should rise in +insurrection, and demand the restoration of that Empire, of which +foreign armies had robbed them. + +In the extreme north-eastern portion of Switzerland, on the southern +shores of the Lake of Constance, there was the small Swiss canton of +Thurgovia. The gallant magistrates of the canton informed Hortense that +if she wished to establish herself in their country, she should be +protected by both the magistrates and the people. The ex-queen had +occasionally entered the canton in her drives, and had observed with +admiration a modest but very beautiful chateau called Arenemberg, very +picturesquely located on the borders of the lake. She purchased the +estate for about sixty thousand francs. This became a very delightful +summer residence, though in winter it presented a bleak exposure, swept +by piercing winds. Until the death of Hortense, Arenemberg continued to +be her favorite place of residence. + +To add to this transient gleam of happiness, there was now a partial +reconciliation between Hortense and her husband; and, to the unspeakable +joy of the mother and Louis Napoleon, they enjoyed a visit of several +months from Napoleon Louis. It is not easy to imagine the happiness +which this reunion created, after a separation of nearly three years. + +The judicious mother now thought it important that her sons should enjoy +the advantages of a more public education than that which they had been +receiving from private tutors at home. She accordingly took them both to +Augsburg, in Bavaria, where they entered the celebrated college of that +city. Hortense engaged a handsome residence there, that she might still +be with her sons, whom she loved so tenderly. A French gentleman of +distinction, travelling in that region, had the honor of an introduction +to her, and gives the following account of his visit: + +"Returning to France in 1819, after a long residence in Russia, I +stopped at Augsburg, where the Duchess of St. Leu was then a resident. I +had hitherto only known her by report. Some Russian officers, who had +accompanied the Emperor Alexander to Malmaison in 1814, had spoken to me +of Hortense with so much enthusiasm, that for the first few moments it +appeared as if I saw her again after a long absence, and as if I owed my +kind reception to the ties of ancient friendship. Every thing about her +is in exact harmony with the angelic expression of her face, her +conversation, demeanor, and the sweetness of her voice and disposition. + +"When she speaks of an affecting incident, the language becomes more +touching through the depths of her sensibility. She lends so much life +to every scene, that the auditor becomes witness of the transaction. Her +powers of instructing and delighting are almost magical; and her artless +fascination leaves on every heart those deep traces which even time can +never efface. + +"She introduced me to her private circle, which consisted of the two +children and their tutors, some old officers of her household, two +female friends of her infancy, and that living monument of conjugal +devotion, Count Lavallette.[I] The conversation soon became general. +They questioned me about the Ukraine, where I long had resided, and +Greece and Turkey, through which I had lately travelled. + +[Footnote I: Count Lavallette was one of the devoted friends of +Napoleon, who had long served in the armies of the Empire. For the +welcome he gave Napoleon on his return from Elba he was doomed, by the +Bourbons, to death. While preparations were being made for his +execution, his wife and daughter, with her governess, were permitted to +visit him. Very adroitly he escaped in his wife's clothes, she remaining +in his place. Irritated by this escape, the Government held his wife a +prisoner until she became a confirmed lunatic.] + +"In return, they spoke of Bavaria, St. Leu, the Lake of Constance, and, +by degrees, of events deriving their chief interest from the important +parts played by the narrators themselves. We dined at five. I afterwards +accompanied the duchess into the garden, and, in the few moments then +enjoyed of intimate conversation, I saw that no past praises had ever +been exaggerated. How admirable were her feelings when she recalled the +death of her mother, and in her tragic recital of the death of Madame +Broc. + +"But when she spoke of her children, her friends, and the fine arts, her +whole figure seemed to glow with the ardor of her imagination. Goodness +of heart was displayed in every feature, and gave additional value to +her other estimable qualities. In describing her present situation it +was impossible to avoid mentioning her beloved France. + +"'You are returning,' said she, 'to your native country;' and the last +word was pronounced with a heartfelt sigh. I had been an exile from my +cradle, yet my own eager anxiety to revisit a birth-place scarcely +remembered, enabled me to estimate her grief at the thoughts of an +eternal separation. She spoke of the measures adopted for her banishment +with that true resignation which mourns but never murmurs. After two +hours of similar conversation, it was impossible to decide which was the +most admirable, her heart, her good sense, or her imagination. + +"We returned to the drawing-room at eight, where tea was served. The +duchess observed that this was a habit learned in Holland, 'though you +are not to suppose,' she added, with a slight blush, 'that it is +preserved as a remembrance of days so brilliant, but now already so +distant. Tea is the drink of cold climates, and I have scarcely changed +my temperature.' + +"Numerous visitors came from the neighborhood, and some even from +Munich. She may, indeed, regard this attention with a feeling of proud +gratification. It is based upon esteem alone, and is far more honorable +than the tiresome adulation of sycophants while at St. Cloud or the +Hague. In the course of the evening we looked through a suite of rooms +containing, besides a few master-pieces of the different schools, a +large collection of precious curiosities. Many of these elegant trifles +had once belonged to her mother; and nearly every one was associated +with the remembrance of some distinguished personage or celebrated +event. Indeed, her museum might almost be called an abridgment of +contemporary history. Music was the next amusement; and the duchess +sang, accompanying herself with the same correct taste which inspires +her compositions. She had just finished the series of drawings intended +to illustrate her collection of _romances_. How could I avoid praising +that happy talent which thus personifies thought? The next day I +received that beautiful collection as a remembrance. + +"I took my leave at midnight, perhaps without even the hope of another +meeting. I left her as the traveller parts from the flowers of the +desert, to which he can never hope to return. But, wherever time, +accident, or destiny may place me, the remembrance of that day will +remain indelibly imprinted alike on my memory and heart. It is pleasing +to pay homage to the fallen greatness of one like Hortense, who joins +the rare gift of talents to the charms of the tenderest sensibility." + +[Illustration: HORTENSE AT ARENEMBERG.] + +The residence of Hortense in Augsburg was in a mansion, since called +Pappenheim Palace, in Holy Cross Street. After the graduation of her +children, Hortense, with Louis Napoleon, spent most of their time at +Arenemberg, interspersed with visits to Rome and Florence. The beautiful +chateau was situated upon a swell of land, with green lawns and a thick +growth of forest trees, through which there were enchanting views of the +mountain and of the lake. The spacious grounds were embellished with the +highest artistic skill, with terraces, trellis-work woodbines, and rare +exotics. + +"The views," writes an English visitor, "which were in some places +afforded through the woods, and in others, by their rapid descent, +carried over them, were broken in a manner which represented them doubly +beautiful. From one peep you caught the small vine-clad island of +Reichman, with its cottage gleams trembling upon the twilighted lake. +From another you had a noble reach of the Rhine, going forth from its +brief resting-place to battle its way down the Falls of Schaffhausen; +and beyond it the eye reposed upon the distant outline of the Black +Forest, melting warmly in the west. In a third direction you saw the +vapory steeples of Constance, apparently sinking in the waters which +almost surrounded them; and far away you distinguish the little coast +villages, like fading constellations, glimmering fainter and fainter, +till land and lake and sky were blended together in obscurity." + +Not far distant was the imposing chateau of Wolfberg, which had been +purchased by General Parguin, a young French officer of the Empire of +much distinction. He had married Mademoiselle Cochelet, and became one +of the most intimate friends of Louis Napoleon. + +Prince Eugene had also built him a house in the vicinity, that he might +be near his sister and share her solitude. Just as the house was +finished, and before he moved into it, Eugene died. This was another +crushing blow to the heart of Hortense. She was in Rome at the time, and +we shall have occasion to refer to the event again. + +Hortense, in her retirement, was no less a queen than when the diadem +was upon her brow. Though at the farthest possible remove from all +aristocratic pride, her superior mind, her extraordinary attainments, +and her queenly grace and dignity, invested her with no less influence +over the hearts of her friends than she enjoyed in her days of regal +power. A visitor at Wolfberg, in the following language, describes a +call which Hortense made upon Madame Parguin and her guests at the +chateau: + +"One fine evening, as we were all distributed about the lawn at +Wolfberg, there was an alarm that Hortense was coming to visit Madame +Parguin. As I saw her winding slowly up the hill, with all her company, +in three little summer carriages, the elegance of the cavalcade, in +scenes where elegance was so rare, was exceedingly striking. + +"The appearance of Hortense was such as could not fail to excite +admiration and kind feeling. Her countenance was full of talent, blended +with the mild expression of a perfect gentlewoman. Her figure, though +not beyond the middle height, was of a mould altogether majestic. She +lamented that she had not sooner known of the purposed length of our +stay in that part of Switzerland, as, having conceived that we were +merely passing a few days, she had been unwilling to occupy our time. +She then spoke of her regret at not being able to entertain us +according to her wishes. And, finally, she told us that she had in +agitation some little theatricals which, if we could bear with such +trifles, we should do her pleasure in attending. All this was said with +simple and winning eloquence." + +The room for this little theatric entertainment was in a small building, +beautifully decorated, near the house. Many distinguished guests were +present; many from Constance; so that the apartment was crowded to its +utmost capacity. There were two short plays enacted. In one Hortense +took a leading part in scenes of trial and sorrow, in which her peculiar +powers were admirably displayed. Even making all suitable allowance for +the politeness due from guests to their host, it is evident that +Hortense possessed dramatic talent of a very high order. + +From the theatre the guests returned to the chateau, where preparations +had been made for dancing. In the intervals between the dances there was +singing, accompanied by the piano. "Here, again," writes one of the +guests, "Hortense was perfectly at home. She sang several songs, of +which I afterwards found her to be the unacknowledged composer. Among +these was the beautiful air, _Partant pour la Syrie_, which will be a +fair guaranty that I do not say too much for the rest." + +At the close of the evening, as the guests began to depart, the +remainder were dispersed through the suite of rooms, admiring the +various objects of curiosity and of beauty with which they are +decorated. There were some beautiful paintings, and several pieces of +exquisite statuary. Upon the tables there were engravings, +drawing-books, and works of _belles-lettres_. + +"I chanced," writes the visitor from whom we have above quoted, "to +place my hand upon a splendid album, and had the further good-fortune to +seat myself beside a beautiful young _dame de compagnie_ of the duchess, +who gave me the history of all the treasures I found therein. Whatever I +found most remarkable was still the work of Hortense. Of a series of +small portraits, sketched by her in colors, the likeness of those of +which I had seen the subjects would have struck me, though turned upside +down. She had the same power and the same affectionate feeling for +fixing the remembrance of places likewise. + +"The landscapes which she had loved in forbidden France, even the +apartments which she had inhabited, were executed in a manner that put +to shame the best amateur performances I had ever seen. There was a +minute attention to fidelity in them, too, which a recollection of her +present circumstances could not fail to bring home to the spectator's +heart. + +"I know not when my interest would have cooled in this mansion of taste +and talent. Towards morning I was obliged to take my leave; and I doubt +if there were any individual who returned home by that bright moonlight, +without feeling that Hortense had been born some century and a half too +late. For an age of bigots and turncoats she, indeed, seemed unsuited. +In that of true poetry and trusty cavaliers, she would have been the +subject of the best rhymes and rencontres in romantic France. + +"After this I saw her frequently, both at her own house and at Wolfberg, +and I never found any thing to destroy the impression which I received +on my introduction. Independently of the interest attached to herself, +she had always in her company some person who had made a noise in the +world, and had become an object of curiosity. At one time it was a +distinguished painter or poet; again, it was a battered soldier, who +preferred resting in retirement to the imputation of changing his +politics for advancement; then a grand duke or duchess who had undergone +as many vicissitudes as herself; and, finally, the widow of the +unfortunate Marshal Ney. + +"There was something in the last of these characters, particularly when +associated with Hortense, more interesting than all the others. She was +a handsome, but grave and silent woman, and still clad in mourning for +her husband, whose death, so connected with the banishment of the +duchess, could not fail to render them deeply sympathetic in each +other's fortunes. The amusements provided for all this company consisted +of such as I have mentioned--expeditions to various beautiful spots in +the neighborhood, and music parties on the water. The last of these used +sometimes to have a peculiarly romantic effect; for on _fete_ days the +young peasant girls, all glittering in their golden tinsel bonnets, +would push off with their sweethearts, like mad things, in whatever +boats they could find upon the beach. I have seen them paddling their +little fleet round the duchess's boat with all the curiosity of savages +round a man-of-war. + +"At length the time arrived for me to bid adieu to Switzerland. It was +arranged that I should set out for Italy with a small party of my +Wolfberg friends. An evening or two before we departed we paid a +leave-taking visit to the duchess. She expressed much polite regret at +our intention, and gave us a cordial invitation to renew our +acquaintance with her in the winter at Rome. Her care, indeed, to leave +a good impression of her friendly disposition upon our minds, was +exceedingly gratifying. She professed to take an interest in the plans +which each of us had formed, and, when her experience qualified her, +gave us instructions for our travels. + +"When we rose to depart, the night being fine, she volunteered to walk +part of the way home with us. She came about a quarter of a mile to +where she could command an uninterrupted view of the lake, above which +the moon was just then rising, a huge red orb which shot a burning +column to her feet. 'I will now bid you adieu,' she said; and we left +her to the calm contemplation of grandeur which could not fade, and +enjoyments which could not betray. This was the last time I saw, and +perhaps shall ever see Hortense; but I shall always remember my brief +acquaintance with her as a dip into days which gave her country the +character of being the most polished of nations." + +Hortense, with her son Louis Napoleon, had been in the habit of passing +the severity of the winter months in the cities of Augsburg or Munich, +spending about eight months of the year at Arenemberg. But after the +death of her brother Eugene, the associations which those cities +recalled were so painful that she transferred her winter residence to +Rome or Florence. An English lady who visited her at Arenemberg writes: + +"The style of living of the Duchess of St. Leu is sumptuous, without +that freezing etiquette so commonly met with in the great. Her household +still call her _Queen_, and her son _Prince_ Napoleon or _Prince_ Louis. +The suite is composed of two ladies of honor, an equerry, and the tutor +of her younger son. She has a numerous train of domestics, and it is +among them that the traces are still observable of bygone pretensions, +long since abandoned by the true nobleness of their mistress. The former +queen, the daughter of Napoleon, the mother of the Imperial +heir-apparent, has returned quietly to private life with the perfect +grace of a voluntary sacrifice. + +"The duchess receives strangers with inexpressible kindness. Ever +amiable and obliging, she is endowed with that charming simplicity which +inspires, at first sight, the confidence of intimate affection. She +speaks freely of the brilliant days of her prosperity. And history then +flows so naturally from her lips, that more may be learned as a +delighted listener, than from all the false or exaggerated works so +abundant everywhere. The deposed queen considers past events from such +an eminence that nothing can interpose itself between her and the truth. +This strict impartiality gives birth to that true greatness, which is a +thousand times preferable to all the splendors she lost in the flower of +her age. + +"I have been admitted to the intimacy of the Duchess of St. Leu, both at +Rome and in the country. I have seen her roused to enthusiasm by the +beauties of nature, and have seen her surrounded by the pomp of +ceremony; but I have never known her less than herself; nor has the +interest first inspired by her character ever been diminished by an +undignified sentiment or the slightest selfish reflection. + +"It is impossible to be a more ardent and tasteful admirer of the fine +arts than is the duchess. Every one has heard her beautiful _romances_, +which are rendered still more touching by the soft and melodious voice +of the composer. She usually sings standing; and, although a finished +performer on the harp and piano, she prefers the accompaniment of one of +her attendant ladies. Many of her leisure hours are employed in +painting. Miniatures, landscapes, and flowers are equally the subjects +of her pencil. She declaims well, is a delightful player in comedy, acts +proverbs with uncommon excellence, and I really know no one who can +surpass her in every kind of needle-work. + +"The Duchess of St. Leu never was a regular beauty, but she is still a +charming woman. She has the softest and most expressive blue eyes in the +world. Her light flaxen hair contrasts beautifully with the dark color +of her long eyelashes and eyebrows. Her complexion is fresh and of an +even tint; her figure elegantly moulded; her hands and feet perfect. In +fine, her whole appearance is captivating in the extreme. She speaks +quickly with rapid gestures, and all her movements are easy and +graceful. Her style of dress is rich, though she has parted with most +of her jewels and precious stones." + +Hortense was almost invariably accompanied by her son, Louis Napoleon, +whether residing in Italy or in Switzerland. When at Arenemberg, the +young prince availed himself of the vicinity to the city in pursuing a +rigorous course of study in physics and chemistry under the guidance of +a very distinguished French philosopher. He also connected himself, in +prosecuting his military studies, with a Baden regiment garrisoned at +Constance. He was here recognized as the Duke of St. Leu, and was always +received with much distinction. At Rome, the residence of Hortense was +the centre of the most brilliant and polished society of the city. Here +her son was introduced to the most distinguished men from all lands, and +especially to the old friends of the Empire, who kept alive in his mind +the memory of the brilliant exploits of him whose name he bore. Pauline +Bonaparte, who had married for her second husband Prince Borghese, and +who was immensely wealthy, also resided in the vicinity of Rome, in +probably the most magnificent villa in Europe. Hortense and her son were +constant visitors at her residence. + +Madame Recamier, who had ever been the warm friend of the Bourbons, and +whom Hortense had befriended when the Bourbons were in exile, gives the +following account of an interview she had with Queen Hortense in Rome, +early in the year 1824. The two friends had not met since the "Hundred +Days" in 1815. We give the narrative in the words of Madame Recamier: + +"I went one day to St. Peter's to listen to the music, so beautiful +under the vaults of that immense edifice. There, leaning against a +pillar, meditating under my veil, I followed with heart and soul the +solemn notes that died away in the depths of the dome. An +elegant-looking woman, veiled like myself, came and placed herself near +the same pillar. Every time that a more lively feeling drew from me an +involuntary movement my eyes met those of the stranger. She seemed to be +trying to recognize my features. And I, on my side, through the obstacle +of our veils, thought I distinguished blue eyes and light hair that were +not unknown to me. 'Madame Recamier!' 'Is it you, madame?' we said +almost at the same moment. 'How delighted I am to see you!' said Queen +Hortense, for she it was. 'You know,' she added, smiling, 'that I would +not have waited until now to find you out; but you have always been +ceremonious with me.' + +"'Then, madame,' I replied, 'my friends were exiled and unfortunate. You +were happy and brilliant, and my place was not near you.' + +"'If misfortune has the privilege of attracting you,' replied the queen, +'you must confess that my time has come and permit me to advance my +claims.' + +"I was a little embarrassed for a reply. My connection with the Duke de +Laval, our ambassador at Rome, and with the French Government in +general, was a barrier to any visiting between us. She understood my +silence. + +"'I know,' she said, sadly, 'that the inconveniences of greatness follow +us still, when even our prerogatives are gone. Thus, with loss of rank, +I have not acquired liberty of action. I can not to-day even taste the +pleasures of a woman's friendship, and peaceably enjoy society that is +pleasant and dear to me.' + +"I bowed my head with emotion, expressing my sympathy only by my looks. + +"'But I must talk to you,' said the queen, more warmly. 'I have so many +things to say to you. If we can not visit each other, nothing prevents +us from meeting elsewhere. We will appoint some place to meet. That will +be charming.' + +"'Charming indeed, madame,' I replied, smiling; 'and especially for me. +But how shall we fix the time and place for these interviews?' + +"'It is you,' Hortense replied, 'who must arrange that; for, thanks to +the solitude forced upon me, my time is entirely at my own disposal. But +it may not be the same with you. Sought for as you are, you mix, no +doubt, a great deal in society.' + +"'Heaven forbid!' I replied. 'On the contrary, I lead a very retired +life. It would be absurd to come to Rome to see society, and people +everywhere the same. I prefer to visit what is peculiarly her own--her +monuments and ruins.' + +"'Well, then, we can arrange every thing finely,' added Hortense; 'if it +is agreeable to you I will join you in these excursions. Let me know +each day your plans for the next; and we will meet, as if by accident, +at the appointed places.' + +"I eagerly accepted this offer, anticipating much pleasure in making the +tour of old Rome with so gracious and agreeable a companion, and one +who loved and understood art. The queen, on her side, was happy in the +thought that I would talk to her of France; whilst to both of us the +little air of mystery thrown over these interviews gave them another +charm. + +"'Where do you propose to go to-morrow?' asked the queen. + +"'To the Coliseum.' + +"'You will assuredly find me there,' Hortense replied. 'I have much to +say to you. I wish to justify myself in your eyes from an imputation +that distresses me.' + +"The queen began to enter into explanations; and the interview +threatening to be a long one, I frankly reminded her that the French +ambassador, who had brought me to St. Peter's, was coming back for me; +for I feared that a meeting would be embarrassing to both. + +"'You are right,' said the queen. 'We must not be surprised together. +Adieu, then. To-morrow at the Coliseum;' and we separated." + +Madame Recamier, the bosom-friend of Chateaubriand, was in entire +political sympathy with the illustrious poet. She regarded legitimacy as +a part of her religion, and was intensely devoted to the interests of +the Bourbons. She was one of the most beautiful and fascinating women +who ever lived. Napoleon at St. Helena, in allusion to this remarkable +lady, said: + +"I was scarcely First Consul ere I found myself at issue with Madame +Recamier. Her father had been placed in the Post-office Department. I +had found it necessary to sign, in confidence, a great number of +appointments; but I soon established a very rigid inspection in every +department A correspondence was discovered with the Chouans, going on +under the connivance of M. Bernard, the father of Madame Recamier. He +was immediately dismissed, and narrowly escaped trial and condemnation +to death. His daughter hastened to me, and upon her solicitation I +exempted M. Bernard from taking his trial, but was resolute respecting +his dismissal. Madame Recamier, accustomed to obtain every thing, would +be satisfied with nothing less than the reinstatement of her father. +Such were the morals of the times. My severity excited loud +animadversions. It was a thing quite unusual. Madame Recamier and her +party never forgave me."[J] + +[Footnote J: Abbott's "Napoleon at St. Helena," p. 94.] + +The home of Madame De Stael, who was the very intimate friend of Madame +Recamier, became, in the early stages of the Empire, the rendezvous of +all those who were intriguing for the overthrow of the government of +Napoleon. The Emperor, speaking upon this subject at St. Helena, said: + +"The house of Madame De Stael had become quite an arsenal against me. +People went there to be armed knights. She endeavored to raise enemies +against me, and fought against me herself. She was at once Armida and +Clorinda. It can not be denied that Madame de Stael is a very +distinguished woman. She will go down to posterity. At the time of the +Concordat, against which Madame de Stael was violently inflamed, she +united at once against me the aristocrats and the republicans. Having at +length tired out my patience, she was sent into exile. I informed her +that I left her the universe for the theatre of her achievements; that I +reserved only Paris for myself, which I forbade her to approach, and +resigned the rest of the world to her." + +The banishment of Madame de Stael from Paris excited as much bitterness +in the soul of Madame Recamier as it was possible for a lady of such +rare amiability and loveliness of character to feel. Madame Recamier, in +giving an account of this transaction, says: + +"I had a passionate admiration for Madame de Stael; and this harsh and +arbitrary act showed me despotism under its most odious aspect. The man +who banished a woman, and such a woman,--who caused her such +unhappiness, could only be regarded by me as an unmerciful tyrant; and +from that hour I was against him." + +The result was that Madame Recamier was forbidden to reside within one +hundred and twenty miles of Paris. The reason which Napoleon assigned +for these measures was, that Madame de Stael, with the most +extraordinary endowments of mind, and Madame Recamier, with charms of +personal loveliness which had made her renowned through all Europe, were +combining their attractions in forming a conspiracy which would surely +deluge the streets of Paris in blood. Napoleon affirmed that though the +Government was so strong that it could certainly crush an insurrection +in the streets, he thought it better to prohibit these two ladies any +further residence in Paris, rather than leave them to foment rebellion, +which would cost the lives of many thousands of comparatively innocent +persons. + +When the Bourbons, at the first restoration, returned to Paris, in the +rear of the batteries of the Allies, Madame Recamier again took up her +residence in Paris. Her saloons were thronged with the partisans of the +old regime, and she was universally recognized as the queen of fashion +and beauty. She was in the enjoyment of a very large income, kept her +carriage, had a box at the opera, and on opera nights had receptions +after the performances. The wheel of fortune had turned, and she was now +in the ascendant. Lord Wellington was among her admirers. But the +brusque, unpolished duke disgusted the refined French lady by his boast +to her, "I have given Napoleon a good beating." + +Still the wheel continued its revolution. Napoleon returned from Elba. +The Bourbons and their partisans fled precipitately from France. But, in +the interim, Madame Recamier and Madame de Stael had dined with the +Duchess of St. Leu, at her estate a few leagues from Paris. The return +of Napoleon plunged Madame Recamier and her friend into the utmost +consternation. She was very unwilling again to leave Paris. In this +emergency, Hortense, who was then at the Tuileries, wrote to her under +date of March 23, 1815: + +"I hope that you are tranquil. You may trust to me to take care of your +interests. I am convinced that I shall not have occasion to show you how +delighted I should be to be useful to you. Such would be my desire. But +under any circumstances count upon me, and believe that I shall be very +happy to prove my friendship for you. + + "HORTENSE." + +The "Hundred Days" passed away. The Bourbons were re-enthroned. Madame +Recamier was again a power in Paris. Hortense, deprived of the duchy of +St. Leu, was driven an exile out of France. Fifteen years had rolled +away, and these two distinguished ladies had not met until the +accidental interview to which we have alluded beneath the dome of St. +Peter's Cathedral. They were friends, though one was the representative +of aristocracy and the other of the rights of the people. + +According to the arrangement which they had made, Hortense and Madame +Recamier met the next day at the Coliseum. Though it is not to be +supposed that Madame Recamier would make any false representations, it +is evident that, under the circumstances, she would not soften any of +the expressions of Hortense, or represent the conversation which ensued +in any light too favorable to Napoleon. We give the narrative, however, +of this very interesting interview in the words of Madame Recamier: + +"The next day, at the Ave Maria, I was at the Coliseum, where I saw the +queen's carriage, which had arrived a few minutes before me. We entered +the amphitheatre together, complimenting each other on our punctuality, +and strolled through this immense ruin as the sun was setting, and to +the sound of distant bells. + +"Finally we seated ourselves on the steps of the cross in the centre of +the amphitheatre, while Charles Napoleon Bonaparte and M. Ampere, who +had followed us, walked about at a little distance. The night came +on--an Italian night. The moon rose slowly in the heavens, behind the +open arcades of the Coliseum. The breeze of evening sighed through the +deserted galleries. Near me sat this woman, herself the living ruin of +so extraordinary a fortune. A confused and undefinable emotion forced me +to silence. The queen also seemed absorbed in her reflections. + +[Illustration: INTERVIEW IN THE COLISEUM.] + +"'How many events have contributed to bring us together,' she said +finally, turning towards me, 'events of which I often have been the +puppet or the victim, without having foreseen or provoked them.' + +"I could not help thinking that this pretension to the role of a victim +was a little hazardous. At that time I was under the conviction that she +had not been a stranger to the return from the island of Elba. Doubtless +the queen divined my thoughts, since it is hardly possible for me to +hide my sentiments. My bearing and face betray me in spite of myself. + +"'I see plainly,'she said earnestly, 'that you share an opinion that has +injured me deeply; and it was to controvert it that I wanted to speak to +you freely. Henceforth you will justify me, I hope; for I can clear +myself of the charge of ingratitude and treason, which would abase me in +my own eyes if I had been guilty of them.' + +"She was silent a moment and then resumed. 'In 1814, after the +abdication of Fontainebleau, I considered that the Emperor had renounced +all his rights to the throne, and that his family ought to follow his +example. It was my wish to remain in France, under a title that would +not give umbrage to the new Government. At the request of the Emperor of +Russia, Louis XVIII. gave me authority to assume the title of Duchess of +St. Leu, and confirmed me in the possession of my private property. In +an audience that I obtained to thank him, he treated me with so much +courtesy and kindness that I was sincerely grateful; and after having +freely accepted his favors I could not think of conspiring against him. + +"'I heard of the landing of the Emperor only through public channels, +and it gave me much more annoyance than pleasure. I knew the Emperor too +well to imagine that he would have attempted such an enterprise without +having certain reasons to hope for success. But the prospect of a civil +war afflicted me deeply, and I was convinced that we could not escape +it. The speedy arrival of the Emperor baffled all my previsions. + +"'On hearing of the departure of the king, and picturing him to myself +old, infirm, and forced to abandon his country again, I was sensibly +touched. The idea that he might be accusing me of ingratitude and +treason was insupportable to me; and, notwithstanding all the risk of +such a step, I wrote to him to exculpate myself from any participation +in the events which had just taken place. + +"'On the evening of the 20th of March, being advised of the Emperor's +approach by his old minister, I presented myself at the Tuileries to +await his coming. I saw him arrive, surrounded, pressed, and borne +onward by a crowd of officers of all ranks. In all this tumult I could +scarcely accost him. He received me coldly, said a few words to me, and +appointed an interview for next day. The Emperor has always inspired me +with fear, and his tone on this occasion was not calculated to reassure +me. I presented myself, however, with as calm a bearing as was possible. +I was introduced into his private room; and we were scarcely alone when +he advanced toward me quickly, and said brusquely, + +"'"Have you then so poorly comprehended your situation that you could +renounce your name, and the rank you held from me, to accept a title +given by the Bourbons?" + +"'"My duty sire," I replied, summoning up all my courage to answer him, +"was to think of my children's future, since the abdication of your +Majesty left me no longer any other to fulfill." + +"'"Your children," exclaimed the Emperor, "your children! Were they not +my nephews before they were your sons? Have you forgotten that? Had you +the right to strip them of the rank that belonged to them?" And as I +looked at him, all amazed, he added, with increasing rage, "Have you not +read the Code, then?" + +"'I avowed my ignorance, recalling to myself that he had formerly +considered it reprehensible, in any woman, and especially in members of +his own family, to dare to avow that they knew any thing about +legislation. Then he explained to me with volubility the article in the +law prohibiting any change in the state of minors, or the making of any +renunciation in their name. As he talked he strode up and down the room, +the windows of which were open to admit the beautiful spring sun. I +followed him, trying to make him understand that, not knowing the laws, +I had only thought of the interests of my children, and taken counsel of +my heart. The Emperor stopped all of a sudden, and turning roughly +towards me, said, + +"'"Then it should have told you, Madame, that when you shared the +prosperity of a family, you ought to know how to submit to its +misfortunes." + +"'At these last words I burst into tears. But at this moment our +conversation was interrupted by a tremendous uproar which frightened me. +The Emperor, while talking, had unconsciously approached the window +looking upon the terrace of the Tuileries, which was filled with people, +who, upon recognizing him, rent the air with frantic acclamations. The +Emperor, accustomed to control himself, saluted the people electrified +by his presence, and I hastened to dry my eyes. But they had seen my +tears, without the slightest suspicion of their cause. For the next day +the papers vied with each other in repeating that the Emperor had shown +himself at the windows of the Tuileries, accompanied by Queen Hortense, +and that the Queen was so moved by the enthusiasm manifested at the +sight of her that she could scarcely restrain her tears.' + +"This account," adds Madame Recamier, "had an air of sincerity about it, +which shook my previous convictions, and the regard I felt for the Queen +was heightened. From that time we became firm friends. We met each other +every day, sometimes at the Temple of Vesta, sometimes at the Baths of +Titus, or at the Tomb of Cecilia Metella; at others, in some one of the +numerous churches of the Christian city, in the rich galleries of its +palaces, or at one of the beautiful villas in its environs; and such was +our punctuality, that our two carriages almost always arrived together +at the appointed place. + +"I found the queen a very fascinating companion. And she showed such a +delicate tact in respecting the opinions she knew I held, that I could +not prevent myself saying that I could only accuse her of the one fault +of not being enough of a Bonapartist. Notwithstanding the species of +intimacy established between us, I had always abstained from visiting +her, when news arrived of the death of Eugene Beauharnais. The Queen +loved her brother tenderly. I understood the grief she must feel in +losing her nearest relation and the best friend she had in the world, +and came quickly to a decision. I immediately went to her, and found her +in the deepest affliction. The whole Bonaparte family was there, but +that gave me little uneasiness. In such cases it is impossible for me to +consider party interests or public opinion. I have been often blamed for +this, and probably shall be again, and I must resign myself to this +censure, since I shall never cease to deserve it." + +Hortense, immediately upon receiving the tidings of the dangerous +sickness of her brother, had written thus to Madame Recamier. The letter +was dated, + + "Rome, Friday morning, April, 1824. + +"MY DEAR MADAME,--It seems to be my fate not to be able to enjoy any +pleasures, diversions, or interest without the alloy of pain. I have +news of my brother. He has been ill. They kindly assure me that he was +better when the letter was sent, but I can not help being extremely +anxious. I have a presentiment that this is his last illness, and I am +far from him. I trust that God will not deprive me of the only friend +left me--the best and most honorable man on earth. I am going to St. +Peter's to pray. That will comfort me perhaps, for my very anxiety +frightens me. One becomes weak and superstitious in grief. I can not +therefore go with you to-day, but I shall be happy to see you, if you +would like to join me at St. Peter's. I know that you are not afraid of +the unhappy, and that you bring them happiness. To wish for you now is +enough to prove to you my regard for you. + + "HORTENSE." + +Soon after the death of Prince Eugene, Hortense returned to Arenemberg. +From that place she wrote to Madame Recamier, under date of June 10th, +1824: + +"You were kind enough, Madame, to wish to hear from me. I can not say +that I am well, when I have lost every thing on this earth. Meanwhile I +am not in ill health. I have just had another heart-break. I have seen +all my brother's things. I do not recoil from this pain, and perhaps I +may find in it some consolation. This life, so full of troubles, can +disturb no longer the friends for whom we mourn. He, no doubt, is happy. +With your sympathies you can imagine all my feelings. + +"I am at present in my retreat. The scenery is superb. In spite of the +lovely sky of Italy, I still find Arenemberg very beautiful. But I must +always be pursued by regrets. It is undoubtedly my fate. Last year I was +so contented. I was very proud of not repining, not wishing for any +thing in this world. I had a good brother, good children. To-day how +much need have I to repeat to myself that there are still some left to +whom I am necessary! + +"But I am talking a great deal about myself, and I have nothing to tell +you, if it be not that you have been a great comfort to me, and that I +shall always be pleased to see you again. You are among those persons to +whom it is not needful to relate one's life or one's feelings. The heart +is the best interpreter, and they who thus read us become necessary to +us. + +"I do not ask you about your plans, and nevertheless I am interested to +know them. Do not be like me, who live without a future, and who expect +to remain where fate puts me; for I may stay at my country-place all +winter, if I can have all the rooms heated. Sometimes the wind seems to +carry the house off, and the snow, I am told, is of frightful depth. But +it requires little courage to surmount these obstacles. On the contrary, +these great effects of nature are sometimes not without their charms. +Adieu. Do not entirely forget me. Believe me, your friendship has done +me good. You know what a comfort a friendly voice from one's native +country is, when it comes to us in misfortune and isolation. Be kind +enough to tell me that I am unjust if I complain too much of my destiny, +and that I have still some friends left. + + "HORTENSE." + +Just about this time M. de Chateaubriand, the illustrious friend of +Madame Recamier, was quite insultingly dismissed from the ministry for +not advocating a law of which the king approved. The disgrace of the +minister created a very deep sensation. In allusion to it, Hortense +wrote to Madame Recamier, from Arenemberg, Sept. 11, 1824, as follows: + +"I expected to hear from you on your return from Naples, and as I have +not heard, I know not where to find you. I have fancied that you were on +the road to Paris, because I always imagine that we go where the heart +goes, and where we can be useful to our friends. It is curious to think +what a chain the affections are. Why, I myself, secluded from the world, +stranger to every thing, am sorry to see so distinguished a man shut out +from public life. Is it on account of the interest you have made me take +in that quarter, or is it, rather, because, like a Frenchwoman, I love +to see merit and superiority honored in my country? + +"At present I am no longer alone. I have my cousin with me, the Grand +Duchess of Baden, a most accomplished person. The brilliancy of her +imagination, the vivacity of her wit, the correctness of her judgment, +together with the perfect balance of all her faculties, render her a +charming and a remarkable woman. She enlivens my solitude and softens my +profound grief. We converse in the language of our country. It is that +of the heart, you know, since at Rome we understood each other so well. + +"I claim your promise to stop on the way at Arenemberg. It will always be +to me very sweet to see you. I can not separate you from one of my +greatest sorrows; which is to say that you are very dear to me, and that +I shall be happy to have an opportunity to assure you of my affection. + + "HORTENSE." + +Madame Recamier, after leaving Rome, kept up her friendly relations and +correspondence with Queen Hortense. + +The winter of 1829 Hortense spent with her sons in Rome. Chateaubriand +was then French ambassador in that city. Upon his leaving, to return to +Paris, Hortense wrote to Madame Recamier the following letter, in which +she alludes to his departure: + + "Rome, May 10, 1829. + +"DEAR MADAME,--I am not willing that one of your friends should leave +the place where I am living, and where I have had the pleasure of +meeting you, without carrying to you a token of my remembrance. I also +wish you to convey to him my sentiments. Kindnesses show themselves in +the smallest things, and are also felt by those who are the object of +them, without their being equal to the expression of their feelings. But +the benevolence which has been able to reach me has made me regret not +being permitted to know him whom I have learned to appreciate, and who, +in a foreign land, so worthily represented to me my country, at least +such as I always should like to look upon her, as a friend and +protectress. + +"I am soon to return to my mountains, where I hope to hear from you. Do +not forget me entirely. Remember that I love you, and that your +friendship contributed to soothe one of the keenest sorrows of my life. +These are two inseparable memories. Thus never doubt my tender love, in +again assuring you of which I take such pleasure. + + "HORTENSE." + +The year 1830 came. Louis Napoleon was then twenty-two years of age. An +insurrection in Paris overthrew the old Bourbon dynasty, and established +its modification in the throne of Louis Philippe. This revolution in +France threw all Europe into commotion. All over Italy the people rose +to cast off the yoke which the Allies, who had triumphed at Waterloo, +had imposed upon them. The exiled members of the Bonaparte family met at +Rome to decide what to do in the emergency. Hortense attended the +meeting with her two sons. The eldest, Napoleon Louis, had married his +cousin, the daughter of Joseph Bonaparte. Both of the young princes, +with great enthusiasm, joined the patriots. Hortense was very much +alarmed for the safety of her sons. She could see but little hope that +the insurrection could be successful in Italy, for the "Holy Alliance" +was pledged to crush it. She wrote imploringly to her children. Louis +Napoleon replied, + +"Your affectionate heart will understand our determination. We have +contracted engagements which we can not break. Can we remain deaf to the +voice of the unfortunate who call to us? We bear a name which obliges us +to listen." + +We have not here space to describe the conflict. The Italian patriots, +overwhelmed by the armies of Austria, were crushed or dispersed. The +elder of the sons of Hortense, Napoleon Louis, died from the fatigue and +exposure of the campaign, and was buried at Florence. The younger son, +Louis Napoleon, enfeebled by sickness, was in the retreat with the +vanquished patriots to Ancona, on the shores of the Adriatic. The +distracted mother was hastening to her children when she heard of the +death of the one, and of the sickness and perilous condition of the +other. She found Louis Napoleon at Ancona, in a burning fever. The +Austrians were gathering up the vanquished patriots wherever they could +be found in their dispersion, and were mercilessly shooting them. +Hortense was in an agony of terror. She knew that her son, if captured, +would surely be shot. The Austrians were soon in possession of Ancona. +They eagerly sought for the young prince, who bore a name which despots +have ever feared. A price was set upon his head. The sagacity of the +mother rescued the child. She made arrangements for a frail skiff to +steal out from the harbor and cross the Adriatic Sea to the shores of +Illyria. Deceived by this stratagem, the Austrian police had no doubt +that the young prince had escaped. Their vigilance was accordingly +relaxed. Hortense then took a carriage for Pisa. Her son, burning with +fever and emaciate from grief and fatigue, mounted the box behind in the +disguise of a footman. In this manner, exposed every moment to the +danger of being arrested by the Austrian police, the anxious mother and +her son traversed the whole breadth of Italy. As Louis Napoleon had, +with arms in his hands, espoused the cause of the people in their +struggle against Austrian despotism, he could expect no mercy, and there +was no safety for him anywhere within reach of the Austrian arm. + +By a law of the Bourbons, enacted in 1816, which law was re-enacted by +the Government of Louis Philippe, no member of the Bonaparte family +could enter France but under the penalty of death. But Napoleon I., when +in power, had been very generous to the House of Orleans. Hortense, +also, upon the return of Napoleon from Elba, when the Royalists were +flying in terror from the kingdom, had protected and warmly befriended +distinguished members of the family. Under these circumstances, +distracted by the fear that her only surviving child would be arrested +and shot, and knowing not which way to turn for safety, the mother and +the son decided, notwithstanding the menace of death suspended over +them, to seek a momentary refuge, incognito, in France. + +Embarking in a small vessel, still under assumed names, they safely +reached Cannes. At this port Napoleon had landed sixteen years ago, in +his marvellous return from Elba. The mother and son proceeded +immediately to Paris, resolved to cast themselves upon the generosity of +Louis Philippe. Louis Napoleon was still very sick, and needed his bed +rather than the fatigues of travel. It was the intention of his mother, +so soon as the health of her son was sufficiently restored, to continue +their journey and cross over to England. + +Hortense, in her "Memoires," speaking of these hours of adversity's +deepest gloom, writes: + +"At length I arrived at the barrier of Paris. I experienced a sort of +self-love in exhibiting to my son, by its most beautiful entrance, that +capital, of which he could probably retain but a feeble recollection. I +ordered the postillion to take us through the Boulevards to the Rue de +la Paix, and to stop at the first hotel. Chance conducted us to the +Hotel D'Hollande. I occupied a small apartment on the third floor, _du +premier_, first above the entresol. From my room I could see the +Boulevard and the column in the Place Vendome. I experienced a sort of +saddened pleasure, in my isolation, in once more beholding that city +which I was about to leave, perhaps forever, without speaking to a +person, and without being distracted by the impression which that view +made upon me." + +Twenty-two years before, Hortense, in this city, had given birth to the +child who was now sick and a fugitive. Austria was thirsting for his +blood, and the Government of his own native land had laid upon him the +ban of exile, and it was at the peril of their lives that either mother +or son placed their feet upon the soil of France. And yet the birth of +this prince was welcomed by salvos of artillery, and by every +enthusiastic demonstration of public rejoicing, from Hamburg to Rome, +and from the Pyrenees to the Danube. + +Louis Napoleon was still suffering from a burning fever. A few days of +repose seemed essential to the preservation of his life. Hortense +immediately wrote a letter to King Louis Philippe, informing him of the +arrival of herself and son, incognito, in Paris, of the circumstances +which had rendered the step necessary, and casting themselves upon his +protection. Louis Philippe owed Hortense a deep debt of gratitude. He +had joined the Allies in their war against France. He had come back to +Paris in the rear of their batteries. By French law he was a traitor +doomed to die. When Napoleon returned from Elba he fled from France in +terror, again to join the Allies. He was then the Duke of Orleans. The +Duchess of Orleans had slipped upon the stairs and broken her leg. She +could not be moved. Both Hortense and Napoleon treated her with the +greatest kindness. Of several letters which the Duchess of Orleans wrote +Hortense, full of expressions of obligation and gratitude, we will quote +but one. + +_The Duchess of Orleans to Queen Hortense._ + + "April 19, 1815. + +"MADAME,--I am truly afflicted that the feeble state of my health +deprives me of the opportunity of expressing to your majesty, as I could +wish, my gratitude for the interest she has manifested in my situation. +I am still suffering much pain, as my limb has not yet healed. But I can +not defer expressing to your majesty, and to his majesty, the Emperor, +to whom I beg you to be my interpreter, the gratitude I feel I am, +madame, your majesty's servant, + + "LOUISE MARIE ADELAIDE DE BOURBON, DUCHESS D'ORLEANS." + +The Emperor, in response to the solicitations of Hortense, had permitted +the Duchess of Orleans to remain in Paris, and also had assured her of a +pension of four hundred thousand francs ($80,000). The Duchess of +Bourbon, also, aunt of the Duke of Orleans, was permitted to remain in +the city. And she, also, that she might be able to maintain the position +due to her rank, received from the Emperor a pension of two hundred +thousand francs ($40,000). The Duchess of Bourbon had written to +Hortense for some great favors, which Hortense obtained for her. In +reply to the assurance of Hortense that she would do what she could to +aid her, the duchess wrote, under date of April 29th, 1815: + +"I am exceedingly grateful for your kindness, and I have full confidence +in the desire which you express to aid me. I can hardly believe that the +Emperor will refuse a demand which I will venture to say is so just, and +particularly when it is presented by you. Believe me, madame, that my +gratitude equals the sentiments of which I beg you to receive, in +advance, the most sincere attestation." + +Under these circumstances Hortense could not doubt that she might +venture to appeal to the magnanimity of the king. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +LIFE AT ARENEMBERG. + +1831-1836 + +Embarrassments of Louis Philippe.--The minister's interview with +Hortense.--Hortense ordered to leave France.--Letter from Louis +Napoleon.--Right of citizenship conferred.--Response of the +prince.--Permission to pass through France.--Louis Napoleon invited +to the throne of Poland.--Visit of Madame Recamier.--Accomplishments of +the Prince.--Heirs to the Empire.--Studious habits of Louis +Napoleon.--Testimony of an English gentleman.--Personal appearance of +Louis Napoleon.--His resemblance to the Emperor.--Letter to M. +Belmontet.--Letter to a friend.--Love of Hortense for her son.--Column +in the Place Vendome.--Arc de l'Etoile.--First heir to the Empire.--The +throne of Louis Philippe menaced.--Remarks of Louis Napoleon.--Peril of +the movements.--Letter to Hortense.--Capture of Louis Napoleon.--Anguish +of Hortense. + +It must be confessed that the position of Louis Philippe was painful +when he received the note from Hortense announcing that she and her son +were in Paris. An insurrection in the streets of Paris had overthrown +the throne of the Bourbons, and with it the doctrine of legitimacy. +Louis Philippe had been placed upon the vacant throne, not by the voice +of the French people, but by a small clique in Paris. There was danger +that allied Europe would again rouse itself to restore the Bourbons. +Louis Philippe could make no appeal to the masses of the people for +support, for he was not the king of their choice. Should he do any thing +indicative of friendship for the Bonapartes, it might exasperate all +dynastic Europe; and should the French people learn that an heir of the +Empire was in France, their enthusiasm might produce convulsions the end +of which no one could foresee. + +Thus unstably seated upon his throne, Louis Philippe was in a state of +great embarrassment. He felt that he could not consult the impulses of +his heart, but that he must listen to the colder dictates of prudence. +He therefore did not venture personally to call upon Queen Hortense, but +sent Casimir Perier, president of his council, to see her. As Perier +entered her apartment, Hortense said to him: + +"Sir, I am a mother. My only means of saving my son was to come to +France. I know very well that I have transgressed a law. I am well aware +of the risks we run. You have a right to cause our arrest. It would be +just." + +"Just?" responded the minister, "no; legal? yes." The result of some +anxious deliberation was that, in consideration of the alarming sickness +of the young prince, they were to be permitted, provided they preserved +the strictest incognito, to remain in the city one week. The king also +granted Hortense a private audience. He himself knew full well the +sorrows of exile. He spoke feelingly of the weary years which he and his +family had spent in banishment from France. + +"I have experienced," said he to Hortense, "all the griefs of exile. And +it is not in accordance with my wishes that yours have not yet ceased." +Hortense also saw the queen and the king's sister. There were but these +four persons who were allowed to know that Hortense was in Paris. And +but two of these, the king and his minister, knew that Prince Louis +Napoleon was in the city. But just then came the 5th of May. It was the +anniversary of the death of the Emperor at St. Helena. As ever, in this +anniversary, immense crowds of the Parisian people gathered around the +column on the Place Vendome with their homage to their beloved Emperor, +and covering the railing with wreaths of immortelles and other flowers. +Had the populace known that from his window an heir of the great Emperor +was looking upon them, it would have created a flame of enthusiasm which +scarcely any earthly power could have quenched. + +The anxiety of the king, in view of the peril, was so great, that +Hortense was informed that the public safety required that she should +immediately leave France, notwithstanding the continued sickness of her +son. The order was imperative. But both the king and the minister +offered her money, that she might continue her journey to London. But +Hortense did not need pecuniary aid. She had just cashed at the bank an +order for sixteen thousand francs. Before leaving the city, Louis +Napoleon wrote to the king a very eloquent and dignified letter, in +which he claimed his right, as a French citizen, who had never committed +any crime, of residing in his native land. He recognized the king as the +representative of a great nation, and earnestly offered his services in +defense of his country in the ranks of the army. He avowed that in Italy +he had espoused the cause of the people in opposition to aristocratic +usurpation, and he demanded the privilege of taking his position, as a +French citizen, beneath the tri-color of France. + +No reply was returned to this letter. It is said that the spirit and +energy it displayed magnified the alarm of the king, and increased his +urgency to remove the writer, as speedily as possible, from the soil of +France. + +On the 6th of May Hortense and her son left Paris, and proceeded that +day to Chantilly. Travelling slowly, they were four days in reaching +Calais, where they embarked for England. Upon their arrival in London, +both Hortense and her son met with a very flattering reception from +gentlemen of all parties. For some time they were the guests of the Duke +of Bedford, at Woburn Abbey. Talleyrand, who was then French ambassador +at the Court of St. James, with characteristic diplomatic caution called +himself, and by means of an agent sought to ascertain what were the +secret plans and purposes of Queen Hortense. + +Several months were passed very profitably in England, and as pleasantly +as was possible for persons who had been so long buffetted by the storms +of adversity, who were exiles from their native land, and who knew not +in what direction to look for a home of safety. While in this state of +perplexity, both mother and son were exceedingly gratified by receiving +from the Canton of Thurgovia the following document, conferring the +rights of citizenship upon the young prince. The document bore the date +of Thurgovia, April 30th, 1832. + +"We, the President of the Council of the Canton of Thurgovia, declare +that, the Commune of Sallenstein having offered the right of communal +citizenship to his highness, Prince Louis Napoleon, out of gratitude for +the numerous favors conferred upon the canton by the family of the +Duchess of St. Leu, since her residence in Arenemberg; and the grand +council having afterwards, by its unanimous vote of the 14th of April, +sanctioned this award, and decreed unanimously to his highness the right +of honorary burghership of the canton, with the desire of proving how +highly it honors the generous character of this family, and how highly +it appreciates the preference they have shown for the canton; declares +that his highness, Prince Louis Napoleon, son of the Duke and Duchess of +St. Leu, is acknowledged as a citizen of the Canton of Thurgovia." + +The prince, in the response which he made in the name of his mother and +himself, expressed their gratitude for the kindness with which they had +ever been treated, and thanked them especially for the honor which they +had conferred upon him, in making him the "citizen of a free nation." As +a testimonial of his esteem he sent to the authorities of the canton two +brass six-pounder cannon, with complete trains and equipage. He also +founded a free school in the village of Sallenstein. + +Encouraged by these expressions of kindly feeling, both Hortense and her +son were very desirous to return to their quiet and much-loved retreat +at Arenemberg. The prince, however, who never allowed himself to waste a +moment of time, devoted himself, during this short visit to England, +assiduously to the study of the workings of British institutions, and to +the progress which the nation had attained in the sciences and the arts. +It was not easy for Hortense and her son to return to Arenemberg. The +Government of Louis Philippe would not permit them to pass through +France. Austria vigilantly and indignantly watched every pathway through +Italy. They made application for permission to pass through Belgium, but +this was denied them. The Belgian throne, which was afterwards offered +to Leopold, was then vacant. It was feared that the people would rally +at the magic name of Napoleon, and insist that the crown should be +placed upon the brow of the young prince. + +In this sore dilemma, Louis Philippe at last consented, very +reluctantly, that they might pass hurriedly through France, Hortense +assuming the name of the Baroness of Arenemberg, and both giving their +pledge not to enter Paris. Having obtained the necessary passports, +Hortense, with her son, left London in August, and, crossing the +Channel, landed at Calais, thus placing their feet once more upon the +soil of their native land, from which they were exiled by Bourbon power +simply because they bore the name of Bonaparte, which all France so +greatly revered. In conformity with their agreement they avoided Paris, +though they visited the tomb of Josephine, at Ruel. + +They had scarcely reached Switzerland when a deputation of distinguished +Poles called upon the young prince, urging him to place himself at the +head of their nation, then in arms, endeavoring to regain independence. +The letter containing this offer was dated August 31, 1831. It was +signed by General Kniazewiez, Count Plater, and many other of the most +illustrious men of Poland. + +"To whom," it was said, "can the direction of our enterprise be better +intrusted than to the nephew of the greatest captain of all ages? A +young Bonaparte appearing in our country, tri-color in hand, would +produce a moral effect of incalculable consequences. Come, then, young +hero, hope of our country. Trust to the waves, which already know your +name, the fortunes of Caesar, and what is more, the destinies of liberty. +You will gain the gratitude of your brethren in arms and the admiration +of the world." + +The chivalric spirit of the young prince was aroused. Notwithstanding +the desperation of the enterprise and the great anxiety of his mother, +Louis Napoleon left Arenemberg to join the Poles. He had not proceeded +far when he received the intelligence that Warsaw was captured and that +the patriots were crushed. Sadly he returned to Arenemberg. Again, as +ever, he sought solace for his disappointment in intense application to +study. In August, 1832, Madame Recamier with M. de Chateaubriand made a +visit to Hortense, at the chateau of Arenemberg. The biographer of +Madame Recamier in the following terms records this visit: + +"In August, 1832, Madame Recamier decided to make a trip to Switzerland, +where she was to meet M. de Chateaubriand, who was already wandering in +the mountains. She went to Constance. The chateau of Arenemberg, where +the Duchess of St. Leu passed her summers, and which she had bought and +put in order, overlooks Lake Constance. It was impossible for Madame +Recamier not to give a few days to this kind and amiable person, +especially in her forlorn and isolated position. The duchess, too, had +lost, the year previous, her eldest son, Napoleon, who died in Italy. + +"When M. de Chateaubriand joined Madame Recamier at Constance, he was +invited to dine with her at the castle. Hortense received him with the +most gracious kindness, and read to him some extracts from her own +memoirs. The establishment at Arenemberg was elegant, and on a large +though not ostentatious scale. Hortense's manners, in her own house, +were simple and affectionate. She talked too much, perhaps, about her +taste for a life of retirement, love of nature, and aversion to +greatness, to be wholly believed. After all these protestations, her +visitor could not perceive without surprise the care the duchess and her +household took to treat Prince Louis like a sovereign. He had the +precedence of every one. + +"The prince, polite, accomplished, and taciturn, appeared to Madame +Recamier to be a very different person from his elder brother, whom she +had known in Rome, young, generous, and enthusiastic. The prince +sketched for her, in sepia, a view of Lake Constance, overlooked by the +chateau of Arenemberg. In the foreground a shepherd, leaning against a +tree, is watching his flock and playing on the flute. This design, +pleasantly associated with Madame Recamier's visit, is now historically +interesting. For the last ten years the signature of the author has +been affixed to very different things." + +But a month before this visit, in July, 1832, Napoleon's only son, the +Duke of Reichstadt, died at the age of twenty-one years. All concur in +testifying to his noble character. He died sadly, ever cherishing the +memory of his illustrious sire, who had passed to the grave through the +long agony of St. Helena. The death of the Duke of Reichstadt brought +Louis Napoleon one step nearer to the throne of the Empire, according to +the vote of the French. There were now but two heirs between him and the +crown--his uncle Joseph and his father Louis. Both of these were +advanced in life, and the latter exceedingly infirm. The legitimists +denied that the people had any right to establish a dynasty; but it was +clear that whatever rights popular suffrage could confer would descend +to Louis Napoleon upon the death of Joseph and of Louis Bonaparte. Louis +Napoleon had no doubt that the immense majority of the French people +would improve the first possible opportunity to re-establish the Empire; +and consequently the conviction which he so confidently cherished, that +he was destined to be the Emperor of France, was not a vague and +baseless impression, but the dictate of sound judgment. + +The Holy Alliance now contemplated Louis Napoleon with great anxiety, +and kept a very close watch upon all his movements. The Government of +Louis Philippe was even more unpopular in France than the Government of +the elder branch of the Bourbons had been. The crown had not been placed +upon his brow either by _legitimacy_ or by _popular suffrage_, and there +were but few whom he could rally to his support. + +With never-flagging zeal the prince prosecuted his studies in the +peaceful retreat at Arenemberg, that he might be prepared for the high +destiny which he believed awaited him. He published several very +important treatises, which attracted the attention of Europe, and which +gave him a high position, not merely as a man of letters, but as a +statesman of profound views. The _Spectateur Militaire_, in the review +of the "Manual of Artillery," by Prince Louis Napoleon, says: + +"In looking over this book, it is impossible not to be struck with the +laborious industry of which it is the fruit. Of this we can get an idea +by the list of authors, French, German, and English, which he has +consulted. And this list is no vain catalogue. We can find in the text +the ideas, and often the very expressions, of the authorities which he +has quoted. When we consider how much study and perseverance must have +been employed to succeed in producing only the literary part (for even +the illustrations scattered through the work are from the author's own +designs) of a book which requires such profound and varied attainments, +and when we remember that this author was born on the steps of a throne, +we can not help being seized with admiration for the man who thus +bravely meets the shocks of adversity." + +A gentleman, in a work entitled "Letters from London," in the following +language describes the prince's mode of life at Arenemberg: + +"From his tenderest youth Prince Louis Napoleon has despised the habits +of an effeminate life. Although his mother allowed him a considerable +sum for his amusements, these were the last things he thought of. All +this money was spent in acts of beneficence, in founding schools or +houses of refuge, in printing his military or political works, or in +making scientific experiments. His mode of life was always frugal, and +rather rude. At Arenemberg it was quite military. + +"His room, situated not in the castle, but in a small pavilion beside +it, offered none of the grandeur or elegance so prevalent in Hortense's +apartment. It was, in truth, a regular soldier's tent. Neither carpet +nor arm-chair appeared there; nothing that could indulge the body; +nothing but books of science and arms of all kinds. As for himself, he +was on horseback at break of day, and before any one had risen in the +castle he had ridden several leagues. He then went to work in his +cabinet. Accustomed to military exercises, as good a rider as could be +seen, he never let a day pass without devoting some hours to sword and +lance practice and the use of infantry arms, which he managed with +extraordinary rapidity and address." + +[Illustration: THE STUDY OF LOUIS NAPOLEON.] + +His personal appearance at that time is thus graphically sketched. "He +is middle-sized, of an agreeable countenance, and has a military air. To +personal advantages he joins the more seductive distinction of manners +simple, natural, and full of good taste and ease. At first sight I was +struck with his resemblance to Prince Eugene, and to the Empress +Josephine, his grandmother. But I did not remark a like resemblance +to the Emperor. But by attentively observing the essential features, +that is those not depending on more or less fullness or on more or less +beard, we soon discover that the Napoleonic type is reproduced with +astonishing fidelity. It is, in fact, the same lofty forehead, broad and +straight, the same nose, of fine proportions, the same gray eyes, +though, the expression is milder. It is particularly the same contour +and inclination of the head. The latter especially, when the prince +turns, is so full of the Napoleon air, as to make a soldier of the Old +Guard thrill at the sight. And if the eye rests on the outline of these +forms, it is impossible not to be struck, as if before the head of the +Emperor, with the imposing grandeur of the Roman profile, of which the +lines, so defined, so grave, I will even add and so solemn, are, as it +were, the soul of great destinies. + +"The distinguishing expression of the features of the young prince is +that of nobleness and gravity. And yet, far from being harsh, his +countenance, on the contrary, breathes a sentiment of mildness and +benevolence. It seems that the maternal type which is preserved in the +lower part of his face has come to correct the rigidity of the imperial +lines, as the blood of the Beauharnais seems to have tempered in him +the southern violence of the Napoleon blood. But what excites the +greatest interest is that indefinable tinge of melancholy and +thoughtfulness observable in the slightest movement, and revealing the +noble sufferings of exile. + +"But after this portrait you must not figure to yourself one of those +elegant young men, those Adonises of romance who excite the admiration +of the drawing-room. There is nothing of effeminacy in the young +Napoleon. The dark shadows of his countenance indicate an energetic +nature. His assured look, his glance at once quick and thoughtful, every +thing about him points out one of those exceptional natures, one of +those great souls that live by meditating on great things, and that +alone are capable of accomplishing them." + +About this time the young prince wrote as follows to his friend, the +poet Belmontet: "Still far from my country, and deprived of all that can +render life dear to a manly heart, I yet endeavor to retain my courage +in spite of fate, and find my only consolation in hard study. Adieu. +Sometimes think of all the bitter thoughts which must fill my mind when +I contrast the past glories of France with her present condition and +hopeless future. It needs no little courage to press on alone, as one +can, towards the goal which one's heart has vowed to reach. Nevertheless +I must not despair, the honor of France has so many elements of vitality +in it." + +Some months later he wrote to the same friend: "My life has been until +now marked only by profound griefs and stifled wishes. The blood of +Napoleon rebels in my veins, in not being able to flow for the national +glory. Until the present time there has been nothing remarkable in my +life, excepting my birth. The sun of glory shone upon my cradle. Alas! +that is all. But who can complain when the Emperor has suffered so much? +Faith in the future, such is my only hope; the sword of the Emperor my +only stay; a glorious death for France my ambition. Adieu! Think of the +poor exiles, whose eyes are ever turned towards the beloved shores of +France. And believe that my heart will never cease to beat at the sound +of country, honor, patriotism, and devotion." + +Hortense deeply sympathized in the sorrows of her son. Like the caged +eagle, he was struggling against his bars, longing for a lofty flight. +On the 10th of August, 1834, she wrote to their mutual friend, Belmontet +as follows: + +"The state of my affairs obliges me to remain during the winter in my +mountain home, exposed to all its winds. But what is this compared with +the dreadful sufferings which the Emperor endured upon the rock of St. +Helena? I would not complain if my son, at his age, did not find himself +deprived of all society and completely isolated, without any diversion +but the laborious pursuits to which he is devoted. His courage and +strength of soul equal his sad and painful destiny. What a generous +nature! What a good and noble young man! I am proud to be his mother, +and I should admire him if I were not so. I rejoice as much in the +nobleness of his character, as I grieve at being unable to render his +life more happy. He was born for better things. He is worthy of them. We +contemplate passing a couple of months at Geneva. There he will at least +hear the French language spoken. That will be an agreeable change for +him. The mother-tongue, is it not almost one's country?" + +It every day became more and more evident that the throne of Louis +Philippe, founded only upon the stratagem of a clique in Paris, could +not stand long. Under these circumstances, one of the leading +Republicans in Paris wrote to the prince as follows: + +"The life of the king is daily threatened. If one of these attempts +should succeed, we should be exposed to the most serious convulsions; +for there is no longer in France any party which can lead the others, +nor any man who can inspire general confidence. In this position, +prince, we have turned our eyes to you. The great name which you bear, +your opinions, your character, every thing induces us to see in you a +point of rallying for the popular cause. Hold yourself ready for action, +and when the time shall come your friends will not fail you." + +The Government of Louis Philippe had been constrained by the demand of +the French people to restore to the summit of the column in the Place +Vendome the statue of Napoleon, which the Allies had torn from it. As +the colossal image of the Emperor was raised to its proud elevation on +that majestic shaft, the utmost enthusiasm pervaded not only the streets +of the metropolis, but entire France. Day after day immense crowds +gathered in the place, garlanding the railing with wreaths of +immortelles, and exhibiting enthusiasm which greatly alarmed the +Government. + +Hortense and Louis, from their place of exile, watched these popular +demonstrations with intensest interest. All France seemed to be honoring +Napoleon. And yet neither Hortense nor her son were allowed by the +Government to touch the soil of France under penalty of death, simply +because they were relatives of Napoleon. The completion of the Arc de +l'Etoile, at the head of the avenue of the Champs Elysee, a work which +Napoleon had originated, was another reminder to the Parisians of the +genius of the great Emperor. + +The Emperor, with dying breath, had said at St. Helena, "It is my wish +that my ashes may repose on the banks of the Seine, in the midst of the +French people whom I have loved so well." All France was now demanding +that this wish should be fulfilled. The Government dared not attempt to +resist the popular sentiment. The remains were demanded of England, and +two frigates were sent to transport them to France. And the whole +kingdom prepared to receive those remains, and honor them with a burial +more imposing than had ever been conferred upon a mortal before. + +Louis Napoleon and his friends thought that the time had now arrived in +which it was expedient for him to present himself before the people of +France, and claim their protection from the oppression of the French +Government. It was believed that the French people, should the +opportunity be presented them, would rise at the magic name of Napoleon, +overthrow the throne of Louis Philippe, and then, by the voice of +universal suffrage, would re-establish the Empire. + +This would place Joseph Bonaparte on the throne, and would at once annul +the decree of banishment against the whole Bonaparte family. Hortense +and Louis Napoleon could then return to their native land. As Louis +Napoleon was in the direct line of hereditary descent, the +re-establishment of the Empire would undoubtedly in the end secure the +crown for Louis Napoleon. The ever-increasing enthusiasm manifested for +the memory of Napoleon I., and the almost universal unpopularity of the +Government of Louis Philippe, led Louis Napoleon and his friends to +think that the time had come for the restoration of the Empire, or +rather to restore to the people the right of universal suffrage, that +they might choose a republic or empire or a monarchy, as the people +should judge best for the interests of France. + +It so happened that there was, at that time, in garrison at Strasburg +the same regiment in which General Bonaparte so brilliantly commenced +his career at the siege of Toulon, and which had received him with so +much enthusiasm at Grenoble, on his return from Elba, and had escorted +him in his triumphant march to Paris. Colonel Vaudrey, a very +enthusiastic and eloquent young man who had great influence over his +troops, was in command of the regiment. It was not doubted that these +troops would with enthusiasm rally around an heir of the Empire. In +preparation for the movement, Louis Napoleon held several interviews +with Colonel Vaudrey at Baden. In one of these interviews the prince +said to the colonel: + +"The days of prejudice are past. The prestige of divine right has +vanished from France with the old institutions. A new era has commenced. +Henceforth the people are called to the free development of their +faculties. But in this general impulse, impressed by modern +civilization, what can regulate the movement? What government will be +sufficiently strong to assure to the country the enjoyment of public +liberty without agitations, without disorders? It is necessary for a +free people that they should have a government of immense moral force. +And this moral force, where can it be found, if not in the right and the +will of all? So long as a general vote has not sanctioned a government, +no matter what that government may be, it is not built upon a solid +foundation. Adverse factions will constantly agitate society; while +institutions ratified by the voice of the nation will lead to the +abolition of parties and will annihilate individual resistances. + +"A revolution is neither legitimate nor excusable except when it is made +in the interests of the majority of the nation. One may be sure that +this is the motive which influences him, when he makes use of moral +influences only to attain his ends. If the Government have committed so +many faults as to render a revolution desirable for the nation, if the +Napoleonic cause have left sufficiently deep remembrances in French +hearts, it will be enough, for me merely to present myself before the +soldiers and the people, recalling to their memory their recent griefs +and past glory, for them to flock around my standard. + +"If I succeed in winning over a regiment, if the soldiers to whom I am +unknown are roused by the sight of the imperial eagle, then all the +chances will be mine. My cause will be morally gained, even if secondary +obstacles rise to prevent its success. It is my aim to present a popular +flag--the most popular, the most glorious of all,--which shall serve as +a rallying-point for the generous and the patriotic of all parties; to +restore to France her dignity without universal war, her liberty without +license, her stability without despotism. To arrive at such a result, +what must be done? One must receive from the people alone all his power +and all his rights." + +The man who should undertake in this way to overthrow an established +government, must of course peril his life. If unsuccessful, he could +anticipate no mercy. Hortense perceived with anxiety that the mind of +her son was intensely absorbed in thoughts which he did not reveal to +her. On the morning of the 25th of October, 1836, Louis Napoleon bade +adieu to his mother, and left Arenemberg in his private carriage, +ostensibly to visit friends at Baden. A few days after, Hortense was +plunged into the deepest distress by the reception of the following +letter: + +"MY DEAR MOTHER,--You must have been very anxious in receiving no +tidings from me--you who believed me to be with my cousin. But your +inquietude will be redoubled when you learn that I made an attempt at +Strasburg, which has failed. I am in prison, with several other +officers. It is for them only that I suffer. As for myself, in +commencing such an enterprise, I was prepared for every thing. Do not +weep, mother. I am the victim of a noble cause, of a cause entirely +French. Hereafter justice will be rendered me and I shall be +commiserated. + +"Yesterday morning I presented myself before the Fourth Artillery, and +was received with cries of _Vive l'Empereur!_ For a time all went well. +The Forty-sixth resisted. We were captured in the court-yard of their +barracks. Happily no French blood was shed. This consoles me in my +calamity. Courage, my mother! I shall know how to support, even to the +end, the honor of the name I bear. Adieu! Do not uselessly mourn my lot. +Life is but a little thing. Honor and France are every thing to me. I +embrace you with my whole heart. Your tender and respectful son, + + "LOUIS NAPOLEON BONAPARTE. + "Strasburg, November 1, 1836." + +Hortense immediately hastened to France, to do whatever a mother's love +and anguish could accomplish for the release of her son, though in +crossing the frontiers she knew that she exposed herself to the penalty +of death. Apprehensive lest her presence in Paris might irritate the +Government, she stopped at Viry, at the house of the Duchess de Raguse. +Madame Recamier repaired at once to Viry to see Hortense, where she +found her in great agony. Soon, however, a mother's fears were partially +relieved, as the Government of Louis Philippe, knowing the universal +enthusiasm with which the Emperor and the Empire were regarded, did not +dare to bring the young prince to trial, or even to allow it to be known +that he was upon the soil of France. With the utmost precipitation they +secretly hurried their prisoner through France, by day and by night, to +the seaboard, where he was placed on board a frigate, whose captain had +sealed instructions respecting the destination of his voyage, which he +was not to open until he had been several days at sea. + +Poor Hortense, utterly desolate and heart-broken, returned to +Arenemberg. She knew that the life of her son had been spared, and that +he was to be transported to some distant land. But she knew not where he +would be sent, or what would be his destiny there. It is however +probable that ere long she learned, through her numerous friends, what +were the designs of the Government respecting him. She however never saw +her son again until, upon a dying bed, she gave him her last embrace and +blessing. The hurried journey, and the terrible anxiety caused by the +arrest and peril of her son, inflicted a blow upon Hortense from which +she never recovered. Weary months passed away in the solitude of +Arenemberg, until at last the heart-stricken mother received a package +of letters from the exile. As the narrative contained in these letters +throws very interesting light upon the character of the mother as well +as of the son, we shall insert it in the next chapter. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +LETTER FROM LOUIS NAPOLEON TO HIS MOTHER. + +1836-1837 + +The attempt at Strasburg.--The march through the streets.--Peril of the +prince.--Utter failure of the enterprise.--Examination of the +captive.--Anxiety of Louis Napoleon for his companions.--Severe +treatment.--Sympathy of the guard.--Hurried through France.--Statement +of Louis Napoleon.--Remarks to Colonel Vaudrey.--The Napoleonic +system.--Louis Napoleon's plea for his confederates.--Scenes at +sea.--Life on board the frigate.--Uncertainty of the +destination.--Reflections of the captive.--Crossing the equator.--Letter +to his mother.--Arrival at Rio Janeiro.--Remembrance of friends. + + +"My Mother,--To give you a detailed recital of my misfortunes is to +renew your griefs and mine. And still it is a consolation, both for you +and for me, that you should be informed of all the impressions which I +have experienced, and of all the emotions which have agitated me since +the end of October. You know what was the pretext which I gave when I +left Arenemberg. But you do not know what was then passing in my heart. +Strong in my conviction which led me to look upon the Napoleonic cause +as the only national cause in France, as the only civilizing cause in +Europe, proud of the nobility and purity of my intentions, I was fully +resolved to raise the imperial eagle, or to fall the victim of my +political faith. + +"I left, taking in my carriage the same route which I had followed three +months before when going from Urkirch to Baden. Every thing was the +same around me. But what a difference in the impressions with which I +was animated! I was then cheerful and serene as the unclouded day. But +now, sad and thoughtful, my spirit had taken the hue of the air, gloomy +and chill, which surrounded me. I may be asked, what could have induced +me to abandon a happy existence, to encounter all the risks of a +hazardous enterprise. I reply that a secret voice constrained me; and +that nothing in the world could have induced me to postpone to another +period an attempt which seemed to me to present so many chances of +success. + +"And the most painful thought for me at this moment is--now that reality +has come to take the place of suppositions, and that, instead of +imagining, I have seen--that I am firm in the belief that if I had +followed the plan which I had marked out for myself, instead of being +now under the Equator, I should be in my own country. Of what importance +to me are those vulgar ones which call me insensate because I have not +succeeded, and which would have exaggerated my merit had I triumphed? I +take upon myself all the responsibility of the movement, for I have +acted from conviction, and not from the influence of others. Alas! if I +were the only victim I should have nothing to deplore. I have found in +my friends boundless devotion, and I have no reproaches to make against +any one whatever. + +"On the 27th I arrived at Lahr, a small town of the Grand-duchy of +Baden, where I awaited intelligence. Near that place the axle of my +carriage broke, and I was compelled to remain there for a day. On the +morning of the 28th I left Lahr, and, retracing my steps, passed through +Fribourg, Neubrisach, and Colmar, and arrived, at eleven o'clock in the +evening, at Strasburg without the least embarrassment. My carriage was +taken to the _Hotel de la Fleur_, while I went to lodge in a small +chamber, which had been engaged for me, in the _Rue de la Fontaine_. + +"There I saw, on the 29th, Colonel Vaudrey, and submitted to him the +plan of operations which I had drawn up. But the colonel, whose noble +and generous sentiments merited a better fate, said to me: + +"'There is no occasion here for a conflict with arms. Your cause is too +French and too pure to be soiled in shedding French blood. There is but +one mode of procedure which is worthy of you, because it will avoid all +collision. When you are at the head of my regiment we will march +together to General Voirol's.[K] An old soldier will not resist the +sight of you and of the imperial eagle when he knows that the garrison +follows you.' + +[Footnote K: The commanding officer of the garrison.] + +"I approved his reasons, and all things were arranged for the next +morning. A house had been engaged in a street in the neighborhood of the +quarter of Austerlitz, whence we all were to proceed to those barracks +as soon as the regiment of artillery was assembled. + +"Upon the 29th, at eleven o'clock in the evening, one of my friends came +to seek me at the _Rue de la Fontaine_, to conduct me to the general +rendezvous. We traversed together the whole city. A bright moon +illuminated the streets. I regarded the fine weather as a favorable omen +for the next day. I examined with care the places through which I +passed. The silence which reigned made an impression upon me. By what +would that calm be replaced to-morrow! + +"'Nevertheless,' said I to my companion, 'there will be no disorder if I +succeed. It is especially to avoid the troubles which frequently +accompany popular movements that I have wished to make the revolution by +means of the army. But,' I added, 'what confidence, what profound +conviction must we have of the nobleness of our cause, to encounter not +merely the dangers which we are about to meet, but that public opinion +which will load us with reproaches and overwhelm us if we do not +succeed! And still, I call God to witness that it is not to satisfy a +personal ambition, but because I believe that I have a mission to +fulfill, that I risk that which is more dear to me than life, the esteem +of my fellow-citizens.' + +"Having arrived at the house in the _Rue des Orphelins_, I found my +friends assembled in two apartments on the ground floor. I thanked them +for the devotion which they manifested for my cause, and said to them +that from that hour we would share good and bad fortune together. One of +the officers had an eagle. It was that which had belonged to the seventh +regiment of the line. 'The eagle of Labedoyere,'[L] one exclaimed, and +each one of us pressed it to his heart with lively emotion. All the +officers were in full uniform. I had put on the uniform of the artillery +and the hat of a major-general. + +[Footnote L: Colonel Labedoyere was a young man of fine figure and +elegant manners, descended from a respectable family, and whose heart +ever throbbed warmly in remembrance of the glories of the Empire. Upon +the abdication of Napoleon and his retirement to Elba, Labedoyere was +in command of the seventh regiment of the line, stationed at Grenoble. +He fraternized with his troops in the enthusiasm with which one and all +were swept away at the sight of the returning Emperor. Drawing a silver +eagle from his pocket, he placed it upon the flag-staff and embraced it +in the presence of all his soldiers, who, in a state of the wildest +excitement, with shouts of joy, gathered around Napoleon, crying _Vive +l'Empereur_! + +After Waterloo and the exile to St. Helena, Labedoyere was arrested, +tried, and shot. It is said that the judges shed tears when they +condemned the noble young man to death. His young wife threw herself at +the feet of Louis XVIII., and, frantic with grief, cried out, "Pardon, +sire, pardon!" Louis replied, "My duty as a king ties my hands. I can +only pray for the soul of him whom justice has condemned."--_Abbott's +Life of Napoleon_, vol. ii. p. 110.] + +"The night seemed to us very long. I spent it in writing my +proclamations, which I had not been willing to have printed in advance +for fear of some indiscretion. It was decided that we should remain in +that house until the colonel should notify me to proceed to the +barracks. We counted the hours, the minutes, the seconds. Six o'clock in +the morning was the moment indicated. + +"How difficult it is to express what one experiences under such +circumstances. In a second one lives more than in ten years; for to +live is to make use of our organs, our senses, our faculties--of all the +parts of ourselves which impart the sentiment of our existence. And in +these critical moments our faculties, our organs, our senses, exalted to +the highest degree, are concentrated on one single point. It is the hour +which is to decide our entire destiny. One is strong when he can say to +himself, 'To-morrow I shall be the liberator of my country, or I shall +be dead.' One is greatly to be pitied when circumstances are such that +he can neither be one nor the other. + +"Notwithstanding my precautions, the noise which a certain number of +persons meeting together can not help making, awoke the occupants of the +first story. We heard them rise and open their windows. It was five +o'clock. We redoubled our precautions, and they went to sleep again. + +"At last the clock struck six. Never before did the sound of a clock +vibrate so violently in my heart. But a moment after the bugle from the +quarter of Austerlitz came to accelerate its throbbings. The great +moment was approaching. A very considerable tumult was heard in the +street. Soldiers passed shouting; horsemen rode at full gallop by our +windows. I sent an officer to ascertain the cause of the tumult. Had the +chief officer of the garrison been informed of our projects? Had we been +discovered? My messenger soon returned to say to me that the noise came +from some soldiers whom the colonel had sent to fetch their horses, +which were outside the quarter. + +"A few more minutes passed, and I was informed that the colonel was +waiting for me. Full of hope, I hastened into the street. M. Parguin,[M] +in the uniform of a brigadier-general, and a commander of battalion, +carrying the eagle in his hand, are by my side. About a dozen officers +follow me. + +[Footnote M: M. Parguin was the gentleman to whom we have before +alluded, who was a highly esteemed young officer under Napoleon I., and +who, having married Mademoiselle Cotelet, the reader of Queen Hortense, +had purchased the estate of Wolfberg, in the vicinity of Arenemberg, and +became one of the most intimate friends of Prince Louis Napoleon.] + +"The distance was short; it was soon traversed. The regiment was drawn +up in line of battle in the barrack-yard, inside of the rails. Upon the +grass forty of the horse-artillery were stationed. + +"My mother, judge of the happiness I experienced at that moment. After +twenty-years of exile, I touched again the sacred soil of my country. I +found myself with Frenchmen whom the recollection of the Empire was +again to electrify. + +"Colonel Vaudrey was alone in the middle of the yard. I directed my +steps towards him. Immediately the colonel, whose noble countenance and +fine figure had at that moment something of the sublime, drew his sword +and exclaimed: + +"'Soldiers of the Fourth Regiment of Artillery! A great revolution is +being accomplished at this moment. You see here before you the nephew of +the Emperor Napoleon. He comes to reconquer the rights of the people. +The people and the army can rely upon him. It is around him that all +should rally who love the glory and the liberty of France. Soldiers! you +must feel, as does your chief, all the grandeur of the enterprise you +are about to undertake, all the sacredness of the cause you are about to +defend. Soldiers! can the nephew of the Emperor rely upon you?' + +"His voice was instantly drowned by unanimous cries of _Vive Napoleon! +Vive l'Empereur!_ I then addressed them in the following words: + +"'Resolved to conquer or to die for the cause of the French people, it +is to you first that I wish to present myself, because between you and +me exist grand recollections. It is in your regiment that the Emperor, +my uncle, served as captain. It is with you that he made his name famous +at the siege of Toulon, and it is your brave regiment again which opened +to him the gates of Grenoble, on his return from the isle of Elba. +Soldiers! new destinies are reserved for you. To you belongs the glory +of commencing a great enterprise; to you the honor of first saluting the +eagle of Austerlitz and of Wagram.' + +"I then seized the eagle-surmounted banner, which one of my officers, M. +de Carelles, bore, and presenting it to them, said, + +"'Soldiers! behold the symbol of the glory of France. During fifteen +years it conducted our fathers to victory. It has glittered upon all the +fields of battle. It has traversed all the capitals of Europe. Soldiers! +will you not rally around this noble standard which I confide to your +honor and to your courage? Will you not march with me against the +traitors and the oppressors of our country to the cry, _Vive la France! +Vive la liberte!_?' + +"A thousand affirmative cries responded to me. We then commenced our +march, music in front. Joy and hope beamed from every countenance. The +plan was, to hasten to the house of the general, and to present to him, +not a dagger at his throat, but the eagle before his eyes. It was +necessary, in order to reach his house, to traverse the whole city. +While on the way, I had to send an officer with a guard to publish my +proclamations; another to the prefect, to arrest him. In short, six +received special missions, so that when I arrived at the general's, I +had voluntarily parted with a considerable portion of my forces. + +"But had I then necessity to surround myself with so many soldiers? +could I not rely upon the participation of the people? and, in fine, +whatever may be said, along the whole route which I traversed I received +unequivocal signs of the sympathy of the population. I had actually to +struggle against the vehemence of the marks of interest which were +lavished upon me; and the variety of cries which greeted me showed that +there was no party which did not sympathize with my feelings. + +"Having arrived at the court of the hotel of the general, I ascended the +stairs, followed by Messieurs Vaudrey, Parguin, and two officers. The +general was not yet dressed. I said to him, + +"'General, I come to you as a friend. I should be sorry to raise our old +tri-color banner without the aid of a brave soldier like you. The +garrison is in my favor. Decide and follow me.' + +"The eagle was presented to him. He rejected it, saying, 'Prince, they +have deceived you. The army knows its duties, as I will prove to you +immediately.' + +"I then departed, and gave orders to leave a file of men to guard him. +The general afterwards presented himself to his soldiers, to induce them +to return to obedience. The artillerymen, under the orders of M. +Parguin, disregarded his authority, and replied to him only by +reiterated cries of _Vive l'Empereur_. Subsequently the general +succeeded in escaping from his hotel by an unguarded door. + +"When I left the hotel of the general, I was greeted with the same +acclamations of _Vive l'Empereur_. But this first check had already +seriously affected me. I was not prepared for it, convinced as I had +been that the sight alone of the eagle would recall to the general the +old souvenirs of glory, and would lead him to join us. + +"We resumed our march. Leaving the main street, we entered the barracks +of Finkematt, by the lane which leads there through the Faubourg of +Pierre. This barrack is a large building, erected in a place with no +outlet but the entrance. The ground in front is too narrow for a +regiment to be drawn up in line of battle. In seeing myself thus hedged +in between the ramparts and the barracks, I perceived that the plan +agreed upon had not been followed out. Upon our arrival, the soldiers +thronged around us. I harangued them. Most of them went to get their +arms, and returned to rally around me, testifying their sympathy for me +by their acclamations. + +"However, seeing them manifest a sudden hesitation, caused by the +reports circulated by some officers among them who endeavored to inspire +them with doubts of my identity, and as we were also losing precious +time in an unfavorable position, instead of hastening to the other +regiments who expected us, I requested the colonel to depart. He urged +me to remain a little longer. I complied with his advice. + +[Illustration: THE ARREST.] + +"Some infantry officers arrived, ordered the gates to be closed, and +strongly reprimanded their soldiers. The soldiers hesitated. I ordered +the arrest of the officers. Their soldiers rescued them. Then all was +confusion. The space was so contracted that each one was lost in the +crowd. The people, who had climbed upon the wall, threw stones at the +infantry. The cannoneers wished to use their arms, but we prevented it. +We saw clearly that it would cause the death of very many. I saw the +colonel by turns arrested by the infantry, and rescued by his soldiers. +I was myself upon the point of being slain by a multitude of men who, +recognizing me, crossed their bayonets upon me. I parried their thrusts +with my sabre, trying at the same time to calm them, when the cannoneers +rescued me from their guns, and placed me in the middle of themselves. + +"I then pressed forward, with some subaltern officers, towards the +mounted artillery men, to seize a horse. All the infantry followed me. I +found myself hemmed in between the horses and the wall, without power to +move. Then the soldiers, arriving from all parts, seized me and +conducted me to the guard-house. On entering I found M. Parguin. I +extended my hand to him. He said to me, speaking in tones calm and +resigned, 'Prince, we shall be shot, but it will be in a good cause.' + +"'Yes,' I replied, 'we have fallen in a grand and a glorious +enterprise.' + +"Soon after General Voirol arrived. He said to me, upon entering, + +"'Prince, you have found but one traitor in the French army.' + +"'Say rather, general,' I replied, 'that I have found one Labedoyere.' +Some carriages were soon brought, and we were transported to the new +prison. + +"Behold me, then, between four walls, with barred windows, in the abode +of criminals. Ah! those who know what it is to pass in an instant from +the excess of happiness, caused by the noblest illusions, to the excess +of misery, which leaves no hope, and to pass over this immense interval +without having one moment to prepare for it, alone can comprehend what +was passing in my heart. + +"At the lodge we met again. M. de Querelles, pressing my hand, said to +me in a loud voice, 'Prince, notwithstanding our defeat, I am still +proud of what we have done.' They subjected me to an interrogation. I +was calm and resigned. My part was taken. The following questions were +proposed to me: + +"'What has induced you to act as you have done?' + +"'My political opinions,' I replied, 'and my desire to return to my +country, from which a foreign invasion has exiled me. In 1830, I +demanded to be treated as a simple citizen. They treated me as a +pretender. Well, I have acted as a pretender.' + +"'Did you wish,' it was asked, 'to establish a military government?' + +"'I wished,' was my reply, 'to establish a government based on popular +election.' + +"'What would you have done if successful?' + +"'I would have assembled a national Congress.' + +"I declared then, that I alone having organized every thing, that I +alone having induced others to join me, the whole responsibility should +fall upon my head alone. Reconducted to prison, I threw myself upon a +bed which had been prepared for me, and, notwithstanding my torments, +sleep, which soothes suffering, in giving repose to the anguish of the +soul, came to calm my senses. Repose does not fly from the couch of the +unfortunate. It only avoids those who are consumed by remorse. But how +frightful was my awaking. I thought that I had had a dreadful nightmare. +The fate of the persons who were compromised caused me the greatest +grief and anxiety. I wrote to General Voirol, to say to him that his +honor obliged him to interest himself in behalf of Colonel Vaudrey; for +it was, perhaps, the attachment of the colonel for him, and the regard +with which he had treated him, which were the causes of the failure of +my enterprise. I closed in beseeching him that all the rigor of the law +might fall upon me, saying that I was the most guilty, and the only one +to be feared. + +"The general came to see me, and was very affectionate. He said, upon +entering, 'Prince, when I was your prisoner, I could find no words +sufficiently severe to say to you. Now that you are mine, I have only +words of consolation to offer.' Colonel Vaudrey and I were conducted to +the citadel, where I, at least, was much more comfortable than in +prison. But the civil power claimed us, and at the end of twenty-four +hours we were conveyed back to our former abode. + +"The jailer and the director of the prison at Strasburg did their duty; +but they endeavored to alleviate as much as possible my situation, while +a certain M. Lebel, who had been sent from Paris, wishing to show his +authority, prevented me from opening my windows to breathe the air, took +from me my watch, which he only restored to me at the moment of my +departure, and, in fine, even ordered blinds to intercept the light. + +"On the evening of the 9th I was told that I was to be transferred to +another prison. I went out and met the general and the prefect, who took +me away in their carriage without informing me where I was to be +conducted. I insisted that I should be left with my companions in +misfortune. But the Government had decided otherwise. Upon arriving at +the hotel of the prefecture, I found two post-chaises. I was ordered +into one with M. Cuynat, commander of the gendarmerie of the Seine, and +Lieutenant Thiboutot. In the other there were four sub-officers. + +"When I perceived that I was to leave Strasburg, and that it was my lot +to be separated from the other accused, I experienced anguish difficult +to be described. Behold me, then, forced to abandon the men who had +devoted themselves to me. Behold me deprived of the means of making +known in my defense my views and my intentions. Behold me receiving a +so-called favor from him upon whom I had wished to inflict the greatest +evil. I vented my sorrow in complaints and regrets. I could only +protest. + +"The two officers who conducted me were two officers of the Empire, +intimate friends of M. Parguin. Thus they treated me with the kindest +attentions. I could have thought myself travelling with friends. Upon +the 11th, at two o'clock in the morning, I arrived at Paris, at the +hotel of the Prefecture of Police. M. Delessat was very polite to me. He +informed me that you had come to France to claim in my favor the +clemency of the king, and that I was to start again in two hours for +Lorient, and that thence I was to sail for the United States in a French +frigate. + +"I said to the prefect that I was in despair in not being permitted to +share the fate of my companions in misfortune; that being thus withdrawn +from prison before undergoing a general examination (the first had been +only a summary one), I was deprived of the means of testifying to many +facts in favor of the accused. But my protestations were unavailing. I +decided to write to the king. And I said to him that, having been cast +into prison after having taken up arms against his Government, I dreaded +but one thing, and that was his generosity, since it would deprive me of +my sweetest consolation, the possibility of sharing the fate of my +companions in misfortune. I added that life itself was of little value +to me; but that my gratitude to him would be great if he would spare the +lives of a few old soldiers, the remains of our ancient army, who had +been enticed by me, and seduced by glorious souvenirs. + +"At the same time I wrote to M. Odillon Barrot[N] the letter which I +send with this, begging him to take charge of the defense of Colonel +Vaudrey. At four o'clock I resumed my journey, with the same escort, and +on the 14th we arrived at the citadel of Port Louis, near Lorient. I +remained there until the twenty-first day of November, when the frigate +was ready for sea. + +[Footnote N: A distinguished advocate in Paris.] + +"After having entreated M. Odillon Barrot to assume the defense of the +accused, and in particular of Colonel Vaudrey, I added: + +"'Monsieur, notwithstanding my desire to remain with my companions in +misfortune, and to partake of their lot, notwithstanding my entreaties +upon that subject, the king, in his clemency, has ordered that I should +be conducted to Lorient, to pass thence to America. Sensible as I ought +to be of the generosity of the king, I am profoundly afflicted in +leaving my co-accused, since I cherish the conviction that could I be +present at the bar, my depositions in their favor would influence the +jury, and enlighten them as to their decision. Deprived of the +consolation of being useful to the men whom I have enticed to their +loss, I am obliged to intrust to an advocate that which I am unable to +say myself to the jury. + +"'On the part of my co-accused there was no plot. There was only the +enticement of the moment. I alone arranged all. I alone made the +necessary preparations. I had already seen Colonel Vaudrey before the +30th of October, but he had not conspired with me. On the 29th, at eight +o'clock in the evening, no person knew but myself that the movement was +to take place the next day. I did not see Colonel Vaudrey until after +this. M. Parguin had come to Strasburg on his own private business. It +was not until the evening of the 29th, that I appealed to him. The other +persons knew of my presence in France, but were ignorant of the object +of my visit. It was not until the evening of the 29th that I assembled +the persons now accused; and I did not make them acquainted with my +intentions until that moment. + +"'Colonel Vaudrey was not present. The officers of the engineers had +come to join us, ignorant at first of what was to transpire. Certainly, +in the eyes of the established Government we are all culpable of having +taken up arms against it. But I am the most culpable. It is I who, for a +long time meditating a revolution, came suddenly to lure men from an +honorable social position, to expose them to the hazards of a popular +movement. Before the laws, my companions are guilty of allowing +themselves to be enticed. But never were circumstances more extenuating +in the eyes of the country than those in their favor. When I saw Colonel +Vaudrey and the other persons on the evening of the 29th, I addressed +them in the following language: + +"'"GENTLEMEN,--You are aware of all the complaints of the nation against +the Government. But you also know that there is no party now existing +which is sufficiently strong to overthrow it; no one sufficiently strong +to unite the French of all parties, even if it should succeed in taking +possession of supreme power. This feebleness of the Government, as well +as this feebleness of parties, proceeds from the fact that each one +represents only the interests of a single class in society. Some rely +upon the clergy and nobility; others upon the middle-class aristocracy, +and others still upon the lower classes alone. + +"'"In this state of things, there is but a single flag which can rally +all parties, because it is the banner of France, and not that of a +faction; it is the eagle of the Empire. Under this banner, which recalls +so many glorious memories, there is no class excluded. It represents the +interests and the rights of all. The Emperor Napoleon held his power +from the French people. Four times his authority received the popular +sanction. In 1814, hereditary right, in the family of the Emperor, was +recognized by four millions of votes. Since then the people have not +been consulted. + +"'"As the eldest of the nephews of Napoleon, I can then consider myself +as the representative of popular election; I will not say of the Empire +because in the lapse of twenty years the ideas and wants of France may +have changed. But a principle can not be annulled by facts. It can only +be annulled by another principle. Now the principle of popular election +in 1804 can not be annulled by the twelve hundred thousand foreigners +who entered France in 1815, nor by the chamber of two hundred and +twenty-one deputies in 1830. + +"'"The Napoleon system consists in promoting the march of civilization +without disorder and without excess; in giving an impulse to ideas by +developing material interests; in strengthening power by rendering it +respectable; in disciplining the masses according to their intellectual +faculties; in fine, in uniting around the altar of the country the +French of all parties by giving them honor and glory as the motives of +action." + +"'"No," exclaimed my brave companions in reply, "you shall not die +alone. We will die with you, or we will conquer together for the cause +of the French people." + +"'You see thus, sir, that it is I who have enticed them, in speaking to +them of every thing which could move the hearts of Frenchmen. They +spoke to me of their oaths. But I reminded them that, in 1815, they had +taken the oath to Napoleon II. and his dynasty. "Invasion alone," I said +to them, "released you from that oath. Well, force can re-establish that +which force alone has destroyed."' + +"I went even so far as to say to them that the death of the king had +been spoken of. I inserted this, my mother, as you will understand, in +order to be useful to them. You see how culpable I was in the eyes of +the Government. Well, the Government has been generous to me. It has +comprehended that my position of exile, that my love for my country, +that my relationship to the great man were extenuating causes. Will the +jury be less considerate than the Government? Will it not find +extenuating causes far stronger in favor of my accomplices, in the +souvenirs of the Empire; in the intimate relations of many among them to +me; in the enticement of the moment; in the example of Labedoyere; in +fine, in that sentiment of generosity which rendered it inevitable that, +being soldiers of the Empire, they could not see the eagle without +emotion; they preferred to sacrifice their own lives rather than abandon +the nephew of the Emperor Napoleon, than to deliver him to his +executioners, for we were far from thinking of any mercy in case of +failure? + + "In view of Madeira, December 12, 1836. + +"I remained ten days at the citadel of Port Louis. Every morning I +received a visit from the sub-prefect of Lorient, from the commander of +the place, and from the officer of the gendarmerie. They were all very +kind to me, and never ceased to speak to me of their attachment to the +memory of the Emperor. The commander, Cuynat, and Lieutenant Thiboutot, +were unfailing in their attentions to me. I could ever believe myself in +the midst of my friends, and the thought that they were in a position +hostile to me gave me much pain. + +"The winds remained contrary and prevented the frigate from leaving +port. At last, on the 21st, a steamer towed out the frigate. The +sub-prefect came to tell me that it was time to depart. The draw-bridge +of the citadel was lowered. I went forth, accompanied by the hospitable +officers of the place, in addition to those who brought me to Lorient. I +passed between two files of soldiers, who kept off the crowd of the +curious, which had gathered to see me. + +"We all entered the boats which were to convey us to the frigate, which +was waiting for us outside of the harbor. I took leave of these +gentlemen with cordiality. I ascended to the deck, and saw with sadness +of heart the shores of France disappear behind me. + +"I must now give you the details of the frigate. The commander has +assigned me a stateroom in the stern of the ship, where I sleep. I dine +with him, his son, the second officer, and the aide-de-camp. The +commander, captain of the ship, Henry de Villeneuve, is an excellent +man, frank and loyal as an old sailor. He pays me every attention. You +see that I have much less to complain of than my friends. The other +officers of the frigate are also very kind to me. + +"There are two other passengers who are two types. The one, an M. D., is +a _savant_, twenty-six years of age. He has much intelligence and +imagination, mingled with originality, and even with a little +eccentricity. For example, he believes in fortune-telling, and +undertakes to predict to each one of us his fate. He has also great +faith in magnetism, and has told me that a somnambulist had predicted to +him, two years ago, that a member of the family of the Emperor would +return to France and would dethrone Louis Philippe. He is going to +Brazil to make some experiments in electricity. The other passenger is +an ancient librarian of Don Pedro, who has preserved all the manners of +the ancient court. Maltreated at Brazil, in consequence of his +attachment to the Emperor, he returns there to obtain redress. + +"The first fifteen days of the voyage were very disagreeable. We were +continually tossed about by tempests and by contrary winds, which drove +us back almost to the entrance of the Channel. It was impossible during +that time to take a single step without clinging to whatever could be +seized with one's hand. + +"For several days we did not know that our destination was changed. The +commander had sealed orders, which he opened and which directed him to +go to Rio Janeiro; to remain there as long as should be necessary to +re-provision the vessel; to retain me on board during the whole time the +frigate remained in the harbor, and then to convey me to New York. Now +you know that this frigate was destined to go to the southern seas, +where it will remain stationed for two years. It was thus compelled to +make an additional voyage of three thousand leagues; for from New York +it will be obliged to return to Rio, making a long circuit to the east +in order to take advantage of the trade-winds. + + "In view of the Canaries, December 14th. + +"Every man carries within himself a world, composed of all which he has +seen and loved, and to which he returns incessantly, even when he is +traversing foreign lands. I do not know, at such times, which is the +most painful, the memory of the misfortunes which you have encountered, +or of the happy days which are no more. We have passed through the +winter and are again in summer. The trade-winds have succeeded the +tempests, so that I can spend most of my time on deck. Seated upon the +poop, I reflect upon all which has happened to me, and I think of you +and of Arenemberg. Situations depend upon the affections which one +cherishes. Two months ago I asked only that I might never return to +Switzerland. Now, if I should yield to my impressions, I should have no +other desire than to find myself again in my little chamber in that +beautiful country, where it seems to me that I ought to be so happy. +Alas! when one has a soul which feels deeply, one is destined to pass +his days in the languor of inaction or in the convulsions of distressing +situations. + +"When I returned, a few months ago, from conducting Matilde,[O] in +entering the park I found a tree broken by the storm, and I said to +myself, our marriage will be broken by fate. That which I vaguely +imagined has been realized. Have I, then, exhausted in 1836 all the +share of happiness which is to be allotted to me? + +[Footnote O: The Princess Matilde, his cousin, daughter of Jerome, with +whom it is supposed that he then contemplated marriage.] + +"Do not accuse me of feebleness if I allow myself to give you an account +of all my impressions. One can regret that which he has lost, without +repenting of that which he has done. Besides, our sensations are not so +independent of interior causes, but that our ideas should be somewhat +modified by the objects which surround us. The rays of the sun or the +direction of the wind have a great influence over our moral state. When +it is beautiful weather, as it is to-day, the sea being as calm as the +Lake of Constance when we used to walk upon its banks in the +evening--when the moon, the same moon, illumines us with the same +softened brilliance--when the atmosphere, in fine, is as mild as in the +month of August in Europe,--then I am more sad than usual. All memories, +pleasant or painful, fall with the same weight upon my heart. Beautiful +weather dilates the heart and renders it more impressible, while bad +weather contracts it. The passions alone are independent of the changes +of the seasons. When we left the barracks of Austerlitz, a flurry of +snow fell upon us. Colonel Vaudrey, to whom I made the remark, said to +me, 'Notwithstanding this squall, we shall have a fine day.' + + "December 29th. + +"We passed the line yesterday. The customary ceremony took place. The +commander, who is always very polite to me, exempted me from the +baptism. It is an ancient usage, but which, nevertheless, is not +sensible, to fete the passage of the line by throwing water over one's +self and aping a divine office. It was very hot. I have found on board +enough books to occupy my time. I have read again the works of M. de +Chateaubriand and of J. J. Rousseau. Still, the motion of the ship +renders all occupation fatiguing." + + "January 1, 1837. + +"MY DEAR MAMMA, MA CHERE MAMAN,--This is the first day of the year. I am +fifteen hundred leagues from you in another hemisphere. Happily, thought +traverses that space in less than a second. I am near you. I express to +you my profound regret for all the sorrows which I have occasioned you. +I renew to you the expression of my tenderness and of my gratitude. + +"This morning the officers came in a body to wish me a happy new year. I +was much gratified by this attention on their part. At half-past four we +were at the table. As we were seventeen degrees of longitude west of +Constance, it was at that same time seven o'clock at Arenemberg. You +were probably at dinner. I drank, in thought, to your health. You +perhaps did the same for me. At least I flattered myself in believing so +at that moment. I thought, also, of my companions in misfortune. Alas! I +think continually of them. I thought that they were more unhappy than I, +and that thought renders me more unhappy than they. + +"Present my very tender regards to good Madame Salvage, to the young +ladies, to that poor little Claire, and to M. Cottrau, and to Arsene. + + "January 5th. + +"We have had a squall, which struck us with extreme violence. If the +sails had not been torn to pieces by the wind the frigate would have +been in great danger. One of the masts was broken. The rain fell so +impetuously that the sea was entirely white. To-day the sky is as serene +as usual, the damages are repaired, and the tempestuous weather is +forgotten. But it is not so with the storms of life. In speaking of the +frigate, the commander told me that the frigate which bore your name is +now in the South Sea, and is called _La Flora_. + + "January 10. + +"We have arrived at Rio Janeiro. The _coup d'oeil_ of the harbor is +superb. To-morrow I shall make a drawing of it. I hope that this letter +will soon reach you. Do not think of coming to join me. I do not yet +know where I shall settle. Perhaps I may find more inducements to live +in South America. The labor to which the uncertainty of my lot will +oblige me to devote myself, in order to create for myself a position, +will be the only consolation which I can enjoy. Adieu, my mother. +Remember me to the old servants, and to our friends of Thurgovia and of +Constance. I am very well. Your affectionate and respectful son, + + "LOUIS NAPOLEON BONAPARTE." + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +THE DEATH OF HORTENSE, AND THE ENTHRONEMENT OF HER SON. + +1837-1869 + +Cruel slanders.--Brief stay in this country.--Elevated personal +character.--Testimony to his private worth.--Letter from Hortense to her +son.--Anxieties, sorrows, and sickness of Hortense.--Letter to Madame +Recamier.--Hortense receives letters from her son.--Louis Napoleon +returns to Arenemberg.--Death of Hortense.--Action of the Government of +Louis Philippe.--Burial of Hortense.--Louis Napoleon's love for his +mother.--Account of the escape from Ham.--Louis Napoleon in +London.--Overthrow of Louis Philippe.--Walter Savage Landor.--Empress +Eugenie.--Testimony of General Dix. + + +After a short tarry at Rio Janeiro, during which the prince was not +permitted to land, the frigate again set sail, and on the 30th of March, +1837, reached Norfolk, Virginia. The prince proceeded immediately to New +York. By a cruel error, which has mistaken him for one of his cousins, +Pierre Bonaparte, a very wild young man, the reputation of Louis +Napoleon has suffered very severely in this country. The evidence is +conclusive that there has been a mistake. Louis Napoleon, thoughtful, +studious, pensive, has ever been at the farthest possible remove from +vulgar dissipation. + +A writer in the _Home Journal_, whose reliability is vouched for by the +editor, says, in reference to his brief residence in New York: "He is +remembered as a quiet, melancholy man, winning esteem rather by the +unaffected modesty of his demeanor than by eclat of lineage or the +romantic incidents which had befallen him. In the words of a +distinguished writer, who well knew him at that day: 'So unostentatious +was his deportment, so correct, so pure his life, that even the ripple +of scandal can not appear plausibly upon its surface.' We have inquired +of those who entertained him as their guest, of those who tended at his +sick-bed, of the artist who painted his miniature, of his lady friends +(and he was known to some who yet adorn society), of politicians, +clergymen, editors, gentlemen of leisure, in fact, of every source +whence reliable information could be obtained, and we have gathered but +accumulated testimonials to his intrinsic worth and fair fame." + +Prince Louis Napoleon remained in this country but seven weeks. The +testimony of all who knew him is uncontradicted, that he was peculiarly +winning in his attractions as a friend, and irreproachable as a man. +Rev. Charles S. Stewart, of the United States Navy, was intimately +acquainted with him during the whole period of his residence here. He +writes: + +"The association was not that of hours only but of days, and on one +occasion, at least, of days in succession; and was characterized by a +freedom of conversation on a great variety of topics that could scarce +fail, under the ingenuousness and frankness of his manner, to put me in +possession of his views, principles, and feelings upon most points that +give insight to character. + +"I never heard a sentiment from him and never witnessed a feeling that +could detract from his honor and purity as a man, or his dignity as a +prince. On the contrary, I often had occasion to admire the lofty +thought and exalted conceptions which seemed most to occupy his mind. He +was winning in the invariableness of his amiability, often playful in +spirits and manner, and warm in his affections. He was a most fondly +attached son and seemed to idolize his mother. When speaking of her, the +intonations of his voice and his whole manner were often as gentle and +feminine as those of a woman. + +"In both eating and drinking he was, as far as I observed, abstemious +rather than self-indulgent. I repeatedly breakfasted, dined, and supped +in his company; and never knew him to partake of any thing stronger in +drink than the light wines of France and Germany, and of these in great +moderation. I have been with him early and late, unexpectedly as well +as by appointment, and never saw reason for the slightest suspicion of +any irregularity in his habits." + +Such is the testimony, so far as can be ascertained, of every one who +enjoyed any personal acquaintance with Louis Napoleon while in this +country. He was the guest of Washington Irving, Chancellor Kent, and of +the Hamiltons, Clintons, Livingstons, and other such distinguished +families in New York. + +While busily engaged in studying the institutions of our country and +making arrangements for quite an extensive tour through the States, he +received a letter from his mother which immediately changed all his +plans. The event is thus described by Mr. Stewart: + +"With this expectation he consulted me and others as to the arrangement +of the route of travel, so as to visit the different sections of the +Union at the most desirable seasons. But his plans were suddenly changed +by intelligence of the serious illness of Queen Hortense, or, as then +styled, the Duchess of St. Leu. I was dining with him the day the letter +conveying this information was received. Recognizing the writing on the +envelope, as it was handed to him at the table, he hastily broke the +seal and had scarce glanced over half a page before he exclaimed: + +"'My mother is ill, I must see her. Instead of a tour of the States, I +shall take the next packet for England. I will apply for passports for +the Continent at every embassy in London, and if unsuccessful, will make +my way to her without them.'" + +The following was the letter which he received from his mother: + +"MY DEAR SON,--I am about to submit to an operation which has become +absolutely necessary. If it is not successful I send you, by this +letter, my benediction. We shall meet again, shall we not? in a better +world, where may you come to join me as late as possible. In leaving +this world I have but one regret; it is to leave you and your +affectionate tenderness--the greatest charm of my existence here. It +will be a consolation to you, my dear child, to reflect that by your +attentions you have rendered your mother as happy as it was possible for +her, in her circumstances, to be. Think that a loving and a watchful eye +still rests on the dear ones we leave behind, and that we shall surely +meet again. Cling to this sweet idea. It is too necessary not to be +true. I press you to my heart, my dear son. I am very calm and resigned, +and hope that we shall again meet in this world. Your affectionate +mother, + + "HORTENSE. + "Arenemberg, April 3, 1837." + +As we have mentioned, Queen Hortense, upon receiving news of the arrest +of her son, hastened to France to do what she could to save him. Madame +Recamier found her at Viry, in great anguish of spirit. When she +received tidings of his banishment she returned, overwhelmed with the +deepest grief, to her desolated home. It seems that even then an +internal disease, which, with a mother's love, she had not revealed to +her son, was threatening her life. Madame Recamier, as she bade her +adieu, was much moved by the great change in her appearance. The two +friends never met again. + +Madame Salvage, a distinguished lady, who had devoted herself with +life-long enthusiasm to the Queen of Holland, accompanied her to France +and returned with her to Arenemberg. On the 13th of April, Madame +Salvage wrote the following letter from Arenemberg to Madame Recamier. + +"I wrote you a long letter four days ago, dear friend, telling you of my +unhappiness. I received yesterday your letter of the 7th, for which I +thank you. I needed it much, and it is a consolation to me. + +"I have informed Madame, the Duchess of St. Leu, of the lively interest +you take in her troubles, and have given her your message. She was much +touched by it, even to tears; and has begged me several times to tell +you how much she appreciated it. + +"I have not replied to you sooner, because I hoped to give you better +tidings. Alas! it is quite the contrary. After a consultation of the +physicians of Constance and Zurich with Dr. Conneau, her own physician, +Professor Lisfranc, from Paris, was called in, on account of his skill, +and also because he is the recognized authority with regard to the +operation two of these gentlemen thought necessary. + +"After a careful examination, the opinion of M. Lisfranc and that of the +three other consulting physicians was, that the operation was +impossible. They were unanimous in pronouncing an irrevocable sentence, +and they have left us no hope in human resources. I still like to trust +in the infinite goodness of God, whom I implore with earnest prayers. + +"The mind of madame the duchess is as calm as one could expect in a +position like hers. They told her that they would not perform the +operation because it was not necessary, and because a mere treatment +would suffice, with time and patience, to produce a perfect cure. She +had been quite resigned to submit to the operation, showing a noble +courage. Now she is happy in not being obliged to undergo it, and is +filled with hope. + +"In anticipation of the operation, of which, against my advice, she had +been told a fortnight before M. Lisfranc came, she made her will and +attended to the last duties of religion. + +"On the 30th of March, an hour after she had partaken of the communion, +she had the joy, which she looked upon as a divine favor, of receiving a +large package from her son, the first since the departure from Lorient. +His letter, which is very long, contains a relation of all he has done, +all that has happened to him, and much that he has felt since he left +Arenemberg, until he wrote, the 10th of January, on board the frigate +Andromeda, lying in the harbor of Rio Janeiro, where he was not +permitted to go on shore. He had on board M. de Chateaubriand's works, +and re-read them during a frightful storm that lasted a fortnight, and +allowed of no other occupation, and scarcely that. Pray tell this to M. +de Chateaubriand, in recalling me personally to his kind remembrance. + +"Think of me sometimes. Think of my painful position. To give to a +person whom we love, and whom we are soon to lose, a care that is +perfectly ineffectual; to seek to alleviate sharp and almost continual +suffering, and only succeed very imperfectly; to wear a calm countenance +when the heart is torn; to deceive, to try unceasingly to inspire hopes +that we no longer cherish,--ah, believe me, this is frightful, and one +would cheerfully give up life itself. Adieu, dear friend, you know how I +love you." + +Louis Napoleon, hastening to the bedside of his dying mother, took ship +from New York for London. The hostility of the allied powers to him was +such that it was with great difficulty he could reach Arenemberg. He +arrived there just in time to receive the dying blessing of his mother +and to close her eyes in death. Just before she died, Hortense +assembled all her household in the dying chamber. She took each one +affectionately by the hand and addressed to each one a few words of +adieu. Her son, her devoted physician Dr. Conneau, and the ladies of her +household, bathed in tears, were kneeling by her bedside. Her mind, in +delirious dreams, had again been with the Emperor, sympathizing with him +in the terrible tragedy of his fall. But now, as death drew near, reason +was fully restored. "I have never," said she, "done wrong to any one. +God will have mercy upon me." Conscious that the final moment had +arrived, she made an effort to throw her arms around the neck of her son +in a mother's last embrace, when she fell, back upon her pillow dead. It +was October 5, 1837. + +The prince, with his own hands, closed his mother's eyes in that sleep +which knows no earthly waking. He remained for some time upon his knees +at her bedside, with his weeping eyes buried in his hands. At last he +was led away from the precious remains from which it seemed impossible +for him to separate himself. His home and his heart were indeed +desolate. Motherless, with neither brother nor sister, his aged and +infirm father dying in Italy, where he could not be permitted to visit +him, banished from his native land, jealously watched and menaced by all +the allied powers, his fair name maligned, all these considerations +seemed to fill his cup of sorrow to the brim. + +It was the dying wish of Hortense that she might be buried by the side +of Josephine, her mother, in the village church of Ruel, near Malmaison. +The Government of Louis Philippe, which had closed the gates of France +against Hortense while living, allowed her lifeless remains to sleep +beneath her native soil. But the son was not permitted to follow his +mother to her grave. It was feared that his appearance in France would +rouse the enthusiasm of the masses; that they would rally around him, +and, sweeping away the throne of Louis Philippe in a whirlwind of +indignation, would re-establish the Empire. Madame Recamier, speaking of +the death of Hortense, says: + +"After the unfortunate attempt of Prince Louis, grief, anxiety and +perhaps the loss of a last and secret hope, put an end to the turbulent +existence of one who was little calculated to lead such a life of +turmoil. France, closed to her living, was open to her dead, and she +was carried to Ruel and laid beside her mother. A funeral service was +celebrated in her honor at the village church. All the relics of the +Empire were there; among them the widow of Murat,[P] who there witnessed +the ceremony that shortly afterwards was to be performed over herself. + +[Footnote P: Caroline Bonaparte.] + +"It was winter. A thick snow covered the ground. The landscape was as +silent and cold as the dead herself. I gave sincere tears to this woman +so gracious and so kind; and I learned shortly afterwards that she had +remembered me in her will. It is not without a profound and a religious +emotion that we receive these remembrances from friends who are no more; +these pledges of affection which come to you, so to say, from across the +tomb, as if to assure you that thoughts of you had followed them as far +as there. Judge, then, how touched I was in receiving the legacy +destined for me--that light, elegant, and mysterious gift, chosen to +recall to me unceasingly the tie that had existed between us. It was a +lace veil, the one she wore the day of our meeting in St. Peter's." + +In reference to the mother and the son, Julie de Marguerittes writes: +"Louis Napoleon's love for his mother had in it a tenderness and +devotion even beyond that of a son. She had been his instructor and +companion; and from the hour of her change of position she had +manifested great and noble qualities, which the frivolity and prosperity +of a court might forever have left unrevealed. Hortense was a woman to +be loved and revered. And even at this distance of years, Napoleon's +love for his mother has suffered no change. He has striven, in all ways, +to associate her with his present high fortune. He has made an air of +her composition, 'Partant pour la Syrie,' the national air of France. +The ship which bore him from Marseilles to Genoa, on his Italian +expedition, is called _La Reine Hortense_, after his mother." + +Scarcely were the remains of Hortense committed to the tomb, ere the +Swiss Government received an imperative command from the Government of +Louis Philippe to banish Louis Napoleon from the soil of Switzerland. To +save the country which had so kindly adopted him from war, the prince +retired to London. He could have no hopes of regaining his rights as a +French citizen until the Government of Louis Philippe should be +overthrown. Another attempt was made at Boulogne in August, 1840. It +proved a failure. Louis Napoleon was again arrested, tried, and +condemned to imprisonment for life. Six years he passed in dreary +captivity in the Castle of Ham. The following brief account of the +wonderful escape of the prince is given in his own words, contained in a +letter to the editor of the _Journal de la Somme_. + +"MY DEAR M. DE GEORGE,--My desire to see my father once more in this +world made me attempt the boldest enterprise I ever engaged in. It +required more resolution and courage on my part than at Strasburg or +Boulogne; for I was determined not to bear the ridicule that attaches to +those who are arrested escaping under a disguise, and a failure I could +not have endured. The following are the particulars of my escape: + +"You know that the fort was guarded by four hundred men, who furnished +daily sixty soldiers, placed as sentries outside the walls. Moreover, +the principal gate of the prison was guarded by three jailers, two of +whom were constantly on duty. It was necessary that I should first elude +their vigilance, afterwards traverse the inside court before the windows +of the commandant's residence, and arriving there, I should be obliged +to pass by a gate which was guarded by soldiers. + +"Not wishing to communicate my design to any one, it was necessary to +disguise myself. As several of the rooms in the building I occupied were +undergoing repairs, it was not difficult to assume the dress of a +workman. My good and faithful valet, Charles Thelin, procured a +smock-frock and a pair of wooden shoes, and after shaving off my +mustaches I took a plank upon my shoulders. + +"On Monday morning I saw the workmen enter at half-past eight o'clock. +Charles took them some drink, in order that I should not meet any of +them on my passage. He was also to call one of the turnkeys while De +Conneau conversed with the others. Nevertheless I had scarcely got out +of my room before I was accosted by a workman who took me for one of his +comrades; and at the bottom of the stairs I found myself in front of the +keeper. Fortunately, I placed the plank I was carrying before my face, +and succeeded in reaching the yard. Whenever I passed a sentinel or any +other person I always kept the plank before my face. + +"Passing before the first sentinel, I let my pipe fall and stopped to +pick up the bits. There I met the officer on duty; but as he was reading +a letter he did not pay attention to me. The soldiers at the guard-house +appeared surprised at my dress, and a drummer turned around several +times to look at me. I placed the plank before my face, but they +appeared to be so curious that I thought I should never escape them +until I heard them cry, 'Oh, it is Bernard!' + +"Once outside, I walked quickly towards the road of St. Quentin. +Charles, who the day before had engaged a carriage, shortly overtook me, +and we arrived at St. Quentin. I passed through the town on foot, after +having thrown off my smock-frock. Charles procured a post-chaise, under +pretext of going to Cambrai. We arrived without meeting with any +hindrance at Valenciennes, where I took the railway. I had procured a +Belgian passport, but nowhere was I asked to show it. + +"During my escape, Dr. Conneau, always so devoted to me, remained in +prison, and caused them to believe that I was ill, in order to give me +time to reach the frontier. It was necessary to be convinced that the +Government would never set me at liberty if I would not consent to +dishonor myself, before I could be persuaded to quit France. It was also +a matter of duty that I should exert all my powers to be able to console +my father in his old age. + +"Adieu, my dear M. de George. Although free, I feel myself to be most +unhappy. Receive the assurance of my sincere friendship; and if you are +able, endeavor to be useful to my kind Conneau." + +It was the latter part of May, 1846, that Louis Napoleon escaped from +Ham. He repaired immediately to London. In accordance with his habits +and his tastes, he continued to devote himself earnestly to his studies, +still cherishing the unfaltering opinion that he was yet to be the +Emperor of France. In London he was cordially welcomed by his old +friends, Count d'Orsay and Lady Blessington. His cousin Maria of Baden, +then Lady Douglass, subsequently the Duchess of Hamilton, was proud to +receive him in her sumptuous abode, and to present him to her +aristocratic friends. To her, it is said that he confided his projects +and hopes more frankly than to any one else. In one of his notes he +wrote, + +"MY DEAR COUSIN,--I do not belong to myself, I belong to my name and my +country. It is because my fortune has twice betrayed me, that my destiny +is nearer its accomplishment. I bide my time." + +In the latter part of February, 1848, the throne of Philippe was +overturned, and he fled from France. Louis Napoleon immediately returned +to Paris after so many weary years of exile. This is not the place to +describe the scenes which ensued. It is sufficient simply to state that, +almost by acclamation, he was sent by the people of Paris to the +Assembly, was there elected president of the Republic, and then, by +nearly eight million of votes, the Empire was re-established and Louis +Napoleon was placed upon the imperial throne. + +As soon as Louis Napoleon was chosen president of the French Republic, +Walter Savage Landor, a brilliant scholar, a profound, original thinker, +and a highly independent and honorable man, wrote as follows to Lady +Blessington, under date of January 9th, 1849: + +"Possibly you may have never seen the two articles which I enclose. I +inserted another in the 'Examiner,' deprecating the anxieties which a +truly patriotic and, in my opinion, a singularly wise man, was about to +encounter, in accepting the presidency of France. Necessity will compel +him to assume the imperial power, to which the voice of the army and of +the people will call him. You know, who know not merely my writings but +my heart, how little I care for station. I may therefore tell you +safely, that I feel a great interest, a great anxiety for the welfare of +Louis Napoleon. I told him that if he were ever again in prison, I would +visit him there, but never if he were upon a throne would I come near +him. He is the only man living who would adorn one. But thrones are my +aversion and abhorrence. France, I fear, can exist in no other +condition. May God protect the virtuous Louis Napoleon, and prolong in +happiness the days of my dear kind friend Lady Blessington. + + "WALTER SAVAGE LANDOR. + +"P.S.--I wrote a short letter to the President, and not of +congratulation. May he find many friends as disinterested and sincere." + +Even the blunt Duke of Wellington wrote as follows to the Count d'Orsay +under date of April 9, 1849: "I rejoice at the prosperity of France and +of the success of the president of the Republic. Every thing tends +towards the permanent tranquillity of Europe," which is necessary for +the happiness of all. + +If Hortense from the spirit-land can look down upon her son, her heart +must be cheered in view of the honors which his native land, with such +unprecedented unanimity, has conferred upon him. And still more must her +heart be cheered in view of the many, many years of peace, prosperity, +and happiness which France has enjoyed under his reign. Every +well-informed man will admit that the kingdom of France has never, since +its foundations were laid, enjoyed so many years of tranquillity, and of +mental and material advancement at home, and also of respect and +influence abroad, as during the reign of the son of Hortense. + +The Emperor is eminently happy in his domestic relations. There are none +who know the Empress Eugenie who do not revere and love her. She is the +worthy successor of Josephine, upon the throne of the reinstated empire. +The following beautiful tribute to her virtues comes from the lips of +our former distinguished ambassador at the court of France, Hon. John A. +Dix. They were uttered in a speech which he addressed to the American +residents in Paris, upon the occasion of his surrendering the +ambassadorial chair to his successor, Hon. Mr. Washburne. It was in +June, 1869. + +"Of her who is the sharer of the Emperor's honors and the companion of +his toils--who in the hospital, at the altar, or on the throne is alike +exemplary in the discharge of her varied duties, whether incident to her +position, or voluntarily taken upon herself, it is difficult for me to +speak without rising above the level of the common language of eulogism. + +"But I am standing here to-day, as a citizen of the United States, +without official relations to my own Government, or any other. I have +taken my leave of the imperial family, and I know no reason why I may +not freely speak what I honestly think; especially as I know I can say +nothing which will not find a cordial response in your own breasts. + +"As in the history of the ruder sex, great luminaries have from time to +time risen high above the horizon, to break and at the same time to +illustrate, the monotony of the general movement,--so in the annals of +hers, brilliant lights have at intervals shone forth, and shed their +lustre upon the stately march of regal pomp and power. + +"When I have seen her taking part in the most imposing of all imperial +pageants--the opening of the Legislative Chambers--standing amid the +assembled magistracy of Paris, surrounded by the representatives of the +talent, the genius, and the piety of this great empire; or amidst the +resplendent scenes of the palace, moving about with a gracefulness all +her own, and with a simplicity of manner which has a double charm when +allied to exalted rank and station, I confess that I have more than once +whispered to myself, and I believe not always inaudibly, the beautiful +verse of the graceful and courtly Claudian, the last of the Roman poets, + + "'Divino semitu, gressu claruit;' + +"or, rendered in our own plain English, and stripped of its poetic +hyperbole, '_The very path she treads is radiant with her unrivalled +step._'" + +THE END. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Hortense, Makers of History Series, by +John S. 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