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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Happy Days of the Empress Marie Louise
+by Imbert De Saint-Amand
+
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+Title: The Happy Days of the Empress Marie Louise
+
+Author: Imbert De Saint-Amand
+
+Release Date: July, 2005 [EBook #8575]
+[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule]
+[This file was first posted on July 25, 2003]
+
+Edition: 10
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK EMPRESS MARIE LOUISE ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Charles Aldarondo, Tiffany Vergon,
+and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team
+
+
+
+
+THE HAPPY DAYS
+
+OF
+
+THE EMPRESS MARIE LOUISE
+
+BY
+
+IMBERT DE SAINT-AMAND
+
+_TRANSLATED BY_ THOMAS SERGEANT PERRY
+
+_ILLUSTRATED_
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+INTRODUCTION
+
+CHAPTER
+
+I. EARLY YEARS
+
+II. 1809
+
+III. THE PRELIMINARIES OP THE WEDDING
+
+IV. THE BETROTHAL
+
+V. THE RELIGIOUS DIFFICULTY
+
+VI. THE AMBASSADOR EXTRAORDINARY
+
+VII. THE WEDDING AT VIENNA
+
+VIII. THE DEPARTURE
+
+IX. THE TRANSFER
+
+X. THE JOURNEY
+
+XI. COMPIČGNE
+
+XII. THE CIVIL WEDDING
+
+XIII. THE ENTRANCE INTO PARIS
+
+XIV. THE RELIGIOUS CEREMONY
+
+XV. THE HONEYMOON
+
+XVI. THE TRIP IN THE NORTH
+
+XVII. THE MONTH OF JUNE, 1810
+
+XVIII. THE BALL AT THE AUSTRIAN EMBASSY
+
+XIX. THE BIRTH OF THE KING OF ROME
+
+XX. THE RECOVERY
+
+XXI. THE BAPTISM
+
+XXII. SAINT CLOUD AND TRIANON
+
+XXIII. THE TRIP TO HOLLAND
+
+XXIV. NAPOLEON AT THE HEIGHT OF HIS POWER
+
+XXV. MARIE LOUISE IN 1812
+
+XXVI. THE EMPRESS'S HOUSEHOLD
+
+XXVII. DRESDEN
+
+XXVIII. PRAGUE
+
+
+
+
+THE HAPPY DAYS
+
+OF
+
+THE EMPRESS MARIE LOUISE
+
+INTRODUCTION.
+
+In 1814, while Napoleon was banished in the island of Elba, the Empress
+Marie Louise and her grandmother, Marie Caroline, Queen of Naples,
+happened to meet at Vienna. The one, who had been deprived of the French
+crown, was seeking to be put in possession of her new realm, the Duchy
+of Parma; the other, who had fled from Sicily to escape the yoke of her
+pretended protectors, the English, had come to demand the restitution of
+her kingdom of Naples, where Murat continued to rule with the connivance
+of Austria. This Queen, Marie Caroline, the daughter of the great
+Empress, Maria Theresa, and the sister of the unfortunate Marie
+Antoinette, had passed her life in detestation of the French Revolution
+and of Napoleon, of whom she had been one of the most eminent victims.
+Well, at the very moment when the Austrian court was doing its best to
+make Marie Louise forget that she was Napoleon's wife and to separate
+her from him forever, Marie Caroline was pained to see her granddaughter
+lend too ready an ear to their suggestions. She said to the Baron de
+Méneval, who had accompanied Marie Louise to Vienna: "I have had, in my
+time, very good cause for complaining of your Emperor; he has persecuted
+me and wounded my pride,--I was then at least fifteen years old,--but
+now I remember only one thing,--that he is unfortunate." Then she went
+on to say that if they tried to keep husband and wife apart, Marie
+Louise would have to tie her bedclothes to her window and run away in
+disguise. "That," she exclaimed, "that's what I should do in her place;
+for when people are married, they are married for their whole life!"
+
+If a woman like Queen Marie Caroline, a sister of Marie Antoinette, a
+queen driven from her throne by Napoleon, could feel in this way, it is
+easy to understand the severity with which those of the French who were
+devoted to the Emperor, regarded the conduct of his ungrateful wife. In
+the same way, Josephine, in spite of her occasionally frivolous conduct,
+has retained her popularity, because she was tender, kind, and devoted,
+even after she was divorced; while Marie Louise has been criticised,
+because after loving, or saying that she loved, the mighty Emperor, she
+deserted him when he was a prisoner. The contrast between her conduct
+and that of the wife of King Jerome, the noble and courageous Catherine
+of Wurtemberg, who endured every danger, and all sorts of
+persecutions, to share her husband's exile and poverty, has set in an
+even clearer light the faults of Marie Louise. She has been blamed for
+not having joined Napoleon at Elba, for not having even tried to temper
+his sufferings at Saint Helena, for not consoling him in any way, for
+not even writing to him. The former Empress of the French has been also
+more severely condemned for her two morganatic marriages,--one with
+Count Neipperg, an Austrian general and a bitter enemy of Napoleon, the
+other with Count de Bombelles, a Frenchman who left France to enter the
+Austrian service. Certainly Marie Louise was neither a model wife nor a
+model widow, and there is nothing surprising in the severity with which
+her contemporaries judged her, a severity which doubtless history will
+not modify. But if this princess was guilty, more than one attenuating
+circumstance may be urged in her defence, and we should, in justice,
+remember that it was not without a struggle, without tears, distress,
+and many conscientious scruples, that she decided to obey her
+father's rigid orders and become again what she had been before her
+marriage,--simply an Austrian princess.
+
+It must not be forgotten that the Empress Marie Louise, who was in two
+ways the grandniece of Queen Marie Antoinette, through her mother Maria
+Theresa of Naples, daughter of Queen Marie Caroline, and through her
+father the Emperor Francis, son of the Emperor Leopold II., the
+brother of the martyred queen, had been brought up to abhor the French
+Revolution and the Empire which succeeded it. She had been taught from
+the moment she left the cradle, that France was the hereditary enemy,
+the savage and implacable foe, of her country. When she was a child,
+Napoleon appeared to her against a background of blood, like a fatal
+being, an evil genius, a satanic Corsican, a sort of Antichrist. The few
+Frenchmen whom she saw at the Austrian court were émigrés, who saw in
+Napoleon nothing but the selfish revolutionist, the friend of the young
+Robespierre, the creature of Barras, the defender of the members of the
+Convention, the man of the 13th of Vendémiaire, the murderer of the Duke
+of Enghien, the enemy of all the thrones of Europe, the author of the
+treachery of Bayonne, the persecutor of the Pope, the excommunicated
+sovereign. Twice he had driven Austria to the brink of ruin, and it had
+even been said that he wished to destroy it altogether, like a second
+Poland. The young archduchess had never heard the hero of Austerlitz
+and Wagram spoken of, except in terms inspired by resentment, fear,
+and hatred. Could she, then, in a single day learn to love the man who
+always had been held up before her as a second Attila, as the scourge of
+God? Hence, when she came to contemplate the possibility of her marriage
+with him, she was overwhelmed with surprise, terror, and repulsion, and
+her first idea was to regard herself as a victim to be sacrificed to
+a vague Minotaur. We find this word "sacrifice" on the lips of the
+Austrian statesmen who most warmly favored the French alliance, even of
+those who had counselled and arranged the match. The Austrian ambassador
+in Paris, the Prince of Swartzenberg, wrote to Metternich, February 8,
+1810, "I pity the princess; but let her remember that it is a fine thing
+to bring peace to such good people!" And Metternich wrote back, February
+15, to the Prince of Swartzenberg, "The Archduchess Marie Louise sees
+in the suggestion made to her by her August father, that Napoleon may
+include her in his plans, only a means of proving to her beloved father
+the most absolute devotion. She feels the full force of the sacrifice,
+but her filial love will outweigh all other considerations." Having been
+brought up in the habit of severe discipline and passive obedience, she
+belonged to a family in which the Austrian princesses are regarded as
+the docile instruments of the greatness of the Hapsburgs. Consequently,
+she resigned herself to following her father's wishes without a murmur,
+but not without sadness. What Marie Louise thought at the time of her
+marriage she still thought in the last years of her life. General de
+Trobriand, the Frenchman who won distinction on the northern side in the
+American civil war, told me recently how painfully surprised he was when
+once at Venice he had heard Napoleon's widow, then the wife of Count de
+Bombelles, say, in speaking of her marriage to the great Emperor, "I was
+sacrificed."
+
+Austria was covered with ruins, its hospitals were crowded with wounded
+French and Austrians, and in the ears of Viennese still echoed the
+cannon of Wagram, when salvos of artillery announced not war, but this
+marriage. The memories of an obstinate struggle, which both sides had
+regarded as one for life or death, was still too recent, too terrible to
+permit a complete reconciliation between the two nations. In fact, the
+peace was only a truce. To facilitate the formal entry of Napoleon's
+ambassador into Vienna, it had been necessary hastily to build a bridge
+over the ruins of the walls which the French had blown up a few months
+earlier, as a farewell to the inhabitants. Marie Louise, who started
+with tears in her eyes, trembled as she drew near the French territory,
+which Marie Antoinette had found so fatal.
+
+Soon this first impression wore off, and the young Empress was
+distinctly flattered by the amazing splendor of her throne, the most
+powerful in the world. And yet amid this Babylonian pomp, and all the
+splendor, the glory, the flattery, which could gratify a woman's heart,
+she did not cease to think of her own country. One day when she was
+standing at a window of the palace of Saint Cloud, gazing thoughtfully
+at the view before her, M. de Méneval ventured to ask the cause of the
+deep revery in which she appeared to be sunk. She answered that as she
+was looking at the beautiful view, she was surprised to find herself
+regretting the neighborhood of Vienna, and wishing that some magic wand
+might let her see even a corner of it. At that time Marie Louise was
+afraid that she would never see her country again, and she sighed. What
+glory or greatness can wipe out the touching memories of infancy?
+
+Doubtless Napoleon treated his wife with the utmost regard and
+consideration; but in the affection with which he inspired her there
+was, we fancy, more admiration than tenderness. He was too great for
+her. She was fascinated, but troubled by so great power and so great
+genius. She had the eyes of a dove, and she needed the eyes of an eagle,
+to be able to look at the Imperial Sun, of which the hot rays dazzled
+her. She would have preferred less glory, less majesty, fewer triumphs,
+with her simple and modest tastes, which were rather those of a
+respectable citizen's wife than of a queen. Her husband, amid his
+courtiers, who flocked about him as priests flock about an idol, seemed
+to her a demi-god rather than a man, and she would far rather have been
+won by affection than overwhelmed by his superiority.
+
+It is not to be supposed, however, that Marie Louise was unhappy before
+the catastrophes that accompanied the fall of the Empire. It was in
+perfect sincerity that she wrote to her father in praise of her husband,
+and her joy was great when she gave birth to a child, who seemed a
+pledge of peace and of general happiness. Let us add that the Emperor
+never had an occasion to find fault with her. Her gentleness, reserve,
+and obedience formed the combination of qualities which her husband
+desired. He had never imagined an Empress more exactly to his taste.
+When she deserted him, he was more ready to excuse and pity her than to
+cast blame upon her. He looked upon her as the slave and victim of the
+Viennese court. Moreover, he was in perfect ignorance of her love for
+the Count of Neipperg, and no shadow of jealousy tormented him at Saint
+Helena. "You may be sure," he said a few days before his death, "that if
+the Empress makes no effort to ease my woes, it is because she is kept
+surrounded by spies, who never let my sufferings come to her ears; for
+Marie Louise is virtue itself." A pleasant delusion, which consoled the
+final moments of the great man, whose last thoughts were for his wife
+and son.
+
+We fancy that the Emperor of Austria was sincere in the protestations
+of affection and friendship which he made to Napoleon shortly after the
+wedding. He then entertained no thoughts of dethroning or fighting him.
+He had hopes of securing great advantage from the French alliance, and
+he would have been much surprised if any one had foretold to him how
+soon he would become one of the most active agents in the overthrow of
+this son-in-law to whom he expressed such affectionate feelings. In 1811
+he was sincerely desirous that the King of Rome should one day succeed
+Napoleon on the throne of the vast empire. At that time hatred of France
+had almost died out in Austria; it was only renewed by the disastrous
+Russian campaign. The Austrians, who could not wholly forget the past,
+did not love Napoleon well enough to remain faithful to him in
+disaster. Had he been fortunate, the hero of Wagram would have preserved
+his father-in-law's sympathy and the Austrian alliance; but being
+unfortunate, he lost both at once. Unlike the rulers of the old
+dynasties, he was condemned either to perpetual victory or to ruin. He
+needed triumphs instead of ancestors, and the slightest loss of glory
+was for him the token of irremediable decay; incessant victory was the
+only condition on which he could keep his throne, his wife, his son,
+himself. One day he asked Marie Louise what instructions she had
+received from her parents in regard to her conduct towards him. "To be
+wholly yours," she answered, "and to obey you in everything." Might she
+not have added, "So long as you are not unfortunate"?
+
+But who at the beginning of that fatal year, 1812, could have foretold
+the catastrophes which were so near? When Marie Louise was with Napoleon
+at Dresden, did he not appear to her like the arbiter of the world,
+an invincible hero, an Agamemnon, the king of kings? Never before,
+possibly, had a man risen so high. Sovereigns seemed lost amid the crowd
+of courtiers. Among the aides-de-camp was the Crown Prince of Prussia,
+who was obliged to make special recommendations to those near him to pay
+a little attention to his father-in-law, the Emperor of Austria. What
+power, what pride, what faith in his star, when, drawing all Europe
+after him, he bade farewell to his wife May 29, 1812, to begin that
+gigantic war which he thought was destined to consolidate all his
+greatness and to crown all his glories! But he had not counted on the
+burning of Moscow: there is in the air a zone which the highest balloons
+cannot pierce; once there, ascent means death. This zone, which exists
+also in power, good fortune, glory, as well as in the atmosphere,
+Napoleon had reached. At the height of his prosperity he had forgotten
+that God was about to say to him: Thou shalt go no further.
+
+At the first defeat Marie Louise perceived that the brazen statue had
+feet of clay. Malet's conspiracy filled her with gloomy thoughts. It
+became evident that the Empire was not a fixed institution, but a single
+man; in case this man died or lived defeated, everything was gone.
+December 12, 1812, the Empress went to her bed in the Tuileries, sad and
+ill. It was half-past eleven in the evening. The lady-in-waiting, who
+was to pass the night in a neighboring room, was about to lock all the
+doors when suddenly she heard voices in the drawing-room close by. Who
+could have come at that hour? Who except the Emperor? And, in fact, it
+was he, who, without word to any one, had just arrived unexpectedly in a
+wretched carriage, and had found great difficulty in getting the palace
+doors opened. He had travelled incognito from the Beresina, like a
+fugitive, like a criminal. As he passed through Warsaw he had exclaimed
+bitterly and in amazement at his defeat, "There is but one step from the
+sublime to the ridiculous." When he burst into his wife's bedroom in his
+long fur coat, Marie Louise could not believe her eyes. He kissed her
+affectionately, and promised her that all the disasters recounted in the
+twenty-ninth bulletin should be soon repaired; he added that he had been
+beaten, not by the Russians, but by the elements. Nevertheless, the
+decadence had begun; his glory was dimmed; Marie Louise began to have
+doubts of Napoleon. His courtiers continued to flatter him, but they
+ceased to worship him. A dark cloud lay over the Tuileries. The Empress
+had but a few days to pass with her husband. He had been away for nearly
+six months, from May 29 till December 12, 1812, and he was to leave
+again April 15, 1813, to return only November 9. The European sovereigns
+could not have continued in alliance with him even if they had wished
+it, so irresistible was the movement of their subjects against him.
+After Leipsic everything was lost; that was the signal of the death
+struggle, which was to be long, terrible, and full of anguish. Europe
+listened in terror to the cries of the dying Empire. But it was all
+over. The sacred soil of France was invaded. January 25, 1814, at three
+in the morning, the hero left the Tuileries to oppose the invaders. He
+kissed his wife and his son for the last time. He was never to see them
+again. In all, Napoleon had passed only two years and eight months with
+Marie Louise; she had had hardly time enough to become attached to him.
+Napoleon's sword was broken; he arrived before Paris too late to save
+the city, which had just capitulated, and the foreigners were about to
+make their triumphal entrance. Could a woman of twenty-two be strong
+enough to withstand the tempest? Would she be brave enough, could she
+indeed remain in Paris without disobeying Napoleon? Was not flight a
+duty for the hapless sovereign? The Emperor had written to his brother,
+King Joseph: "In no case must you let the Empress and the King of Rome
+fall into the enemy's hands. Do not abandon my son, and remember that
+I had rather see him in the Seine than in the hands of the enemies of
+France. The lot of Astyanax, a prisoner among the Greeks, has always
+seemed to me the unhappiest in history." But, alas! in spite of the
+great Emperor's precautions, the King of Rome was condemned by fate
+to be the modern Astyanax, and Marie Louise was not as constant as
+Andromache.
+
+The allied forces drew near, and there was no more time for flight.
+March 29, 1814, horses and carriages had been stationed in the Carrousel
+since the morning. At seven o'clock Marie Louise was dressed and ready
+to leave, but they could not abandon hope; they wished still to await
+some possible bit of good news which should prevent their leaving,--an
+envoy from Napoleon, a messenger from King Joseph. The officers of the
+National Guard were anxious to have the Empress stay. "Remain," they
+urged; "we swear to defend you." Marie Louise thanked them through her
+tears, but the Emperor's orders were positive; on no account were the
+Empress and the King of Rome to fall into the enemy's hands. The peril
+grew. Ever since four o'clock Marie Louise had kept putting off the
+moment of leaving, in expectation that something would turn up. Eleven
+struck, and the Minister of War came, declaring there was not a moment
+to lose. One would have thought that the little King of Rome, who was
+just three years old, knew that he was about to go, never to return.
+"Don't go to Rambouillet," he cried to his mother; "that's a gloomy
+castle; let us stay here." And he clung to the banisters, struggling
+with the equerry who was carrying him, weeping and shouting, "I don't
+want to leave my house; I don't want to go away; since papa is away, I
+am the master." Marie Louise was impressed by this childish opposition;
+a secret voice told her that her son was right; that by abandoning the
+capital, they surrendered it to the Royalists. But the lot was cast, and
+they had to leave. A mere handful of indifferent spectators, attracted
+by no other feeling than curiosity, watched the flight of the sovereign
+who, four years before, had made her formal entrance into this same
+palace of the Tuileries under a triumphal arch, amid noisy acclamations.
+There was not a tear in the eyes of the few spectators; they uttered no
+sound, they made no movement of sympathy or regret; there was only a
+sullen silence. But one person wept, and that was Marie Louise. When she
+had reached the Champs Elyseés, she cast a last sad glance at the palace
+she was never to see again. It was not a flight, but a funeral.
+
+The Empress and the King of Rome took refuge at Blois, where there
+appeared a faint shadow of Imperial government. On Good Friday, April
+8, Count Shouvaloff reached Blois with a detachment of Cossacks, and
+carried Marie Louise and her son to Rambouillet, where the Emperor of
+Austria was to join them. What Napoleon had feared was soon realized.
+
+April 16, the Emperor of Austria was at Blois. Marie Louise, who two
+years before had left her father, starting on her triumphal journey to
+Prague, amid all form of splendor and devotion, was much moved at seeing
+him again, and placed the King of Rome in his arms, as if to reproach
+him for deserting the child's cause. The grandfather relented, but the
+monarch was stern: did he not soon say to Marie Louise: "As my daughter,
+everything that I have is yours, even my blood and my life; as a
+sovereign, I do not know you"? The Russian sentinels at the entrance
+of the castle of Rambouillet were relieved by Austrian grenadiers. The
+Empress of the French changed captors; she was the prisoner no longer of
+the Czar's soldiers, but of her own father. Her conjugal affection was
+not yet wholly extinct, and she reproached herself with not having
+joined Napoleon at Fontainebleau; but her scruples were soon allayed by
+the promise that she should soon see her husband again at Elba. She was
+told that the treaty which had just been signed gave her, and after her,
+her son, the duchies of Parma, Piacenza, and Guastalla; that the King of
+Rome was henceforth the hereditary Duke of Parma; that if she had duties
+as a wife, she also had duties as a mother; that she ought to gain the
+good-will of the powers, and assure her child's future. They added that
+she ought to give her husband time to establish himself at Elba, and
+that meanwhile she would find in Vienna, near her loving parents, a few
+weeks of moral and physical rest, which must be very necessary after so
+many emotions and sufferings. Marie Louise, who had been brought up to
+give her father strict obedience, regarded the advice of the Emperor of
+Austria as commands which were not to be questioned, and April 23 she
+left Rambouillet with her son for Vienna.
+
+Did the dethroned Empress carry away with her a pleasant memory of
+France and the French people? We do not think so; and, to be frank,
+was what had just happened likely to give her a favorable idea of the
+country she was leaving? Could she have much love for the people who
+were fastening a rope to pull down the statue of the hero of Austerlitz
+from its pedestal, the Vendôme column? When her father, the Emperor
+Francis I., had been defeated, driven from his capital, overwhelmed with
+the blows of fate, his misfortunes had only augmented his popularity;
+the more he suffered, the more he was loved. But for Napoleon, who was
+so adored in the day of triumph, how was he treated in adversity? What
+was the language of the Senate, lately so obsequious and servile? The
+men on whom the Emperor had literally showered favors, called him
+contemptuously Monsieur de Bonaparte. What did they do to save the crown
+of the King of Rome, whose cradle they had saluted with such noisy
+acclamations? Were not the Cossacks who went to Blois after the Empress
+rapturously applauded by the French, in Paris itself, upon the very
+boulevards? Did not the marshals of the Empire now serve as an escort
+to Louis XVIII.? Where were the eagles, the flags, and the tricolored
+cockades? When Napoleon was passing through Provence on his way to take
+possession of his ridiculous realm of Elba, he was compelled to wear an
+Austrian officer's uniform to escape being put to death by Frenchmen;
+the imperial mantle was exchanged for a disguise. It is true that Marie
+Louise abandoned the French; but did not the French abandon her and her
+son after the abdication of Fontainebleau; and if this child did not
+become Napoleon II., is not the fault theirs? And did she not do
+all that could be demanded of her as regent? Can she be accused of
+intriguing with the Allies; and if at the last moment she left Paris,
+was it not in obedience to her husband's express command? She might well
+have said what fifty-six years later the second Emperor said so sadly
+when he was a prisoner in Germany: "In France one must never be
+unfortunate." What was then left for her to do in that volcano, that
+land which swallows all greatness and glory, amid that fickle people
+who change their opinions and passions as an actress changes her dress?
+Where Napoleon, with all his genius, had made a complete failure, could
+a young, ignorant woman be reasonably expected to succeed in the face of
+all Europe? Were her hands strong enough to rebuild the colossal edifice
+that lay in ruins upon the ground?
+
+Such were the reflections of Marie Louise as she was leaving France. The
+moment she touched German soil, all the ideas, impressions, feelings of
+her girlhood, came back to her, and naturally enough; for were there not
+many instances in the last war, of German women, married to Frenchmen,
+who rejoiced in the German successes, and of French women, married to
+Germans, who deplored them? Marriage is but an incident; one's nature is
+determined at one's birth. In Austria, Marie Louise found again the same
+sympathy and affection that she had left there. There was a sort of
+conspiracy to make her forget France and love Germany. The Emperor
+Francis persuaded her that he was her sole protector, and controlled her
+with the twofold authority of a father and a sovereign. She who a few
+days before had been the Empress of the French, the Queen of Italy, the
+Regent of a vast empire, was in her father's presence merely a humble
+and docile daughter, who told him everything, obeyed him in everything,
+who abdicated her own free will, and promised, even swore, to entertain
+no other ideas or wishes than such as agreed with his.
+
+Nevertheless, when she arrived at Vienna, Marie Louise had by no means
+completely forgotten France and Napoleon. She still had Frenchmen in her
+suite; she wrote to her husband and imagined that she would be allowed
+to visit him at Elba, but she perfectly understood all the difficulties
+of the double part she was henceforth called upon to play. She felt that
+whatever she might do she would be severely criticised; that it would
+be almost impossible to secure the approval of both her father and her
+husband. Since she was intelligent enough to foresee that she would be
+blamed by her contemporaries and by posterity, was she not justified in
+lamenting her unhappy lot? She, who under any other conditions would
+have been an excellent wife and mother, was compelled by extraordinary
+circumstances to appear as a heartless wife and an indifferent mother.
+This thought distressed Marie Louise, who at heart was not thoroughly
+contented with herself. She wrote, under date of August 9, 1814: "I am
+in a very unhappy and critical position; I must be very prudent in my
+conduct. There are moments when that thought so distracts me that I
+think that the best thing I could do would be to die."
+
+When Napoleon returned from Elba, the situation of Marie Louise, so far
+from improving, became only more difficult. She had no illusions about
+the fate that awaited her audacious husband, who was unable to contend,
+single-handed, against all Europe. She knew better than any one, not
+only that he had nothing to hope from the Emperor of Austria, his
+father-in-law, but that in this sovereign he would find a bitter,
+implacable foe. As to the Emperor Alexander, he swore that he would
+sacrifice his last ruble, his last soldier, before he would consent to
+let Napoleon reign in France. Marie Louise knew too well the feeling
+that animated the Congress at Vienna, to imagine that her husband had
+the slightest chance of success. She was convinced that by returning
+from Elba, he was only preparing for France a new invasion, and for
+himself chains. Since she was a prisoner of the Coalition, she was
+condemned to widowhood, even in the lifetime of her husband. She cannot
+then be blamed for remaining at Vienna, whence escape was absolutely
+impossible.
+
+Marie Louise committed one great error; that, namely, of writing that
+inasmuch as she was entirely without part in the plans of the Emperor
+Napoleon, she placed herself under the protection of the Allies,--Allies
+who at that very moment were urging the assassination of her husband,
+in the famous declaration of March 13, 1815, in which they said: "By
+breaking the convention, which established him on the island of Elba,
+Bonaparte has destroyed the only legal title on which his existence
+depended. By reappearing in France, with plans of disturbance and
+turmoil, he has, by his own act, forfeited the protection of the laws,
+and has shown to the world that there can be no peace or truce with him
+as a party. The Powers consequently declare that Napoleon Bonaparte has
+placed himself outside of all civil and social relations, and that as an
+enemy and disturber of the world's peace, he exposes himself to public
+vengeance." April 16, at the moment when the processions designed to
+pray for the success of the Austrian armies, were going through the
+streets of Vienna to visit the Cathedral and the principal churches,
+the Empress of Austria dared to ask the former Empress of the French to
+accompany the processions with the rest of the court; but Marie Louise
+rejected the insulting proposal. The 6th of May next, when M. de
+Méneval, who was about to return to France, came to bid farewell and to
+receive her commands, she spoke to this effect to the faithful subject
+who was soon to see Napoleon: "I am aware that all relations between me
+and France are coming to an end, but I shall always cherish the memory
+of my adopted home.... Convince the Emperor of all the good I wish him.
+I hope that he will understand the misery of my position.... I shall
+never assent to a divorce, but I flatter myself that he will not oppose
+an amicable separation, and that he will not bear any ill feeling
+towards me.... This separation has become imperative; it will in no way
+affect the feelings of esteem and gratitude that I preserve." Then
+she gave to M. de Méneval a gold snuff-box, bearing his initials in
+diamonds, as a memento, and left him, to hide the emotion by which she
+was overcome. Her emotion was not very deep, and her tears soon dried.
+In 1814 she had met the man who was to make her forget her duty towards
+her illustrious husband. He was twenty years older than she, and always
+wore a large black band to hide the scar of a wound by which he had lost
+an eye. As diplomatist and as a soldier he had been one of the most
+persistent and one of the most skilful of Napoleon's enemies. General
+the Count of Neipperg, as he called himself, had been especially active
+in persuading two Frenchmen, Bernadotte and Murat, to take up arms
+against France. Since 1814 he had been most devoted to Marie Louise, and
+he felt or pretended to feel for her an affection on which she did not
+fear to smile. She admitted him to her table; he became her chamberlain,
+her advocate at the Congress of Vienna, her prime minister in the Duchy
+of Parma, and after Napoleon's death, her morganatic husband. He had
+three children by her,--two daughters (one of whom died young; the other
+married the son of the Count San Vitale, Grand Chamberlain of Parma) and
+one son (who took the title of Count of Montenuovo and served in the
+Austrian army). Until his death in 1829 the Count of Neipperg completely
+controlled Marie Louise, as Napoleon had never done.
+
+After Waterloo, every day dimmed Marie Louise's recollections of France.
+The four years of her reign--two spent in the splendor of perpetual
+adoration, two in the gloom of disasters culminating in final ruin--were
+like a distant dream, half a golden vision, half a hideous nightmare.
+It was all but a brief episode in her life. She thoroughly deserved
+the name of "the Austrian," which had been given unjustly to Marie
+Antoinette; for Marie Antoinette really became a Frenchwoman. The
+Duchess of Parma--for that was the title of the woman who had worn the
+two crowns of France and of Italy--lived more in her principality than
+in Vienna, more interested in the Count of Neipperg than in the Duke of
+Reichstadt. While her son never left the Emperor Francis, she reigned
+in her little duchy. But the title was to expire at her death; for the
+Coalition had feared to permit a son of Napoleon to have an hereditary
+claim to rule over Parma. Yet Marie Louise cannot properly be called
+a bad mother. She went to close the eyes of her son, who died in his
+twenty-second year, of consumption and disappointment.
+
+By this event was broken the last bond which attached Napoleon's widow
+to the imperial traditions. In 1833 she was married, for the third time,
+to a Frenchman, the son of an émigré in the Austrian service. He was a
+M. de Bombelles, whose mother had been a Miss Mackan, an intimate friend
+of Madame Elisabeth, and had married the Count of Bombelles, ambassador
+of Louis XVI. in Portugal, and later in Venice, who took orders after
+his wife's death and became Bishop of Amiens under the Restoration.
+Marie Louise, who died December 17, 1847, aged fifty-six, lived in
+surroundings directly hostile to Napoleon's glory. Her ideas in
+her last years grew to resemble those of her childhood, and she was
+perpetually denouncing the principles of the French Revolution and of
+the liberalism which pursued her even in the Duchy of Parma. France has
+reproached her with abandoning Napoleon, and still more perhaps for
+having given two obscure successors to the most famous man of modern
+times.
+
+If Marie Louise is not a very sympathetic figure, no story is more
+touching and more melancholy than that of her son's life and death. It
+is a tale of hope deceived by reality; of youth and beauty cut down
+in their flower; of the innocent paying for the guilty; of the victim
+marked by fate as the expiation for others. One might say that he came
+into the world only to give a lasting example of the instability of
+human greatness. When he was at the point of death, worn out with
+suffering, he said sadly, "My birth and my death comprise my whole
+history." But this short story is perhaps richer in instruction than the
+longest reigns. The Emperor's son will be known for many ages by
+his three titles,--the King of Rome, Napoleon II., and the Duke
+of Reichstadt. He had already inspired great poets, and given to
+philosophers and Christians occasion for profound thoughts. His memory
+is indissolubly bound up with that of his father, and posterity will
+never forget him. Even those who are most virulent against Napoleon's
+memory, feel their wrath melt when they think of his son; and when at
+the Church of the Capuchins, in Vienna, a monk lights with a flickering
+torch the dark tomb of the great captain's son, who lies by the side
+of his grandfather, Francis II., who was at once his protector and his
+jailer, deep thoughts arise as one considers the vanity of political
+calculations, the emptiness of glory, of power, and of genius.
+
+Poor boy! His birth was greeted with countless thanksgivings,
+celebrations, and joyous applause. Paris was beside itself when in the
+morning of March 20, 1811, there sounded the twenty-second report of a
+cannon, announcing that the Emperor had, not a daughter, but a son. He
+lay in a costly cradle of mother-of-pearl and gold, surmounted by a
+winged Victory which seemed to protect the slumbers of the King of Rome.
+The Imperial heir in his gilded baby-carriage drawn by two snow-white
+sheep beneath the trees at Saint Cloud was a charming object. He was but
+a year old when Gérard painted him in his cradle, playing with a cup and
+ball, as if the cup were a sceptre and the ball were the world, with
+which his childish hands were playing. When on the eve of the battle
+of Moskowa, Napoleon was giving his final orders for the tremendous
+struggle of the next day, a courier, M. de Bausset, arrived suddenly
+from Paris, bringing with him this masterpiece of Gérard's; at once the
+General forgot his anxieties in his paternal joy. "Gentlemen," said
+Napoleon to his officers, "if my son were fifteen years old, you may be
+sure that he would be here among this multitude of brave men, and not
+merely in a picture." Then he had the portrait of the King of Rome set
+out in front of his tent, on a chair, that the sight of it might be an
+added excitement to victory. And the old grenadiers of the Imperial
+Guard, the veterans with their grizzly moustaches,--the men who were
+never to abandon their Emperor, who followed him to Elba, and died at
+Waterloo,--heroes, as kind as they were brave, actually cried with joy
+as they gazed at the portrait of this boy whose glorious future they
+hoped to make sure by their brave deeds.
+
+But what a sad future it was! Within less than two years Cossacks were
+the escort of the King of Rome. When the Coalition made him a prisoner,
+he was forever torn from his father. Napoleon, March 20, 1815, on this
+return from Elba, re-entered triumphantly the Palace of the Tuileries
+as if by miracle, but his joy was incomplete. March 20 was his son's
+birthday, the day he was four years old, and the boy was not there;
+his father never saw him again. At Vienna the little prince seemed the
+victim of an untimely gloom; he missed his young playmates. "Any one can
+see that I am not a king," he said; "I haven't any pages now."
+
+The King of Rome had lost the childish merriment and the talkativeness
+which had made him very captivating. So far from growing familiar with
+those among whom he was thrown, he seemed rather to be suspicious and
+distrustful of them. During the Hundred Days the private secretary of
+Marie Louise left her at Vienna to return to Napoleon in France. "Have
+you any message for your father?" he asked of the little prince. The boy
+thought for a moment, and then, as if he were watched, led the faithful
+officer up to the window and whispered to him, very low, "You will tell
+him that I always love him dearly."
+
+In spite of the many miles that separated them, the son was to be a
+consolation to his father. In 1816 the prisoner at Saint Helena received
+a lock of the young prince's hair, and a letter which he had written
+with his hand held by some one else. Napoleon was filled with joy, and
+forgot his chains. It was a renewal of the happiness he had felt on the
+eve of Moskowa, when he had received the portrait of the son he loved
+so warmly. Once again he summoned those who were about him and, deeply
+moved, showed to them the lock of hair and the letter of his child.
+
+For his part, the boy did not forget his father. In vain they gave him a
+German title and a German name, and removed the Imperial arms with their
+eagle; in vain they expunged the Napoleon from his name,--Napoleon,
+which was an object of terror to the enemies of France. His Highness,
+Prince Francis Charles Joseph, Duke of Reichstadt, knew very well that
+his title was the King of Rome and Napoleon II. He knew that in his
+veins there flowed the blood of the greatest warrior of modern times. He
+had scarcely left the cradle when he began to show military tastes. When
+only five, he said to Hummel, the artist, who was painting his portrait:
+"I want to be a soldier. I shall fight well. I shall be in the charge."
+"But," urged the artist, "you will find the bayonets of the grenadiers
+in your way, and they will kill you perhaps." And the boy answered, "But
+shan't I have a sword to beat down the bayonets?" Before he was seven he
+wore a uniform. He learned eagerly the manual of arms; and when he was
+rewarded by promotion to the grade of sergeant, he was as proud of
+his stripes as he would have been of a throne. His father's career
+continually occupied his thoughts and filled his imagination with a sort
+of ecstasy.
+
+At Paris the fickle multitude soon forgot the son of the Emperor. In
+1820 the capital saluted the birth of the Duke of Bordeaux as it had
+saluted that of the King of Rome. A close relationship united the two
+children who represented two such distinct parties; their mothers were
+first-cousins on both their fathers' and their mothers' side. The
+Duchess of Berry, mother of the Duke of Bordeaux, was the daughter of
+the King of Naples, Francis I., son of King Ferdinand IV. and Queen
+Marie Caroline; and her mother was the Princess Marie Clementine,
+daughter of the Emperor Leopold II. The Emperor Francis, father of the
+Empress Marie Louise, was himself the son of Leopold II.; his wife was
+Princess Marie Thérčse of Naples, daughter of Queen Marie Caroline and
+aunt of the Duchess of Berry. The King of Rome and the Duke of Bordeaux
+were thus in two ways second-cousins. July 22, 1821, at Schoenbrunn, in
+the same room where, eleven years later, in the same month and on the
+same day of the month, he was to breathe his last, the child who had
+been the King of Rome learned that his father was dead. This news
+plunged him into deep grief. He had been forbidden the name of Bonaparte
+or Napoleon, but he was allowed to weep. The Duke of Reichstadt and his
+household were allowed to wear mourning for the exile of Saint Helena.
+
+In justice to the Emperor Francis it must be said that he showed great
+affection for his grandson, whom he kept always near him, in his
+chamber and in his study, and that he hid from him neither Napoleon's
+misfortunes nor his successes. "I desire," he told Prince Metternich,
+"that the Duke of Reichstadt shall respect his father's memory, that he
+shall take example from his firm qualities and learn to recognize
+his faults, in order to shun them and be on his guard against their
+influence. Speak to the prince about his father as you should like to be
+spoken about to your own son. Do not hide anything from him, but teach
+him to honor his father's memory." Military drill, manoeuvres, strategy,
+the study of great generals, especially of Napoleon, formed the young
+prince's favorite occupations.
+
+So long as the elder branch of the Bourbons reigned in France, the Duke
+of Reichstadt never thought of seizing his father's crown and sceptre,
+but the Revolution of 1830 suddenly kindled all his hopes. When he
+learned that the tricolored flag had taken the place of the white one,
+and heard of the enthusiasm that had seized the French for the men and
+deeds of the Empire; when he heard the Austrian ministers continually
+saying that Louis Philippe was a mere usurper who could reign but a
+short time; when his grandfather, the Emperor Francis, who was the
+incarnation of prudence and wisdom, said to him one day, "If the French
+people should want you, and the Allies were to give their consent, I
+should not oppose your taking your place on the French throne," and,
+at another time, "You have only to show yourself on the bridge at
+Strasbourg, and it is all up with the Orléans at Paris,"--the Duke was
+carried away by a feeling of ambition, patriotism, and exaltation.
+Born to glory, he imagined himself divinely summoned to a magnificent
+destiny; wide and brilliant horizons opened before him. His eager
+imagination was kindled by a hidden flame. In his youthful dreams he saw
+himself resuscitating Poland, restoring the glories of the Empire. He
+prepared for the part he was to play by studying with Marshal Marmont
+the campaigns of Napoleon. These lessons lasted three months, and at
+their end the Duke gave his portrait to his father's fellow-soldier, and
+copied beneath it four lines from Racine's _Phčdre_, in which Hippolyte
+says to Théramčne:--
+
+  "Having come to me with a sincere interest,
+  You told to me my father's story;
+  You know how my soul, attentive to your words,
+  Kindled at the recital of his noble exploits."
+
+He was as enthusiastic for poetry as for the military profession. One
+day his physician, Dr. Malfatti, quoted to him two lines from the author
+of the _Meditations_:--
+
+  "Limited in his nature, infinite in his desires,
+  Man is a fallen god who remembers heaven."
+
+"That's a fine thought," said the young prince; "it is as pleasing as
+it is striking. I am sorry that I don't know Lamartine's poetry." The
+physician promised to send him the _Meditations_. The next day the Duke
+read the volume aloud; his eyes moistened and his voice broke when he
+came to these lines in which the poet seemed to be addressing him:--
+
+  "Courage, fallen scion of a divine race;
+  You carry your celestial origin on your brow;
+  Every one who sees you, sees in your eyes
+  A darkened ray of heavenly splendor."
+
+And, indeed, every one recognized in him a really extraordinary being;
+his face, his gestures, his bearing, all had an imperial air. He seemed
+born to rule in a drawing-room as well as in a barracks. He was admired
+as well as loved; he was a true son of Caesar, born for success in
+love as well as for glory. When he appeared in the ball-room, his pale
+coloring, his lively expression, his military bearing, his proud but
+quiet manners, the mingled energy and gentleness of his face, attracted
+every woman's eye. When he appeared before his soldiers, he filled them
+with the wildest enthusiasm. One day when he happened to be riding a
+fiery horse at the review of his battalion, his superb appearance made
+such an impression on the troops that, although they were accustomed to
+maintain a profound silence in the ranks, they suddenly broke out into
+shouts of admiration.
+
+Yet in spite of all his ardor it was only at intervals that Napoleon's
+son felt hopeful. If at one time he had confidence in his star, this
+feeling soon yielded to deep depression. The brilliant prospects evoked
+by the events in Poland and in France shone for but a moment, and then
+vanished. The court of Vienna recognized the monarchy of July. One day
+some one was urging him to go to a ball given by Marshal Maison, the
+French minister at the Austrian court. "What should I do," he asked, "at
+the house of Louis Philippe's ambassador? Has not his government exiled
+and outlawed me? No one there could see me without blushing; and then,
+too, what would my feelings be?" He became restless and silent, and
+distrusted even his best friends. "Answer me, my friend," he said to his
+confidant, Count Prokesch-Osten, "answer me this question,--which is one
+of great importance to me just now: What do people think of me? Do
+they see in me any justification for the caricatures which are forever
+presenting me as a creature of the feeblest intelligence?" Count
+Prokesch answered him: "Don't worry. Don't you appear in public every
+day? Can even the most ignorant see you and place the slightest
+confidence in such fables, which are invented by charlatans without the
+least care for truth?" But the young Duke was not consoled, and every
+day he lost confidence in his future. Once Count Prokesch-Osten found
+him meditating upon his father's will. "The fourth paragraph of the
+first article," he said, "contains the guiding principle of my life.
+There my father bids me not to forget that I was born a French prince."
+And we may be sure that he never forgot it; and if he was so uneasy, if
+he suffered keenly, and grief drove him with startling rapidity to the
+tomb, it was because he felt that fate condemned him to live and die an
+Austrian prince.
+
+His overwrought mind and body soon made him ill. He sought by violent
+emotions and excessive fatigue to escape from the thoughts which were
+persecuting him like spectres, and driving him to his death. In vain the
+physicians commanded rest and quiet. When attacked by an incurable
+lung trouble, he required absolute repose: but repose was torture; he
+preferred death as a deliverance. Dr. Malfatti, who took the keenest
+interest in him, and who was much disturbed by his many imprudences,
+entreated him not to throw away wantonly a life which might be so well
+and usefully employed. "It is a great pity, sir, that Your Highness," he
+said, "can't change bodies as you change horses, when they are tired. I
+beg of you to notice that you have a soul of steel in a crystal body,
+and that the abuse of your will can only be pernicious to you."
+
+The young invalid did not listen to him: he scarcely slept; his appetite
+failed him; he made no account of the weather; he rode the wildest
+horses the longest distances. His chest and throat became seriously
+affected, but it made no difference; he still wanted to command at the
+reviews. His voice was lost: soon he could not even speak; but his
+illness did not depress, it only annoyed him. His energetic character
+could not accustom itself to the idea of abandoning the struggle. He
+fought against suffering as he had fought against fate. "Oh!" he said,
+"how I despise this wretched body which cannot obey my soul!" Dr.
+Malfatti said, "There seems to be in this unfortunate young man an
+active principle impelling him to a sort of suicide; reasoning and
+precaution are of no avail against the fatality which urges him on."
+
+The end drew near; the completion of the sacrifice approached. The
+victim did not pray that the cup might pass from his lips. He ceased to
+struggle against the inevitable, and submitted to his fate, becoming
+as gentle and peaceful as a child. As the earth left him, he turned to
+heaven. "I understood and felt," said Count Prokesch-Osten, "all the
+sublimity there is in religion, which alone could throw a light on this
+man's path, through the uncertainty and darkness that surrounded him....
+Religion is our staff. We can find no surer support in our journey
+through the darkness of our life on earth." He had received from the
+Emperor and Empress of Austria a book of prayers, called _Divine
+Harmonies_, which he read over and over on his bed of suffering. It
+contained these words written by his grandfather's hand: "In every
+incident of your life, in every struggle of your soul, may God aid you
+with His light and strength; this is the most ardent wish of your loving
+grandparents." "This book is very dear to me," the prince said to his
+friend, after a serious talk on religious matters; "those words, written
+by relatives whom I sincerely respect and thoroughly love, have an
+inestimable value for me, and yet I give it to you. I want what I most
+value to go to you, in memory of what seems to me the most important of
+our conversations."
+
+When he was dying, he wanted to gaze at the crucifix, in order not to
+complain of his sad lot, dying thus at the very threshold of a career
+which promised to be brilliant and glorious; to go down so early to the
+gloomy tomb of the Hapsburgs! To exchange his glowing visions for this
+untimely end; to find an Austrian tomb instead of the throne of France!
+He accepted his fate, but he wished as few witnesses as possible of his
+last sufferings. He did not want to show to the world a son of Napoleon
+so weak and broken. He could scarcely lift the weak, worn hand which
+should have wielded Charlemagne's sword and sceptre. "I am so weak,"
+he said; "I beg of you not to let any one see me in my misery!" His
+sumptuous cradle he had given to the Imperial Treasury of Vienna, which
+is near the Church of the Capuchins, where he was to be buried. "My
+cradle and my grave will be near each other," he said. "My birth and my
+death--that's my whole story." In the overthrow, by lightning, of one
+of the eagles surmounting the palace of Schoenbrunn, the populace saw a
+prophecy of the death there of Napoleon's son, and in fact it was there
+that he died, in the room which his father had occupied in 1809, when
+possibly for the first time he thought of this Austrian marriage, which
+should--such at least was his dream--guarantee to the Napoleonic dynasty
+unlimited power and glory. The prince desired only one thing,--to see
+his mother. She came, and he greeted her with tenderness. He had also
+near him his young and beautiful relative, the Archduchess Sophia, the
+mother of the present Emperor of Austria. This charming princess, who
+was very fond of the young man who was approaching his end, told him
+that the time had come for him to receive the last sacraments. "We will
+pray together," she said; "I will pray for you, and you shall pray for
+me and for my unborn child." The prince, consoled and strengthened by
+the aid of religion, died in the enjoyment of a firm faith and thorough
+piety. "Mother, mother!" were his last words. General Hartmann said:
+"Having passed my life on battle-fields, I have often seen death, but
+I never saw a soldier die more bravely." The 22d of July was a very
+momentous date in the career of this young prince. It was July 22, 1818,
+that the title of Duke of Reichstadt was substituted for his name of
+Napoleon Bonaparte; July 22, 1821, he heard of his father's death;
+and July 22, 1832, he died at the age of twenty-one years four months
+and two days.
+
+We desire to make five studies of the second wife and the son of
+Napoleon I. The first, which we are now beginning, covers a period of
+brilliancy of infatuation, of fairy-like splendor, which in all its glow
+forms a striking contrast with the dreadful shadows that follow. With
+the aid of eye-witnesses whose memoirs abound with most valuable
+recollections--such as Prince Metternich, who had the principal charge
+of the Archduchess's marriage; M. de Bausset and General de Ségur, both
+attached to the Emperor Napoleon's household, so that they saw him
+nearly every day; Madame Durand, the Empress's first lady-in-waiting;
+Baron de Méneval, his private secretary--with their aid we shall try to
+recall the brilliant past, taking for our motto that phrase of Michelet:
+"History is a resurrection." An excellent work, which deserves
+translation, Von Helfert's _Marie Louise, Empress of the French_, throws
+a great deal of light on the early years of the mother of the King of
+Rome. In the archives of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs--thanks to the
+intelligent and liberal control which facilitates historic research--we
+have found a great number of curious documents which had never been
+published, such as letters written to Napoleon by the Emperor and
+Empress of Austria, and despatches from his ambassador at Vienna, Count
+Otto. This first study will carry us to the beginning of the Russian
+campaign, that glorious period when the unheard-of prosperity promised
+to be eternal. No darker night was ever preceded by a more brilliant
+sun. Napoleon said on the rock of Saint Helena: "Marie Louise had a
+short reign; but she must have enjoyed it; the world was at her feet."
+
+
+
+
+I.
+
+
+EARLY YEARS.
+
+Marie Louise, Archduchess of Austria, Empress of the French, Queen of
+Italy, afterwards Duchess of Parma, Piacenza, and Guastalla, was born
+in Vienna, December 12, 1791, the daughter of Archduke Francis, Prince
+Imperial, who a year later became Emperor of Germany under the name of
+Francis II., and of Marie Thérčse, Princess of Naples, daughter of King
+Ferdinand IV. and Queen Marie Caroline.
+
+Marie Louise's father was born February 12, 1768, a year and a half
+earlier than the Emperor Napoleon. He was the grandson of the great
+Empress Marie Thérčse, and son of the Emperor Leopold II., who was the
+brother of the Queen of France, Marie Antoinette, and whom he succeeded
+March 1, 1792; his mother was a Spanish princess, a daughter of Charles
+III. of Spain. He had four wives. He was an excellent husband, but his
+family affections were so strong that he could not remain a widower. In
+1788 he married his first wife, Princess Elizabeth Wilhelmina Louisa
+of Wurtemberg, who died February 17, 1790, in giving birth to a
+daughter who lived but six months. The same year he married by proxy
+at Naples, August 15, and September 19 in person at Vienna, the young
+Neapolitan princess Marie Thérčse, daughter of Ferdinand IV. and of
+Marie Caroline, who ruled over the Two Sicilies.
+
+The young princess, who was born June 6, 1772, was then eighteen years
+old. She was kind, virtuous, and well educated, and her influence at the
+court of Vienna was most excellent. Her mother, who during her reign of
+thirty-six years endured many trials and exhibited great qualities as
+well as great faults, was a remarkable woman.
+
+Marie Caroline, the Queen of Naples, was energetic to excess, courageous
+to the point of heroism; she believed that severity and sometimes
+even cruelty was demanded of a sovereign; her religion amounted to
+superstition, her love of authority to despotism; she alternated between
+passionate devotion to pleasure and earnest zeal for her duty; she was
+ardent in her affections and implacable in resentment, intense in her
+joys and in her sorrows; she was often an unwise queen, but as a
+mother she was beyond reproach. Like the matrons of antiquity and her
+illustrious mother, the Empress Marie Thérčse, she was proud of her
+large family; she had no fewer than seventeen children, and political
+cares never prevented her actively and intelligently caring for their
+moral and physical welfare. If she had not the happiness of seeing them
+all grow up, those who survived were yet the constant object of her
+tender solicitude. She took a prominent part in the education of her two
+sons, the Duke of Calabria and the Prince of Salerno, and still more
+in that of her five daughters: Marie Thérčse, the wife of the Emperor
+Francis II.; Marie Louise, who married the Archduke Ferdinand, Grand
+Duke of Tuscany; Marie Christine, wife of Charles Felix, Duke of Genoa,
+later King of Sardinia; Marie Amélie, Duchess of Orleans, then Queen of
+France; Marie Antoinette, first wife of the Prince of Asturias, later
+Ferdinand VII., King of Spain.
+
+Marie Caroline was very fond of her eldest daughter, Marie Thérčse; and
+when the princess had, in 1790, married the Archduke Francis, two years
+later Emperor of Germany, the mother and daughter kept up an active and
+affectionate correspondence in French. They were forever consulting each
+other about their babies, which were born at about the same time. When
+the daughter had given birth to her first child, the future French
+Empress, the Queen congratulated her most warmly: "I congratulate you on
+your courage. I am sure that when you look at your baby, which I hear
+is large, sturdy, and strong, that you forget all that you have been
+through." Scarcely was this child born than the Queen, who was most
+anxious to have a number of descendants, besought her daughter to give
+the Archduchess Marie Louise a little brother. April 17, 1793, there
+was born an Archduke Ferdinand, later Emperor of Germany; and his
+grandmother, Queen Marie Caroline, wrote: "I wept for joy! Thank Heaven
+for the birth of this boy!" Indeed, the wife of the Emperor Francis
+II. followed her mother's example with regard to her own children.
+Her eldest daughter, the Archduchess Marie Louise, she educated most
+carefully. The little princess, who had a most amiable disposition, was
+an eager student, and acquired a good knowledge of French, English,
+Italian, drawing, and music. She was brought up to respect religion and
+to detest revolutionary ideas.
+
+Her grandmother, Queen Marie Caroline, who in 1800 came to visit the
+Austrian court and stayed there two years, had many conversations with
+Marie Louise, which certainly were unlikely to inspire her with any
+taste for the French Revolution or for General Bonaparte. It is easy to
+understand how extremely the high-spirited and haughty Queen of the Two
+Sicilies must have been distressed and revolted by the sufferings and
+death of her sister, Marie Antoinette. There was something very solemn
+in the way in which she told her children what took place in Paris
+October 16, 1793. She had them all summoned. They found her dressed in
+deep black, with tears in her eyes; and she led them without a word to
+the chapel in the royal palace of Naples, and there, before the altar,
+she told them that the people of regicides had just put their aunt to
+death upon the scaffold. Then she bade them all to pray together for
+the peace of the victim's soul, and probably there mingled with Marie
+Caroline's prayer thoughts of wrath and vengeance. From that time
+she waged against the principles and the spread of the Revolution a
+relentless, implacable war, of varying result, which filled her more and
+more with detestation of the new France. On the occasion of Bonaparte's
+expedition to Egypt, she deemed the time ripe for a general uprising in
+Italy against the French. But Championnet had taken possession of Naples
+when the Parthenopean Republic had been proclaimed, and the Queen had
+been obliged, with her family, to take refuge at Palermo.
+
+In the next year, 1799, the conditions of things changed; and while
+Milan was recovered by Austria, and the Russian army, led by Suwarow,
+completed the expulsion of the French from Northern and Southern Italy,
+the Parthenopean Republic expired, and the Bourbon flag waved once more
+over the walls of Naples.
+
+Early in 1800 the French cause seemed forever lost in Italy; General
+Masséna alone held out at Genoa. Queen Marie Caroline had triumphed; and
+she conceived the plan of going to Austria to visit her daughter, the
+Empress, and to make the acquaintance of her grandchildren, whom she
+had never seen, and at the same time to demand an enlargement of her
+territory in return for the sacrifices of the Kingdom of the Two
+Sicilies in behalf of the common cause of the crowned heads and the
+Pope. She set sail from Palermo, June 9, 1800, with her second son, the
+Prince of Salerno, and her three unmarried daughters, Marie Christine,
+Marie Amélie, and Marie Antoinette.
+
+The ideas, the feelings, the principles, the prejudices, the hates, the
+hopes, the interests, of Queen Marie Caroline were the same as those of
+her son-in-law, the Emperor, of her daughter, the Empress, and of her
+other daughter, the Grand Duchess of Tuscany. At Vienna she found the
+same political feelings as at Naples. On her way thither she had a great
+joy,--the news of the surrender of the French at Genoa, which caused
+her to utter cries of delight; and a great sorrow,--the tidings of
+the Austrian defeat at Marengo, which was such a blow that she fell
+unconscious and narrowly escaped dying of apoplexy. We may readily
+understand the influence which a woman of this character must have
+had on the mind of her daughter, the Empress of Germany, and of her
+granddaughter, the future Empress of the French. Doubtless the young
+Marie Louise would have been much astonished if any one had prophesied
+to her that she would marry this Bonaparte who was represented to her as
+a monster. Marie Caroline did not leave Schoenbrunn to return to her own
+kingdom until July 29, 1802. For two years she had worked persistently
+and not without success, to augment, if that was possible, the
+detestation which the court, the aristocracy, and the whole Austrian
+people felt for France and French ideas. When Marie Louise was a child,
+and with her little brothers and sisters used to play with toy-soldiers,
+the ugliest, blackest, and most repulsive of them was always picked out
+and called Bonaparte, and this one they used to prick with pins and
+denounce in every way.
+
+The war of 1805, which brought Austria to the brink of ruin, added to
+the Archduchess's instinctive repulsion for Napoleon. At Vienna the
+panic was extreme; the Imperial family was obliged to flee in different
+directions. Marie Louise was only fourteen years old, and she was
+already learning bitter lessons at the school of experience. Seeking
+shelter in Hungary, and afterwards in Galicia, she prayed most warmly
+for the success of the Austrians. She wrote: "Papa must be finally
+successful, and the time must come when the usurper will lose heart.
+Perhaps God has let him go so far to make his ruin more complete when
+He shall have abandoned him." November 21, 1805, a few days before the
+battle of Austerlitz, she wrote a letter to her governess's husband,
+Count Colloredo, in which she said: "God must be very wroth with us,
+since He punishes us so sorely. Perhaps at this very moment there is
+living in one of our rooms at Schoenbrunn one of those generals who are
+as treacherous as cats. Our family is all scattered: my dear parents are
+at Olmütz; we are at Kaschan; there is a third colony at Ofen."
+
+Every sort of misfortune combined to smite this suffering family. While
+the Emperor Francis was losing the battle of Austerlitz, his wife, who
+was in Silesia, with only one of her children, the little Archduchess
+Leopoldine, who was born in 1797 and was not yet eight years old, fell
+seriously ill with the measles, and dreaded giving the disease to her
+little girl. "The only thing which would make death terrible," she wrote
+to her husband, "would be to die without seeing you again.... Do not
+take a step that will injure you or the country. Only don't let me be
+taken to France." Nothing disturbed her so much as the dread of falling
+into the hands of the enemy. The details which her husband wrote to her
+about his interview with Napoleon did not allay her uneasiness. "I have
+been as happy," he wrote, "as I could hope to be with a conqueror who
+holds possession of a large part of my kingdom. With regard to his
+treatment of me and mine, he has been very kind. It is easy to see that
+he is not a Frenchman." Thus the Emperor Francis ascribed to Napoleon's
+Italian birth the politeness with which the hero of Austerlitz treated
+him. Does not this simple statement suffice to show in what esteem the
+German sovereign held France and the French character?
+
+The Imperial family was at last reunited in Vienna, after many
+vicissitudes, early in 1806. But a new misfortune awaited them the
+following year. The Empress, whose health was already delicate, had a
+miscarriage April 9, 1807, and a pleurisy which seized her carried her
+off in four days, in due odor of sanctity, after she had given her
+blessing to Marie Louise and the rest of her children. She was only
+thirty-five. The untimely death of the amiable and virtuous princess,
+whose gayety and kindness had been the life and delight of the court,
+plunged her whole family into deep grief.
+
+The Emperor Francis was an excellent husband, but he was not an
+inconsolable widower. April 13, 1807, he lost his second wife; but less
+than nine months afterwards, January 6, 1808, he married his young
+cousin, Marie Louise Beatrice of Este, daughter of the late Archduke
+Ferdinand of Modena. This princess, who was born December 14, 1787, was
+very short, but attractive in appearance and of an excellent character.
+Her disposition was pleasant and her intelligence acute, but she was not
+the woman to give Marie Louise any taste for France or the French; for
+if in all Europe there was a princess who utterly detested the French
+Revolution and all its works, it was the third wife of Francis II.
+
+The new Empress was but four years older than her step-daughter, Marie
+Louise, and at the age of twenty-one, she looked much more like the
+sister than the step-mother of the young Archduchess, who was then
+in her seventeenth year. Nevertheless, the Empress took hold of the
+princess's education with a high hand, and displayed as much solicitude
+as if she had been her real mother.
+
+
+
+
+II.
+
+1809.
+
+
+The Emperor Francis was not without distractions during his honeymoon
+with his third wife, the young Empress, Marie Louise Beatrice. It was
+evident to every one that the Peace of Presbourg, like that of
+Lunéville, could be nothing more than a truce. Austria could never be
+reconciled to its loss, between 1792 and 1806, of the Low Countries,
+Suabia, Milan, the Venetian States, Tyrol, Dalmatia, and finally of the
+Imperial crown of Germany; for the heir of the Germanic Caesars now
+styled himself simply the Emperor of Austria, and a great part of
+Germany had become the humble vassal of Napoleon. Of all the Austrians,
+it was perhaps the Emperor who felt the least hatred of France. His
+whole family and his whole people--nobles, priests, the middle classes,
+and the peasantry--nourished an angry resentment against the nation that
+was overturning Europe. The new Empress, whose family had been deprived
+of the Duchy of Modena, was conspicuous for the bitterness of her
+indignation and of her political feelings. In the eyes of all the
+Austrians, great or small, poor or rich, the French were the hereditary
+enemies, the invaders, the destroyers of the throne and the Church,
+impious, sacrilegious, revolutionary,--the authors of every evil. It was
+they who, for years, destroyed the harvests, shed torrents of blood,
+smote with the sword or the axe of the guillotine, crowded war upon war,
+heaped ruins upon ruins, bringing misery and disgrace to all mankind.
+The old nobility, once so proud of its coats-of-arms and of its
+sovereign rights, now enslaved, humiliated, shorn of its independence,
+knew no limit to its abuse of the "Corsican savage," who had cut the
+roots of the old Germanic tree, previously so majestic. The priests
+denounced the nation which had dared to confiscate the patrimony of
+Saint Peter, and they cursed in Napoleon the persecutor of the Holy
+Vicar of Christ. Women who had lost their husbands or sons in the war
+held France responsible for their afflictions. The Frenchmen,
+overthrowing and despoiling everything, foes of the human race, the
+enemies of morality and religion, brought suffering to princes in their
+palaces, to workmen in their factories, to tradespeople in their shops,
+to the priests in their churches, to the soldiers in their camps, to the
+peasants in their huts. The war of wrath was irresistible. Every one
+lamented the mistake that had been made in abandoning the struggle; all
+felt that they should have fought to the end, at the cost of every man
+and every florin; that a mistake had been made in not assisting Prussia
+at the time of the campaign of Jena; and that the moment had come for
+all the powers to combine against the common foe and to crush him. Did
+he make any pretence of concealing his intention to overthrow every
+throne, and to make himself the oldest sovereign? Had he not had the
+insolence to say at Milan in 1805, to the Prince of Cardito, the
+Neapolitan envoy extraordinary, "Tell your Queen that I shall leave to
+her and her family only enough land for their graves"? Had he not
+recently, under the walls of Madrid, uttered these significant words to
+the Spaniards, "If you don't want my brother Joseph for king, I shall
+not force him upon you. I have another throne for him; and as for you, I
+shall treat you as a conquered country"? This other throne, it was said
+at Vienna, this throne which Napoleon did not name, must be the throne
+of the Emperor Francis II. himself. Already the Imperial crown of
+Germany had been lost, and the Austrian crown was threatened. But, added
+all the archdukes and officers, that would not be so easy as the French
+imagined, and they would get a good lesson. The Hapsburgs were not so
+compliant as the Spanish Bourbons, and the Bayonne ambush could not be
+repeated. All Europe was thrilling with indignation; only a signal was
+needed for it to rise, and this signal Austria would give. This time
+there was every chance of success. Their cry was "Victory or Death!" but
+victory was certain. The French army, scattered from the Oder to the
+Tagus, from the mountains of Bohemia to the Sierra Morena, would not be
+able to withstand so many people eager to break their yoke. Were not
+Russia and Prussia as desirous as Austria of revenge? Was not the whole
+of Germany ready for the fray? Napoleon boasted that he was the
+Protector of the Confederation of the Rhine; but if the Confederate
+Princes were under his command, in his pay, the people, more patriotic,
+more truly German than their rulers, burned with a longing to expel the
+French. Let Napoleon suffer but a single defeat, and then on which one
+of his vassals would he be able to count? Could he even rely on his own
+subjects? Were there not already in his overgrown Empire many germs of
+decay and death? In Vienna in 1809 the same things were said as in
+Berlin in 1806; the same feelings prevailed. The military ardor had
+grown so intense that the greatest soldier of Austria, the Archduke
+Charles, was looked upon as too cool, too moderate, and those who were
+eager to begin the fight called this bold warrior, this famous general,
+the "Prince of Peace." Even if he had wished it, the Emperor Francis
+would not have been able to calm the warlike fever of his army and his
+people.
+
+The musketry and the cannon would have fired themselves without waiting
+for war to be declared. The Landwehr, which had been organized only
+a few months, was impatient to cross swords with the veterans of the
+French army. Volunteers enlisted in crowds; patriotic gifts abounded. A
+story was told of a cobbler who, in despair at not being permitted to
+join the army, blew out his brains. Youths wished to leave school in
+order to serve. All classes of society rivalled one another in zeal,
+courage, and self-sacrifice. When it was known that the Archduke Charles
+had been appointed commander-in-chief, February 20, 1809, there was an
+outburst of confidence from one end of the Empire to the other. March 9,
+the Archbishop of Vienna solemnly blessed in the Cathedral the flags of
+the Viennese Landwehr. Together with the other members of the Imperial
+family, the young Archduchess Marie Louise was present at this patriotic
+and religious ceremony. Could she have imagined that one year later, to
+the delight of the vast majority of this same populace of Vienna, she
+was to become the wife of this Napoleon who then was calling forth such
+violent wrath and deep hatred?
+
+Never was there such a terrible war; never perhaps had the world seen
+such slaughter. April 8, 1809, the Emperor Francis left his capital,
+leaving there his wife and children, who were not able to stay there
+after the fifth of May. From Vienna the Archduchess Marie Louise wrote
+frequently to her father. A rumor had spread that the battle of Eckmühl
+had been a brilliant victory for the Austrians, and Marie Louise wrote
+to her father, April 25: "We have heard with delight that Napoleon was
+present at the great battle which the French lost. May he lose his head
+as well! There are a great many prophecies about his speedy end, and
+people say that the Apocalypse applies to him. They maintain that he is
+going to die this year at Cologne, in an inn called the 'Red Crawfish.'
+I do not attach much importance to these prophecies, but how glad
+I should be to see them come true!" These sentiments, it must be
+confessed, are a singular preparation for the next year's wedding.
+
+When the Empress of Austria was compelled to leave Vienna with her
+children at the approach of the enemy, she had more the appearance of an
+exile than of a sovereign. She was very ill at the time, and scarcely
+able to support the jolting of her carriage, and she groaned
+continually, as much from her moral as from her physical sufferings. "It
+is horrible," said Marie Louise, "to see her suffer so." It rained in
+torrents, and the thunder roared as if to foretell all the misfortunes
+which were about to overwhelm the country. The roads, made still worse
+by the bad weather, were abominable. When the fugitives reached Buda,
+after a long and difficult journey, they were wet through, and nearly
+worn out with fatigue.
+
+The illusions of the Imperial family were speedily destroyed by the
+harsh reality. Vienna surrendered May 12, after suffering severely. In
+a few hours eighteen hundred shells had fallen in the city. The streets
+were narrow, the houses high, and the populace crowded within the narrow
+fortifications were terrified and infuriated at the sight of the damage
+caused by the shells, which started fires in every direction. Who
+would have said to the Viennese who were then hurling all manner of
+imprecations at Napoleon, the author of their woes, that in ten months
+later they would be singing the praise of this detested Emperor, and
+would be voluntarily setting French flags in their windows as symbols
+of friendship? May 13, 1809, the French, under the command of General
+Oudinot, entered Vienna, amid the curses and execrations of the populace
+beside itself with grief; and ten months later to a day, March 13, 1810,
+the same populace, joyous and peaceful, with bells ringing and cannon
+saluting, blessed and applauded an archduchess who was leaving Vienna to
+share this same Napoleon's throne!
+
+But meanwhile there were many horrors, and much blood was shed. The
+artillery duel was most formidable; there was no limit to the fury and
+obstinacy of the two combatants. It was a war of giants in which all
+the infernal powers appeared to be let loose at once. Napoleon himself,
+familiar as he was with scenes of carnage, was surprised by the
+bitterness of the struggle. Never had he defied fortune with such
+audacity. Neglecting the usual laws of military science, he fought for
+twenty-four hours without cessation, on a line only three leagues long,
+having in his rear one of the largest rivers in Europe. Wagram was
+a victory, but a victory hotly disputed. When at the opening of the
+campaign it was thought that events would take a turn favorable to
+Austria, a thrill of hope, a movement of joy, ran through all the
+European nations, which showed the conqueror what would have happened
+if he had been beaten. He began to long for peace as ardently as he had
+longed for war. He no longer thought of making Austria, Hungary, and
+Bohemia three separate kingdoms, or of dethroning the Emperor Francis,
+and putting in his place his brother, the Grand Duke of Würzburg,
+formerly the Grand Duke of Tuscany. The Austrians, for whom he had felt
+a certain contempt, now inspired him with profound esteem; he admired
+their bravery, and especially the fidelity, of which they had given many
+touching proofs, to their unfortunate ruler. The hero of Wagram said to
+himself that if instead of gaining this battle he had lost it, he would
+not have gone back to the Tuileries as easily as Francis was going back
+to his palace in Vienna. An Emperor of Austria could be beaten and
+retain his popularity; but he, the great Napoleon, could not. That
+was the reflection which was made one day by his successor, himself a
+prisoner of Prussia, "In France one cannot be unfortunate."
+
+When the negotiations began to arrange peace, Napoleon treated the two
+distinguished officers, Prince John of Lichtenstein and General von
+Bubna, with the utmost courtesy. He spared no pains to show his personal
+esteem and to flatter their national pride; he spoke in the highest
+terms of the Austrian army and of the bravery it had displayed in the
+last campaign. He said to them: "You will always remain the first
+continental power, after France; you are deucedly strong. Allied as
+I was with Russia, I never expected to have on my hands a serious
+continental war, and what a war!" Then to console them for the
+conditions imposed on mutilated Austria, he added: "Why distress
+yourselves about a few scraps of territory which must come back to you
+some day? All this can only last during my lifetime. France ought never
+to fight beyond the Rhine. I have been able to; but when I'm gone, it's
+all over." Perhaps he was thinking of marrying Marie Louise; at any
+rate, he showed a consideration for Prince John of Lichtenstein
+and General Bubna which amazed all who saw it. M. de Bausset, who
+accompanied him as a gentleman-in-waiting, says in his Memoirs: "I
+watched attentively the two Austrian commissioners while they were
+breakfasting with the Emperor: I tried to read their expressions, and
+I fancied that I saw harmony and a good understanding growing day by
+day.... Napoleon's politeness and graciousness towards these gentlemen
+never relaxed for a moment. He seemed anxious to give them a favorable
+idea of his manners and his person." Nevertheless there were many
+patriotic men and women in Austria who were inconsolable. Princess
+Charles of Schwarzenberg--the wife of the brilliant general who had
+just fought like a hero, and, in the next year, as Austrian ambassador
+at the court of the Tuileries Avas to negotiate the marriage of Napoleon
+and Marie Louise--wrote a most despairing letter to her husband, in
+which she said: "I shall bury myself in the past in order to escape
+the present and the future. I have heard that you were to be chosen to
+negotiate this so-called peace; it was a heavenly grace by which you
+escaped sullying your name. To conclude, I have only one earthly wish:
+it is that the ruin which we are cowardly enough to call a peace, may
+become complete, that our political existence may end. I pray for the
+calm of death."
+
+Napoleon was about leaving Schoenbrunn, to return to France, when,
+October 12, 1809, just as he was about to review his troops, he saw
+approaching him a young German, of suspicious appearance, who was at
+once arrested. This young man, whose name was Staaps, was the son of a
+Protestant pastor at Erfurt, and under his coat was found a large, sharp
+dagger, with which he said he had intended to kill the Emperor, in order
+to deliver Germany. The cool, calm replies of this determined fanatic,
+whom Napoleon himself examined, made a deep impression upon him. Might
+not this young German be the forerunner of numberless volunteers who
+were about to organize against France what they would consider a holy
+war? At the sight of this youth, who gave calm expression to unrelenting
+hatred, Napoleon--who did not venture to spare his life, although no
+criminal act had been committed--was moved by a painful feeling in which
+pity was mingled with surprise. He who had cost Germany such torrents
+of blood and tears was singularly astonished when at last he saw that
+Germany did not love him. Nothing is so repugnant to the great of the
+earth, and especially to conquerors, as the thought of death,--death,
+the only unconquerable foe! What, the first comer, a fool, a vulgar
+fanatic, can with a kitchen knife lay low the greatest hero, the most
+illustrious warrior, the mightiest king! At Regensberg, when he was
+wounded for the first time since he had begun his military career, the
+hero of so many battles perceived, and not without a pang, that he was
+not invulnerable. Before the corpse of the brave Marshal Lannes, who had
+had his two legs carried off by a cannon-ball at Esoling, he wrote very
+sadly to the Empress Josephine: "So everything ends!" And now he might
+himself have fallen by the hand of a poor, unknown student! As the
+Duchess of Abrantčs wrote: "Death, which was always prowling about the
+Emperor in various forms, yet never daring to seize him, but always
+appearing to say, Take care! ... was a prophecy, and a prophecy of
+evil." Napoleon began to reflect seriously. To audacity and the
+spirit of adventure there suddenly succeeded prudence and the need of
+self-preservation. The all-powerful Emperor said to himself at the
+moment of his triumph, that if he were to die without a direct heir, his
+vast Empire would fall to pieces, like that of Alexander the Great,
+and the unrivalled edifice, built at the price of so much toil and
+sacrifice, would be shattered.
+
+The national historian has said: "In proportion as he lost the support
+of the public, Napoleon took pleasure in thinking that it was the lack
+of a future and not his own misdeeds that threatened his proud throne
+with premature fragility. The desire to make firm what he felt trembling
+beneath his feet, became his dominant passion, as if, with a new wife in
+the Tuileries, the mother of a male heir, the faults which had armed
+the whole world against him would be only causes without effects."
+And Thiers adds this reflection: "It would doubtless have been to his
+advantage to have had an undoubted heir; it would have been better, a
+hundred times better, to have been prudent and wise. Napoleon, who,
+despite his need of a son, could not, after Tilsit, at the very climax
+of his power and glory, make up his mind to sacrifice Josephine, at last
+came to a decision because he felt the Empire threatened, and he tried
+in a new marriage to secure the solidity which he should have tried to
+obtain by wise and moderate conduct."
+
+Possibly even when at Schoenbrunn the conqueror already thought of
+asking for the hand of the young archduchess whose home this palace was.
+At any rate, it never crossed his mind that in the very room where he
+wove such proud visions, such far-reaching plans, his heir would die so
+sadly, the heir whom the daughter of the Germanic Caesars was to give to
+him. When he reappeared crowned with victory at Fontainebleau, October
+26, 1809, Josephine felt that her fate was sealed. The immediate result
+of the battle of Wagram was the divorce.
+
+
+
+
+III.
+
+THE PRELIMINARIES OF THE WEDDING.
+
+
+Austria had known terrible fears during the campaign of Wagram; it had
+asked anxiously, whether the Hapsburgs might not disappear from the list
+of crowned heads, like the Spanish Bourbons, or might not, like the
+Neapolitan Bourbons, be left to enjoy only part of their States. The
+peace which was signed at Vienna, October 14, 1809, had somewhat allayed
+these serious apprehensions, but the situation of Austria remained no
+less anxious and painful. As Prince Metternich has said in his curious
+Memoirs: "The so-called Peace of Vienna had enclosed the Empire in
+an iron circle, cutting off its communication with the Adriatic, and
+surrounding it from Brody, on the extreme northeast, towards Russia,
+to the southeastern frontiers toward the Ottoman Empire, with a row of
+states under Napoleon's rule, or under his direct influence. The Empire,
+as if caught in a vice, was not free to move in any direction; moreover,
+the conqueror had done all he could to prevent the defeated nation
+from renewing its strength; a secret article of the treaty of peace
+established one hundred and fifty thousand men as the maximum force of
+the Austrian army."
+
+A still darker danger threatened the throne of the Hapsburgs; namely,
+the marriage, which was thought very probable and very near, of Napoleon
+with the sister of the Czar. Thus imprisoned between two vast empires,
+between that of the East and that of the West, as if between hammer and
+anvil, what would become of Austria, shorn of its territory and its
+strength?
+
+There was but one chance, and a very faint one, of any defence against
+the dangers that threatened Austria, and that was, that the Viennese
+court might make the match which the Russian court was contemplating.
+Already, its matrimonial alliances had brought the country good fortune
+more than once, and it could not forget the famous maxim expressed in a
+Latin line--
+
+  "_Bella gerant alii; tu felix Austria, nube!_"
+  "Let others wage war; do you, happy Austria, marry!"
+
+The last campaigns had been unfavorable to the Hapsburg dynasty; a
+marriage would set things to right.
+
+At Vienna a party which may be called the peace party had come to power.
+Mr. von Stadion, a statesman of warlike tendencies, had been succeeded
+in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by a young and brilliant diplomatist,
+Count Metternich. The new minister had been ambassador to Paris before
+the campaign of Wagram, and, while he had been unable to prevent the
+war, he had left a very favorable impression at Napoleon's court, where
+his success as a man of the world, as a great nobleman, had been very
+brilliant. He then, in the lifetime of his father, Prince Metternich,
+bore only the title of Count. In his desire to attest his belief in the
+possibility of a reconciliation between Austria and Napoleon, he had
+left his wife, Countess Metternich, in France during the war. When
+he came to power, he conceived a political plan which was founded,
+temporarily at least, if not finally, on a French alliance. But to
+secure all the benefits which he hoped to get from it, Napoleon's
+marriage with an Austrian princess was necessary; and Metternich, who
+was aware of the negotiations between the French and Russian courts,
+was not inclined to believe in the possibility of a marriage between an
+Austrian Archduchess and the hero of Wagram. Neither before nor after
+the conclusion of the Treaty of Vienna was a word spoken about this
+plan, either by Napoleon or by the Austrian court.
+
+The Emperor of the French had absolutely decided on a divorce; but he
+still thought that it was the Grand Duchess Anne, sister of the Emperor
+Alexander of Russia, who was going to succeed Josephine. On the occasion
+of the interview at Erfurt he had spoken of this marriage, and the Czar
+appeared to be most favorable to the plan. November 22, 1809, the Duke
+of Cadore, Minister of Foreign Affairs, forwarded this despatch to the
+Duke of Vicenza, French Ambassador at Saint Petersburg: "Rumors of the
+divorce reached the ears of the Emperor Alexander at Erfurt, and he
+spoke to the Emperor on the subject, saying that his, sister Anne was at
+his disposition. His Majesty desires you to broach the subject frankly
+and simply with the Emperor Alexander, and to address him in these
+terms: 'Sire, I have reason to think that the Emperor, urged by the
+whole of France, is making ready for a divorce. May I ask what may be
+counted on in regard of your sister? Will not Your Majesty consider the
+question for two days and then give me a frank reply, not as to the
+French Ambassador, but as to a person interested in the two families? I
+am not making a formal demand, but rather requesting the expression
+of your intentions. I venture, Sire, upon this step, because I am so
+accustomed to say what I think to Your Majesty that I have no fear of
+compromising myself.'
+
+"You will not mention the subject to M. de Romanzoff on any pretext
+whatsoever, and when you shall have had this conversation with the
+Emperor Alexander, and shall have received his answer two days later,
+you will entirely forget this communication that I am making. You will,
+in addition, inform me concerning the qualities of the young Princess,
+and especially when she may be expected to become a mother; for in the
+present state of affairs, six months' difference is of great importance.
+I need not recommend to Your Excellency the most complete secrecy; you
+know what you owe to the Emperor in this respect."
+
+At that time couriers took two weeks to go from Paris to Saint
+Petersburg, and the answer to the despatch of November 22 had not yet
+arrived when Napoleon, who did not yet know who his second wife was to
+be, announced to Josephine, November 30, that divorce was inevitable.
+The unhappy Empress received for the last time at the Tuileries, which
+she was to leave forever, in the morning of December 16. The reception
+was drawing to an end. Among those who were waiting on the grand
+staircase or in the vestibule for their carriages to be announced, there
+happened to be standing together M. de Sémonville, a young man of some
+prominence in the court, and M. de Floret, a young secretary of the
+Austrian legation. Everybody imagined then that the marriage with the
+Grand Duchess of Russia was settled. Suddenly, in this crowd of great
+personages, M. de Sémonville began the following conversation with the
+Austrian diplomatist:--
+
+"Well, that's fixed. Why didn't _you_ do it?"
+
+"Who says that we didn't want to?"
+
+"People think so. Are they wrong?"
+
+"Perhaps."
+
+"What? It would be possible? You may think so; but the Ambassador?"
+
+"I will answer for Prince Schwarzenberg."
+
+"But Count Metternich?"
+
+"There is no difficulty about him."
+
+"But the Emperor?"
+
+"Or about him, either."
+
+"And the Empress, who hates us?"
+
+"You don't know her; she is ambitious, and could be persuaded."
+
+M. de Sémonville started at once to report this curious conversation to
+his friend, the Duke of Bassano, who at once hastened to speak of it to
+the Emperor. Napoleon appeared pleased, but not astonished. He said that
+he had just heard the same thing from Vienna.
+
+This is what had happened in the Austrian capital: the Count of Narbonne
+had been passing through before going to Munich, where he was to
+represent France as Minister Plenipotentiary. This amiable and
+distinguished man, of whom M. Villemain has written an excellent life,
+had succeeded in attracting Napoleon's favor, and after receiving an
+appointment as general in the French army, he had been made ambassador
+and one of the Emperor's aides-de-camp. M. de Narbonne, who was a model
+of refinement and bravery, had been one of the ornaments of the court
+of Versailles and of the Constituent Assembly. He had been a Knight of
+Honor of Madame Adelaide, the daughter of Louis XV.; Minister of War
+under Louis XVI., in 1792; a friend of Madame de Staël; an émigré in
+England, Switzerland, and Germany; and in 1809, thanks to Napoleon's
+good-will, he had once more resumed his military career, after an
+interruption of seventeen years. Towards the end of the campaign the
+Emperor had sent him as governor to Raab, to keep an eye on Hungary and
+Bohemia, and in case Austria should refuse to accept the conditions
+imposed by her conqueror, to proclaim the independence of those two
+countries. The peace once signed, General the Count of Narbonne went to
+Vienna, where he met two of his best friends,--the Prince of Ligne, who
+had been one of the favorites of Marie Antoinette, and the Count of
+Lamarck, who had been a confidant of Mirabeau. One day when he was
+dining with them, and Prince Metternich and a few other intimate
+friends, the conversation turned to politics. The Austrian Minister
+congratulated himself on the peace, which, he said, made the future
+sure, and cut short all danger of trouble and anarchy. The Prince of
+Ligne expressed similar views. Then M. de Narbonne spoke out somewhat as
+follows: "Gentlemen, I am surprised by your recent astonishment and your
+present confidence. Is it possible that you are too blind to see that
+every peace, easy or hard, is nothing more than a brief truce? that for
+a long time we are hastening to one conclusion, of which peace is but
+one of the stations? This conclusion is the subjugation of the whole
+of Europe under two mighty empires. You have seen the swift growth and
+progress of one of these empires since 1800. As to the other, it is not
+yet determined. It will be either Austria or Russia, according to the
+results of the Peace of Vienna; for this peace is a danger if it is not
+the foundation of a closer alliance, of a family alliance, and does not
+finally restore more than its beginning took away; in a word, you are
+ill advised if you hesitate in your leaning towards France."
+
+The next morning the Count of Narbonne was summoned to the Emperor
+Francis II., and the Austrian monarch indicated the possibility of a
+marriage between Napoleon and the Archduchess Marie Louise. The Count of
+Narbonne approved, and eloquently expressed his conviction that such a
+happy result as confiding once more an Archduchess to France would at
+last decide Napoleon to remain at peace, instead of forever hazarding
+his glory, and to work for the welfare of the people in harmony with
+the wise and virtuous monarch whose adopted son he would become. M. de
+Narbonne sent a note of this conversation to Fouché, to be shown to the
+Emperor, who thus had knowledge of the secret plans of the Viennese
+court six weeks before the meeting over which he presided at the
+Tuileries, to ask his councillors their opinion on the choice of an
+Empress.
+
+Since the resumption of diplomatic relations between the two powers, the
+Austrian Ambassador in Paris had been Prince Charles of Schwarzenberg,
+the warrior and statesman who later, as commander-in-chief of the
+Austrian forces, was to deal such heavy blows to France. In 1810 he was
+all for peace, and his sole aim was to undermine, for the good of his
+country, the influence of his Russian colleague, Prince Kourakine. The
+Austrian Ambassador was very anxious that the Archduchess Marie Louise
+should become Empress of the French; for he was convinced that such an
+event would be of as much benefit to him as to his country. Yet he was
+still afraid to hope for the realization of his dream, when one of his
+friends, Count Alexandra de Laborde--who, after serving as an émigré, in
+the Austrian army, had returned to France and been appointed Master of
+Requests in the Council of State, encouraged him in his ideas which
+might at first have seemed fanciful, M. de Laborde, whose father had
+been court-banker before the Revolution, and had most generously aided
+Marie Antoinette, was well known and much liked in Vienna. In this
+matter of the marriage of Marie Louise he was the secret agent between
+Napoleon's Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Prince of Schwarzenberg,
+in whom he kindled so much zeal in behalf of the French alliance that
+the Ambassador, as we shall soon see, signed the marriage contract
+of the Archduchess with Napoleon, even before he had received the
+authorization of his government.
+
+December 17, 1809, nothing had been decided. Indeed, what seemed
+probable, if not certain, was the Russian marriage. That day--the day
+when there appeared in the _Moniteur_ the decree of the Senate relative
+to the divorce--a new despatch had been sent from Paris to Saint
+Petersburg by the Duke of Cadore, to demand a speedy reply from the
+Russian court, yes or no. The answer of the Duke of Vicenza to the first
+despatch, that of November 22, 1809, did not reach Paris until December
+28. The Ambassador said that the Czar had received his overtures very
+amiably, but that the affair needed much discretion and a little
+patience. The Emperor Alexander, he went on to say, was personally
+favorable; but his mother, whom he did not wish to offend, refused her
+consent, and the Czar asked for a few days before giving a final answer.
+This delay vexed Napoleon, who nevertheless resolved to wait, although
+waiting suited neither his tastes nor his character.
+
+In short, at the beginning of 1810, the matrimonial alliance with
+Austria was not settled. The initiative steps had not been taken by the
+monarch, the ministers of Foreign Affairs, or by the ambassadors. It is
+a curious and characteristic detail, that it was the divorced Empress,
+Josephine, who gave the signal. She summoned the Countess Metternich
+to Malmaison, January 2, 1810, and said to her: "I have a plan which
+interests me to the exclusion of everything else, and nothing but its
+success can make me feel that the sacrifice I have just made is not
+wholly thrown away: it is that the Emperor shall marry your Archduchess;
+I spoke to him about it yesterday, and he said that his choice was
+not yet made. But I think it would be made, if he were sure of being
+accepted by you." Madame de Metternich was much surprised by this
+overture, which she hastened to communicate to her husband in a letter
+dated January 3, 1810, which began thus: "To-day I have some very
+extraordinary things to tell you, and I am almost sure that my letter
+will make a very important part of your despatches. In the first place,
+I must tell you that I was presented to the Emperor last Sunday. I had
+only mentioned the matter in conversation with Champagny when I received
+a letter from M. de Ségur, telling me that the Emperor had appointed
+Sunday, and that I was to choose a lady-in-waiting to present me. In my
+wisdom I selected the Duchess of Bassano, and after waiting in company
+with twenty other women, among whom were the Princess of Isenburg,
+Madame de Tyskiewitz and others, from two till half-past six in the
+evening, I was introduced first, and the Emperor received me in a way I
+could not have expected. He seemed really glad to see me again, and glad
+that I had stayed here during the war; he spoke about you and said, 'M.
+de Metternich holds the first place in the Empire; he knows the country
+well and can be of service to it.'"
+
+Then the Countess went on to narrate what the Empress Josephine and
+Queen Hortense had said the evening before at Malmaison. She had been
+received by Hortense while waiting in the drawing-room for Josephine to
+come down, and she had been much astounded to hear the Queen of Holland
+say with much warmth: "You know that we are all Austrians at heart, but
+you would never guess that my brother has had the courage to advise the
+Emperor to ask for the hand of your Archduchess." Josephine frequently
+referred to this projected marriage, on which she seemed to have set her
+heart. "Yes," she said, "we must try to arrange it." Then she expressed
+her regret that M. de Metternich was not in Paris; for if he had been,
+doubtless he would bring the affair to a happy conclusion. "Your Emperor
+must be made to see," she went on, "that his ruin and the ruin of his
+country are certain if he does not give his consent to this marriage. It
+is perhaps the only way of preventing Napoleon from breaking with the
+Holy See."
+
+The letter of the Countess Metternich ended thus: "I have not seen
+the Queen of Holland again, because she is ill. Hence I have nothing
+positive to tell you concerning the matter in question; but if I wanted
+to tell you all the honors that have been showered upon me, I should
+not stop so soon. At the last levee I played with the Emperor; you may
+imagine that it was a serious matter for me, but I managed to come
+off with glory. He began by praising my diamond headband, and that
+everlasting gold dress, then he asked me a number of questions about my
+family and all my relatives; he insisted, in spite of all I could say,
+that Louis von Kaunitz was my brother. You can't imagine what effect
+that little game of cards had. When it was over, I was surrounded and
+paid court to by all the great dignitaries, marshals, ministers, etc. I
+had abundant material for philosophical reflections on the vicissitude
+of human affairs."
+
+Nevertheless, in spite of the overtures which Josephine had made to the
+Countess Metternich, Napoleon had come to no decision about his new
+wife. One day when he had been working with M. Daru, whom he highly
+esteemed, he had the following conversation with him:--
+
+"In your opinion which would be the better for me, to marry the Russian
+or the Austrian?"
+
+"Neither."
+
+"The devil! You are very hard to please."
+
+"Neither, I say, but a Frenchwoman; and provided the new Empress does
+not have too many relatives who will have to be made princes and given a
+large fortune, France will approve your choice. The throne you occupy is
+like no other; you have erected it with your own hands. You are at the
+head of a generous nation; your glory and its glory ought to be
+shared in common. It is not by imitating other monarchs, it is by
+distinguishing yourself, that you find your real greatness. You do not
+rule by the same title that they do; you ought not to marry as they do.
+The nation would be flattered by your looking at home for an Empress,
+and it would always see in your line a thoroughly French family."
+
+"Come, come! that's nonsense! If M. de Talleyrand should hear you, he
+would form a very poor idea of your political sagacity. You don't treat
+this question like a statesman. I must unite in defence of my crown
+those at home and abroad who are still hostile to it; and my marriage
+furnishes a chance. Do you imagine that monarchs' marriages are matters
+of sentiment? No; they are matters of politics. Mine cannot be
+decided by motives of internal policy; I must try to establish my
+influence outside, and to extend it by a close alliance with a powerful
+neighbor."
+
+No answer had come from Russia, no official overture had been made to or
+by Austria; still Napoleon continued to believe, or at least pretended
+to believe, that his only difficulty was to make the best choice. The
+idea that two emperors and a king--without counting the other sovereigns
+on whom he did not deign to cast a glance--were simultaneously disputing
+the honor of allying their family with him, greatly flattered his pride.
+In fact, what he desired was the Austrian marriage; but he was anxious
+to keep his preferences secret, in order to prolong in the eyes of his
+principal councillors, an uncertainty in which his pride did not suffer.
+He convoked them to an extraordinary session, at the Tuileries, after
+mass, Sunday, January 21, 1810. The great dignitaries of the Empire,--
+Champagny, Minister of Foreign Affairs; the Duke of Cadore; Maret, the
+Secretary of State; the Duke of Bassano; M. Gamier, the President of the
+Senate; and M. de Fontanes, President of the Corps Législatif,--all took
+part in this solemn council. The relative advantages and disadvantages
+of the Russian, the Saxon, and the Austrian marriage were considered at
+great length. The Archtreasurer Lebrun and M. Gamier favored the
+daughter of the King of Saxony; the Archchancellor Cambacérčs and King
+Murat, the Grand Duchess of Russia; M. de Champagny, Prince Talleyrand,
+Prince Eugene, the Prince of Neufchâtel and the Duke of Bassano, the
+Archduchess Marie Louise. Murat especially distinguished himself by his
+violent opposition to the Austrian alliance. Doubtless he was averse to
+the selection for Empress of the French of the granddaughter of Queen
+Marie Caroline of Naples, whose throne he was occupying. Napoleon
+remained calm and impassive. When the meeting was over, he dismissed the
+councillors, simply saying: "I shall weigh in my mind the arguments that
+you have submitted to me. In any case, I remain convinced that whatever
+difference may exist in your views, each one has formed his opinion only
+from a desire for the good of the country and devotion to my person."
+Thus it was that seventeen years to a day after a king of France who had
+married an Austrian archduchess had died on the scaffold, there was
+discussed the alliance of a new French ruler with another archduchess,
+the grandniece of the other.
+
+Some time later, Cambacérč's, in the course of a conversation with M.
+Pasquier, then Counsellor of State, gave utterance to his regret at
+having failed to impress upon his hearers the superior advantages of the
+Russian alliance. "I am not surprised," he said; "when a man has only
+one argument to give, and it is impossible to give it, he must expect to
+be beaten.... And you will see that my argument is so good that a single
+sentence will show you all its weight. I am morally sure that in less
+than two years we shall be at war with the Emperor whose relative we do
+not marry. Now war with Austria causes me no anxiety; but I dread war
+with Russia; its consequences are incalculable. I know that the Emperor
+is familiar with the road to Vienna, but I am not so sure that he will
+find the road to St. Petersburg."
+
+After quoting this conversation between Cambacérčs and M. Pasquier in
+his admirable book, _The Church of Rome and the First Empire_, the Count
+d'Haussonville indulges in some philosophic reflections: "If it is
+curious to come upon this profound and accurate summary, compressed into
+a few clear and precise words by a man of remarkable sagacity dealing
+with a future still completely hidden, it is no less strange to think
+that the prospect of the Austrian marriage, destined to be so fatal to
+the Empire, should be suddenly discussed in a five minutes' talk between
+two men who met by chance on the steps of the Tuileries, at the very
+moment when the unhappy Josephine was about to leave this spot which
+had been so long her home. When we reflect on the course of all the
+following events, we may perhaps say that the fate of the Empire was
+settled in this eventful quarter of an hour; for if the Emperor had
+married the Grand Duchess instead of Marie Louise, probably the campaign
+of 1812, which Cambacérčs foresaw, would not have taken place, and
+Heaven knows what part this unhappy expedition played in the fall of the
+First Empire!"
+
+How insufficient is human wisdom, how false its calculations! This
+Austrian marriage which discouraged the bitterest enemies of the hero of
+Austerlitz, of Jena, of Wagram, this magnificent marriage which was to
+have been the safeguard of the Empire, proved its ruin. This great event
+which called forth abundant congratulations and outbursts of noisy
+delight was the main cause of the most tremendous and most
+disastrous war of modern times. If he had not blindly counted on
+his father-in-law's friendship, would Napoleon, in spite of all his
+audacity, have ventured to march to the Russian steppes, without even
+taking the precaution of reviving Poland? He himself has said it:
+his marriage with the Austrian Archduchess was an abyss covered with
+flowers.
+
+January was drawing to a close; and while in Paris many people were
+beginning to regard Napoleon's marriage with Marie Louise as very
+probable, the young princess herself had no suspicion of his intentions.
+Count Metternich who, like his sovereign, had maintained secrecy about
+this delicate matter, wrote to his wife, January 27, 1810: "The
+Archduchess is still ignorant, as indeed is proper, of the plans
+concerning her, and it is not from the Empress Josephine, who gives
+us so many proofs of her confidence, who with so many noble qualities
+combines those of a tender mother, that I shall conceal the many
+considerations which necessarily present themselves to the Archduchess
+Marie Louise when the matter is laid before her. But our princesses
+are little accustomed to choose their husbands according to their own
+inclinations, and the respect which so fond and so well-trained a
+daughter feels for her father's wishes, makes me confident that she will
+make no opposition."
+
+The same day, January 27, 1810, the Count Metternich wrote to Prince
+Charles of Schwarzenberg, the Austrian Ambassador in Paris, a despatch
+which proves that the negotiations concerning the marriage had not yet
+begun: "It is with great interest that his Imperial Majesty has heard
+the details which Your Highness has communicated to him in his last
+despatches, on the question of the marriage of the Emperor of the
+French. It would be difficult to form any definite conclusion from the
+different data that reach us. It is impossible not to see a certain
+official character in the explanations, vague as they are, which the
+Minister of Foreign Affairs has had with Your Highness. M. de Laborde's
+uninterrupted zeal, the remarks of so many persons connected with the
+government, all tending in one direction, and especially the very direct
+overtures made by the Empress and the Queen of Holland to Madame de
+Metternich, would incline us to suppose that Napoleon's mind was made
+up, as the Emperor said, if our August master should consent to give him
+Madame the Archduchess. On the other hand, the demands commonly reported
+to have been addressed to Russia conflict with this supposition. The
+question must, at any rate, become clearer shortly after the arrival of
+the next courier, if indeed not before then. So much has been said, that
+it is impossible to deny that an alliance with the Imperial House of
+Austria has entered into the designs of the French court. By following a
+very simple calculation and comparing the great publicity given to the
+alleged demand on Russia with the secrecy exercised towards us in this
+matter, we may possibly be authorized to suppose that at present their
+views tend in our direction; but probability is of very little account
+in a transaction of this sort to which Napoleon is a party, and we can
+only go on in our usual course, and the result, in one way or another,
+must inure to our advantage."
+
+While the court of Vienna thus maintained a position of prudent and
+dignified reserve, Napoleon, annoyed by the delays of the Russian court,
+and now only anxious to have nothing more to do with it, impatiently
+awaited the despatches from Saint Petersburg. These arrived February 6,
+but they brought no satisfactory news. The first delay of ten days which
+the Czar had asked of the Duke of Vicenza came to an end January 6, but
+on the 2lst the Emperor Alexander had not yet replied. He said, to be
+sure, that his mother had withdrawn her opposition; but he combined
+the affairs of the marriage with the political negotiations concerning
+Poland, and doubtless in the desire of affecting Napoleon's decision, he
+let the matter drag, as if he wanted to be urged. The Duke of Vicenza
+also said in his despatches that, according to the physicians, the Grand
+Duchess was yet too young to bear children, and that since she was
+averse to changing her religion, she insisted on having a Greek chapel
+and Greek priests at the Tuileries.
+
+Napoleon hesitated no longer. That same day he sent word to the Russian
+Ambassador, Prince Kourakine, that, being unable to accept a longer
+delay, he broke off the negotiation; and that evening he had the
+Austrian Ambassador, Prince Schwarzenberg, asked if the contract of his
+marriage with the Archduchess Marie Louise could be signed the next day.
+
+The Austrian diplomatist had never expected that events were going to
+move at any such speed. He knew the favorable disposition of his court,
+but he had received no authorization to conclude the business. The
+general instructions which had been sent to him regarding the marriage
+were dated December 25, 1809, and they had not since been modified.
+These left the Ambassador free to discuss the question only in
+accordance with the restrictions which Count Metternich had thus
+formulated.
+
+"1. Every overture is to be received by you in an unofficial capacity.
+Your Highness must take cognizance of it only by expressing your
+personal willingness to see how the land lies here.
+
+"2. You will then make it clear, as if it were a remark of your own,
+that if no secondary consideration, no prejudice, influence the
+Emperor's decision, there are laws which he will always obey. His
+Majesty will never force a beloved daughter to a marriage which she
+might abhor, and will never consent to a marriage not in conformity with
+the principles of our religion.
+
+"3. You will endeavor, moreover, to get a definite statement of the
+advantages which France would offer to Austria in the case of a family
+alliance."
+
+When, in the evening of February 6, 1810, Napoleon's Minister of Foreign
+Affairs asked Prince Schwarzenberg if he was ready to sign the marriage
+contract at the Tuileries the next morning, the Ambassador was
+delighted, but surprised, and perhaps, for a moment, perplexed. If he
+regarded the instructions conveyed in the despatch of December 25, 1809,
+he certainly had no authority to sign anything. In fact, not merely did
+he not know whether the Archduchess had given her consent, he did not
+know whether she had ever been informed of the projected marriage.
+Besides, he had no information as to the way in which the Austrian
+court looked on the annulment of the religious marriage of Napoleon
+and Josephine by the officials of the diocese of Paris, who had acted
+independently of the Pope. Finally, he was not in condition to stipulate
+for any political advantage to his government as the price of the
+alliance. A timid diplomatist would have hesitated. But might not there
+arrive the next moment a courier from Saint Petersburg, bringing a
+definite answer from the Czar? Would Napoleon, impatient as he was and
+unused to delay--would he accept the slightest postponement on the part
+of Austria? Prince Schwarzenberg burned his ships; he said to himself
+that if his action were disavowed, he could go and raise cabbages on his
+estate; but if it were approved, he would be at the top of the wave.
+Abandoning then the customary slowness and scruples of diplomacy, he
+answered without hesitation that he was ready, and made an engagement
+with the Duke of Cadore, Minister of Foreign Affairs, for the next day,
+at the Tuileries, to sign the marriage contract of the Emperor of the
+French, King of Italy, and of Marie Louise, Archduchess of Austria. IV.
+
+
+
+
+THE BETROTHAL.
+
+
+February 7, 1810, M. Champagny, Duke of Cadore, the French Minister
+of Foreign Affairs, and Prince Charles of Schwarzenberg, met at the
+Tuileries, and signed, without the slightest hitch, the marriage
+contract of Napoleon and the Archduchess Marie Louise. The text was a
+copy almost word for word of Marie Antoinette's marriage contract, which
+had been signed forty years before.
+
+On leaving the Tuileries, Prince Schwarzenberg despatched a messenger to
+Vienna to announce the momentous news, which possibly would arouse
+more surprise than delight. "Count," he wrote to M. de Metternich, "in
+signing the marriage contract, while protesting that I was in no way
+clothed with power _ad hoc_, I believe that I have merely signed a paper
+which can guarantee to the Emperor Napoleon the determination already
+formed by my August Sovereign of meeting him half-way in negotiation on
+this subject. The despatches with which you have honored me made the
+course that I was to follow perfectly clear. His Majesty, as Your
+Excellency assures me, approves of my conduct by bidding me follow
+the same course; hence the marriage is an affair which my government
+naturally regards as one of the greatest interest, and one which it
+desires to see arranged. It will be evident to those who know the
+character of Emperor Napoleon that if I had shown the slightest
+hesitation, he would have abandoned this plan and have formed another.
+If this affair was hurried, it was because that is the way in which
+Napoleon acts, and it seemed to me best to seize the favorable moment.
+I have the most profound conviction of having been of service to my
+sovereign on this occasion; and if by any possibility I have had the
+misfortune to displease him by the course that I took in perfect
+sincerity, His Majesty can disavow it, but in that case I shall
+instantly demand my recall."
+
+The next day Prince Schwarzenberg sent to Vienna one of his secretaries,
+M. de Floret, with this letter to M. de Metternich: "Paris, February
+8, 1810. I send to you, dear Count, M. de Floret, who will give you an
+account of everything that has happened. You will soon see that I could
+not have acted otherwise without spoiling the whole business. If I had
+insisted on not signing, he would have broken the affair off, to treat
+with Russia or Saxony. I formally declared that I had full power to give
+the most positive assurances that the propositions of marriage would be
+favorably received by my court; but that if I was not ready to sign
+a contract, it was only on account of the impossibility in which my
+minister found himself of supposing that a matter scarcely touched
+upon should so soon come to a head. I beg of you, my dear friend, to
+arrange that there shall be no obstacle to this important business, and
+that it be arranged with a good grace.... I pity the Princess, it is
+true; but yet she must not forget that it is a noble deed to give peace
+to such good nations, and to give a guarantee of general peace and
+tranquillity. Floret will give you our records, and will explain it to
+you by word of mouth; we have not had time to have it copied. You
+will not object to this, inasmuch as we wish Floret to leave at once.
+Conclude this matter nobly, and you will render an incalculable service
+to our country."
+
+At the diplomatic reception which was held at the Tuileries, February 8,
+Napoleon walked up to the Austrian Ambassador and said to him, in the
+most friendly way, "You have been very busy lately, and I think you have
+done a good piece of work." Prince Kourakine, the Russian Ambassador,
+was much annoyed at the turn events had taken, and did not attend the
+reception, under the pretext that he was not well. The evening before
+Prince Schwarzenberg had dined at the house of Napoleon's mother with
+the King of Holland, Louis Bonaparte, who was loudspoken in his praise
+of the Emperor Francis and the Imperial house of Austria. At the court
+of the Tuileries there was general satisfaction. Napoleon thought that
+he had never achieved a greater triumph. The messenger whom Prince
+Schwarzenberg had despatched on the day he had signed the contract,
+reached Vienna February 14. The populace had not the faintest idea of
+the possibility of a marriage between the Archduchess Marie Louise and
+the Emperor of the French; the Austrian monarch and M. de Metternich, in
+their anxiety to keep their secret, lest some opposition should manifest
+itself, had not breathed a word about the overtures made at Vienna by
+Count Alexandre de Laborde, and at Malmaison by the Empress Josephine.
+Neither the Viennese nor the Diplomatic Body suspected anything. As M.
+de Metternich put it, Count Shouvaloff, the Russian Ambassador at the
+Austrian court, was literally petrified. The English breathed fire
+and flame. The sudden outburst of a volcano would not have been more
+startling than this piece of news which came from a clear sky. The
+impression made upon the populace was one of surprise which amounted to
+disbelief. People stopped in the streets to ask one another if the thing
+was possible.
+
+Marie Louise had given her consent more with resignation than with
+pleasure. Metternich recounts in his Memoirs his speech to Francis II.:
+"In the life of a state, as in that of a private citizen, there are
+cases in which a third person cannot put himself in the place of one
+who is responsible for the resolutions he has to take. These cases are
+especially such as cannot be decided by calculation. Your Majesty is a
+monarch and a father; and Your Majesty alone can weigh his duties as
+father and emperor." "It is my daughter who must decide," answered
+Francis II. "Since I shall never compel her, I am anxious, before I
+consider my duties as a sovereign, to know what she means to do. Go find
+the Archduchess, and then let me know what she says. I am unwilling to
+speak to her of the demand of the French Emperor, lest I should seem to
+be trying to influence her decision."
+
+M. de Metternich betook himself at once to the Archduchess Marie Louise,
+and set the matter before her very simply and briefly, without beating
+about the bush, without a word for or against the proposition. The
+Archduchess listened with her usual calmness, and, after a moment's
+reflection, asked him, "What are my father's wishes?" "The Emperor," the
+minister answered, "has commissioned me to ask Your Imperial Highness
+what decision she means to take in a matter concerning her whole life.
+Do not ask what the Emperor wishes; tell me what you yourself wish."
+"I wish only what my duty commands me to wish," answered Marie Louise.
+"When the interests of the Empire are at stake, they must be consulted,
+not my feelings. Beg of my father to regard only his duty as a
+sovereign, without subordinating it to my personal interests."
+
+When M. de Metternich had reported to Francis II. the result of his
+interview, the Emperor said: "What you tell me does not surprise me. I
+know my daughter too well not to expect just such an answer. While you
+were with her, I have been considering what I have to do. My consent to
+this marriage will assure to the kingdom a few years of political peace,
+which I can devote to healing its wounds. I owe myself solely to the
+happiness of my people; I cannot hesitate."
+
+We shall now make some extracts from the despatches of Count Otto, the
+French Ambassador at Vienna in 1810, which we have found in the archives
+of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The documents, which have never been
+published, are well worthy of our readers' attention, and they throw a
+full light on the Emperor Napoleon's relations with the Austrian court.
+M. Otto wrote to the Duke of Cadore, February 16, 1810, that the news of
+the marriage was beginning to spread through the city: "Business people
+are much excited. Merchants are entreating me to tell them what I know.
+Couriers are despatched in every direction. In short, I have never had
+occasion to use more reserve than at this moment, when the real feeling
+of this nation, which has long been compelled to be our enemy, reveals
+itself in a way most flattering to us. The French officers who are
+returning from different missions assure me that they have found the
+same spirit in the army. 'Arrange,' they say, 'that we can fight on your
+side; you will find us worthy.' Every one agrees that this alliance will
+insure lasting tranquillity to Europe, and compel England to make
+peace; that it will give the Emperor all the leisure he requires for
+organizing, in accordance with his lofty plans, the vast empire he has
+created; that it cannot fail to have an influence on the destiny of
+Poland, Turkey, and Sweden; and finally, that it cannot fail to give
+lasting glory to Your Excellency's ministry. The news of the conclusion
+of this marriage will be received with tumultuous joy throughout the
+Austrian dominions. France and the greater part of Europe will share
+this joy. As to the English government, I do not think it possible
+for it to avert the blow which this important event will deal it; the
+national party will finally triumph over the avarice of usurers, the
+rancorous passions of the ministry, and the bellicose and constitutional
+fury of their king. All humanity will find repose beneath the laurels of
+our August Emperor and, after having conquered half of Europe, he
+will add to his long list of victories the most difficult and most
+consolatory of all,--the conquest of general peace."
+
+The first feeling that prevailed in all classes of Viennese society, on
+hearing of the Archduchess's marriage, was, as has been said, one of
+surprise, which soon gave way to almost universal joy. Count Metternich
+wrote to Prince Schwarzenberg under date of February 19, 1810: "It would
+be difficult to judge at a distance the emotion that the news of the
+marriage has aroused here. The secret of the negotiations had been so
+well kept, that it was not till the day of M. de Floret's arrival that
+any word of it came to the ears of the public. The first effect on
+'Change was such that the currency would be to-day at three hundred and
+less, if the government had not been interested in keeping it higher,
+and it was only by buying a million of specie in two days that it
+succeeded in keeping it at three hundred and seventy. Seldom has
+anything been so warmly approved by the whole nation."
+
+M. de Metternich was most delighted, and took especial satisfaction in
+the thought that it was his work. "All Vienna," he wrote to his wife,
+"is interested in nothing but this marriage. It would be hard to form an
+idea of the public feeling about it, and of its extreme popularity. If
+I had saved the world, I could not receive more congratulations or more
+homage for the part I am supposed to have played in the matter. In the
+promotions that are to follow I am sure to have the Golden Fleece. If
+it comes to me now, it will not be for nothing; but it is none the less
+true that it required a very extraordinary and improbable combination of
+circumstances to set me far beyond my most ambitious dreams, although in
+fact I have no ambitions. All the balls and entertainments here will be
+very fine, and although everything will have to be brought from the ends
+of the earth, everything will be here. I sent the order of arrangements
+a few days ago to Paris; Schwarzenberg will have shown it to you. The
+new Empress will please in Paris, and she ought to please with her
+kindness and her great gentleness and simplicity. Her face is rather
+plain than pretty, but she has a beautiful figure, and when she is
+properly dressed and put into shape, she will do very well. I have
+begged her to engage a dancing-master as soon as she arrives, and not to
+dance until she has learned how. She is very anxious to please, and that
+is the surest way of pleasing."
+
+The Austrian court did everything with the best possible grace, knowing
+that Napoleon set great store by the details of etiquette. Everything
+was exhumed from the archives which bore on the weddings of Louis XIV.,
+Louis XV., the great Dauphin, the father of Louis XVI., of Louis XVI.
+himself. The old gentlemen of the court of Versailles, and especially M.
+de Dreux-Brézé, the master of ceremonies at the end of the old régime,
+were consulted at every step. Napoleon was very anxious that in pomp and
+majesty the wedding of Marie Louise should not only be quite equal, but
+even superior to that of Marie Antoinette, for he thought himself of far
+more importance than a dauphin of France. He was given what he wanted.
+Speaking of the Princess's escort, Count Otto said in despatch to the
+Duke of Cadore, dated February 19, 1810: "In order to give the part
+its full importance, the Emperor of Austria has appointed to it Prince
+Trautmannsdorff, who on all great occasions holds the highest rank in
+the kingdom. The Dauphiness had been accompanied by a nobleman of no
+very lofty position. Moreover, the Emperor has given orders to
+deepen all the tints: the suite of the Dauphiness consisted of six
+ladies-in-waiting and six chamberlains; the future Empress will have
+twelve of each. The Emperor will choose the most distinguished and
+best-known personages of the Empire for these functionaries, and the
+Empress has reserved for herself the right of naming the ladies most
+prominent for their old families and their position in society. In a
+word, the Minister has assured me that no pains will be spared to make
+the train most brilliant."
+
+Points of etiquette kept the French Ambassador very busy. He wrote,
+February 21, 1810, to the Duke of Cadore: "In reading carefully the
+historic summary enclosed in Your Excellency's despatch, I found but
+few matters requiring comment, but these seemed to me of sufficient
+importance to warrant my calling your attention to them. They are as
+follows:
+
+"1. Since the religious ceremony is the most solemn, it seems that it
+is here that the distinction between the Dauphiness and the new Empress
+should be most distinctly marked. The first-named sat in an armchair,
+placed in front of the altar, but without a canopy, the Queen Marie
+Leczinska, daughter of King Stanislas, having a place, under a canopy,
+between the King and Queen of Poland.
+
+"2. The representative and personal rank of His Highness the Prince of
+Neufchâtel being much higher than that of the Marquis de Durfort, who
+held a similar position in 1770, it has seemed to me desirable to make
+the reception more formal. Count Metternich has given me complete
+satisfaction on both these points. He has told me that the Emperor would
+give the most positive orders to pay to the Empress of France the same
+honors that were paid to the Empress of Austria at the celebration of
+the last marriage. The canopy and all the paraphernalia of royalty will
+be assigned to the new Empress, and the Emperor will furthermore make a
+concession on this occasion which is without precedent in the annals of
+the realm: at table he will resign the first place to his daughter, and
+take the second place himself. Nothing will be left undone to give these
+ceremonies their full splendor and to show the interest with which these
+new ties are regarded here. The Emperor is so well pleased with this
+alliance that he speaks about it even with private persons who have the
+honor to be admitted to his presence. He loudly denounces those who led
+him into the last war, and asserts that if he had earlier known the
+loyalty and magnanimity of the Emperor Napoleon, he should have been on
+his guard against their counsels."
+
+The Viennese, who in their amiability and fickleness closely resemble
+the Parisians, passed in a moment from an apparently deep-seated hatred
+of Napoleon, to the most unbounded confidence. The still bleeding wounds
+of Wagram were forgotten; every one thought of nothing but the brilliant
+festivals that were preparing. Smiles took the place of tears, and it
+seemed as if the French and the Austrians had always been brothers.
+
+The French Ambassador wrote to the Duke of Cadore, February 21, 1810:
+"Since the 16th the whole city has thought of nothing but the great
+marriage for which the preparations are now under way. All eyes are
+turned on the Archduchess. Those who have the honor of being admitted to
+her presence are closely questioned, and every one is glad to hear that
+she is in the best spirits, and does not try to conceal the satisfaction
+she takes in this alliance. Funds continue to rise in a surprising way,
+and the price of food is falling in the same proportion. A great many
+people have found it hard to sell their gold. Never has public opinion
+spoken more clearly or more unanimously. A great many people who had
+hoarded their silver in the hope of selling it or of sending it abroad,
+are now carrying it to the mint, and consider the government paper
+which they get for it as good as gold. The stewards of great houses are
+ordering new silverware to take the place of that which they have had
+to give to the government. Every one shows a readiness to offer all his
+fortune, being convinced that after such an alliance the government
+cannot fail to meet its engagements."
+
+The Viennese have a very lively imagination, and bounding from one
+extreme to another, they began to form visions of the Austrians waging
+wars of ambition and conquest along with the French. They fancied that
+their Emperor and his son-in-law would have all Europe at their feet.
+"The greater their enthusiasm about the French," wrote Count Otto in
+the same despatch, "the more evident the old animosity of the Austrians
+against Prussia and Russia. The coffee-house politicians are already
+busy with devising a thousand combinations according to which the
+Emperor of Austria will be able to recover Silesia and to extend his
+dominions towards the east. The disappointed Russians, of whom there are
+very many here, are much astonished at this sudden change. One of them
+was heard to say, 'A few days ago we were very highly thought of in
+Vienna, but now the French are adored, and everybody wants to make war
+on us.' Count Shouvaloff himself keeps very quiet. Sensible people do
+not share this warlike feeling; they want a general peace, and bless an
+alliance which seems to secure it for a few years. In their eyes even a
+successful war is a great calamity. Peace, too, has its triumphs, and
+this last negotiation is one of the finest known to history."
+
+The official _Gazette_, which was eagerly read by a noisy multitude in
+the streets of Vienna, published the official announcement of the
+great news. The number of February 24, 1810, contained the following
+paragraph: "The formal betrothal of the Emperor of the French, King of
+Italy, and Her Imperial and Royal Highness the Archduchess Marie Louise,
+the oldest daughter of His Imperial and Royal Majesty, our very Gracious
+Sovereign, was signed at Paris, on the 7th, by the Prince Schwarzenberg,
+Ambassador, and the Duke of Cadore, Minister of Foreign Affairs. The
+exchange of ratifications of this contract took place on the 21st of
+this month, at Vienna, between Count Metternich Winneburg, Minister of
+State and of Foreign Affairs, and the Imperial Ambassador of France,
+Count Otto de Mesloy. All the nations of Europe see in this event a gage
+of peace, and look forward with delight to a happy future after so many
+wars." On the day that this paragraph appeared in the official journal,
+the French Ambassador wrote to the Duke of Cadore: "The Emperor loves
+the Princess, and is very happy in her brilliant good fortune. It is
+long since he has seemed so happy, so interested, so busy. Everything
+which furthers the sumptuousness of the festivals now in preparation is
+a matter of great interest to him, and all his subjects, with very few
+exceptions, share their sovereign's amiable anxiety."
+
+The French Ambassador was beside himself with delight; he saw everything
+in glowing colors,--Marie Louise, the court, all Austria. His despatch
+of February 17 was full of enthusiasm. In it he drew with trembling
+hand the portrait of the August lady, and we may readily conceive the
+eagerness with which Napoleon must have devoured it: "Every one agrees
+that the Archduchess combines with a very amiable disposition sound
+sense and all the qualities that can be given by a careful education.
+She is liked by all at court, and is spoken of as a model of gentleness
+and kindness. She has a fine bearing, yet it is perfectly simple; she is
+modest without shyness; she can converse very well in many languages,
+and combines affability with dignity. As she acquires familiarity
+with the world, which is all very new to her, her fine qualities will
+doubtless develop further, and endow her whole being with even more
+grace and interest. She is tall and well made, and her health is
+excellent. Her features seemed to me regular and full of sweetness."
+
+Even the Empress of Austria, who recently had been conspicuous for her
+dislike of the French, so that there had been felt some dread of her
+dissatisfaction, if not of direct opposition, thoroughly shared her
+husband's joy. On this subject, Count Otto, in a despatch of February
+19, expressed himself as follows: "The Empress shows herself extremely
+favorable to this marriage. In spite of her wretched health she has
+expressed her desire to be present at all the festivities, and she takes
+every occasion to speak of them with delight."
+
+The Ambassador carried his optimism so far as to look upon Marie
+Antoinette's marriage as a happy precedent. In the same despatch he
+wrote to the Duke of Cadore: "The names of Kaunitz and Choiseul are on
+every one's lips, and every one hopes to see a renewal of the peaceful
+days that followed the alliance concluded by those two ministers. They
+had both been ambassadors, in France, and in Austria, exactly like Your
+Excellency and Count Metternich." The French diplomatist's satisfaction
+was only equalled by the vexation of the Russian Ambassador. "The
+Russian coteries," added Count Otto, "are the only ones that take no
+part in the general rejoicing. When the news reached a ball at a Russian
+house, the violins were stopped at once, and a great many of the guests
+left before supper. I must observe that Count Shouvaloff has not come to
+offer his congratulations." The good humor of the Viennese grew from day
+to day, especially in business circles. The French Ambassador concluded
+his letter thus: "It is at the Bourse that public opinion has declared
+itself in the most amazing way. In less than two hours funds went up
+thirty per cent. A feeling of security established itself and at once
+affected the price of imported provisions, which immediately began to
+fall. Yesterday there was a large crowd gathered at the palace to see
+the Archduchess go to mass. The populace was delighted to see her
+radiant with health and happiness. Two artists are painting her
+portrait. The better one will be sent to Paris." Everything had moved
+smoothly without the slightest jar. "In the whole course of the
+negotiation," Count Otto had written, February 17, "I have not heard
+a word about any pecuniary consideration, or the slightest objection
+except as to the legality of the divorce. A mere word from me was
+sufficient to overcome that." Consequently nothing troubled the
+composure of the happy Ambassador.
+
+
+
+
+V.
+
+THE RELIGIOUS DIFFICULTY.
+
+
+The marriage was officially announced, when suddenly an incident
+arose which caused the greatest anxiety to Napoleon's ambassador, and
+threatened, if not to prevent, at least to delay, the wedding. The
+unexpected difficulty which arose at the last moment was of a religious
+nature, and in a court as pious as that of Austria it could not fail to
+make a very deep impression.
+
+Even in Paris, the annulment of the religious marriage ceremony of
+Napoleon and Josephine had aroused serious objections, and the Emperor
+had shown much surprise when he was told by his uncle, Cardinal Fesch,
+the Grand Almoner, that there were obstacles in the way. In a matter of
+this sort, which concerns crowned heads, and is inspired by reasons of
+state, it is the Pope who must make the decision. Louis XII. had secured
+the dissolution of his marriage with Jane of France from Pope Alexander
+VI. Henry IV. had applied to Pope Clement VIII. to annul his marriage
+with Margaret of Valois. Napoleon himself had likewise had recourse,
+though without success, to Pope Pius VII., in the matter of his
+brother Jerome's marriage with Miss Paterson. Now, when the Pope was
+his prisoner, Napoleon could not apply to him; and since the sovereign
+pontiff had taken part in the coronation of the Empress Josephine, and
+profoundly sympathized with her, could he dare to say, like the diocesan
+officials of Paris, that she, from the religious point of view, was only
+the Emperor's mistress?
+
+At the beginning of 1810 there was an ecclesiastic commission,
+consisting of Cardinal Fesch, President; Cardinal Maury, famous at
+the time of the Constituent Assembly, and later, one of the Imperial
+courtiers; the Archbishop of Tours; the bishops of Nantes, Trčves,
+Évreux, and Verceil; and the Abbé Emery, Superior of the Seminary of
+Saint Sulpice. The Emperor put to this committee the question whether
+the diocesan officials were competent to proceed to the canonical
+dissolution of his marriage with Josephine.
+
+January 2, 1810, the committee decided that the diocesan officials were
+competent, but neither Cardinal Fesch nor the Abbé Emery signed the
+report. The Cardinal could not forget that it was he who, by the special
+authorization of Pius VII., had, on the night of December 1-2, 1804,
+given to the couple the nuptial blessing.
+
+The very day that the Ecclesiastical Committee had affirmed
+the competence of the diocesan officials, it received from the
+Archchancellor Cambacérčs a petition stating that the nuptial blessing
+given to Napoleon and Josephine had not been preceded, accompanied, or
+followed by the formalities prescribed by the Canon laws; that is to
+say, it lacked the presence of the proper priest--as the parish priest
+was termed--and of witnesses. To these two grounds for annulment a third
+was added, a new one, which could not fail to surprise the officials. It
+was one which in general is applicable only to a minor, wrought upon
+by surprise and violence; namely, lack of consent,--yes, lack of the
+Emperor's consent. Napoleon saw very clearly that the first two points
+were mere quibbles, and that the moment when he intended that his uncle,
+the Grand Almoner, should bless his marriage with Marie Louise, was, to
+say the least, a singular one to choose for denouncing his incapacity
+for consecrating his union with Josephine. As to the absence of
+witnesses, that is to be explained as due to a special dispensation of
+the Pope, who wished to avoid the scandal of announcing to the whole
+world that Napoleon, who had been married by civil, but not by religious
+rites, had in the eyes of the Church been living for eight years in
+concubinage, in spite of the entreaties of the Empress to put an end
+to a state of things which pained her conscience and filled her with
+constant dread of divorce. The Emperor consequently laid the chief
+weight on his lack of consent. Count d'Haussonville in his remarkable
+book, _The Church of Rome and the First Empire_, says on this subject:
+"Setting aside the religious feeling with regard to the sanctity of
+marriage, it is hard to understand how such a man could have been
+willing to represent himself as having desired, on the eve of this great
+ceremony of consecration, to deceive at the same time his uncle who
+married him, his wife whom he seemed pleased to associate with
+his glory, and the venerable pontiff who, in spite of his age and
+infirmities, had come from a long distance, to call down upon him the
+blessing of the Most High. This argument offended not only every feeling
+of delicacy, but also the plainest principles of honest and fair
+dealing."
+
+The officials were not moved by such scruples. They exercised a twofold
+jurisdiction,--as a diocesan and as a metropolitan tribunal,--and both
+affirmed the nullity of the marriage. The metropolitan tribunal, while
+admitting the first two grounds,--namely, the absence of witnesses and
+of the proper priest,--based its decision principally on the non-consent
+of the Emperor. The diocesan tribunal had declared that to atone for the
+infringement of the laws of the Church, Napoleon and Josephine should be
+compelled to bestow a sum of money to the poor of the parish of Notre
+Dame. The metropolitan tribunal struck this clause out as disrespectful.
+
+This decision was sent to Count Otto, the French Ambassador at Vienna;
+in fact, the original draft of the two papers, that is to say, the
+judgment of the metropolitan tribunal, was forwarded to him. The
+Ambassador spoke about it to the Emperor Francis, to satisfy that
+monarch's scruples, but he did not show him the papers themselves, and
+three days after the ratification of the marriage contract he sent them
+back to Paris. "I confess," he wrote to the Duke of Cadore, in his
+despatch of February 28, 1810, "that in returning these papers so
+speedily to Paris, I had a presentiment of the discussion which they
+might cause among the foreign ecclesiastics. Everything was settled, the
+Emperor of Austria was satisfied, the marriage contract was ratified,
+the ratification of the marriage had been exchanged for three days, when
+the first mention was made of these documents which have aroused the
+curiosity and interest of some too influential prelates. I am the more
+authorized to say that no one had before that thought of these papers,
+by the fact that the Minister, when on the 15th he asked me to give
+him, on my honor, my personal opinion with regard to the nullity of His
+Majesty's first marriage, would not have failed to add that he had asked
+for proof from the Prince of Schwarzenberg, and that he awaited his
+reply. My declaration was sufficient to determine the ratification of
+the contract on the next day."
+
+Whence came these tardy scruples, this unexpected delay? What had
+happened? The objections did not come from the Emperor Francis, or from
+Count Metternich, but from a priest, the Archbishop of Vienna, who was
+to celebrate the marriage by proxy in the Church of the Augustins in
+Vienna. This prelate, who shared all the opinions of the French émigrés,
+and had much more respect for the Pope than for Napoleon, deemed it his
+duty to examine for himself the judgment of the Parisian authorities,
+and stoutly demanded the originals. This filled the French Ambassador
+with despair, and he wrote to the Duke of Cadore in great distress: "For
+three days the Minister of Foreign Affairs has been in negotiation with
+the Archbishop, trying to overcome his scruples with regard to the
+nullity of the first marriage of His Majesty. This prelate persists in
+saying to-day that he cannot give the nuptial blessing until he has seen
+the document which I have sent back to Your Excellency, of which, too,
+M. de Metternich did not speak in the course of our negotiations. It is
+very strange that since the Archbishop was consulted some time ago, no
+mention was made to me of his scruples. I have every reason to believe
+that he did nothing until he heard that I had received documents, the
+validity of which he might discuss. Now the French clergy will hardly
+care to submit its decision to a foreign prelate. Your Excellency's
+intention has been to satisfy the Emperor of Austria, the only authority
+which, in a question of this importance, we can consider competent,
+because it concerns the lot of his daughter. What would happen, sir, if
+this prelate, adopting other principles than those which determined the
+judgment of our officials, should presume to invalidate them? How can we
+submit to a new discussion of a treaty ratified before the eyes of all
+Europe, and made public by the order of the Emperor of Austria himself?
+May we not suppose that the Archbishop, who in the first instance
+approved of this alliance, to-day is moved only by scruples and inspired
+by a foreign faction which is ready to seize any pretext to oppose the
+genius of peace? I am told that the former Bishop of Carcassonne is
+living with the Archbishop. Possibly the Nuncio, who is still here, has
+brought some influence to bear on this occasion. That there is something
+of the sort behind it all is proved by the prominence that some of the
+intriguers give to an alleged excommunication of His Majesty the Emperor
+by the Pope. Count Metternich assures me that both the Nuncio and the
+Archbishop disclaim all knowledge of any obstacle of this sort. The
+Emperor himself, who is keenly alive to the insult to crowned heads
+which it implies, repels the indecent objection with the scorn which it
+deserves.
+
+"The Minister has had many fruitless interviews with the Archbishop, who
+seems to wish to lay the matter before his tribunal. The Emperor himself
+is very uneasy; they are trying to gain time, and are to-day very
+anxious lest the Prince of Neufchâtel should arrive too soon. If he
+should not get here till the 3d of March, they will manage to postpone
+the nuptial blessing till the 11th, when it is hoped that the documents
+will have come back again. But even in this case, the Ambassador
+Extraordinary will need all the firmness of his character to overrule
+this cabal which brings uneasiness to the Emperor's family and uses the
+Archbishop as a tool. I have done everything that I could to impress
+upon the Minister how much the present state of affairs compromises the
+dignity of our court. He has shown me a list of questions presented by
+the Archbishop, which it is impossible to answer without seeming to
+recognize a tribunal with which we ought to have nothing to do. Never
+has so important a negotiation been hampered by a stranger incident."
+(Despatch of Count Otto to the Duke of Cadore, February 28, 1810.)
+
+The Ambassador was in great perplexity, and he would have been much more
+uneasy if the documents demanded had been in his possession. In fact,
+would he have been justified in submitting to a foreign ecclesiastical
+tribunal papers which he could only show to the Emperor of Austria, to
+remove that sovereign's personal objections? Count Metternich had told
+the Ambassador, February 24, that the ceremony would take place in spite
+of the Archbishop's objection, but the next day M. de Metternich was
+convinced that he was mistaken.
+
+In order to gain time, Count Otto had written to Napoleon's Ambassador
+Extraordinary, the Prince of Neufchâtel, to ask him to delay his
+arrival at Vienna until March 4. The carnival would end with brilliant
+festivities, for which great preparations were making. Ash Wednesday and
+the three following days would be consecrated to devotion; and on the
+11th the church ceremonies would take place, if, as was hoped, the
+required documents should have arrived from Paris.
+
+After a few days of uncertainty, as painful for the court of Vienna as
+for the French Ambassador, the difficulties began to settle themselves.
+Count Otto wrote to the Duke of Cadore, March 3, 1810: "My long silence
+must have surprised Your Excellency, but it was caused by the strangest
+circumstances that I have known for many years.... It is only to-day
+that we are secure from the attack of the ecclesiastical committee,
+and from its scruples. Seven long days and nights have been spent in
+ransacking the volumes of the _Moniteur_ and the _Official Bulletin_ in
+order to prove the nullity of His Majesty the Emperor's first marriage.
+Nothing could pacify the alarmed conscience of the Archbishop. At
+first I refused, and held out for twenty-four hours. After protracted
+discussion, and insisting on a complete recasting of the paper which I
+was desired to sign, I to-day consented to hand in the paper, of which I
+have the honor to enclose a copy, but on the express condition, which I
+have under the minister's signature, that it is only to be shown to the
+Archbishop and in no case to be made public."
+
+This is the text of the paper mentioned by Count Otto: "I, the
+undersigned, Ambassador of his Majesty the Emperor of the French, affirm
+that I have seen and read the originals of the two decisions of the
+two diocesan official boards, concerning the marriage between their
+Majesties, the Emperor and the Empress Josephine, and that it
+follows from these decisions that, in conformity with the Catholic
+ecclesiastical laws established in the French Empire, the said marriage
+has been declared null and void, because at the celebration of this
+marriage the most essential formalities required by the laws of the
+Church, and always regarded in France as necessary for the validity of
+a Catholic marriage, had been omitted. I affirm, moreover, that
+in conformity with the civic laws in existence at the time of the
+celebration of this marriage, every conjugal union was founded on the
+principle that it could be dissolved by the consent of the contracting
+parties. In testimony whereof I have signed the present declaration, and
+have set my seal to it."
+
+In his despatch of March 3, 1810, the Ambassador said, in speaking of
+the document just cited: "The only thing that persuaded me to adopt
+this course was the conviction that the Archbishop would not consent
+to pronounce the blessing until he had seen the two decisions; and it
+appeared to me very dangerous to expose these two documents to the whims
+of an old man who was controlled by two refugee priests. At any rate,
+this method has proved successful, and the delay in the Prince of
+Neufchâtel's arrival prevents the public from forming any suspicions
+about this discussion which has given us so much anxiety. The Archbishop
+is satisfied; all the ceremonies will take place according to the
+programme, except the interruption due to the heavy roads. The wedding
+will take place March 11; and to make up the time lost, the Archduchess
+will travel a little faster, and can easily reach Paris by the 27th. Now
+the postponement of the nuptial blessing can be ascribed only to
+the circumstances which have prolonged the journey of the Prince of
+Neufchâtel. In Lent Sunday is considered the only proper day for
+weddings; and since Ash Wednesday is so near, the religious ceremony
+cannot possibly take place before the 11th."
+
+The last difficulties had vanished, and the festivities were free to
+begin.
+
+
+
+
+VI
+
+THE AMBASSADOR EXTRAORDINARY.
+
+
+In Vienna the animation was very great. The great event which was now
+in preparation was the sole subject of conversation in all classes of
+society. "The ceremonies and the festivities," the French Ambassador
+wrote, March 2, 1810, "will be in every respect the same as those that
+took place at the marriage of the Emperor with the present Empress.
+Every inhabitant of Vienna is doing his utmost to testify his joy on
+this occasion. Painters are at work night and day on transparencies and
+designs. The festivities will be thoroughly national. Every morning
+thousands of people station themselves before the palace to see the
+Archduchess pass by on her way to mass. Her portraits are in constant
+demand. The Emperor and the archdukes never miss a ball; they are
+surrounded by a crowd of maskers who say a number of pleasant things
+to them, and it really appears as if this alliance had added to the
+Emperor's already great popularity." The next day, March 3, Count Otto
+wrote: "I to-day presented the Count of Narbonne to the Emperor,
+the Empress, and the Archduchess, and I profited by the occasion to
+strengthen my conviction of the joy which the Count feels at this
+happy alliance. The Empress spoke with the greatest warmth of her
+step-daughters, conversed with a keen interest about France, Paris, and
+what she hopes to cultivate in that interesting city."
+
+It was with impatience that was awaited the arrival of the Ambassador
+Extraordinary, who had been chosen by the Emperor of the French to make
+the formal demand for the hand of the Archduchess, to attend to the
+celebration of the marriage which was to be celebrated by proxy at the
+Church of the Augustins in Vienna, and to escort the bride to France.
+This Ambassador Extraordinary was Marshal Berthier, sovereign Prince of
+Neufchâtel, the husband of the Princess Marie Elizabeth Amelia Frances
+of Bavaria, Vice-Constable of France, Master of the Hounds, commander of
+the first cohort of the Legion of Honor, etc., etc. The most brilliant
+reception was prepared for him. Count Otto wrote to the Duke of Cadore,
+February 21, 1810: "As to the honors which I have considered due to His
+Most Serene Highness, the Prince of Neufchâtel, Count Metternich assures
+me that he regarded him not merely as Ambassador Extraordinary, but as
+a Sovereign Prince, a great dignitary of the Empire, as a friend and
+fellow-soldier of the Emperor; that there would be no more comparison
+between him and the Marquis of Durfort than between the future Empress
+and the Dauphiness; and that consequently Prince Paul Esterhazy had
+been designated to proceed to the frontier to congratulate His Highness;
+and that, moreover, an Imperial Commissary would be sent to look after
+his journey, and to see that proper honor was paid to him on the way;
+that he would be lodged and entertained by the court, and that pains
+would be taken to furnish him with everything he might require; for in
+such a severe season, at so brief a notice, he could not possibly have
+supplied himself with all the articles ha needed."
+
+The Prince of Neufchâtel's formal entrance into Vienna was accompanied
+with great pomp. Count Otto thus describes it in his despatch of March
+6, 1810: "The Prince of Neufchâtel has just made his entrance. The
+ceremony was most magnificent. The court had despatched their finest
+carriages, and the highest noblemen sent their equipages in their
+grandest array. The Prince lacked only couriers and footmen. I had
+twelve of my servants accompanying his carriage, all in the Emperor's
+grand livery. The sovereign himself could not have had a warmer
+welcome, or one more sumptuous and enthusiastic than did our Ambassador
+Extraordinary, and the contrast with many fresh memories made the
+spectacle a very touching one. To shorten the Prince's triumphal march
+from the summer palace of Schwarzenberg to the Kärthnerstrasse, many
+thousand workmen had been busily throwing a bridge over the very
+fortifications that our soldiers had blown up. Cheers and applause
+accompanied the Vice-Constable to the door of the Audience Chamber, and
+from there to his house. The court has given him most sumptuous quarters
+in the Imperial Chancellor's offices, where he is treated like the
+Emperor himself."
+
+Count Otto in the same despatch thus describes the evening of that
+brilliant 10th of March, 1810; "That evening there was a grand ball in
+the Hall of Apollo; the whole city was there. The Prince was greeted as
+enthusiastically as in the morning. The Emperor himself was present,
+together with the Archdukes, and received the congratulations and
+blessings of a populace beside itself with joy. The Prince scarcely left
+the Emperor, who talked with him most amiably and most cordially. The
+Emperor and the Vice-Constable attracted the eyes of the whole multitude
+that surrounded them, and every one rejoiced to see the friend and
+fellow-soldier of Napoleon by the side of the ruler of Austria. It was
+noticed that this was the first appearance of the Archduke Charles
+in the Hall of Apollo along with the Emperor; he will figure in the
+marriage ceremony, and shows the liveliest satisfaction in the event.
+The Vice-Constable was charmed with the Prince's conversation, and is
+going to dine with him to-morrow."
+
+General the Count of Lauriston had just arrived in Vienna, bringing
+letters from Napoleon to the Emperor and Empress of Austria. We have
+found the replies in the archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
+They are as follows:--
+
+The letter of the Emperor of Austria to the Emperor of the French:--
+
+"March 6, 1810. MY BROTHER: General the Count of Lauriston has given to
+me Your Imperial Majesty's letter of February 23. Entrusting to your
+hands, my brother, the fate of my beloved daughter, I give to Your
+Majesty the strongest possible proof that I could give of my confidence
+and esteem. There are moments when the holiest of the affections
+outweighs every other consideration which is foreign to it. May Your
+Imperial Majesty find nothing in this letter but the feelings of a
+father, attached, by eighteen years of pleasant intercourse, to a
+daughter whom Providence has endowed with all the qualities that
+constitute domestic happiness. Though called far away from me, she
+will continue to be worthy of my most enduring affections only by
+contributing to the felicity of the husband whose throne she is to
+share, and to the happiness of his subjects. You will kindly receive the
+assurance of my sincere friendship, as well as of the high consideration
+with which I am, my brother, Your Imperial and Royal Majesty's
+affectionate brother FRANCIS."
+
+The letter of the Empress of Austria to the Emperor Napoleon:--
+
+"March 6,1810. MY BROTHER: I hasten to thank Your Imperial Majesty for
+the many proofs of confidence contained in the letter which Your Majesty
+has kindly sent to me through the Count of Lauriston. The tender
+attachment of the best of fathers for a beloved child has had no need
+of counsels. Our wishes are the same. I share his confidence in the
+happiness of Your Majesty and of our daughter. But it is from me that
+Your Imperial Majesty must receive the assurance of the many qualities
+of mind and heart that distinguish the latter. What might seem the
+exaggerated affection of a father cannot be suspected from the pen of
+a stepmother. Be sure, my brother, that my happiest days will be those
+that come to you in consequence of the alliance that is about to unite
+us. Accept the friendship and high esteem with which I am Your Imperial
+Majesty's affectionate sister MARIE LOUISE."
+
+The different provinces of the Empire sent deputations to Vienna to bear
+their good wishes to the Archduchess. They were received on the 6th of
+March, and the ceremony was thus described by Count Otto: "Yesterday's
+festival was very brilliant. In the morning, the deputations of the
+Austrian states drove, in a procession of more than thirty carriages,
+to the Palace to pay their compliments to the Archduchess, who received
+them under a canopy. In spite of the shyness natural to her youth,
+the Princess replied to them in a speech which amazed and touched her
+hearers. She is likewise to receive deputations from Hungary, Bohemia,
+and Moravia. It is thought that to the first she will reply in Latin. At
+one o'clock we went to the Palace to dine with their Majesties and the
+Imperial family. The only guests were the Prince Vice-Constable, the
+Count of Lauriston, and myself. The Empress was in better health,
+and more affable than I have ever seen her. The two Ambassadors took
+precedence of the Archduchess. The Prince Vice-Constable was placed at
+the Empress's left, and I sat at the Archduchess's right; the Emperor
+sat in the middle and took part in the conversation on both sides.
+This conversation was very animated. The Archduchess asked a good many
+questions which displayed the soundness of her tastes." According to
+the Ambassador's despatch, these were the questions which Marie Louise
+asked: "Is the Napoleon Museum near enough to the Tuileries for me to
+go there and study the antiques and monuments it contains?" "Does the
+Emperor like music?" "Shall I be able to have a teacher on the harp?
+It is an instrument I am very fond of." "The Emperor is so kind to me;
+doubtless he will let me have a botanical garden. Nothing would please
+me more." "I am told that the country around Fontainebleau is very wild
+and picturesque. I like nothing better than beautiful scenery." "I am
+very grateful to the Emperor for letting me take Madame Lazansky with
+me, and for choosing the Duchess of Montebello; they are two excellent
+women." "I hope the Emperor will be considerate; I don't know how to
+dance quadrilles; but if he desires it, I will take dancing-lessons."
+"Do you think Humboldt will soon finish the account of his travels? I
+have read all that has appeared with great interest."
+
+Count Otto adds, in his faithful report: "I told Her Imperial Highness
+that the Emperor was anxious to know her tastes and ways. She told me
+that she was easily pleased; that her tastes were very simple; that she
+was able to adapt herself to anything, and would do her best to conform
+to His Majesty's wishes, her only desire being to please him.... I
+must say, that during the whole hour of my interview with Her Imperial
+Highness, she did not once speak of the Paris fashions or theatres."
+
+That evening there was a ball at which the Emperor was present with his
+whole family, and the Ambassador thus describes the occasion: "More than
+six thousand persons, of all ranks, were invited by the court, and they
+filled two immense halls which were richly decorated and illuminated. At
+the end of the first hall there was a most magnificent sideboard, in the
+shape of a temple lit by a thousand ingeniously hidden lamps. The Genius
+of Victory, surmounting an altar, was placing a laurel wreath on the
+escutcheons of the bride and groom. The N and L were displayed in all
+the decoration of the columns and pediments. To the right, a tent made
+of French flags covered a sideboard-laden with refreshments; and on the
+left there was another under a tent made of Austrian flags. There
+were large tables in the neighboring rooms, covered with food for the
+citizens who regarded it as an important duty to pledge the health of
+the Imperial couple in Tokay. The Archduchess, who had never been to a
+ball before in her life, passed through every room on the Emperor's arm.
+She was most warmly cheered, and the crowd followed her with a joyous
+enthusiasm that can scarcely be described. This ball presented the most
+perfect combination of grandeur, wealth, and good taste; it was further
+remarkable for the bond of fraternity which seemed to unite the two
+nations." The next day but one, March 8, the formal demand for the hand
+of the Archduchess Marie Louise was made at the Palace, with great pomp,
+by Marshal Berthier, Prince of Neufchâtel. As soon as he had delivered
+his speech, the Archduchess entered in magnificent attire, accompanied
+by all the members of the household. Count Anatole de Montesquiou, an
+orderly officer of the Emperor Napoleon, had just arrived in Vienna,
+bringing a miniature portrait of his sovereign. This officer was to
+be present at the wedding, and to take to Paris the first news of
+its conclusion. As soon as the Archduchess appeared, the Prince of
+Neufchâtel offered her Napoleon's portrait, which she at once had
+fastened on the front of her dress by the Mistress of the Robes. The
+Ambassador Extraordinary then went to the apartments of the Empress of
+Austria, whence he went to visit the Archduke Charles to tell him that
+Napoleon wished to be represented by him at the wedding to be celebrated
+by proxy, March 11, by the Archbishop of Vienna, at the Church of the
+Augustins. The Prince of Neufchâtel continued to be treated with a
+consideration such as perhaps had never before fallen to the lot of an
+envoy in Vienna. From morning till night his quarters were surrounded by
+an inquisitive multitude who were anxious to see and salute Napoleon's
+friend and fellow-soldier. On the 9th of March he gave a grand dinner
+to the most distinguished gentlemen and ladies of the city. "After the
+dinner," Count Otto wrote to the Duke of Cadore, "other ladies came in
+to pay the first visit to him, a distinction which probably no foreign
+prince has ever before enjoyed here. At the grand performance given at
+the court theatre that same evening, the Prince again had precedence of
+the Archdukes. He was given a seat by the side of the Empress, who
+all the evening said the most flattering things to him.... Among the
+unprecedented honors which have been paid to him, I have always found it
+easy to distinguish such as were personal attentions. His Highness has
+had the greatest success here, especially with the Archdukes, who, in
+order to overcome his objections to take precedence of them, said in the
+most obliging way, 'We are all soldiers, and you are our senior.' The
+Archduke Charles has especially displayed a grace and delicacy that have
+extremely touched the Prince.... The Emperor has presented the Prince
+with his portrait in a costly medallion, and His Highness has taken care
+to wear it on various occasions."
+
+Napoleon, who a few days before had been so hated by the Viennese,
+appeared to them, as if by sudden endowment, a sort of divine being. On
+all sides were heard outbursts of praise, allegories, and cantatas, in
+his honor. The poets of the city rivalled one another in celebrating
+the union of myrtles and laurels, of grace and strength, of beauty and
+genius. "Love," they sang in their dithyrambs, "weaves flowery chains
+to unite forever Austria and Gaul. Peoples shed tears, but tears of
+enthusiasm and gratitude. Long live Louise and Napoleon!" In every
+street, in every square, there were transparencies, mottoes, flags,
+mythological emblems, temples of Hymen, angels of peace and concord,
+Fame with her trumpet.
+
+At that moment there happened to be in Vienna a great many French
+officers and soldiers, detained there to recover from the wounds they
+had received in the course of the last war. All those who were able to
+leave their beds were anxious to have the happiness of seeing their new
+Empress, and thronged to the Palace doors. As soon as Marie Louise heard
+that they were there, she made her appearance before them, and spoke to
+them most graciously a few kind words. Then these veterans, wild with
+joy, shouted at the top of their lungs, "Long live the Princess! Long
+live the House of Austria!" And the good people of Vienna, enchanted at
+the sight, both wondered and rejoiced to see their Emperor's daughter so
+warmly greeted by the French soldiers of Essling and Wagram.
+
+
+
+
+VII.
+
+THE WEDDING AT VIENNA.
+
+
+Before proceeding to the account of the wedding, celebrated by proxy in
+Vienna, at the Church of the Augustins, March 11, 1810, it may be well
+to enumerate the members, at that time, of the Imperial family.
+
+The Emperor, Francis II., head of the house of Hapsburg-Lorraine, who
+was born February 12, 1768, had just entered his forty-third year;
+consequently, he was only eighteen months older than his son-in-law, the
+Emperor Napoleon, who was born August 15, 1769. The Austrian monarch
+had taken for his third wife his cousin Marie Louise Beatrice of Este,
+daughter of the Archduke Ferdinand, Duke of Modena. This Princess, who
+had no children, was born December 14, 1787, four years, almost to a
+day, before her step-daughter, the Archduchess Marie Louise, Napoleon's
+wife, who was born December 11, 1791. The new Empress of the French, at
+the time of the celebration of her wedding in Vienna, was consequently
+eighteen years and three months old, and twenty-two years younger than
+her husband.
+
+Francis II. had eight children, three boys and five girls, all by
+his second wife, Marie Theresa, of the Two Sicilies, and born in the
+following order: In 1791, Marie Louise; in 1793, Ferdinand, the Prince
+Imperial; in 1797, Leopoldine, who became the wife of Dom Pedro, Emperor
+of Brazil; in 1798, Marie Clementine, who married the Prince of Salerno,
+and was the mother-in-law of the Duke of Aumale, the son of Louis
+Philippe; in 1801, Caroline, who married Prince Frederick of Saxony; in
+1802, Francis Charles Joseph; in 1804, Marie Anne, who became Abbess of
+the Chapter of Noble Ladies in Prague; in 1805, John.
+
+He had one sister and eight brothers, to wit: Marie Theresa Josepha,
+born 1767, who married Antoine Clement, brother of Frederic Augustus,
+King of Saxony; Ferdinand, born 1769, who, after having been Grand
+Duke of Tuscany, became Grand Duke of Würzburg, and a great friend
+of Napoleon; Charles Louis, born 1771, the famous Archduke Charles,
+Napoleon's rival on the battle-field; Joseph Antoine, born 1776,
+Palatine of Hungary; Antoine Victor, born 1779, who became Bishop of
+Bamberg; John, born 1782, who presided over the parliament at Frankfort
+in 1848; Reinhardt, born 1783, who was Viceroy of the Kingdom of
+Lombardy and Venetia when it became an Austrian province; Louis, born
+1784; Rudolph, born 1788, who became a Cardinal. Consequently, at the
+time of Marie Louise's marriage, there were eleven Archdukes, three sons
+and eight brothers of the Emperor. The wedding ceremony was preceded,
+March 10, 1810, by a rite called the renunciation. At one in the
+afternoon, Marshal Berthier, Prince of Neufchâtel, Ambassador
+Extraordinary of France, drove to the Palace with his suite, in a state
+carriage drawn by six horses, and was conducted to the hall of the Privy
+Council, to witness this ceremony. As soon as Francis II. and Marie
+Louise had taken their seats beneath the canopy, the Emperor, as head of
+the family, spoke as follows: "Inasmuch as the customs of the Imperial
+family require that the Imperial Princesses and Archduchesses shall
+before marriage recognize the Pragmatic Sanction of Austria, and the
+order of succession, by a solemn act of renunciation, Her Imperial
+Highness the Archduchess Marie Louise, who is betrothed to His Imperial
+Majesty the Emperor of the French, King of Italy, is about to take
+the usual oath, and proceed to the formal rite of renunciation." The
+Archduchess then went up to a table on which stood a crucifix between
+two lighted candles, and the holy Gospels. Count Hohenwart, Prince
+Archbishop of Vienna, opened the book of the Gospel according to St.
+John, and the Archduchess, having placed upon it two fingers of
+the right hand, read aloud the act of renunciation of the right of
+succession to the crown, and took the oath. That evening, Gluck's
+_Iphigenia among the Taurians_ was given at the Royal opera-house.
+The stairway to the boxes was brilliantly lighted, and lined with
+orange-trees. The next day, Sunday, the wedding was celebrated with
+great pomp at the Church of the Augustins. The procession filed through
+the apartments of the Palace, which had been covered with rugs and
+filled with chandeliers and candelabra. Grenadiers were drawn up in a
+double line from the Palace to the church. This was the order of the
+procession: Two stewards of the court, the pages, the stewards of the
+chamber, the carvers, the chamberlains, the privy councillors, the
+ministers, the principal officers of the court, the French Ambassador
+Extraordinary, the Archdukes Rudolph, Louis, Reinhardt, John, Antoine,
+Joseph, preceded by the Archduke Charles, accompanied by the Grand
+Master of the Court; the Emperor and King, followed by the Captain of
+the Noble Hungarian Guard, the Captain of the Yeomen, and the Grand
+Chamberlain; the Empress Queen holding the bride by the hand. The train
+of the Empress's dress was carried by the grand mistresses of the court
+as far as the second ante-chamber, by pages to the church, and then
+again by the grand mistresses. On each side of the Emperor, the Empress,
+and the Archdukes, marched twelve archers and as many body-guards; at
+some distance the same number of yeomen bearing halberds. Kettledrums
+and trumpets announced the arrival of the Emperor and the Empress at
+the church, where the Prince Archbishop of Vienna, accompanied by the
+clergy, met them at the door and presented them with holy water; that
+done, he proceeded with his bishops to the foot of the altar, on the
+gospel-side. The Imperial family took their place in the choir. The
+Archduke Charles, as Napoleon's representative, and the Archduchess
+Marie Louise, kneeled at the prayer-desks before the altar. When the
+Archbishop had blessed the wedding-ring, which was presented to him in a
+cup, the Archduke Charles and the bride advanced to the altar, where the
+ceremony took place in German, according to the Viennese rite. After the
+exchange of rings, the bride took the one destined for Napoleon, which
+she was to give herself to her husband. Then while those present
+remained on their knees the _Te Deum_ was sung. Six pages carried
+flaming torches; salvos of artillery were fired; the bells of the city
+announced to the populace the completion of the rite. After the _Te
+Deum_ the Archbishop pronounced the benediction. Then the procession
+returned to the Palace in the order of its going forth.
+
+The French Ambassador wrote to the Duke of Cadore: "The marriage of His
+Majesty the Emperor with the Archduchess Marie Louise was celebrated
+with a magnificence that it would be hard to surpass, by the side of
+which even the brilliant festivities that have preceded it are not to be
+mentioned. The vast multitude of spectators, who had gathered from all
+quarters of the realm and from foreign parts, so packed the church, and
+the halls and passage-ways of the Palace, that the Emperor and Empress
+of Austria were often crowded. The really prodigious display of pearls
+and diamonds; the richness of the dresses and the uniforms; the
+numberless lights that illuminated the whole Palace; the joy of the
+participants, gave to the ceremony a splendor worthy of this grand and
+majestic solemnity. The richest noblemen of the country made a most
+brilliant display, and seemed to rival even with the Emperor. The ladies
+who accompanied the two Empresses, who were for the most part Princesses
+and women of the highest rank, seemed borne down by the weight of the
+diamonds and pearls they wore. But all eyes were fixed on the principal
+person of the solemnity, on this adored Princess who soon will make the
+happiness of our Sovereign."
+
+When the procession had re-entered the Palace, the Imperial family and
+the court assembled in the room called the Room of the Mirror. The
+Emperor of Austria and the two Empresses received the congratulations of
+all the nobility. By the side of Marie Louise stood the grand mistress
+of the household and twelve ladies-in-waiting. "Her modesty," Count Otto
+continues in the same report, "the nobility of her bearing, the ease
+with which she replied to the speeches addressed to her, enchanted
+every one.... I was the first to be introduced to her. She answered my
+congratulations by saying that she would spare no pains to please His
+Majesty the Emperor Napoleon and to contribute to the happiness of the
+French nation which had now become her own. Her Majesty then received
+all the noblemen of the court, and spoke to them with an affability that
+delighted them. When the reception was over, I was presented to the
+Emperor, who spoke to me most amiably and most cordially. He told me
+that, in spite of his delicate health, he was unwilling to lose any
+opportunity of testifying his high esteem of my master, the Emperor. 'He
+will always find in me,' he went on, 'the loyalty and zeal which you
+must have noticed in this last negotiation. I give to your Emperor my
+beloved daughter. She deserves to be happy. You see joy on every face.
+We have neglected nothing to show our satisfaction with this alliance.
+Our nations require rest; they applaud what we have done. I am sure that
+the best intelligence will reign between us, and that our union will
+become only closer.' All these gratifying things that the Emperor said
+to me were made even more marked by the voice and the smile which
+accompanied them. This monarch, in fact, has a charm of manner which
+accounts for his great popularity. During and after the ceremony, the
+Empress held her stepdaughter by her right hand, leading her in this
+way in the church and through the halls and rooms. The large crowd of
+spectators, which almost blocked the inside of the Palace and all the
+approaches, seemed to belong to the Imperial family, so great was its
+emotion on seeing the new Empress pass by. All the Frenchmen who were
+near me confessed that they had never seen a grander or more touching
+sight. The court has had a large number of medals struck off in memory
+of this event. Many hundred of these have been sent to the Prince of
+Neufchâtel, who, to the last, has been treated with the most marked
+consideration."
+
+After the wedding and the reception a grand state dinner was given at
+the Palace. A splendid table was set upon a platform covered with costly
+carpets, over which there was a canopy in the shape of a horseshoe. The
+Grand Master of the Court announced to their Majesties that the dinner
+was served. Carvers and pages brought in the meats. After the _lavabo_
+the Archbishop asked the blessing, and the Imperial family took their
+places in the following order; in the middle, the Empress of the French;
+on her right, the Emperor of Austria; on her left, the Empress; on the
+two sides the Archdukes Charles, Joseph, Antoine, John, Reinhardt,
+Louis, Rudolph, the Prince of Neufchâtel, the Ambassador Extraordinary.
+The Grand Master of the Court sat on the right, behind the Emperor's
+chair; near him were the Captain of the Yeomen, and on the left the
+Captain of the Noble Hungarian Guard. The ministers of state and the
+representatives of foreign courts sat on the right, and the two grand
+mistresses of the court on the left below the platform. The rest were
+opposite the table, next to the body-guard. The Emperor's children had a
+place assigned to them in the gallery from which they could look down on
+the feast. A concert, vocal and instrumental, accompanied the dinner. At
+the end the officiating bishop said grace in a low voice.
+
+There was much comment on the presence of the Prince of Neufchâtel at
+the Imperial table, where he sat from the beginning to the end of the
+dinner. This was a modification of the ceremonial of the Viennese court,
+which admitted Ambassadors to the monarch's table only on very rare
+occasions, as at the marriage of an Archduchess; but even in this case,
+required that they should leave the table when the dessert was served,
+to move about among the noblemen admitted to the banquet-hall. It was
+recalled that at the marriage of the French Dauphin to the Archduchess
+Marie Antoinette, the Marquis of Durfort, the Ambassador of Louis
+XV., was not invited to the dinner in order to avoid the question of
+precedence between him and Duke Albert of Saxe-Teschen, who was present
+at the banquet. This same Duke, as well as the brothers of the young
+Empress of the French, did not attend the state dinner of March 11,
+1810; and the reason given was the desire to show a particular honor to
+Napoleon's Ambassador Extraordinary.
+
+The same day, the Archduke Charles who had just represented the French
+Emperor at the wedding, wrote to him this letter:--
+
+"March 11, 1810. SIRE: The functions which Your Imperial Majesty has
+been kind enough to impose on me have been infinitely agreeable.
+Flattered at being chosen to represent a sovereign who, by his exploits,
+will live eternally in the annals of history, and convinced of the
+mutual happiness which must ensue from the union of Your Imperial
+Majesty with a Princess endowed with so many qualities as my dear niece,
+I have felt happy at being called on to cement this bond. I beg Your
+Imperial Majesty to receive the most earnest assurances of this feeling,
+as well as of the profound consideration with which I shall never cease
+to be, sire, Your Majesty's very humble and very obedient servant and
+cousin, CHARLES."
+
+That evening there were free performances at every theatre. The Emperor
+and Empress drove through the city with the bride, who had that day sent
+one gold napoleon to every wounded Frenchman, and five napoleons to
+every one who had lost a limb. The same thing had been done for the
+wounded German allies of France in the last war. This exhibition of
+generosity produced the most favorable impression, and much gratitude
+was felt towards the new Empress, who in the hours of her triumph had
+thought of the suffering soldiers. She was everywhere cheered. The city
+and suburbs were rivals in the brilliancy of the illuminations. In front
+of the Chancellor's office, where the Prince of Neufchâtel was staying,
+were shown the initials of Napoleon and Marie Louise amid a circle
+of lights. On one window was this motto, _Ex unione pax, opes,
+tranquillitas populorum_, "This union brings to the people peace,
+wealth, tranquillity." The dwelling of the Superintendent of Public
+Buildings represented a temple with this illuminated inscription,
+_Vota publica fausto hymeneo_, "The wishes of the public for the happy
+marriage."
+
+The famous engineer Melzel had devised an ingenious decoration. Above an
+excellent portrait of the new Empress there appeared a rainbow; on one
+side, his happiest invention, an automaton, which the Viennese called
+the War Trumpet. But a Genius was silencing it by pointing to this
+motto, _Tace, mundus concors_, "Silence, the world is at peace."
+
+To be sure there were a few satires, and some insulting placards posted
+secretly, but the police took pains to remove them. Unfortunately the
+weather was unfavorable, and scarcely one light out of ten held out
+to burn. Was not this a token of the enthusiasm of the Viennese for
+Napoleon, an enthusiasm which had succeeded hatred as if by magic, and
+which, after flaring up so speedily, was soon to expire? VIII.
+
+THE DEPARTURE.
+
+
+Marie Louise was to pass but one day more in Vienna. The ceremony had
+taken place March 11, 1810, and on the 13th the new Empress of the
+French was to leave the Austrian capital to join her husband in France.
+After all these festivities and great excitement, the 12th was devoted
+to peace and quiet. The Emperor Francis profited by it to write to
+Napoleon the following letter:--
+
+"March 12, 1810. MY BROTHER AND MY DEAR SON-IN-LAW: I appoint my
+Chamberlain, the Count of Clary, the bearer of this letter to Your
+Imperial Majesty. The great bond which forever unites our two thrones
+was completed yesterday. I wish to be the first to congratulate Your
+Majesty on an event which it has deserved, and which my wishes in
+harmony with your own, my brother, have crowned, for I regard it as the
+most precious as well as the surest pledge of our common happiness, and
+consequently of that of our subjects. If the sacrifice I make is very
+great, if my heart is bleeding at the loss of this beloved daughter, the
+thought, and, I do not hesitate to say, the firmest conviction of her
+happiness, is alone able to console me. Count Metternich, who in a few
+days will follow Count Clary, will be commissioned to express by word of
+mouth to Your Imperial Majesty the attachment which I consecrated to
+the monarch who yesterday became one of the members of my family. Now I
+confine myself to begging him to receive the assurances of my esteem and
+unalterable friendship. Your Imperial and Royal Majesty's affectionate
+brother and father-in-law,
+
+"Francis."
+
+March 12, the Marshal Berthier, Prince of Neufchâtel, left Vienna for
+Braunan, on the Austrian and Bavarian frontier. There he was to join the
+Empress of the French, who was to be conducted thither by the Austrian
+escort and then be entrusted to the French escort with which she was
+to continue her journey. "Before the Prince of Neufchâtel left," wrote
+Count Otto, March 10, "a great many Archdukes called on him, including
+even the high officers of the crown. His Highness started at two
+o'clock, amid the acclamations of a large multitude. No embassy has ever
+been more warmly received or filled with more dignity and nobility. The
+Prince left sixty thousand francs to be divided among the household
+where he had stayed. He was most discreet in everything that he did,
+and in spite of the various honors heaped upon him, I do not think that
+there is a single person at the court whose pride has been wounded." As
+the moment drew near when the young Empress was to leave her beloved
+family and country, to plunge into the unknown future that was awaiting
+her, various emotions crowded upon her. At heart a German and an
+Austrian, she could not accustom herself to the thought that probably
+she would never see again her revered and beloved father; the family who
+adored her; the good people of Vienna, who had always shown the kindest
+interest in her; the Burg and Schoenbrunn, where had been spent so many
+happy years of her infancy; the dear Church of the Augustins, where she
+had so often earnestly offered up her prayers. Could all the praise of
+Napoleon which she had been hearing for the last few days wipe out
+the memory of the abuse she had so often heard? She had been promised
+wealth, grandeur, power; but do those constitute happiness?
+
+The 13th of March came; the hour of her departure struck. That same day
+the French Ambassador wrote: "Her Majesty the Empress of the French left
+this morning with a large suite. On leaving her loved family and the
+land she will never see again, she for the first time felt all the
+anguish of the cruel separation. At eight o'clock in the morning the
+whole court was assembled in the reception-rooms. About nine, the
+Austrian Empress appeared, again leading her step-daughter by her right
+hand. She tried to speak to me, but her voice was choked by sobs. The
+young Empress was accompanied to her carriage by her step-mother and
+the Archdukes, and there they kissed her for the last time. Here the
+affectionate mother broke down, and she was supported to her own room by
+two chamberlains. The young Empress burst into tears, and her distress
+moved even foreigners who witnessed it."
+
+The procession started in the following order: a division of
+cuirassiers, a squadron of mounted militia, three postilions, the Prince
+of Paar, Director of the Posts, in a carriage with six horses; following
+came four carriages, each with six horses, containing Count Edelinck,
+Grand Master of the Court, and the chamberlains; Counts Eugene
+of Hangevitz; Domenic of Urbua; Joseph Metternich, Landgrave of
+Fürstenberg; Counts Ernest of Hoyes and Felix of Mier; Count Haddick,
+Field-Marshal; the Count of Wurmbrand; Count Francis Zichy; Prince
+Zinzendorf; Prince Paul Esterhazy; Count Antony Bathiani; then the
+Prince of Trautmannsdorf, First Grand Master of the Court, and
+Quartermaster, in a carriage with six horses; then, in one with eight
+horses, the Empress of the French, having with her the Countess of
+Lazansky, grand mistress of her household; finally, in three carriages
+with six horses each, her ladies-in-waiting,--the Princess of
+Trautmannsdorf, Countesses O'Donnell, of Sauran, d'Appony, of Blumeyers,
+of Traun, of Podstalzky, of Kaunitz, of Hunyady, of Chotek, of Palfy,
+of Zichy. A detachment of cavalry brought up the rear. The procession
+passed slowly through Saint Michael's Place, the Kohlmarkt, the Graben,
+Kärthnerstrasse, the Glacis, and the Mariahülfestrasse. The troops and
+national guard lined both sides of the way.
+
+"The Empress," wrote Count Otto, in his despatch of March 13, "passed
+through the main streets of the city and the suburbs, amid the ringing
+of bells and the roar of cannon, followed by an immense concourse of
+persons who uttered affectionate wishes and farewells. The inhabitants
+had decorated their houses and even the palace gate with tricolored
+flags. The regimental bands played French marches for the first time. A
+general salvo from the ramparts finally announced that the Empress had
+crossed the bridge. Her Majesty will be received with the same honors
+in all the Austrian cities she passes through. The procession, which
+consists of eighty-three carriages, will probably be delayed by the bad
+roads, and the rain which fell heavily last night."
+
+The Ambassador thus concluded his despatch: "The tumultuous joy which
+has prevailed in Vienna during this last week, which has gratified Her
+Majesty as much as any one, has been dimmed for a moment by a feeling
+which does honor to the kindness of her heart, and can only endear her
+the more to us. She has a great affection for her parents, and this
+feeling they return. She has been called Louise the Pious, and it has
+been said to be only right that she should share the throne of Saint
+Louis. The Emperor started an hour before Her Majesty for Linz, where he
+will embrace his beloved daughter for the last time. During these last
+few days it has been very obvious that his feelings as a father have had
+more weight with him than his position as a sovereign. This monarch's
+amiable disposition has appeared in the most favorable light on this
+occasion, and everything promises the happiest results from this
+alliance."
+
+On leaving Vienna, Marie Louise doubtless thought that she would
+never see it again; but she was to return to it very soon and in very
+different circumstances. In four years the Viennese were to see
+her again, but how changed the condition of things! Events cruelly
+disappointed the hopes of peace and happiness evoked by her marriage. It
+was a bitter deception. The hatred of the Austrians for Napoleon, whom
+in 1810 they had so much admired, became once more as intense as in the
+days of Austerlitz and Wagram. They ceased to greet Marie Louise with
+applause; they simply pitied her. Her father himself ceased to regard
+her as a sovereign. "As my daughter," he said to her, "everything that
+I possess is yours, my blood and my life; I do not know you as a
+sovereign." The time seemed very remote when she had precedence of the
+Empress of Austria, and her father, the head of the house of Hapsburg,
+respectfully gave her place at his right hand. After losing the double
+Imperial and Royal crown, that of France and that of Italy, she was
+obliged to beg of the implacable Coalition a petty duchy, the possession
+of which had been promised her by a treaty signed after the fall of the
+great Empire. There were again festivities in Vienna, but not for her,
+the dethroned sovereign. Once she was curious to see one, and she
+watched it hiding behind a curtain. On the evening of a court ball given
+by her father in honor of the members of the Congress of Vienna, she
+concealed herself near an opening made in the attic of the great hall
+of the palace,--where the festivities of her wedding had been
+celebrated,--and from there the wife of the prisoner of Elba watched the
+men dancing who were condemning her to widowhood even in the lifetime of
+her husband.
+
+
+
+
+IX.
+
+
+THE TRANSFER.
+
+Marie Louise's journey was one long ovation; in every town and in every
+village she passed through the young Empress received the homage of the
+authorities. Groups of girls, dressed in white, offered her flowers;
+bells were rung; and the enthusiasm of the country people was quite as
+warm as that of the Viennese. Marie Louise spent the night at Saint
+Pölten, where she met her father, who had gone thither incognito,
+in order to embrace her for the last time. The Empress, the bride's
+stepmother, went there also unexpectedly, and threw herself for the last
+time into the arms of the Empress of the French. Ried she reached the
+15th of March, 1810, and thence Marie Louise started on the 16th, at
+eight in the morning, after hearing mass. By eleven she had reached
+Altheim, close to the Bavarian frontier, and here she made a stop for
+the purpose of exchanging her travelling-dress for a finer one. Bavaria,
+as part of the Confederation of the Rhine, could be regarded as a
+province of the French Emperor, since Napoleon was the Protector of the
+Confederation. It had hence been decided that on the frontier, between
+Austria and Bavaria, close to Braunau, should take place the ceremony of
+handing her over to her French escort with all formality. The scene was
+a close imitation of what had taken place forty years before, on the
+occasion of the marriage of Marie Antoinette. On the frontier line
+between Austria and Bavaria three pavilions were set up, opening from
+one to the other: the first of these was regarded as Austrian; the
+second, as neutral; and the third, as French. These three connected
+buildings formed a wooden edifice in three compartments, and was placed
+between Altheim and Braunau. It was furnished with care, and provided
+with fireplaces. The central pavilion, or hall, which was destined for
+the ceremony, was adorned with a canopy, beneath which, on a platform,
+there was an armchair for the Empress, covered with a cloth of gold. To
+the left of the canopy, on the Bavarian side, towards Braunau, was set a
+large table with a velvet cloth, on which the plenipotentiaries were to
+write their signatures. Two lines of young green trees had been set out,
+one leading to the French hall, the other to the Austrian. On the side
+of the first, towards Braunau, were drawn three regiments, in full
+uniform, two of infantry and one of cavalry, under the command of
+Generals Friant and Pajol. On the other, the Austrian, side, towards
+Altheim, there were neither troops nor sentinels, in token of the
+temporary neutrality of the territory. The French Commissioner was
+Marshal Berthier, the Prince of Neufchâtel, and his secretary, Count
+Alexandre de La Borde. The Austrian Commissioner was the Prince of
+Trautmannsdorf: M. Thedelitz was his secretary. The French party, which
+was to meet Marshal Berthier at Braunau, and to serve as an escort to
+the Empress for the rest of the journey, was composed of the following
+people: Caroline, Queen of Naples, Murat's wife and Napoleon's sister;
+the Duchess of Montebello, lady of honor, the widow of Marshal Lannes;
+the Countess of Luçay, lady of the bed-chamber; the Duchess of Bassano,
+the Countesses of Montmorency, of Mortemart, and of Bouillé, maids of
+honor; the Bishop of Metz, Monsignor Jauffret, almoner; the Count of
+Beauharnais, lord-in-waiting; the Prince Aldobrandini Borghese, chief
+equerry; the Counts d'Aubusson, of Béarn, d'Angosse, and of Barol,
+chamberlains; Philip de Ségur, lord steward; the Baron of Saluces and
+the Baron d'Audenarde, equerries; the Count of Seyssel, master of
+ceremonies; M. de Bausset, steward.
+
+March 16, at half-past one, the Prince of Neufchâtel, with the rest of
+his company, made their way to the French division of the building; they
+were all, men and women, in full dress. Towards two o'clock Marie Louise
+entered the Austrian room, and after resting a moment she was ushered
+into the middle room, the neutral one, by the Austrian master of
+ceremonies; there a throne had been set, and the formal ceremony was to
+take place. Marie Louise seated herself on the throne. The Prince of
+Trautmannsdorf took his station before the table where the papers were
+to be signed, with the Aulic Counsellor, Hudelitz, the secretary, behind
+him. The men and women of the Austrian party ranged themselves around
+the Empress. At the back and on the two sides of the hall were twelve
+Noble Hungarian Guards and twelve German guardsmen, armed and in full
+uniform.
+
+While the Austrians were thus getting ready, the French were waiting in
+the next room, and displayed great impatience to get a sight of their
+new sovereign. M. de Bausset, an eye-witness of the ceremony, tells us
+in his Memoirs: "I was naturally anxious to see the Empress as soon as
+she should reach the middle room to take a place on the throne, and
+give her courtiers time to arrange themselves about her, before we were
+introduced. I had brought a gimlet, and with this I had bored a good
+many holes in the door of our room. This little indiscretion, which
+was not mentioned in our report, gave us an opportunity to inspect the
+appearance of our young sovereign at our ease. I need not say that it
+was the ladies of our party who were most anxious to make use of the
+little holes I had provided. The impression produced by the grace
+and majesty of the Empress upon these inquisitive peepers was very
+favorable. Marie Louise," M. de Bausset goes on, "sat straight on the
+throne. Her erect figure was fine; her hair was blond and very pretty;
+her blue eyes beamed with all the candor and innocence of her soul. Her
+face was soft and kindly. She wore a dress of gold brocade, caught up
+with large flowers of different colors, which must have tired her by its
+weight. Hanging from her neck was a portrait of Napoleon surrounded by
+sixteen magnificent solitaire diamonds, which together had cost five
+hundred thousand francs."
+
+Baron von Lohr, the Austrian master of ceremonies, having knocked at
+the door of the next room, where were the Prince of Neufchâtel and the
+Empress's French court, announced to the Count of Seyssel, the French
+master of ceremonies, that the ceremony might begin; thereupon the
+Prince of Neufchâtel entered the neutral room, followed by Count de
+Laborde, his secretary for this occasion. After them entered the Duchess
+of Montebello, the Count of Beauharnais, and the rest of the French
+party, who stationed themselves at the end of the hall opposite the
+Austrians. The two commissioners, the Prince of Neufchâtel and the
+Prince of Trautmannsdorf, after an exchange of compliments, signed and
+sealed the two documents, each retaining one of the copies. Then the
+Prince of Trautmannsdorf approached the Empress, bowing, and asked
+permission to kiss her hand in bidding her farewell. This permission
+was readily granted to him, and to all the ladies and gentlemen who had
+accompanied her from Vienna.
+
+While the French and Austrian secretaries were counting the
+dowry--five hundred thousand francs in new golden ducats--and verifying
+the Empress's jewels and precious stones, the French commissioners
+giving a receipt for the dowry and jewels as enumerated in an inventory
+attached to the document, the Austrian party drew up before the throne
+of Marie Louise, and each one, according to his or her rank, went up
+and kissed her hand with deep emotion. Even the humblest servants were
+admitted to present their respects and best wishes. "Her Majesty's eyes
+were filled with tears," M. de Bausset tells us, "and this emotion
+touched every heart."
+
+When they had all regained their places, Prince Trautmannsdorf offered
+his hand to the Empress, to help her down from the platform and to lead
+her to the Prince of Neufchâtel, who took her by the hand and led her
+towards the French courtiers. He named them all to the Empress; then the
+door of the French room was opened, and the Queen of Naples, who had
+been standing there during the whole ceremony, went up to her, and the
+two sisters-in-law kissed each other and chatted for a few moments. Then
+the Archduke Antoine was announced; he had been sent by the Emperor of
+Austria to present his compliments to the Queen of Naples, and was to
+return at once to Vienna to bring tidings of the Empress Marie Louise.
+After the Queen had welcomed and thanked the Archduke, the two
+sisters-in-law got into a carriage and drove to Braunau, followed by the
+Prince of Neufchâtel and all the court. On both sides of the way troops
+were drawn up in order of battle, and artillery salutes were fired.
+
+The Prince of Neufchâtel, on the suggestion of the Emperor Napoleon,
+invited the ladies and gentlemen of the Austrian party to spend the day
+at Braunau, to take part in the rejoicings which were to be celebrated
+there. Marie Louise also invited them in her own name. General de
+Ségur, who was present, thus describes the mingling of the French and
+Austrians: "The only thing that I remember is that the men moved about
+together and exchanged words very politely; but I never saw a company of
+women sitting more constrainedly, with less ease, than on this occasion,
+when the Austrian ladies were haughtily cold and silent. These ladies,
+who had been compelled to offer up the Princess as their part of the war
+indemnity, seemed to take no part in the submission which the government
+had forced upon them. They handed over to us the pledge of defeat with
+a bad grace which their husbands, who were weary of war, did not show."
+Generals Friant and Pajol gave a grand dinner to the Austrian officers
+in the citadel of Braunau, and the courtesy of both sides was worthy of
+note. Three toasts were drunk,--the first to the Emperor Napoleon, the
+second to the Empress Marie Louise, the third to the Emperor of Austria.
+There was a salute of thirty guns after each toast.
+
+At Braunau the Empress occupied the house of a rich wine-merchant
+opposite the town-hall. The house was decorated with flags, and before
+it a triumphal arch was set up. Marie Louise rested there, and changed
+everything she had on, according to the custom, which demands that a
+foreign princess on entering her new country must leave behind her
+everything that attaches her to the country, the people and the ways she
+has left. The Parisian shopkeepers had made everything for her from
+measures and models sent from Vienna. Napoleon had had these models
+shown him, and taking one of the shoes, which were remarkably small, he
+had sportively stroked his valet's cheek with it, and said, "See there,
+Constant; here's a shoe that will bring good luck with it. Did you ever
+see feet like those?"
+
+After the Empress had received the authorities of Braunau and the
+generals commanding the French troops, she sought retirement, and
+wrote to her father this touching letter, of which M. von Helfert has
+published the German text: this is the translation:--
+
+"DEAR FATHER--Excuse me for not writing yesterday, as I should have
+done. The journey, which was long and very fatiguing, prevented me.
+It is with pleasure that I seize this occasion to give to Prince
+Trautmannsdorf for you the assurance that my thoughts are always with
+you. God has endowed me with strength to endure the cruel emotion which
+this separation from all my family calls forth. In Him I confide. He
+will sustain me and give me courage to fulfil my mission. My consolation
+shall be the thought that the sacrifice is in your behalf. I reached
+Ried very late, and I was much distressed by the thought that I was
+departing from you perhaps forever. At two o'clock I arrived at the
+French camp at Braunau. I stopped a few minutes in the Austrian
+pavilion, and there I had to listen to the reading of the documents
+about the limits of the neutral zone, in which a throne had been set.
+All my people then came up to kiss my hand, and I could hardly control
+myself. I shuddered, and I was so much moved that the Prince of
+Neufchâtel had tears in his eyes. Prince Trautmannsdorf delivered me to
+him, and my household was presented. Heavens, what a difference between
+the French and the Austrian ladies!... The Queen of Naples came to greet
+me, threw her arms about me, and was most kind; but yet I have not
+perfect confidence in her: I can't think she took this long journey
+merely to be of use to me. She came to Braunau with me, and then I
+had to spend two hours in arraying myself. I assure you that now I am
+already as much perfumed as the Frenchwomen. Napoleon sent me a superb
+golden dress. He has not yet written. Now that I have had to leave you,
+I had rather be with him than travel longer with these ladies. Heavens!
+how I miss the happy moments I spent with you! Now, alone, I value
+them at their true worth. I assure you, dear papa, that I am sad and
+inconsolable. I hope you have got over your cold. Every day I pray
+for you. Excuse my scrawl. I have so little time. I kiss your hands a
+thousand times, and have the honor to be, dear papa, your obedient,
+humble daughter,
+
+"MARIE LOUISE.
+
+"BRAUNAU, March 16, 1810."
+
+
+That evening the Empress appeared again before the party that had
+accompanied her from Vienna, to take a last farewell.
+
+"Among them," we read in the Memoirs of Madame Durand, one of the suite
+of the new Empress, "were many ladies who had known Marie Antoinette.
+They all understood with what a heavy heart Marie Louise would come to
+occupy a throne on which her great-aunt had suffered so sorely.... At
+the moment when she was getting into the carriage that was to take her
+to Munich, the grand master of the household, a man sixty-five years
+old, who had accompanied her to this point, raised his joined hands
+towards heaven, as if praying for a happy fate for his young mistress,
+and blessing her as her own father might have done. His eyes indicated
+a mind full of great thoughts and sad memories. His tears moistened the
+eyes of all who witnessed this touching sight."
+
+The Empress, with her French escort, started from Braunau for Munich
+early March 17, in frightful weather; Only one of the Austrian suite
+remained with her, the grand mistress, Countess Lazansky. She hoped that
+this lady, whom she much loved, would remain another year with her. But
+this hope was doomed to disappointment.
+
+
+
+
+X.
+
+
+THE JOURNEY.
+
+In the course of the 17th the Empress reached Haag, where the Bavarian
+Crown Prince received her, and at ten in the evening she was in Munich.
+The next day, M. de Boyne, the French _chargé d'affaires_, wrote to the
+Duke of Cadore: "Her Majesty the Empress has received all along her
+route, and yesterday, on her arrival in Munich, countless expressions
+of love and respect. This capital was illuminated with a taste and
+magnificence that had never been seen here. The Crown Prince went as
+far as Haag to pay his respects to her. The troops and the militia were
+under arms, and the King and Queen, with the whole court, met her at the
+foot of the staircase of honor." Marie Louise was not to leave Munich
+till the 19th of March. On the 18th she received a letter from her
+husband, brought by one of his equerries, the Baron of Saint Aignan.
+That evening there was a state dinner at the palace, a levee, and a
+theatrical representation. The next day, the 19th, the Empress was
+destined to suffer a heavy blow. She had brought with her from Vienna to
+Braunau, and from Braunau to Munich, her grand mistress, a confidential
+friend, a woman who had had faithful charge of her infancy and
+youth,--the Countess Lazansky. When she reached the Bavarian capital,
+she was sure that this woman was not to leave her. Since the Countess
+had not gone away at Braunau, she had every reason to suppose that she
+would accompany her to Paris, and Marie Louise fully intended to keep
+her with her at least a year. The Austrian court showed this belief, and
+the French Ambassador had written March 6th to the Duke of Cadore: "I
+shall not, even indirectly, oppose Madame Lazansky's going, since
+His Majesty is willing to permit her accompanying the Empress. This
+attention will be gratefully received." But that did not at all suit
+Napoleon's sister, the Queen of Naples, who had not pleased the Austrian
+lady, and who wished to control the new Empress without a rival.
+
+The Queen of Naples was a very agreeable, very charming woman; but Count
+Otto was mistaken when he wrote that the Austrian court was flattered
+by hearing that Napoleon had chosen his sister Caroline to meet the new
+Empress; the choice was not a happy one, and the Emperor would doubtless
+have done better to send some other princess of his family. Could it be
+forgotten that there was another woman, also a queen, and also bearing
+the name of Caroline, Marie Louise's grandmother, whom Marie Louise
+tenderly loved, and whose throne was occupied by Murat's wife? It should
+have been remembered that in the eyes of the court of Vienna, the true,
+the legitimate, queen of the Two Sicilies was not Caroline, Napoleon's
+sister, but another Caroline, the daughter of the great Marie Thérčse,
+the sister of Marie Antoinette.
+
+This is what the widow of General Durand says on the subject, in her
+interesting Memoirs: "Princess Caroline, Madame Murat, then Queen of
+Naples, had gone to Braunau to meet her sister-in-law. The Duchess of
+Montebello, a beautiful, sensible woman, the mother of five children,
+who had lost her husband in the last war, had been appointed a
+maid-of-honor,--a feeble compensation on the part of the Emperor for
+her sad bereavement. The Countess of Luçay, a gentle, kindly woman,
+thoroughly familiar with the customs of good society, was lady of the
+bedchamber. I shall speak later of the other ladies of the suite, whose
+functions, as established by etiquette, brought them very little into
+personal relations with the Empress. Each one of them had pretensions to
+which the presence of Madame Lazansky was an obstacle. They complained
+to Queen Caroline, and she decided on an act of despotism which deeply
+wounded her sister-in-law." This act was the dismissal of Madame
+Lazansky. By this course the Queen of Naples expected to add to her
+influence over the Empress; but, on the contrary, she only diminished it
+appreciably.
+
+"Madame Murat," continues Madame Durand, "was very anxious to acquire
+great power over Marie Louise, and she might have been successful had
+she taken, more precautions. Talleyrand said of her that she had the
+head of a Cromwell on the body of a pretty woman. Endowed by nature with
+a marked character, great intelligence, far-reaching ideas, a supple and
+crafty mind, with a grace and amiability that made her very charming,
+she lacked nothing but the power of hiding her love of rule; and when
+she missed her aim, it was because she had been too eager. The moment
+she saw the Austrian Princess, she imagined that she had read her
+character; but she was utterly mistaken. She took her timidity for
+weakness, her embarrassment for awkwardness; and, fancying that she
+needed only to give her orders, she hardened against her for all time
+the heart of the woman whom she expected to control."
+
+Madame Durand thus describes the conspiracy which these women formed:
+"The presence of the Countess Lazansky had excited the jealousy and the
+fears of all the ladies of the household. They intrigued and caballed,
+telling the Queen of Naples that she could never win her sister-in-law's
+confidence or affection so long as she kept with her a person whose
+influence rested on so many years of devotion and intimacy. Her
+maid-of-honor lamented that her functions would amount to nothing, if
+the Princess were to keep near her this foreigner who looked after
+everything. Finally they persuaded the Queen to ask Marie Louise to send
+back her grand mistress, although she had been promised that she could
+keep her for a year."
+
+The Empress might have resisted. They showed her no order from the
+Emperor; they merely said that the presence of the Austrian lady with a
+French sovereign was something anomalous,--an infringement of the laws
+of etiquette,--and that the best way for the Empress to please the
+Emperor was by this voluntary sacrifice. Marie Louise yielded for the
+sake of peace, and gave up her friend, as later she was to give up her
+husband, out of weakness. Her decision gave her great pain, and it was
+not without a pang that she parted from the Countess Lazansky. "How
+agonizing this separation is!" she wrote to her father. "I really could
+not make a greater sacrifice for my husband, and still I do not think
+that this sacrifice was intended by him."
+
+Another thing that added to the grief of the new Empress was that she
+was compelled to part with a pet dog which she was very fond of: the
+Countess was to carry it back to Vienna. They told Marie Louise that
+Napoleon disliked dogs, that he could not endure Josephine's, and that
+they were perpetual subjects of discord. Besides, was it not her duty,
+on entering France, to give up everything that came from her former
+home? General de Ségur, who had been part of the Empress's escort since
+leaving Braunau, makes no mention of the Countess Lazansky, but
+he speaks of the dog: "The complete change of dress was simply an
+entertainment: that of the escort had been anticipated; it was
+necessary to endure it. This painful change would have taken place
+without too much evidence of grief, if the superfluously jealous
+interference of Napoleon's sister had not extended itself to a little
+dog from Vienna, which, it was insisted, must be sent back, though this
+cost Marie Louise many tears." The acquisition of a colossal empire did
+not console the sovereign for the loss of a little dog.
+
+March 19, in the morning, Marie Louise and Countess Lazansky parted.
+"The worst thing in the conduct of the Queen of Naples," writes Madame
+Durand, who did not like her, "was that after having demanded the
+Empress's consent to Madame Lazansky's departure, she gave orders to the
+ladies-in-waiting not to admit that lady to the Empress if she came to
+say good by. This order was not obeyed; the two ladies admitted her by
+a secret door; she spent two hours with the Empress, and the ladies who
+admitted her never regretted what they had done, in spite of the many
+reproaches of the Queen of Naples."
+
+While the Empress, leaving Munich March 19, continued her journey to
+France, her old friend was journeying back to Vienna, where she arrived
+March 22. Her unexpected return made a most unfavorable impression on
+all classes of society.
+
+The report that the Countess Lazansky was to accompany the Empress
+to Paris had spread everywhere, and it was regarded as a proof of
+confidence and cordiality that was most welcome to the Viennese with
+their devotion to the reigning family. Consequently their delight and
+interest, which had been fed by the festivities and all the details of
+the journey, made the sudden return of the mistress of the robes a cause
+of surprise and even of anxiety. There were riotous assemblies, and the
+affair was the subject of most unfavorable comment. As the Baron of
+Méneval has said, "The reconciliation on the part of the aristocracy and
+people of Austria was not sincere. Marie Louise's departure from Vienna
+was followed by many regrets. Instigated by English and Russian agents,
+the populace of Vienna gathered in the streets and public places, and
+began to murmur about the sacrifice which they said had been required
+of the Emperor. The authorities were obliged to take active measures
+against these assemblages." The Emperor of Austria spoke of them himself
+to the French Ambassador. Count Otto wrote, March 24, to the Duke of
+Cadore: "The Emperor having returned from Linz, I asked for a private
+audience to congratulate him on his happy return. Audiences of this sort
+are only accorded here to ambassadors of powers related by marriage, and
+I took advantage of this occasion to enjoy this honorable distinction.
+His Majesty received with his wonted kindness; he had been thoroughly
+satisfied with all that took place at Braunau, and with the delicate
+attentions paid to Her Majesty the Empress from the moment of her
+arrival. 'But what have you done to Madame Lazansky?' the Emperor
+went on, 'Why is she sent back? Your master had given my daughter leave
+to take a companion with her; and if an exception was to be made, Madame
+Lazansky deserved to be the object of it, for she has always been
+well disposed towards France. But I must assure you that I attach no
+importance to the matter, although the public amuses itself with a
+thousand absurd conjectures; last night there were tumults in the city
+and the suburbs.' I told His Majesty, in reply, that these disturbances
+of the public peace were doubtless the last efforts of a few foreign
+intriguers who are always on hand in this city; that since the escorts
+were changed at Braunau, nothing was simpler or more natural than Madame
+Lazansky's return; and that to allay the excitement, nothing more was
+necessary than to spread abroad the rumor that orders had been received
+from here recalling that lady as soon as the Empress was accustomed
+to her new court. 'That's just what I have already done,' resumed the
+Emperor, 'and it is to be hoped that the same things will be said in
+France, as the best way of silencing discontent.'"
+
+A few hours later Prince Metternich, the father of the celebrated
+minister, who in his son's absence had charge of the Ministry, had an
+interview with the Ambassador about this painful incident. "Prince
+Metternich," Count Otto adds in the same despatch, "came to see me to
+give me some fuller details about the events of the previous night. He
+had been kept up until three in the morning, receiving the reports of
+the police, and having the ringleaders arrested. They had gone about in
+the coffee-houses, and had carried their effrontery so far as to say
+that the French army was again in motion, and that Napoleon's sole aim
+had been to distract the attention of this court."
+
+Meanwhile Marie Louise was continuing her triumphal journey. At
+Stuttgart she found the court and the population as enthusiastic as
+at Munich; there, too, even illuminations, a state dinner, a levee, a
+theatrical representation. At Stuttgart the Empress received a letter
+from Napoleon, brought by the Count of Beauvau. Another letter from the
+Emperor was delivered to her by the Count of Bondy at Carlsruhe, where
+her reception was no less brilliant than at Munich and Stuttgart.
+
+March 23, Marie Louise was at Rastadt, where the Hereditary Grand Duke
+of Baden, who had married Stéphanie de Beauharnais, Napoleon's adopted
+daughter, gave her a breakfast. At the bridge over the Rhine, which the
+Empress reached at five in the evening, she was met by twenty French
+generals and several divisions under arms. The bridge was decorated with
+flags; bells were pealing; salvos of artillery were roaring. At the
+entrance of the bridge the sovereign was welcomed by the Prefect of the
+Lower Rhine, and at the city gates by the Mayor. "It was at Strasbourg,"
+says General de Ségur, "that France, in its turn, greeted Marie Louise.
+The enthusiasm on this German and military frontier was all the more
+lively, sincere, and wide-spread, because the Archduchess was regarded
+as the most brilliant trophy of the success of our arms, and it was
+thought that after eighteen years of warfare they had in her a pledge of
+certain peace."
+
+March 23, Marie Louise wrote to her father, from Strasbourg, a long
+letter, in which she apologized for her long silence, pleading the
+excessive fatigue of a long journey, during which she had to get up
+every morning at five, travel all day, and spend every evening at
+receptions and theatrical performances. She added that the programme of
+the festivities at Strasbourg had just been submitted to her for her
+orders. "I can't tell you, dear papa," she said, "how funny it seems to
+me, who have never had any will of my own, to have to give orders." At
+Strasbourg she had the pleasure of meeting Count Metternich, who had
+left Vienna March 12, and after stopping at many German courts, was
+about to push on to Paris. The festivities there were very brilliant. A
+newspaper of the town said, March 24, "Among the guests was the Austrian
+general, Count Neipperg, who was here on a mission from his government,
+as also many officers." Who could have foreseen that this unknown
+general would one day be Marie Louise's consort, Napoleon's successor?
+
+It was at Strasbourg that the Empress received her first letter from her
+father since her departure from Vienna. She answered it at once: "I beg
+of you, dear father, pray for me most warmly. Be sure that I shall try
+with all my strength to perform the duty you have assigned to me. I am
+easy about my fate. I am sure that I shall be happy. I wish you could
+read Napoleon's letter: it is full of kindness." With every step she
+made on French soil, Marie Louise became reconciled with her lot. For
+his part, the Emperor awaited his new companion with all the impatience
+of a youth of twenty, "Every day," says his valet Constant, "he sent a
+letter, and she answered regularly. Her first letters were very short
+and probably very cool, for the Emperor never mentioned them; but the
+later ones were longer and gradually more affectionate, and the Emperor
+used to read them with transports of delight.... He complained that his
+couriers were lazy though they killed their horses. One day he came back
+from hunting, carrying two pheasants in his hand, and followed by some
+footmen bearing the rarest flowers from the conservatory at Saint Cloud.
+He wrote a note, summoned his first page, and said to him: 'Be ready to
+start in ten minutes, by coach. In it you will find these things, which
+you will deliver to the Empress with your own hands. And above all,
+don't spare the horses. Go as fast as you can, and fear nothing.'
+The young man asked nothing better than to obey His Majesty. Thus
+authorized, he hurried at full speed, giving his postilions double pay,
+and in twenty-four hours he had reached Strasbourg." According to Madame
+Durand, "It was evident that Marie Louise read the Emperor's letters
+with ever-increasing interest. She awaited them with impatience; and if
+the courier was behind time, she asked frequently if he had not come,
+and what could have delayed him. This correspondence must have been
+charming, since it evoked a feeling destined to acquire great strength.
+Napoleon, on his side, was burning with desire to see his young wife;
+he was more flattered by this marriage than he would have been by the
+conquest of an empire. What most delighted him was to know that she had
+given her consent of her own free will."
+
+The Baron de Méneval also tells about Napoleon's correspondence with
+this new wife, whom he had not seen and was so impatient to know: "He
+wrote to her every day as soon as she had set foot on French soil; he
+sent bouquets of the most beautiful flowers along with the letters, and
+sometimes game. He was delighted with the answers, some of which were
+long, that he received. These replies were written in good French; the
+Empress expressed herself with delicacy and decorum: perhaps the Queen
+of Naples aided her. She wrote many details, which interested the
+Emperor very much."
+
+The Empress left Strasbourg, March 25, in the direction of Nancy. She
+dined at Bar-le-Duc, and at Vitry-le-Francois received the Prince of
+Schwarzenberg, the Austrian Ambassador, and the Countess Metternich. She
+had just made up her mind to hurry her journey, and thus to hasten the
+moment set by etiquette for meeting her husband. The hour which Napoleon
+had awaited so impatiently was now drawing near. XI.
+
+COMPIČGNE.
+
+Since the 20th of March, Napoleon had been at Compičgne, denouncing the
+cumbrous machinery of etiquette which was retarding the happy moment
+when he should at last see his new wife and enfold her in his arms.
+He had had the castle repaired and richly furnished, that it might be
+worthy to receive a daughter of the Cćsars. The grand gallery had been
+decorated with gilded ceilings and stucco columns; the garden had been
+replanted and adorned with statues. The waters of the Oise had been
+carried there by a system of water-works. All the members of the
+Imperial family had arrived; the court was most brilliant. The Emperor
+wished to dazzle his young wife with unheard-of splendor.
+
+The minutest details of the meeting of the Imperial couple had been
+carefully arranged beforehand; it was settled that this should take
+place in all formality, March 28, between Soissons and Compičgne.
+The Emperor was to leave the last-named place with the princes and
+princesses of his family, preceded and followed by detachments of the
+mounted Imperial Guard. Two leagues from Soissons they would find a
+pavilion composed of three tents, entered by two flights of steps, one
+on the side towards Compičgne, the other on that towards Soissons; the
+first one was for Napoleon, the other for Marie Louise. The pavilion,
+which was richly decorated with flags, was surrounded by trees; near
+it flowed a brook. The central tent, the one in which the Emperor and
+Empress were to meet for the first time, was decorated with purple and
+gold. It had been settled that Marie Louise should fall on her knees as
+soon as she saw her husband, that he should help her to her feet and
+kiss her; then that both should get into a state carriage, and both the
+escorts should unite and form one.
+
+The preparations were completed March 27. Everything--horses,
+carriages, escort, pavilion--was ready. That morning Prince Charles of
+Schwarzenberg, the Austrian Ambassador, and the Countess Metternich,
+the Minister's wife, arrived at the castle of Compičgne from
+Vitry-le-François, where they had seen the Empress, of whom they could
+bring news to Napoleon. At noon the Emperor received a letter from Marie
+Louise, in which she said that in order to make greater haste she was
+leaving Vitry-le-François that very morning for Soissons. When this
+letter was handed to him, Napoleon was walking up and down in the
+park, as if to overcome the impatience which this interminable waiting
+produced. When he learned that his wife was so near, he could wait no
+longer, and he decided to turn his back on the etiquette which had been
+so laboriously prepared for the next day, and to hasten to meet Marie
+Louise. He summoned Murat, whom he wished to have as his sole
+companion, and leaving the park secretly by a hidden gate, he and his
+brother-in-law got into a modest, undecorated carriage, which was driven
+by a coachman not in livery towards Soissons as fast as the horses could
+carry it.
+
+Never had the Emperor known time to drag so slowly. A double feeling--of
+curiosity and love--set his heart beating as if he were a youth of
+twenty. When he had got beyond Soissons, he judged that Marie Louise
+could not be far distant, and he alighted at a village called
+Courcelles.
+
+The Empress meanwhile had been journeying ever since the morning in the
+same carriage as her sister-in-law, Queen Caroline, with no idea of what
+was going to happen. She had passed through Châlons and Rheims, and
+proposed to dine at Soissons, where she expected to pass the night; for
+the meeting with the Emperor was set down for the next day, March 28,
+at the pavilion erected two leagues from that town. It was raining
+in torrents when Napoleon reached there, and he got down with his
+brother-in-law and sought shelter under the porch of the church opposite
+the posting-station. No one in the village had a suspicion that the two
+strangers seeking refuge from the rain were the great Emperor and
+the King of Naples. Suddenly the clatter of wheels was heard, and a
+carriage, preceded by an outrider and followed by a great many vehicles,
+rolled up. It was she, at last,--Marie Louise, Archduchess of Austria,
+Empress of the French, Queen of Italy, the woman who would bring him a
+son and heir to the vast empire! Pride and the intoxication of triumph
+mingled with the conqueror's joy.
+
+The carriage stopped, and the men began to change the horses. Napoleon
+hastened to the carriage-door. He did not want to be recognized for a
+few moments yet, but the equerry, d'Audenarde, scarcely believing his
+eyes, shouted, "The Emperor!" The happy husband flung himself into the
+arms of his wife, who was overcome with surprise and emotion. The first
+glance delighted him. That fine young woman, fresh and young, full of
+strength and health, with her blonde hair, her blue eyes, her air of
+innocence and candor, was the wife he wanted, the Empress of his dreams;
+and the words she said to him flattered and touched him, went straight
+to his heart! After looking at him for some time, she said timidly and
+gently: "You are much better-looking than your portrait."
+
+A courier was despatched to carry the news at full speed to Compičgne,
+that the Emperor and Empress would arrive there at about two o'clock,
+and the carriage containing Napoleon and Marie Louise, with the King and
+Queen of Naples, started in the direction of Soissons, followed by the
+carriages containing the Empress's suite. They stopped but a moment at
+Soissons. "I had the honor," says M. de Bausset, "to be in the carriage
+with Mesdames de Montmorency and de Montemart and the Bishop of Metz. It
+seemed to me that these ladies were more contented than I was to leave
+the excellent dinner which was awaiting us there." Soissons, which
+had made many expensive preparations, had no return for its money and
+trouble. As to the ceremonious meeting in the pavilion two leagues off,
+which had been prepared for the next day at some expense, it was not to
+be thought of. Napoleon showed tact and courtesy by relieving his wife
+of this alarming formality, and especially of the necessity of kneeling
+before him. He was happily inspired in setting feeling before etiquette,
+and in yielding to his impatience to see the face and hear the voice of
+his long-awaited wife.
+
+As soon as the courier, sent in advance, reached Compičgne, and
+announced the great news, the town was in commotion. The illuminations
+were got ready, the triumphal arches were decked with flags, orders were
+given to greet the entry of the Emperor and Empress with a salute of a
+hundred and one cannon. Marshal Bessičres made ready the mounted guard.
+In spite of the rain, the inhabitants assembled in crowds to meet the
+sovereigns at the stone bridge where Louis XV. had met the Dauphiness,
+Marie Antoinette. The courts and galleries of the castle, which were
+open to the public, were thronged with inquisitive visitors. A hard
+rain was falling, and the night was so dark that nothing could be seen
+without torches. At ten o'clock the cannon announced the arrival of
+the Imperial couple, who rapidly ascended the Avenue. The princes and
+princesses were waiting at the foot of the staircase, and the Emperor
+presented them to the Empress. The town authorities were assembled in
+a gallery where was the Prince of Schwarzenberg; a band of young girls
+dressed in white paid their respects to the Empress, and offered her
+flowers. The Emperor then conducted her to her apartments, where she was
+delighted, as she was surprised, to find her little dog and her
+birds from Vienna, as well as a piece of tapestry which she had left
+unfinished at the Burg. This delicate attention of Napoleon's moved her
+to tears. She was also pleased to see a magnificent piano. After a quiet
+supper, at which the Queen of Naples was the only guest, the Emperor
+conducted his wife to the room of his sister Pauline, the Princess
+Borghese, who had been prevented by illness from taking part in the
+reception. Then he showed her to her own room.
+
+The portrait of the Empress which the Baron de Méneval has drawn, is
+as follows: "Marie Louise had all the charm of youth; her figure was
+perfectly regular; the waist of her dress was rather longer than was
+generally worn at that time, and this added to her natural dignity and
+contrasted favorably with the short waists of our ladies; her coloring
+was deepened by her journey and her timidity; her fine and thick hair,
+of a light chestnut, set off a fresh, full face, to which her gentle
+eyes lent a very attractive expression; her lips, which were a little
+thick, recalled the type of the Austrian Imperial line, just as a
+slightly aquiline nose distinguishes the Bourbon princes; her whole
+appearance expressed candor and innocence, and her plumpness, which she
+lost after the birth of her son, indicated good health."
+
+The next day, after breakfast, the ladies and officers of the household
+who had not met her at Braunau were presented to the Empress, and they
+took the oath of allegiance. Then followed the presentation of the
+Generals and Colonels of the Guards, of the Ministers and high officers
+of the crown, and of the officers and ladies who were to attend her on
+leaving Compičgne. She had the pleasure of meeting at the castle her
+uncle, the Grand Duke of Würzburg, her father's brother, with whom
+she talked for a long time about her country and her family. She
+also chatted with the Prince of Schwarzenberg and with the Countess
+Metternich. All day Napoleon was in charming humor. Contrary to his
+usual custom he dressed for dinner, putting on a coat which his sister
+Pauline, an authority on fashions, had commanded of Léger, the tailor of
+the King of Naples, who was fond of expensive and handsome clothes. This
+coat and a white tie were not becoming to Napoleon; his simple uniforms
+and black tie suited him much better. This was the only time he wore the
+coat which the Princess Pauline had ordered; on ordinary occasions he
+appeared in the green uniform of the Chasseurs of the Guard; and on
+Sundays and reception days in his blue uniform with white facings.
+
+March 29, the Count of Praslin set out from Compičgne for Vienna,
+carrying two letters, one from Napoleon, the other from Marie Louise,
+to the Emperor Francis II. In his letter Napoleon said to his
+father-in-law, "Allow me to thank you for the present you have made me.
+May your paternal heart rejoice in your daughter's happiness!" Marie
+Louise, too, expressed content and joy; after telling her father with
+what delicacy her husband had lessened the embarrassment of the first
+interview, she went on: "Since that moment I feel almost at home with
+him; he loves me sincerely, and I return his affection. I am sure that I
+shall have a happy life with him. My health continues good. I am
+quite rested from the journey.... I assure you that the Emperor is as
+solicitous as you were about my health. If I have the least cold, he
+will not let me get up before two o'clock. I only need your presence to
+be perfectly happy, and my husband would also be very glad to see you. I
+assure you that he desires it as sincerely as I do." Five days later she
+wrote: "I am able to tell you, my dear father, that your prophecy has
+come true: I am as happy as I can be. The more friendship and confidence
+I give my husband, the more he heaps upon me attentions of every
+kind.... The whole family are very kind to me, and I can't believe all
+the evil that is said of them. My mother-in-law is a very amiable and
+most respectable princess who has welcomed me most kindly. The Queens
+of Naples, Holland, and Westphalia and the King of Holland are very
+amiable. I have also made the acquaintance of the Viceroy of Italy and
+his wife. She is very pretty."
+
+The court left Compičgne March 31. At the entrance of the Bois de
+Boulogne the Emperor and Empress were met by Count Frochot, Prefect of
+the Seine, and a crowd of Parisians. The Prefect made a speech which
+concluded with these words: "Escorted from Vienna to this point by the
+love of the people, Your Majesty now knows that by the prominence of her
+virtues as well as by the graces of her person, her destiny is to rule
+over all hearts. Our own, Madame, shall be to make you find again here
+in your customary abode, the country that you most love, where you were
+most cherished, and to succeed in making worthy of Your Majesty the
+homage of our allegiance, of our respect, and of our love."
+
+At half-past six in the evening Napoleon and Marie Louise arrived at
+Saint Cloud, where were assembled in full dress the marshals, the
+cardinals, the great dignitaries of the Empire, the senators and the
+state councillors. At the palace there was a family dinner, and after
+it the ladies of the Palace of the Italian Crown, Countesses Porro,
+Visconti, Thiene, Trivulci, and Mesdames Gonfalonieri, Trotti, de Rava,
+Fe, Mocenigo, Montecuculli, were presented by the Italian maid-of-honor,
+the Duchess Litta, and they all took the oath of allegiance. The civil
+marriage was appointed for the next day, April 1, at Saint Cloud, and
+the religious ceremony for the next but one, April 2, in the _Salon
+Carré_ of the Louvre, between the long gallery of the Museum and the
+Apollo Gallery. The formal entry of the Emperor and Empress into their
+capital on the day of the religious marriage was to be an occasion
+of great pomp. Strangers had gathered from all quarters of Europe to
+witness this impressive sight, and as much as six hundred francs was
+paid for the smallest room from which the passage of the Imperial
+procession could be seen. Never, perhaps, in France or anywhere else,
+had any ceremony excited so much curiosity. The Royalists themselves
+had come to believe that Napoleon, the miraculous being, had forever
+fastened fortune to his triumphal chariot. There was a truce to
+recriminations. For a moment the caustic wit of the Parisians turned
+into profound admiration. The great conqueror, in light of his
+apotheosis, was more like a demigod than a man. Every one was eager to
+look upon him and his young Empress.
+
+
+
+
+XII.
+
+
+THE CIVIL WEDDING.
+
+The civil wedding of Napoleon and Marie Louise was celebrated at Saint
+Cloud, Sunday, April 1,1810. At the end of the Apollo Gallery, which was
+adorned with Mignard's frescoes, and still full of reminiscences of the
+great century, had been placed on a platform two armchairs, each under a
+canopy; the one to the right for the Emperor, the other for the Empress.
+Below the platform, and to one side, was a table covered with a costly
+cloth, on which were an inkstand and the civil registers. At two in the
+afternoon the Colonel of the Guard on duty and the high officers of the
+crown of France and Italy went to escort Their Majesties. The procession
+formed and made its way through the Emperor's study, the Princes'
+drawing-room, the throne-room, the Mars room, to the Gallery of Apollo,
+in the following order: ushers, heralds-at-arms, pages, assistants to
+the masters of ceremonies, the masters of ceremonies, the officers of
+the household of the King of Italy, the equerries of the Emperor, his
+aides-de-camp, the two equerries on duty, the aide on duty, the Governor
+of the Palace, the Secretary of State of the Imperial family, the high
+officers of the crown of Italy, the High Chamberlain of France and the
+one of Italy, the Grand Master of Ceremonies and the Chief Equerry of
+Italy, the Princes who were high dignitaries, the Princes of the family,
+the Emperor, the Empress; and behind Their Majesties, the Colonel of the
+Guard on duty, the Chief Marshal of the Palace, the Grand Master of
+the House of Italy, the Grand Almoner of France, the one of Italy, the
+Knight of Honor and the Prince Equerry of the Empress, carrying the
+train of her cloak, the maids-of-honor of France and Italy and the Lady
+of the Bedchamber, the Princesses of the family, the ladies of the
+palace, the maids-of-honor of the Princesses, the officers on duty of
+the households of the Princes and Princesses.
+
+When the procession had reached the Apollo Gallery, the ushers, the
+heralds-at-arms, and the pages drew up in line to the right and left in
+the Mars room, near the door. The officers and high officers of France
+and Italy, the maids-of-honor and the Lady of the Bedchamber took their
+places behind Their Majesties' chairs, in order of rank. The Emperor and
+Empress seated themselves on the throne, the Princes and Princesses on
+the right and left of the platform in the following order and according
+to their family rank: To the right of the Emperor:
+
+  His mother;
+  Prince Louis Napoleon, King of Holland;
+  Prince Jerome Napoleon, King of Westphalia;
+  Prince Borghese, Duke of Guastalla;
+  Prince Joachim Napoleon, King of Naples;
+  Prince Eugene, Viceroy of Italy;
+  The Prince Archchancellor;
+  The Prince Vice-Grand Elector.
+
+On the Empress's left:--
+
+  Princess Julia, Queen of Spain;
+  Princess Hortense, Queen of Holland;
+  Princess Catherine, Queen of Westphalia;
+  Princess Elisa, Grand Duchess of Tuscany;
+  Princess Pauline, Duchess of Guastalla;
+  Princess Caroline, Queen of Naples;
+  The Grand Duke of Würzberg;
+  Princess Augusta, Vice-Queen of Italy;
+  Princess Stéphanie, Hereditary Grand Duchess of Baden;
+  The Hereditary Grand Duke of Baden;
+  The Prince Archtreasurer;
+  The Prince Vice-Constable.
+
+As soon as the Emperor was seated, the Prince Archchancellor of the
+Empire, followed by the Secretary of State of the Imperial family,
+approached the throne, bowed low, and said: "In the name of the Emperor
+(at those words Their Majesties rose), Sire, does Your Imperial and
+Royal Majesty declare that he takes in marriage Her Imperial and Royal
+Highness Marie Louise, Archduchess of Austria, here present?" Napoleon
+replied: "I declare that I take in marriage Her Imperial and Royal
+Highness Marie Louise, Archduchess of Austria, here present." The same
+question was then put to Marie Louise in these terms: "Does Her Imperial
+Highness Marie Louise, Archduchess of Austria, declare that she takes in
+marriage His Majesty the Emperor and King, Napoleon, here present?" She
+answered: "I declare that I take in marriage His Majesty the Emperor
+and King, Napoleon, here present." Then the Archchancellor, Prince
+Cambacérčs, announced the marriage in these words: "In the name of the
+Emperor and of the Law, I declare that His Imperial and Royal Majesty
+Napoleon, Emperor of the French and King of Rome, and Her Imperial and
+Royal Highness, the Archduchess Marie Louise, are united in marriage."
+At the same instant the ceremony was proclaimed by salvos of artillery
+fired at Saint Cloud and repeated in Paris by the cannon of the
+Invalides. Napoleon must have felt a thrill of pride at this moment.
+The Apollo Gallery, where the rite was celebrated, was full of pleasant
+memories; there it was that the Ancients were sitting on that eventful
+19th Brumaire when the foundations of his vast power were laid, and
+there it was that he had uttered that ringing sentence, "Remember that I
+march in the company of the God of Fortune and the God of War." There it
+was that, May 18, 1804, he had said to the Senators who came to proclaim
+the Empire: "I accept the title which you deem of service to the
+nation's glory. I hope that France will never repent the honors with
+which it loads my family." And in this same gallery he was marrying in
+triumph the daughter of the Germanic Cćsars. The Palace of Saint Cloud
+brought him good luck. And yet it was from this palace that he set out
+two years later on the disastrous Russian campaign; and from there his
+successor, sixty years later, started for a still more ruinous war. And
+as for this Palace of Saint Cloud, so brilliant and radiant, what was
+to become of it? But in 1810 no one could have felt such fears for the
+future.
+
+The marriage proclaimed, the document had to be signed. The Secretary of
+State of the Imperial family presented the pen to the Emperor and then
+to the Empress, who signed (without leaving their places or rising) on
+a table brought up before the throne. The Princes and Princesses then
+walked up to the table, and after bowing to Their Majesties, signed
+in the order fixed by the order of ceremonies. When, finally, the
+Archchancellor and the Secretary had affixed their signatures, the
+procession, in the same order as before, reconducted Their Majesties to
+the Empress's apartments.
+
+Possibly only one thing gave Napoleon a vague uneasiness: fourteen of
+the Italian cardinals had approved as regular and satisfactory the
+judgment of the officials of Paris concerning the invalidity of the
+religious marriage with Josephine; while thirteen others, among whom
+was Consalvi, thought that the Pope alone was competent to decide
+so important a matter. The rumor had spread that these thirteen
+recalcitrant cardinals would not be present at the nuptial benediction
+to be given to Napoleon and Marie Louise the next day in the _Salon
+Carré_ of the Louvre. But Napoleon in his wrath had exclaimed, "Bah!
+they will never dare to stay away!"
+
+That evening after dinner Their Majesties went into the family
+drawing-room. The company that was to accompany them to the play
+assembled in the neighboring rooms. The orange-house, which had been
+converted into a court theatre, was illuminated. The piece to be given
+was _Iphigenia in Aulis_, one of the favorite operas of the unhappy
+Marie Antoinette, the new Empress's great-aunt. The choice of this piece
+seemed an unhappy one; for Iphigenia recalled the idea of a sacrifice,
+and the aristocracy of Europe thought that Marie Louise had been
+sacrificed. General de Ségur, in spite of his admiration for the
+Imperial glories, says in his Memoirs: "The feeling that prevailed in
+Paris, along with the general curiosity, was surprise at the presence of
+a princess ascending a throne reared so near the scaffold stained with
+the blood of one of her near relatives. This cruel memory offended
+the feeling of propriety peculiar to the French and especially to the
+Parisians. They were insensibly pained by this reminder which made too
+evident the sacrifice extorted from Austria, and they felt that their
+victory had been carried too far. They condemned the imitation of Louis
+XVI., whose sad fate was attributed to a similar selection." But the
+fickle crowd which assembled, eager for pleasure in the park of Saint
+Cloud, made no such reflections. "The illumination of the park," says
+the _Moniteur_, "had been arranged with infinite art; the fountains
+were rendered more brilliant by the lights which were thrown upon the
+cascades. The great waterfall especially produced a magical effect.
+Poets, in their description of enchanted gardens, have given but a
+feeble idea of such an appearance and of such an effect of light.
+Throughout the park sports of all kinds had been prepared. An immense
+crowd, from Paris and the suburbs, took part in the festival, which was
+most gay and animated. The arrangements were novel and far exceeded
+general expectations."
+
+At Saint Cloud, Sunday, April 1, 1810, when the civil marriage was
+celebrated, the weather was pleasant, while in Paris the streets were
+flooded by a heavy rain. The next day, that of the religious marriage,
+it rained at Saint Cloud, but the weather in Paris was magnificent, so
+that nothing was lost of the magnificence of the procession or of the
+brilliancy of the illuminations. The Emperor's good fortune, it
+was said, had twice triumphed over the equinoctial storms. In the
+ever-flattering _Moniteur_ it was said: "April 2 had been chosen for
+Their Majesties' entrance into the capital and the wedding rites. One
+strange circumstance aroused universal attention and called forth much
+favorable comment. A tempest had raged almost all of the previous
+night.... It was hence natural to suppose that all the preparations
+which for a month had excited general interest would have to be kept
+until a more favorable day; but such was not the case, and what has
+often happened occurred once more. The agreeable temperature which
+the sunshine produced was the more remarkable because it lasted only
+while the festivities were going on, beginning and ending with them, and
+never was one more strongly reminded of the two familiar lines of
+Virgil when, recalling the tempest in the night and the calm of the day
+appointed for a great entertainment, he represents the heavens under the
+divided control of Augustus and Jupiter:--
+
+  "'Nocte pluit totâ, redeunt spectacula mane,
+  Divisum imperium cum Jove Cćsar habet.'"
+
+
+
+XIII.
+
+
+THE ENTRANCE INTO PARIS.
+
+Monday, April 2, 1810, as soon as day began to break, Paris and all the
+country round about set forth towards the Saint Cloud road. From
+eight in the morning the windows were filled with women. Everywhere
+scaffolding had been put up; fences, roofs, and trees were crowded with
+numberless spectators. At the base of the side openings of the great
+Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile, steps had been set in the form of an
+amphitheatre, where a great many persons had taken their place by
+invitation of the Prefect of the Seine. Of the arch itself, which was to
+be built in stone, only the bases had been built to a height of about
+twenty feet, but the rest of the structure was raised in canvas over
+a framework for the Emperor's formal entry into Paris. The speed with
+which the work had been done seemed magical; nearly five thousand
+laborers had been employed, and the temporary structure, imitating the
+real one, had been finished in less than twenty days. At the summit was
+this inscription: "To Napoleon and Marie Louise, the city of Paris."
+The top of the arch, where the vaulting started, was decorated with
+bas-reliefs, and with sunk panels in the middle of which were eagles.
+
+There were twelve medallions--six towards Passy, six on the other side;
+namely, the portrait of the Emperor, with this motto, "The happiness of
+the world is in his hands" (the address of the Senate); a laurel with
+many sprouts, and these words, "He has made our glory"; a roaring
+leopard, with this motto, "He laughed at our discords, he weeps at
+our reunion"; the monograms of Napoleon and Marie Louise, with this
+inscription, "We love her through our love for him, we shall love her
+for herself"; a Love placing a wreath of myrtles and roses on the helmet
+of Mars, with this motto, "She will charm the hero's leisure"; the sun
+and a rainbow, and these words, "She announces happy days to the world";
+the Empress's portrait, and this inscription, "To her we owe the
+happiness of the August spouse who has set her so high in his thoughts";
+the figure of the Danube, and this line, "He enriches us with what
+is most precious"; the Austrian coat-of-arms; the monogram of Their
+Majesties, and the motto, "She will be a true mother to the French"; the
+figure of the Seine, motto, "Our love will be grateful for the gift he
+makes to us"; and last, the French coat-of-arms.
+
+The six bas-reliefs represented the following subjects: Legislation--the
+Emperor in his robes, seated upon the throne, points towards the tables
+on which is inscribed the Code, while Innocence, in the form of a
+young maiden, is sleeping at the foot of the Imperial throne; National
+Industry--merchants presenting to the Emperor various products from
+their warehouses; the Arrival of the Empress in Paris; the Decorations
+of the Capital; the Emperor's Clemency--Napoleon seated, with his hand
+on his sword, is crowned by Victory, while he generously pardons his
+vanquished enemies; union of the Emperor and Empress--Napoleon and Marie
+Louise hand-in-hand, in token of alliance, before an altar placed at the
+foot of the statue of Peace.
+
+The salvos of artillery were heard, announcing the departure of the
+Emperor and Empress from Saint Cloud. At the same moment, as if in
+obedience to the signal, the sun appeared on the horizon, to shine
+all day, and just when the procession reached the Arc de Triomphe, it
+appeared with greater brilliancy. The cavalry of the Imperial Guard
+headed the procession, the lancers in front, then the chasseurs,
+followed by the dragoons, with the bands in advance; the heralds-at-arms
+came next; and after them the carriages, the one containing the Emperor
+drawn by eight horses, the others by six. Napoleon and Marie Louise were
+in the famous coronation coach. Its four sides consisted of four large
+pieces of clear glass, set in slender, gilded and wrought corner-posts,
+giving as unimpeded view of those within as if the coach was open.
+The Emperor was to be seen in his cloak of red and white velvet; the
+Empress, in court dress and wearing the crown diamonds. The top of this
+magnificent coach consisted of a sort of golden dome, upheld by four
+eagles with outspread wings, and surmounted by a huge crown. The
+Marshals of France and the colonels in command of the Guard rode on each
+side, near the doors of the carriage, the aides near the horses, the
+equerries near the hind wheels. According to the etiquette prescribed
+for the occasions when the Emperor used this state carriage, as many
+pages as possible got on the footboard and on the seat near the driver.
+
+The procession reached the Arc de Triomphe at one o'clock. Twelve cannon
+had been placed on the high ground near by, twelve others in the garden
+of the Tuileries, on the terrace by the riverside, and their salutes
+were repeated by the cannon of the Invalides. Bands which had been
+stationed along the routes played triumphal marches. All the church
+bells were rung at full peal. The Imperial coach stopped beneath the
+arch, where the Governor of Paris, the Prefect of the Seine, the Prefect
+of the Police, and the twelve mayors received the sovereigns.
+
+Count Frochot, Prefect of the Seine, then pronounced the following
+speech: "Sire, Your Majesty has at last interested himself in his own
+happiness, and has succeeded in this as in all he undertakes. If never
+in the world's annals did any sovereign's marriage have such grandeur,
+never could love and glory better unite their interests or more happily
+inspire Your Majesty. From the shouts of joy which have echoed beneath
+the arches of the monument erected in honor of your triumphs, Your
+Majesty may judge that the wishes of his good city of Paris, that all
+the wishes of his people, are satisfied. And it is not in the vast
+extent of your empire alone that this joy prevails; Sire, a whole
+continent celebrates with equal delight the alliance made by the
+greatest of its monarchs, and a hundred different nations bless in
+unison these August bonds, secretly woven by Providence, these bonds,
+so dear to our hearts, since they give us at once a pledge of Your
+Majesty's happiness, and of the fairest hopes of the country."
+
+Then turning to the Empress, the Prefect went on: "You, Madame, will
+realize this double hope; and, seated on the first throne of the
+universe, you will adorn it for the prince; you will thus make it dearer
+to his subjects; you will ensure its durability for posterity. The mere
+presence, Madame, of Your Majesty, reveals to every eye the precious
+gifts of the Providence who called you to this throne. No longer, in
+order to admire you, are we forced to content ourself with the report of
+fame, and already are verified those words of your immortal spouse, that
+loved first on his account, you will soon be loved for yourself. May it
+be permitted, Madame, to apply these words to the city of Paris! May you
+honor it at first with your good-will, and soon love for itself this
+great part of the immense family of Frenchmen, which on this solemn day
+proudly attaches itself to Your Majesty's destiny by all the ties of
+its allegiance, its respect, and its love!"
+
+The Empress replied that she loved the city of Paris because she knew
+how attached were its inhabitants to the Emperor. Young girls, clad in
+white, offered her baskets of flowers, which she accepted graciously,
+and the procession moved on.
+
+Then Marie Louise, after passing between a double line of picked troops
+before an enthusiastic crowd, through the brilliant avenue of the Champs
+Élysées, reaches the fatal Place at its further end. Could all the roar
+of artillery, the peals of church bells, the music, so far distract the
+young Empress as to make her forget that here for two years stood the
+hideous guillotine, on which more than fifteen hundred people were
+murdered? Could all the happy cheers drive from her thoughts that
+beating of the drums which drowned the voice of Louis XVI. at the moment
+when that descendant of Saint Louis essayed to speak a few last words
+to his people? The place was full of horrid memories, haunted by gloomy
+ghosts. But sixteen years before, cattle would not traverse it, repelled
+by the smell of blood. The terraces of the Tuileries were crowded, and,
+as the _Moniteur_ put it, the stone images of fame above the garden
+gates seemed ready to fly away to proclaim the glories of that great
+day. Well, sixteen years and a half before, the same terraces were quite
+as densely crowded. Yes, a huge throng gathered in the cool, foggy
+morning of October 16, 1793, to get a good view of the death of a woman
+whose grand-niece this new Empress was in two ways: on the father's
+side by her father, the son of Emperor Leopold II.; and again, on the
+maternal side, through her mother, the daughter of Marie Caroline, Queen
+of Naples. Yes, on the very spot over which the Imperial procession
+passed with so much pomp, in front of the gateway of the Tuileries,
+thirty metres from the middle of the Place, where stood the base on
+which had been set first the equestrian statue of Louis XIV. and then
+the statue of Liberty, there had been raised, sixteen and a half years
+before, the scaffold of Marie Antoinette. Could that gorgeous state
+carriage drive from her mind the memory of the martyred queen's tumbrel?
+And when Marie Louise first saw the Tuileries, must she not have thought
+of the last glance which that queen, her near relation, cast on that
+fateful palace before she bowed her August and charming head upon the
+block? All the flattery and homage of courtiers, the hymns of poets,
+the marriage songs, the whole chorus of adulation, cannot drown the
+inexorable lamentations of the voice of history!
+
+
+XIV.
+
+
+THE RELIGIOUS CEREMONY.
+
+The procession reached the entrance of the Tuileries gardens, passed
+beneath a triumphal arch, wound around the basin of water, by the side
+of the flower-beds, which the crowd had respected, and drew near to
+the palace walls. The central pavilion had been decorated with a large
+orchestra, divided by a passage leading to the vestibule. In the middle
+of the orchestra was an arch, on top of which was set a tribune in the
+shape of a tent. On all the bas-reliefs the panels and other ornaments
+were initials surrounded with flowers and various emblems and
+allegories. The carriages passed under this arch; the Emperor and
+Empress alighted in the vestibule and ascended the grand staircase.
+Marie Louise entered the bedroom of the grand apartment by the great
+door, which was thrown wide open. The maids-of-honor of France and
+Italy, as well as the ladies of the bedchamber, were shown thither from
+the throne-room through the dressing-room. They removed the Empress's
+court cloak, and put on her the Imperial cloak. Meanwhile the procession
+was forming again in the Gallery of Diana, and as soon as Their
+Majesties had arrived, it started again, entered the long Gallery of the
+Louvre, passing through its entire length, to the _Salon Carré_, which
+had been turned into a chapel for the religious ceremony.
+
+This magnificent gallery presented a fine appearance, divided, as it is,
+into nine unequal compartments by arches rising from columns of rare
+marble with gilded bases and capitals. It is the famous gallery in which
+are gathered the finest pictures of the masters of every school. The
+invited guests had been gathering there since ten o'clock. They ascended
+thither by two staircases, one leading from the quay, the other from the
+Place du Carrousel to the central pavilion. The Imperial party alone was
+to enter by the door of the Pavilion of Flora. Two rows of benches had
+been placed the whole length of the gallery for the ladies, and two rows
+of men were to stand behind them, so that there was room for about eight
+thousand persons without crowding. Bars had been placed in front of
+the first line of benches to leave an unencumbered passage-way for the
+Emperor and Empress. Thanks to the exertions of the officers of the
+Imperial Guard, who discharged their duty with perfect courtesy, four
+thousand women, in their most brilliant dresses, without trouble,
+without confusion, and as many men, all chosen from the highest society,
+took their places when the procession was to pass. They had to wait not
+less than five hours, but the order was so good that every one could
+easily leave and resume his place. The gallery was turned with a
+magnificent promenade in which Paris was treated to a display of the
+elegance and luxury of its leading men and most fashionable women.
+Refreshments of various kinds were handed about while orchestras played
+marches or pieces composed by Paër, the famous leader of the Emperor's
+music. The waiting was thus a long entertainment. At three in the
+afternoon the whole company was standing in place; the doors of the
+Pavilion of Flora opened, and the heralds-at-arms appeared, followed
+by the Imperial procession. The spectacle is thus described by the
+_Moniteur_ with its accustomed enthusiasm:--
+
+"The sound of the music was drowned in the roar of applause which rang
+through all parts of the gallery. At times the applause ceased, when the
+spectators silently regarded the Emperor and the Empress. This silence
+was eloquent; it was a respectful homage that attested the solemn
+thoughts which the spectacle evoked, and the deep impressions it made on
+every soul; this keen emotion, this silent expression of an irresistible
+feeling, gave way to heartfelt enthusiasm, to cries of joy, to
+transports of delight. Their Majesties acknowledged this enthusiasm
+most courteously as they passed through this long and brilliant gallery
+leading to the chapel, which was a sort of nave of the temple where
+their August union was to be consecrated anew."
+
+The chapel was the _Salon Carré_, which lies between the
+picture-gallery and the Apollo gallery. Two rows of seats had been
+placed all around it. The altar, which was placed in front of the
+picture-gallery had been adorned with a large bas-relief and many rich
+ornaments. The six candelabra and the crucifix were masterpieces. Thirty
+feet from the altar, on a platform, and beneath a canopy, were the two
+armchairs and the prayer desks of the Emperor and the Empress. Near the
+altar, on two chandeliers, had been placed the two candles designed for
+offerings; in each one had been set twenty pieces of gold. The Cardinal,
+Grand Almoner of France, assisted by the Grand Almoner of Italy, went
+to receive the sovereigns at the door, and to offer them holy water and
+incense. Their Majesties then took their places on the platform, the
+Empress on the Emperor's left. The rest of the procession arranged
+themselves in the following order: on the Emperor's right, below
+the platform, Prince Louis Napoleon, King of Holland; Prince Jerome
+Napoleon, King of Westphalia; Prince Borghese, Duke of Guastalla; Prince
+Joachim Murat, King of Naples; Prince Eugene de Beauharnais, Viceroy of
+Italy; the Hereditary Grand Duke of Baden; the Prince Arch-chancellor
+Cambacérčs; the Prince Archtreasurer Lebrun; the Prince Vice-Constable
+Berthier; the Prince Vice-Grand Elector Talleyrand;--on the Empress's
+left, below the platform, Napoleon's mother; Princess Julia, Queen of
+Spain; Princess Hortense, Queen of Holland; Princess Catherine, Queen of
+Westphalia; Princess Elisa, Grand Duchess of Tuscany; Princess Pauline,
+Duchess of Guastalla; Princess Caroline, Queen of Naples; the Grand
+Duke of Würzburg; the Princess Augusta, Vice-Queen of Italy; Princess
+Stéphanie, Hereditary Grand Duchess of Baden. The Colonel commanding
+the Guard on duty, the Grand Marshal, the High Chamberlain, the First
+Equerry, the First Almoner of the Emperor, the high officers of Italy,
+the French Maid-of-Honor, the Italian Maid-of-Honor, the Lady of the
+Bedchamber, the Knight-of-Honor, the First Equerry and the First Almoner
+of the Empress, stationed themselves behind Their Majesties' chairs.
+
+On his way through the gallery Napoleon seemed perfectly radiant with
+joy, but suddenly his face clouded. "Where are the cardinals?" he asked,
+in a tone of annoyance, of his chaplain, the Abbé de Pradt; "I don't
+see them." He saw them very well, but he noticed that they were not
+all there. "A great many of them are here," timidly replied the Abbé;
+"besides, many of them are old and feeble." "No, they are not there,"
+the Emperor repeated, casting his eye on some empty benches. "Fools!
+fools!" he said angrily, his face growing darker. It was true! The
+thirteen cardinals who had declared that they would not come, had had
+the singular audacity to keep their word. What! they had dared to
+persist in a factious opposition which he, the Emperor, had defied them
+to exhibit! They had dared to brave him, to offer him a public insult!
+They were to receive one in their turn. They did not want to be present
+at the marriage; very well, he would expel them in disgrace from his
+court on the very next day!
+
+Nevertheless, the ceremony began, but the Emperor was absorbed, and
+found it difficult to forget the sudden annoyance. The Grand Almoner,
+after a deep bow to Their Majesties, intoned the _Veni Creator_, and
+then proceeded to bless the thirteen pieces of gold and the ring.
+Napoleon and Marie Louise arose, advanced to the altar, and clasped
+their bared right hands. The priest then addressed the Emperor, "Sire,
+do you acknowledge and swear before God and His Holy Church that you now
+take for your lawful wife Her Imperial and Royal Highness, Madame Marie
+Louise, Archduchess of Austria, here present?" Napoleon answered, "Yes,
+sir." Then turning to the Empress, "Madame, do you acknowledge and swear
+before God and His Holy Church that you now take for your lawful husband
+the Emperor Napoleon here present?" "Yes, sir." "Do you promise and
+swear to show to him the fidelity in all things which a faithful wife
+owes to her husband, according to God's holy commandment?" "Yes, sir."
+The priest then gave the Emperor the pieces of gold and the ring; he
+presented the pieces of gold to the Empress and placed the ring on her
+finger, saying, "This ring I give unto you in token of the marriage we
+are contracting." The priest made the sign of the cross upon the hand
+of the Empress, and said, "_In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus
+Sancti, Amen_." Then mass was said. After the Gospel the First Bishop
+carried the holy volume to Their Majesties to kiss, and waved incense
+before them. After the benediction, the Grand Almoner offered them holy
+water, and gave them the corporal kiss; then he turned towards the altar
+and intoned the _Te Deum_, which was sung by the chapel choir, producing
+a deep impression.
+
+The procession formed anew after the ceremony, and retraced its steps.
+The Emperor gave the Empress his hand, and it was observed with surprise
+that in passing through the long gallery, his face, which had been so
+triumphant and joyous, no longer wore the same expression. Could
+the absence of the thirteen cardinals have been enough to mar
+this magnificent ceremony? The procession after leaving the long
+picture-gallery reached the Gallery of Diana by the Pavilion of Flora,
+and then it stopped. The sovereigns and the Imperial family entered
+the Emperor's drawing-room, which opened on this gallery. Marie Louise
+withdrew to her own room. The maid-of-honor and the Lady of the
+Bedchamber removed her Imperial cloak and the crown, to give them to the
+Chamberlain, who had carried them in ceremony to Notre Dame. Then Their
+Majesties appeared on the balcony of the Hall of the Marshals and
+watched the infantry and cavalry of the Imperial Guard march by.
+Officers and men waved their weapons, and filled the air with their loud
+cheers, which were repeated by an enthusiastic multitude. The Imperial
+dinner took place at seven in the theatre of the Tuileries. The stage
+had been decorated like the rest of the hall, so that instead of
+being separate divisions, there was but one huge, unbroken room. The
+decoration consisted of two cupolas upheld by double arches with the
+intermediate vaults adorned with columns. One of the two parallel
+divisions contained the table destined for the Imperial banquet, which
+stood on a platform beneath a magnificent canopy. As soon as the dinner
+was ready, the Grand Chamberlain offered the Emperor a basin in which to
+wash his hands. The First Equerry offered him a chair. The Grand Marshal
+of the Palace gave him a napkin. The First Prefect, the First Equerry,
+and the First Chamberlain of the Empress had similar duties. The Grand
+Almoner stood up by the table, asked a blessing, and withdrew. During
+the repast the Grand Marshal of the Palace offered the Emperor wine. It
+was an imposing sight. According to the _Moniteur:_ "Here again it is
+impossible to do justice to the extraordinary magnificence of this
+imposing occasion. Pen and pencil can describe but faintly the majestic
+order, the admirable regularity, the blaze of diamonds, the beauty of a
+brilliant illumination, the gorgeous dresses, and above all the noble
+ease, the indefinable grace, and perfect elegance which have always
+characterized the court of France."
+
+After the banquet Napoleon and Marie Louise went to the Hall of the
+Marshals and appeared on the balcony. A vast crowd had gathered in the
+garden, under the walls of the palace, around the amphitheatre which
+had been built for the public concert. They greeted the sovereigns with
+repeated calls and cheers. The following cantata was given, with words
+by Arnault and Méhul's music:--
+
+  WOMEN.
+
+  "Mars himself has yielded the earth
+  To the only god peace cannot disarm.
+  Beneath serener skies see all revive,
+  All grow tender, all take fire.
+  On the oak, beneath the heather,
+  See, yielding to the call of love,
+  The proud eagle itself forgetting his thunder.
+
+  MEN.
+
+  "See the many warriors mingling with the citizens,
+  Hiding their old laurels beneath the new myrtles,
+  For the first time forgetful of their conquests.
+  See the Frenchman, see the German,
+  Clasping each other's hand
+  And inviting you to the same festivals.
+
+  MEN AND WOMEN.
+
+  "Hear the voice resounding
+  From the banks of the Danube to the banks of the Seine;
+  Hear the voice that promises
+  A long reign to the happiness which this day brings."
+
+Then was given the chorus from _Iphigenia:_ "What grace, what majesty!"
+a chorus which Glück, said the _Moniteur_, "could not have made more
+beautiful, even if he had foreseen this occasion." Alas! the
+same thing had been said, in the same words, for the unhappy Marie
+Antoinette; but away with these gloomy presentiments! After the concert
+the discharge of a rocket from the palace gave the signal for the
+fireworks. These had been arranged for the whole length of the Avenue of
+the Champs Élysées. The illumination brought out the impressiveness of
+the vast architectural lines of the Tuileries. The main avenues of the
+gardens were richly decorated; around the flower-beds were one hundred
+and twenty-eight porticoes and twenty-eight arches from which hung
+transparencies and garlands; and at the entrance of this enchanted
+garden there was a graceful triumphal arch with twenty-four columns
+and eight pilasters illuminated with colored lanterns. The Place de
+la Concorde was surrounded by pyramids of fire and lights arranged to
+resemble orange-trees; the Champs Élysées, the Garde Meuble, the Temple
+of Glory, the Tuileries, the Palace of the Corps Législatif, were all
+ablaze. This last-named building, with a hastily constructed front to
+show how it was to be finished, represented on that occasion the Temple
+of Hymen. A transparency represented in front Peace blessing the August
+couple; on each side were genii carrying bucklers on which were to be
+seen the arms of the two Empires. Behind this group were magistrates,
+soldiers, and people, offering crowns, and at the ends of the
+transparency, the Seine and the Danube, surrounded with children, in
+token of fecundity. The twelve columns in front, the steps, the
+stone statues of Sully, of l'Hôpital, of Colbert, of d'Aguesseau, as
+well as those of Themis and Minerva, were most brilliant. The bridge
+Louis XV., leading from the Place de la Concorde to the Temple of Hymen,
+resembled a triumphal avenue with its double row of lights, its colored
+glass, its obelisks, its hundreds of blazing columns, each one topped
+by a star. The calmness of a lovely spring night was favorable to the
+illuminations; all Paris seemed a sea of flame with waves of fire.
+
+The festival continued till late into the night. "All the happy
+families," says the _Moniteur_, "returned to their peaceful homes after
+a long absence. Every one had had the happiness of gazing at the Emperor
+and his August spouse, and all could feel that they too had been seen of
+them, so thoroughly did the feeling of the benevolence and affability
+with which their homage had been received by Their Majesties, repay
+the most enthusiastic testimonials of love and gratitude which a great
+nation has ever been able to present to its rulers."
+
+Tuesday, April 3, was the day for the presentation at the Tuileries to
+the Emperor and Empress, seated on their throne, of the great bodies of
+the State. The Emperor replied to the address of the Senate in these
+words, "I and the Empress merit the sentiments which you express by the
+love we nourish for our people." The President of the deputation from
+the Kingdom of Italy spoke in Italian. "Our people of Italy,"
+replied the Emperor, "know how much we love them. As soon as possible,
+I and the Empress wish to go to our good cities of Milan, Venice, and
+Bologna, to give new pledges of our love for our Italian people."
+
+The thirteen Italian cardinals who were unwilling to be present at the
+wedding the day before were in the Hall of the Marshals, where, amid a
+throng of prelates, officers, functionaries, and court ladies, they were
+waiting for the moment to pass before their formidable master. They
+had been there for three hours, in great anxiety, when aides appeared,
+bidding them depart at once, the Emperor being unwilling to receive
+them. Much disconcerted, they made their way with difficulty through the
+crowd to their carriages. When the other cardinals, who had been present
+at the wedding, presented themselves in the throne-room, Napoleon stood
+up and violently denounced their expelled colleagues. Cardinal Consalvi,
+formerly Secretary of State to Pius VII., was especially attacked.
+"The others," he said, "may perhaps be excused on the score of their
+theological prejudices, but he has offended me from political motives.
+He is my enemy, and he seeks to revenge himself for my driving him from
+the ministry. That is why he has made this deep plot against me, raising
+against my dynasty a pretext of illegitimacy, a pretext which my enemies
+will be sure to lay hold of when my death shall have freed them from
+the fear that restrains them to-day." It was in vain that the offending
+thirteen cardinals wrote together an apologetic letter in which they
+said that they had never wished to judge the validity of the Emperor's
+first marriage or to throw any doubts on the lawfulness of the second.
+Napoleon remained implacable. He turned them out of their office,
+stripped them of their cardinals' robes, bade them resume their attire
+as simple priests, so that afterwards they were known as the black
+cardinals, in distinction from the others, the red cardinals. He
+deprived them of all their estates, ecclesiastic or inherited, and
+placed them under sequestration. He made them live in bands of two, in
+various cities of France, dependent on the charity of the faithful.
+The contest with the Pope began: but the Pope, though defeated in the
+beginning, was to conquer in the end, and the persecutor of one day was
+himself persecuted the next. The captive of Savona and of Fontainebleau
+was to re-enter the eternal city in triumph, and the all-powerful
+Emperor, the Pope's jailer, was to die, a prisoner of the English, on
+the rock of Saint Helena.
+
+
+
+
+XV.
+
+
+THE HONEYMOON.
+
+Napoleon was happy; his new wife pleased him; he found that she was what
+he had wanted her to be,--gentle, kindly, timid, modest. It seemed sure
+that she would bring him heirs. Being neither ambitious nor prone to
+intrigue, she did not meddle with politics. She was religious, moral,
+and her principles were most sound. She would never oppose her husband,
+whose slightest wish she regarded as a command. She would appease his
+few stubborn foes of the French aristocracy, and put a stop to the last
+surviving backbiting of the Faubourg Saint Germain. As a bond of union
+between the past and the present, she brought not to France alone, but
+to all Europe, stability and repose, and rendered the foundations of the
+Imperial edifice firm and indestructible. The Emperor's marriage seemed
+his greatest triumph. For her part, Marie Louise was pleased with her
+new throne. Surrounded as she was by a chosen society, having in her
+service the proudest names of the French, the Belgian, the Italian
+nobility; flattered by the attention of a court in which elegance,
+wit, politeness, followed all the most brilliant traditions of the old
+régime, the daughter of the German Cćsars could not imagine that France,
+with its tranquillity, its profound respect, its affection for the
+monarchy, in which she was treated more like a goddess than a sovereign,
+had, a few years earlier, been governed by the Jacobins.
+
+Marie Louise found more luxury and pleasure at the Tuileries and at
+Compičgne than at the Burg or at Schoenbrunn. Modest as she was, the
+ingenious flattery, the delicate homage, she received from all quarters
+could not fail to affect her. The sympathy with which her maid-of-honor,
+the Duchess of Montebello, inspired her, soon grew into a warm and firm
+friendship.
+
+Napoleon had particular regard for his young wife, and in his love there
+was a shade of fatherly protection. He was not yet forty-one. Success
+and glory had given to his mature face a greater beauty than it had worn
+in his youth. His manners, formerly harsh and almost violent, had become
+much softer. To the Republican general had succeeded a majestic monarch
+familiar with all the usages of courts, all the laws of etiquette,
+maintaining his rank like a Louis XIV., and playing his royal part with
+the ease and dignity of a great actor. Successful in everything he
+undertook, never exposed to contradiction, surrounded by people whose
+most anxious desire was to forestall his wishes, to anticipate his
+commands, he seldom had occasion to give way to the outbursts of anger,
+sometimes real, oftener assumed, in which he formerly indulged. He
+liked to talk, and his conversation was easy and witty, and full of an
+irresistible charm. His dress, which in old times he neglected, became
+elegant. His expression and voice acquired gentleness and an almost
+caressing quality. Not only did he try to fascinate the young and
+handsome Empress, he spared no pains to please her. Being much honored
+and flattered in his vanity as a Corsican gentleman,--for this man of
+Vendémiaire, the saviour of the Convention, always had a weakness for
+coats-of-arms and for titles,--he was proud as well as happy in having
+for his wife a woman belonging to so old and illustrious a race; and
+this sensation of gratified pride inspired an equability of temper, a
+serenity, a gayety, which delighted his courtiers, who were glad to see
+his happiness, for they enjoyed its agreeable results. It was in this
+spirit that Napoleon and Marie Louise started, April 5, 1810, from Saint
+Cloud for Compičgne, whence they set forth on the 27th for a triumphal
+progress in the departments of the North.
+
+In short, this wedded life began under the happiest auspices. At Vienna,
+the Emperor Francis was perfectly satisfied. Count Otto, the French
+Ambassador, wrote to the Duke of Cadore, March 31, 1810, as follows:
+"The events of the 29th were celebrated here yesterday by a general
+illumination, and by a grand court levee where His Majesty received
+again the congratulations of the Diplomatic Body, the nobility, and of
+many foreigners. The Emperor seemed thoroughly contented; he spoke to
+me very warmly of his satisfaction, which is shared by all his subjects
+with but few exceptions. Both when I came in and when I was leaving, he
+spoke to me in the most gracious manner possible, and especially
+about the incomparable benefit His Majesty had rendered to European
+civilization by restoring France to its real basis. He praised our army,
+and added that he would do what he could to aid those of our soldiers
+who still remained in the hospitals here. 'Henceforth,' the Emperor
+continued, 'we have but one and the same interest, to work together for
+the peace of Europe and the furtherance of the arts of use for society.
+Everything can be made good, except the loss of so many excellent men
+killed or maimed in the last war.' His Majesty's example in addressing
+me before any one else was followed by his brother."
+
+The Emperor Francis was very happy to learn that his daughter was
+pleased with Napoleon and the French. The French Ambassador wrote from
+Vienna to the Duke of Cadore, April 8, 1810: "The letters which the
+Emperor and Empress of Austria have received from Their Majesties have
+given them the greatest satisfaction, and especially those brought two
+evenings ago by the Count of Praslin. The Emperor was moved by them to
+tears. This sentence, 'We suit each other perfectly,' made the deepest
+impression, as well as two letters from Her Majesty the Empress, written
+in German, in which, among other things, she said, 'I am as happy as it
+is possible to be; my father's words have come true, I find the Emperor
+very lovable.' Prince Metternich wept for joy when he gave me these
+details, and put his arms round my neck and kissed me. The court is
+perfectly happy since it has heard of this meeting, and of the affection
+and confidence each has felt for the other."
+
+Count Metternich sent to the Emperor Francis the minutest details about
+the magnificent way in which the marriage was celebrated, and the French
+Ambassador thus described that monarch's satisfaction: "The Emperor
+of Austria received to-day from Count Metternich most circumstantial
+accounts of what took place in Paris, April 5, and he expressed to me
+his great delight. The unprecedented honors paid to his daughter did not
+touch him so much as the delicacy displayed by His Majesty the Emperor
+Napoleon. I am especially bidden to convey to Your Excellency the
+expression of his gratitude for the consideration His Majesty showed in
+relieving the Empress of the ceremony of the first interview. By urging
+Her Majesty to talk freely with Count Metternich, the Emperor has also
+delighted his August father-in-law, who thoroughly appreciates his noble
+conduct. The Empress said that on this occasion she received from
+the Emperor not only the most delicate consideration, but also the
+attentions and instructions of an affectionate father. That report
+called forth many happy tears, and I cannot too strongly express to Your
+Excellency the happiness that exists here, and the desire that it should
+be known in Paris.... The Emperor of Austria is much flattered by
+the marked distinction with which his Minister of Foreign Affairs
+[Metternich] is treated in Paris, and he certainly seems to deserve it
+by his unflagging zeal and his unbounded devotion to the principles of
+the alliance." (Count Otto's despatch of April 15, 1810.)
+
+The famous Prince Metternich, who was then only a count, and had left
+his father the Prince in charge of the ministry in Vienna, had intended
+to stay only four weeks in Paris, but he was detained there nearly six
+months. "I went thither," he states in his Memoirs, "not to study the
+past, but to try to forecast the future, and I was anxious to succeed
+speedily. I said one day to the Emperor Napoleon that my stay in Paris
+could not be a long one. 'Your Majesty,' I said to him, 'had me carried
+to Austria, almost like a prisoner; now I have come back to Paris of my
+own free will, but with great duties to perform. To-day I am recalled to
+Vienna and entrusted with an immense responsibility. The Emperor Francis
+wanted me to be present at his daughter's entry into France; I have
+obeyed his orders; but I tell you frankly, Sire, that I have a loftier
+ambition. I am anxious to find the line to follow in politics in a
+remote future.' 'I understand you,' the Emperor replied; 'your wishes
+coincide with mine. Remain with us a few weeks longer, and you will be
+perfectly satisfied.'"
+
+Metternich held a privileged position at the French court; for he was
+very amiable and charming, a perfect man of the world, an accomplished
+diplomatist, and thoroughly familiar with France and the French,
+moreover, very intimate with Napoleon and the whole Imperial family.
+"Napoleon asked me one day," he says in his Memoirs, "why I never went
+to see the Empress Marie Louise except on reception days and other more
+or less formal occasions. I answered that I had no reason for doing
+otherwise, and indeed had many good reasons for doing as I had done."
+
+"By breaking the customary rule," Metternich continued, "I should arouse
+comment; people would say that I was intriguing; I should do harm to the
+Empress and injustice to my own character. 'Bah!' interrupted Napoleon,
+'I want you to see the Empress; call on her to-morrow morning; I will
+tell her to expect you.' The next day I went to the Tuileries and found
+the Emperor with the Empress. We were talking commonplaces when Napoleon
+said to me, 'I want the Empress to talk to you freely, and to tell you
+what she thinks of her position; you are her friend, and she ought to
+have no secrets from you.' Therewith Napoleon locked the drawing-room
+door, put the key in his pocket, and went out by another door. I asked
+the Empress what this meant, and she asked me the same question. Since
+I saw that she had not been primed by Napoleon, I conjectured that he
+evidently wished me to receive from her own lips a satisfactory idea
+of her domestic relations, in order to give a favorable account to her
+father, the Emperor, The Empress was of the same opinion. We remained
+closeted together more than an hour. When Napoleon came back, laughing,
+he said, 'Well, have you had a good talk? Has the Empress been abusing
+me? Has she been laughing or crying? But I don't ask you to tell me;
+those things are your secrets, which do not concern any third person,
+not even if that third person is her husband.' We carried on the
+conversation in that vein, and I took my leave. The next day Napoleon
+sought for an opportunity to talk with me. 'What did the Empress say
+yesterday?' he asked. 'You told me,' I replied, 'that our interview did
+not concern any third person; let me keep my secret.' 'The Empress told
+you,' Napoleon interrupted, 'that she is happy with me, that she has
+nothing to complain of. I hope you will tell the Emperor, and that he
+will believe you more than any one else.'"
+
+In fact, Metternich told the Emperor Francis, and he believed
+Metternich. Moreover, he had every reason to believe him; for the
+Empress Marie Louise was then perfectly happy, and no clouds were yet to
+be seen on the sky which was later to be torn by terrible tempests.
+
+We will end this chapter by copying the curious letter which Marie
+Louise's step-mother, the Empress of Austria, wrote to Napoleon, April
+10, 1810, which expresses in a tone almost of familiarity the favorable
+impressions of the Viennese court: "My brother,--I cannot express to
+Your Majesty the feeling of gratitude I have experienced on receiving
+your last letter, which has filled me with joy by the assurance it
+contains of your satisfaction with the being we have confided to you.
+My maternal heart was the more open to this emotion because I had felt
+doubtful about the result. Now, however, that I am reassured by Your
+Majesty, I have no further fear, and I cheerfully share my daughter's
+happiness. She has described it to me with touching sincerity, and is
+never tired of telling me how gratified she is by the many attentions
+she has received since your meeting. Her sole desire is to make Your
+Majesty happy, and I venture to flatter myself that she will succeed;
+for I know her character well, and it is excellent. Louise promises to
+write to me regularly, and this somewhat consoles me for a real loss.
+It is pleasant to be able to keep up one's relations with a person one
+loves, and I am sure that I feel for her the tenderness of a mother, so
+kind has she been to me, treating me like a real friend. Your Majesty
+is good enough to say that your wife has spoken about me. I am not
+surprised; for I know that she, like me, has a very loving heart. But
+with due regard to truth, I cannot leave Your Majesty under any mistake
+with regard to her obligations towards me. From what she says you may
+form a favorable opinion of her candor. If I can boast of anything, it
+is that I have tried to preserve this candor, which may at first have
+made her seem timid, while in fact it renders her only the more worthy
+of Your Majesty's esteem and friendship.
+
+"Some may blame me because my daughter has so few ideas, such a meagre
+education. I acknowledge it; but as to the world and its perils, one
+learns them only too soon, and I will say frankly she was only eighteen,
+and I wanted to preserve her innocence, and cared only that she should
+have a loving heart, an honest nature, and clear ideas about what she
+did know. I have entrusted her to Your Majesty. I beg you, as her
+mother, to be my daughter's friend and guide, as she is your devoted
+wife. She will be happy if Your Majesty will always confidently appeal
+to her; for, I say once more, she is young and too inexperienced to face
+the world's dangers and to fill her position understandingly. But I
+perceive that I am wearying Your Majesty with this long letter. You will
+pardon this outpouring of a mother's heart, which knows no bounds when a
+beloved daughter's happiness is concerned. I must say one thing more.
+Your Majesty sets too high a value on my eagerness to satisfy you by
+letting you have the portrait of my dear Louise. I was too anxious to
+please you as soon as possible, not to be selfish in this matter, but I
+shall certainly thoroughly appreciate the portrait you promise me. It
+will have this advantage, that it will show me how happy she is."
+
+It must be said that seldom has a step-mother spoken of her
+step-daughter in a more tender and more touching way. No letter could
+have better pleased Napoleon; it was not written in official style, with
+all the formal compliments, but rather with affectionate sincerity. When
+he read it, Napoleon must have felt that he had at last really entered
+the brotherhood of kings. Everything she had said of her step-daughter
+was true. The young Empress of the French had a candor, a simplicity, a
+freshness of mind and body, which delighted her husband. Doubtless the
+feeling she inspired was not a fiery, romantic passion such as he had
+felt for his first wife; and Marie Louise, with her northern beauty,
+had not the same charm as Josephine, the bewitching creole. Napoleon
+certainly would not have written to his second wife burning letters, in
+the style of the _Nouvelle Héloise_, such as he sent to Josephine during
+the first Italian campaign. His love for Marie Louise was less fervent,
+but he esteemed her more highly. He thought that the society of the
+Austrian court was after all a better school for a wife than the society
+of the Directory, and he had found in Marie Louise, a girl worthy of all
+regard, one invaluable blessing, one treasure which a widow, charming,
+it is true, but a coquette, lacked; namely, innocence.
+
+
+
+XVI.
+
+THE TRIP IN THE NORTH.
+
+
+"Napoleon and Marie Louise left Compičgne April 27, 1810, at seven
+o'clock in the morning, to make a journey in several of the northern
+departments, which was one long ovation. In their suite were the Grand
+Duke of Würzburg, brother of the Emperor of Austria, the Queen of
+Naples, the King and Queen of Westphalia, Prince Eugene de Beauharnais,
+Prince Schwarzenberg, and Count Metternich. The last-named says in his
+Memoirs: 'I was an eye-witness of the enthusiasm with which the young
+Empress was everywhere greeted by the populace. At Saint Quentin
+Napoleon formally expressed his desire that I should be present at an
+audience to which he had summoned the authorities of the city. 'I should
+like to show you,' he said, 'how I am accustomed to speak to these
+people.' I saw that the Emperor was anxious to let me see the extent and
+variety of his knowledge of matters of administration.'"
+
+Those who care to know the adulation offered to Napoleon and Marie
+Louise on this expedition should read the following passage from M.
+de Bausset's Memoirs: "Their Majesties went off to visit some of the
+northern departments, in order to give Paris and all the great bodies
+of the State the time required for preparing the festivities which
+circumstances made necessary. It was a triumphal march. The provinces
+greeted their young and beautiful Empress with enthusiasm. Amid all the
+brilliant tokens of respect, one attracted especial notice. It was a
+little hamlet, with a triumphal arch, bearing the simplest inscriptions.
+On the front was written _Pater Noster_; on the reverse, _Ave Maria,
+gratiâ plena_. The mayor and the village priest presented wild-flowers.
+Flattery could have devised no more delicate attention." Thus we have M.
+de Bausset finding it simple to compare the Emperor to the Almighty and
+the Empress to the Blessed Virgin. Was not this a sign of the times?
+
+Thiers says of this journey: "The populace, glad of a break in their
+monotonous lives, hasten to meet their princes, whoever they may be, and
+are often lavish of their applause on the very brink of a catastrophe.
+Whenever Napoleon appeared anywhere, curiosity and admiration were
+strong enough to gather a multitude; and when he had rounded out
+his wonderful destiny by marrying an archduchess, the interest and
+enthusiasm were all the greater. Indeed, everywhere he appeared, their
+raptures were warm and unanimous."
+
+Starting from Compičgne April 27, the Emperor and Empress reached Saint
+Quentin the same day. The canal connecting the Seine with the Scheldt
+was illuminated, and Napoleon and his court sailed over it in gondolas
+richly decked with flags. On the 30th of April they embarked on the
+canal which goes from Brussels to the Ruppel, and by the Ruppel to the
+Scheldt. The First Lord of the Admiralty and Admiral Missiessy were in
+command of the Imperial flotilla. When they arrived in sight of the
+squadron of Antwerp, which Napoleon had created, all the ships,
+frigates, corvettes, gunboats, were drawn up in line, and Marie Louise
+passed under the fire of a thousand cannon thundering in her honor.
+When the sovereigns entered the city, the throng was most dense. "It
+expressed," the _Moniteur_ tells us, "the gratitude of the inhabitants
+for its second founder. It was impossible not to make a comparison
+between the present condition of the port and city of Antwerp with its
+condition seven years before, on His Majesty's first visit."
+
+At Antwerp they made a stay of five days, which the Emperor, who was
+on his horse at sunrise, spent in visiting the works of the port, the
+arsenal, the fortifications, in holding reviews, in inspecting the
+fleet. May 2 there was launched a ship of eighty guns, the largest ship
+that had ever been built on the stocks of this port. It was blessed
+by the Archbishop of Mechlin. According to the Baron de Méneval, "the
+Empress was affable, simple, and unpretentious. Possibly the memory of
+Josephine's charm and earnest desire to please was a misfortune to Marie
+Louise. Her reserve might have been attributed to German family pride,
+but that would have been a mistake; no one was ever simpler or less
+haughty. Her natural timidity and her unfamiliarity with the part she
+had to play, alone gave her an air of stiffness. She was so thoroughly
+identified with her new position and so touched by the regard and
+affection with which the Emperor was treated, that when he proposed to
+her to stay at Antwerp while he was visiting the islands of the Zuyder
+Zee, she besought him to take her with him, undeterred by any fear of
+the fatigues of the journey." Consequently Napoleon started with her to
+visit Bois-le-Duc, Berg-op-Zoom, Breda, Middelburg, Flushing, and the
+island of Walcheren, which the English had evacuated four months before.
+
+At Breda the Emperor soundly abused a deputation of the Catholic clergy
+whom he knew to be opposed to him. "Gentlemen," he broke out, "why
+are you not in sacerdotal garments? Are you attorneys, notaries, or
+physicians? ... Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's. The
+Pope is not Caesar; I am. It is not to the Pope, but to me, that God has
+given a sceptre and a sword.... Ah, you are unwilling to pray for me. Is
+it because a Roman priest has excommunicated me? But who gave him any
+such power? Who has the power to release subjects from their oath of
+allegiance to the legally appointed ruler? No one; and you ought to know
+it.... Renounce the hope of putting me in a convent and of shaving
+my head, like Louis the Debonair, and submit yourselves; for I am
+Caesar! If you don't, I shall banish you from my empire, and scatter
+you over the surface of the earth like the Jews.... You belong to the
+diocese of Mechlin; go to your bishop; take your oath before him, obey
+the Concordat, and then I will see what commands I shall have to give
+you."
+
+After visiting the towns on the frontier, as well as the islands of
+Tholen, Schomven, North and South Beveland, and Walcheren, Napoleon,
+constantly accompanied by Marie Louise, ascended the Scheldt once more,
+merely passed through Antwerp, made a brief stop at Brussels, spent
+three days at the castle of Lacken, and hastily ran through Ghent,
+Bruges, Ostend, Dunkirk, Lille, Calais, Dieppe, Havre, and Rouen.
+
+June 1, 1810, they were back at Saint Cloud. The Baron de Méneval tells
+us that Marie Louise was extremely delighted with the way she had been
+greeted throughout this journey. Everywhere she had been received under
+arches of triumph, with countless festivities, balls, illuminations, and
+every token of the popular enthusiasm and affection, so that "she was
+able to appreciate the French character, and to decide that she would
+readily grow accustomed to a country where the devotion of the people to
+their sovereign, the enormous influence he wielded, and the affection he
+bore to them, as well as theirs for his cause, filled her with hopes for
+a happy life." Napoleon's life at that time was one long deification.
+Louis XIV. himself, the Sun-King, had never received more flattery in
+prose and verse. All the official poets had tuned their lyres to sing
+his marriage, and the _Moniteur_ was full of dithyrambs. It also
+published a translation of an Italian cantata entitled, "_La Jerogamia
+di Creta, Inno del Cavaliere Vincenzo Monti_," which began thus: "The
+silence of Olympus is broken up by the noisy neighing of coursers and by
+the prolonged and disturbing rattle of swift chariots. The Immortals
+descend to the banks of the Gnossus to celebrate with fitting rites the
+new marriage of the ruler of the gods." It ended thus: "The waves of two
+seas, in motion, though no wind blows, roar in terror, and Neptune,
+alarmed, feels with surprise his trident tremble in his hand. If such is
+the sport of the monarch of thunder when he yields to the sweets of
+Hymen, what will it be when he again grasps the thunderbolt? Divine
+nurses of Jove, bees of Mount Panacra, ah! distil upon my verses, from
+the summit of Dicte, one drop of the sweet-savored honey, food of the
+King of Heaven, that my August sovereign, whose soul is like Jupiter's,
+may find some pleasure in hearing them!"
+
+Napoleon seemed to rule the present and the future. Even those who had
+fought against him had become his courtiers. The most illustrious of
+these, the Archduke Charles, to whom he had just sent the broad ribbon
+of the Legion of Honor, as well as a simple cross of a knight, which was
+more precious because he himself had worn it, wrote to him: "Sire, Your
+Majesty's Ambassador has transmitted to me the decorations of the Legion
+of Honor, and the affectionate letter with which you have honored me.
+Being deeply impressed by these tokens of your goodwill, I hasten to
+express to Your Majesty my sincere gratitude, which is only equalled by
+my admiration for Your Majesty's great qualities. The esteem of a great
+man is the fairest flower of the field of honor, and I have always
+jealously desired, Sire, to merit yours."
+
+A stranger thing yet: even the Spanish Bourbons, the victims of the
+Bayonne treachery, the princes whom Napoleon had ousted, set no limits
+to their adulation. Nowhere was the Emperor's marriage with Marie
+Louise celebrated with greater show of enthusiasm than at the castle of
+Valençay, where Ferdinand III. was living. The Spanish Prince had a _Te
+Deum_ sung in the chapel; he gave a banquet, at which he proposed this
+toast: "To the health of our August Sovereigns, the great Napoleon and
+Marie Louise, his August spouse." In the evening there were magnificent
+fireworks. He chose that moment when his subjects were exposing
+themselves to every danger, welcoming every sacrifice in their bitter
+war in his name, against the French, to beg Napoleon to adopt him as his
+son and to concede to him the honor of letting him appear at court.
+
+
+
+XVII.
+
+THE MONTH OF JUNE, 1810.
+
+
+The whole month of June was filled with a succession of brilliant
+festivities. Under the Empire things were not done by halves; battles or
+balls, everything was on a vast scale. "Never," says Alfred de Musset,
+"were there so many sleepless nights as during this man's lifetime;
+never was there such a silence when any one spoke of death: and yet,
+never was there so much joy, so much life, so much warlike feeling in
+every heart; never had there been a brighter sun than that which dried
+so much blood. It was said that God had created it for this man, and
+it was called the sun of Austerlitz; but he made it himself with his
+ever-roaring cannon, that dispelled the clouds on the morrow of his
+victories."
+
+The entertainment given to the Emperor and Empress by the city of Paris,
+June 10, was magnificent. There were great rejoicings in the capital
+on that day. In the afternoon there were public sports in the Champs
+Élysées, and dancing in the open places and the long walks. With
+nightfall the illuminations began. A troupe of mountebanks performed
+on a huge stage a ballet in pantomime, called the "Union of Mars and
+Flora." There were as many as five hundred performers. There were bands
+playing in every direction, and food was distributed to the contented
+multitude. From the Arc to the Tuileries, from the Tuileries to the
+Louvre, from the Louvre to the Hôtel de Ville, the spectacle was really
+fairy-like. Napoleon and Marie Louise, starting from Saint Cloud at
+eight in the evening, made their way, in torchlight, through a countless
+multitude. Their approach was announced to the people by the sudden
+ascent of a balloon, from which fireworks were discharged. At half-past
+nine they reached the Hôtel de Ville. Nearly a thousand persons had
+gathered in the concert hall, almost three thousand in the record room,
+the Hall of Saint John, and in the semicircular place in front, opposite
+the spot, on the left bank of the Seine, where the fireworks were to be
+set off at a signal of Napoleon and Marie Louise. These fireworks were
+divided into three parts, representing a military scene, the Temple of
+Peace, and the Temple of Hymen. In the first there were two forts which
+soldiers were assaulting, firing their guns amid the sound of trumpets
+and the rattle of drums. The forts were discharging shells and bullets,
+which burst into flame, and were reflected in the water before they fell
+into the river. When the two forts were captured, they disappeared in a
+great blaze. Then the ship, the symbol of the city of Paris, appeared
+and took its station between two columns of light. The decoration
+changed, and first the Temple of Peace was seen, then that of
+Hymen--a real pyrotechnic masterpiece. After the fireworks the Emperor
+and Empress went first into the record room, then into the concert hall,
+where was sung a cantata, with words by Arnault and music by Méhul,
+which began with this apostrophe to the Empress:--
+
+  "From the throne where our homage rises to you,
+  From the throne where beauty reigns by the side of courage,
+  And Minerva by the side of Mars,
+  On these shores of which love has made you sovereign,
+  On these happy shores adorned by the Seine,
+  Louise, cast thy glance."
+
+
+After the cantata a ball began. Napoleon did not dance, but Marie Louise
+did. The first quadrille was thus made up: the Empress and the King
+of Westphalia, the Queen of Naples and the Viceroy of Italy, Princess
+Pauline Borghese and Prince Esterhazy, Mademoiselle de Saint-Gilles and
+M. de Nicolaď. The second quadrille: the Queen of Westphalia and Prince
+Borghese, the Princess of Baden and Count Metternich, the Princess
+Aldobrandini and M. de Montaran, Madame Blaque de Belair and M. Mallet.
+The Emperor descended from his throne and walked through the room,
+exchanging a few words with a great many people. About midnight he
+withdrew with the Empress. At two o'clock supper was served: at this
+fifteen hundred ladies were present, and the ball went on till daybreak.
+
+Princess Pauline Borghese gave a very brilliant entertainment June 14,
+at the castle of Neuilly. At the end of an illuminated lawn appeared
+the Austrian palace of Laxenburg, and the ballet consisted of dancers
+arrayed like peasants of the neighborhood of Vienna. June 21, another
+great ball was given by the Duke of Feltre, the Minister of War. But
+the finest, the most original, the grandest ball, was that given by the
+Imperial Guard at the Champ de Mars and the Military School, at that
+time called the Napoleon quarter. Marie Louise was thoroughly delighted
+with it; she said she had never seen anything so magnificent. Never had
+Rome under the Caesars seen a more gorgeous spectacle. For many months
+the public had been watching the vast preparations for this event. Two
+wings had been added to the Military School, large enough to hold eight
+thousand persons. The main courtyard had been transformed into a garden
+in which were set out numberless orange-trees, shrubs, and flowers. The
+officers of the Guard, who were models of French politeness, received
+the ladies at the entrance of this garden, offering each one a
+bouquet, and escorted them to the galleries which led to the two newly
+constructed buildings, one of which was the ball-room; the other, the
+supper-room. The ball-room was shaped like a tent, and the ceiling was
+decorated with the signs of the Zodiac and allegorical representation of
+a triumph. A throne was set there, above seven rows of seats. All around
+the room hung muslin draperies, on which were embroidered gold bees and
+branches of myrtle and laurel. When the Emperor and Empress appeared at
+seven o'clock, three thousand women, each with a bouquet in her hand,
+rose at once. It seemed like a living flower-garden. The wives of the
+most illustrious officers of the Guard, the Duchess of Dalmatia, of
+Treviso, of Istria, Countess Walter, Dorsenne, Curial, Saint-Sulpice,
+Lefebore, Desnonettes, Krasenska, Baronesses Kirgener, Lubenska, Guiot,
+Gros, Delaistre and Lepic, had been chosen to escort the Empress.
+Marshal Bessičres, Duke of Istria, presented her with a magnificent
+bouquet.
+
+Meanwhile the Champ de Mars, which was covered with flags, was filled
+with three or four hundred thousand spectators, who had assembled
+quietly, without crowding, on the terrace, the amphitheatres, and in the
+walks. When Napoleon and Marie Louise showed themselves on the balcony
+of the Military School, there broke out loud applause. Afterwards dinner
+was served to the Imperial family. When that was finished, they gave the
+signal for the horse and chariot races. Franconi's equestrian troupe
+gave performances in the intervals. When all the prizes had been given,
+a balloon, carrying a woman, Madame Blanchard, made an ascent. She
+saluted the Imperial pair, waved a flag, threw down flowers, and
+speedily attained a great height. Then there were fireworks. Amid
+rockets, bombs, and shooting-stars, two pretty young women walked up and
+down on the tight rope, like magical apparitions, amid the encircling
+flames. After the fireworks a ballet was performed by the dancers from
+the Opera, under the direction of Gardel; it represented the different
+nations of Europe in their national dress. After the ballet came the
+ball, which was most animated. Napoleon and Marie Louise left towards
+midnight, escorted to their carriage by most of the guests, who cheered,
+and did not return to the ball-room until the Emperor and Empress
+had gone out of sight. This exceptional entertainment was favored by
+pleasant weather and a bright night; the moon and the stars seemed to
+rival the illuminations. The main courtyard, filled with trees and
+flowers, was like the enchanted garden of Armida, where one walked amid
+delicious music. At two in the morning the doors of the supper-room were
+opened, a large bower of gilded trellis work, with Corinthian columns,
+and a roof covered with frescoes representing groups of children
+sporting in the air amid flowers and garlands. About fifteen hundred
+people sat down to table.
+
+The Imperial Guard had every reason to be proud of its entertainment.
+The officers, young, brilliant, devoted to pleasure as to glory,
+found their life more joyous as war threatened to make it short. They
+displayed the same ardor, the same enthusiasm, in the ball-room as on
+the battle-field. They loved the smell of flowers as much as the smell
+of gunpowder. Every form of conquest tempted them, and they revived the
+customs of chivalry. In the language of the time, there flourished the
+twofold reign of Mars and Venus. In those heroic days courage was set
+higher than wealth. The women, with few exceptions, were indifferent to
+money; they did not think that an honorable scar disfigured a soldier's
+face, and the disinterested kindness of a beauty was the reward of
+bravery.
+
+
+
+
+XVIII.
+
+
+THE BALL AT THE AUSTRIAN EMBASSY.
+
+The series of grand entertainments which had been given in Paris was
+to be concluded by a ball, which Prince Schwarzenberg, the Austrian
+Ambassador, was to give at the Embassy, July 1, 1810, to the Emperor and
+Empress; it had been announced that this was to be a marvel of luxury,
+elegance, and good taste. The Ambassador lived in the rue de la
+Chaussée d'Antin, in a mansion formerly belonging to the Marchioness
+of Montesson, widow of the Duke of Orleans, to whom this lady had been
+united by a morganatic marriage. Great preparations had been made with
+extraordinary magnificence. Since the ground floor of the house was too
+small, a large ball-room of wood had been built, reached by a gallery,
+also of wood, leading from the body of the house. The ceiling of this
+gallery was covered with varnished paper, decorated and painted; the
+floor-boards, which were supported on a framework, were raised to the
+same height as the floors of the house. A large chandelier hung from the
+ceiling of the ball-room. The sides and the circuit of the gallery were
+lit by candelabra fastened to the walls. A high platform was reserved
+for the Imperial family, in the centre of the right-hand side of the
+ball-room, directly opposite a large door opening on the garden.
+Behind the platform was a small door reserved for the sovereigns.
+The Ambassador and his wife had staying with them his brother and
+sister-in-law, Prince Joseph and Princess Pauline Schwarzenberg, who
+were to help him in doing the honors of the ball.
+
+Napoleon and Marie Louise, who started from Saint Cloud, reached the
+gates of Paris at quarter to ten; there they got into another carriage,
+and soon after ten were at the door of the Embassy, where the Ambassador
+received them. The Emperor wore over his coat the broad Austrian ribbon
+of Saint Stephen.
+
+The grand ball was opened; a troupe of musicians in the court of honor
+sounded a flourish of trumpets at the entrance of Their Majesties, who
+passed through the concert hall into the garden, where they stopped a
+moment before the Temple of Apollo. There women, dressed to resemble the
+Muses, sang a joyous chorus. Napoleon and Marie Louise passed slowly
+along a water-walk, where hidden music issued from a subterranean
+grotto, to a vine-clad arbor adorned with mirrors, monograms, flowers,
+and wreaths, and listened to a concert of vocal and instrumental music,
+French and German; then they went further into the garden, stopping
+before a Temple of Glory, where were four handsome women representing
+Victory, the muse Clio, and Renown; then trumpets sounded, triumphal
+songs were sung, and perfumes were burning on golden tripods. Then they
+turned to see a delightful ballet danced on the greensward, with a view
+of the Palace of Laxenburg--so dear to Marie Louise--in the background;
+that done, they entered the wooden gallery just put up before the front
+of the mansion, and finally entered the ball-room, which was large
+enough to hold about fifteen hundred people.
+
+It was midnight, and so far everything had gone on without a hitch. The
+Emperor and Empress seemed delighted; the Ambassador was radiant; every
+one was enchanted with the magic of the spectacle. The ball was opened
+with a quadrille, in which the Queen of Naples danced with Prince
+Esterhazy, and Prince Eugene de Beauharnais with Princess Pauline de
+Schwarzenberg. When that was over, the Emperor descended from his throne
+to walk through the room; while the Empress, the Queen of Naples, and
+the Vice-Queen of Italy remained in their places on the platform.
+Napoleon had just come up to Princess Pauline de Schwarzenberg, who had
+presented to him the princesses, her daughters, when suddenly the flame
+of a candle set fire to the curtains of a window. Count Dumanoir, the
+Emperor's chamberlain, and several officers tried to tear the curtains
+down; but the flames continued to spread, and in less than three minutes
+they had reached the ceiling, and all the light decorations which hung
+from it were ablaze. Count Metternich, who happened to be at the foot of
+the platform, at once ran up to tell the Empress what had happened, and
+to persuade her to follow him as soon as possible. As to the Emperor,
+who was as cool as if he were on the battle-field, he was able to reach
+the platform to join Marie Louise, and to escape with her to the garden,
+urging every one to be calm in order to avoid disorder.
+
+Fortunately the means of exit were wide, and the greater part of the
+guests were able to find refuge in the garden; but, alas! there were
+many accidents and many victims. It so happened that just when the fire
+started a great many young girls had left their mothers to dance a
+schottische; their mothers tried to find them, and they tried to find
+their mothers, amid wild shrieks and the most desperate confusion. Wives
+called for their husbands, parents for their children. The officers of
+the Imperial Guard gathered about Napoleon with drawn swords, for at
+first they suspected treachery and waited for some further development
+of a malicious plot. Prince Schwarzenberg, who did not leave the
+Emperor, said to him: "I know how this room is built; it is doomed; but
+there are so many exits that every one can escape. Sire, I shall cover
+you with my body." Napoleon, under his protection, reached the platform
+with composure, took the Empress by the hand, and succeeded in going out
+with her. They passed through the garden, got into a carriage, and drove
+to the Place Louis XV., where they separated, the Empress pushing on to
+Saint Cloud, while the Emperor, retracing his steps, went back to the
+Austrian Embassy, where he hoped to be able to help extinguish the fire.
+
+The Ambassador, who had accompanied Napoleon and Marie Louise to their
+carriage, went back to the house, then a hideous scene of destruction. A
+storm had arisen, and a violent wind had spread the ravaging flames
+in every direction. The Queen of Westphalia had fainted and had been
+rescued by Count Metternich; the Queen of Naples, Prince Eugene, and his
+wife, who was in a delicate condition, had remained on the platform. The
+Queen tried to escape by the main door, by which the Emperor and the
+Empress had left; but this was speedily so blocked up by the crowd that
+she, who was behind every one, would certainly have been caught by the
+flames, like many others, had it not been for the assistance of the
+Grand Duke of Würzburg and of Marshal Marcey, who seized her and forced
+a way for her. Prince Eugene saw the chandelier fall, and the passage
+across the room wholly blocked; but, fortunately, he noticed the little
+door which led into the house, and through that he escaped with his
+wife. The Ambassador beheld the calamity with despair. His wife was
+brought out senseless, but untouched by the flames. He saw his brother,
+Prince Joseph de Schwarzenberg, running to and fro, wild with grief
+and disquiet; he was looking for his wife, Princess Pauline de
+Schwarzenberg, and could not find her. What had become of the unhappy
+mother? When the fire broke out, knowing her eldest daughter, Eleonore,
+to be safe, she had run to the assistance of her second daughter,
+Pauline, who was dancing the schottische, and led her speedily to the
+steps of the entrance, where the crowd was surging amid the flames. A
+moment more, and mother and daughter were safe: they had but a few steps
+to take to be on the staircase and then in the garden, but suddenly a
+falling beam separated mother and child, and the staircase broke down
+beneath the weight of the struggling crowd. Missing her daughter, the
+courageous princess plunged once more into the ballroom. No one knew
+what had become of her; in the cruel, heart-wringing uncertainty the
+stern face of the Ambassador was wet with tears.
+
+Napoleon returned to the Embassy, and directing everything, supervising
+everything as on a battlefield, there he stayed more than two hours,
+exposed to a heavy rain which began after the fire, and to all the
+heat and smoke. Alone, unguarded, evidently anxious to dispel all
+misinterpretation which malevolence could draw from the unhappy event,
+he displayed great energy and perfect self-possession.
+
+It was not till four in the morning that he returned to Saint Cloud,
+where he had been most anxiously awaited. "From the time that the
+Empress arrived," we read in Constant's Memoirs, "we had felt the
+keenest anxiety; every one in the palace had been most uneasy about the
+Emperor. At last he arrived, unharmed, but very tired; his dress in
+disorder, his face scorched, his clothes and stockings all blackened and
+singed by the fire. He went straight to the Empress's room, to console
+her for the fright she had had; then he went to his own room, flung his
+hat on the bed, dropped into an easy-chair, saying, 'Heavens! what a
+festivity!' I noticed that his hands were all blackened; he had lost his
+gloves at the fire. He was overwhelmed with sadness, and he spoke with
+an emotion such as I had seen in him only two or three times in his
+life, and never about his own misfortunes. I remember that he expressed
+a fear that the terrible event of that night betokened future
+calamities. Three years later, in the Russian campaign, he was told one
+day that Prince Schwarzenberg's army corps had been destroyed, and that
+the Prince himself had perished. It happened that the news was false;
+but when it was brought to the Emperor, he said, as if in accordance
+with a thought that had long haunted him, 'It was he then whom that evil
+omen threatened!'"
+
+The morning of the next day Napoleon sent his pages to learn the news.
+The accounts they brought back were most gloomy: the Princess de la
+Leyen had died from her injuries; General Touzart was in a desperate
+condition, as well as his wife and daughter, who, in fact, died the same
+day. Prince Kourakine, the Russian Ambassador, was seriously injured;
+he had made a misstep on the staircase leading to the garden, and had
+fallen senseless into the flames, which, fortunately, had been unable to
+get through his coat of cloth of gold and the decorations which
+covered him like a cuirass; nevertheless, it was many months before he
+recovered. "Prince Joseph de Schwarzenberg," says the _Moniteur_ of July
+3, 1810, "spent the night in looking for his wife, whom he could not
+find at the Embassy or at Madame Metternich's. He was still ignorant
+of his loss when at daybreak there was found in the ball-room a corpse
+which Dr. Gall thought that he recognized as that of the Princess
+Pauline de Schwarzenberg. Further doubt was impossible when her jewels
+with her children's initials, which she wore about her neck, were
+recognized. Princess Pauline de Schwarzenberg was the daughter of the
+Senator von Avenberg, and the mother of eight children. She was as
+renowned for her personal charms as for the distinction of her mind and
+heart. The act of devotion which cost her her life shows how much her
+loss is to be regretted, for death was certain amid the fury of the
+flames. Only a mother would have dared to face the danger."
+
+The _Moniteur_ adds to this pathetic account: "The Austrian Ambassador
+during the whole night displayed the zeal, the activity, the calmness,
+and the presence of mind to be expected of him. The members of the
+Embassy and the Austrians who were present were tireless in their
+courage and devotion. The public has been most grateful to the
+Ambassador for insisting on accompanying the Emperor and the Empress to
+their carriage, without regard to the dangers to which his family was
+exposed. The Emperor left the spot at about three in the morning. During
+the rest of the night he sent several times for information about the
+fate of the Princess Schwarzenberg. It was not until five o'clock that
+he received word of her death. His Majesty, who held this princess in
+the highest esteem, sincerely regrets her sad lot. The Empress exhibited
+the most perfect calmness throughout the evening. When she heard this
+morning of the death of Princess Pauline de Schwarzenberg, she burst
+into tears."
+
+The young Princess Pauline, the daughter of the woman who had perished,
+was for a long time in a state that caused the utmost anxiety. Her
+mother's death was concealed from her, but she became uneasy at her
+absence, and read on her father's face the marks of the grief which
+he tried to conceal. At last she recovered; later she married Prince
+Schoenburg; but her wounds reopened, and she died a few years later, a
+victim, like her mother, of the fatal ball.
+
+The day after these occurrences Marie Louise wrote a letter in German
+to her father, in which she said: "I did not lose my head. Prince
+Schwarzenberg led the Emperor and me out of the place, through the
+garden. I am the more grateful because he left his wife and son in the
+burning room. The panic and confusion were terrible. If the Grand Duke
+of Würzburg had not carried the Queen of Naples away, she would have
+been burned alive. My sister-in-law Catherine, who thought her husband
+was in the midst of the fire, swooned away. The Viceroy had to carry his
+wife off. Not a single one of my ladies or of my officers was by me.
+General Lauriston, who adores his wife, cried out in the most lamentable
+way, and impeded us in our flight. I was calmer then than when the
+Emperor left me again. We sat up with Caroline until four in the
+morning, when he came back, wet through with the rain. The Duchess of
+Rovigo, one of my ladies, is seriously burned. The Countesses Bucholz
+and Loewenstein, the Queen of Westphalia's ladies, are also injured....
+Lauriston, in saving his wife, had his hair and forehead singed. Prince
+Kourakine was so severely injured that he lost consciousness; in the
+panic the crowd trampled upon him, and he was dragged out half dead.
+Prince Metternich is hardly hurt at all. Prince Charles Schwarzenberg,
+who insisted on staying until every one had got out, is badly burned.
+The poor Ambassador is beside himself, though he is in no way
+responsible for the calamity."
+
+Marie Louise, who had been interrupted at this point, continued as
+follows: "I have just come from the Emperor, where I heard a terrible
+piece of news. Princess Pauline Schwarzenberg has been found, burned to
+a crisp.... Her diamonds were lying near her. She wore on her neck
+a heart in brilliants, on which were engraved the names of her two
+daughters, Eleonore and Pauline, and it was by this that she was
+recognized. She leaves eight children, and was expecting another. Her
+family is inconsolable. Kourakine is very low; so is Madame Durosnel,
+the general's wife. I am so distressed that I cannot stir."
+
+The Emperor Francis wrote to his son-in-law about this distressing
+event: "July 15. My Brother and very dear Son-in-law,--It is with the
+greatest satisfaction that I have heard that Your Imperial Majesty, as
+well as the Empress, my beloved daughter, has escaped the melancholy
+accidents that occurred at the ball of my Ambassador, Prince
+Schwarzenberg. I cannot express to you, my brother, my gratitude for the
+tokens of your interest which you manifested on that occasion, and for
+your personal exertions, as noble as they were courageous, to arrest
+the progress of the disaster. Count Metternich and Prince Schwarzenberg
+cannot find words to express their profound gratitude for your kindness
+and anxiety, and I beg Your Majesty to receive this expression of all
+that I have experienced in reading their reports."
+
+The calamity produced a most melancholy impression. It recalled to
+every one the disasters that attended the festivities given to Marie
+Antoinette forty years before. This ball, followed by a horrid
+catastrophe, this grand drawing-room, vanishing in flames, were they not
+omens of evil? Was not the great empire to perish in the same way? This
+fire, bursting forth in a night of revelry and triumph, was it not like
+a prophecy of a still more terrible fire, that which laid Moscow in
+ashes? But nations have short memories; gloomy presentiments soon
+vanish. The Empire was then so glorious that a passing incident could
+not seriously disturb it, and a few days after the catastrophe it was
+forgotten. Every one, even the enemies of France, felt the fascination
+of this most wonderful career which formed the strangest and most
+improbable of romances.
+
+
+
+
+XIX.
+
+
+THE BIRTH OF THE KING OF ROME.
+
+Napoleon and Marie Louise grew fonder and fonder of each other as time
+went on. The Empress wrote to her father: "I assure you, dear papa, that
+people have done great injustice to the Emperor. The better one knows
+him, the better one appreciates and loves him." Napoleon's satisfaction
+was even greater when he learned that his young wife was to bring him an
+heir; he redoubled his solicitous attention and regards; he never blamed
+her, he uttered only words of praise and tenderness. This extract from
+Metternich's Memoirs will serve to show how anxious the Emperor was at
+this time to spare his wife every form of annoyance: "In the summer of
+1810, Napoleon asked me to wait after one of his levees at Saint Cloud.
+When we were alone, he asked me, with some embarrassment, if I would do
+him a great favor. 'It's about the Empress,' he said; 'you see she is
+young and inexperienced, and she does not understand the ways of this
+country or the French character. I have given her the Duchess of
+Montebello for a companion; she is an excellent woman, but sometimes a
+little indiscreet. Yesterday, for example, when she was walking with
+the Empress in the park, she presented one of her cousins to her. The
+Empress talked with him, and that was a mistake. If she is going to have
+young men, and second and third cousins, presented to her, she will
+become the tool of intrigues. Every one in France has always some favor
+to ask. The Empress will be besieged, and will be exposed to a thousand
+annoyances, without being able to do anything for anybody.' I told
+Napoleon that I quite agreed with him, but that I did not see why he
+confided this matter to me. 'It is,' said Napoleon, 'because I want you
+to speak about it to the Empress.' I expressed my surprise that he did
+not do that himself. 'Your opinion is sound and wise, and the Empress is
+too intelligent not to regard it.' 'I prefer,' said Napoleon,'that you
+should do this. The Empress is young, and she might think that I am
+merely a cross husband; you are her father's minister and an old friend;
+what you may say will have a great deal more weight with her than any
+words of mine.'"
+
+Napoleon manifested great regard, not for his wife alone, but also for
+his father-in-law, of whom he always spoke with warm sympathy. When
+Count Metternich came to bid farewell before returning to Vienna, at the
+end of September, 1810, Napoleon charged him to convey to the Emperor
+Francis the most positive assurances of his friendship and devotion.
+"The Emperor must be sure," he said, "that my only wish is for his
+happiness and prosperity. He must reject any idea of my encroaching on
+his monarchy. That cannot fail to grow, and speedily too, through our
+alliance. Assure him that anything which he may hear to the contrary
+is false. I had rather have him than any one of my own brothers on the
+Austrian throne, and I don't see any cause for quarrel between us."
+
+Early in July, when their hopes were still vague, Marie Louise wrote to
+her father: "Heaven grant that they may prove true! The Emperor would
+be so happy!" And later she wrote: "I can assure you, dear papa, that
+I look forward without dread to this event, which will be a great
+happiness." The official notification of her condition was not made till
+November, when Napoleon sent the Baron de Mesgrigny to Vienna with two
+letters, one from himself and one from the Empress, to the Emperor
+Francis. "This letter," Marie Louise wrote, "is to announce to you, dear
+papa, the great news. I take this opportunity to ask your blessing for
+me and for your grandchild. You may imagine my delight. It will be
+complete if the event shall bring you to Paris." The hope of seeing her
+father soon was continually present with her, and Napoleon encouraged
+it. As she wrote to her father, "My husband often speaks of you and is
+anxious to see you again."
+
+The Emperor Francis answered his son-in-law, December 3, 1810, in these
+terms: "My Brother and very Dear Son-in-law,--The letter which M. de
+Mesgrigny has handed to me fills me with the liveliest joy. The
+happy event which it mentions arouses my fullest sympathy. My best
+wishes go out to you, my brother, and the present condition of things
+which your letter announces, is too intimately connected with our
+reciprocal satisfaction for me not to set the greatest store, as friend
+and father, by the news you give me. Everything which Your Majesty says
+about your domestic happiness is corroborated by my daughter; in no way
+can you, my brother, contribute more directly to my own. I knew the
+excellent traits of my daughter when I entrusted her to you, and
+Your Imperial Majesty must be sure that my only consolation for the
+separation is her happiness, which is inseparable from that of her
+husband."
+
+Napoleon asked of the Bishops and Archbishops special prayers in behalf
+of the Empress. December 2, the anniversary of his coronation, and of
+the battle of Austerlitz, he gave an audience to the Senate, who came
+to thank him for the notification of the Empress's expectations. At the
+Tuileries that day was celebrated by mass a _Te Deum_, an illumination,
+and a play. Twelve young girls, who were dowered by the Empress, were
+married in the Cathedral, and there was a generous distribution of alms.
+
+The Emperor founded a society of Maternal Charity, to aid poor women
+during their confinement. The Empress was appointed patroness of the
+society, and Mesdames de Ségur and de Pastoret Vice-Presidents; a
+thousand ladies joined it, and fifteen held offices; there was a Grand
+Council which sat in Paris, and administrative councils were appointed
+for the provinces. The Grand Almoner was made secretary, and there was a
+general treasurer. The capital of the society amounted to five hundred
+thousand francs, raised in part from the public funds, and in part by
+voluntary subscriptions, which soon furnished the required sum.
+
+New Year's Day was approaching, and Marie Louise desired a set of
+Brazilian rubies, costing forty-six thousand francs. As she wanted to
+make some presents to her sisters, and these cost twenty-five thousand
+francs, she saw that only fifteen thousand francs would be left of her
+December allowance. Consequently she denied herself the rubies, and
+forbore to say anything about them to the Emperor. But Napoleon happened
+to hear of it, and was delighted with his wife's economy and sense
+of order, which he rewarded in the most delicate manner. He secretly
+ordered of the crown-jeweller a set of rubies like the one she had
+wanted, but worth between three and four hundred thousand francs,
+and surprised her with these, an attention by which she was highly
+gratified. He asked her at the same time if she had thought of sending
+any New Year's presents to her sisters, the Archduchesses. She answered
+yes, and that she had ordered for the young Princesses presents worth
+together something like twenty-five thousand francs. Napoleon thought
+that a rather small sum; but she told him that they were not so spoiled
+as she was, and that they would think their presents superb. Then the
+Emperor presented her with a hundred thousand francs.
+
+In January, 1811, the Emperor thus thanked Napoleon for a portrait of
+his daughter, the Empress:--
+
+"My Brother,--The delicate way in which Your Imperial Majesty has
+fulfilled my wishes by sending me the portrait of the Empress, your dear
+wife, lends a new value to the letter you have written to me. I hasten
+to give expression to the joy which I feel in seeing the features of my
+beloved daughter, which seem to add to a perfect likeness the merit of
+expressing her happiness in a congenial marriage."
+
+The Countess of Montesquiou, a most worthy woman, was appointed
+Governess of the Imperial children, with two assistants, Mesdames de
+Mesgrigny and de Boubers, and later a third, Madame Soufflot. A nurse
+was chosen,--a sturdy, healthy woman, wife of a joiner at Fontainebleau;
+and two cribs were prepared,--a blue one for a prince, a pink one for
+a princess. The baby-linen, which was valued at three hundred thousand
+francs, aroused the admiration of all the ladies of the court.
+
+In January and February, 1811, Marie Louise still went about. She drove
+to the hunt in the forest of Vincennes, in that of Saint Germain, and
+at Versailles. She used to walk in the Bois de Boulogne with Napoleon.
+Towards the middle of February great preparations began to be made for
+the happy event. Dr. Dubois was installed at the Tuileries, in the
+apartments of the Grand Marshal of the Palace, and the Duchess of
+Montebello, lady-in-waiting, took up her quarters in the palace. Marie
+Louise, who had gone to a fancy ball at the Duchess of Rovigo's,
+February 10, was present on the 25th at a quiet ball given at
+the Tuileries, at which were present only two strangers,--Prince
+Schwarzenberg, the Austrian Ambassador, and Prince Leopold of Coburg.
+
+March 5 Count Frochot, Prefect of the Seine, came to the Tuileries, at
+the head of the Municipal Council, to present, in the name of the city
+of Paris, a magnificent red cradle, shaped like a ship, the emblem of
+the capital. This cradle, a real masterpiece, had been designed by
+Prudhon the artist, and is now in the Imperial Treasury of Vienna, to
+which it was given by the King of Rome when Duke of Reichstadt. The
+ornamentation, which is in mother-of-pearl and vermilion, is set on
+a ground of orange-red velvet. It is formed of a pillar of
+mother-of-pearl, on which are set gold bees, and is supported by four
+cornucopias, near which are set the figures of Force and Justice. At the
+top there is a shield with the Emperor's initials, surrounded by three
+rows of ivy and laurel. A figure representing Glory overhanging the
+world, holds a crown, in the middle of which shines Napoleon's star. A
+young eagle at the foot of the cradle is gazing at the conqueror's star,
+with wings spread as if about to take flight. A curtain of lace, covered
+with stars and ending in rich gold embroidery, hangs over each side.
+
+When Marie Louise's walks were limited to the terrace of the Tuileries,
+by the side of the sheet of water that bounds the garden, a small
+doorway with an iron grating was thrown open into the first floor of the
+palace, to make easier her access to the spot. Around the grating the
+crowd used to gather to watch the Empress and respectfully to offer her
+their best wishes.
+
+At nine o'clock in the evening of March 19th, 1811, the great bell of
+Notre Dame and all the church bells sounded, bidding the faithful spend
+the night in prayer and to invoke the blessings of Heaven on their
+Empress and the child which was about to enter the world. With Marie
+Louise there were M. Dubois, the Duchess of Montebello, the Countess of
+Luçay, Mesdames Durand and Ballant, ladies-in-waiting, ladies of the
+bedchamber, etc., and Madame Blaise. The Emperor, his mother and
+sisters, and two physicians, Drs. Corvisart and Bourdier, were in
+the next room. Napoleon kept going in and out of his wife's chamber,
+encouraging her with kind and cheery words. At five in the morning
+Dubois thought that the birth was not immediate, and the Emperor sent
+away the princesses, and, tired out by anxiety and his prolonged watch,
+went to take a bath. But Dubois soon found that he was mistaken, and ran
+to get Napoleon. He was trembling with anxiety when he burst open the
+door of the Emperor's room, finding him in his bath, and told him that
+he feared that he should not be able to save both the mother and the
+child. "Come, come, Mr. Dubois," exclaimed Napoleon, "don't lose your
+head; save the mother; think only of the mother.... Imagine she's some
+shopkeeper's wife in the Rue Saint Denis, that's all I ask of you; and,
+in any case,--I repeat it,--save the mother.... I shall be with you in
+a moment." Thereupon he sprang out of his bath, threw himself into a
+dressing-gown, and hastened to Marie Louise's bedside. He found her in
+great suffering, and grew very pale. Never on the field of battle had he
+displayed such emotion; but he tried to hide his anguish, and kissed
+his wife very gently, reassuring her with tender words. But, unable to
+control himself, and fearful of adding to her already excessive alarm,
+he hurriedly went into the next room, and there, listening to every
+sound, as pale as death, trembling from head to foot, he passed a
+quarter of an hour in intense anxiety. At last, and with difficulty,
+the child was born; at first it was supposed to be dead, and for seven
+minutes it gave no sign of life. The Emperor hastened to Marie Louise
+and kissed her most tenderly. He thought only of her; he did not give
+a look to the child. He had decided to care for nothing if only the
+Empress was saved. A few drops of brandy were poured into the prince's
+mouth; he was gently slapped all over and wrapped in hot towels, and he
+came to life with a little cry. Napoleon, wild with joy, kissed him. The
+thought that he had a son filled him with rapture such as none of his
+triumphs had given him. "Well, gentlemen," he said, when he went back
+to his own room, "we have got a fine, healthy boy. We had to urge him a
+little, to persuade him to come, but there he is at last!" And then he
+added, with deep emotion: "My dear wife! What courage she has, and how
+she has suffered! I had rather never have any more children than see her
+suffer so much again."
+
+All this while the people of Paris were in a state of expectancy,
+wondering whether the child was to be a boy or a girl. If a boy, he
+would have a fine-sounding name. According to a decree calling the
+Eternal City the second city of the French Empire, which had become the
+capital of a simple department,--the department of the Tiber,--and in
+accordance with old usages of the Holy German Empire, by which the
+prince destined to succeed the Germanic Caesar, was called King of the
+Romans before bearing the title of Emperor, Napoleon's son was to be
+called the King of Rome. But would Napoleon have a son? Would Heaven
+crown his unexampled prosperity with this new favor? That was the
+subject of conversation everywhere, in the grandest mansions as in the
+humblest garrets. From daybreak of March 20th the Tuileries garden was
+crowded with people of all ages and conditions. The courtyards and quays
+were thronged. In the garden, along the terrace, in front of the palace,
+a rope was stretched from the grating by the Pont Royal to the Pavilion
+de l'Horloge. The crowd was so fearful of disturbing the Empress that
+this frail barrier, this simple rope, was more respected than would have
+been a lofty wall. The assemblage, which had been growing ever since six
+o'clock, remained at some distance from the rope, and only spoke in a
+low voice. They waited in extreme impatience, yet in perfect quiet,
+for the sound of the cannon of the Invalides. If it was a girl, only
+twenty-one guns would be fired; if a boy, there would be a hundred and
+one.... Every window was opened; in the squares and streets everything
+stood still,--foot-passengers, horses, carriages. The cannon of the
+Invalides was heard, and the anxious multitudes in deep emotion began to
+count, at first very low, but gradually louder--one, two, three, four,
+and so on up to twenty. Then the excitement was tremendous. Twenty-one.
+Is that all? No; there is the twenty-second, and the rest of the hundred
+and one are to follow; but there was no more need of counting: Napoleon
+had a son! At once the enthusiasm of the multitude broke forth like a
+volcano. Cheers, hats tossed in the air, loud cries of joy, universal,
+noisy delight, what a sight for the Emperor, as he stood at one of the
+Empress's windows, gazing in silence at the rapturous crowd! Tears
+flowed down his cheeks. "Never had his glory brought a tear to his
+eyes," Constant informs us; "but the happiness of fatherhood softened
+this soul which the most brilliant victories, the sincerest tributes
+of public adoration, had left untouched. Indeed, if Napoleon ever had
+reason to believe in his good fortune, it was on the day when the
+Archduchess of Austria made him the father of a king, him who had begun
+as the younger son of a Corsican family. In a few hours the event which
+France and Europe had been awaiting was a festival in every family."
+
+At half-past ten the aeronaut, Madame Blanchard, set forth in a balloon
+from the Champ de Mars, to throw down papers announcing the great news
+to the populace. The telegraph, unimpeded by any mist,--for it was a
+lovely spring day,--began to work in every direction, and by two o'clock
+answers had been received from Lyons, Brussels, Antwerp, Brest, and
+other large towns of the Empire. All of course gave expression to the
+wildest enthusiasm. In the course of the day Napoleon wrote to his
+father-in-law, the Emperor of Austria, to inform him of the happy event.
+"These are very good letters," he said; "I have never written better
+ones." Officers of the Emperor's household, pages, and couriers were
+despatched with letters and messages for the great bodies of the State,
+for the towns and cities, for the Ambassadors and Ministers of France
+and other powers. The Empress Josephine was not forgotten; Napoleon sent
+a page to her in her castle of Navarre, in Normandy.
+
+On the very day of his birth the King of Rome was privately christened
+at nine o'clock in the evening, in the chapel of the Tuileries,
+surrounded by his family and the court; the Emperor took his place in
+the middle of the chapel, on a chair with a prayer desk before it,
+beneath a canopy. Between the altar and the rail, on a granite base
+covered with white velvet, had been set a superb vermilion vase which
+served for the baptismal font. When Napoleon approached to present his
+son, there was a moment of religious silence, which contrasted with the
+noisy gayety of the vast crowd which had gathered near the Tuileries
+from every quarter of the city to see the fireworks and the magnificent
+illumination. "The houses," Constant says in his Memoirs, "were
+illuminated voluntarily. Those who try to make out from the outside
+appearance the real thoughts of a people on occasions like this,
+observed that the highest stories in the remotest quarters were as
+bright as the most sumptuous mansions. The public buildings, which
+are generally most brilliant in contrast with the darkness of the
+neighboring houses, now were scarcely to be distinguished in the
+profusion of lights which the rejoicing public had set in every window.
+The boatmen improvised a festival which lasted nearly all night, and
+attracted a huge and happy crowd to the banks of the river. The populace
+who had been through so many emotions, had celebrated so many victories
+in the last thirty years, displayed as much enthusiasm as if this were
+the first of its festivities in honor of a happy change in its destiny,"
+
+March 22, Napoleon received in the throne-room at the Tuileries the
+great bodies of the State.
+
+"Your people," said the President of the Senate, "greet with unanimous
+applause this new star rising above the horizon of France, whose first
+ray scatters every shadow of future gloom."
+
+When we think of the end of this matter, and reflect that this King of
+Rome was to be deprived not merely of his title of Prince Imperial and
+of King, but of the name of Napoleon and of Bonaparte, that he was
+destined to be known as Francis, Duke of Reichstadt, and to be buried
+in the Church of the Capuchins in Vienna, in Austrian uniform, is it
+possible to repress a sad smile at the simple optimism of courts? In
+1811 illusions were universal. "Amid all our triumphs," says General de
+Ségur, "when even our enemies, at last resigning themselves to their
+fate, seemed hopeless, or had rallied to the side of our Emperor, what
+pretext was there for gloom, or for any foreboding of a total or partial
+eclipse? It was pleasanter to trust in his star, which dazzled us from
+its height, so many wonders had it wrought!... And how many of us,
+despite the ever-shifting sky of France, when we see it clear, are
+tempted to think that no change threatens, and are every day surprised
+by some sudden storm! Who, when he hears that some apparently healthy
+person has dropped dead, is not astonished? We were in just such case,
+when, March 20, 1811, Heaven, feeding our pride to make our humiliation
+deeper, vouchsafed the conclusion of the fairy-show and completed the
+illusion with the birth of the King of Rome." Napoleon, in the enjoyment
+of every happiness and of every triumph, had reached the lofty summit of
+glory and prosperity; from this he was soon to fall in a swift, giddy
+flight, at the end of which opened a terrible abyss, full of blood and
+tears.
+
+
+
+
+XX.
+
+
+THE RECOVERY.
+
+Marie Louise made a quick recovery, and her restoration to health
+delighted both her husband and herself. Her father, the Emperor of
+Austria, sympathized with their happiness, as is shown by the following
+letter of his to Napoleon, dated March 27, 1811: "My Dear Brother and
+Son-in-Law,--It is impossible for me to express in a formal letter of
+this sort the satisfaction I feel at the good news you have sent to me
+about my daughter. Your Majesty must already know my keen interest in an
+event of such importance, both for her and for France, as the birth of a
+prince, and the fact that this is safely over only augments my joy. May
+Heaven preserve this new pledge of the ties uniting us! Nothing could be
+more precious or surer to unite firmly the happy bonds existing between
+the two Empires."
+
+Napoleon, on the 20th of March, had despatched to Vienna Count Nicolai,
+who arrived there on the 28th. On that day Francis wrote to his
+son-in-law: "My Brother and Dear Son-in-Law,--Count Nicolai has this
+moment delivered to me the two letters of Your Majesty. Since I am
+unwilling to delay a courier, who is on the point of departure, and will
+carry to Your Majesty and to the Empress the first expressions of
+my delight at the happy event, I postpone my formal answer to Your
+Majesty's invitation to hold his son at the baptismal font, but I hasten
+to take this opportunity to say that I accept so agreeable a duty.
+
+"All the details which Your Majesty gives me about the birth of the
+prince arouse my sincerest interest. Your letter proves your kindness
+towards a wife who returns it with affection as deserved as it is
+sincere, and for this I hereby express all my gratitude. I thank you,
+too, for the full details you have written to me. I know the Empress
+well enough to be sure that, though her sufferings were great, the
+happiness of satisfying the wishes of Your Majesty and of your people is
+an ample compensation. I am sure that Your Majesty's presence must
+have given her strength and her attendant confidence in difficult
+circumstances. Your Majesty has already so many claims upon my
+friendship that these details were not needed to induce me to cherish
+more and more the bonds that unite us, and which I charge my daughter
+and her son to make even closer."
+
+The health of Marie Louise and of the King of Rome was perfect. In order
+to respond to the eagerness of the crowd that was ever thick at the
+doors of the Tuileries in search of news about the Empress and the young
+prince, it had been decided that one of the chamberlains should be
+present all day in the first drawing-room of the grand apartment, to
+receive all who came and report to them the bulletin issued twice a day
+by the physicians. But soon that was stopped, and there were no more
+bulletins, the mother and child being perfectly well. April 6, Marie
+Louise got up and wrote six lines to her father. The 17th she walked on
+the terrace by the water, amid the applause of the crowd. The next day
+Prince Clary, whom the Emperor of Austria had sent from Vienna, was
+received. Napoleon spoke for a long time about the courage, the virtue,
+the kindness, the excellent education, the exquisite tact, and the
+perfect dignity of the Empress. "Moreover," he added, "every one admires
+her." The same day, April 18, the Empress drove in the Bois de Boulogne,
+and was present at a reception to receive the congratulations of the
+Diplomatic Body. The churching took place the next day, the 19th, in the
+chapel of the Tuileries. Prince Rohan officiated.
+
+April 21, Marie Louise and the Emperor went to Saint Cloud, whence, two
+days later, she wrote to her father the following letter, published by
+M. von Helfert in German: "My dear Father,--You may imagine my great
+bliss. I never could have imagined that I could be so happy. My love
+for my husband has grown, if that is possible, since my son's birth. I
+cannot think of his tenderness without tears. It would make me love him
+now, if I had never loved him before, for all his kind qualities. He
+tells me to speak to you about him. He often asks after you, and says,
+'Your father ought to be very happy to have a grandson.' When I tell him
+that you already love my child, he is delighted. I am going to send you
+a portrait of the boy. I think you will see how much he looks like the
+Emperor. He is very strong for only five weeks. When he was born he
+weighed nine pounds. He is very well, and is in the garden all day long.
+The Emperor takes the greatest interest in him. He carries him about in
+his arms, plays with him, and tries to give him his bottle, but he does
+not succeed. You know from my uncle's letter how much I suffered for
+twenty-two hours, but my happiness in being a mother makes me forget it.
+The baptism is set for the month of June. I am sorry that you are too
+busy to come. Heaven grant that you may come soon! I was glad to hear
+from Prince Clary that you are well. I hope that God will hear my
+prayers, and that dear mamma will soon be quite recovered. You may
+imagine how many questions I asked about you; for talking about you,
+about your kindness, is my greatest pleasure."
+
+The return of summer induced Napoleon to go to Rambouillet for a few
+days with the Empress, for the hunt. In this residence, which was
+simpler and smaller than the other Imperial castles, the Emperor had a
+taste of domestic life. He reached there May 13, and left on the 22d, to
+make a trip through Normandy. Marie Louise was so urgent that at last he
+decided to take her with him. The departments of Calvados and La Manche
+greeted them with the utmost enthusiasm. The Emperor celebrated his stay
+at Caen by granting favors and conferring benefits. Many young men of
+good family were appointed ensigns; one hundred and thirty thousand
+francs were distributed in charity. From Caen the Emperor and Empress
+went to Cherbourg to visit the works in the harbor, which had just been
+dug out of the granite rocks to the depth of fifty feet.
+
+"What delight," General de Ségur writes in his Memoirs concerning this
+trip, "What delight, what admiration was ours! Great must have been
+Napoleon's pride, judging from our own satisfaction which we received as
+old and trusted companions of so great a man!... I saw Cherbourg for the
+first time. This port, which Louis XVI. had designed simply for one of
+refuge, had been transformed by Napoleon into one from which an attack
+could be made. In those days of prodigies, however incapable of
+amazement I might have been, this roadstead, won by superhuman exertion
+from the ocean, this vast basin hewn to a depth of fifty feet in the
+granite, with accommodations for fifty men-of-war, for their building,
+for their repair, for their armament, filled me with an admiration such
+as I had felt at the first sight of the grandeur of the Alps."
+
+The day after his arrival at Cherbourg, Napoleon rode out early, visited
+the heights about the town and inspected different ships. The next day
+he presided at several meetings and visited the works of the navy-yard;
+then he went down to the bottom of the basin hewn out of the rock, which
+was to contain the ships-of-the-line, and to be covered by the water to
+a depth of fifty-five feet. "During our stay," says M. de Bausset, "the
+Emperor wanted to breakfast on the dyke, or jetty, which had been begun
+in the unhappy reign of the most virtuous of kings. I got there before
+Their Majesties, on a most lovely day, and had everything arranged. The
+table was set in view of the sea; the English ships were plainly
+visible on the distant horizon; certainly they were far from suspecting
+Napoleon's presence. There was still a strong battery on the breakwater
+to protect the roadstead and the harbor. I do not think that our
+neighbors would have ventured to salute us at closer quarters, even if
+they had been better informed. At a signal from the Emperor the squadron
+lying in the roadstead, consisting of three large ships, under the
+command of Admiral Tronde, put out under full sail and passed in front
+of the jetty on which we were.... The Admiral's ship came up as close as
+it could; the Rear-Admiral came in his gig to fetch Their Majesties and
+their suite, and took us on board, amid the cheers of the crew, who were
+all in full uniform. While the Empress and her ladies were resting in
+the ward-room, Napoleon inspected the rest of the ship. Just when we
+least expected it, he ordered all the cannon to be fired together; never
+in my life did I hear such a noise: I thought that the ship was blowing
+up."
+
+Napoleon and Marie Louise were back at Saint Cloud June 4, 1811. The
+Empress, then in the full flower of her beauty, and radiant with
+happiness, had responded to the profuse manifestations of public
+enthusiasm by her gracious reception of the authorities and the people
+of the departments.
+
+It would be hard to imagine all the homage paid at this time to the
+Imperial pair. Dithyrambs upon the birth of the King of Rome were
+composed in every language of Europe except the English. There was a
+real avalanche of poems, odes, epistles; in less than a week the Emperor
+received more than two thousand of these tributes. Probably he read very
+few of these extravagant compositions, which were crammed panegyrics
+and allegories of the Greek mythology. The sum of one hundred thousand
+francs was divided among the authors of these official poems. "Of all
+these memorials, the most curious that flattery ever elevated," Madame
+Durand writes, "is a collection of French and Latin verses, entitled,
+'The Marriage and the Birth,' which was printed at the Imperial press,
+and appointed by the University to be given as a prize to the pupils
+of the four grammar schools of Paris, and of those in the provinces,
+thereby assuring a ready sale. In this heap of trash figures the names
+of all the authors who, when the giant had fallen, insulted his remains
+and burned their incense before the new deity who took his place.
+
+"As Béranger said about those poets:--
+  "They are, like the confectioners,
+   Friends of every baptism."
+
+The _Moniteur_, in its number of June 9, 1811, the day of the King of
+Rome's baptism, spoke as follows: "The happy event which, at the moment
+of writing these lines, is throughout this vast Empire the object of the
+thanksgivings which a great people can offer to Heaven; which inspire
+songs of happiness in our temples, our public places, our peaceful
+cities, our fertile fields, and in the camps of our invincible warriors;
+which fulfils at once the wishes of the people for the happiness of
+their Sovereign, and those of the Sovereign for the firm establishment
+of the institutions he has consecrated to the prosperity of his people,
+ought more than any other to kindle the fervor of our poets and fill
+them with a lively and noble inspiration. Yet no one of them has been
+able to disguise the difficulty of his task; all have recognized that
+their greatest efforts would be required, not only to rise to the height
+of a subject of which its greatness is the first peril, but even to
+attune their lyre to the pitch of the enthusiasm that fires us, an
+enthusiasm of which the mighty voice, filling all France and heard in
+the remotest corner of Europe, is itself the grandest hymn of poetry and
+the most harmonious music. But no such obstacle has discouraged their
+muse; admiration, gratitude, love, furnish a happy inspiration, and our
+poets have felt it; they have faithfully transcribed the language of the
+populace in the language ascribed to the gods."
+
+In proof of this we quote some of the verses inserted in the official
+organ:--
+
+  "Sion, rejoice! The voice of the prophets
+  Announces again the days of the Eternal One.
+  Before a young child, dear hope of Israel,
+  The cedars of Lebanon will bow their heads.
+  Of the oppressed he will become the support:
+  He will punish crime, and will brand vice;
+  His words will be the voice of justice,
+  And the Spirit of the Lord will march before him."
+
+That is the Biblical style, which was used freely a few years later
+to celebrate the baptism of the Duke of Bordeaux. Mythology, too, was
+called in:--
+
+  "Do you see the leopard, weary of carnage,
+  Sated with blood, towards his savage lair
+  Run roaring?
+  Seized by an invincible, unknown terror,
+  He announces his death, and flees at the sight
+  Of a new-born Alcides."
+
+The poet Millevoye exclaimed:--
+
+  "With your head encircled with laurel and flowers,
+  Come to reopen henceforth the progress of the year,
+  Month long since consecrated to the lover of Venus!
+  Triumph, and seize again thy faded garland,
+  Which the friend of Egeria placed
+  On the double brow of Janus."
+
+M. Le Sur spoke about the Tiber in these terms:--
+
+  "The Tiber, too long drowsing on its urn,
+  Lets grow in its bosom the silent reed.
+  It awakens at the resonant noise of brass,
+  And with a proud wave washing its shore'
+  Of its old heritage
+  It offers the remains to the Young Sovereign."
+
+A poet who was destined to become famous, and at that time was a scholar
+in the Lycée Napoléon, Casimir Delavigne, tried his muse, a youthful
+muse, according to the _Moniteur_:--
+
+  "Receive, royal child, the vows of the country.
+  May thy father's laurel shadow thy cradle!
+  May glory and the arts, adorning thy life,
+  Consecrate forever the happiest reign!
+  Child beloved of heaven, awaited by the earth,
+  Promised to posterity,
+  May thou, under the eyes of thy August father,
+  Grow to immortality!"
+
+A professor famous for his Latin verses, M. Lemaire, was so fired by his
+lyrical enthusiasm that he compared Marie Louise to another Mary, the
+Queen of Heaven. Of the two queens,--one, he said, rules in Heaven; the
+other on earth:--
+
+  "Haec coelo regina micat; micat altera terris."
+
+
+
+
+XXI.
+
+
+THE BAPTISM.
+
+
+The baptism of the King of Rome was celebrated with great pomp, Sunday,
+June 7, 1811, at Notre Dame. The festivities began the evening before,
+when, at seven o'clock, Napoleon and Marie Louise and their son arrived
+from Saint Cloud with a grand retinue. The courtyard of the palace, the
+garden, and the terraces were filled with applauding spectators. Free
+performances were given at all the theatres, at which songs referring
+to the event were loudly cheered. Paris was illuminated, and in all the
+public places food was given away to the populace. Wine flowed in the
+fountains, and everywhere was drunk the health of the young king and of
+his happy parents.
+
+The baptism took place at seven o'clock the next evening; at two in the
+afternoon troops of the line and the Imperial Guard formed a double row
+from the Tuileries to Notre Dame. Many public buildings and private
+houses were decorated with tapestry, leaves, and designs.
+
+At four the Senate started from the Luxembourg, the Council of State
+from the Tuileries, the Court of Appeal, the Court of Accounts, the
+Council of the University, from their respective places of meeting. From
+the Hôtel de Ville started the Prefect of the Seine, the Mayors and the
+Municipal Council of Paris, the Mayors and Deputies of forty-nine more
+or less important cities of the Empire. It was said that the Mayor of
+Rome and the Mayor of Hamburg happened to be placed side by side, and
+greeted one another with, "Good day, neighbor!"
+
+Before the façade of Notre Dame had been built a large, tent-shaped
+portal, supported by columns and decorated with draperies and garlands.
+The interior of the Cathedral was brilliantly lit, and adorned with
+flags. The seats in the choir to the right had been reserved for foreign
+princes; those to the left, for the Diplomatic Body; the outer edge, for
+the wives of the ministers of the high crown officers, as well as for
+the households of the Imperial family; the sanctuary, for the twenty
+cardinals, and the hundred archbishops and bishops; the choir, for the
+Senate, the Council of State, the Mayors and Deputies of the forty-nine
+cities; the upper part of the nave, for the civil and military
+authorities; the rest of the nave, and the triforiums, for invited
+guests.
+
+At five o'clock the mounted chasseurs of the Guard, who were at the
+head of the procession, began to move. But let us rather yield to the
+_Moniteur_, which is always lyrical and enthusiastic, whatever the
+Prince, imperial or royal, who is to be baptized: "At half-past five,"
+says the official organ, "the cannon, which had been firing at a certain
+distance ever since the evening before, announced the departure of Their
+Majesties from the Palace of the Tuileries, accompanied by their suite
+in the order prescribed by the programme. For the first time the
+public was able to behold the August infant whose royal name was to be
+consecrated under the auspices of religion. The effect that this sight
+produced upon every soul defies description. 'Long live the King of
+Rome!' was the uninterrupted acclamation all along the route. Their
+Majesties were greeted in the same way; their August names united in
+every mouth, with accents of love, respect, and gratitude. They seemed
+to appreciate this double homage, which was, in fact, but one alone, and
+they deigned to express their feeling in the most touching way to the
+attendant multitude."
+
+As the legendary grandmother says in Béranger's _Memories of the
+People_, the weather was perfect, the Emperor radiant:--
+
+  "I, a poor woman,
+  Being in Paris one day,
+  Saw him with his court;
+  He was going to Notre Dame--
+  All hearts were happy;
+  Every one admired the procession.
+  Every one said: What fine weather!
+  Heaven is always favorable to him.
+  His smile was very gentle;
+  God had made him father of a son."
+And the little villagers all sing in chorus:--
+
+  "What a great day for you, grandmother!
+  What a great day for you!"
+
+At a little before seven the Imperial procession reached Notre Dame. The
+sovereigns were met at the door by the Cardinal Grand Almoner, who gave
+them holy water. Then the procession advanced in the following order:
+ushers, heralds-at-arms, the Chief Herald, the pages, the aides, the
+orderly officers on duty, the masters of ceremonies, the prefects of
+the Palace on duty, the officers of the King of Rome, the Emperor's
+equerries, ordinary and extraordinary, in attendance, the chamberlains,
+ordinary and extraordinary, in attendance, the equerries of the day,
+the chamberlains of the day, the First Equerry, the grand eagles of the
+Legion of Honor, the high officers of the Empire, the ministers,
+the High Chamberlain, the First Equerry, and the Grand Master of
+Ceremonies;--the various objects to be used, to wit: the Prince's
+candle, carried by the Princess of Neufchâtel; the chrisom cloth, by the
+Princess Aldobrandini; the saltcellar, by the Countess of Beauvau;--then
+the objects belonging to the godfather and godmother, to wit: the basin,
+carried by the Duchess of Alborg; the ewer, by the Countess Vilain XIV.;
+the towel, by the Duchess of Dalmatia;--in front of the King of Rome,
+to the right, the Grand Duke of Würzburg, representing the Emperor of
+Austria, godfather; to the left, the mother of Napoleon, godmother, and
+Queen Hortense, representing the Queen of Naples, the second godmother;
+the King of Rome, carried by his governess, in a coat of silver tissue
+embroidered with ermine, with his two assistant governesses and nurse
+on each side (the train of his coat was carried by Marshal, the Duke
+of Valmy); the Empress, beneath a canopy upheld by canons, her First
+Equerry holding Her Majesty's train; the lady-in-waiting and
+tirewoman, the Knight of Honor and the First Almoner, to the right and
+left;--behind the canopy Princess Pauline, an officer of her household
+carrying her train; the ladies of the Palace; Cambacérčs, Duke of Parma,
+Archchancellor of the Empire; Marshal Berthier, Prince of Neufchâtel and
+of Wagram, Vice-Constable; Talleyrand, Prince of Benevento, Vice Grand
+Elector; Prince Borghese, Duke of Guastalla; Prince Eugene, Viceroy of
+Italy; the Hereditary Grand Duke of Frankfort; Prince Joseph Napoleon,
+King of Spain; Prince Jerome Napoleon, King of Westphalia;--the Emperor
+under a canopy, upheld by canons: to the right and left of the canopy,
+his aides; behind the canopy the Colonel commanding the Guard on
+duty, the Grand Marshal of the Palace, and the First Almoner; the
+ladies-in-waiting of the Princesses, the ladies and officers of Their
+Imperial Highnesses on duty.
+
+When the procession had taken their places according to their rank,
+the Grand Almoner intoned the _Veni Creator_, and the governess having
+carried the child to the railing of the choir, he went through the
+preliminary rites, and then took place the baptism. As soon as the
+Imperial child had been baptized, the governess placed him in the hands
+of the Empress; the First Herald-at-Arms advanced to the middle of the
+choir and called out three times, "Long live the King of Rome!" Cheers
+and applause, which till that moment had been restrained by the sanctity
+of the ceremony and the solemnity of the place, then broke forth on all
+sides. While they lasted, Marie Louise stood with the child in her arms;
+the Emperor then took him and held him aloft, that all might see him.
+
+Thiers thus comments in a page of real eloquence on this imposing
+spectacle: "What a solemn mystery surrounds human life! What a painful
+surprise it would have been, if beyond this scene of power and
+greatness, one could have seen the ruin, the blood, the flames of
+Moscow, the ice of the Beresina and Leipsic, Fontainebleau, Elba, Saint
+Helena, and finally the death of this prince at the age of twenty, in
+exile, without one of the crowns he wore that day upon his head, and the
+many revolutions once more to raise his family after overthrowing
+it! What a blessing that the future is hidden from man! But what a
+stumbling-block for his prudence, charged to conjecture the morrow and
+to guard against it with all one's wisdom."
+
+When the governess had again taken the Prince, she courtesied to the
+Emperor, and the King of Rome, with his retinue, left the church, to be
+taken to the Archbishop's, whence he returned to the Tuileries. Then the
+Grand Almoner intoned the _Te Deum_, which, was performed by the choir,
+and followed by the _Domine, fac salvum imperatorem_. The Emperor
+and the Empress were conducted with the same ceremonies as at their
+entrance, to the church door, where they got into their carriage amid
+the cheers of the crowd, and drove to the entertainment at the Hôtel de
+Ville.
+
+"The people of Paris admitted to this festivity," says Thiers, "were
+able to see Napoleon at table, his crown on his head, surrounded by the
+kings of his family and a number of foreign princes, eating in public,
+like the old Germanic Emperors, the successors of the Emperors of
+the West. The Parisians applauded in their delight at this brilliant
+spectacle, imagining that durability was united with grandeur and with
+glory! They did well to rejoice, for these joys were the last of the
+reign. Henceforth our story is but one long lamentation."
+
+Napoleon and Marie Louise reached the Hôtel de Ville at eight in the
+evening. The Prefect of the Seine, after welcoming them with an address,
+led them to the rooms prepared for them, and the Emperor received four
+sets of presentations. The Grand Marshal of the Palace announced that
+dinner was ready. The Imperial banquet was thus arranged: in the middle
+of the table, the Emperor; on his left, the Empress, the Queen of
+Holland, Princess Borghese, the Grand Duke of Würzburg, the Grand Duke
+of Frankfort; on his right, his mother, the King of Spain, the King of
+Westphalia, Prince Borghese, the Viceroy of Italy. The table was on
+a dais. A canopy overhung the chairs of the Emperor and Empress. The
+ladies of the Palace and the Imperial retinue sat below the platform,
+opposite the table, The officers of the Emperor's household waited
+on the table. The hall was decorated with the coats-of-arms of the
+forty-nine chosen cities, Paris, Rome, and Amsterdam being the first;
+the rest were in alphabetical order. After the dinner, the sovereigns
+went into the record-room, where a concert was given, in which was sung
+a cantata, called "Ossian's Song," with words by Arnault, and music by
+Méhul. Then, after talking to a number of people in the throne-room,
+Napoleon and Louise went into the garden which had been constructed
+about the courtyard of the Hôtel de Ville, where the Tiber was
+represented by abundant streams of cool water. They left at eleven, and
+thereupon was opened a ball which lasted till daybreak. In the morning
+poor young girls, with dowries given by the city, had been married
+to soldiers in every arrondissement. The whole city was alive with
+enthusiasm. Food had been given away on the Champs Élysées, there had
+been sports in the square of Marigny, tournaments, greased poles,
+public balls, balloon ascension, fireworks, a general illumination, and
+everything of the sort for the amusement of the populace.
+
+On the 9th of June there were grand festivities in the large towns of
+the Empire, in honor of the baptism of the King of Rome. At Antwerp all
+the arts and trades contributed to making six chariots, which made
+an imposing procession. The first represented France crowned by
+Immortality; the second, the marriage of the Emperor and Empress; the
+third, the birth of the King of Rome; the fourth, his cradle; the fifth,
+Religion, Innocence, and Charity praying Heaven for a long life to the
+sovereigns and their son; the sixth, France representing the young
+Prince as King to the city of Rome. This procession of chariots was
+preceded by the giant, the whale, the frigate, the car of Neptune, that
+of Europe, and other figures called in their language _den grooten
+hommegang_.
+
+At Rome, the city of the Prince, festivities began in the night of June
+8, being announced by guns of the fleet of Civita Vecchia, which had
+sailed up the Tiber, all beautifully decorated. The Capitol, the Forum,
+the Coliseum, the arches of Septimius and Constantine, the temples of
+Concord, of Peace, of Antoninus, and Fausta, the Column of Jupiter
+Stator, were all brilliantly illuminated. In the morning of the 9th all
+the authorities went to Saint Peter's to hear the _Te Deum_ sung before
+an immense multitude. In the course of the day there was a horse-race,
+and in the evening the dome of Saint Peter's and the Colonnade were
+illuminated, and there were fireworks at the Castle of Saint Angelo.
+The Rome of the Cćsars and the Popes, the Eternal City, celebrated the
+baptismal day of its young King with great splendor.
+
+
+
+
+XXII.
+
+
+SAINT CLOUD AND TRIANON.
+
+The Emperor had determined that there could not be too much rejoicing at
+his son's baptism; consequently he gave an entertainment himself, June
+23,1811, in the palace and park of Saint Cloud. The palace, with its
+magnificent halls, its drawing-rooms of Mars, Venus, Truth, Mercury, and
+Aurora, its Gallery of Apollo, and Room of Diana, adorned with Mignard's
+frescoes; the park, with its fine trees, its wonderful stretches, its
+greensward, and abundant flowers; the two grand views from the
+upper windows, one towards Paris, the other towards the garden; the
+waterfalls, set in a tasteful frame, and rushing down step by step,
+breaking into a white foam, sparkling in the sunlight or with the
+reflection of a thousand torches, formed a marvellous setting for a
+festival both by night and by day. More than three hundred thousand
+persons went to Saint Cloud; they began to arrive in the morning, and
+filled every avenue, covered every bit of rising ground. Food was
+publicly distributed; the fountains ran wine. Games and sports of all
+kinds were played, and the Imperial Guard gave an open-air banquet to
+the garrison of Paris.
+
+At six in the evening Napoleon and Marie Louise drove in an open
+barouche through the park, without guard or escort, to the great delight
+of the applauding multitude. The orange house, which had been stripped
+of its contents for the decoration of the front of the palace, was
+adorned with stuffs of fine colors. Temples and kiosks had been set
+up in the shrubbery. At nightfall six illuminated launches, manned
+by sailors of the Imperial Guard, performed various evolutions and
+discharged fireworks, which made a brilliant show upon the river.
+Meanwhile the illuminations began throughout the park, along the
+terraces, and the amphitheatre, and in the palace. It was a most
+fairy-like sight; the large cascade with its half-lying statues of the
+Seine and the Loire; the lower cascade beneath; the fountain rising
+twenty-seven metres; the large square basin with the ten little
+shell-shaped basins and the nine fountains spurting from gilded masques;
+the green lawns, the flower-beds, the shrubbery,--all lit up by the
+blazing fireworks. At nine o'clock Madame Blanchard went up in a
+balloon, discharging fireworks from the car, which formed a starlike
+crown set at a great height; she seemed like a magician in a fiery
+chariot. Fireworks were then set off by the artillery of the Imperial
+Guard from the middle of the Plain of Boulogne; they were visible from
+Paris as from Saint Cloud, and from all the hills bordering the
+Seine from Calvaire to Meudon. Next to the row of columns opened the
+illuminated garden, with waterfalls, trees, and porticoes, forming a
+most brilliant spectacle. The Emperor and Empress walked through the
+park, and Marie Louise was continually reminded of her beloved Austria,
+of Schoenbrunn, of the Burg, of Laxenburg, by the wonderful panorama.
+There were many bands stationed among the trees, playing waltzes, and
+dancers from the opera, dressed as German shepherds and shepherdesses,
+were dancing. An interlude, "The Village Festival," words by Étienne,
+set to music by Nicolo, was given in the open air, on the grass. When
+the Empress came to a column supporting a basket of flowers, a dove alit
+at her feet and offered her an ingenious motto.
+
+The weather had been tolerably pleasant all day; but it became stormy in
+the evening; the air grew heavy: there could be seen neither moon nor
+stars. There had just been illuminated, opposite the grand cascade, a
+model of the palace intended for the King of Rome,--this palace the
+Emperor meant to build on the high ground of Chaillot, with the Bois de
+Boulogne for its park,--when suddenly the storm that had been slowly
+gathering burst upon the heads of the vast crowd in the park. There were
+there deputations from all the large towns of the vast empire which
+reached from Cuxhaven to Rome; the men in costly velvet coats, the women
+in dresses of embroidered silk. The Emperor at the moment happened to be
+talking in the doorway between the drawing-room and the garden; near him
+was the Mayor of Lyons, to whom he said, "I am going to benefit your
+manufactures." Then he remained standing in the doorway. The courtiers
+received the shower with bare heads and smiling faces. Possibly some
+might have said that the rain of Saint Cloud, like the rain of Marly,
+did not wet.
+
+Of course no one had an umbrella. Prince Aldobrandini, the Empress's
+First Equerry, managed to procure one, which he held over her. Count
+Rémusat found another, and for an hour he was coming and going, between
+the park and the palace, to bring as many ladies as possible under
+shelter. The entertainment could not go on; every one was wet through.
+The musicians could not play on their dripping instruments. The Emperor
+and the Empress withdrew at eleven, and both the court and the people
+had gloomy memories of this festivity which began so well and ended so
+badly. Superstitious and ill-disposed persons fancied that they saw an
+evil omen in this; they recalled the disastrous ball at the Austrian
+Embassy, and said that the storm broke just at the very moment when the
+palace of the King of Rome was illuminated. But what difference could a
+simple shower make to a people accustomed to streams of blood?
+
+August 15, 1811, there was a brilliant celebration at Saint Cloud and
+Paris, as well as throughout the Empire, of the festival of the great
+and the small Napoleon. August 25 was the birthday of the Empress
+Marie Louise, and this was celebrated at the two Trianons, which were
+full of memories of Louis XIV. and of Marie Antoinette. The Grand
+Trianon, graceful and majestic, though but a single story high, and the
+Little Trianon, charming, though but a simple small square, of no regal
+aspect, were enchanted palaces on Marie Louise's birthday. The two
+buildings, the belvedere, the little lakes, the island and Temple of
+Love, the village, the octagonal pavilion, the theatre, were all aglow.
+It seemed as if Marie Antoinette were alive again, and to the Empress
+Delille's lines could have applied as well as to the Queen:--
+
+  "Like its August and youthful deity,
+  Trianon combines grace with majesty:
+  For her it adorns itself, is by her adorned."
+
+It was only twenty-two years since Marie Antoinette had been there, and
+many of the lords and ladies who adorned Napoleon's court as they had
+adorned that of Louis XVI. could not see without emotion this fairy-like
+recall of the brilliant days of the old régime. The French nobility had
+an opportunity to make many reflections on revisiting the Little Trianon
+which aroused many memories. It was less than eighteen years since there
+had perished on the scaffold the charming sovereign who had been the
+idol, the goddess, of this little temple; and now new festivities were
+beginning; another Austrian archduchess occupied the place of the martyred
+Queen. There was the Swiss village, of which Louis XVI. had been
+the miller, the Count of Provence the schoolmaster, the Count of Artois
+the gamekeeper, the village with its merry mill, the dairy where the
+cream filled porphyry vessels on marble tables, the laundry where the
+clothes were beaten with ebony sticks, the granary to which led mahogany
+ladders, the sheep-house where the sheep were shorn with golden shears.
+They saw once more the grass sprinkled with flowers, the clear water,
+the trees of all colors from dark green to cherry-red; larches and pink
+acacias, cedars of Lebanon, sophoras from China, poplars from Athens,
+and they said that Time, which shatters a sceptre, respects a shrub.
+Everything else had changed; the garden was still the same.
+
+All day long the gloomy solitude of Versailles had been crowded anew
+as if by magic. A countless multitude thronged its long, wide avenues,
+which had been almost deserted since October, 1789. The festivities
+of the former monarchy appeared to have begun again. At three in the
+afternoon a rather heavy shower had fallen, and it seemed as if the day
+and evening would end gloomily; but on the contrary, the rain was but
+brief and only freshened the air, and made the festival pleasanter. The
+setting sun lit up the great king's town, and at night many-colored
+lamps decorated the Grand Trianon. Six hundred women in rich dresses,
+and ablaze with jewelry, gathered in the gallery of that palace. The
+Empress spoke to many of them, and it was noticed how well she had
+become acquainted with French society, although she had been in the
+country but fifteen months; and with what kindness and dignity she
+addressed them.
+
+Then they went to the theatre of the Little Trianon, a perfect jewel, a
+gem, with its two Ionic columns, its pediment in which Love is holding a
+lyre and a laurel wreath; and its ceiling representing Olympus, the work
+of Lagrenée; and its curtain, on which are two nymphs supporting Marie
+Antoinette's coat-of-arms. It was there that, August 19, 1785, the Queen
+played Rosina, in "The Barber of Seville," and that the Count of Artois
+uttered those ominous words as Figaro, "I try to laugh at everything,
+lest I should have to weep at everything." Before Napoleon and Marie
+Louise there was given a piece composed for the occasion by Alissan de
+Chazet: it was called "The Gardener of Schoenbrunn." After it was a
+pretty ballet given by the dancers of the Opera.
+
+When this was over, the Emperor and Empress walked through the gardens
+of the Little Trianon, which were illuminated. Napoleon, with his hat in
+his hand, gave his arm to Marie Louise. They visited the island and the
+marble Temple of Love, in which is Bouchardon's statue of Love carving
+his bow into the club of Hercules. There was soft music from concealed
+performers, which seemed to rise from the bottom of the lake, on which
+floated illuminated boats full of children disguised as cupids. Then
+they walked further in the garden, and watched a _tableau vivant_,
+representing Flemish peasants. This was succeeded by groups representing
+the people of the different provinces of the Empire in their national
+dress, from the Tiber to the North Sea. The celebration ended with a
+supper in the gallery of the Grand Trianon. All those who had known the
+place in the old régime agreed that the festival was a perfect success;
+and Marie Louise, who was becoming more and more at home in France, was
+sure that her birthday had never been celebrated with anything like such
+magnificence.
+
+
+
+
+XXIII.
+
+
+THE TRIP TO HOLLAND.
+
+A short time after Wagram Napoleon had been heard, in a levee at which
+his generals were present, to lament the bloody campaigns in which he
+always lost some of his early companions. "I have been a soldier long
+enough," he went on; "it's time for me to be a king." During 1811 he
+seemed faithful to this new programme. The soldier had become a monarch,
+and the hero of so many battles seemed to be desirous of the glories of
+peace. He determined to make a trip in Belgium and Holland and along the
+banks of the Rhine, where he should see for himself what the happiness
+of the people required. The Empress made the journey with him, but
+Napoleon started from Compičgne without her, September 19; she was to
+join him on the 30th at Antwerp. At this time she was so attached to him
+that she could not endure a separation of only a few days, and she wrote
+to her father: "My husband has left to-night to go to the island of
+Walcheren, which has the worst climate in the world, so that I could
+not go with him, for which I am extremely sorry." While the Emperor was
+visiting Boulogne, Ostend, and Flushing, the Queen made her way, with
+a magnificent court, to Belgium. She left Compičgne, September 22, and
+took up her residence at the castle at Laeken, near Brussels. She often
+visited the Belgian capital, which then was only the chief town of a
+French department,--the department of the Dyle. Napoleon made a great
+point of her appearing in all splendor in the provinces which had
+previously been governed by the house of Austria. She went to the
+theatre, where she was warmly greeted, and purchased a hundred and fifty
+thousand francs' worth of lace to revive the manufactures of the city.
+September 30 she joined her husband at Antwerp. The _Moniteur_ thus
+spoke of the way the Emperor had transformed this city: "Antwerp may be
+considered as a fortress of the rank of Metz and Strasbourg. The work
+which has been done there is enormous. On the left bank of the Scheldt,
+where two years ago there was only a redoubt, there has risen a city
+twelve thousand feet long, with eight bastions.... The view from
+the dockyard is unparalleled; twenty-one men-of-war, eight of them
+three-deckers, are building. The arsenal is fully provided with
+provisions of all sorts brought down the Rhine and the Meuse.
+
+"Seven years ago," continues the _Moniteur_, "there was not a single
+quay in Antwerp, and the houses came down to the river's edge. To-day,
+in the place of these houses, are superb quays, of service to the
+commerce and to the defence of the place. Six years ago there was no
+basin, but only a few canals where boats drawing ten or twelve feet
+could scarcely enter. To-day there is a basin twenty-six feet deep at
+the bank, able to hold ships-of-the-line, with a lock for the admission
+of ships carrying a hundred and twenty guns."
+
+The formal entrance into Amsterdam took place October 9, 1811. The
+former capital of Holland was merely the chief town of a French
+department,--the department of the Zuyder Zee. The Dutch were suffering
+a good deal from the Embargo, and sorely missed King Louis Bonaparte,
+who had in vain tried to alleviate their sufferings. When they came
+under the dominion of the Emperor, he had appointed Lebrun, Duke of
+Piacenza, their governor general. Of him, Count Beugnot says in his
+Memoirs, "He was doubtless a superior man, but he found it easier to
+translate Homer and Tasso, and to treat with wonderful ease the most
+difficult questions of political economy, than to console a Dutchman for
+the loss of ten florins."
+
+The discontent of the Dutch only strengthened Napoleon's desire to
+please and win them. "It seemed at that time," M. Beugnot goes on, "as
+if Heaven had given him every means of securing happiness. A son
+had just been born to him, whose future the poets were justified in
+foretelling in their own way. The child who inspired the Mantuan poet
+with the idyl, or rather with the magnificent prophecy, _Sicelides
+Musae_, etc., was but an humble creature by the side of this infant,
+who to the most impressive pride of race added enormous, newly acquired
+glory, such as the world had never seen." The happy Emperor fancied that
+by showing himself with the mother of the King of Rome to the Dutch and
+Germans, he should silence their complaints, wipe out their memories of
+national independence, and arouse an enthusiasm that would make them
+forget their sufferings and losses. Their welcome was of a sort to
+confirm him in this belief. The peaceful populace of Amsterdam forgot
+their usual phlegm, and cheered the mighty monarch and his young wife.
+The Empress entered the city in a gilded carriage with glass sides, and
+she was met by a guard of honor composed of young men belonging to the
+first families of Holland. The Emperor followed on horseback,
+surrounded by a brilliant staff. Their stay at Amsterdam was marked by
+extraordinary pomp; the company of the Théâtre Français was brought
+thither from Paris, and Talma appeared as Bayard and as Orosmane. The
+court made a stay of a fortnight, the Emperor making short excursions to
+Helder, one of his creations, to Texel, and to the dykes of Medemblik,
+which protect the country against the Zuyder Zee.
+
+General de Ségur, who went on the journey, thus describes it: "It might
+naturally be supposed, that in going through Holland, after the last two
+attempted assassinations, Napoleon would have taken precautions against
+such frequent attacks; but, far from it, he was full of confidence, and
+went about alone among these worst victims of the continental system,
+mingling every day with the dense crowd that gathered about him. His
+sole thought was to study their needs, their manners, and habits,
+anxious to see for himself and trusting thoroughly in them. These
+northern people hide warm hearts beneath a cold exterior; they are
+impressed by greatness, and give it their confidence. Their feelings
+are slow, but for that reason surer when once aroused. The Emperor's
+enormous fame had preceded him; and the appearance among them of this
+genius, all fire and flame, who had come, as he said, to adopt
+them, warmed their phlegmatic nature. They were at once filled with
+admiration; his presence, his trust in them, his consoling and
+encouraging words, the good works at once begun by his active and able
+administration, filled them with enthusiasm."
+
+During the three days of the Emperor's absence Marie Louise visited the
+neighborhood of Amsterdam. She went to the village of Broek, which lies
+a league from the port, on the shores of a little basin surrounded with
+flowers and grass, and is in communication with the Zuyder Zee by means
+of a small canal. This village is famous as a perfect model of the
+attractive luxury and the over-zealous neatness of the Dutch. It is of a
+circular shape. The houses, of wood and one story high, are built around
+and upon a lake, and are decorated outside with frescoes. Through the
+window-glass, which is remarkably clear, it is easy to see the curtains
+of Chinese figured silk or of Indian stuff. Within the houses are large
+Gothic sideboards, full of costly Japanese porcelain. There are no signs
+of use or of wear upon the furniture; every house looks as if it were
+the house of the Sleeping Beauty. There are no barns, or stables, or
+granaries, or kitchens. Everything connected with animals is banished
+from this fairy-like enclosure. Posts at the ends of every street bar
+the way against carriages. The pavement is in mosaic, and is covered
+with a fine sand, on which are designs of flowers. The inhabitants carry
+their sense of neatness so far that they compel every visitor to take
+off his shoes and put on slippers on entering a house. One day, when the
+Emperor Joseph II. happened to appear in a pair of boots before one of
+these curious houses, he was told that he would have to take them off
+before he could go in. "I am the Emperor," he said. "Well, if you were
+the burgomaster of Amsterdam, you couldn't come in with boots on," was
+the reply. Another time Hortense, then Queen of Holland, was not allowed
+to enter one of the houses, and King Louis approved, because the Queen
+had not sent word that she was coming.
+
+When Marie Louise visited this famous village, the burgomaster, in view
+of the importance of the occasion, consented to break the rigid rules
+and to permit the Imperial carriage to drive over the mosaic pavement
+to his house, where he presented his respects to the Empress. At this
+house, as in every one in the village, there are two doors,--one for
+daily use, the other opened only for baptisms, marriages, and funerals.
+This door, which is called the fatal door, opens into a room which is
+always kept shut except on these three occasions. "The Empress," says
+M. de Bausset, "asked to have the fatal door opened. We crossed the
+threshold with gratified vanity, in the presence of many inhabitants,
+who feared to follow us, but who were almost tempted to admire the ease
+and courage with which we went in and out. After visiting, admiring,
+and praising everything, we left these worthy people delighted with the
+touching graces and amiable kindness of their young sovereign."
+
+The Emperor and Empress visited Saardam, where Peter the Great spent
+ten months as a workman, to study shipbuilding. Napoleon fell into
+meditation before the hut of the famous Czar, as he had done before the
+tomb of Frederick the Great. "That is the noblest monument in Holland!"
+he said; and in memory of Peter the Great he ordered Saardam to be made
+a city.
+
+Napoleon and Marie Louise also spent a few hours at Harlem, a
+half-Gothic, half-Japanese town, celebrated by the passion of its
+inhabitants for flowers, especially for tulips. October 26, they arrived
+at Rotterdam, at Loo on the 27th, and spent the night of the 28th at The
+Hague, whence they went to visit the banks of the Rhine. The Emperor
+carried away with him a most favorable impression of the Dutch, whose
+seriousness, morality, love of order, and industry had continually
+struck him, so that he shared his brother Louis's partiality for a
+nation as interesting in the present as in the past.
+
+November 2, Napoleon and his wife reached Düsseldorf. This pretty town,
+which is picturesquely placed at the junction of the Düssel with the
+Rhine, was at that time the capital of the Grand Duchy of Berg, and had
+been under the rule of Murat before he was appointed King of Naples; on
+this visit the Emperor assigned it to the oldest son of Louis Bonaparte.
+Count Beugnot was then ruling the principality, which contained less
+than a million inhabitants. He it was who said in his curious and witty
+Memoirs: "How easy it would have been to secure the allegiance of the
+Germans, who are unable to withstand the attraction of military glory,
+for whom an oath of allegiance is a mere nothing, and who felt for
+France an affection which we cruelly drove out of them!... Germany,
+which always admires the marvellous, long preserved its admiration for
+the Emperor. At that time this was so general, that a breath would have
+blown over the Prussian monarchy, which neither the armies nor the
+memories of the great Frederick, together with the invincible legion of
+the successor of Peter the Great, could defend."
+
+At Düsseldorf, Napoleon, in accordance with his usual custom, received
+all the authorities, civil and military, as well as representatives of
+all sects. Among these last was an old white-bearded rabbi a hundred
+years old, who was so anxious to see the Emperor that he had himself
+carried to the reception. He entered, supported on one side by the
+parish priest, on the other, by the Protestant clergyman. This union
+of the three creeds in homage to their sovereign did not displease the
+Emperor, strange as it was. Count Beugnot's Memoirs must be consulted
+for a full account of the activity, the interest in details, the
+minuteness of the administrative investigations which, at Düsseldorf as
+everywhere else, characterized Napoleon in these laborious journeys, on
+which, under pretext of seeking distraction, he kept himself in almost
+as active movement as if he were at war. The Count who once played whist
+at Düsseldorf with Marie Louise for his partner, against the Duchess
+of Montebello and the Prince of Neufchâtel, says in speaking of the
+occasion: "As often happens, the game was carelessly played; all watched
+the cards only with their eyes, and gave their attention to what was
+going forward about the table, to which the Emperor came every few
+minutes to say a few pleasant words to the Empress or to joke with the
+Prince of Neufchâtel and me. I was too busy, both during the dinner and
+while we were playing, to make any study of the Empress's tastes or to
+form from them a judgment about her character. The journey had been
+long; she seemed tired and out of sorts. She answered the Emperor only
+in monosyllables, and the other by a somewhat monotonous nod of the
+head. I may be mistaken, but I am inclined to believe that Her Majesty
+is not free from the awe which her August husband inspires in all who
+approach him."
+
+After resting for two days at Düsseldorf, Napoleon and Marie Louise
+went on to Cologne, when they visited the Chapel of the Eleven Thousand
+Virgins, and a grand _Te Deum_ was sung in the famous Cathedral, They
+returned by Ličge, Givet, Mézičres, and Compičgne, reaching Saint Cloud
+after an absence of nearly three months,--the longest visit that the
+Emperor had made in the provinces of either the old or the new France.
+Everywhere he had met with the expression of two distinct but somewhat
+different sentiments: for the Empress, an affectionate respect; for
+himself, the sort of violent sensation that a man who is a living wonder
+always produces. XXIV.
+
+
+NAPOLEON AT THE HEIGHT OF HIS POWER.
+
+
+At the beginning of 1812 Napoleon had reached the height of his power.
+Before we watch his decline, it may be well to consider him at the
+summit of his fortune, in the fulness of his force, might, and glory. In
+his career there were two distinctly marked periods,--the democratic and
+the aristocratic. In the early days of the Empire the first one had not
+yet come to an end. The coins of that time still bore the stamp, "French
+Republic. Napoleon Emperor." He himself resembled Caesar rather than
+Charlemagne: he granted no hereditary titles, and associated with but
+few of the émigrés; he was still, in many ways, a man of the Revolution.
+In 1812, on the other hand, he had given his authority a sort of feudal
+character, and revived many points of resemblance with the Carlovingian
+epoch. Charlemagne had become his model, his ideal. The saviour of the
+Convention, the friend of the young Robespierre, was busily introducing
+much of the imperial and military splendor of the Middle Ages. The
+continental sovereigns treated him with so much consideration that he
+regarded himself as their superior rather than as an equal. He
+called them his brothers; but he thought that he was more than a
+brother--something like the head of a family of kings. The Kings of
+Bavaria, of Würtemberg, of Saxony, of Spain, of Naples, of Westphalia,
+who all owed their crowns to him, were indeed his subordinates. As
+the Princes of the Confederation of the Rhine, the vassals of their
+protector, they despatched their contingents to him with as much zeal
+and punctuality as if they had been plain prefects of the Empire.
+
+The émigrés crowded the drawing-rooms of the Tuileries. One might have
+thought one's self at Coblenz. Those men who belonged to the old régime
+were especially appreciated. The one of his aides-de-camp who most
+pleased the Emperor was perhaps the Count of Narbonne, knight of honor
+of one of the daughters of Louis XV., Minister of War under Louis XVI.
+The most rigid, the most precise etiquette prevailed in the Imperial
+residences. The high dignitaries and marshals concealed their plebeian
+names under pompous titles of princes and dukes. Madame de Mailly, the
+widow of a marshal of the royal period, had been admitted to the rank
+and privileges of the wives of the grand officers of the crown, and had
+figured as a marshal's widow, at the reception of January 1, 1811. The
+court of Versailles appeared to have revived.
+
+Napoleon preferred to derive his power from divine right than from
+the will of the nation. "He was much struck," Metternich says in his
+Memoirs, "by the idea of ascribing the origin of supreme power to divine
+choice. One day at Compičgne, soon after his marriage, he said to me, 'I
+notice that when the Empress writes to her father, she addresses him as
+His Holy Imperial Highness. Is that your usual way?' I told him he was
+so addressed from the tradition of the old Germanic Empire, and because
+he also wore the apostolic crown of Hungary. Napoleon then said with
+some solemnity, 'It is a noble and excellent custom. Power derives from
+God, and that is the only way it can be secure from human assault. Some
+time or other I shall adopt the same title.'"
+
+At about the same time, in conversation with M. Molé about the houses
+building in Paris, on being asked when he intended to give his attention
+to the Church of the Madeleine, the Emperor said, "Well, what is
+expected of me?" M. Molé told him that he had heard that it was intended
+for a Temple of Glory. "That's what people think, I know," said
+Napoleon; "but I mean it for a memorial in expiation of the murder of
+Louis XVI." He said to Metternich: "When I was young I favored the
+Revolution out of ignorance and ambition. When I came to the age of
+reason I followed its counsels and my own instinct, and crushed the
+Revolution." At another time he said: "The French throne was empty.
+Louis XVI. had not been able to hold it. If I had been in his place,
+in spite of the immense progress it had made in men's minds during the
+previous reigns, the Revolution would not have triumphed. When the King
+fell, the Republic took its place; and I set that aside. The former
+throne was buried under the ruins; I had to make a new one."
+
+According to Prince Metternich, "One of Napoleon's keenest and most
+persistent regrets was that he could not appeal to the principle of
+legitimacy as the foundation of his power. Few men have felt like him
+the fragility and precariousness of authority without this basis, and
+its vulnerability to attacks." One day, in speaking to the Austrian
+statesman about the letter he wrote when First Consul to Louis XVIII.,
+he said: "His answer was dignified and rich in impressive traditions. In
+Legitimists there is something which lies outside of their intelligence.
+If he had consulted his intellect alone, he would have come to terms
+with me, and I should have treated him most generously."
+
+The Emperor had come to regard himself as the glorious personification
+of divine right, and as the defender of all the monarchies. In his eyes
+the King of Prussia was only a revolutionary monarch. If we may believe
+Chateaubriand, "Frederick William's great crime, according to Bonaparte
+the Republican, was this, that he abandoned the cause of the kings. The
+negotiations of the Berlin court with the Directory indicated, Bonaparte
+used to say, a timid, selfish, undignified policy, which sacrificed his
+own position and the general monarchical interests to petty advantages.
+When he used to look at the new Prussia on the map he would say, 'Is it
+possible that I have left that man so much territory?'"
+
+The philosophers aroused as much horror in Napoleon as the Jacobins.
+In his eyes strong minds were weak minds; and though he persecuted the
+Pope, he denounced with equal severity attacks on the throne and attacks
+on the Church. He especially detested the Voltairian irony, regarding
+it as both blasphemous and treasonable. To quote once more from Prince
+Metternich: "He had a profound contempt for the false philosophy as well
+as for the false philanthropy of the eighteenth century. Of all the
+founders of the doctrine it was Voltaire who was his pet aversion, and
+he carried his hate so far as to attack on every occasion his general
+literary reputation."
+
+Napoleon thought, spoke, and acted as if he had always been Emperor and
+King. In the whole world there was no court so magnificent and brilliant
+as his. Many kings were admitted to it only as French princes, high
+dignitaries of the Empire: Joseph, King of Spain, was a Great Elector;
+Murat, King of the Two Sicilies, Lord High Admiral; Louis Bonaparte,
+deprived of the throne of Holland, figures in the Imperial Almanac of
+1812 in his capacity of Constable. The other high dignitaries at this
+epoch were Cambacérčs, Duke of Parma, Lord High Chancellor of the
+Empire; Lebrun, Duke of Piacenza, Lord High Treasurer, Governor General
+of the Departments of Holland; Prince Eugene de Beauharnais, Viceroy of
+Italy, Lord High Chancellor of State; Prince Borghese, Governor General
+of the Departments beyond the Alps; Marshal Berthier, Prince of
+Neufchâtel and of Wagram, Vice Constable; Talleyrand, Prince of
+Benevento, Vice Great Elector. At the head of his military household,
+the Emperor had four colonel-generals of the Imperial Guard, all four
+marshals of France, Davoust, Duke of Auerstadt and Prince of Eckmühl;
+Soult, Duke of Dalmatia; Bessičres, Duke of Istria; Mortier, Duke of
+Treviso. Moreover, there were ten aides-de-camp, nine of whom were
+generals of divisions, and thirteen orderly officers. For Grand Almoner
+he had Cardinal Fesch, Archbishop of Lyons, aided by four ordinary
+almoners, two archbishops, and two bishops; for Grand Marshal of the
+Palace, Duroc, Duke of Frioul; for High Chamberlain, the Count of
+Montesquiou Fezensac; for First Equerry, General de Caulaincourt, Duke
+of Vicenza; for Chief Huntsman, Marshal Berthier, Prince of Neufchâtel
+and of Wagram; for Grand Master of Ceremonies, the Count of Ségur,
+formerly the Ambassador of Louis XVI. to the great Catherine of Russia.
+The Emperor had no fewer than ninety chamberlains, among whom figured
+these among other great names of the old régime: an Aubusson de la
+Teuillade, a Galard de Béarn, a Marmier, a d'Alsace, a Turenne, a
+Noailles, a Brancas, a Gontaut, a Gramont, a Beauvau, a Sapicha, a
+Radziwill, a Potocki, a Choiseul-Praslin, a Nicolay, a Chabot, a La
+Vieuville. This aristocratic court knew no lack of amusements. The
+winter of 1811-12 was one long succession of pleasures. "It was in the
+whirl of these entertainments and festivities of all sorts," says Madame
+Durand, first lady-in-waiting to the Empress, "that Napoleon formed
+his plan for the conquest of Russia. The spoiled child of fortune,
+intoxicated with flattery, never dreaming of the possibility of defeat,
+seemed to be calculating his victories in advance, and to regard
+pleasures as the preparations for war. Not a day passed without a play,
+a concert, or a masked ball at court." The theatrical representations
+on the Tuileries' stage were most impressive. The Emperor and Empress
+occupied a box opposite the stage. The princes and princesses sat on
+each side of them or behind; on the right was the box of the foreign
+ambassadors; on the left, that of the French Ministers. A large gallery
+was reserved for the ladies of the court, who all dressed magnificently
+and wore sparkling jewels. A number of distinguished men filled the pit,
+all in court dress, with small-sword, and ribbons and orders. During
+the entr'actes the Emperor's liveried footmen carried about ices and
+refreshments of various kinds. The hall was most brilliantly lit. The
+balls in the great rooms of the first floor, and the dinners in the
+Diana Gallery, were equally sumptuous. The Emperor, however, especially
+delighted in the masked balls, when, changing his Imperial robes for a
+simple domino, he whose police system was so perfect, who knew and
+saw everything, used to baffle the women, and tease or surprise their
+husbands and lovers.
+
+Everywhere Napoleon used to make himself feared, at a ball as well as in
+a meeting of his Ministers. At an entertainment he won as much glory as
+on the battle-field. Even those who hated him had to admire him, for he
+had a most wonderful power of astounding and fascinating every one.
+His aide, General de Narbonne, had an old mother, who maintained her
+allegiance to the old royalty. "See here, my dear Narbonne," the Emperor
+said one day, "it's a bad thing for me that you see your mother so
+often. I understand that she doesn't like me." "True," replied the
+crafty courtier, "she hasn't got beyond admiration." This same Count de
+Narbonne had been off to preside at an electoral meeting in a department
+some distance from Paris. "What do they say about me in the different
+departments you have been through?" asked the Emperor. "Sire," replied
+M. de Narbonne, "some say you are a god, and others say you are a devil;
+but all agree that you are something more than a human being."
+
+A witty observer, who was inclined to witticism rather than to
+enthusiasm, said of the Napoleon of 1811: "His genius controlled every
+one's thoughts. I believed that he was born to rule Fortune, and it
+seemed to be natural enough that people should prostrate themselves
+before his feet; that became, in my eyes, the normal way of the world."
+Count Beugnot, who was at that time ruling the Grand Duchy of Berg,
+adds: "I worked all night with extraordinary zeal, and thereby surprised
+the inhabitants, who did not know that the Emperor performed for all
+his officers, at whatever distance they might be, the miracle of real
+presence. I imagined that I saw him before me, when I was working alone
+in my room, and this impression, which sometimes inspired me with
+ideas far beyond my powers, more often preserved me from lapses due to
+negligence or carelessness. An ancient writer has said that it was of
+great service for a man's conduct of life, if he could feel himself in
+the presence of a superior being; and I am inclined to believe, that
+the Emperor was generally so well served, because, whether through the
+precautions he took, or through the influence of his name, which was
+uttered everywhere and all the time, every one of his servants saw him
+continually at his side."
+
+If Napoleon produced such an effect even at a distance, what an
+impression he must have made on those who were near him! Count Miot de
+Mélito thus describes an Imperial reception in 1811: "Never had the
+Tuileries displayed more pomp and magnificence. Never had a greater
+number of princes, ambassadors, distinguished foreigners, generals,
+splendid in gold, and purple, and jewels, ablaze with orders and ribbons
+of every color, offered more obsequious homage or sought with more
+eagerness at Versailles for the favor of a word or of a glance. The
+Emperor alone seemed free and unconstrained. With an assured step he
+passed through the throng of courtiers, who respectfully made way before
+him. With a look he transported with rapture or crushed those who
+approached him; and if he deigned to speak to any one, the happy mortal
+thus honored stood with bowed head and attentive ear, scarcely daring to
+breathe or to reply."
+
+Napoleon had then given France so much glory that the loss of liberty
+was hardly perceived.
+
+December 19, 1832, Victor Hugo, in a speech before the Court of Commons,
+where he was trying to compel the government to let "Le Roi s'amuse" be
+given, spoke thus of the Imperial government: "Then, sirs, it is great!
+The Empire, in its administration and government, was, to be sure, an
+intolerable tyranny, but let us remember that our liberty was largely
+paid for with glory. At that time France, like Rome under Caesar,
+maintained an attitude at once submissive and proud. It was not the
+France we desire, free, ruling itself, but rather a France, the slave of
+one man, and mistress of the world. It used to be said, 'On such a day,
+at such an hour, I shall enter that capital,' and they entered that day
+and at that hour. All sorts of kings used to elbow one another in
+his ante-chambers. A dynasty would be dethroned by a decree in the
+_Moniteur_. If a column was wanted, the Emperor of Austria used to
+furnish the bronze. The control of the French comedians was, I confess,
+a little arbitrary, but their orders were dated from Moscow. We were
+shorn of all our liberties, I say; there was a rigid censorship, our
+books were pilloried, our posters were torn down; but to all our
+complaints a single word sufficed for a magnificent reply; they could
+answer us with Marengo! Jena! Austerlitz!"
+
+And the poet thus ended his speech: "I have but a few more words to
+say, and I hope that you will remember them when you proceed to your
+deliberations. They are these: 'In this century there has been only one
+great man--Napoleon; and only one great thing--Liberty. We no longer
+have the great man; let us try to have the great thing.'"
+
+Certainly he exceeded the common measure, that man of whom
+Chateaubriand, his implacable foe, said: "The world belongs to
+Bonaparte. What that destroyer could not finish, his fame has seized.
+Living, he missed the world; dead, he possesses it. You may protest,
+but generations pass by without hearing you." When some one asked the
+illustrious author why, after so violently attacking Napoleon, he
+admired him so much, the answer was, "The giant had to fall before I
+could measure his height."
+
+Those who were nearest to Napoleon regarded him as an almost
+supernatural being. The Baron of Méneval, who, before he was the private
+secretary of Marie Louise, when regent, had been secretary of the First
+Consul and Emperor, thus writes: "By the influence which Napoleon
+exercised on his age he was more than a man. Never perhaps will a human
+being accomplish greater things than did this privileged creature in so
+few years, in the face of so many obstacles; yet these were inferior
+to those of which the plans lay in his mighty head. The memory of that
+time, of the hours I spent with this wonderful man, seems to me a dream.
+In the deep feeling which he arouses in me, I have to bow before
+the impenetrable decrees of Providence, which, after inspiring this
+wonderful instrument of its plans, tore him from his uncompleted work.
+Possibly God did not wish him to anticipate the time He had established
+by an invariable order. Possibly He did not wish a mortal to exceed
+human proportions!"
+
+If Napoleon was thus admired, even after the terrible catastrophes which
+wrought his ruin, even after the retreat from Russia, after the two
+invasions, after Waterloo, what an impression he must have made on his
+enthusiastic partisans when he was the incarnation of success and glory,
+when there was no spot on the sun of his omnipotence, and, protected
+by some happy fate, he had disarmed envy, discouraged hate, and so far
+bound Fortune that she seemed to tremble before him like an obedient
+slave!
+
+In spite of the glory which surrounded him in 1812, Napoleon, who is
+often represented as infatuated with himself and his glory, yet even at
+this moment of colossal power and unheard-of prosperity, had moments
+when he judged himself with perfect impartiality. He knew human nature
+thoroughly, and he indulged in no illusions about his family, which
+he distrusted, or about his marshals, whose desertion he seemed to
+anticipate, or about his courtiers, whose flatteries did not deceive
+him. Being convinced that interest is generally the sole motive of
+human actions, he expected neither devotion nor gratitude. "One day, in
+speaking to my father," says General de Ségur, "he asked him what he
+thought people would say about him after his death, and my father began
+to enlarge on the way we should mourn for him. 'Nothing of the sort!'
+interrupted the Emperor; 'you would all say, "Ah!"' and he accompanied
+this word with a consolatory gesture which expressed 'at last we can
+take a long breath and be at peace.'" It was not after his defeats that
+the Emperor said this, but in 1811, when still mighty and successful.
+
+"The Emperor," says General de Ségur again, "was not so blind as some
+have thought, as to the fate that awaited his gigantic work. He was
+often heard to say that his heir would be crushed by the vast bulk of
+his empire. 'Poor child!' he said, as he gazed on the King of Rome,
+'what a snarl I leave to you.' ... Every one knows the gloomy impression
+it makes, when to the vigor and activity of youth there succeeds, with
+advancing years, the benumbing influence of stoutness. This transition,
+a melancholy warning, came over Napoleon at the end of 1810. Doubtless
+this warning of physical decline and weakness rendered him anxious about
+the future of a work founded on force. This was apparent when he told
+my father: 'The shortest ride now tires me;' and to M. Mollier: 'I am
+mortal, and more so than many men;' and again, 'My heir will find my
+sceptre very heavy.' As he regarded the future, the only power that
+seemed to threaten this sceptre and this heir was Russia, and it may
+be that as he began to feel himself grow old, he repented that he had
+enlarged its territory both on the north and the south, to the Gulf of
+Bothnia and to the Danube. Hence, possibly, this eager desire to deal
+the country a blow arose from a spirit of preservation rather than from
+one of conquest, and the charge of an overweening and uncontrollable
+ambition is thus somewhat refuted." This observation is not wholly
+inaccurate. It may be that if the Emperor had had no son, he would not
+have made the Russian campaign, and possibly it was more by a mistaken
+calculation than by pride, that he was drawn into this colossal war
+which, he hoped, would bring the whole continent, and consequently
+England, under his control.
+
+A great deal has been said about Napoleon's pride; but in discussing
+the matter it is necessary to distinguish between two very different
+personages,--the man as he appeared in public, and the man as he was
+in private. In public, he was obliged to display more majesty than any
+other sovereign. The novelty of his grandeur made additional formality
+necessary. When the general became Emperor, he was compelled to keep at
+a distance his old fellow-soldiers who had formerly been his equals
+and intimates, for familiarity would have lowered his glory and have
+lessened his authority. He had to appear before his court like a living
+statue that never descended from its pedestal. It was hard to detect a
+human heart beating under the sovereign's Imperial robes. Yet in private
+life he was by no means what he seemed in public; when he returned to
+his own rooms, he laid aside his official seriousness as if he were
+taking off a fatiguing uniform, and became affable and familiar. He
+used to joke, and sometimes even noisily. He was no longer a haughty
+potentate, a terrible conqueror, but rather a good husband who was kind
+to his wife, and a good father who played with his child. He used to
+tease the companions of Marie Louise wittily, and without malice; he
+would take an interest in their dresses, and often give them bits of
+good advice in the gentlest manner. He took as much interest in the
+minutest details as in the greatest questions. He was indulgent and
+generous to his officials, and knew how to make himself loved by them.
+He and Marie Louise lived most happily together, as his valet de
+chambre, Constant, tells us, "As father and husband he might have been a
+model for all his subjects." He simply adored his son, and knew how to
+play with him better than did the Empress. As Madame Durand says: "Being
+without experience with children, Marie Louise never dared to hold or
+pet the King of Rome; she was afraid of hurting him: consequently, he
+became more attached to his governess than to his mother--a preference
+which at last made Marie Louise a little jealous. The Emperor, on the
+other hand, used to take him in his arms every time he saw him, play
+with him, hold him before a looking-glass, and make all sorts of faces
+at him. At breakfast, he used to hold him on hi knees, and would dip
+one of his fingers in a sauce, and let the child suck it, and rub it all
+over its face. If the governess complained, the Emperor would laugh,
+and the child, who was almost always merry, seemed to like his father's
+noisy caresses. It is a noteworthy fact that those who had any favor
+to ask of the Emperor when he was thus employed were almost sure of a
+favorable reception. Before he was two years old the young Prince was
+always present at Napoleon's breakfast."
+
+At this period of his life Napoleon was really happy. The two years that
+he spent in the society of the young Empress formed a blessed rest in
+his stormy career; he loved his wife and thought that she loved him. He
+was grateful to her for being an archduchess, for her beauty, youth,
+and health; for having given him an heir to the Empire. He continually
+rejoiced in a marriage which, to be sure, inspired him with many
+illusions, but yet gave him at least some moments of moral repose and
+domestic calm, which are of importance in the life of such a man. Why
+was he not wise enough to stop and give thanks to Providence, instead of
+continuing his perilous course and forever tempting fortune? How
+many evils he would have spared France, Europe, and himself! A few
+concessions would have disarmed his adversaries, have satisfied
+Germany, have consolidated the Austrian alliance, strengthened the
+thrones, and brought about a lasting and general peace. We may say that
+Napoleon was his own worst enemy, and that when he held his happiness in
+his hand he willingly let it drop on the ground. It was not his second
+marriage that ruined him, but rather the over-bold combination which led
+him to extend the line of his military operations from Cadiz to Moscow.
+
+
+
+XXV.
+
+MARIE LOUISE IN 1812.
+
+
+Empress Marie Louise was twenty, December 12, 1811. Early in 1812 she,
+like Napoleon, was at the summit of her fortune. During the two years of
+her reign she had received nothing but homage in France, and no woman in
+the whole world held so lofty a position. We will try to draw a portrait
+of her at this time when she had reached the top of the wave of human
+prosperity.
+
+Rather handsome than pretty, Marie Louise was more impressive than
+charming. Her most striking quality was her freshness; her whole person
+bespoke physical and moral health. Her face was more gentle than
+striking; her eyes were very blue and full of animation; she had a rich
+complexion; her hair was light yellow, but not colorless; her nose,
+slightly aquiline; her red lips were a trifle thick, like those of all
+the Hapsburgs; her hands and feet were models of beauty; she had an
+impressive carriage, and was a little above the medium height. When she
+arrived in France, she was a little too stout, and her face was a little
+too red; but after the birth of her child these two slight imperfections
+disappeared. With a more delicate figure she became more graceful, and
+no woman ever had a finer complexion. Being endowed with a most sturdy
+constitution, she owed all her beauty to nature and nothing to artifice;
+her face needed no paint, her wit no coquetry; with no fondness for
+luxury or dress, possessing simple and quiet tastes, never striving for
+effect, always preferring half-tints to a blaze of light, her expression
+and demeanor always had a quality of simplicity and directness which
+fascinated Napoleon, who was very glad to turn from experienced
+coquettes to a really natural person.
+
+Those who had supervised Marie Louise's education rightly thought that
+the greatest charm in a young girl was innocence. She had been brought
+up with the most scrupulous care. The books to be placed in the hands of
+the archduchesses were first carefully read, and any improper passages
+or even words were excised; no male animals were admitted into their
+apartments, but only females, these being endowed with more modest
+instincts. Napoleon, who was accustomed to the women of the end of the
+eighteenth century and to the heroines of the court of Barras, was
+delighted to find a girl so pure and so carefully trained.
+
+On grand occasions Marie Louise bore no resemblance to the Marie Louise
+in private life; she assumed a coldness which was mistaken for disdain.
+She became imposing; she weighed every word; and careless observers
+attributed to haughtiness what was really due to reserve and timidity.
+The young Empress had every reason to distrust the French court. She
+knew what it had cost her great-aunt, Marie Antoinette, to try to live
+on the throne like a private person, and to carry kindliness even to
+familiarity. The best way for the Empress to escape malevolence and
+criticism was by saying very little. She knew French very well, but it
+was not her mother-tongue, and however well acquainted with its grammar,
+she could not know perfectly the fine shades of the language. Her fear
+of employing possibly correct but unusual expressions made her timid
+about speaking. Besides, her husband would not have liked to see her
+taking part in long conversations. Political subjects were forbidden
+to her, and her great charm in Napoleon's eyes was that she did not
+interfere in such matters. She never tried to pass for a witty woman.
+Although she was well-read, she lacked the delicate observation, the
+ingenious comparisons, the jingling of brilliant phrases or words which
+compose what in France is called wit. She had no confidence in
+the character of the prominent Frenchwomen, of the romantic but
+unsentimental beauties who always expressed more than they felt, who
+knew how to faint when fainting would be of use to them, and who in
+their drawing-rooms, and especially in their boudoirs, bore too close a
+resemblance to actresses upon the stage. Marie Louise never assumed
+any feelings or ideas which were not genuine. She was always natural.
+Comparing his two wives, Napoleon at Saint Helena said: "One was art and
+grace; the other, innocence and simple nature. My first wife never, at
+any moment of her life, had any ways or manners that were not agreeable
+and attractive. It would have been impossible to find any fault with
+her in this respect; she tried to make only a favorable impression, and
+seemed to attain her end without study. She employed every possible art
+to adorn herself, but so carefully that one could only suspect their
+use. The other had no idea that there was anything to be gained by these
+innocent artifices. One was always a little inexact; her first idea was
+to deny everything: the other never dissimulated, and hated everything
+roundabout. My first wife never asked for anything, but she ran up debts
+right and left; my second always asked for more when she needed it,
+which was seldom. She never bought anything without feeling bound to pay
+for it on the spot. But both were kind, gentle, and devoted to their
+husband."
+
+Marie Louise did not shine in a drawing-room like Josephine; that would
+have required a French tact which she did not in the least possess. The
+first Empress was thoroughly familiar with French society, which the
+second did not know at all. Josephine had seen the last brilliancy of
+the old regime and the golden days of the Revolution; she had been a
+conspicuous figure in that brilliant but, above all, amusing period, of
+which Talleyrand said, "No one who did not live before 1789 knows how
+charming life can be." As Viscountess of Beauharnais, she was intimate
+with the most intelligent persons in Paris. Though far less educated
+than Marie Louise, her conversation was more animated and had a wider
+range. No subject was too deep for her; and although she never said
+anything very important, she always could give what she had to say an
+agreeable turn. Her most ardent desire was to make people forget, by her
+fascinations, that she was not born to the throne, and she seemed always
+endeavoring to be pardoned for her elevation into the society of the
+Faubourg Saint Germain. The names of the great French families always
+made much more impression on her, who had risen from the people, than on
+Marie Louise, who by birth as well as position could look down on all
+the French ladies without exception. It was not those who had belonged
+to the old régime whom she preferred; Madame Lannes was far more
+congenial to her than the Princess of Beauvau or the Countess of
+Montesquieu. She never sought to flatter the Faubourg Saint Germain, but
+rather kept it at a distance, making none of the advances to which it
+was accustomed at the hands of the first Empress. She felt that the
+Royalists secretly blamed her for attaching her old coat-of-arms to the
+new fortune of Bonaparte. She belonged to a race which had never felt a
+warm love for the Bourbons; while Josephine, who was born in a family of
+Royalists, had remained faithful, even when on the Imperial throne, to
+her devotion to the old Royalty. Marie Louise indulged in no illusions.
+She knew that the courtiers, under the appearance of adoration which
+amounted to servility, were really concealing a depth of malice and
+ill-will, which was the more dangerous the more it was hidden, and that
+the very ones who were burning incense before her would be the most
+delighted to catch her tripping. Hence she was always on her guard,
+and in public steadily maintained an attitude of cold benevolence and
+discreet reserve. Napoleon loved her, for the very reason that her
+qualities were the exact opposite of those of Josephine; and if she had
+striven to copy the former Empress, she would only have sunk in her
+husband's estimation. He had bidden her never to forget that she was a
+sovereign, as he was always Emperor: she obeyed him, and she did right
+to obey him. Strong in her husband's approval,--for he never had
+occasion for the slightest reproach,--she persisted in the very prudent
+and dignified line of conduct that she had adopted on entering France.
+She had every reason to be proud of her success; for so long as she
+lived with Napoleon, no whisper of calumny attacked her, no faintest
+insinuation was breathed against her morality. At Saint Helena, the
+Emperor said, "Marie Louise was virtue itself."
+
+The untiring precision of her demeanor and of her words protected the
+Empress from criticism, but aroused no enthusiastic praise. She was more
+esteemed than loved; and, in spite of her precocious wisdom, she aroused
+no fervent sympathy, none of the enthusiastic admiration which less
+reserved, more amiable queens have inspired. Still, no one found fault
+with her. Count Miot de Mélito, in describing a reception at the
+Tuileries in 1811, says: "The Empress entered.... Her face wore a
+dignified but somewhat disdainful expression. She walked round the
+room, accompanied by the Duchess of Montebello, and spoke agreeably and
+pleasantly with a number of people whom she had introduced to her, and
+all were gratified by their kindly reception."
+
+The Duke of Rovigo, the Minister of Police, speaks thus in his Memoirs:
+"Marie Louise aroused enthusiasm whenever she opened her mouth. Her
+success in France was entirely her own work; for I declare, on my honor,
+the authorities never adopted any particular methods to secure for her a
+warm welcome from the public. When she was to appear in a procession
+or at the theatre, all the authorities did was to provide against the
+slightest breach of order or propriety; beyond that, nothing was done.
+For example, when I was told that she was going to the theatre, I used
+to take all the boxes opposite the one she was to occupy, and all others
+from which people might stare at her. Then I took the precaution of
+sending the tickets for these boxes to respectable families, who were
+very glad to use them. In this way I filled the balcony on the days when
+the Empress meant to be present. As to any steps towards insuring a
+warm welcome from the pit, I simply did not take any. The Empress Marie
+Louise was accustomed, when she came before the public, to make three
+courtesies, and so gracefully that the applause always broke out with
+great warmth before the third. It was she herself who bade me take no
+active steps on such occasions." After thus greeting the audience, the
+Empress used to sit modestly in the back of the box. To be gazed at
+through all the opera-glasses always annoyed her. Her lofty rank, the
+pride of her position, which would have filled other women with rapture,
+left her almost indifferent.
+
+Marie Louise was certainly attached to Napoleon, but we may doubt
+whether she was really in love with him. He was twenty-two years her
+senior; and if she was a wife who suited him in every particular,
+probably he was not the husband of whom she had dreamed. He possessed
+too much power, too much genius, too much majesty; a quiet home would
+have pleased her better than the Imperial Olympus, of which he was the
+Jupiter, and she the Juno. Doubtless his glory was unrivalled, but
+he had won the best part of it through Austrian defeats. Arcola and
+Marengo, Austerlitz and Wagram, were names that wounded Austrian ears.
+Had she been free to choose, she would perhaps have preferred to this
+all-powerful Emperor any petty German prince, who possessed neither
+great wealth nor vast territories, but who shared her memories, ideas,
+and hopes. Yet she had resolved to love her husband, and she easily
+succeeded in so doing. She was grateful for his kindness, his
+consideration, his respect; and in her affectionate but not passionate
+devotion there was no trace of reluctance. She sincerely thought that
+she would always be faithful to him. She was not only attached to him,
+she was also jealous of him; the proximity of Josephine annoyed and
+disturbed her. In fact, there was something singular in the simultaneous
+presence in France of two empresses sharing almost equally the official
+honors. Marie Louise knew how popular Josephine was; and this offended
+her, although she pitied a woman of whom the rigid laws of public policy
+had required so cruel a sacrifice. Possibly, too, she feared that she
+could not count too absolutely on the feelings of a man who, for reasons
+of state, had abandoned a wife whom a short time before he had really
+loved. Who knows, indeed, but what she dreaded the same fate for
+herself, in case she should bear no children? She felt really sure only
+when she had borne a son. Before that she was so jealous that one day
+when she heard that Napoleon had made a visit to Josephine, she was seen
+to shed tears, for the first time since her arrival in France. Another
+time, when the Emperor had suggested to her to take advantage of the
+absence of the first Empress, who had gone to Aix, in Savoy, and to
+visit Malmaison, her face suddenly became so sad that Napoleon at once
+abandoned the plan. But after the birth of King of Rome, Marie Louise
+was no longer jealous. Under the conviction that she had finally
+reconciled Austria and France, and that her son was the pledge of the
+peace and happiness of all Europe, she thought that she had so well
+accomplished her destiny that she could always count on her husband's
+affection and gratitude.
+
+Judging by the words of Cardinal Maury, who had been so famous in the
+Constituent Assembly, and had been made Archbishop of Paris by the
+Emperor, Napoleon was very much in love with his young wife. "It would
+be impossible," he wrote to the Duchesa of Abrantes, "to make you
+understand how much the Emperor loves our charming Empress. It is love,
+but a good love this time. He is in love with her, I tell you, and as he
+never was with Josephine; for, after all, he never knew her when she was
+young. She was over thirty when they married, while this wife is young
+and as fresh as the spring. You will see her, and you will be delighted
+with her.... And then if you knew how gay she is, how pleasant, and,
+above all, how thoroughly at her ease with all those whom the Emperor
+honors with his intimacy! You will see how lovable she is. People used
+to talk about the _soirées_ of the Queen of Holland. I assure you the
+Empress is very charming for those whom the Emperor admits informally
+into the Tuileries. They go there of an evening to pay their court, they
+play with Their Majesties reversis or billiards; and the Empress is so
+charming, so fascinating, that it is easy to see from the Emperor's eyes
+that he is dying to kiss her."
+
+Probably there is some exaggeration in Cardinal Maury's enthusiasm.
+Doubtless Marie Louise pleased Napoleon very much, but had she been a
+young woman of humble rank, he probably would not have noticed her. What
+he especially admired in her was the Archduchess, the daughter of the
+German Caesars, and in the feeling she aroused in him there was perhaps
+more gratified vanity than real love. He certainly was not attracted
+to her by one of those tempests of passion which had drawn him towards
+Josephine; he would not have written to his second wife burning letters
+like those he wrote to Josephine during the first campaign in Italy. In
+his affection for Marie Louise there was something calm and reasonable,
+almost paternal; it was the reflection of maturity succeeding to the
+impetuous ardor of youth. Yet he had more deference and regard for the
+second Empress than for the first. Shortly after her marriage Marie
+Louise said to Metternich: "I am sure that in Vienna people think a
+great deal about me, and imagine that I live in continual anguish. The
+truth often seems improbable. I am not afraid of Napoleon, but I am
+beginning to think that he is afraid of me."
+
+It has been said that the Emperor was not perfectly constant to Marie
+Louise; but even if he was ever unfaithful, he kept the fact from her
+knowledge, and never made his second wife as unhappy as he had made his
+first. He used to boast that he cared only for honest men and virtuous
+women, and he was anxious that no one should be able to charge him with
+setting a bad example. His court had become very strict, at least in
+appearance. Decorum prevailed there as rigidly as etiquette.
+
+Marie Antoinette had in fact known less happiness than Marie Louise.
+From the moment she entered France she encountered a sullen enmity which
+Marie Louise never experienced. The Empress was never denounced for her
+Austrian birth as the Queen had been by the opposition. Marie Antoinette
+was surrounded by snares and pitfalls which were never prepared for
+Marie Louise. Who would have dared to treat Napoleon's wife as the
+Cardinal de Rohan treated the wife of Louis XVI.? What could there have
+been under the Empire to compare with the affair of the necklace? The
+Queen was attacked by pamphlets of all sorts. The Empress was not once
+insulted or slandered. The bitterest foes of her husband respected her.
+Moreover, Napoleon was far more attractive than Louis XVI., and Marie
+Louise was soon a mother, while Marie Antoinette long endured a
+barrenness for which she was not to blame.
+
+The happiness of Marie Louise lasted but little more than two years, but
+it was all without a cloud. The mistake that historians always make
+in discussing celebrities is that they try to make a single portrait
+instead of a series of portraits, according to the different ages and
+circumstances. What was true in 1812 was no longer true in 1813, still
+less so in 1814. Human life has its seasons like the year. Is anything
+less like a brilliant spring day than a gloomy winter's day? In his
+history of the Restoration, Lamartine has drawn a picture of the Empress
+Marie Louise which seems tolerably exact for the period after the
+calamities that befell the Empire, but inapplicable to the happy days
+of the mother of the King of Rome. "Marie Louise," he writes, "sought
+refuge in ceremony, in retreat and silence from the ill-will that
+pursued her at every step.... Napoleon loved her from a feeling of
+superiority and pride. She was a sign of his alliance with great races;
+the mother of his son; and thus she perpetuated his ambition. ... The
+public did wrong to demand of Marie Louise passionate returns and
+devotion when her nature could inspire her only with a feeling of duty
+and respect for a soldier who had regarded her only as a German hostage
+and a pledge of posterity. Her constraint lessened her natural charms,
+darkened her expression, dimmed her wit, and burdened her heart. She
+was looked upon as a foreign decoration attached to the columns of the
+throne. Even history, written in ignorance of the truth, and inspired by
+the resentment of Napoleon's courtiers, has slandered this sovereign.
+Those who knew her will restore, not the stoical, theatric glory which
+was demanded of her, but her real nature.... The alleged emptiness
+of her silence hid feminine thoughts and mysteries of feeling which
+transported her far from this court. Magnificent though cruel exile!...
+She could not pretend anything, either during the days of her grandeur,
+nor after her husband's overthrow; that was her crime. The
+theatrical world of the court wanted to see a pretence of conjugal
+affection in a victor's captive. She was too natural to simulate love
+where she felt only obedience, terror, and resignation. History will
+blame her; nature will pity her.... She was expected to play a part; she
+failed as an actress, but as a woman she has survived."
+
+The Marie Louise who is thus described by Lamartine is not the Marie
+Louise of the beginning of 1812; then the young Empress did not regard
+herself as "a victor's captive," nor as "a foreign decoration attached
+to the columns of the throne." Napoleon did not inspire her with terror,
+and she knew none of the constraint which "lessened her natural charms,
+darkened her expression, dimmed her wit, and burdened her heart." She
+did not look upon her court as a "magnificent but rude exile." These
+thoughts may have occurred to her in misfortune, but hardly, we think,
+before the Russian campaign. If Lamartine had read the letters which she
+wrote to her father in 1810, 1811, and the beginning of 1812, he would
+doubtless have acknowledged that for some time Napoleon's second wife
+was happy on the French throne.
+
+To this portrait drawn by the great poet we prefer the one we find in
+Méneval's Memoirs: "The better Napoleon learned to know the Empress, the
+more he applauded his choice. Her character seemed made for him; she
+brought him happiness and consolation amid the cares of his stormy
+career. In ordinary life she was simple and kindly, yet with no loss of
+dignity. No word of complaint or blame ever crossed her lips. Gentle,
+but reserved and discreet, she never expressed her feelings with any
+vivacity. She was kind and generous, simple and astute at the same time;
+her gayety was gentle, her wit without malice. Though well-informed, she
+made no parade of her acquirements, fearing to be accused of pedantry.
+Her wifely devotion had won the Emperor's affection, and her unfailing
+gentleness had attracted all his friends. In this estimate I am
+confirmed by my recollections, and I am not inspired by any partiality,
+by what has happened, or by any present interest. It would be a mistake
+to suppose that her duty and her inclinations were at variance; she was
+perfectly natural and could not conceal her real impressions; but events
+have shown that while she inclined to virtue when it was easy, she yet
+lacked the strength to practise it when it was hard."
+
+Marie Louise did not have the character of her great-grandmother
+Marie Thérčse, or that of her great-aunt Marie Antoinette. She rather
+resembled the wife of Louis XIV. or that of Louis XV. She would have led
+a calm, modest, harmless life, like those two queens, if her fate had
+not placed her amid unforeseen and terrible events, the shock of which
+she could not endure. In 1812 we see her a loving mother, a faithful
+wife, a worthy sovereign. If Napoleon had adopted a less imprudent
+policy, all that would have lasted. Doubtless that is what he said to
+himself when, at Saint Helena, he impartially examined his career, and
+he had no angry thought, no bitter word, for the woman who has been so
+severely judged by others.
+
+
+
+XXVI.
+
+THE EMPRESS'S HOUSEHOLD.
+
+
+We have just tried to draw a picture of the appearance and character of
+Marie Louise in 1812, when at the summit of her fortune; let us turn our
+attention to the organization of her household at this epoch, and to
+the details of her daily life. Her first almoner was Count Ferdinand de
+Rohan, formerly Archbishop of Cambrai; her knight-of-honor was the Count
+of Beauharnais, who had held the same position to the Empress Josephine,
+a relative of his. Napoleon had at first meant to appoint the Count of
+Narbonne to this place, but Marie Louise had dissuaded him. M. Villemain
+says in his _Life_ of M. de Narbonne: "The Empress Marie Louise,
+generally so yielding to her husband, on this occasion manifested great
+opposition. Whether through womanly kindness or through her pride as a
+sovereign, possibly through some superstitious scruple as a second wife,
+she insisted on the retention in this post of the Count of Beauharnais;
+she was unwilling on any terms to seem to exclude, in the person of this
+relative of Josephine, the first name of the Princess whom she succeeded
+on the French throne. On the other hand, it is fair to suppose that in
+the dashing and attractive Count of Narbonne she was willing to keep
+away certain things which were unfamiliar and so alarming to her,
+such as the lighter graces, the jesting spirit of the old court, and
+doubtless too the melancholy presentiments attached, in her mind, to
+everything that recalled Versailles and the daughters of Louis XV., who
+had become the aunts of Marie Antoinette. In a word, Marie Louise, cold
+and calm, was inflexible in her opposition to the choice which the
+Emperor announced to her. He at once yielded the point, and smoothed
+matters over by appointing M. de Narbonne one of his aides, an odd favor
+for a man fifty-five years old, a relic of the former court, suddenly
+made a member of the most warlike and most active staff in Europe." For
+first equerry Marie Louise had Prince Aldobrandini, and for master of
+ceremonies, the Count de Seyssel d'Aix.
+
+The maid-of-honor was Madame Lannes, Duchess of Montebello, the widow of
+the famous marshal who was killed in Austria in the first war. Méneval
+tells us that Napoleon in making this appointment hesitated between this
+lady and the Princess of Beauvau. "The fear of introducing into his
+court influences hostile to the national ideas, such as a German
+princess might have favored, with the prejudices of her birth and
+position, made him give up this idea. He decided for the Duchess,
+thinking this an honor due to the memory of one of his oldest and
+bravest comrades." It was a most happy choice. Madame de Montebello
+was ten years older than the Empress; very handsome, stately, above
+reproach, of whom the Emperor said when he appointed her, "I give the
+Empress a real lady-of-honor."
+
+In the purity of her features, the Duchess of Montebello recalled
+Raphael's Virgins. There was in her appearance, and in her life, a
+quality of calmness, of regularity, which greatly pleased Marie Louise,
+who was also much touched by her untiring devotion at the time of her
+child's birth, when for nine whole days Madame de Montebello remained
+in the Empress's room, sleeping at night on a sofa, and the Empress was
+grateful to her for having rigorously performed what could be demanded
+only of affection or devotion.
+
+Madame Durand says that Marie Louise felt the need of a friend, and that
+the Duchess won her confidence and good graces to such an extent that
+the Empress could not do without her; she got to love her like a sister,
+and tried to prove her affection by great confidence to her and to her
+children. She was always delighted to choose presents that the Duchess
+would like, and offered them to her with charming amiability. Naturally
+a preference of this sort aroused a great deal of jealousy, especially
+among the ladies of the palace, most of whom belonged to older families
+than did the Duchess, and were somewhat annoyed that she was preferred
+to them. Whenever the Emperor was away, Madame de Montebello used to
+stay with the Empress, and every morning Marie Louise used to go to
+her room to chat with her, and in order to avoid passing through the
+drawing-room, where the other ladies had assembled, she used to go
+through a dark passage, which greatly offended these ladies. According
+to Madame Durand, Madame de Montebello scorned to hide her real opinions
+about any one of whom she was talking, and gave her opinion clearly and
+frankly. This openness--a virtue rare in courts--inspired the Empress's
+confidence, but earned her many enemies; but they, in spite of their
+ill-will, could not injure her reputation. The lady of the bedchamber to
+the Empress was the Countess of Luçay, who had been a lady-in-waiting
+since the beginning of the Consulate. She was a gentle, modest,
+distinctly virtuous person, who enjoyed general esteem and sympathy.
+The Emperor set great store by her. "In private life," says General
+de Ségur, "Napoleon was gentle and confiding, and especially fond of
+honorable people, whose delicacy and uprightness were above suspicion,
+and of women of the best reputation; he was a good judge, and he
+demanded a great deal. This was undeniably true, and the exceptions were
+very few: the way he chose his council and the officers attached to his
+person, shows it. In corroboration I will quote first the Grand Marshal
+Duroc with all the household of the palace, whose affairs were managed
+more honestly and better than those of any private house that can be
+named. As to the ladies of the court, it will be enough to name Madame
+de Luçay, my mother-in-law, the Lady of the Bedchamber, and Madame de
+Montesquiou, governess of the King of Rome, whom the Emperor chose when
+my mother declined the position from ill-health. His confidence, when
+once given, was unlimited."
+
+The Countess of Montesquiou, the governess of the King of Rome, was
+the wife of the Emperor's Grand Chamberlain. The Baron de Méneval thus
+speaks of her: "Madame de Montesquiou, who was of high birth, received
+the highest consideration and thoroughly deserved it. She was forty-six
+years old when she was appointed governess of the Imperial children;
+her reputation was above reproach. She was a woman of great piety, yet
+indifferent to petty formalities; her manners had a noble simplicity,
+her whole nature was dignified but benevolent, her character was firm,
+and her principles were excellent. She combined all the qualities that
+were required for the important position which the Emperor, of his
+own choice, had given her." Madame Durand speaks as warmly about the
+Countess of Montesquiou: "It would have been hard to make a better
+choice. This lady, who belonged to an illustrious family, had received
+an excellent education; to the manners of the best society she added a
+piety too firmly fixed and too wise to run into bigotry. Her life had
+been so well ordered that she escaped any breath of calumny. Some were
+inclined to call her haughty, but this haughtiness was tempered by
+politeness and the most gracious consideration for others. She took the
+most tender and constant care of the young Prince, and there could be
+nothing nobler and more generous than the devotion which led her later
+to leave the country and her friends, to follow the lot of this young
+Prince whose hopes had been destroyed. Her sole reward was bitter sorrow
+and unjust persecution.
+
+"The Duchess of Montebello and the Countess of Montesquieu had little
+sympathy for each other, but they never betrayed any coolness. Even had
+they desired it, they would have been held in awe by fear of
+Napoleon, who insisted on harmony in his court. Still, there could
+be distinguished at the Tuileries two parties in occult opposition,
+belonging respectively to the old and to the new nobility. At the head
+of the first stood the Count and the Countess of Montesquieu; of the
+second, the Duchess of Montebello, to whom the Empress's preference gave
+great authority. Madame Durand says that all the influence which the
+Grand Chamberlain and his wife, the governess of the King of Rome,
+enjoyed was exercised in obtaining pardon, favors, pensions, and places
+for the nobles, whether they had left France or not; they assured the
+Emperor that this was the best way of attaching them to his person, of
+making them love his government. They said this because they really
+thought it; and since they believed that the destiny of France was
+firmly fixed, they were anxious to secure for the ruler of this Empire
+those men whom they regarded as its strongest support. Since he had seen
+Madame de Montesquiou's unwearying devotion to his son, it was seldom
+that he refused her whatever she asked."
+
+The new nobility, which was jealous of the old, had a representative in
+the Duchess of Montebello, who was very proud, and did not admit the
+superiority of the old aristocracy to the illustrious plebeians,
+who, like her husband, had no ancestors, but were destined to become
+ancestors themselves. She thought that the title of Duke was not enough
+for her valiant husband, and that the Emperor, in not making him a
+prince like Davout, Masséna, and Berthier, had been unjust, and that
+Marshal Lannes was of more account than all the dukes and marquises of
+the Versailles court.
+
+There was at court, between these two groups of the old and the new
+nobility, a third party, the military party, headed by the Grand Marshal
+of the Palace, Duroc, Duke of Frioul, who, seeing honor and glory only
+in the career of a soldier, looked down on all other occupations. The
+Emperor secretly favored him, but he nevertheless remained true to his
+usual system of neutralizing all opinions, by trying to balance their
+forces. Each one of the three rival parties kept an eye on the other
+two, and thus everything of interest came to the Emperor's ears.
+
+In 1812, the ladies-in-waiting were the Duchess of Bassano, the
+Countess Victor de Mortemart, the Duchess of Rovigo, the Countesses
+of Montmorency, Talhouet, Law de Lauriston, Duchâtel, of Bouillé,
+Montalivet, Perron, Lascaris Vintimiglia, Brignole, Gentile, Canisy, the
+Princess Aldobrandini, the Duchesses of Dalberg, Elchingen, Bellune,
+Countesses Edmond de Périgord and of Beauvau, Mesdames de Trasignies,
+Vilain XIV., Antinori, Rinuccini, Pandolfini Capone, and the Countesses
+Chigi and Bonacorsi. They accompanied the Empress in her walks and
+drives and at the theatre. They were real women-chamberlains, always
+at her side when she appeared in public, but they had no part in her
+domestic life and did not reside in the Imperial palaces. This privilege
+belonged to only six other women, who occupied a humbler position in the
+court hierarchy, but yet saw much more of the Empress.
+
+In her time Josephine had four other ladies who held a position of
+something like female ushers, and whose duty it was to announce the
+persons who came to her apartments. These four ladies had numerous
+squabbles with the ladies-in-waiting over points in etiquette; and
+Napoleon, to put a stop to these heart-burnings, decided to substitute
+for them four new ladies, who should be chosen from those who had charge
+of Madame Campan's school at Ecouen for the daughters of members of the
+Legion of Honor.
+
+Among those thus appointed was the widow of a general, Madame Durand,
+whose curious Memoirs we have often consulted. Some months later the
+Emperor raised their number to six, and appointed two of the pupils
+of this school, a daughter and a sister of distinguished officers,
+Mesdemoiselles Malerot and Rabusson.
+
+These six ladies had an important position. Not only did they announce
+all the Empress's visitors; they also had actual charge of the domestic
+service, with six chambermaids under their orders, who only entered
+the Empress's rooms when she rang for them, while they, four, being in
+attendance every day, spent all their time with Marie Louise. They went
+to the Empress as soon as she was up, and did not leave her till she
+had gone to bed. Then all the doors of the Empress's room were locked,
+except one, leading into the next room, where slept the one of the
+ladies in charge, and Napoleon himself could not go into Marie Louise's
+room at night without passing through this room. No man, with the
+exception of the Empress's private secretary, her keeper of the purse,
+and her medical attendants, could enter her apartment without an order
+from the Emperor. Even ladies, other than the Lady of Honor and the Lady
+of the Bedchamber, were not received there except by appointment. The
+six ladies we have mentioned had charge of the enforcement of these
+rules, and were responsible for their observance. One of them was
+present at the Empress's drawing, music, and embroidery lessons.
+They wrote at her dictation, or under her orders. The same etiquette
+prevailed when the court was on its travels. Always one of these six
+ladies slept in the next room to the Empress, and that was the only
+approach to her chamber.
+
+Madame Durand tells vis the goldsmith Biennais had made for the Empress
+a letter-case with a good many secret drawers which she alone could
+know, and he asked to be allowed to explain it to her. Marie Louise
+spoke about it to the Emperor, who gave her permission to receive him.
+Biennais was consequently summoned to Saint Cloud and admitted into the
+music-room, where he stood at one end with the Empress, while Madame
+Durand was in the same room, but so far off that she could not overhear
+his explanation. Just when this was finished the Emperor came in, and
+seeing Biennais, he asked who that man was; the Empress hastened to tell
+him, to explain the reason of his coming, mentioning that he had himself
+given him permission. This the Emperor absolutely denied, and pretended
+that the lady-in-waiting was to blame; he scolded her so severely that
+the Empress could scarcely stop him, although she said, "But, my dear,
+it is I who ordered Biennais to come." The Emperor laughed, and told her
+that she had nothing to do about it; that the lady was responsible for
+every one she admitted, and was alone to blame; and that he hoped that
+nothing of the sort would ever happen again.
+
+Another time, when M. Paër was giving Marie Louise a music-lesson, the
+lady, who was present as usual at the lesson, had an order to give.
+She opened the door and was leaning half out to give the order, when
+Napoleon came in. At first he did not see her, and thought she was not
+present. The music-master went out. "Where were you when I came in?" the
+Emperor asked. She called his attention to the fact that she had not
+left the room. He refused to believe her, and gave her a long sermon
+in the course of which he said that he was unwilling that any man, no
+matter what his rank, should be able to flatter himself that he had been
+two seconds alone with the Empress. He added with some warmth: "Madame,
+I honor and respect the Empress; but the sovereign of a great empire
+must be placed above any breath of suspicion."
+
+The gynćceum of Marie Louise was thus guarded with the greatest care and
+submitted to a very severe discipline. Napoleon entered freely into his
+wife's room whenever he pleased, and she never complained; for having
+absolutely nothing to conceal from him, she had no desire to be
+unfaithful to him even in her thoughts.
+
+Madame Durand tells us that the Emperor, who desired to rule in
+important matters, endured, and even liked to be contradicted on minor
+matters. "When he was with Marie Louise, he used to be forever teasing
+her ladies about a thousand things; it often happened that they stood
+up against him, and he would carry on the discussion and laugh heartily
+when he had succeeded in vexing the young girls, who, in their frankness
+and ignorance of the ways of the world and the court, made very lively
+and unaffected answers which were amusing for those to whom they were
+addressed."
+
+The nearness of these six ladies to the Empress aroused much jealousy.
+The name by which they were to be called was often changed. For some
+time they were allowed to call themselves First Ladies of the Empress;
+but this title offended the ladies of the palace, who wanted to call
+them First Chambermaids, which made them very angry. The Emperor at last
+gave them the name of _Lectrices_. They had under them six ordinary
+chambermaids who had no position in the court; these dressed the
+Empress, put on her shoes and stockings, and did her hair every morning;
+they were, in fact, chambermaids.
+
+This is the way in which Marie Louise passed the day: At eight in the
+morning her window shutters were thrown open, and the curtains of her
+bed pushed back. The newspapers were brought to her, and she took her
+first breakfast in bed. At nine she dressed, and received intimate
+friends. At twelve she ate her second breakfast. Then she would practise
+a little, or draw, or sew, or play billiards. At two, if the weather was
+pleasant, she would drive out with the Duchess of Montebello, the Knight
+of Honor, and two ladies-in-waiting. Sometimes she rode on horseback; it
+was Napoleon who had given her lessons at Saint Cloud. "He used to walk
+by her side, holding her hand, while an equerry led the horse by the
+bridle; he allayed her fear and encouraged her. She profited by her
+lessons, became bolder, and at last rode very well. When she did credit
+to her teacher, the lessons went on, sometimes in the avenues of the
+private park just outside of the family drawing-room, so called because
+it was adorned with portraits of the Imperial family. When the Emperor
+had a moment's leisure after breakfast, he used to have the horses
+brought around, would get on one himself in his silk stockings and
+silver-buckled shoes, and ride by the Empress's side. He would urge her
+horse on, get it to gallop, laughing heartily at her terrified cries,
+although all danger was guarded against by the presence of a line of
+huntsmen ready to stop the horse and prevent a fall."
+
+On returning, Marie Louise often took a lesson in music or painting. She
+was a real musician, and had a real talent for the piano. Prudhon and
+Isabey, who taught her drawing and painting, praised her talents. As
+Lamartine says: "When she entered her own rooms or the solitude of
+the gardens, she was once more a German woman. She cultivated poetry,
+drawing, singing. Education had perfected these talents in her, as if to
+console her, far from her country, for the absence and the sorrows to
+which the young girl would be one day condemned. She excelled in these
+things, but for herself alone. She used to read and recite from memory
+the poets of her own language and country." Marie Louise busied herself
+with charities, but without ostentation, almost secretly; hence she
+never won the credit for it that she deserved. Her generosity did not
+limit itself to the ten thousand francs which she set aside out of
+her allowance of fifty thousand francs a month; she never heard of a
+case of suffering without at once trying to relieve it.
+
+In private life Marie Louise was kind and amiable. She was very polite
+and gentle; unlike many princesses, she was not given to fickle
+preferences and to infatuations as intense as they were brief; she was
+not unjust, violent, or capricious. She was never angry; she did not
+give empty promises, or affect any excessive interest, but she could
+always be depended on; she never distressed or humiliated any one.
+Having been trained from her infancy to court life, she was a kind
+mistress, for she had learned to combine two qualities that are often
+irreconcilable--dignity and gentleness. All who were thrown into her
+society agree in this. Sometimes, according to Madame Durand, when she
+was in company her face had a melancholy expression inspired by the
+demands of etiquette that were made upon her; but "when she had returned
+to her own quarters, she was gentle, merry, affable, and adored by all
+who were with her every day.... Nothing was more gracious, more amiable,
+than her face when she was at her ease, quietly at home in the evening,
+or among those to whom she was particularly attached."
+
+Marie Louise gave a great deal of care to her son, whom she tenderly
+loved. She had him brought to her every morning, and she kept him with
+her until she had to dress. In the course of the day, in the intervals
+of her lessons, she used to visit the little King in his apartment,
+and sit by his side and sew. Often she took him and his nurse to the
+Emperor; the nurse would stop at the door of the room in which Napoleon
+was, and Marie Louise would enter, with the child in her arms, always
+afraid that she was going to drop him. Then the Emperor would run up,
+take the child, and cover him with kisses.
+
+The Baron de Méneval writes thus: "Sometimes he was seated on his
+favorite sofa, near the mantel-piece, on which stood two magnificent
+bronze busts, of Scipio and Hannibal, and was busily reading an
+important report; sometimes he went to his writing-desk, hollowed in
+the middle, with two projecting shelves, covered with papers, to sign a
+despatch, every word of which had to be carefully weighed; but his son,
+sitting on his knees, or held close to his chest, never left him. He had
+such a marvellous power of concentration that he could at the same time
+give his attention to important business and humor his son. Again,
+laying aside the great thoughts which haunted his mind, he would lie
+down on the floor by the boy's side, and play with him like another
+child, eager to amuse him and to spare him every annoyance."
+
+M. de Méneval also tells us that the Emperor had had made little blocks
+of mahogany, of different lengths and various colors, with one end
+notched, to represent battalions, regiments, and divisions, and that
+when he wanted to try some new combination of troops, he used to set out
+these blocks on the floor. "Sometimes," adds M. de Méneval, "we used to
+find him seriously occupied in arranging these blocks, rehearsing one of
+the able manœuvres with which he triumphed on the battle-field. The boy,
+seated at his side, delighted by the shape and color of the blocks,
+which reminded him of his toys, would stretch out his hand every minute
+and disturb the order of battle, often at the decisive moment, just when
+the enemy was about to be beaten; but the Emperor was so cool and so
+considerate of his son, that he was not disturbed by the confusion
+introduced into his manoeuvres, but he would begin again, without
+annoyance, to arrange the blocks. His patience and his kindness to the
+boy were inexhaustible."
+
+Napoleon was also very kind to Marie Louise. He did everything that he
+could to make his wife happy and respected. He arranged matters in such
+a way that etiquette should not interfere with her favorite occupations.
+She dined alone with him every evening, and when he was absent, she
+dined with the Duchess of Montebello. After dinner there was generally a
+small reception or a little concert. At eleven Marie Louise withdrew
+to her own apartment, and her life was monotonous, but agreeable.
+She generally spent the summer at Saint Cloud and the winter at the
+Tuileries. At Saint Cloud, where the park was a great attraction to her,
+she slept in a room on the first floor, which had been occupied by Marie
+Antoinette and Josephine. (In the time of Napoleon III. it was the
+Council Hall of the Ministers.) At the Tuileries, her rooms were on the
+ground floor, between the Pavilion of the Clock, and that of Flora, and
+had also been occupied by the Queen and the first Empress. They looked
+out on the garden, and consisted of a gala apartment and a private one.
+The first consisted of an ante-chamber, a first and second drawing-room,
+a drawing-room of the Empress, a dining-room, and a concert-room; the
+second, of a bedchamber, the library, the dressing-room, the boudoir,
+and the bathroom. A rigid etiquette controlled the entrance to the
+Empress's as well as the Emperor's apartment. Napoleon lived on the
+first floor, where he had the bedroom which had been previously
+occupied by Louis XV. and by Louis XVI.; but there was a little private
+staircase, which he used constantly, leading to his wife's apartment.
+
+Marie Louise was on good terms with the princes and princesses of
+the Imperial family, who were less offended by the superiority of an
+archduchess than they had been by that of a woman of humble origin,
+like Josephine. In accordance with her husband's directions, the second
+Empress was always polite and affable in her relations with his family,
+but she was never too familiar. No one of her sisters-in-law was as
+intimate with her as was the Duchess of Montebello. One incident, for
+which Marie Louise was in no way responsible, threw a little coolness
+on her relations with the princesses, although it was of but brief
+duration. Soon after the birth of the King of Rome the Emperor noticed
+that near the bed on which the Empress was to lie there had been placed
+three armchairs,--one for his mother, the other two for the Queens of
+Spain and of Holland. He found fault with this arrangement, saying that
+since his mother was not a queen, she ought not to have an armchair, and
+that none of them should have one. Accordingly, for the armchairs he had
+three handsome footstools substituted. When the three ladies came in,
+they noticed, with some annoyance, the change that had been made, and
+soon left. They would have done wrong to blame the Empress; for it was
+the Emperor who was responsible, and when Napoleon gave an order, no
+one, not even his wife, could have thought of saying a word. In matters
+of etiquette he controlled the minutest details and regarded them as
+very important. Nothing came of this little incident, and in general the
+members of the Emperor's family got on better with the second Empress
+than with the first.
+
+In short, what did Marie Louise lack in the beginning of 1812? She had
+a husband, at the height of his fame and glory, who gave her more
+affection, regard, and consideration than any one else in the world. She
+was the mother of a superb child, whom every one admired. Around her she
+saw respect on every face. For maid-of-honor she had a real friend, a
+woman whom she would herself have chosen, so highly did she value her
+character and manners. Her household consisted of the flower of the
+French aristocracy. She followed her own tastes, studied with the best
+masters, distributed alms as she pleased, lived in the handsomest
+palaces in Europe. There were no discomforts, no difficulties, in her
+position. She had no conflicting duties, no occasion to decide between
+her father and her husband, between the country of her birth and that
+of her adoption, none of those struggles and heartrending perplexities
+which so cruelly beset her afterwards. At that time the Emperor Francis
+was well contented with his son-in-law, and corresponded with him in
+a most friendly way. At that happy moment the Frenchwoman could be an
+Austrian without injury to her mission and her duty. The path she was
+to follow was clearly traced. Alas! it was not for long that she was
+to enjoy this calm and equable happiness, so well suited to her timid
+nature, which was made to obey, not to rule. She had then no cause to
+blame her fate or herself. As a young girl, as a wife, as a mother, she
+had nothing to ask for. Her satisfaction was furthered by the thought
+that she was soon to see again her father, her family, her country; and
+apart from the matter of feeling, she must have been gratified by the
+thought that she was to appear again in Austria with a brilliancy and
+splendor such as no other woman in the world could show. Her stay in
+Dresden was the crowning point of her brief grandeur, the end of the
+swift but dazzling period of prosperity and good fortune which may be
+described as the happy days of the Empress Marie Louise.
+
+
+
+XXVII.
+
+DRESDEN.
+
+
+The _Moniteur_ of May 10, 1812, contained the following announcement:
+"Paris, May 9. The Emperor left to-day to inspect the Grand Army
+assembled on the Vistula. Her Majesty the Empress will accompany His
+Majesty as far as Dresden, where she hopes to have the pleasure of
+seeing her August family. She will return in July at the latest. His
+Majesty the King of Rome will spend the summer at Meudon, where he has
+been for a month. He has finished his teething, and enjoys perfect
+health. He will be weaned at the end of the month."
+
+It will be acknowledged that it was a somewhat singular thing to
+announce thus in the same article the speedy weaning of a baby and the
+beginning of the most colossal campaign of modern times. Not a word had
+been said about war. Never had the departure for an army seemed more
+like a pleasure trip. Followed by a great part of his court, Napoleon,
+like a Darius or a Louis XIV., had left Saint Cloud, May 9, in the same
+carriage as the Empress. The Republican general had disappeared before a
+magnificent monarch surrounded by Asiatic pomp. The possibility of
+defeat occurred to no one. One would have supposed that he was starting
+on a long ovation, a triumphal progress.
+
+At every step the all-powerful Emperor and his young wife seemed to be
+tasting the onsets of grandeur and glory. May 9 he slept at Châlons; the
+10th he entered Metz, where he at once got on horseback, reviewed the
+troops, and visited the fortifications. The 11th he was at Mayence,
+where he received the Grand Duke and the Grand Duchess of Hesse
+Darmstadt, as well as the Prince of Anhalt-Köthen. The 13th he crossed
+the Rhine, stopped a moment to see the Prince Primate at Aschaffenburg,
+met in the course of the day the King of Würtemberg and the Grand Duke
+of Baden, and spent the night at Würzburg, the sovereign of which was
+the former Grand Duke of Tuscany, the brother of the Emperor of Austria.
+Marie Louise was delighted to see her uncle again, who was to join her
+at Dresden. The 14th they slept at Bayreuth, the 15th at Plauen, and on
+the 16th they reached Dresden.
+
+As Thiers says, Napoleon had passed through Germany amid an
+unprecedented throng of the populace, whose curiosity equalled their
+hatred. "Never, indeed, had the potentate whom they abhorred appeared
+more surrounded with glory. People talked with mingled surprise and
+terror of the six hundred thousand men who had gathered at his
+command from all parts of Europe. They ascribed to him plans far more
+extraordinary than those he had formed. They said he was going by Russia
+to India. They spread abroad a thousand fables far wilder than his
+real designs, and almost believed them accomplished, so much had his
+continual success discouraged hatred from hoping for what it desired.
+Vast heaps of wood were prepared along his path, and at nightfall these
+were set on fire to light his road; so that what was really curiosity
+produced almost the same effect as love and joy."
+
+The Emperor's intention in going to Dresden was to spend two or three
+weeks there before taking command of his armies, and to dazzle all
+Europe by the sumptuous court which he should hold in the Saxon capital.
+For some weeks Marie Louise had been hoping to meet her father at
+Dresden, and the thought filled her with joy. She had written to him,
+March 15: "The Emperor sends all sorts of kind messages to you. He bids
+me tell you also that if we have war, he will take me to Dresden, where
+I shall spend two months, and where I hope soon to see you too. You
+cannot imagine, dear father, the pleasure I take in this hope. I am sure
+that you will not refuse me the great pleasure of bringing my dear mamma
+and my brothers and sisters. But I beg of you, dear papa, don't say
+anything about it, for nothing is decided." Marie Louise was at the
+height of happiness when she reached Saxony. At that moment she was very
+proud of being Napoleon's wife. She entered Dresden with him, May 16,
+1812, at eleven in the evening, escorted by the King and Queen of
+Saxony, who had gone to Freiberg to meet them.
+
+The next morning at eight, Napoleon, who was staying in the grand
+apartment of the royal castle, received the sovereign princes of
+Saxe-Coburg, Saxe-Weimar, and Dessau, as well as the high officials of
+the Saxon court. The King of Westphalia and the Grand Duke of Würzburg
+arrived in the course of the day, and at once presented their respects.
+
+At one o'clock in the afternoon of the 18th the Emperor and Empress of
+Austria arrived in Dresden. "What a moment for Marie Louise!" writes
+Madame Durand. "She found herself once more in her father's arms, and
+appeared before the dazzled eyes of her family, the happiest of wives,
+the first of sovereigns! Her August father could not hide his emotion.
+He tenderly kissed his son-in-law, and recognizing the claims he had
+upon his heart, told him more than once that he could count on him
+and on Austria for the triumph of the common cause." Possibly these
+assurances were not perfectly sincere, but Napoleon believed in them, or
+pretended to believe in them. As for Marie Louise, she never interfered
+in politics, and gave herself up to family joys.
+
+The period of Napoleon's stay at Dresden was the culmination of his
+power. Possibly no mortal had ever attained so high a position as this
+new Agamemnon. "It is at Dresden," says Chateaubriand, "that he united
+the separate parts of the Confederation of the Rhine, and for the first
+and last time set in motion this machine of his own creation. Among the
+exiled masterpieces of painting which sadly missed the Italian sun,
+there took place the meeting of Napoleon and Marie Louise with a crowd
+of sovereigns, great and small. These sovereigns tried to make out of
+their different courts subordinate circles of the first court, and
+rivalled with one another in vassalage. One wanted to be the cup-bearer
+of the ensign of Brienne; another, his butler. Charlemagne's history
+was put under contribution by the erudition of the German chancellor's
+officers. The higher they were, the more eager their demands. As
+Bonaparte said in Las Cases, a lady of the Montmorencys would have
+hastened to undo the Empress's shoes." The monarchs were more like
+Napoleon's courtiers than his equals. Princes and private citizens, rich
+and poor, nobles and plebeians, friends and enemies, crowded to get a
+look at him. Night and day there was an immense throng gazing at the
+doors and windows of the palace in which lodged the predestined being,
+in hope of being able to say, "I have seen him." The French waited on
+him with idolatry. The Germans had a complex feeling about him, in which
+admiration was stronger than hate.
+
+General de Ségur, who was at Dresden with Napoleon, represents him
+as moderate and even eager to please, but with visible effort and
+manifestations of the fatigue which he experienced. As to the German
+princes, their attitude, their words, even the tone of their voice,
+showed the ascendancy he exercised over them. They were all there solely
+on his account. They scarcely ventured to discuss anything, being always
+ready to recognize his superiority of which he was himself only too
+conscious. "His reception," adds the General, "presented a remarkable
+sight. Sovereign princes flocked thither to await an audience of the
+Conqueror of Europe; they so crowded his officers, that these last often
+had to remind one another to take care not to offend these new courtiers
+who were crowding among them. Napoleon's presence thus removed the
+differences, for he was as much their chief as he was ours. This common
+dependence seemed to level everything about him. Then possibly the
+ill-concealed military pride of many French generals offended these
+princes, when the former seemed to think that they were elevated to
+royal rank; for whatever the dignity and position of the conquered, the
+conqueror is his equal."
+
+May 18, the day of the arrival of the Emperor and the Empress of
+Austria, it was the King of Saxony who gave a dinner to his guests; but
+on the other days it was Napoleon who assumed the duties of hospitality,
+as if he had been at home in Dresden. He wanted to receive, not to be
+received. The sovereigns ate at his table, and it was he who fixed the
+hours and all the details of etiquette. Since he was unwilling that his
+stay should inconvenience the King of Saxony, who was not rich, he was
+preceded and followed by his household, which was supplied with
+everything necessary for a magnificent representation. Part of the
+handsome vermilion table service presented to him by the city of Paris,
+on the occasion of his marriage, had been carried to Dresden, and there
+was all the luxury of the Tuileries.
+
+At Saint Helena the beaten conqueror recalled the memory of his past
+splendors with a certain satisfaction. "The interview at Dresden," he
+said in his Memorial, "was the moment of Napoleon's highest power. Then
+he appeared as the king of kings. He was compelled to point out that
+some attention should be paid to his father-in-law, the Emperor of
+Austria. Neither this monarch nor the King of Prussia had his household
+with him; nor did Alexander at Tilsit or Erfurt. There, as at Dresden,
+they ate at Napoleon's table. These courts, the Emperor used to say,
+were mean and middle-class; it was he who arranged the etiquette and
+set the tone. He invited Francis to visit him and dazzled him with his
+splendor. Napoleon's luxury and magnificence must have made him seem
+like an Asiatic satrap. There, as at Tilsit, he covered with diamonds
+every one who came near him." He had brought after him the best actors
+of the Théâtre Français, and, as at Erfurt, Talma played before a pit
+full of kings.
+
+What were the real feelings of these princes, who were so obsequious to
+Napoleon? The King of Saxony, the patriarch of these monarchs, was
+a frank, loyal man, of a keen sense of honor, and he was thoroughly
+sincere in the devotion he professed to the Emperor, to whom he thought
+he owed a great debt. Napoleon, who was very fond of this king, would
+have no other guards at Dresden than the Saxon soldiers. Even after
+Leipsic he retained a pleasant memory of them, and at Saint Helena he
+said to those who charged him with excessive confidence in them, "I was
+then in so kind a family, with such good people, that there was no risk;
+every one loved me, and even now I am sure that the King of Saxony says
+every day a _Pater_ and an _Ave_ for me."
+
+Unlike the Saxon king, the Emperor of Austria, in spite of the family
+ties, had but very moderate affection for Napoleon. Metternich, who was
+at Dresden, says in his Memoirs, "The attitude of the two sovereigns was
+such as their respective positions demanded, but was yet very cool."
+Thiers describes the Emperor Francis as opening his arms almost
+sincerely to his son-in-law, displaying a sort of inconsistency, which
+is more frequent than is generally imagined, torn between delight at
+seeing his daughter so exalted and pain at Austria's losses; promising
+Napoleon his assistance after having promised Alexander that this
+assistance would be nothing, saying to himself that after all he had
+adopted a wise course, by making himself sure whichever party should be
+victorious, yet with more confidence in Napoleon's success, from which
+he sought to get profit in advance.
+
+As to the Empress of Austria, the step-mother of Marie Louise, she
+concealed beneath formality and perfect politeness a profound antipathy
+to the conqueror. It required almost a formal order from her husband to
+bring her to Dresden. She was then a pretty woman, twenty-four years
+old, witty, and proud of her birth and her crown. Napoleon she looked
+on as an upstart, a vainglorious adventurer, the cause of all the
+humiliations inflicted on the Austrian monarchy; and the splendor which
+surrounded the hero of Marengo, of Austerlitz, of Wagram, aroused in
+her a resentment all the keener because she was compelled to hide it.
+Napoleon in his pique determined to win over the step-mother of Marie
+Louise.
+
+The health of the Empress of Austria was so delicate that she was unable
+to walk through the long row of rooms. Consequently Napoleon used to
+walk in front of her, one hand holding his hat, while the other rested
+on the door of her sedan-chair, talking in the liveliest way with
+his witty enemy. General de Ségur, like every one else, noticed the
+hostility which the Empress in vain tried to conceal. "The Empress of
+Austria," he says, "whose parents had been dispossessed by Napoleon in
+Italy, was noticeable for her aversion which she vainly essayed to
+hide; it made itself at once manifest to Napoleon, and he met it with a
+smiling face; but she made use of her intelligence and charm to win over
+hearts and to sow the seeds of hate of him."
+
+In fact, the Empress of Austria was jealous of the Empress of the
+French. She distinctly recalled the time when she used to have her
+under her control, and she was annoyed to see her former pupil taking
+precedence of every queen and empress. She would have liked to be able
+to give her advice, as she had done in the past, and to exercise her
+authority as step-mother in criticising her; but she did not dare to do
+this, and the restraint was not agreeable. The careful observer finds
+life in a palace what it is in the house of a humble citizen. As
+La Bruyčre has said: "At court, as in the town, there are the same
+passions, the same pettinesses, the same caprices, the same quarrels in
+families and between friends, the same jealousies, the same antipathies:
+everywhere there are daughters-in-law and mothers-in-law, husbands and
+wives, divorces, ruptures, and ineffectual reconciliations; everywhere
+eccentricity, anger, preferences, tattling, and tale-bearing. With good
+eyes it is easy to see town life, the Rue Saint Denis transported to
+Versailles or Fontainebleau."
+
+Count de Las Cases has said in the Memorial: "One of us ventured to ask
+if the Empress of Austria was not the sworn enemy of Marie Louise. It
+was nothing else, said the Emperor, than a pretty little court hatred, a
+heartfelt detestation, concealed under daily letters, four pages long,
+full of affection and endearment. The Empress of Austria was very
+attentive to Napoleon and was very coquettish with him, so long as he
+was in her presence, but as soon as his back was turned she was busy
+with trying to detach Marie Louise from him by the vilest and most
+malicious insinuations; she was much annoyed that she could get no power
+over him. 'Besides,' said the Emperor, 'she is witty and intelligent
+enough to embarrass her husband, who was sure that she cared very little
+for him. Her face was agreeable and bright with a charm of its own. She
+was like a pretty nun.'"
+
+Napoleon kept busy at Dresden. Men were continually coming and going,
+and the Emperor was actively working over the details, political and
+military, of the vast expedition he was getting ready. Marie Louise, who
+wished to avail herself of his few moments of leisure, scarcely left the
+palace, and it was to no purpose that her step-mother, the Empress of
+Austria, tried to represent this devotion as something ridiculous.
+
+There was a sort of hidden rivalry between the two Empresses. Napoleon
+had had all the crown diamonds brought to Dresden, and Marie Louise
+was literally covered by them. General de Ségur says: "She completely
+effaced her step-mother by the splendor of her jewels. If Napoleon
+demanded less display, she resisted him, even with tears, and the
+Emperor yielded the point from affection, fatigue, or distraction. It
+has been said that, in spite of her birth, this princess mortified the
+pride of the Germans by some thoughtless comparisons between her new and
+her former country. Napoleon blamed her for this, but very gently. The
+patriotism with which he had inspired her gratified him; he tried to
+set matters right by numerous presents." The Empress of Austria was
+compelled to conceal her ill-will. She was present almost every morning
+when Marie Louise was dressing, ransacked her step-daughter's laces,
+ribbons, stuffs, shawls, and jewels, and carried something off almost
+every day.
+
+The Emperor Francis pretended not to notice the jealousies of his wife
+and his daughter. He spent a good part of every day in walking about the
+town, and was somewhat surprised at the enormous amount of work which
+his son-in-law did. He sought to gratify the mighty Emperor by telling
+him that in the Middle Ages the Bonaparte family had ruled over Treviso;
+that he was sure of this, for he had seen the authentic documents that
+proved it. Napoleon replied that he took no interest in it, that he
+preferred being the Rudolph of Hapsburg of his family. The little
+genealogical flattery produced its effect, nevertheless, and Marie
+Louise was much pleased by it.
+
+Napoleon was on the point of leaving Dresden, when Frederic William,
+King of Prussia, arrived there. A treaty, signed February 24, 1812,
+bound this prince to furnish for the next campaign twenty thousand men,
+under a Prussian general, but bound to obey the commander of the French
+army corps to which they should be assigned. Austria, by a treaty
+concluded March 14, had promised to furnish a corps of thirty thousand
+men, commanded by an Austrian general, under Napoleon's orders. Prussia
+especially suffered under such a condition of things, and the memory of
+Jena had never been keener or more distressing. The occupation of
+Spandau and Pillau by the French, and the ravages inflicted on the
+kingdom by the troops marching towards Russia, had much disturbed and
+grieved Frederic William, who imagined that Napoleon meant to dethrone
+him. Being very anxious to have early information about the lot that
+awaited him, he sent to Dresden M. von Hatzfeld, the great Prussian
+nobleman whom Napoleon had wanted to have shot in 1806, and to whom he
+had later become much attached, which shows, as Thiers has said, that
+it is well to think twice before having any one shot. Through M. von
+Hatzfeld the King of Prussia requested an interview with the Emperor in
+Berlin. The Emperor made answer that Berlin was not on his road, that
+he could not go there, but that he would be glad to see the King in
+Dresden.
+
+Frederic William regarded the invitation as a command, and set out
+forthwith. He reached the capital May 26, accompanied by Baron von
+Hardenberg and Count von Goltz, Ministers of State, Prince von
+Witgenstein, High Chamberlain, M. von Jagou, First Equerry, Baron von
+Krumsmarck, Prussian Minister to Paris, and was joined the next day,
+the 27th, by the Crown Prince. Father and son were very well received.
+Napoleon consented to credit Prussia with the supplies taken by the
+troops on their march, and promised to enlarge the boundaries of the
+kingdom if the war with Russia should be successful. For his part,
+the King proposed to the Emperor to take the Crown Prince with him as
+aide-de-camp, and introduced him to the other aides, asking them to
+treat their new comrade kindly. According to the Memoirs of the Baron de
+Bausset, who was present at the Dresden interview, "Everything which has
+been written about the coldness of the King of Prussia's reception is
+false. He was welcomed, as he had the right to expect, as a powerful
+ally, who, by a recent treaty, had just united his troops with those of
+France." The young Crown Prince, who was making his first appearance in
+the world, attracted general attention by his elegance and distinction.
+As to the King, he affected a content of which the curious despatch
+given below was the official expression.
+
+Nothing more clearly shows the ascendancy which Napoleon exercised at
+this time than this circular addresssed, June 2, 1812, by Count von
+Goltz to the diplomatic agent of Prussia: "Sir, it will be interesting
+for you to learn with certainty the main incidents of the recent journey
+of the King, our Sovereign, to Dresden. Since I had the honor to
+accompany His Majesty, I give myself the pleasure of seizing the moment
+of my return to inform you about them. On receipt of a letter from His
+Majesty, the Emperor Napoleon, brought to the King May 24, by the Count
+of Saint Marsan, which contained the most obliging and friendly
+invitation to visit that monarch at Dresden, His Majesty resolved to
+depart at once; and having set forth very early in the morning of the
+25th, he arrived that evening at Grossenhain, whither His Majesty the
+King of Saxony had sent Lieutenant von Zeschaud and Colonel von Reisky
+to meet him. His entrance into Dresden took place on the 28th, at ten in
+the morning. It was desired to make this a formal occasion, but His
+Majesty deemed it better to decline the profound honors. Nevertheless,
+a squadron of the mounted body-guard had awaited His Majesty at a good
+quarter of a league from the city, and accompanied him to the palace of
+Prince Antony, a part of the castle in which His Majesty is lodged, amid
+a countless throng of spectators, who with one accord gave the King the
+most marked tokens of their respectful devotion.
+
+"His Majesty was received at the foot of the staircase, and in the most
+flattering way, by His Majesty the King of Saxony, accompanied by all
+his court, his ministers, and the most distinguished citizens. After a
+brief interview in the King's apartment, His Majesty having announced
+his visit to the two Emperors, they paid him the friendly attention of
+announcing their own. The Emperor Napoleon was the first to arrive, and
+the two monarchs, having embraced, had at once an interview which lasted
+more than half an hour. The Emperor of Austria then arrived, and greeted
+His Majesty in the most considerate and friendly manner."
+
+The Prussian Minister, expressing the most unbounded satisfaction,
+abounded with praise of the courtesy and kindness of Napoleon. He
+concluded his circular despatch thus: "I am obliged to abstain from
+going into further details with regard to our Sovereign's reception, and
+the subsequent interviews, as well as the court ceremonies and festivals
+of this day and the two following; but what I can and must add as an
+eye-witness, is, that in general there could have been nothing more
+considerate and more friendly than this reception, as well on the part
+of His Majesty the Emperor Napoleon, as on that of Their Majesties the
+Emperor of Austria and the King of Saxony and their August families,
+and that the King has been much gratified by it. The friendship and the
+personal confidence of these monarchs and the reciprocal conviction of
+the sincerity of their feelings have affirmed themselves in the most
+solid way; and especially, the close bonds uniting our Sovereign with
+that of France have acquired a new character of cordiality and strength.
+I have to add that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, who reached
+Dresden on the 27th, has equally received the suffrages of the
+Sovereigns there assembled, and that the Emperor Napoleon greeted him
+with affectionate cordiality." Count von Goltz was evidently anxious
+that all this should be bruited abroad. The last sentence of the
+despatch ran thus, "Although these details are primarily intended for
+you, Sir, you are obviously free to make such use of them as you may see
+fit." Possibly this sentence meant that when these details might not be
+agreeable, that is to say, to the friends of Russia or England, it might
+not be well to communicate them.
+
+In fact, not a single Prussian had forgotten Jena; there was not one
+who did not yearn for revenge. King Frederic William, who had at first
+resolved to withdraw to Silesia, in order not to be in Potsdam under
+the cannon of Spandau, or in Berlin under the authority of a French
+governor, consented to return to his usual quarters. Although his
+minister, Count von Goltz, had represented him as "perfectly satisfied
+with the precious days he had spent at Dresden, and deeply touched by
+the repeated proofs of friendship, esteem, and attachment that he had
+received," this sovereign, though he bowed to the exigencies of the
+hour, waited only for a favorable moment to reappear in the front ranks
+of his conqueror's foes. In 1816 Napoleon thus judged him: "The King
+of Prussia, as a man, is loyal, kind, and honest, but in his political
+capacity he is naturally ruled by necessity; so long as you have the
+strength, you are his master."
+
+People of intelligence who were with Napoleon in Dresden were not
+deceived about the real feelings of Germany and nearly all its rulers.
+"The wisest of us," says General de Ségur, "were alarmed; they said,
+though not aloud, that one must think one's self something supernatural
+to destroy and displace everything in this way without fear of being
+caught in the general overthrow. They saw monarchs leaving Napoleon's
+palace, with their eyes and hearts full of the bitterest resentment.
+They imagined that they heard them at night pouring forth to their
+trusty ministers the agony which filled their souls. Everything
+intensified their grief. The crowd through which they had to make their
+way, in order to reach the door of their proud conqueror, was a source
+of distress; for all, even their own people, seemed to be false to them.
+When his happiness was proclaimed, their misfortunes were insulted. They
+had collected at Dresden to make Napoleon's triumph more brilliant, for
+it was he who triumphed. Every cry of admiration for him was one of
+reproach to them, his exaltation was their abasement, his victories were
+their defeats! They thus fed their bitterness, and every day hatred sank
+deeper into their hearts."
+
+The Duke of Bassano, at that time Minister of Foreign Affairs, was
+unwilling to perceive this latent hostility, which was carefully
+concealed under protestations of devotion. He wrote, May 27, 1812, to
+Count Otto, French Ambassador at Vienna: "Their Royal and Imperial
+Majesties will probably leave Dresden day after to-morrow. Their stay
+in this city has been marked by reciprocal proofs of the most perfect
+intelligence and the greatest intimacy. Now the two Emperors know and
+appreciate each other. The embarrassment and timidity of the Emperor
+of Austria have left him in face of Napoleon's frankness and simple
+character. Long conversations have taken place between the two monarchs.
+All the interests of Austria have been discussed, and I believe the
+Emperor Francis will have received from his journey a fuller confidence
+in the feelings of the Emperor Napoleon towards him, as well as a large
+crop of good counsels." With all his optimism, the Minister of Foreign
+Affairs was compelled to notice the secret feelings of the Empress of
+Austria. After saying in his despatch to Count Otto that the Emperor
+Francis had been able to see with his own eyes how happy Marie Louise
+was, he went on: "This sight, so agreeable to a father, has produced on
+another August person more surprise than emotion. However, if the
+real feelings are not changed, there will be at least a perceptible
+amelioration, since the illusions inspired and fed by a coterie will
+have disappeared." The Duke ended his despatch by these words of praise
+for the Crown Prince of Prussia: "The King of Prussia arrived here day
+before yesterday. He was followed yesterday by the Crown Prince, who is
+making his entrance into the world. He comports himself with prudence
+and grace."
+
+The Dresden festivities were drawing to a close. Not only the Germans,
+even the French, were growing weary of them. "I pass over the ceremonies
+of etiquette," says the Baron de Bausset, who took part in these
+so-called rejoicings; "they are the same at every court. Great dinners,
+great balls, great illuminations, always standing, even at the eternal
+concerts, a few drives, long waitings in long drawing-rooms; always
+serious, always attentive, always busy in defending one's powers
+or one's pretensions, ... that is to what these envied, longed-for
+pleasures amount." All this machinery of alleged distractions concealed
+serious anxieties and the keenest uneasiness.
+
+Napoleon had desired that the Dresden interview should preserve a
+pacific appearance. Possibly he had for a moment hoped that the Czar,
+on seeing the force assembled about the Emperor of the French, King of
+Italy, and Protector of the Confederation of the Rhine, the ally of
+Prussia and Austria, would accept whatever conditions so great a
+potentate might offer, and abandon the struggle before it was begun. The
+military element was kept in the background. Court dresses were more
+numerous in Dresden than uniforms. Napoleon assumed the appearance of
+a sovereign rather than of a general. Murat and King Jerome were
+despatched to their courts. But every one knew perfectly well that the
+storm was gathering. One would have said that the first cannon fired in
+that tremendous campaign--the Russian campaign--were going to
+disturb and then to extinguish the sound of trumpets and bands. The
+entertainments were on the surface; the war was in the depths.
+
+It was a terrible, lamentable war towards which the hero of so many
+battles was plunging with a lowered head, as if drawn into the abyss by
+a deadly fascination. Sometimes, amid the fumes of power and pride, some
+mysterious voice warned him of his peril; but he would reassure himself
+by recalling his former victories and thinking of his star. As General
+de Ségur has said: "It seemed as if in his doubts of the future, he
+buried himself in the past, and that he felt it necessary to arm himself
+against a great peril with all his most glorious recollections. Then,
+as he has since done, he felt the need of forming illusions about the
+alleged weakness of his rival. As he made ready for this great invasion,
+he hesitated to regard the result as certain; for he no longer was
+conscious of his infallibility, nor had that military assurance which
+the force and fire of youth give, nor had he that conviction of success
+which makes it sure." There had been no lack of warnings. Those of his
+advisers who knew Russia well, such as the Count of Ségur and the Duke
+of Vicenza, ambassadors at Saint Petersburg, one under the King, the
+other under the Empire, had said to him: "Everything will be against
+you in this war. The Russians will have their patriotism and love of
+independence, all public and private interests, including the secret
+wishes of our allies. We shall have for us, against so many obstacles,
+nothing but glory alone, even without the cupidity which the terrible
+poverty of those regions cannot tempt." General Rapp, who was in command
+at Dantzic, had thought it his duty to inform Marshal Davoust of the
+alarming symptoms which he had discovered among the German populace:
+"If the French army suffers a single defeat, there will be one vast
+insurrection from the Rhine to the Niemen." Davoust forwarded this
+information to Napoleon with this single indorsement: "I remember, Sire,
+in fact, that in 1809, had it not been for Your Majesty's miracles at
+Regensburg, our situation in Germany would have been very difficult,"
+The Emperor listened to no one. He did not suspect that the King of
+Prussia, seemingly his ally, had sent word secretly to the Czar: "Strike
+no blow at Napoleon. Draw the French into the heart of Russia; let
+fatigue and famine do the work." Meanwhile the sun was drying the roads;
+the grass was beginning to grow. Nature was preparing the earth for the
+common extermination of its people. And, oddly enough, at the moment
+when the slaughter was about to begin, Napoleon had no feeling of hate
+or wrath towards his adversary, the Russian monarch. He was of the
+opinion that a war between sovereigns, that is to say, between brothers
+by divine right, could in no way affect their friendship. He had
+written, April 25, 1812, to the Emperor Alexander: "Your Majesty will
+permit me to assure you, that if fate shall render this war between us
+inevitable, it cannot alter the feelings with which Your Majesty has
+inspired me; they are secure from all vicissitude and all change."
+
+Napoleon rightly spoke of fate; for was it not that which lured him,
+by its irresistible power, towards the icy steppes where his power and
+glory sank beneath the snow? If at times a swift and sombre anticipation
+of evil crowned his mind, what was that presentiment by the side of the
+terrible reality? What would the conqueror have said if, in the misty
+future, he had seen anything of his own fate? Among the courtiers
+of every nationality who were gathering around the great Emperor at
+Dresden, there was an Austrian general, half a military man, half a
+diplomatist, but not a striking figure in any way. One evening the
+Empress Marie Louise, on her way to the theatrical performance, spoke a
+few empty words to him, merely because she happened to meet him. He was
+the Count of Neipperg. How astonished Napoleon would have been if any
+one had told him that one day this unknown officer would succeed him as
+the husband of Marie Louise. The young Empress would have been equally
+amazed if any one had prophesied so strange a thing. Of these two
+personages, then so brilliant, the all-powerful Emperor and the radiant
+Empress, one was in a few years to be a prisoner at Saint Helena; the
+other was to be the morganatic wife of an Austrian general.
+
+
+
+
+XXVIII.
+
+PRAGUE.
+
+May 29, 1812, at three o'clock in the morning, Napoleon left Dresden
+to put himself at the head of his armies. He kissed Marie Louise most
+warmly, and she seemed sorely distressed at parting from him. The 30th,
+at two in the morning, he reached Glogan, in Silesia, whence he started
+at five to enter Poland. The Emperor of Austria passed the whole of the
+29th with his daughter, trying to console her for Napoleon's departure,
+and he left Dresden that evening. He was going to Prague, where she was
+to rejoin him in a few days, and he was meaning to put the last touches
+to the preparations of the reception he designed for her. Marie Louise
+looked forward with pleasure to passing a few weeks at Prague with her
+family; and the Austrian ruler, for his part, acted both as a kind
+father and an astute statesman in offering to his daughter attentions
+and tokens of deference by which his son-in-law could not fail to be
+flattered.
+
+After the departure of her husband and her father, Marie Louise remained
+still five days in the capital of Saxony, profiting by them to visit the
+wonderful museum, the castle of Pilnitz, and the fortress of Königstein,
+on the banks of the Elbe, upon a steep rock. June 4, in the early
+morning, she left Dresden accompanied by her uncle, the Grand Duke
+of Würzburg. The royal family and the Saxon court escorted the young
+Empress to her carriage, and she set forth amid the roar of cannon and
+the pealing of all the bells. Her journey was one long ovation. The
+Saxon cuirassiers escorted her to the Austrian frontier; there she found
+waiting to receive her Count Kolowrat, Grand Burgrave of Bohemia, and
+Prince Clary, the Emperor Francis's Chamberlain. A detachment of light
+horse of the Klenau regiment took the place of the Saxon cuirassiers. At
+midday Marie Louise arrived at Töplitz; there she rested two hours; then
+they drove in the magnificent palace gardens of Prince Clary, into which
+the populace had been admitted. Then she visited the suburbs, the park
+of Turn, Schlossberg. Everywhere there were triumphal arches, bands
+of music, girls presenting flowers. In the evening the whole town of
+Töplitz was illuminated. The miners assembled before the palace in which
+the Empress was staying, to sing one of their songs, each verse of which
+ended with a cheer and a swinging of their lanterns.
+
+While the Emperor Francis was at Prague, waiting for his daughter,
+he was joined by Count Otto, the French Ambassador at Vienna. This
+diplomatist sent to the Duke of Bassano this curious despatch: "Prague,
+June 5, 1812. My Lord,--I arrived here the night of the 3d. The Emperor
+of Austria had given orders that I and my suite should be conducted to a
+house prepared for me by the side of the palace. I was at once informed
+on arriving that I was at liberty to dispose of all the service of the
+court, including the carriages,--a very agreeable attention, because
+on the mountain on which the castle of Prague is built there are no
+provisions for strangers. The next day the Grand Chamberlain wrote to
+me to say that Their Majesties would be very glad to receive me at a
+private audience, after which I should have the honor of dining with
+them. I found the Emperor extremely satisfied with all he had seen and
+heard at Dresden. He congratulated himself on having made more thorough
+acquaintance with his August son-in-law, and spoke with real emotion
+of the happiness of his dear Louise. He was impatiently awaiting her
+arrival at Prague, and anticipating her surprise at the picturesque and
+magnificent view from the castle overhanging the broad river, full of
+islands, above the brilliantly illuminated city. The Empress of the
+French would enjoy a spectacle which could scarcely be equalled
+anywhere, and the more striking because she had never seen Prague.
+Knowing that the Emperor preferred to speak German, I addressed him in
+that language, and I was glad that I did. The monarch expressed himself
+at length in a way that touched me deeply. He told me that he wanted to
+keep his August daughter with him as long as she should care to stay
+at Prague, and that he would escort her to the frontier. 'To-morrow,' he
+added, 'I shall go to meet her with the Empress; I shall make the most
+of every moment she can give me, and I shall part with her with the
+sincerest regret.'
+
+"Then talking about the state of affairs, the Emperor said that he
+could not understand the conduct of Russia; that they must be beside
+themselves at Saint Petersburg to wish to measure their strength with a
+power like France. 'Your army,' he went on, 'is stronger by at least a
+hundred thousand men; you have far abler officers; your Emperor alone is
+worth eighty thousand men.'"
+
+After the audience of the Emperor Francis, came the Empress's. The
+ambassador described that too, but not without noticing the systematic
+reserve she showed in speaking directly or indirectly about the state of
+affairs. "When I was introduced to Her Majesty the Empress, she received
+me with the same flattering consideration. She made me sit down by her,
+and spoke at some length of the excellent health of our Empress, and of
+her delight that she was still going to stay for some time with her. The
+rest of the conversation was about matters of art and literature, which
+interest Her Majesty very much. She talked easily and pleasantly, but
+confined herself to literature and philosophy, making no reference to
+the events of the day or to those which are preparing." In spite of this
+shadow which the ambassador was acute enough to notice, the despatch
+on the whole bore witness to his complete content. "On rising from the
+table," he added, "the Emperor spoke to me in the kindest way, and asked
+some of the noblemen who were present to show me the curiosities of
+the city and the neighborhood. He afterwards sent me word by the High
+Chamberlain that he had set aside for me one of the principal boxes of
+the theatre during my stay. This court, which is generally so informal,
+is to be very magnificent during the visit of Her Majesty the Empress.
+The Emperor is going to meet her with the principal members of the
+court; the guards of the castle and of the city have been largely
+reinforced; the Hungarian Guard has been ordered from Vienna. The young
+Imperial family will arrive some time to-morrow; preparations are making
+for grand illuminations, balls, and other festivities to celebrate
+this interesting reunion. I have been invited again to dine with Their
+Majesties, and everything is in readiness to receive our Sovereign. The
+hearts of this good people of Bohemia are flying to meet her. Speaking
+of the loyalty of this nation, the Emperor told me that it is ready to
+do whatever is asked of it. General Klenau added that if he were allowed
+to make use of the influence of Saint Nepomuc, whose bronze statue is
+saluted every day by those who cross the Prague bridge, he could raise
+two hundred thousand Bohemians in a very short time. I have mentioned
+General Klenau, and I must say that he is full of gratitude for the
+kindness with which His Majesty has been treated at Dresden. He speaks
+of him most enthusiastically and regrets that he is not able to serve
+under the greatest general the world has ever seen. The Prince and
+Princess Anthony of Saxony arrived this morning, and are now setting
+forth to meet Her Majesty the Empress."
+
+June 5, Marie Louise made an early start from Töplitz for Prague. At
+five in the afternoon a salute of fifty cannon announced that she had
+arrived at the White Mountain. The Emperor and Empress of Austria,
+followed by their household in gala attire, had met her at the Abbey
+of Saint Margaret. She got into their carriage, and with them made a
+triumphal entry into Prague amid blazing torches. The capital of Bohemia
+was brilliantly illuminated. The garrison and the guilds, bearing their
+banners, formed a double line. The Empress of Austria had given up to
+her step-daughter her place to the right on the back seat, and the
+Emperor sat on the front seat with his brother, the Grand Duke of
+Würzburg. A countless multitude cheered them most enthusiastically.
+
+When they had reached the castle, Marie Louise was conducted to her
+apartments by the Emperor and the Empress, and there she found awaiting
+her, to present their respects, the authorities of the city, the
+canonesses of the two noble chapters of the province, those of the
+court who had not gone to meet her, and a large household chosen by
+the Emperor from his most distinguished chamberlains. She dined at
+her father's table with the Grand Duke of Würzburg, Prince Anthony of
+Saxony, the Duchess of Montebello, the Duchess of Bassano, the Count of
+Montesquiou, etc. The Emperor and the Empress of Austria gave up to her
+the first place at the table, as they had done in the carriage, and
+during her whole stay at Prague she received the honors reserved for the
+Austrian sovereigns on grand occasions. Prince Clary was put at the
+head of the household chosen for her, which included besides, Counts
+Neipperg, von Nestitz, von Clam, Prince von Auersperg, Prince von
+Kinsky, Counts von Lutzow, von Paar, von Wallis, von Trautmannsdorf, von
+Clam-Martinitz.
+
+In the postscript of his despatch of June 5, 1812, which we have quoted,
+Count Otto gave the following details about Marie Louise's entrance into
+Prague: "Her Majesty the Empress arrived here at about seven in the
+evening. Ever since eleven in the morning, the troops, the corporation,
+the civic guards, the University, and nearly all the inhabitants of
+the town, had turned out to meet her, forming a line which it was most
+interesting to see, on account of the kindliness and affection which
+animated the multitude. The procession was very imposing and worthy of
+the two sovereigns. It had been arranged that Her Majesty should arrive
+in an open carriage, which was driven very slowly so that the vast crowd
+should be able to get a good look at her. Incessant cheers mingled with
+the pealing bells, the cannon, and the military music. The whole court
+had gathered to welcome the Empress, at the foot of the grand staircase
+of the castle. Her Majesty seemed very little tired by the journey,
+though she had a slight cold, which did not mar her pleasure or keep her
+from expressing to her parents her delight at being with them."
+
+June 7, the Archduke Charles reached Prague. That evening there was a
+state dinner in the apartment of the Emperor of Austria. Marie Louise
+sat at the middle of the table with the Emperor on her right, and the
+Empress on her left. This was the place always assigned to her, both at
+home and at her father's. At this dinner she was waited on by Prince
+Clary, who was entrusted with the functions of her High Chamberlain.
+
+The same day (June 7), the Duke of Bassano, who had accompanied
+Napoleon, wrote to Count Otto: "Sir,--I have the honor of informing you
+that His Majesty, who left Dresden May 29, reached Thorn the 2d inst. He
+stopped forty-eight hours at Posen, leaving at four o'clock for Dantzic
+in order to review on his way several of the army corps. His health is
+perfect, and everywhere he has received the expression of the enthusiasm
+and admiration he inspires. The army is magnificent. The soldiers are in
+good trim, and all the corps are conspicuous for their fine bearing
+and their discipline. The weather is faultless, the roads are in good
+condition, and the country amply supplies all that the army needs,
+without its calling on its abundant reserves. I propose, Sir, to write
+to you twice a week, to give you the news about His Majesty, and details
+about the operations of the army. These communications will enable you
+to contradict the idle rumors which malicious persons may spread."
+
+At Prague the festivities continued without interruption: June 10, the
+Empress of France gave a dinner, and at the Court Theatre there was a
+performance of a German play, Kotzebue's "American"; on the 11th, the
+Emperor of Austria gave a dinner; on the 12th, they visited the Imperial
+Library, the Drawing-School, the Museum of Machinery, and in the evening
+there was a concert; the 10th, the Archdukes Anthony and Reinhardt
+arrived; in the afternoon Marie Louise gave a ball in honor of her
+sisters, the three young Archduchesses; the 14th, they visited the Park
+of Bubenet; the 15th, the gardens of Count Wratislau, and the estate of
+Count von Clam; the 16th, a picnic at Count von Chotek's castle, seven
+leagues from Prague, a sail in the boats, return to Prague, and the
+arrival of Archduke Albert. The 18th, the Empress Marie Louise rode in
+the riding-school of the Wallenstein Place; the Prince of Ligne arrived,
+of whom the Baron de Bausset says: "This amiable Prince had all the
+qualities needed for social success; he was witty, dignified without
+haughtiness, affectionate, and most gracious and polite; his fancy was
+quick and fertile; his conversation was animated though kindly and
+always in good taste; he was continually saying clever things which
+amused but gave no pain, and was full of good stories and interesting
+reminiscences. His face was handsome, his expression noble, and he was
+very tall. Every one began with loving him, and ended with loving him
+still more."
+
+June 18th, in the evening, a grand ball was given by Count von Kolowrat,
+Grand Burgrave of Bohemia. The 19th, arrived Archduke Joseph, Palatine
+of Hungary; the 20th, visit to the wild and picturesque grotto of Saint
+Procopius, which lies amid woods and rocks; the 2lst, reception of the
+Princes of Mecklenburg and Hesse-Homburg, state dinner and grand ball at
+the castle. The 22d, the Empress Marie Louise rode with her father, who,
+when he saw that she liked her horse, made her a present of it. Marie
+Louise gave it the name of Hradschin, which is the name of the mountain
+on which the castle of Prague is built. The 23d, visit to the Hermitage
+of Saint Ivan and to the old castle of Carlstein; the 24th, a grand
+performance at the theatre; the 25th, arrival of Archduke Rudolph; the
+26th, arrival of the young Archdukes, Ferdinand and Maximilian, ball
+given by the Empress of France; the 27th, dinner given by the Emperor of
+Austria; the 30th, festival on the island of the Arquebusiers, setting
+out at half-past six in the evening from the right bank of the Moldau,
+landing at the end of the island, where a triumphal arch had been built,
+and young girls threw flowers before Their Majesties' path.
+
+July 1, Marie Louise, accompanied by her father the Emperor, left Prague
+at six in the morning. The garrison and the civic guard were under arms.
+The nobles who were at court escorted the Empress of the French to her
+carriage, and amid pealing bells and roaring cannon, the cheers and
+blessings of the crowd, the young sovereign departed. That evening she
+slept at Schöffin; the next day, July 2, at Carlsbad; the 4th, she
+visited the tin mines of Frankenthal, descending more than six hundred
+feet in a chair, placed at the mouth and controlled by balance-weights;
+the chair was then sent up, the Emperor Francis went down as well as all
+the ladies, one after another; the 5th they left Carlsbad, and reached
+Franzbrunn, where they were entertained by national songs and dances.
+The 6th, Marie Louise parted from her father, whom she was not to see
+again till after the fall of the Empire; she spent the night at Bamberg,
+in the palace of the Duke William of Bavaria. The next day, the 7th,
+she reached Würzburg, where her uncle, the Grand Duke, gave her a
+magnificent reception. After a few excursions to the castle of Werneck,
+many boating-parties, illuminations, and concerts led by the Duke
+himself, she continued her journey. She reached Saint Cloud July 18,
+1812: and at six in the evening the cannon of the Invalides announced to
+the Parisians the return of their Empress.
+
+Marie Louise, who was not yet twenty years and six months old, had been
+for two years and four months Empress of the French and Queen of Italy.
+In her thoughts she recalled everything that had happened since her
+pathetic departure from Vienna,--the moving ceremony at Braunau, where
+she was given over to the French; her first meeting with Napoleon before
+the church of Courcelles; her triumphal entry into Paris by the Avenue
+of the Champs Élysées; her magnificent marriage in the _salon carré_ of
+the Louvre; the brilliant festivities, the journeys, continual ovations;
+the ball at the Austrian Embassy, a gloomy warning amid so much
+prosperity; her sufferings ending with a great joy, with the birth of a
+son; the enthusiasm which this event aroused throughout the world; then
+more recently, the wonderful splendor of the Dresden interview. For two
+years nothing but flattery, homage, applause, music, triumphal arches,
+magnificence, splendid festivities; and, after all, how poor and empty
+it all was!
+
+So far from her husband, her guide and protector, Marie Louise felt
+alone and strange in the grand palace of Saint Cloud. It was then that
+she began to suffer from those attacks of homesickness which made her
+long for the neighborhood of Vienna. Up to that day there had been
+nothing but fairy-like splendor; the young sovereign had seen only the
+brilliant side of the Empire. A vague presentiment made her fear that
+she was to see the other side. Napoleon had not been able to make his
+wife share his boundless confidence in himself. She would have been
+tempted to apply to all she saw these words from the "Imitation": "The
+glory which comes from men passes quickly away.... The glory of this
+world is never void of sorrow." Napoleon had just said in his last
+proclamation: "Russia is led by fatality. She must fulfil her destiny."
+Alas! it was not Russia, it was France; it was the Emperor who was led
+by fatality. The army had crossed the Niemen June 24. As the national
+historian has said, "We shall find glory at every step; but we must not
+look for good fortune beyond the Niemen." Up to this point every one
+looked upon Napoleon as invincible, and his young wife had imagined that
+he was the incarnation of success. This false idea soon vanished. Marie
+Louise's happy days were over.
+
+In our book about the Empress Josephine we regretted that Napoleon had
+not oftener sought her advice. We may say the same thing regarding
+the second Empress. Marie Louise was very young and inexperienced,
+especially in matters of statesmanship and diplomacy. Yet her husband,
+genius as he was, would have done well to take counsel of her. She loved
+peace, did not care for adventure, and she would have dissuaded him from
+the Russian campaign. She who had known from infancy the prejudices,
+passions, and rancors of the Viennese court, would have warned him
+against blind confidence in Austrian promises. But would she have dared
+to give even one word of advice to her powerful husband? Had a woman of
+twenty ventured to advise the great Napoleon, the modern Caesar, the
+second Charlemagne, he would have received the presumptuous child
+with a smile. Yet it was she who would have been right, and she would
+have prevented the lamentable wreck of the gigantic Empire. How small a
+thing is genius, that word we utter with such respect and emphasis! How
+petty before God is the greatest of men!
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Happy Days of the Empress Marie
+Louise, by Imbert De Saint-Amand
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK EMPRESS MARIE LOUISE ***
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