CO NTEN TS .

EARLY YEAns

1809

THE PR M R OF THE W G ELI INA IES EDDIN .

‘ HA L THE BETROT ‘ C I U C O C O O O O O Q Q O O O C I O O U O O I O I D O O O Q

HE R G U D IFFICU LI’ ‘Y T ELI IO S .

THE AM BASSADOR EXTR AORDINARY

THE WEDDING AT VIENNA

THE

E l D O O O Q O O D O O C I U I I w O I I . l O C O COMP I GNE O O C O ‘

THE CIVIL

THE ENTRANCE INT O I ' O I

THE RELIGIOU S XV .

P XVI. TIIE TRI IN THE 1810 XVII. THE M H OF JU ONT NE ,

XVIII THE B AU R . ALL AT THE ST IAN CO TE T N N S .

TEE BIRTH OF THE KING O F ROM E

THE

P M THE BA TIS . .

SAINT CLOU D AND

THE TRIP TO

NA POLEON AT THE HEIGHT 0 1" m s POWER

-MARIE LOU ISE IN 1812

’ THE EmpREss s HOU SEHOLD

D RESD E NO Q O O C Q I I I I I C O D

PRAG E U O C Q Q I . l o . O O Q Q Q Q Q Q I Q Q I Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q ‘

THE HAPPY DAYS

THE EMPRESS MARIE L OUISE.

INTR D CTI O U ON.

N 1 814 N ol n n , while ap eo was ba ished in the islan d

I Elb Em r of a, the p ess Marie Louise and her grand N l mother, Marie Caroline, Queen of ap es, happen ed

Vi n n . d to meet at e a The one , who had been epr ived

of the French crown , was seeking to be put in posses m sion of her new real , the Duchy of Parma the

other, who had fled from Sicily to escape the yoke of

e e o En lish her pret nded prot ct rs , the g , had come to d m n d r t N l e a the es itution of her kingdom of ap es , where Murat continued to rule with the connivance

Of s r . a Au t ia This Queen, Marie Caroline, the d ughter

Em r h of the great p ess, Maria T eresa, and the sister Of un o the fortunate Marie Ant inette, had passed her life in detestation of the French Revolution and of b Napoleon, of whom she had een one of the most m e inent 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 MP O 2 THE E RESS MARIE L UISE.

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

M n l i é eva , who had accompanied Marie Lou se to “ : had in Vienna I have , , my time, very good cause for complaining of your Emperor ; he has pers ecuted — I me and wounded my pride , was then at least fi 4 fteen 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 hu sband and wife apart, Marie Louise would have to tie her bedclothes ”

n di . to her wi dow and run away in sguise 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

r Marie Antoinette, a queen d iven from her throne by d Napoleon, could feel in this way, it is easy to un er stand 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,

in Josephine , spite of her occasionally frivolous con duct, has retained her popularity, becaus e she was e k t nder, ind, and devoted, even after she was di vor ced ; while Marie Louise has been criticised,

in because after lov g, 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

Wur tem ber Catherine of g, who endured every dan NT T 3 I ROD UC ION.

h ger, and all sorts of persecutions , to share her us ’ band s exile and poverty, has set in an even clearer light the faults of Marie Louis e . She has been avi blamed for not h ng joined Napoleon at Elba, for not having even tried to temper his suff er ings at Saint s i Helena, for not con ol ng him in any way, for not even writing to him . The former Empress of the French has been also more severely condemned for t — her two morgana ic marriages, one with Count

s a an d Of Neipperg, an Au tri n general a bitter enemy

w i n Bom belles Napoleon, the other th Cou t de , a Fre nchman who left France to enter the Austri an

r w as service . Certainly Ma ie Louise neither a model wife nor a model widow , and there is nothing sur prising in the severity with which her contemporaries

hi r judged her, a severity w ch doubtless histo y will hi r not modify. But if t s p incess was guilty, more than one attenuating ci r cums tance may be ur ged in s uld i her defence, and we ho , in just ce, remember that e is it was not without a struggle, without t ars, d tress,

r to and many conscientious sc uples, that she decided ’ Obey her father s rigid orders and become again what

- she had been before her marriage , simply an Aus trian princess . It must not be forgotten that the Empress Marie w e Louis e, who was in two ays the grandni ce of

Queen Marie Antoinette , through her mother Maria

r Theresa Of Naples, daughter of Queen Ma ie Caro a line, and through her father the Emperor Fr ncis , son of the Emperor Leopold II . , the brother of the 4 THE EMPRESS MARIE LOUISE.

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 d the cra le , that France was the hereditary enemy, h the savage and implacable foe, of her country . W en i d d she was a ch l , Napoleon appeare to her against a

un d backgro 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 cour t é é were migr s , who saw in Napoleon nothing but the

fi s sel sh revolutioni t, the friend of the young Robes

r pierre, the creature of Bar as, the defender of the

1 3th Of members of the Convention, the man of the d é i Ven mia re, the murderer of the Duke of Enghien ,

Of the enemy all the thrones of Europe , the author

r of the t eachery of Bayonne , the persecutor of the m d i Pope , the excom unicate sovere gn . Twice he had

i Of u an d driven Austr a to the brink r in, 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,

ns e except in terms i pired by resentm nt, fear, and

. n hatred Could she , then, in a si gle day learn to love the man who always had been held up before

the her as a second Attila, as 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

fin “ vague Minotaur . We d this word sacrifice on T T IN RODUC ION. 5 the lips of the Aus trian statesmen who most warmly the li favored French al ance, even of those who had

ns n cou elled and arra ged the m atch. The Austrian

Sw ar tzenber ambassador in Paris , the Prince of g, e r 8 1 810 “I wrot to Mette nich, February , , pity the pr incess ; but let her remember that it is a fin e thing r i to b ng peace to such good people. l And Metternich

r 15 Sw a n wrote back, Februa y , to the Prince of r tze “ berg, The Archduchess Mar ie Louis e sees in the

m her us suggestion ade to by her aug t father, that

Napoleon may include her in his plans , only a means of proving to her beloved father the most absolute

u ll r fi devotion . She feels the f force of the sac i ce, but ” her filial love will outw eigh all other considerations . Having been brought up in the habit of severe disci pline and passive obedience, she belonged to a family in which the Austrian prin cesses are regarded as the docile instruments Of the greatness of the Hapsbur gs .

n to l w Conseque tly, she resigned herself fol o ing her ’ w i father s wishes without a murmur, but not thout

s Of sadn ess . What Marie Loui e thought at the time her marriage she still thought in the last years of

a her life . General de Trobri nd, the Frenchman who won distinction on the northern side in the American civil w ar , told me recently how painfully surprised he was when once at Venice he had heard Napoleon ’s n Bombelles widow, then the wife of Cou t de , say, in speakin g of her mar riage to the great Emperor, I ” w as sacrificed. ui s t Austr ia was covered with r n , its hospi als were 6 THE EM P REss MARIE LO UISE.

crowded with wounded French and Austrians , and in the ears Of Viennese still echoed the can on Of

n Wagram, when salvos of artillery an ounced not obsti war, but this marriage . The memories of an hi id nate struggle, w ch both s es had regarded as one for life or death, was still too recent, too terrible to permit a complete reconciliation between the two

. TO nations . In fact, the peace was only a truce facil ’ itate the formal entry of Napoleon s ambassador into i Vienna, it had been necessary hastily to bu ld a bridge over the rui ns of the walls whi ch the French h d s a blown up a few month earlier, as a farewell to

. i who the inhabitants Marie Lou se , started w i th tears in her eyes , trembled as she drew near the

French territory, which Marie Antoinette had found so fatal .

hi fir Off Soon t s st impression wore , and the youn g Empress was distinctly flattered by the amazing splendor of her throne, the most powerful in the

. i world And yet amid th s Babylonian pomp, and all

r the splendor, the glo y, the flattery, which could ’ gratify a woman s heart, she did not cease to think of her ow n coun try . One day when she was stand

Of ing at a window of the palace Saint Cloud, gaz

V . ing thoughtfully at the iew before her, M de Mén e val 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 sur prised to fin d herself regretting the neighborhood Of

n Vienna, and wishi g that some magic wand might T T 7 IN RODUC ION.

let her see even a corner of it. At that time Marie Louise was afraid that she would never see her coun

r n . t y agai , and she sighed What glory or greatness can wipe out the touching memories of infancy ? Doubtless Napoleon treated his wife with the u t most regard and cons ideration ; but in the aff ection 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

to e dove , and she needed the eyes of an eagle, be abl

Sun to look at the Imperial , of which the hot rays

dazzled her . She would have preferred less glory,

less majesty, fewer triumphs , with her simple and

r es ec modest tastes , which were rather those of a p ’ table citizen s wife than of a queen . Her husband,

amid his courtiers, who flocked about him as priests

i- flock about an idol, seemed to her a dem god rather ul than a man , and she wo d far rather have been won

by afi ection than overwhelmed by his superiority .

It is not to be supposed, however, that Marie Louis e was unhappy before the catastrophes that ac

companied the fallOf the Empir e . It was in perfect sinceri ty 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 happin ess . Let us add that the Emperor never had an occasion to fin d fault with her. Her di gentleness , reserve , and obe ence formed the com

usb d esu . bination of qualities which her h an . d ed He 8 THE EMP REss MARIE LOUISE. had never imagined an Empress more exactly to his taste . When she deserted him, he was more ready to excus e and pity her than to cast blame upon her . He looked upon her as the slave and victim of the

i n o Viennese court . Moreover, he was in perfect g rance of her love for the Count of Neipperg, and no shadow of jealousy tormented him at Saint Helena .

r d You may be su e, he said a few ays before his “ ff death, that if the Empress makes no e ort to ease

s my woes , it is becau e she is kept surrounded by

S ff pies, who never let my su erings come to her ears ; ” for Marie Louise is virtue itself . A pleasant delu

fin sion , which consoled the al moments of the great man, whose last thoughts were for his wife and son . We fancy thatthe Emperor of Aus tria was sincere in the protestations of aff ection and friendshi p which d d he ma e to Napoleon shortly after the wed ing . He then entertained no thoughts of dethr oning or fight in g him . He had hopes of securing great advantage

l an d from the French a liance , 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 ex pressed such affectionate feelings . In 1 81 1 he w as sincerely desirous that the King of Rome should one day succeed Napoleon on the throne of the vast

Of empire . At that time hatred France had almost died out in Austri a ; it was only renewed by the

di . The s sastrous Russian campaign Au trians, who could not wholly forget the past, did not love Na T T IN ROD UC ION. 9 poleon well enough to remain faithf ul to hi m in

di . saster Had he been fortunate, the hero of

’ Wagram would have preser ved his father-in -law s sympathy and the Austr ian alliance ; but being

te unfortuna , he lost both at once . Unlike the rulers of the old dynasties, he was condemned either to

r pe petual victory or to ruin . He needed triumphs

s in tead of ancestors, and the slightest loss Of glory was for him the token of irremediable decay ; in ces sant victory was the only condition on whi ch he

l h hi s u his lf . co d keep his t rone , wife, son , himse One day he asked Marie Louise what instr uctions she had received from her parents in regard to her ” conduct towards him . To be wholly yours , she “ ” O i . answered, and to bey you in everyth ng Might “ a SO as un she not have dded, long you are not fortunate 1 812 But who at the beginning of that fatal year, , could have foretold the catastrophes whi ch were so near ? When Marie Louise was with Napoleon at k Dresden , did he not appear to her li e the arbiter of

h an n the world, an invincible ero, Agamemno , the ? king Of kings Never before, possibly, had a man risen so high . Sovereigns seemed lost amid the

-d e- w as crowd of courtiers . Among the aides camp the Crown Prince of Prussia, who was obliged to make special recommendations to those near him

-in -law to pay a little attention to his father , the w Emperor of Austria . What po er, what pride , what

n faith in his star, when , drawi g all Europe after him, TH MP M 10 E E RESS ARIE LOUISE.

. 29 1 81 2 he bade farewell to his wife May , , 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 burni ng 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 e fortune, glory, as w ll 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 gono fur ther . At the fir st defeat Marie Louise perceived that the ’ brazen statue had feet of clay . Malet s conspiracy fi lled her with gloomy thoughts . It became evident a fi that the Empire was not xed institution , but a of single man in case this man died lived defeated, h everyt ing was gone . December the Em

press 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 n ight in a neighboring look room, was about to all the doors when sudden ly

w -1 0 0m she heard voices in the dra ing close by . Who could have come at that hour ? Who except the Em er or ? p 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 d palace doors opene . He had travelled incogn ito from B er esin a, i the l ke a fugitive, like a criminal . As he passed through Warsaw he had exclaimed bitterly In “ and amazement at his defeat, There is but one

' 1 2 THE EMPRESS MARIE LOUIS E.

’ Napoleon s s w ord was broken ; he arrived before

c a itu Paris too late to save the city, which had just p lated , and the foreigners were about to make their

- triumphal entrance . Could a woman of twenty two be strong enough to withstand the tempest ? Would

s she be brave enough, could she indeed remain in Pari without disobeying Napoleon ? Was not fli ght a duty for the hapless sovereign ? The Emperor had w ritten

hi : to s brother, King Joseph In no case must you let the Empress and the King of Rome fall into the ’ ' n n d m m ds . ot aba on ene y s han Do y son , and remem ber that I had rather see him in the Seine than in the hands of the enemies Of France . The lot of Astya r nax , a p isoner among the Greeks, has always seemed ”

in i . ! to me the unhappiest h story But, alas in spite ’ n of the great Emperor s precautions, the Ki g of Rome n d was co demned by fate to be the mo ern Astyanax , and Marie Louise was not as constant as An dr om ache .

. The allied forces drew near, and there was no

. 29 1 814 more time for flight March , , horses and carriages had been stationed in the Carrousel since ’ the morning . At seven O clock Marie Louise was r r e d essed and eady to leav , but they could not aban don 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 ” . m anxious to have the Empress stay Re ain, they “ urged ; we swear to defend you . Marie Louise TR T 13~ IN ODUC ION.

’ thanked them through her tears , but the Emperor s orders were positive ; on no account were the Empress n ’ and the Ki g 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 leav m ing, in expectation that so ething would turn up .

an d Eleven struck, the Minister of War came , de clar in g there was not a moment to lose . One would

. have thought that the little King of Rome, who w as 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 , strug gling with the equerry who was carrying him, weep ’ ing 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 w as 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 in difi er en t spectators , attracted by no other feeling than curiosity, watched the flight of the sovereign

her who , four years before, had made formal entrance into this same palace of the Tuileries under a tr ium phal arch, amid noisy acclamations . There was not a tear in the eyes of the few spectators ; they uttered

v no sound, they made no mo ement of sympathy or regret ; there was only a sullen silence . But one

an d . person wept, that was Marie Louise When she 14 THE EMP REss MARIE LOUISE.

e had reached the Champs Elyse s, 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

s e e n at Bloi , wher there appear d a fai t shadow of 8 Imperi al government . On Good Friday, April , Count Shouvaloff reached Blois with a detachment s of Cossacks, and carried Marie Loui e and her son to r w as Rambouillet, where the Emperor of Aust ia to join them . What Napoleon had feared was soon realized .

16, s w as s . April the Emperor of Au tria at. Bloi

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

hi s s Rome in arm , as if to reproach him for deserting d ’ the chil s cause . The grandfather relented, but the monarch was stern : did he not soon say to Marie

: “ a Louise As my daughter, everything th t I have is ei yours, even my blood and my life ; as a sover gn, I do not know you ” ? The Russian sentinels at the entrance of the castle of Rambouillet were relieved by Austrian grenadi ers . The Empress of the French changed captors ; she w as the pris oner no longer of th ’ e er ow n . Czar s soldiers, but of h father Her con ff jugal a ection 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 NT I RODUCTION. 15

again at Elba . She was told that the tr eaty which u had j st 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 Of Duke 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 s i hu band time to establ sh himself at Elba, and that

i fin d meanwh le she would in Vienna, near her loving

Of parents, a few weeks moral and physical rest, which must be very necessary after so many emo

an d ff n s . tions su eri g Marie Louise , who had been

her O brought up to give father strict bedience , 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 Fra nce and the French people a We do not think so ; and, to be frank, was wh t had just happened likely to give her a favorable idea of the countr y 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 Vendome column When her father,

I. r the Emperor Francis , had been defeated, d iven Of from his capital, overwhelmed with the blows fate, his misfortunes had only augmented his popular ity ;

d the w as . But the more he sufi er e , more he loved 16 THE EMP RESS MARIE LOUISE.

in da for Napoleon, who was so adored the y of tri ? W umph, how was he treated in adversity hat was the language Of the Senate, lately so obsequious and servile ? The men on whom the Emperor had li t ll him n er a y showered favors, called co temptuously What ' did Monsieur d e Bonaparte . they do to save the cro w n Of the King of Rome , whose cradle they had saluted with such noisy acclamations ? Were not the Cossacks who went to Blois after the Em press rapturously applauded by the French, in Paris

ds ? itself, upon the very boulevar Did not the mar shals of the Empire now serve as an escort to Louis

XV . w III Where ere the eagles , the flags, and the tricolored cockades ? When Napoleon w as passing through Provence on his way . to take possession Of his ridiculous realm of Elba, he was compelled to ’ wear an Au strian 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 an d her son after the abdication Of v Fon tain ebleau ; an d 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 intrigui ng with the Allies ; and if at the s t la t moment she lef Paris , was it not in obedience to her husband’s express com mand ? She might well have said what fif ty-six years later the second Em per or said so sadly w hen he was a prisoner in Ger ” : many In France one must never be unfortunate . T 1 IN RODUCTION. 7

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 ex pected to succeed in the face Of all Europe ? Were her hands strong enough to rebuild the colossal e di fice that lay in ruins upon the ground Such were the reflections of Marie Louise as she was leavi ng France . The moment she touched Ger man soil, all the ideas , impressions, feelings of her

h u girl ood, came back to her, and nat rally 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 ,

r ? ma ried to Germans , who deplored them Marriage ’ is but an incident ; one s nature is determ ined at ’ In u one s birth . Austria, Marie Lo ise found again the same sympathy and afi ection 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 u presence merely a humble and docile da ghter, who told him everythi ng, obeyed him in everything, who abdicated her ow n free will, and promised, even 1 8 THE EMP RES S MARIE LOUISE.

s swore, to entertain no other ideas or wi hes than such as agreed with his . a Nevertheless , when she rrived at Vienna, Marie Louise had by no means completely forgotten Fran ce 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 per f ectly un derstood all the difficulties Of the double

, part she w as henceforth called upon to play . She felt that whatever she might do she would be severely criticised ; that it would be almost impossible to se f cur e the approval o both her father and her husband. Since she was intelligent enough to foresee that she would be blamed by her contemporaries and by fi i posterity, was she not justi ed in lament ng her

n ? u happy lot She, who under any other conditions would have been an excellent wife and mother, w as compelled by extraordinary circumstances to appear ff as a heartless wife and an indi erent mother . This i thought d stressed Marie Louise , who at heart was not. thoroughly contented with herself . She wr ote, “ 9 1 814 : under date of August , I am in a very u n happy 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 . m When Napoleon returned fro Elba, the situation of Marie Louise, so far from improving, became only

ffi n more di cult . She had o illusions about the fate o d that awaited her audaci us husban , who was unable

' 20 THE EMP RESS MARIE LOUISE.

there can be no peac e or truce with him as a party . The Powers consequently declare that Napoleon Bon aparte has placed himself outside Of all civil and so i t Of c alrelations , and that as an enemy and dis urber ’ ’ s ublic ven the world s peace , he exposes him elf to p ” 6 r oces n ce . 1 gea April , at the moment when the p sions designed to pray for the success of the Aus s trian armies, were going through the street of Vienna to visit the Cathedral and the principal f churches, the Empress O Austria dared to ask the former Empress of the French to accompany the pro cessions with the rest of the court ; but Marie Louise

e 6th of rejected th insulting proposal . The May

. Mén e al r next , when M de v , who was about to retu n

f h r to France, came to bid arewell and to receive e ff commands, she spoke to this e ect to the faithful subject who was soon to see Napoleon : I am aware that all relations betw een me and France are coming to an end, but I shall always cherish the memory m m of y adopted ho e . Convince the Emperor of all the good I wish him . I hope that he will

Of l understand the misery my position . I sha l n ever assent to a divorce, but I flatter myself that O he will not ppose an amicable separation, and that he will not bear any ill feeling towards me . This separation has become imperative it will in no way aff ect the feelings of esteem and gratitude that I ” preserve . Then she gave to M . de Mén evala gold

ff - snu box, bearing his initials in diamonds, as a me an d mento , left him, to hide the emotion by whi ch w as she overcome . I T 21 N RODUCTION.

w as n ot Her emotion very deep, and her tears soon

r d ied . In 1 814 she had met the man who w as to make her forget her d uty towards her illustr ious hus

a . b nd 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 per ’ sistent and one of the most skilful of Napoleon s enemies . General the Count of Neipperg, as he

ll hi s ca ed m elf, had been especially active in per

u din s a g two Frenchmen, Bernadotte and Murat, to 1 1 take u p arms again st France . Since 8 4 he had r been most devote d to Ma ie Louise, and he felt or pretended to feel for her an affection on which she did not fear to smile . She admitted him to i her table ; he became her chamberla n , her advocate at the Congr ess of Vienna, her prime minister in the ’ Duchy of Par ma, and after Napoleon s death, her he m organatic husband . He had three children by r, two daughter s ! one of whom died young ; the other San ha mar ried the son of the Count Vitale, Grand C m ber lain of Parma! and one son ! who took the title of Count of Mon ten u ovo and served in the Austrian

his 1 829 of Nei army! . Until death in the Count p i perg completely controlled Mar e Louise, as Napoleon

had never done . di ’ After Waterloo, every day mmed Marie Louise s u Of recollections of France . The fo r years her reign

—two spent in the Splendor of perpetual adoration, fi two i n the gloom of dis asters culminating in nal 22 THE EMP RESS MARIE L O UISE.

— i d rui n were like a d stant ream, half a golden vis

i . ion, half a h deous nightmare It was all but a brief episode in her life She thoroughly deserved the name

i had of the Austr an , which 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 n d principality than in Vien a, more intereste in the

n Of Of Cou t Neipperg than in the Duke Reichstadt.

While her son never left the Emperor Francis, she reigned in her little duchy . But the title was to ex pire at her death ; for the Coalition had feared to per mit 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

d w - of her son, who die in his t enty second year, of

n d consumption a disappointment . By this event was broken the last bond which at ’ tached Napoleon s widow to the imperial traditions . 1 833 hi In she was married, for the t rd time, to a é é Frenchman , the son of an migr , in the Austrian

. . Bom belles service He was a M de , whose mother

Mackan had been a Miss , an intimate friend of Mad

r ame Elisabeth, and had mar ied the Count of Bom of belles , ambassador Louis XVI . in Portugal, and t ’ la er in Venice , who took orders after his wife s death

Of and became Bishop Amiens under the Restoration . d 1 7 1 84 Marie Louise , who die December , 7 , aged fif t s ix y , lived in surro undings directly hostile to Napo T T 23 IN RODUC ION.

’ leon s glory . Her ideas in her last years grew to

er etu resemble those of her childhood, and she was p p ally denoun cing the principles of the French Revolu tion and of the liberalism whi ch pursued her even in the Duchy of Parma . France has reproached her with abandoning Napoleon, and still more perhaps for having given two Obscure su ccessors to the most famous man of modern times . fi If Marie Louise is not a very sympathetic gure, no story is more touching and more melancholy than ’ i that of her son s l fe and death . It is a tale of hope deceived by reality ; of youth and beauty cut dow n in their flower ; of the innocent paying for the guilty ; of the vi ctim 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 instabil ity of hum an greatness . When he was at the point

ff ri d d of death, worn out with su e ng, he sai sa ly, My birth and my death compri se my whole history . But this short story is perhaps richer in instruction ’ w than the longest reigns . The Emperor s son ill be

hi s hr known for many ages by t ee titles, the King of Rome, Napoleon II . , and the Duke of Reichstadt .

He had already inspired great poets , and given to phi losophers and Christians occasion for profound

r i thoughts . His memo y is ind ssolubly bound up

r with that of his father, and poste ity will never for get 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 Chur ch of the 24 THE EMP RESS MARIE LOUISE.

i n t fli cker Capuch ns , in Vien a, a monk ligh s with a ’ a ing torch the dark tomb of the great capt in s son,

Of d . w ho lies by the side his gran father, Francis II ,

his an d d who was at once protector his jailer , eep thoughts arise as one considers the vanity of political

Of calculations, the emptiness glory, of power, and of geni us . Poor boy ! His birth w as greeted with countless

n ivi us . tha ksg ngs , celebrations , and joyo applause Paris w as beside itself when in the morning of March

20 1 811 tw en t s econ d , , there sounded the y report of

had a cannon, announcing that the Emperor , not a

. dl daughter, but a son He lay in a costly cra e of

-Of - an d d un i mother pearl gol , surmo ted by a w nged Victory which seemed to protect the slur nber s of the

King of Rome . The Imperial heir in his gilded baby carriage dr awn by two snow-white sheep beneath the d trees at Saint Clou was a charming object . He was

Old Ger ar d but a year when painted him in his cradle , playing with a cup and ball, as if the cup were a w h sceptre and the ball were the world, it which his childish hands were playing . When on the eve of

Of Moskow a the battle , Napoleon w as giving his final orders for the tremendous struggle of the next day ,

. Bau sset nl a courier, M de , arrived sudde y from Paris ,

’ bringing wi th him this masterpiece Of Gerard s ; at once the Gen eral forgot his anxieties in hi s paternal ” “ . fi joy Gentlemen, said Napoleon to his of cers, if fi my son were fteen years old, you may be sure that

ul i ul he wo d be here among th s m titude of brave men , NT T I ROD UC ION. 25

and not merely in a picture . Then he had the por Of trait the King of Rome set out in front of his tent, ha on a c ir , that the sight of it might be an added excitement to victory . And the old grenadiers of ri the Impe al Guard, the veterans with their grizzly — s ~ mou taches, the men who were never to abandon their Emperor, who followed him to Elba, and died

— as at Waterloo, heroes, kind as they were brave , actually cried with joy as they gazed at the portrait of this boy whose glori ous future they hoped to make

r su e by their brave deeds . But what a sad future it was ! Withi n less than two years Cossacks were the escort of the Kin g Of

. hi m ri Rome When the Coalition made a p soner, he

hi s . was forever torn from father Napoleon, March

20 1 815 r e- tr ium , , on this return from Elba, entered

han tl Of mi p y the Palace the Tuileries as if by racle, 2 but his joy was incomplete . March 0 was his ’ a Old son s birthd y, the day he was four years , and the boy was not there ; his father never saw hi m t again . At Vienna the lit le prince seemed the vic tim Of an un timely gloom ; he missed his you ng “ a playmates . Any one can see th t I am not a ” “ ’ ” king, he said ; I haven t any pages now. The King of Rome had lost the childi sh merri m ent and the talkativeness whi ch had made him very captivating. So far from growing familiar with h h those among whom he was t rown , he seemed rat er

the to be suspicious and distr ustfulof them. During Hun dr ed Days the pri vate secretar y of Marie Louise 26 THE EM P RES S MARIE L O UIS E .

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, ul offi and then, as if he were watched, led the faithf hi m cer up to the window and whispered to , very low, ” You will tell him that I always love him dearly . i In sp te of the many miles that separated them, the son was to be a consolation to his father . In 1 816 the prisoner at Saint Helena received a look of the ’ i young prince s hair, and a letter wh ch he had writ

his d ten with hand hel by some one else . Napoleon fi was lled with joy, and forgot his chains . It was a renewal of the happiness he had felt on the eve of

Moskow a , 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 hi to them the lock of hair and the letter of s child . r did For his pa t, the boy 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 Fran cis Charles Joseph, Duke of Reichstadt, knew ver y well that his title was the King of Rome and Napo leon 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 m . n five ilitary tastes When o ly , he said to Hummel , the artist, who was painting his portrait : I want to

28 THE EMPRESS MARIE LOUISE.

ul 22 1 821 u n J y , , at Schoenbr n , in the same room where , eleven years later, in the same month and on

hi s the same day of the month, he was to breathe 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

w as . Bonaparte or Napoleon, but he allowed to weep The Duke of Reichstadt an d his household were al lowed to wear mourning for the exile of Saint Helena . In justice to the Emperor Fran cis it must be said

afi ection s that he showed great for his grand on , whom he kept always near him, in his chamber and in his study, and that he hid from him neither Napo ’ ”

i n . leon s m sfortu es nor his successes I desire, he “ n told Prince Metter ich, that the Duke of Reich ’ l his stadt shal respect father s memory, that he shall take example from his fir m qualities and learn to

z his l d recogni e fau ts , in or er to shun them and be

r on his guard against thei 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 memor y . o Military drill, man euvres, strategy, the study Of great generals , especially of Napoleon , formed the ’ i young prince s favorite occupat ons . So long as the elder branch Of the Bourbons reigned d in France, the Duke of Reichsta t never thought Of ’ seizing his father s crown and sceptre , but the Rev olution 1 830 d d hi of suddenly kin le all s hopes . When he learned that the tricolored flag had taken I 29 NTRODUCTION .

enthu the place of the white one , and heard of the siasm that had seized the French for the men and deeds Of the Empir e ; when he hear d the Austrian ministers continually sayin g that Louis Philippe was a mere us ur per who could reig n but a short time ; df s when his gran ather, the Emperor Franci , who was d the incarnation of pru ence 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 you r place on the ” “ French throne , and, at another time , You have

o r only to show yourself on the bridge at Strasb u g, é ” — and it is all up with the Orl ans at Paris , the

Duke was carried away by a feeling of ambition,

i . im a patr otism , and exaltation Born to glory, he g ined himself divinely summoned to a magnificent destiny ; wide and brilliant horizons opened before him . His eager imagination was kindled by a hidden h r e flame . In his youthful dreams he saw imself suscitating Poland, restoring the glories of the Em w as pir e . He prepared for the part he to play by studying with Marshal Mar mont the campaign s of

e Napoleon . These lessons last d three months, and at their end the Duke gave his portrait to his father’s

- O fellow soldier, and opied beneath it four lines from ’ ‘ to e Racine s P fiedr e, in which Hippolyte says Th ra mene ith a sin er e inter est Havin g com e to m e w c , ’ You told to m e m yf ather s stor y; soul atten ti e to our w or ds You kn ow how m y , v y , " Kin dled at the r ecitalof his n oble exploits . 30 THE EM P RES S MARIE LO UISE.

He was as enthusiastic for poetry as for the mili

d a i i . i tary profession . One y his phys c an, Dr Malfatt , quoted to him two lines from the author of the

M edita tion s

‘ “ r in fin ite in his desir es Lim ited in his n atu e,

Man is a f allen god w ho r em em ber s heaven .

’ “ fin e d That s a thought, sai the young prince ; it d ’ is as pleasing as it is striking. I am sorry that I on t ’ ’2 know Lam ar tin e s poetry . The physician promised to send him the M editation s . The next day the Duke read the volume aloud ; his eyes moistened and his voice broke when he came to these lines in w hich the poet seemed to be addressing him

Cour a e f allen s ion f a i in r g , c o d v e ace ; You car r y your celestialor igin on your br ow ; E er on e w ho sees ou sees in our e e v y y , y y s ” A d ar ken ed r a of hea en l y v y Splen d or .

An d d , indee , every one recognized in him a really di i extraor nary be ng ; his face , his gestures, his bear

ai ing, all had an imperial r . He seemed born to rule

d - in a rawing room as well as in a barracks . He was

i ae adm red as well as loved ; he was a true son of C sar, born for success in love as well as for glory . When

- his he appeared in the ball room, pale coloring, his i i lively express on, his m litary bearing, his proud but quiet manners, the mingled energy and gentleness of ’ his face , attracted every woman s eye . When he his di fi appeared before sol ers, he lled them with the d wil est enthusiasm . One d ay when he happen ed to T 31 IN ROD UCTION .

fi his be riding a ery horse at the review of 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 sud den l y broke out into shouts of admiration . Yet in spite of all hi s ardor it was only at intervals ’ that Napoleon s son felt hopeful . If at one time he fi had con dence in his star, this feeling soon yielded to l deep depression . The bril iant prospects evoked by the events in Poland and in France shone for but

n i a moment, and then va ished . The court of V enna d recognized the monarchy of July . One ay some one was urging him to go to a ball given by Marshal

i s . Maison , the French min ster at the Au trian court “ ” “ What should I do, he asked, at the house of Louis Philippe ’s ambassador ? Has not his govern ment exiled and outlawed me ? No one there could

s see me without blu hing ; and then , too, what would ? ” my feelings be He became restless and silent, and “ d . di strusted ev en his best frien s Answer me , my ” fi Pr okesch friend, he said to his con dant, Count “ — Osten, answer me this question , which is one of great importan ce 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 Pro ’ ’ “ a kesch answered him : Don t worry . Don t you p pear in public every day ? Can even the most ign o rant see you and place the slightest confidence in such fables, which are invented by charlatans without the 32 THE EMPRESS MARIE LOUISE. least care for truth ? ” But the young Duke was not

d a d fi hi s console , y every day he lost con dence in Pr okesch— d di futur e . Once Count Osten foun him me

’ tating upon his father s w ill . The fourth paragraph fi i ” “ Of the rst art cle , 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 if uneasy, he suffered keenly, and grief drove him i it with startl ng rapidity to the tomb, was because he felt that fate condemned him to live and die an i Austr an prince .

His overwr ought mind and body soon made him ill . He sought by violent emotions and excessive fatigue to escape from the thou ghts which were persecuting

i an d d his d . him l ke spectres, riving him to eath In i va n the physicians commanded rest and quiet . When i d attacked by an ncurable lung trouble , he require absolute repose : but repose was torture ; he preferred i . . o death as a del verance Dr Malfatti, w h took the

him an d u keenest interest in , who was much dist rbed

him r by his many imprudences , entreated not to th ow away wantonly a life which might be so well and us e f d “ It ully employe is a great pity, sir, that Your i h ” “ ’ H g ness, he said, can t change bodies as you

n d . change horses, whe they are tire 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 . i The young nvalid di d not listen to him : he T 33 IN ROD UCTION. scarcely slept ; hi s appetite failed him ; he made no account of the weather ; he rode the wildest horses the longest distances . His chest and throat became f but f seriously af ected, it made no di ference ; he still wanted to command at the reviews . His voice was lost : soon he could not even speak ; but his illness

His n did not depress, it only annoyed him . e ergetic character could not accustom itself to the idea of ff abandoning the struggle . He fought against su er ! ” . s ing as he had fought against fate Oh he aid, “ how I despise this wretched body which cannot

O ! . bey my soul Dr Malfatti said, There seems to be in thi s unfortunate young man an active principle impelling him to a sort of suicide ; reason ing and precaution are of no avail against the fatality which ” urges him on . The end drew near ; the completion of the sacri

i di d n ot fice approached . The v ctim pray that the cup might pass from his lips . He ceased to struggle

a s i mi his be ag in t the inev table , and sub tted to fate , coming as gentle and peaceful as a child . As the earth left him , he turned to heaven . I understood ” “ Pr okesch— n and felt, said Count Oste , all the sub d limity there is in religion , which alone coul throw a ’ light on this man s path , through the uncertainty and darkness that surrounded him . Religion is our

fin d u staff . We can no surer support in our jo rney ” through the darkness of our life on earth . He had received from the Emperor an d Empress of Austria

D ivin e Ha r m on ies i h a book of prayers, called , wh c ’ 34 THE EMP RES S MARIE LOUISE.

ff . he read over an d over on his bed of su ering 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 w ish of your loving grandparents . This book is very dear to me , the prince said to his friend, after a

s w t serious talk on religiou matters ; those words , ri ten by relatives whom I sincerely respect and thor oughly love , have an inestimable value for me, and

n yet I give it to you . I wa t what I most value to go to you, in memory of what seems to me the most important Of our conversations .

d cr u When he was dying, he wante to gaze at the cifix , in order not to complain of his sad lot, dying thus at the very threshold of a career whi ch promised to be brilliant and glorious ; to go d own so early to the gloomy tomb of the Hapsburgs ! To exchange his glowing visions for this untimely end ; to fin d an Austr ian tomb instead of the throne of France ! He d accepted his fate , but he wishe as few witnesses as i possible of h s last sufferings . He did not want to show to the world a son of Napoleon so weak and

. i broken He could scarcely l ft 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 m ymisery I His sum p tuons cradle he had given to the Im perial Treasury

Of w i Vienna, h ch is near the Church of the Cap

hin s d uc , where he was to be burie . My cradle and

MP 36 THE E RESS MARIE LOUISE.

22 1 821 his poleon Bonaparte ; July , , he heard of ’ 22 1 832 di father s death ; and July , , he ed at the age

- of tw enty one years four months and two days . We desire to make five studies Of the second wife

Of . The fi and the son Napoleon I rst, w hich we are n ow

Of beginning, covers a period of brilliancy infatuation ,

- all m of fairy like splendor, which in its glow for s a striking contrast with the dreadful shadows that fol

Of - r low. With the aid eye witnesses whose memoi s aboun d with most valuable recollections such as

ni had Prince Metter ch, who the principal charge of ’ the Archduchess s marriage ; M . de Bausset and e t General de S gur, both at ached to the Emperor ’ Napoleon s household, so that they saw him nearly ’ u d fi every day ; Madame D ran , the Empress s rst

d -in - M én eval la y waiting Baron de , his private secre — tary with their aid we shall try to recall the brilliant past, taking for our motto that phrase of “ : Michelet History is a resurrection . An excel

’ lent work, which deserves translation , Von Helf er t s

M ar ie L ouise Em r ess o the Fr en ch , p f , throws a great deal of light on the early years of the mother of the i K ng of Rome . In the archives Of the Ministers Of Foreign Affairs thanks to the intelligent and lib eral control which facilitates historic research we have found a great number of curious documents d which had never been publishe , such as letters writ to ten Napoleon by the Emperor and Empress Of s Au tria, and despatches from his ambas sador at

u s Vienna, Co nt Otto . Thi first study will carry 37 INTROD UCTION.

n us to the begi ning Of the Rus sian campaign , that glorious period when the unheard-of prosperity N promised to be eternal . O darker night was ever preceded by a more brilliant sun . Napoleon said on the rock of Saint Helena : Marie Loui se had a short reign ; but she mus t have enjoyed it ; the world was ” at her feet .

EARLY YEARS .

r RIE LOUISE , A chduchess of Austria, Em Of press the French, Queen of Italy, after

ds Of war Duchess Parma, Piacenza, and Guastalla,

in 1 2 1 91 was born Vienna, December , 7 , the daughter u of Archd ke Francis, Prince Imperial, who a year later became Emperor of Germany under the name d . an Of e e of Francis II , Marie Th r se, Princess Of

a f n . Naples , d ughter O King Ferdina d IV and Queen

Marie Caroline . ’ 1 2 6 Marie Louise s father was born February , 17 8,

a year and a half earlier tha n the Emperor Napoleon . He was the gran dson of the great Empress Marie

e e . Th r se , and son of the Emperor Leopold II , who Of was the brother of the Queen France , Marie 1 1792 Antoinette , and whom he succeeded March , ;

s Of his mother w as a Spanish princes , a daughter

. Charles III . of Spain . He had four wives He was ff an excellent husband, but his family a ections were so stron g that he could not remain a widower . In

1 788 he married his first wife , Princess Elizabeth

ur tem ber i a Wilhelmina Louisa of W g, who d ed Febr 39 40 THE EMPRESS MARIE LOUISE.

d ary 1 7, 1 790, in giving birth to a aughter who lived

r i but six months . The same year he ma r ed by proxy

An nst 15 1 9 at Naples, g , and September in person at Vienna, the young Neapolitan princess Marie

d . Therese , daughter of Fer inand IV and of Marie

d Sicilies . Caroline , who rule over the Two

n ne 6 1 772 The young princess , who was born J , ,

i Old . was then e ghteen years She was kind, virtu

us u o , and well ed cated, 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

t . great faul s, was a remarkable woman

Marie Caroline , the Queen of Naples , was ener getic to excess, courageous to the point of heroism ; she believed that severity and sometimes even cruelty w as demanded of a sovereign ; her religion amounted to superstition, her love of authority to despotism ; she alternated between passionate devotion to pleas ure and earnest zeal for her duty ; she was ardent in

afiection s her and implacable in resentment, intense in her joys and in her sorrows ; she was often an

s unwi e queen, but as a mother she was beyond r e k proach . Li e the matrons of antiquity an d her illus tr iou s i e mother, the Empress Mar e Ther se, she was proud of her large family ; she had no fewer than sev en teen l chi dren, and political cares never prevented her actively and intelligently caring for their moral an d physical welfare . If she had not the happiness f o seeing them all grow up, those who survived were 41 EARL Y YEARS.

O yet the constant bject of her tender solicitude . She took a prominent part in the education of her tw o sons , the Duke of Calabria and the Prince of Sa

l d u h lerno , and sti l more in that of her five a g t e e Marie Th r se , the wife of the Emperor Francis II . ;

Marie Louise , who married the Archduke Ferdinand,

Of s Grand Duke Tu cany ; Marie Christine , wife of

Of Of Charles Felix, Duke Genoa, later King Sar e dinia ; Marie Am lie , Duchess of Orleans, then

Of fi Queen France Marie Antoinette , rst wife of the f O a . Prince Asturi s , later Ferdinand VII , King of

Spain . Marie Caroline was very fon d of her eldest daugh e e ter, Marie Th r se ; and when the princess had, in

1 90 s 7 , married the Archduke Francis, two year f later Emperor O Germany, the mother and daughter kept up an active and aff ectionate correspondence c in French . They were forever onsulting each other about their babies , which were born at about the same time . When the daughter had given birth fi to her rst child, the future French Empress , the Queen congratulated her most warm ly : I con gr atu late you ou your courage . I am sure that when e you look at your baby, which I h ar is large , sturdy,

all and strong, that you forget that you have been thron g 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, 1 793, there was born an Archduke Ferdinand, 42 THE EMP RESS MARIE LO UISE.

n later Emperor Of Germany ; and his gra dmother, “ : ! Queen Marie Caroline , wrote I wept for joy i ! ” Thank Heaven for the birth of th s 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, di i who had a most amiable spos tion, was an eager

u h student, and acq ired a good knowledge of Frenc ,

w . English, Italian, dra ing, and music She was brought up to respect religion and to detest revolutionary ideas .

Her grandmother, Queen Marie Caroline, who in 1 800 came to visit the Austrian court and stayed

o s s there tw years, had many conver ation with Marie

Louise, which certainly were unlikely to inspire her with an y taste for the French Revolution or for

General Bonaparte . It is easy to under stand how extremely the highs pirited and haughty Queen of the Two Sicilies must have been distressed and r e volted uff t by the s erings and dea h of her . sister,

Marie Antoinette . There was something very sol em n in the way in which she told her childr en what 1 6 93 1 . took place in Paris October , 7 She had them all summoned. They found her dr essed in deep

in black, with tears her eyes ; and she led them without a word to the chapel in the royal palace of

e the Naples, and there , befor altar, she told them that the people of regicides had just put their aunt to death upon the scaff old . Then she bade them all to

44 THE EMP RESS MARIE LOUISE.

9 1 800 She set sail from Palermo, June , , with her h second son, t e Prince of Salerno , and her three ri Am élie unmarri ed daughters, Marie Ch stine, Marie , an d Marie Antoinette . e r i r e u The ideas, the fe lings , the p nciples , the p j t Of dices, the hates, the hopes, the interes s , Queen — Marie Caroline were the same as those of her son in d law, the Emperor, of her aughter, the Empress , and of her other daughter, the Grand Duchess of Tus cany. At Vienna she found the same political feel hi had ings as at Naples . On her way t ther she a — r Of great joy, the news of the su render the French

Of at Genoa, which caused her to utter cries delight ;

r — ri and a great so row, the tidings of the Aust an

r defeat at Ma engo, which was such a blow that she fell unconscious and narrowly escaped dying of apo

r a i plexy. We may readily unde st nd the nfluence which a woman Of this character must have had on mi the nd of her daughter, the Empress of Germany,

Of r Of and her granddaughter, the futu e Empress the ul French. Doubtless the young Marie Louise wo d have been much astonished if any one had prophesied to her that she would marry this Bonaparte who w as di represented to her as a monster. Marie Caroline d not leave Schoenbrunn to return to her own kingdom

29 1 802. until July , For two years she had worked s persi tently and not without success, to augment, if

the t hi that was possible, detes ation w ch the court, the aristocracy, and the whole Austrian people felt for France and French ideas . EARLY YEARS. 45

a is i When M rie Lou e was a child, and with her l ttle

w -s di s brothers and sisters used to play ith toy ol er , li the ug est, blackest, and most repulsive Of them w as

te always picked out and called Bonapar , and this one they us ed to prick with pins and denounce in every

way . 1805 hi The war of , w ch brought Austr ia to the ’ ri nk i b of ru n , added to the Archduchess s instinctive

repulsion for Napoleon . At Vienn a the pani c was extreme ; the Imperial family was obliged to flee in

ff nl di erent directions . Marie Louise was o y four teen

years old, and she was already learning bitter lessons

i e at the school Of experience . Seek ng shelt r in

s o Hungary, and after ward in Galicia, she prayed m st w warmly for the success of the Austri ans . She rote fi Papa must be nally successful , and the time must

come when the usurper w ill lose heart. Perhaps God has let him go so far to make his ruin more complete ” 21 when He Shall have abandoned him . November ,

0 da t he s i 1 8 5 , a few ys before battle of Au terl tz, she ’ wrote a letter to her governess s husband, Count “ hi : s Colloredo , in w ch she said God mu t be very

us . wroth with , since He punishes us so sorely Per haps at this very moment there is living in one of our rooms at Schoenbrunn one of those generals who ur are as treacherous as cats . O family is all scat

ter ed : my dear parents are at Olmutz ; we are at ” Kaschan there is a third colony at Ofen . m Every sort of misfortune combined to s ite this w as suff ering family . While the Emperor Francis 46 THE EMP RESS MARIE LOUISE.

s his losing the battle Of Au terlitz, wife , who was

r in Silesia, with only one of her child en, the little

w as 1 797 an d Archduchess Leopoldine, who born in

Old ill was not yet eight years , fell seriously with d the m easles, and dreaded giving the isease to her

u little gir l . The only thing which wo ld make death terrible , she wrote to her husband, would be

D O to die without seeing you again . not take a ’ step that w ill injure you or the country . Only don t let me be taken to France Nothing di sturbed her so much as the dread of falling into the hands of the

h c d enemy . The details w i h her husban 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 pos session 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 state ment suffice to Show in what esteem the German sov er eign held France and the French character ?

The Imperial family was at last reunited in Vienna,

i 1 806 . after many v cissitudes, early in But a new misfortune awaited them the following year . The

Empress, whose health was already delicate , had a

" r i 9 1 807 an d miscarriage Ap l , , a pleurisy which seized

her Off d du e O her carried in four ays , in dor of sanctity, after she had given her blessing to Marie Louise and R EA LY YEARS. 47

hi - the rest of her c ldren . She was only thir ty five . The untimely death of the amiable and virtuous prin cess , whose gayety and kindness had been the life

u and delight of the court, pl nged her whole family into deep grief .

The Emperor Francis was an excellent husband,

ri 1 3 but he was not an inconsolable widower . Ap l , 1 807 , he lost his second wife ; but less than nine months 6 1 808 d afterwards , January , , he marrie his young

u Of cousin , Marie Lo ise Beatrice of Este, daughter the late Archduke Ferdinand of Modena . This prin 14 1 787 cess , who was born December , , was very

' but attr acti e short, v in appearance and of an excellent

s i character. Her di pos tion 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 seven teenth year . Nevertheless, the Em press took hold of the princess’s education with a high d m hand, and displaye as uch solicitude as if she had been her real mother . HE Emperor Francis was not without distrae tions during his honeymoon with his third

n . wife , the you g Empress, Marie Louise Beatrice It was evident to every on e that the Peace of Pres

e i n bourg, like that of Lun v lle , could be nothi g more

u than a truce . Austria co ld never be reconciled to 1 792 1 806 its loss , between and , of the Low Coun

Suabia i tries, , M lan , the Venetian States , Tyrol, Dal fi matia, and nally of the Imperial crown of Germany ; for the heir of the Germanic Cae sars now styled him

Of self simply the Emperor Austria, and a great part of Germany had become the humble vassal of Napo

. us leon Of all the A trians , it was perhaps the

Emperor who felt the least hatred of France . His

— ts whole family and his whole people nobles, pries , d l — the mi d e classes, and the peasantry nourished an angry resentment against the nation that was

r n . n ew overtu ni g Europe The Empress , whose fam had d ily been deprived of the Duchy of Mo ena, was conspicuous for the bitterness of her indignation and l i of her po it cal feelings . In the eyes of all the Aus

48 49

tr ian s , great or small, poor or rich, the French were i the hered tary enemies, the invaders , the destroyers Of h the t rone and the Church, impious , sacrilegious — , revolutionary, the authors of every evil . It w as 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

rin r upon ruins , b ging mise y and disgrace to all man

k . its ind The old nobility, once so proud of coats of - arms and of its sovereign rights, now enslaved, i its hum liated, shorn of independence , knew no limit “ ” to its abuse of the Corsican savage , who had cut t l the roo s of the old Germanic tree, previous y so m ajestic . The priests denounced the nation which

fis had dared to con cate 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

fl . w for their af ictions The Frenchmen, overthro ing and despoiling everything, foes of the human race, ff the enemies of morality and religion, brought su er i ing to princes in the r palaces , to workmen in their factories , to tradespeople in their shops , to the di priests in their churches , to the sol ers in their

s . Of camps, to the peasant in their huts The war wrath was irresistible . Every one lamented the mis take 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 fl or in that a mis take had been made in not assisting Prussia at the 50 THE EMPRESS MARIE LOUISE. time of the campaign of Jena ; and that the moment had come for all the powers to combine against the he m common foe and to crush him . Did ake any pretence of concealing his in tention to over thr ow

an d hi sover every throne , to make mself the oldest eign Had he not had the insolence to say at Milan Of a t in 1805 , to the Prince Cardito, the Ne poli an d “ r envoy extraor inary, Tell you Queen that I shall leave to her and her family only enough land for their graves Had he not recently, under the

fi n walls of Madrid, uttered these signi ca t 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 countr y This other

hr w as t one , it said at Vienna, this throne which

Napoleon did not name , must be the throne of the

r h ri Emperor F ancis II . imself. Already the Impe al

Of had i crown Germany been lost, and the Austr an

hr . crown was t eatened But, added all the arch d Offi ukes and cers , 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

u an d Bo rbons, the Bayonne ambush could not be repeated . All Europe was thr illing with indigna tion ; 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 1 Death but victory was certain . The French arm y, e scatt red from the Oder to the Tagus , from the

52 THE EMP RESS MARIE LOUISE.

i to Of a cobbler who, in despa r at not being permitted

a n . join the ar my, blew out his br i s Youths wished Of to leave school in order to serve . All classes l society rivalled one another in zeal, courage, and se f fi sacri ce . When it was known that the Archduke

-in -c hi Feb Charles had been appointed commander ef, r uar 20 1809 fi y , , there was an outburst of con dence r 9 from one end of the Empire to the other. Ma ch , the Archbishop of Vienna solemnly blessed in the

Cathedral the flags Of the Viennese Landwehr . To

a a gether with the other members of the Imperi l f mily, 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

a a the vast m jority of this same popul ce 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 h 8 1 809 the world seen suc slaughter . April , , the Emperor Francis left his capital, leaving there i i his w fe and ch ldren, who were not able to stay there after the fifth of May . From Vienna the Archduchess

w e Marie Louise rot frequently to her father. A rumor had spread that the battle of Eckmiihl had

l vi s an been a bril iant ctory for the Au trians , d Marie “ 25 : Louise w r ote to her father, April 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 gr eat many prophecies 1 8 09 . 53

en d about his speedy , and people say that the Apoca l se yp applies to him . They maintain that he is going

in n to die this year at Cologne , in an called the ’ ‘ r d Red Caw fish . I o not attach much importance i to these prophec es , 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 childr en at the approach Of

had Of the enemy, she more the appearance an exile l i . il than Of a sovere gn She was very at the time , and scarcely able to support the jolting of her car

r ia e n g , and she groaned conti ually, as much from her “ h r r i moral as from her physical suff erings . It is o ” “ d ff . ble , sai Marie Louise , to see her su er so It t rained in torren s , and the thunder roared as if to foretell all the misfortunes which were about to d d i overwhelm the cou ntry . The roa s, ma e st ll worse

by the bad weather, were abominable . When the d diffi fugitives reached Bu a, after a long and cult

h an d journey, they were wet throug , nearly worn out

with fatigue . The illusions Of the Imperial family were speedily

r destroyed by the harsh reality . Vienna su rendered

2 sufi er in . r May 1 , after g severely In a few hou s

eighteen hundred shells had fallen in the city . The

o u streets were narrow, the houses high, and the p p lace crowded within the narrow fortifications were terrified and infuriated at the sight of the damage 54 THE EMPRESS MARIE LO UISE .

i d fi di s caused by the shells , wh ch starte res in every d i i rection . Who woul have sa d to the V ennese who were then hurling all manner of imprecations at

Napoleon , the author of their woes , that in ten months later they would be sin ging the praise of this detested Emperor, and would be voluntarily setting French flags in their windows as symbols of friend ? 1 3 1 809 ship May , , the French, under the command

Oudin ot i of General , entered Vienna , am d the curses and execrations of the populace beside itself with

an d 1 3 1810 grief ; ten months later to a day, March , , i b the same populace , joyous and peaceful, w th ells i i d ring ng and cannon salut ng, blesse and applauded an archduchess who was leaving Vienna to share ’ this same Napoleon s throne ! r But meanwhile the e were many horrors , and much d blood was shed . The artillery uel w as most formi dable there was no limit to the fury an d obstinacy of f the two com batants . It was a war O giants in which all the infernal powers appeared to be let loose at i once . Napoleon himself, famil ar as he was with scenes of carnage , was surprised by the bitterness of

had d fi d the struggle . Never he e e fortune with such audacity . Neglecting the usual laws of military

- science, he fought for twenty four hours without ces i i sat on, on a l ne only three leagues long, having in his in rear one of the largest rivers Europe . Wagram i was a victory, but a victory hotly d sputed . When at the Opening of the campaign it was thought that events would take a turn favorable to Austria, a 1 8 09 . 55

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

the of dethroning Emperor Francis , and putting in

d k Wii r zbur his place his brother, the Gran Du e of g, formerly the Grand Duke Of Tuscany . The Aus tr ian s c , for whom he had felt a ertain contempt , now inspired him with profou nd esteem ; he admired their fi bravery, and especially the delity, of which they had given many touching proofs, to their unfortunate i ruler . The hero of Wagram said to h mself that if i d instead of gain ng this battle he had lost it, he woul n ot have gone back to the Tuileries as easily as Fran

cis w as going back to his palace in Vienna . An Emperor of Austr ia could be beaten and retain his

ri n . popula ty ; but he , the great Napoleo , 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 , ffi Napoleon treated the two distinguished o cers , Prince R John of Lichtenstein and General von ubna, with

the utmost courtesy . He spared no pains to show his personal esteem and to flatter their national pride ; he spoke in the highest term s of the Austrian army and of the bravery it had displayed in the last cam “ : m paign . He said to them You will always re ain 56 THE EMPRESS MARIE LO UISE.

the fir st continental power, after France ; you are deucedly strong . Allied as I was with Russia , I never expected to have on my hands a seri ous con l ! ” tin en ta war, and what a war Then to console them for the conditions imposed on mutilated Aus

dd d di r tria, he a e Why stress you selves about a few scraps of territory which must come back to you some day ? All' this can only last during my life

fi . time . France ought never to ght 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 Bubua which amazed all

. . Bausset d who saw it M de , who accompanie him

-in — : as a gentleman waiting, says in his Memoirs I watched attentively the two Aus trian 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 Schwarzen berg — the Wife of the brilliant general who had just

an d fought like a hero, , in the next year, as Austrian ambassador at the court of the Tuileries was to nego tiate the marriage Of Napoleon an d Marie Louise w ri rote a most despai ng letter to her husband, in 1 809 . 57 which she said : I shall bury myself in the past in

O rder to escape the present and the future . I have heard that you were to be chosen to negotiate this — so c alled 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 whi ch d we are cowar ly enough to call a peace, may become

s . complete , that our political exi tence may end I pray for the calm of deat

i n Napoleon was about leav ng Schoenbru n, to return 1 2 1 809 to France, when , October , , just as he was i about to rev ew his troops , he saw approaching him a

un yo g German, of suspicious appearance, who was

. w as at once arrested This young man , whose name

Staa s p , was the son of a Protestant pastor at Erfurt,

an d a under his coat was found a l rge, sharp dagger, with which he said he had intended to kill the : Emperor, in order to deliver Germany The cool, hi mi calm replies of t s deter ned fanatic, whom Napo im i leon h self exam ned, made a deep impression upon

him . Might not this young German be the fore runner of numberless volunteers who were about to organize against France what they would consider a w ho holy war ? At the sight of this youth, gave calm — expression to unrelenting hatred, Napoleon who

did not venture to spare his life , although no criminal act had been commi tted — 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 sin gularly astonished when at last he 58 THE EMP RESS MARIE LOUISE.

saw that Germany did not love him . Nothi ng is f so repugnant to the great O the earth, and especially - t to conquerors, as the thought of death, dea h, the ! fir only unconquerable foe What, the st comer, a ni fool, a vulgar fanatic, can with a kitchen k fe lay s us low the greatest hero, the most illu trio warrior, the mightiest king ! At Regensberg, when he was wounded for the fir st time since he had begun his i mil tary career, the hero of so many battles perceived,

w i u . and not thout a pang, that he was not inv lnerable

Of r Before the corpse the brave Ma shal Lannes, who had had his two legs car ried ofi by a cannon-ball

Esolin e at g, he wrot very sadly to the Empress “ ” Josephine : So everything ends ! And now he

the Of might himself have fallen by hand a poor, unknown student ! As the Duchess of Abrantes

: hi wrote Death, w ch was always prowling about

s s the Emperor in variou form , yet never daring to seize him , but always appearing to say, Take care ! ” w as a prophecy, and a prophecy of evil . Napo leon began to reflect seriously . To audacity and the spirit of adventure there suddenly succeeded pru

Of - dence and the need self preservation . The all powerful Emperor said to himself at the moment

Of a his tr iumph, th t if he were to di e without a direct his l heir, vast Empire wou d fall to pieces, like that of ifi Alexander the Great, and the unrivalled ed ce , built t at the price of so much oil and sacrifice, would be shattered . The national historian has said : In proportion as he

T HE PRELIMINA RIES OF THE WED D ING .

U STRIA had known terri ble fears during the

had s campaign of Wagram ; it asked anxiou ly, whether the Hapsburgs might not disappear from the

d i n list of crowne heads , like the Span sh Bourbo s , or mi i ght not, l ke the Neapolitan Bourbons , be left to en joy only part of their States . The peace which i 14 1 809 w as signed at V enna, October , , had some what allayed these serious apprehensions, but the situation of Austria remained no less anxious and i painful . As Prince Metternich has sa d in his “ curious Memoirs : The so-called Peace of Vienna i had enclosed the Empire in an iron c rcle, cutting off un the d its comm ication with A riatic, and sur d it d t roun ing from Bro y, on the extreme nor heast, t d w d owar s Russia, to the southeastern frontiers to ar the Ottoman Empire , with a row of states under ’ di n Napoleon s rule , or under his rect influe ce . The m E pire, as if caught in a vice, was not free to move

had in any direction ; moreover, the conqueror done all he could to prevent the defeated nation from renewing its strength ; a secret article of the treaty 60 P M RELI INARIES OF THE WEDDING. 61 of peace established one hundred and fif ty thous and ” 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

Of very probable and very near, Napoleon with the e sist r of the Czar . Thus imprisoned betw een two vast empires, between that of the East and that of

' the West, as if between hammer and anvil, what

its would become of Austria, shorn of territory and its strength ?

r Ther e was but one chance , and a ve y 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 c on

tem latin . its i p g Already, matrimon al alliances had brought the country good fortune more than once , an d it could not forget the famous maxim expressed in a Latin line

B ella er an t aln tu elix Austr ia n ube g f , her a e w ar d o ou ha Austr ia m ar r ! Let ot s w g ; y , ppy , y

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 d party had come to power . Mr . von Sta ion , a states d man of warlike ten encies , had been succeeded in the Ministry of Foreign Aff airs by a young and

- brillian t diplomatist, Count Metternich . The new minister had been ambassador to Paris before the I E 62 THE EMP RES S M ARIE L O U S .

an d i had campaign of Wagram, , wh le he been unable to prevent the war, he had left a very favorable ’ his impression at Napoleon s court, where success d as a man of the worl , as a great nobleman , had i i . been very brill ant He then , in the l fetime of his i i father, Pr nce Mettern ch , bore only the title of

hi s d his i in Count . In esire to attest bel ef the possibility of a reconciliation between Austria and

had hi s Napoleon , he left wife , Countess Metternich, in France during the war. When he came to power, d he conceive a political plan which was founded,

a fi temporarily at le st, if not nally, on a French alli

n f ance . But to secure all the be e its which he hoped it ’ to get from , Napoleon s marriage with an Austrian princess was necessary ; and Metternich, who was aware of the negotiations between the French and

i w as Russ an courts, not inclined to believe in the possibility of a marriage betw een an Austrian Arch d uchess 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 Austri an court . The Emperor of the French had absolutely decided on a divorce ; but he still thought that it w as the Grand

Duchess Anne, sister of the Emperor Alexander of i i . Russia, who was go ng to succeed Joseph ne On the occasion of the interview at Erfurt he had spoken of hi r an d ! t s mar iage, the Czar appeared to be m ost favor

. 22 1 809 able to the plan November , , the Duke of

Aff a Cadore, Minister of Foreign irs , forwarded this P ELIMINA IES or R R THE WED D ING. 63

to despatch the Duke of Vicenza, French Ambassador at Sain t Petersbur g : Rumor s of the divorce reached

ur the ears of the Emperor Alexander at Erf t, and he s poke to the Emperor on the subject, saying that his s s e n n i t r A e w as at his disposition . His Majesty de sir es you to broach the subject frankly and simply Al with the Emperor exander, and to address him in

: I a o nk these terms Sire, h ve reas n to thi that the

Emperor, urged by the whole of France , is making

f r ready a 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 pers on intereste d in the tw o families ? I am not m aking a formal demand, but rather requesting the expression of your intentions . I venture, Sire , upon

his s I t step, becau e am so accustomed to say what I think to Your Majesty that I have no fear of compro ’ m ising myself.

You will not mention the subject to M . de Ro ff m an zo on any pretext whatsoever, and when you shall have had this conversation with the Emperor a his Alexander, and shall h ve received answer two ll s com m unica days later, you wi entirely forget thi tion that Iam making. You will, in addition , inform ss me concerning the qualities of the young Prince , and especially when she m ay be expected to become ’ ff s a mother ; for in the present state of a air , six months r ecom diff erence is of great importance . I need not mend to Your Excellency the most complete secrecy 64 THE EM P RES S MA RIE L OUISE. you know what you owe to the Emperor in this ” respect . At that time couriers took tw o weeks to go from

s Paris to Saint Peter burg, and the answer to the despatch of November 22 had not yet arri ved when ho did Napoleon, w not yet know who his second wife

n 30 was to be, annou ced to Josephine, November , that divorce was inevitable . The un happy Empress

l the received for the ast time at Tuileries, which she w n as to leave forever, in the mor ing of December 16.

The reception was drawing to an end . Among those who were waiting on the grand staircase or in the

n vestibule for their carriages to be annou ced, there

d . e happened to be stan ing together M de S monville, i a young man of some prom nence in the court, and

n M . de Floret, a you g secretary of the Austrian lega tion . Everybody imagined then that the marriage with the Grand Duchess of Russia was settled . Sud den l n y, in this crowd of great perso ages, M . de se monville began the following conversation with the Austri an diplomatist

’ ’ fi . Wh Well, that s xed y didn t you do it ? Who says that we di dn’ t want to ? ”

People think so . Are they wrong ? ” Perhaps . What It would be possible You may think so; but the Ambas sad or ?

z I will answer for Prince Schwar enberg . But Count Metternich ?

f fi There is no di culty about him . P ELIMI A IE R N R S OF THE WED D ING. 65

But the Emperor ? ”

Or about him, either . ? ” And the Empress , who hates us ’ her i You don t know ; she is ambit ous, and could be persuaded . e M . de S monville started at once to r eport this cu r iou s conversation to his friend, the Duke of Bassano, who at once hastened to speak of it to the Emperor .

‘

on . Napoleon appeared pleased, but not ast ished He said that he had just hear d the same thing from

Vienna . This is what had happened in the Austrian capital the Count of Narbonne had been passing thr ough before going to Munich, where he was to represent

France as Minister Plenipotentiar y . This amiable

. has and distinguished man, of whom M Villemain had d r a i w ritte n an excellent life, succee ed in att ct ng ’ v Napoleon s favor, and after recei ing an appointment

as gen eral in the French army, he had been made ’ - - ambassador and one of the Emperor s aides de camp . fi M . de Narbonne, who was a model of re nement and t braver y, had been one of the ornamen s of the court

of Versailles an d of the Constituent Assembly. He had been a Knight of Honor of Madame Adelaide , ni d the daughter of Louis XV . ; Mi ster of War un er 2 a e u . 1 9 Lo is XVI , in 7 ; a friend of Mad me de Sta l ; w r an émigré in England, S itzerland, and Ge many ; ’ 1 809 - and in , thanks to Napoleon s good will, he had

a n e once more resumed his military career, fter an i t r

rupti on of seventeen years . Towards the end of the 66 THE EM P RES S MARIE LO UISE. 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 in d e en imposed by her conqueror, to proclaim the p dence of those two countries . The peace once signed,

General the Count of Narbonne went to Vienna,

hi s — where he met two of best friends, the Prince of

w ho Ligne, had been one of the favorites of Marie o Ant inette, and the Count of Lamarck , who had been

din a confidant of Mirabeau . One day when he was ing with them and Prince Metterni ch and a few

i s other int mate friend , the conversation turned to

r politics . The Aust ian Minister congratulated him

ou d u self the peace , which, he sai , made the fut re 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 :

r Gentlemen, I am su prised by your recent astonish ment and your present confidence . Is it possible that

i r you are too bl nd to see that eve y peace , easy or hard, is nothin g more than a brief truce ? that for a long

n time we are haste ing to one conclusion, of which peace is but one of the stations ? This conclusion is the subjugation of the whole of Eur ope under two mighty empires . You have seen the swift growth and progress of one of these empires since 1 800. 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

’ 68 THE EMP RES S MARIE L OUISE. become Empress of theFrench ; 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

his hOpe for the realization of dream, when one of r his friends, Count Alexand e de Laborde who, é after serving as an émigr , in the Austrian army, had returned to France and been appointed Master of him Requests in the Council of State, encouraged in his ideas which might at first have seemed fanciful .

- r - M . de Laborde , whose father had been cou t banker

s d before the Revolution, and had most generou ly ai ed

Marie Antoinette , was well known and much liked in

e m Vienna . In this matt r of the arriage of Marie Louise he was the secret agent between Napoleon’ s Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Prin ce of

Schwarzenberg, in whom he kindled so much zeal in d behalf of the French alliance that the Ambassa or, d as we shall soon see, signe the marriage contract of the Archduchess with Napoleon , even before he had received the authorization of his governm ent .

1 7 1809 n d . December , , nothi g had been deci ed

Indeed, what seemed probable, if not certain, was

da the Russian marriage . That day the y when there appeared in the Mon iteu r the decree of the Senate relative to the divorce - a new despatch had been sent from Paris to Saint Petersburg by the Duke to of Cadore , demand a speedy reply from the Rus r sian cou t, yes or no . The answer of the Duke of fi 22 Vicenza to the rst despatch , that of November , 1 809 c s i ; did not rea h Pari unt l December 28. The P ELIM INA IES F THE ED D I R R O W NG. 69

Ambassador said that the Czar had received hi s over f tures very amiably, but that the a fair needed much discretion and a little patience . The Emperor Alex ander, he went on to say, was personally favorable ;

t ff r e but his mo her, whom he did not wish to o end, fused her consent, and the Czar asked for a few days before giving a final answer. This delay vexed Na

oleon p , who nevertheless resolved to wait, although waiting suited neither his tastes nor his character. i 1 81 0 In short, at the beg nning of , the matrimonial alliance with Austria was not settled . The initiative mi steps had not been taken by the monarch, the nis

f i . ter s of Foreign A fa rs , or by the ambassadors It is

r a curious and characte istic detail, that it was the

n . divorced Empress, Josephi e , who gave the signal She summoned the Countess Metternich to Malm ai “ 2 1 81 0 : son , January , , and said to her I have a plan whi ch interests me to the exclus ion of every thi ng else, and nothing but its success can make me feel that the sacrifice I have jus t made is w holly 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 ao think it would be made , if he were sure of being cepted by you . Madame de Metternich was much surprised by this overture , which she hastened to communicate to h er husband in a letter dated Janu 1 1 0 - ary 3, 8 , 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 impor MA I 70 THE EMP RES S R E L OUISE.

. fir tant part of your despatches In the st place, I must tell you that I was presented to the Emperor

nl in last Sun day. I had o y mentioned the matter convers ation with Champagny when I received a letter

Sé ur the from M . de g , telling me that Emperor had

n appointed Su day, and that I was to choose a lady

- in waiting to present me . In my wisdom I selected

an d the Duchess of Bassano , after waiting in company with twenty other women, among whom were the

u d de T ski ew itz Princess of Isenb rg, Ma ame y and ' - s n others, from two till half pa t six in the eveni g, I

fir was introduced st, and the Emperor received me in a way I could not have expected. He seemed

' r a e lly glad to see me again, and glad that I had stayed here during the war ; he spoke about you and

i ‘ the fi sa d, M . de Metternich holds rst place in the Empir e ; he knows the country well and can be of service to it. Then the Coun tess went on to narrate what the Empress Josephine and Queen Hortense had said the evening before at Malmaison. She had been r eceived by Hortense while waiting in the dr aw ing hi room for Josep ne 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

s r Au t ians at heart, but you would never guess that my brother has had the courage to advise the Emperor k to as for the hand of your Archduchess . Josephine f requently referred to this projected marriage, on hi to ” w ch she seemed have set her heart Yes, she P ELIMINA IES OF THE WED IN R R D G. 71

s said, we mu t 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 bri ng the

f r “ af ai to a happy conclus ion . Your Emperor must ” ui be made to see, she went on, that his r n and the ruin of hi s country are certain if he does not give his consent to thi s marr iage . It is perhaps the only way of preventing Napoleon from breaking with the Holy ” See . The letter of the Countess Metternich ended thus b I have not seen the Queen of Holland again , e hi cause she is ill . Hence I have not ng 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

ri s t imagine that it was a se ou mat er for me , but

I managed to come ofi w ith glory . He began by di i praising my amond headband, and that everlast ng

dr gold ess, then he asked me a number of questions

m all about y family and my relatives ; he insisted, in

all " Spite of I could say, that Louis von Kaunitz was ’ ff my brother . You can t imagine what e ect that little game of cards had . When it was over, I was surrounded and paid court to by all the great dign i

a taries, mar shals , ministers, etc . I had abundant m te rial for philosophical reflections on the vicissitude of ” human afi air s . v r Nevertheless , in spite of the o ertu es which i Josephine had made to the Countess Mettern ch, 72 THE EM P RES S MARIE L O UISE.

Napoleon had come to no decision about his n ew i wife . One day when he had been work ng with

be M . Daru, whom highly esteemed, he had the following conversation w ith him In your Opin ion whi ch would be the better for ” s t ? me, to marry the Russian or the Au rian “ Neither.

The devil ! You are very har d to please .

sa a vi Neither, I y, but a Frenchwom n and pro ded the new Empress does not have too many relatives who will have to be made princes and given a large

u . fortune , France will approve yo r choice The throne you occupy is like no other ; you have erected it with your ow n hands . You ar e at the head of a generous nation ; your glory and its glory ought to be shared in common . It is not by imitating

s d h n r other monarch , it is by istinguis i g you self,

fin that you d your real greatn ess . You do not rule by the same title that they do ; you ought not to marry as they do . The nation would be flattered

r n d by you looking at home for an Empress, a it would always see in your line a thoroughly French ” family . “ ! ’ ! . Come , come that s nonsense If M de Talley rand should hear you, he would form a very poor ’ u idea of yo r political sagacity. You don t treat this question like a statesman . I must u nite in defence of my crown those at home and abroad who are still hostile to it ; and my marriage furni shes a chance . ’ Do you im agine that monarchs marriages are m at P ELIMINA I R RIES OF THE WED D NG. 73

? ters of sentiment No ; they are matters of politics . Mine cannot be decided by motives of internal pol

i icy ; I must try to establish my nfluence outside , and to extend it by a close alliance with a powerful ” neighbor . ffi No answer had come from Russia, no o cial over ture had been made to or by Austria ; still Napoleon to continued believe , or at least pretended to believe,

hi s fi that only dif culty was to make the best choice . — The idea that two emperors an d a king without counting the other sovereigns on whom he did not deign to cast a glance were simultaneously disput ing the honor of allying their family with him, greatly

flattered his pride . In fact, what he desired w as the Austrian marriage ; but he was anxious to keep his preferences secret, in order to prolong in the eyes of hi his principal councillors , an uncertainty in w ch his pride did not suff er . He convoked them to an ex

r or di n ar ui t a y session , at the T leries , after mass ,

21 1 81 0. Sunday, January , The great dignitaries of the Empire , Champagny, Minister of Foreign

Aff airs ; the Duke of Cadore Maret, the Secretary of State ; the Duke of Bassano ; M . Garnier, the

President of the Senate ; and M . de Fontanes, Pres é — ident of the Corps L gislatif, all took part in this

di s solemn council . The relative advantages and advantages of the Russian, the Saxon, and the Aus trian marriage were considered at great length . The

Archtreasurer Lebrun and M . Garnier favored the daughter of the King of Saxony ; the Ar chchan cel 74 THE EMP RESS MARIE L O UISE.

d lor Cambaceres and King Murat, the Gran Duchess

ri of Rus sia ; M . de Champagny, P nce Talleyrand, a Prince Eugene, the Prince of Neufch tel and the

Duke of Bassano , the Archduchess Marie Louise . Murat especially distin guished hims elf by his violent opposition to the Austri an alliance . Doubtless he was averse to the selection for Empress of the French of the granddaughter of Queen Marie Caro

of N w r . line aples, hose th one he was occupying

Napoleon remained calm and impassive . When the

d m n ll meeting was over, he is issed the cou ci ors, sim ply saying : I shall weigh in my mi nd the argu ments that you have submitted to me . In any case , I r emain convinced that w hatever diff erence 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 year s to a day after a king of France who had mar ried an Austrian archduchess had died on the scaf s f fold, there was di cussed the alliance o a new French ul r er with another archduchess, the grandniece of the other . e e Some time later, Cambac r s, in the course of a

as conversation with M . P quier, then Counsellor of

s State, gave utterance to hi regret at having failed to impress upon his hearer s the superior advantages of ” the Russian alliance . I am not surprised, he said ; “ u when a man has only one arg ment to give, and e it is impossible to giv it, he must expect to be beaten. And you will see that my argument

S MA 76 THE EMP RES RIE L OUISE.

Heaven knows what part this unhappy expedition played in the fall of the First Empire I how How insufficient is human wisdom, false its calculations ! Thi s Aus trian marr i age which dis~ cour aged the bitterest enemies of the hero of Aus te r i ’ of s fi m ri l tz , Jena, of Wagram , thi magni cent ar age i m wh ch was to have been the safeguard of the E pire , proved its ruin . This great event which called forth abundant congratulations and outbursts of noisy de light was the main caus e of the most tremendous and most dis astrous war of modern tim es . If he ’ had not blindly counted on his father-in -law s fri end

in ship, would Napoleon, spite of all his audacity,

r have ventu ed 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 w as an abyss covered with

flowers . January was drawin g to a close ; and whi le in Paris ’ many people were beginning to regard Napoleon s

r ri s ma age with Marie Loui e as very probable, the young princess herself had no suspicion of his in ten tions . Count Metternich who, like his sovereign, had m an tain ed secrecy about this delicate matter,

r 27 1 810 “ w ote to his wife , January , : The Arch

n duchess is still ignorant, as i deed is proper, of the

s is plan concerning her, and it not from the Empress

s i m Jo eph ne, who gives us so any proofs of her con

fiden ce , who with so many noble qualities combines those of a tender mother, that I shall conceal the P ELIMI ED D I R NARIES OF THE W NG. 77 many considerations which necessar ily present them selves to the Archduchess Marie Louise when the t mat er is laid before her . But our princesses are little accustomed to choose their husbands according

ow n to their inclinations , and the respect which so fond and so well-trained a daughter feels for her ’ W fi father s ishes , makes me con dent that she will ” make no opposition .

ua 2 1 81 0 The same day, Jan ry 7, , the Count Met ter n ich 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 inte rest that his Imperial Majesty has heard the details whi ch Your Highn ess has communicated to him in his last o despatches , n the question of the marriage of the d ffi Emperor of the French . It would be i cult to form any definite conclusion from the different data i that reach us . It is imposs ble not to see a certain offi cial character in the explanations, vague as they

i Afl air s are, which the Min ster of Foreign has had d ’ with Your Highness . M . de Labor e 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 Napo

’ leon 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 S IE ISE 78 THE EMP RES MAR L OU . commonly reported to have been addressed to Russia n s conflict with this supposition . The questio mu t, l at any rate , become clearer shortly after the arriva 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 follow ing 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 vi ews tend in our direction ; but probability is of ver y little account in a transaction hi hi of t s sort to w ch Napoleon is a party, and we can l only go on in our usual course, and the resu t, in one way or another, must inure to our advantage . While the court of Vienna thus maintained a posi

d ifi an tion of pru ent and dign ed reserve , Napoleon, n ow noyed by the delays of the Russian court, and i only anxious to have nothing more to do w th it, impatiently awaited the despatches from Saint Peters

r . 6 bu g These arrived February , but they brought no satisfactory news . The first delay of ten days which the Czar had asked of the Duke of Vicenza

6 2lst came to an end January , but on the the Em

er or p Alexander had not yet replied. He said, to be sure, that his mother had withdrawn her opposition but he combined the aff airs of the marriage wi th the d political negotiations concerning Polan , and doubt ’ in r afl ectin less the desi e of g Napoleon s decision , he P ELIMINA IES OF THE ED D I R R W NG. 79

r if . let the matter d ag, as he wanted to be urged The Duke of Vicenza also said in his despatches that, according to the physicians, the Grand Duchess

an d was yet too young to bear children , that since she was averse to changing her religion, she insisted on having a Greek chapel and Greek priests at the

Tuileri es .

Napoleon hesitated no longer . That same day he

s sent word to the Ru sian Ambassador, Prince Koura kine , that, being unable to accept a. longer delay, he broke off the negotiation and that evening he

us had the A trian Ambassador, Prince Schwarzenberg, asked if the contract of his marriage with the Arch duchess Marie Louise could be signed the next day . The Aus trian diplomatist had never expected that events were going to move at any such speed . He

di h e knew the favorable sposition of his court, but had received no authorization to conclude the busi

s ness . The general instruction which had been sent to him regarding the marriage were dated Decem

2 1 809 fi . ber 5, , and they had not since been modi ed These left the Ambassador free to discuss the ques tion only in accordance with the restrictions which

Count Mettern ich had thus formulated . r 1 . Eve y overture is to be received by you in an

s co n i unofficial capacity . Your Highness mu t take g zan ce of it only by expressing your person al willing ness to see how the land lies here .

Y u as 2 . o will then make it clear, if it were a remark of your ow n , that if no secondary considera P S MA 80 THE EM RES RIE L O UISE .

’ n di tio , no preju ce , influence the Emperor s decision, there are laws whi ch he will always obey . His Majesty will never force a beloved daughter to a i marriage wh ch she might abhor, and will never consent to a marriage not in conformity with the principles of our religion . l fi 3. i You w l endeavor, moreover, to get a de nite statement of the advan tages which France would ” ofi er to Austria in the case of a family alliance . 6 1 810 When, in the evening of February , , Napo leon ’s Minister of Foreign Affairs asked Prince Sehwar zenber g if he was ready to sign the marriage contract at the Tuileries the next morning, the Ambassador

i d an d was del ghted, but surprise , perhaps, for a mo ment, perplexed . If he regarded the instructions 25 1809 conveyed in the despatch of December , , he certainly had no authority to sign anything . In fact, not merely did he not know whether the Archduchess

t kn had given her consen , he did not ow whether she had ever been informed of the projected marriage . hi Besides, he had no information as to the way in w ch the Austrian court looked on the annulment of the religious marriage of Napoleon and Josephine by the ffi o cials of the diocese of Paris, who had acted inde . pendently of the Pope . Finally, he was not in condi tion 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 ar rive the next moment a courier from Saint

n fi Petersburg, bringi g a de nite answer from the Czar ? P L I G 81 RE IMINARIES OF THE WED D N .

Would Napoleon, impatient as he was and unused to delay would he accept the slightest postponement on the part of Austria ? Prin ce Schw arzenberg burned his ships ; he said to himself that if his action were

he disavowed, could go and raise cabbages on his estate ; but if it were approved, he would be at the

s top of the wave . Abandoning then the cu tomary

w r i slo ness and sc uples of d plomacy, he answered without hesitation that he was ready, and made an engagement with the Duke of Cadore , Minister of f Foreign Af airs, for the next day, at the Tuileries, to sign the marriage contract of the Emperor of the

r ui r French, King of Italy, and of Ma ie Lo se, A ch

duchess of Austria . T HE BETROTHAL .

EBRU ARY 7 1 810 . , , M Champagny, Duke of

d n i ff Ca ore , the French Mi ster of Foreign A airs, and Prince Charles of Schwarzenberg, met at the

i an d w i Tuiler es, signed, ithout the slightest h tch, the marriage contract of Napoleon an d the Archduchess

Marie Louise . The text was a copy almost word for ’ r i i word of Ma ie Anto nette s marriage contract, wh ch had been signed forty years before .

n On leavi g the Tuileries, Prince Schwarzenberg despatched a messenger to Vienna to announce the w d momentous news , hich possibly woul arouse more “ surprise than delight . Count, he wrote to M . de “ ni Metternich, in sig ng the marriage contract, while protesting that I was in no way clothed with pow er ad I believe that I have merely signed a paper whi ch can guarantee to the Emperor Napoleon the determination already formed by my August Sover — eign of meeting him half way in negotiation on thi s d i subject . The espatches w th which you have hon ored me made the course that I was to follow perfectly clear. His Majesty, as Your Excellency assures me, 82

E 84 THE EMP R S S MARIE L OUISE. self of supposin g that a m atter scarcely touched upon should so soon come to a head . I beg of you, my

a h s dear friend, to arrange th t there s all be no ob tacle im to this portant business, and that it be arranged

i is w th a good grace . I pity the Princess, it 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

. n t O to copied You will o bject this, inasmuch as we w ish Floret to leave at once . Conclude this matter an d v nobly, you will render an incalculable ser ice to ” our country. At the diplomatic reception which was held at the

ui 8 u T leries, February , Napoleon walked p to the

Austrian Ambassador and said to him, in the most d l frien ly way, You have been very busy ately, and i I th nk you have done a good piece Of work.

ri Kour akin e s a P nce , the Ru si n Ambassador, was much annoyed at the turn events had taken, and did not attend the reception, under the pretext that he

n was ot well . The evening before Prince Sehwar ’ zen ber g had dined at the house Of Napoleon s mother

i r w th the King of Holland, Louis Bonapa te , who was loudspoken in his praise of the Emperor Francis an d the Imperial house of Austria . At the court of T the uileries there was general satisfaction . Napo leon thought that he had never achieved a greater triumph . THE BE T 8 ROTIIAL . 5

The messenger whom Prince Schwarzenberg had despatched on the day he had signed the contract, reached Vienna February 1 4 . 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 i M . de Metternich, in their anx ety to keep their

O e secret, lest some pposition should manif st 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 any

Shou alff . . u v o thing As M de Metternich put it, Co nt ,

n the Russian Ambassador at the Austria court, was

fir literally petrified . The English breathed e and

flame . The sudden outburst of a volcano would not have been more startling than this piece of ne w s 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

etter n ich resignation than with pleasure . M 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 can not put himself in the place Of one who is responsible for the resolu tions 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 86 THE EMP RES S MARIE L O UISE .

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

fin d d she means to do . Go the Arch uchess , and then let me know what she says . I am unwilling to speak

Of to her of the demand the French Emperor, lest I should seem to be trying to influence her decision . d M . e Metternich betook himself at once to the

an d Archduchess Marie Louise , set the matter before i her very simply and briefly, without beat ng about i the bush, w thout a word for or against the proposi

u d tion . The Archd chess listene with her usual ’ i calmness, and, after a moment s reflect on , asked him, “ ’ ? ” “ ” What are my father s wishes The Emperor, i m the min ster answered, has com issioned me to ask Your Imperial Highness what d ecision she means to D take in a matter concerning her whole life . O not ask what the Emperor wishes ; tell me what you “ d yourself wish . I wish only what my uty com “ ui . mands me to wish, answered Marie Lo se When E the interests of the mpire are at stake , they must be consulted, not my feelings . Beg of my father to

d his subor di regar only duty as a sovereign , without ” nating it to my personal interests .

When M . de Metternich had reported to Francis II .

- “ of d : the result his interview, the Emperor sai What you tell me does not surprise me . I know my daughter too well not to expect just such an answer . h i W ile you were w th her, I have been considering TH T E BE ROTHAL . 87

what I have to do . My consent to this marri age will as sure to the kingdom a few years of political h peace, w ich 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 de s atches o the p of Count Ott , French Ambassador at 1 810 Vienna in , which we have found in the archi ves

Of f . of the Ministry Foreign A fairs 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 Aus trian

. . F b court M Otto wrote to the Duke of Cadore , e r uar 1 6 181 0 w a as y , , that the ne s of the m rriage w “ beginning to spread thr ough the city : Business people are much excited . Merchants are entreating me to tell them what I know . Couriers are de

t h d . spa c e in every direction In short, I have never had occasion to use more reserve than at thi s m o li ment, when the real fee ng of this nation, which has s f long be en compelled to be our enemy, reveals it el fi in a way most flattering to us. The French of cer s w hoare returning from different m issions assur e me that they have found the same spiri t in the army . ‘ ’ fi Arrange , they say, that we can ght on your side ; ’ t you will fin d us worthy. Every one agrees hat this alliance will insure lasting tranquillity to Europe , and compel England to m ake peace ; that it will give

ni the Emper or all the leisure he requires for orga zing, the in accordance with his lofty plans, vast empire he 88 THE EMP RES S MARIE L O UISE. has created ; that it cannot fail to have an influence d on the destiny of Polan , Turkey, and Sweden ; and fi l i nal y, that it cannot fail to g ve lasting glory to

’ Of Your Excellency s ministry . The news the conclu. sion of this marriage will be received with tum ultu~ i ous joy throughout the Austr an domin ions . France

n d a the greater part of Europe will share this joy.

As to the English government, I do not think it pos sible for it to avert the blo w which this important event will deal it ; the national party will finally triumph over the avarice of usurers, the rancorous

an d passions of the ministry, and the bellicose cori stitution al fury of their king. Allhumanity w ill fin d repose beneath the laurels of our august Em

er or an d d p , after having conquere half of Europe, he will add to his long list of victories the most diffi an d t o — cult mos cons latory of all, the conquest of general peace . The first feeling that prevailed in all classes of ’ the Viennese society , on hearing of Archduchess s d marriage , was , as has been sai , one of surprise; which soon gave way to almost universal joy . Count Met ter n ich w rote to Prince Schwarzenberg under date “ 1 9 1 81 0 : ffi l of February , It would be di cu t to judge at a distance the emotion that the news of the marriage has aroused here . The secret of the i i negot at ons had been so well kept , that it was not ’ till the d ay 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 cur rency would be THE B ETR OTHAL . 89

- to day at three hundred and less, if the government hi had not been interested in keeping it gher, and it was only by buyin g a million of specie in two days that it succeeded in keeping it at thr ee hundr ed and seventy . Seldom has anythin g 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 i interested in nothing but th s 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

r world, I could not receive more cong atulations or more homage for the part I am su pposed to have played in the matter . In the promotions that are to follow I am sure to have the Golden Fleece . If it w comes to me now, it ill not be for nothing ; but it is none the less true that it required a very extr aor din ar y and improbable combination of circumstances r s to set me far beyond my most ambitious d eam , although in fact I have no ambitions . All the

i fin e balls and entertainments here w ll be very , and although everythin g will have to be brought from the

i . ends of the earth, everyth ng will be here I sent the order of arrangements a few days ago to Paris ;

Schwarzenberg will have show n it to you . The new Empress will please in Paris, and she ought to pleasewith her kin dness and her great gentleness and simplicity . Her face is rather plain than pretty, but she has a beautiful figure, and when she is properly L I 90 THE EMP RES S MARIE O U SE.

l ll. dr essed and put into shape, she wi l do very we I have begged her to engage a dancing-master as soon

n d as she arri ves , a not to dance until she has learned how. She is very anxious to please , and that is the ” surest way of pleasing. The Austrian cour t did everything w ith the best o possible grace , knowing that Napoleon set great st re hi by the details of etiquette . Everyt ng w as exhumed from the archi ves w hich bore on the weddings of

I . hi X V. Louis , Louis XV , the great Daup n , the father

i . . i . of Lou s XVI , of Louis XVI h mself The old gentlemen of the court of Versailles , and especially - e e M . de Dreux Br z , the master of ceremonies at the

é ule . end of the old r gime, were cons t d at every ste p Napoleon was very anxious that in pomp and majesty the wedding of Marie Louise should not only be quite

u but a t eq al, even superior to th t of Marie An oinette, for he thought hims elf of far more importance than a dauphin of France . He was given what he wanted. ’ in Speaking of the Princess s escort, Count Otto said 19 despatch to the Duke of Cadore, dated February ,

1 810: i In order to give the part ts full importance, the Emperor of Austria has appointed to it Prince Traut m an n sdor if hi , who on all great occasions holds the gh i hi est rank in the k ngdom . The Daup ness had been accompani ed by a nobleman of no very lofty posi

. has tion Moreover, the Emperor given orders to deepen all the tints : the suite Of the Dauphiness con sisted of six ladies-in -waiting and six chamberlains ;

ur r the fut e Emp ess will have twelve of each . The

92 THE EMP RES S MARIE L O UISE .

France the same honors that were paid to the Em press oi Aus tria at the celebration of the last mar

a r iage . The c nopy and all the parapher nalia of d royalty will be assigne to the new Empress, and the Emperor will fur thermore make a concession on this occasion which is without precedent in the annals of the realm : at table he will resign the fir st place d hi a an s . to his d ughter, take the second place m elf Nothing will be left undone to give these ceremonies their full S plendor an d to show the interest with which these new ties are regarded here . The Em per or 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 him denounces those who led into the last war, and asserts that if he had earlier known the loyalty an d i i magnan m ty of the Emperor Napoleon, he should have been on his guard against their counsels .

in i i i fickle The Viennese, who the r amiab l ty and s d ness closely resemble the Parisian , passe in a — moment from an apparently deep seated hatred of

n d d fid . Napoleon , to the most unbou e con ence The still bleedin g wounds of Wagram were forgotten ; every one thought of nothi ng but the brilliant festi i vals that were preparing . Sm les took the place of F tears, and it seemed as if the rench and the Aus tr ian s had always been brothers . The French Ambassador wrote to the Duke of “ d 21 1 81 0 : 16th Ca ore , February , Since the the whole city has thought of nothing but the great T HE BETROTHAL. 93 marriage for whi ch the preparations are now under

. u way All eyes are t rned on the Archduchess . Those who have the honor of being adm itted to her

r presence are closely questioned, and eve y one is glad

r t to hear that she is in the best spi i s , and does not try li to conceal the satisfaction she takes in this al ance .

n r s n Funds conti ue to i e in a surprisi g way, and the pr ice of food is falling in the same proportion . A great many people have found it hard to sell their

O n gold. Never has public pinio spoken more clearly or more unanimously. A great many people who had hoarded their silver in the hope of selling it or it of sending abroad, are now carrying it to the mint, an d consider the government paper which they get r s for it as good as gold . The stewa d of great houses are ordering new silverware to take the place of that whi ch they have had to give to the government . ff Every one shows a readiness to o er all his fortune, being convinced that afte r such an alliance the gov er n m en t cannot fail to meet its engagements .

r The Viennese have a ve y lively imagination, and boun din g from one extreme to another, they began to form visions of the Austrians waging wars of ambition and conquest along w ith the French . They fancied that their Emperor and his son-in -law would “ have all Eur ope at their feet . The greater their enthusiasm about the French, wrote Count Otto in “ the same despatch, the more evident the old ani

a nd s . m osity of the Aus trians against Prussia Ru sia — The cofi ee hous e politicians are already busy with HE EMP ES S MA IE L 94 T R R O UISE . devising a thousand combinations according to which the Emperor of Austria will be able to recover

i i his i d S les a and to extend dom nions towar s the east.

n The di sappointed Russia s, of whom there are very i d i n many here , are much aston she at th s sudde

. d change One of them was heard to say, A few ays

r h ago we were ve y highly thoug t of in Vienna, but d d t now the French are a ored, and everybo y wan s to ’ make war on us . Count Shouvaloff himself keeps very quiet . Sensible people do not share this war

i an d like feel ng ; they want a general peace , bless an i alliance wh ch seems to secure it for a few years . In their eyes even a successful war is a great

. its calamity Peace, too , has triumphs, and this last fi i negotiation is one of the nest known to h story.

Offi azette i The cial G , wh ch was eagerly read by a

i d i n noisy mult tu e in the streets of V en a, published

Offi h the cial announcement of the great news . T e

Of 24 1 81 0 number February , , contained the following “ paragraph : The formal betrothal Of the Emperor Of

i an d the French, K ng of Italy, Her Imperial and i d i Royal H ghness the Arch uchess Marie Lou se, the O i R ldest daughter of His Imper al and oyal Majesty, i our very Gracious Sovere gn, was signed at Paris, on 7th the , by the Prince Schwarzenberg, Ambassador,

ff . and the Duke of Cadore , Minister of Foreign A airs The exchange of r atification s Of this contract took

2lst be place on the of this month, at Vienna,

i Win n ebu r tween Count Mettern ch g, Minister of

an d an d Am State of Foreign Affairs, the Imperial

E MA E 96 THE EM P R S S RI L OUISE . endow her whole being with even more grace and

d an d interest . She is tall and well ma e, her health

ul is excellent . Her features seemed to me reg ar and ” full of sweetness .

Of Even the Empress Austria, who recently had

s u di been con picuo s for her slike of the French, so that there had been felt some dread Of her dissatisfac

di O tion, if not of rect pposition, thoroughly shared her ’ u husband s joy. On this subject, Co nt Otto, in a d 1 9 hi as espatch of February , expressed mself fol lows : The Empress shows herself extremely favor able to this marri age . In spite of her wretched health she has expressed her desire to be present at i all the festiv ties , 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 Kauni tz and ’ on r Choiseul are eve y one s lips , and every one hopes to see a renewal of the peaceful days that followe d the alliance concluded by those two ministers . They

s in had both been ambassador , in France , and Austria, ” exactly like Your Excellency and Coun t Mettern ich . ’ The French diplomatist s satisfaction was only equalled by the vexation of the Russian Ambassador. ” “ us The R sian coteries , added Count Otto , are the only ones that take no part in the general rejoicing.

u When the news reached a ball at a R ssian house,

vi i the ol ns were stopped at once, and a great many T E B 97 H ETROTHAL .

t O of the gues s left before supper . I must bserve that Count Shouvaloff has not come to off er hi s con gr atu lations . The good hum or of the Vienn ese gr ew f r om day to day, especially in business cir cles . The French Ambassador concluded his letter thus : It is at the Bourse that public Opinion has declar ed itself in the most amazing way . In less than two hours

ri funds went up thi r ty per cent . A feeling of secu ty established itself and at once aff ected the price of i o hi mp rted provisions , w ch immediately began to fall . Yesterday there was a large crowd gathered at the palace to see the Archduchess go to mass . The populace w as 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 ” u jar . In the whole course of the negotiation, Co nt “ 1 not r Otto had wri tten , February 7, I have hea d

ni r a a word about any pecu a y consider tion, or the slightest objection except as to the legality of the fi divorce . A mere word from me was suf cient to ” r overcome that . Consequently nothing t oubled the composure of the happy Ambassador . T HE RELIGIOU S D IFFICU LTY.

ffi HE marriage was o cially announced, when suddenly an incident arose which caused the ’ greatest anxiety to Napoleon s ambassador, and

n ot threatened, if to prevent, at least to delay, the ffi weddin g . The unexpected di culty which arose at

i i n u the last moment was of a rel g ous at re, 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

O aroused serious bjections, and the Emperor had

u le shown much surprise when he was told by his np , di d Car nal Fesch, the Gran Almoner, that there were

O . bstacles in the way In a matter of this sort, which

d d is concerns crowne hea s, and inspired by reasons of state , it is the Pope who must make the decision . d i Louis XII . had secured the issolut on of his mar riege with Jane of France from Pope Alexander VI .

had . Henry IV . applied to Pope Clement VIII to i annul h s marriage with Margaret Of Valois . Napo

had i leon himself had likewise recourse, though w th

98

M P ES S MA IE L O UI E 1 00 THE E R R S . petition stating that the nuptial blessing given to

Napoleon and Josephine had not been preceded, d li accompanied, or followe by the forma ties pre scribed by the Canon laws ; that is to say, it lacked the presence of the proper priest — as the parish

- priest was termed an d of w itnesses . To these

s m i d two ground for annul ent a th rd was a ded, a

i n ot l offi new one , wh ch could fai to surprise the

is cials . It was one which in general applicable only

i an d to a m nor, wrought upon by surprise violence ; ’ h namely, lack of consent, yes, lack of the Emperor s fi consent . Napoleon saw very clearly that the rst

m i an d two points were ere qu bbles, that the moment

his d when he intended that uncle , the Gran Almoner,

u sho ld bless his marriage with Marie Louise , was, to d m say the least, a singular one to choose for e oune ing his incapacity for consecrating his union with

Josephine . As to the absence of witnesses , that is to be explained as d ue to a special dispensation of

is ed d an the Pope, who w h to avoid the scan al of n oun cin the g to whole world that Napoleon, who

' i d ivi n ot b had been marr e by c l, but y religious rites, had in the eyes Of the Chur ch been living for eight

in years 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 Hausson ville his The Chur ch in remarkable book, o Rom e an d the Fir st Em ir e i f p , says on th s subject THE ELIGI ’ 101 R O US D IFFICUL TY.

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 r epr e

s on sent him elf as having desired, the eve of this

n great ceremony of co secration, to deceive at the same time his uncle who married him , his wife whom d he seemed please to associate with his glory, and

n ff an d the venerable po ti who , in spite of his age in fir m ities di , had come from a long stance , to call down upon him the blessing of the Most High . This argum ent offended not only every feeling of deli l t an d cacy, but a so the plaines principles of honest ” fair dealing .

The officials were not moved by such scruples .

r d They exercis ed a twofold ju is iction, as a diocesan — ffi an d as a metropolitan tribunal, and both a rmed the

nullity Of the marriage . The metropolitan tribunal, fi — while admitting the rst two grounds, namely, the

absence of witnesses and of the proper priest, based its decision principally on the non-consent of the i had Emperor . The d ocesan tribunal declared that to atone for the infringement of the laws of the

Church, Napoleon and Josephine should be compelled to besto w a sum of money to the poor of the parish

of Notre Dame . The metropolitan tribunal struck

this clause out as disrespectful . o Thi s decision was sent to Count Ott , 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 1 02 THE EM P RES S MARIE L O UISE.

Ambassador spoke about it to the Emperor Francis, to ’ did satisfy that monarch s scruples, but he not show him the papers themselves , and three days after the ratification Of the marriage contract he sent them ” r back to Paris . I confess, he w ote to the Duke of “ hi s d 28 1 81 0 Cadore, in espatch of February , , that i d in return ng these papers so spee ily to Paris, I had a presentiment of the discus sion which they might cause among the foreign ecclesiastics . Everything

w as fi d was settled, the Emperor of Austria satis e , the m fi fi arriage contract was rati ed, the rati cation of the marriage had been exchanged for three days , when the fir st mention was made of these documents which have aroused the curiosity and interest Of some too

' in fluen tialpr elates. I am the more authorized to say

had that no one before that thought of these papers, 15th by the fact that the Minister, when on the he asked me to give him, on my honor, my personal ’ Opinion with regard to the nullity of His Majesty s

fi add rst marriage, would not have failed to that he had asked for proof from the Prince of Schwarzen

d n berg, and that he awaited his reply . My eclaratio 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 i in the Church of the Augustins in Vienna . Th s

THE EM P E S 1 04 R S MARIE L O UISE .

an d all Europe, made public by the order of the Em per or of Aus tria himself ? May we n ot suppose that the fi i Archbishop, who in the rst nstance approved of

h - t is alliance, to day is moved only by scruples and in spir ed by a foreign faction which is ready to seize any pretext to Oppose the gen ius of peace ? I am told that the former Bishop of Carcassonne is living i i with the Archbishop . Poss bly the Nunc o, who is

e i n 011 h still here, has brought som nflue ce to bear t is 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 Metter nich a ssures me that both the Nuncio and the Arch bishop di sclaim all knowledge of any obstacle Of this

o . s rt The Emperor himself, who is keenly alive to hi it the insult to crowned heads w ch implies, repels the indecent Objection w ith the scorn which it de serves . “ The Minister has had many fruitless interviews

la the with the Archbishop, who seems to wish to y,

hi s matter before s tribunal . The Emperor him elf is very uneasy ; they are trying to gain time, and are to-day very anxious lest the Prince of Neuf chatel should arrive too soon . If he should not get here 3d till the of March, they will manage to postpone 1lth the nuptial blessing till the , when it is hoped that the documents wi ll have come back again . But di even in this case , the Ambassador Extraor nary will need all the firmness of his character to overrule this THE ELIGI S D I 1 0 R OU FFICUL TY. 5 cabal which brings uneasiness to the Emperor’s fam ily and uses the Archbishop as a tool . I have done everythi ng that I could to impress upon the Minister how much the present state of aff airs compromises

Of the dignity our court . He has shown me a list of

n questio s presented by the Archbishop, which it is impossible to answer without seeming to recognize a w i tribunal ith wh ch we ought to have nothing to do . Never has so important a negotiation been hampered ” by a stranger incident . ! Despatch of Count Otto 28 to the Duke of Cadore , February ,

The Ambassador was in great perplexity, and he would have been much more uneasy if the d ocuments demanded had been in his possession . In fact, would he have been justified in submitting to a foreign ecclesiastical tri bunal papers which he could only w sho to the Emperor of Austria, to remove that sov ’ er eign s personal Objections ? Count Metternich had 24 told the Ambassador, February , that the ceremony ’ would take place in spite of the Archbishop s objec tion , but the next day M . de Metternich was con vin ced that he was mi staken . u In order to gain time, Co nt Otto had written to ’ di Napoleon s Ambassador Extraor nary, the Prince of hat l r Neuf c e , to ask him to delay his ar ival at Vienna

ri until March 4 . The carnival would end with b l liant festivities , for which great preparations were w making . Ash Wednesday and the three follo ing days would be consecrated to devotion ; and on the

1 1th the church ceremonies would take place , if, as HE EM P ES S MA IE L O ISE 1 06 T R R U .

d i ul was hope , the requ red documents sho d have arrived from Paris .

ul After a few days of uncertainty, as painf for the court of Vienna as for the French Ambassador, the diffi culties began to settle themselves . Count Otto

k d 3 1 810: wrote to the Du e of Ca ore, March , My

i u long s lence must have surprised Yo r Excellency, but it was caused by the strangest circumstances that

I have known for many year s . It is only tod ay that we are secure from the attack of the ecclesiastical

an d its . committee , from scruples Seven long days and nights have been spent in ransacking the vol umes of the Mon iteu r an d the Ofi cial Bu lletin in order to prove the nullity of His Majesty the Em ’ per or s first marriage . Nothing could pacify the

fir alarmed conscience of the Archbishop . At st I

d an d - refuse , held out for twenty four hours . After

an d protracted discussion, insisting on a complete

i the hi d d recast ng of paper w ch I was esire 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 ’ di ini con tion, which I have under the m ster s signa

it r ture , that is only to be shown to the A chbishop and in no case to be made public . This is the text of the paper mentioned by Count “ : d Otto I, the undersigne , Ambassador of his Maj ffi h esty the Emperor of the French, a rm t at I have seen and read the originals of the two decisions of

Offi d the two diocesan cial boar s, concerning the mar r ia e g between their Majesties, the Emperor and the

1 8 THE EM P ES S MA IE I E 0 R R L OU S .

d w i 1 roads . The we ding ll take place March 1 ; and d to make up the time lost, the Arch uchess 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 whi ch have prolonged the journey of the Prince of

Neufchatel . In Lent Sunday is considered the only proper day for weddings and since Ash Wednesday i is so near, the rel gious ceremony cannot possibly take place before the M t

d ffi d f esti The last i culties had vanishe , and the v ities were free to begin . THE ANIBAS SAD OR EXTRAORD INARY.

n ni n Vien a the a matio was very great. The great event which w as now in preparation w as the sole subject of conversation in all classes of so “ ” ciet . an d y The ceremonies the festivities, the 2 1 810 French Ambassador wrote, March , , will be in every respect the same as those that took place at the marriage of the Emperor w ith the present Em i of press . Every inhab tant Vienna is doing his utmost to testify his joy on this occasion . Painters are at

011 r work night and day t ansparencies 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 t her way to mass . Her por raits are in constant de

the mand. The Emperor and archdukes never miss a ball ; they are surrounded by a crowd of maskers i w ho say a number of pleasant th ngs to them, and it really appears as if this alliance had added to the ’ ” Emperor s already great popularity. The next day, “ 3 : - March , Count Otto wrote I to day presented the

Count of Narbonne to the Emperor, the Empress, and 109 MA IE L I 1 10 THE EMP RES S R OU SE.

fi the Archduchess , and I pro ted by the occasion to strengthen my conviction of the joy which the Count feels at this happy alliance . The Empress spoke

- w ith the greatest warmth of her step daughters, i conversed with a keen interest about France , Par s, and what she hopes to cultivate in that interesting ” city. It was with impatience that was awaited the arri f m d d val O the A bassa or Extraor inary, who had been chosen by the Emperor of the French to make the

d f er d s formal deman the han of the Archduches , to attend to the celebration of the marriage which was to be celebrated by proxy at the Chur ch of the Augustins

an d id . in Vienna, to escort the br e to France This di i Ambassador Extraor nary was Marshal Berth er,

i i a d Of sovere gn Pr nce of Neufch tel, the husban the i i i i Pr ncess Mar e El zabeth Amelia Frances of Bavar a,

- of n Vice Constable of France, Master the Hou ds, commander of the first cohort of the Legion of

Honor, etc . , etc . The most brilliant reception was

i r the prepared for h m . Count Otto w ote to Duke of d 21 1 81 0 h Ca ore , February , As to the honors w ich

d d u e His n I have consi ered to Most Sere e Highness,

Of a the Prince Neufch tel, Count Metternich assures me that he regarded him not merely as Ambassador but e Extraordinary, as a Sov reign Prince , a great ” di Of i f ellow s ol gnitary the Empire , as a fr end and dier of the Emperor ; that there would be no more comparison between him an d the Marquis of Durfort than betw een the future Empress and the Dau

M ES S MA IE S E 11 2 THE E P R R LOUI .

Cheers and applause accompanied the Vice-Constable

di n to the door of the Au e ce Chamber, and from has him there to his house . The court given most ’ sumptuous quarters in the Imperial Chancellor s ffi a the hi o ces, where he is tre ted like Emperor m ” self . Cou nt Otto in the same despatch thus describes

in i li loth 1 1 the even g of that br l ant of March, 8 0 That evening there was a grand ball in the Hall of

Apollo ; the whole city w as there . The Prince w as greeted as enthusiastically as in the morning. The

s Emperor him elf was present, together with the

d r Arch ukes, and eceived 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 cordi ally. The Emperor and the Vice-Constable attracted the eyes of the

d un whole multitu e that surro ded them, and every one rejoiced to see the friend and fellow-soldier of

Napoleon by the side of the ruler of Austria. It w as 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

r s ce emony, and shows the liveliest sati faction in the

- a event. The Vice Const ble was charmed with the ’ i Prince s conversation, and is going to dine w th him ” - to morrow . General the Count of Lauriston had just arr ived

t the in Vienna, bringing let ers from Napoleon to

a Emperor and Empress of Austria. We h ve found THE AMBASSAD OR EXTRAORD INARY. 11 3 the replies in the archives of the Ministry of Foreign

Affairs . They are as follows The letter of the Emperor of Austria to the Em per or of the French

6 1 81 0. MY R THER March , B O : General the Count of Lauriston has given to me Your Imperial ’ 23 Majesty s letter of February , entrusting to your

s Of . hand , my brother, the fate 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 affec tions outweighs every other consideration which is

fin foreign to it . May Your Imperial Majesty d l nothing in this letter but the fee ings 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 worthyof my enduring a fections only by [most f contributin g to the felicity of the husband whose his throne she is to share , and to the happiness of subjects . You will kindly receive the assurance of

hi con sid my sincere friendship, as well as of the gh er ation with which I am, my brother, Your Imperial ’ ” and Royal Majesty s affectionate brother FRANCIS . The letter of the Empress Of Austria to the Em per or Napoleon : HER : 6 1 10. MY R T March , 8 B O I hasten to thank Your Imperial Majesty for the many proofs of con fiden ce contained in the letter which Your Majesty ES S MA IE L I 114 THE EMP R R OU SE.

r n has kindly sent to me th ough the Cou t of Lauri ston . The tender attachment of the best Of fathers for a ad beloved child has h no need Of counsels . Our i wishes are the same . I share h s 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 suspe cted

m e . fro the pen of a st pmother Be sure, my brother, that my happiest days will be those that come to you in consequence of the alliance that is about to

ds unite us . Accept the frien hip and high esteem ’ with which I am Your Imperial Majesty s affectionate ” sister MARIE Lour sn . The di fferent provinces of the Empire sent depu tation s to Vienna to bear their good wishes to the

Archduchess . They were received on the 6th of an d th March , e ceremony was thus described by ’ Count Otto : Yesterday s festivalwas very brilliant.

m a r a In the orning, the deput tions of the Aust i n e dr in hi stat s ove, a procession of more than t rty carriages, to the Palace to pay their compliments d to the Archduchess, who received them un er a canopy . In spite of the shyness natural to her youth, the Princess replied to them in a speech which i amazed and touched her hearers . She is likew se

s f to receive deputation rom Hungary, Bohemia, and i l Morav a. It is thought that to the first she wil ’ the reply in Latin . At one o clock we went to

S S MA IE L SE 1 16 THE EMP RE R OUI . soon finish the accoun t of his travels ? I have read allthat has appeared w ith great interest. “ in hi s f : Count Otto adds , faith ul report I told Her Imperial Highness that the Emperor was anxious to know her tastes and ways . She told me that she was easily pleas ed ; that her tastes were very simple ;

a hin an that she was able to ad pt herself to anyt g, d ’ f His s would do her best to con orm to Majesty s wi hes,

. s her only desire being to please him I mu t say, that during the whole hour of my interview with Her did Imperial Highness, she not once speak of the

Paris fashions or theatres . That evening there was a ball at which the Emperor

his an d was present with whole family, the Ambas “ sador thus describes the occasion : More than six

d s i thousan person , of all ranks, were inv ted by the

r an d fi cou t, they lled two immense halls which were richly decorated an d illum inated . At the end of the

fi a fi i rst h ll there was a most magni cent s deboard, in the shape of a temple lit by a thousand in geniously i hidden lamps . The Gen us of Victory, surmounting

r w r h an altar, was placing a lau el eath on the escutc eons of the bride and groom . The N and L were displayed in all the decoration of the columns and

. ri pediments To the ght, a tent made of French flags covered a sideboard laden with refreshments ; an d 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 THE A MB AS SAD OR EXTRAORD INAR Y. 11 7

health of the Imperial couple in Tokay . The Arch duchess , who had never been to a ball before in her f ’ li e, passed through every room on the Emperor s

. an d arm She was most warmly cheered, the crowd followed her with a joyous enthusiasm that can scarcely be described . This ball presented the most

r perfect combination of grandeu , wealth, and good tas te ; it was further remarkable for the bond of ” fraternity whi ch seemed to uni te the two nations . 8 The next day but one , March , the formal demand for the hand of the Archduchess Marie Loui se was made at the Palace, with great pomp , by Marshal

had hi a . Bert er, Prince of Neufch tel As soon as he hi d delivered s speech, the Arch uchess entered in fi i magni cent attire , accompan ed by all the members

Of the hous ehold . Count Anatole de Montesquiou,

had an orderly Offi cer of the Emperor Napoleon , just

in ni i arrived Vienna, bringing a mi ature portra t of i ffi his sovereign . Th s o cer was to be present at the

fir wedding, and to take to Paris the st news of its

As conclus ion . soon as the Archduchess appeared, the Prince of Neufchatel off ered her Napoleon’s por

hi at a trait, w ch she once had f stened on the front of her dress by the Mistress of the Robes . The Ambas sador Extraordinary then went to the apartments of v t the Empress of Austria, whence he went to isi the Archduke Charles to tell him that Napoleon wished to be represented by him at the wedding to be cele 1 1 br ated by proxy, March , by the Archbishop of

r Of . Vienna, at the Chu ch the Augustins THE EMP ES S MA IE LO I 118 R R U SE.

The Prince of Neuf chatelcontinued to be t r eated with a consideration such as perhaps had never befor e fallen to the lot of an envoy in Vienna . From mornin g till night his quarters were surroun ded by an inquisitive multitude who were anxious to see ’ i d f ellow s oldier and salute Napoleon s fr en and . On the 9th of March he gave a grand dinn er to the

i is d d Of most dist ngu he gentlemen and la ies the city.

nn e After the di er, Count Otto wrot to the Duke i of Cadore, other lad es came in to pay the fir st visit to di i i hi him, a st nct on w ch probably no foreign prince has ever before enjoyed here . At the grand perio h ance given at the court theatre that same evening, t e

d r Prince again had prece ence of the A chdukes . He was given a seat by the side of the Empress , who all i the evening sa d the most flattering things to him . Among the unprecedented honors which have been

un d paid to him, I have always fo d it easy to istin guish such as were personal attentions . His High ness has had the greatest success here, especially to is with the Archdukes, who, in order overcome h a objections to t ke precedence of them, said in the o i m st obliging way, We are all sold ers , and you are ’ u our seni or . The Archd ke Charles has especially displayed a grace an d delicacy that have extr emely touched the Prince . The Emperor has pre sented the Prince w ith his portr ait in a costly medal

r lion, and His Highness has taken ca e to wear it on various occasions .

Napoleon , who a few days before had been so hated

THE WED D ING AT V IENNA .

EFORE proceeding to the account of the wed

d in ing, celebrated by proxy Vienna, at the 11 1 810 Church of the Augustins, March , , it may be well to enumerate the members, at that time, of the

Imperial family .

Of The Emperor, Francis IL, head of the house

r - - 1 2 1 768 Hapsbu g Lorraine, who was born February , ,

s d - d had ju t entere his forty thir year ; consequently, he was only eighteen m onths Older than his son-in

s law, the Emperor Napoleon , who was born Augu t

15 1 69 . e his , 7 The Austrian monarch had tak n for h third w ife is cousin Marie Louise Beatrice of Este,

d di k daughter of the Arch uke Fer nand, Du e of

. i i had w as Modena Th s Pr ncess, who no children, 14 1 787 born December , , four years , almost to a day,

- before her step daughter, the Archduchess Marie ’ 11 Louise, Napoleon s wife , who was born December ,

791 . 1 The new Empress of the French, at the time di of the celebration of her wed ng in Vienna, was

r cons equently eighteen years and th ee months old,

- and twenty two years younger than her husband. 120 THE WED D ING A T IENNA 1 21 V .

. fi e Francis II had eight children, three boys and v

his girls , all by second wife, Marie Theresa, of the

Sicilies w : Two , and born in the follo ing order In

1 791 1 793 r , Marie Louise ; in , Fe dinand, the Prince

ri 1 97 i Impe al ; in 7 , Leopold ne , who became the wife

r in 1 798 of Dom Ped o , Emperor of Brazil ; , Marie

Clem en tin e , who married the Prince of Salerno, and

-in — the was the mother law of the Duke of Aumale , son

Of i 1 801 Louis Ph lippe ; in , Caroline , who married

c 1 802 n Prin e Frederick of Saxony ; in , Fra cis Charles 1 804 Joseph ; in , Marie Anne , who became Abbess of d 1 0 8 5 . the Chapter of Noble La ies in Prague ; in , John

: He had one sister and eight brothers, to wit Marie 1 767 Theresa Josepha, born , who married Antoine

Of i Clement, brother Freder c Augustus, King of di 1 769 Saxony ; Fer nand, born , who, after having

uk been Grand Duke of Tuscany, became Grand D e

Wiir zbur n of g, and a great frie d of Napoleon Charles 1 71 a Louis , born 7 , the famous Archduke Ch rles , Napo

’ -field leon s rival on the battle Joseph Antoine , born

6 n r 1 77 , Palatine of Hu ga y ; Antoine Victor, born i 1 779, who became B shop of Bamberg ; John, born n 1 782, who presided over the parliament at Fra kfort 1783 in 1 848 ; Reinhardt, born , who was Viceroy of the Kingdom of Lombardy and Venetia when it be i ui 1 784 came an Austrian prov nce ; Lo s , born ;

r n 1 788 d . Rudolph, bd , who became a Car inal Con ’ sequently, at the time of Marie Louise s marriage , uk there were eleven Archd es , three sons and eight brothers of the Emperor . 1 22 THE EM P RES S MARIE L OUIS E .

d d 10 The wed ing ceremony was prece ed, March ,

1 81 0 i d . in , by a r te calle the renunciation At one f a the afternoon, Marshal Berthier, Prince of Neu ch tel,

Ambassador Extraordinary of France, drove to the

his i r Palace with su te, in a state carriage d awn by six horses, and was conducted to the hall of the

w i . Privy Council, to tness this ceremony As soon i as Francis II . and Marie Lou se had taken their seats beneath the canopy, the Emperor, as head of the

: s ms family, spoke as follows Inasmuch as the cu to of the Imperi al family require that the Imperial Princesses and Archduchesses shall before marriage recognize the Pragmatic Sanction of Austria, and r the order of succession , by a solemn act of enuncia tion, 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

dl . can es , and the holy Gospels Count Hohenwart,

O the Prince Archbishop of Vienna, pened book of the

Gospel according to St . John, and the Archduchess, i fi having placed upon t two ngers of the right hand, read aloud the act of renunciation of the right of succession to the crown, and took the oath . That ’ ’ I hi em a am on the Taur ian' s evening, Gluck s p g g was

- given at the Royal opera house . The stair way to the

an d i boxes was brilliantly lighted, l ned with orange trees .

E 1 24 THE EMP RES S MARIE LOUIS .

- d . the foot of the altar, on the gospel si e The Impe rial family took their place in the choir. The Arch ’ uk a d e Ch rles, as Napoleon s representative, and the

Archduchess Marie Louise , kneeled at the prayer desks before the altar . When the Archbishop had

- i blessed the wedding r ng, which was presented to u him in a cup , the Archd ke Charles and the bride t advanced to the altar, where the ceremony ook place

di n ri . in German, accor g to the Viennese te After th the exchange of rings, the bride took e one des tined for Napoleon, which she was to give herself to her husband . Then while those present remained on m ix their knees the Te D eu was sung. S pages car ried flaming torches ; salvos Of artillery were fired ; the bells of the city announced to the populace the completion of the r ite . After the Te D eum 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 Ca “ dore : The marriage of His Majesty the Emperor with the Archduchess Marie Louise was celebrated w m ni fi h ith a ag cence t at it would be hard to surpass, by the side of which even the brilliant festivities that d have precede 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 w ays of the Palace, that the Emperor and Empress of Austria were often crowded. The really prodi gious di splay THE WED D IN A T IE 25 G V NNA. 1 of pearls and di amonds ; the richness of the dresses and the uniforms ; the n umberless lights that illumin ated the whole Palace ; the joy of the participants, gave to the ceremony a splendor worthy of this grand and majestic solemn ity. The richest noblemen of the country made a most brilliant display, and seemed to

i n di ao r val eve with the Emperor . The la es who companied the two Empresses, who were for the most i part Princesses and women of the h ghest rank, seemed borne down by the weight of the diamonds and pearls

n they w ore . But all eyes were fixed o the principal i d person of the solemn ty, on this a ored Princess who h ” soon will make t e happiness of our Sovereign .

r - ac When the procession had e entered the Pal e, the Imperial family and the court assembled in the room

called the Room of the Mirr or. The Emperor of Austri a and the tw o Empresses received the con

Of gratulations of all the nobility. By the side Marie Louise stood the grand mistress of the hous ehold ” - - “ in . u and twelve ladi es waiting Her modesty, Co nt “ Otto continues in the same report, the nobility of

s her bearin g, the ea e with which she replied to the

e . speeches addressed to her, enchant d every one

I was the first to be introduced to her . She answered my congratulations by saying tha t she would spare no pains to please His Majesty the Emperor Napoleon and to contribute to the happiness of the French r nation whi ch had now become her own . He Majesty

then received all the noblemen of the court, and

spoke to them w ith an afl ability that delighted them . 1 26 THE EM P RES S MARIE L OUISE.

When the reception was over, I was presented to the mi Emperor, who spoke to me most a ably and most d i cordially . He tol me that, in sp te of his delicate i health, he was unwill ng to lose any opportunity of hi i i s r . test fying h gh esteem of my master, the Empe or ’ fin d He will always 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 ever y face . We have neglected nothing to show our satisfaction with this alliance . Our nations r e quire rest ; they applaud what we have done . I am i i sure that the best ntell gence 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

d . smile which accompanie them This monarch, in

w accorm ts his fact , has a charm of manner hich for

i . u great popular ty D ring and after the ceremony, the Empress held her stepdaughter by her right hand, leading her in this way in the church and through

. Th f S the halls and rooms e large crowd O pectators, which almost blocked the inside Of the Palace and all the approaches, seemed to belong to the Imperial m fa ily, 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 ff number of medals struck O in memory Of this event . Many hundred of these have been sent to the Prince

I ISE 1 28 THE EMP RE S S MAR E L OU .

i f sat from the beginn ng to the end O the din ner. This w as a modification of the ceremonial of the

Viennese court, which admitted Ambassadors to the

’ n monarch s table only on very rare occasio s, as at the

d but i marriage of an Arch uchess ; even in th s case, required that they should leave the table when the

m n dessert was served, to ove about among the nobleme

- admitted to the banquet hall . It was recalled that at the marriage of the French Dauphin to the Ar chduch Am ess Marie Antoinette, the Marquis of Durfort, the d . i bassador of Louis XV , was not invite to the d nner in order to avoid the question of precedence between

n d k r - him a Du e Albe t of Saxe Teschen, who was pres

. t ent at the banquet This same Duke, as well as he brothers of the young Empress of the French, did

d 1 1 1 810 an d not attend the state inner of March , ; the reason given was the desire to show a particular ’ honor to Napoleon s Ambassador Extraordinary . d The same day, the Arch uke Charles who had just di represented the French Emperor at the wed ng, wrote to him this letter

1 1 1 81 0. IRE : March , S The functions which Your Imperial Majesty has been kind enough to impose on fi d me have been in nitely agreeable . Flattere at being t chosen to represen a sovereign who , by his exploits, will live eternally in the annals of history, and con vin ced of the mutual happiness which must ensue from the union of Your Imperial Majesty w i th a Prin cess endowed with so many qualities as my dear n at d iece, I have felt happy being calle on to cement THE WED D ING A T VIENNA. 129

h t is bond . I beg Your Imperial Majesty to receive

r as the most earnest assu ances of this feeling, as well Of the profound consideration with which I shall ’ be never cease to , sire, Your Majesty s ver y humble ”

r HARLES . and ve y obedient servant and cousin, C That evening there were free performances at every theatr e . The Emperor and Empress drove through

i ri had the city w th the b de, who that day sent one

m n gold napoleon to every wounded French a , and

five napoleons to ever y one who had lost a limb . The same thing had been done for the w oun ded his German allies of France in the last war. T ex hibition of generosity produced the most favorable d ds impression, and much gratitu e was felt towar the

s new Empress , who in the hour of her triumph had di w as thought of the suffering sol ers: She every

an d ri where cheered . The city suburbs were vals in the brilliancy Of the illuminations . In front of the ’ ffi a Chancellor s o ce, where the Prince of Neufch tel was staying, w ere shown the initials of Napoleon and w in Marie Louis e amid a circle of lights . On one

Ex un ion e ar a es tr an uil dow was this motto, p , p , q

itas o ulor um s ri l p p , Thi union b ngs to the people ”

i . peace , wealth, tranquill ty The dwelling of the Superinte ndent of Public Buildings represented a Vota ublica temple with this illum inated inscription, p “ en eo i c f austo hym , The w shes of the publi for the happy mar riage . The famous engineer Melzelhad devised an ingen ious decoration . Above an excellent portrait of the E 1 30 THE EMP RES S MA RIE LOUIS .

w new Empress there appeared a rainbo ; on one side, his happiest invention, an automaton , which the

Viennese called the War Trumpet. But a Genius

s m Tace was silencing it by pointing to thi otto, , “ m con cor s is . undus , Silence , the world at peace

f ew To be sure there were a satires , and some in sultin s i g placard posted secretly, but the pol ce took pains to remove them. Unfortunately the weather w as unfavorable, and scarcely one light out of ten held out to burn . Was not this a token of the suthu siasm of the Viennese for Napoleon, an enthusiasm which had succeeded hatred as if by magic, and

r di w to which, after fla ing up so spee ly, as soon expire ?

MA I L ISE 132 THE EMP RES S R E OU .

fi a the r m est conviction of her h ppiness, is alone able i . t n to console me Count Met er ch, who in a few days will follow Count Clary, will be commissioned to express by word of mouth to Your Imperi al Majesty the attachment which I consecrated to the monarch who yesterday be came one of the members

fi n of my family . Now I con ne myself to beggi g him to receive the assurances of my esteem and

i ur Im er ial unalterable fr endship . Yo p and Royal ’ ff -in - Majesty s a ectionate brother and father law,

FRANCIS . 12 March , the Marshal Berthier, Prince of Neuf

a Br aunan ch tel, left Vienna for , 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 tothe French escort with which she was to contin ue her ” . i u a journey Before the Pr nce of Ne fch tel left, 1 0 “ wrote Count Otto , March , a great many Arch

ou i ffi dukes called him, includ ng even the high o cers ’ . o of the crown His Highness started at tw o clock, amid the acclamations of a large multitude . No embassy has ever been more warmly received or fi w i lled ith more d gnity and nobility. The Prince left sixty thousand francs to be divided among the

us had ta ho ehold where he s yed. He was most dis cr eet in everything that he did, and in spite of the various honors heaped upon him , I do not think that thereis a single person at the court whose pride has ” been wounded . THE D EP A T E 1 33 R UR .

As the moment dr ew near when the young Empress was to leave her beloved family and coun try, 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 ador ed her ; the good people i of Vienna, who had always shown the kindest nter

n est in her ; the Burg and Schoenbru n , where had been spent so many happy years of her infancy ; the

e s i s t dear Church of th Augu t n , where she had so of en

earnestly Ofi er ed up her prayers . Could all the praise of Napoleon whi ch she had been hearing for the last few days wi pe out the memory of the abuse she had so often heard ? She had been promised s wealth, grandeur, power ; but do those con titute happiness The 1 3th of March came ; the hour of her depart as ure struck . That same day the French Amb sador

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 - s whole court was assembled in the reception room .

, 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

un e sobs. The yo g Empr ss was accompanied to her THE EM P ES S M A IE L O ISE 1 34 R R U .

b - carriage y her step mother and the Archdukes , and there they kissed her for the last time . Here the

fi i n a a ect o te mother broke down, and she was sup ported to her own room by two chamberlains . The

an d young Empress burst into tears , her distress moved even foreigners who w itnessed it . The procession started in the follow ing order : a i d d vision of cuirassiers, a squa ron of mounted militia, three postilions , the Prince of Paar, Director of the t Por s , in a carriage with six horses ; following came f oir r carriages, each with six horses, containing Count

Edelin ck an d , Grand Master of the Court, the cham ber lain s Counts Eugen e of Han gevitz Domenic of

U r bua Fii r sten Joseph Metternich, Landgrave of berg ; Counts Ernest of Hoyes and Felix of Mier ;

i - u Count Haddick, F eld Marshal ; the Co nt of Wurm brand ; Count Francis Zichy ; Prince Zinzendorf ; Prince Paul Esterhazy ; Count Antony Bathian i ; then the Prince of Trautmannsdorf, First Grand

u Master of the Court, and Q artermaster, in a carriage with six horses ; then , in one with eight horses, the

v Empress of the French, ha ing with her the Countess

Lazan sk fi of y, grand mistress of her household ; nally,

r -in in th ee carriages with six horses each, her ladies waiting, the Princess of Trautmannsdorf, Countesses ’ ’ O D on n ell d A on Blu m e er s , of Sauran , pp y, of y , of

Podstalzk Traun, of y, of Kaunitz , of Hunyady, of

Chotek Palf . , of y, of Zichy A detachment of cav alr y brought up the rear. The procession passed ’ h slowly through Saint Michael s Place, the Ko lmarkt,

1 36 THE EM PRES S M ARIE L OUISE .

During these last few days it has been very obvious that his feelings as a father have had more weight with him than hi s position as a sovereign . This monarch’s amiable disposition has appeared in the hi most favorable light on t s occasion , and everything ” promises the happiest results from this alliance .

i n d On leav ng Vien a, Marie Louise oubtless thought that she would never see it again ; but she was to return to it ver y soon an d in very diff erent circum i stances . In four years the V ennese were to see her di ! again , but how changed the con tion 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, 1 81 0 whom in they had so much admired, became once more as intense as in the days of Austerlitz and d Wagram . They cease to greet Marie Louise w ith applause ; they simply pitied her . Her father him self ceased toregard her as a sovereign . As my ” “ I daughter, he said to her, everything that 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 l France and that of Italy, she was ob iged to beg of the implacable Coalition a petty duchy, the possession of which had been promised her by a treaty signed

n after the fallof the great Empire . There were agai T 1 3 HE D EP AR TURE . 7

t r festivities in Vienna, but not for her, the de h oned 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 r members of the Cong ess of Vienna, she concealed herself near an opening made in the attic of the great e — hall of the palac , where the festivities of her di — wed ng had been celebrated, and from there the wife of the prisoner of Elba w atched the men dancing who were condemning her to widowhood even in the lifetime of her husband . T HE TRANSFER

’ ARIE LOU ISE S jour ney was one of long ovation ; in every town and in every village she passed through the yo ung Empress received the

i . dr homage of the author ties Groups of girls, essed in W i f h te, of ered her flowers bells were rung ; and the enthusiasm of the country people was quite as

i ri ui warm as that of the V ennese . Ma e Lo se spent

i o n the night at Sa nt P lte , where she met her father,

had i who gone th ther incognito, in order to embrace ’ her for the last time . The Empress , the bride s step

dl an d mother, went there also unexpecte y, threw herself for the last time into the arms of the Empress

. 1 5th of the French Ried she reached the of March,

1 810 an d i 16th , thence Mar e Louise started on the ,

i in . at e ght the morning, after hearing mass By eleven she had reached Altheim , close to the Bava

an d d rian frontier, here she ma e a stop for the pur pose of exchanging her travelling-dress for a fin er i one . Bavar a , as part of the Confederation of the d Rhine , could be regar ed as a province of the French t Emperor, since Napoleon was the Pro ector of the

138

1 4 0 THE EM P REss MARIE L O UISE .

i i French Comm ssioner was Marshal Berth er, the

a an d Prince of Neufch tel, his secretary, Count Alexandre d e La Borde The Austrian Commis

i n r d : s o e was the Prince of Trautmanns orf M . The

i his . del tz was secretary The French party, which

i an d was to meet Marshal Berth er at Braunau, to serve as an escort to the Empress for the rest of d the journey, was compose of the following people ’ in Mu r at s i Carol e, Queen of Naples, w fe and Na ’ oleon s p sister ; the Duchess of Montebello , lady of d honor, the wi ow of Marshal Lannes the Countess

d - of Lugay, la y of the bed chamber ; the Duchess of

Bassano , the Countesses of Montmorency, of Morte m Bou illé art, and of , maids of honor ; the Bishop

n Jauffr et of Metz , Mo signor , almoner ; the Count of

-in — i Aldobr an Beauharnais , lord wait ng the Prince

’ dini Borghese; chief equerry ; the Counts d Aubus ’ e d An osse son , of B arn , g , and of Barol, chamberlains ; h i e P il p de S gur, lord steward ; the Baron of Sal ’ d Auden ar de uces and the Baron , equerries ; the

C . ount of Seyssel, master of ceremonies ; M de Baus set, steward .

1 6 - f a March , at half past one, the Prince of Neu ch tel, with the rest of his company, made their way to the

ui a l French division of the b lding ; they were l, men ’

l r . d and women , in fu l d ess Towar s two o clock d Marie Louise entere the Austrian room , and after restin g 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 HE T TRANSFER . 141 formal ceremony was to take place! Marie Louise seated herself on the throne . The Prince of Traut mannsdorf took his station before the table where the papers were to be signed, with the Aulic Counsellor, Hu delitz i , the secretary, beh nd him . The men and women of the Austrian party ranged themselves t o around the Empress . At the back and on the w sides of the hall were twelve Noble Hungarian a s Gu rd and twelve German guardsmen, armed and l in fu l unifor m .

the s n s While Au tria s were thu getting ready, the

French were waiting in the next room, and displayed great impatience to get a sight of their new sov

- er ei n . Bausset g M . de , an eye witness of the cere “ mony, 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 ar range thems elves

about her, before we were introduced . I had brought

l s a gim et, and with thi I had bored a good many

is r holes i n the door of our room . This little in d c e

hi d In our tion, w ch was not mentione 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 an d majesty of the Empress upon these inquisitive peepers was ver y ” . Bausset favorable . Marie Louise, M de goes on, “ fi sat straight on the throne . Her erect gu re was 142 THE EMP RES S MARIE L OUISE.

d fin e ; 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 d ow a ress of gold brocade, caught up with large fl

d f i its of if erent colors , which must have t red her by weight . Hanging from her neck was a portrait of Napoleon surrounded by sixteen magnificent solitaire

i five diamonds , wh ch together had cost hundred thousand francs .

Baron von Lohr, the Austrian master of cere

d at monies , having knocke the door of the next room, where were the Prince of Neufchatel 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 Neufchatel 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 en d of the hall Opposite

. c the Austrians The two commissioners, the Prin e a of Neufch tel and the Prince of Trautmannsdorf, of m after an exchange co pliments, 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 i d read ly grante to him , and to all the ladies and gentlemen who had accompanied her from Vienna . While the French and Austrian secretaries were count

THE EM P ES S MA IE L O ISE 144 R R U .

way troops were drawn up in order of battle, and artillery salutes were fir ed . a The Prince of Neufch tel, on the suggestion of d di the Emperor Napoleon, invite the la es and gen tlem en of the Austrian party to spend the day at i hi Braunau, to take part in the rejoic ngs w ch were to be celebrated there . Marie Louise also invited d ow n m . e e them in her na e General S gur, who was

n the prese t, thus describes 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 i s tting more constrainedly, with less ease , than on

n di l this occasion , when the Austria la es were haughti y d d col and silent. These la ies , who had been com pelled to off er up the Princess as their part of the war indemnity, seemed to take no part in the sub mission which the government had forced upon them . They handed over to us the pledge of defeat with ds a bad grace which their husban , who were weary ” Pa l of war, did not show . Generals Friant and jp gave a grand dinner to the Austrian officers in the

d r cita el of Braunau, and the cou tesy of both sides was worthy of note . Three toasts were drunk, fi the rst 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 THE T 145 RANSFER .

tr ium house was decorated with flags , and before it a phal arch was set up . Marie Louise rested there , and hi changed everyt ng she had on , according to the cus

ds tom , which deman that a foreign princess on enter ing her new coun try mus t leave behind her everything

ee le that attaches her to the country, the p p , and the i ways she has left . The Paris an shopkeepers had made everything for her from measures and models sent from Vienna . Napoleon had had these models w him sho n , and taking one of the shoes, which were remarkably small, he had sportively stroked his val ’ i “ et s cheek w th it, and said, See there, Constant ;

’ here s a shoe that will bring good luck with it . Did you ever see feet like those 9 After the Empress had received the authorities of Braunau and the generals commanding the French w troops , she sought retirement, and rote to her father this touching letter, of which M . von Hel fert has published the German text : thi s is the translation DEAR FATHER Excuse me for not writing yester hi . r day, as I should have done The jou ney, w ch 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 en dure the dr uel emotion which this separation from all my family calls forth . In

s m e Him I confide . He will su tain and give me cour age to fulfil my mi ssion . My consolation shall S MA IE 146 THE EMP RES R L OUISE.

r fi be the thought that the sac i ce is in your behalf. d di I reache Ried very late , and I was much stressed by the thou ght that I was departing from you per ’ d haps forever . At two o clock I arrive at the French camp at Braun au . I stopped a few minutes in the i i Austrian pav l on , and there I had to listen to the reading of the documents about the limits of the neu

i . tral zone, in wh ch a throne had been set All my people then came up to kiss my hand, and I could

l . e hard y control myself I shudder d, and I was so much moved that the Prince of Neufchatel had tears i in his eyes . Prince Trautmannsdorf del vered me

him m s d d . to , and y hou ehol was presente Heavens, what a difference between the French and the Aus trian ladies ! The Queen of Naples came to greet

an d me, threw her arms about me, 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

. a n to me She came to Braun u with me , and the I d had to Spen 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

r . d ess 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

n ! n happy moments I spe t with you Now, alo e, I . value them at their true worth . I assure you, dear

d an d sa . papa, that I am 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

THE JOU RNEY.

N the course of the 1 7th the Empress reached i Haag, where the Bavarian Crown Prince rece ved her, and at ten in the even ing she was in Munich .

d a . d e char é The next y, M Boyne, the French g ’ d a air es uk d fi , wrote to the D e of Ca ore Her Maj esty the Empress has received all along her route , d i i and yester ay, on her arr val in Mun ch, countless i expressions of love and respect . Th s capital was illuminated w ith a taste and magnificence that had never been seen here . The Crown Prince went as hi far as Haag to pay s respects to her . The troops i i d and the mil t a were un er 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

u i 1 1 1 h leave M nich t ll the 9th of March . 0 1 the 8t i d she rece ve a letter from her husband, brought by i h s i . a one of equerries , the Baron of Saint A gnan Th t di evening there was a state nner at the palace, a i levee , and a theatr cal representation The next 1 9th f f day, the , the Empress was destined to su er a heavy blow . She had brought. with her from Vienna

148 HE 149 T JOURNE Y.

r to B aunau, and from Braunau to Munich, her grand fi mistress, a con dential friend, a woman who had hf had fait ul charge of her infancy and youth, the L Countess azansky. When she reached the Bavarian i capital, she was sure that th s woman was not to leave her . Since the Countess had not gone away at Braunau, she had every reason to suppose that she

r would accompany her to Pa is, 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

: i di Cadore I shall not, even n rectly, oppose Madame ’ Lazan sk s His w l y going, since Majesty is il ing to per mit her accompanying the Empress . This attention did will be gratefully received . But that not at all ’ suit Napoleon s sister, the Queen of Naples, who had

n W not pleased the Austria lady, and who ished to

control the new Empress without a rival .

The Queen of Naples was a very agreeable, very charmin g woman but Coun t Otto was mistaken when he wrote that the Aus trian court w as flattered by hearing that Napoleon had chosen his sister Carolin e to meet the new Empress ; the choice w as 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 grandm other, whom Marie Louise

r tenderly loved, and whose th one was occupied by

’ Mur at s wife ? It should have been remembered that 150 THE EM P RES S MARIE L O UISE .

in the eyes of the court of Vienna, the true , the legit im ate Sicilies w as , queen of the Two not Caroline, ’ i Napoleon s sister, but another Carol ne , the daughter M e e of the great arie Th r se, the sister of Marie

Antoinette . This is what the widow of General Durand says

in i on the subject, her interesting Memo rs Princess d Caroline, Ma ame Murat, then Queen of Naples, had

-in - gone to Braunau to meet her sister law. The

a Duchess of Montebello, a be utiful, sensible woman,

five d had the mother of chil ren, who lost her hus

d in had d -of ban the last war, been appointe a maid

—~ a . honor, feeble compensation on the part of the

Emperor for her sad bereavement . The Countess of d l Lucay, a gentle, kin ly woman, thorough y familiar

s with the cu toms of good society, was lady of the bedchamber . I shall speak later of the other ladies

n i eti of the suite , whose fu ctions , as establ shed by

uette q , brought them very little into personal rela

n tions with the Empress . Each o e of them had pretensions to which the presence of Madame Lazan

an sky was obstacle . They complained to Queen

an d d d Caroline, she deci ed on an act of espotism ” - - which deeply wounded her sister in law . This act d i was the ism ssal of Madame Lazan sky. By this cour se the Queen of Naples expected to add to her influence over the Empress ; but, on the contrary, di she only minished it appreciably . “ ” Madame Murat, continues Madame Durand, “ was very anxious to acquire great power over

152 THE EM P RES S MARIE L O UISE.

had mistress, although she been promised that she could keep her for a year . d The Empress might have resiste . They showed her no order from the Emperor ; they merely said that the presence of the Aus trian lady with a French sovereign was something anomalous, an infringe ment 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

r the sake of peace , and gave up her f iend, as later

kn she was to give up her husband, out of wea ess .

Her decision gave her great pain, and it was not without a pang that she parted from the Countess

Lazan sky. How agonizing this separation is she wrote to her father. I really could not make a fi greater sacri ce for my husband, and still I do not ” ha hi fi i think t t t s sacri cewas ntended by him . Another thing that added to the grief of the n ew Empress was that she w as compelled to part with a pet dog which she was very fond of : the Countess d w as to carry it back to Vienna . They tol Marie

Louise that Napoleon disliked dogs , that he could ’ d Jose hin e s not en ure p , and that they were perpetual

t di . w as d subjec s of scord Besides, it not her uty, on

n entering France, to give up everythi g that came ? e from her former home General de S gur, who had ’ been part of the Empress s escort since leaving Brau

n o Laz n k nau, makes mention of the Countess a s y, “ but he speaks of the dog : The complete change of dress was simply an entertainment : that of the es E E 153 TH JO URN Y. cort had been anticipated ; it was necessary to endure it. This painful change would have taken place with

too su er fl uousl out much evidence of grief, if the p y ’ jealous inter ference of Napoleon s sister had not

e i ext nded itself to a l ttle dog from Vienna, which, it w as s t insi ted, must be sen back, though this cost

Marie Louise many tears . The acquisition of a colossal empire did not cons ole the sovereign for the

a loss of little dog. 1 9 March , in the morning, Marie Louise and i Coun tess Lazansky parted . The worst th ng in the ” e a conduct of the Queen of Naples, writ s Mad me li e Dur and, who did not ke her, was that aft r hav ing demanded the Empress’ s consent to Madame ’ La an sk s r i z y departu e , she gave orders to the lad es — in waiting not to admit that lady to the Empress i if she came to say good by . Th s order was not obe yed ; the two ladi es adm itted her by a secret

door ; she spent two hour s with the Empress, and the ladies who adm itted her never regretted what

S e c they had done , in pit of the many reproa hes of ” the Queen of Naples . ni 1 9 Whi le the Empress, leaving Mu ch March ,

continued her journey to France, her old friend was

journeying back to Vienna, where she arrived March

ur 22. Her unexpected ret n made a most unfavor

able impr ession on all classes of society . The report that the Coun tess Lazansky was to accompany the Empress to Paris h ad spread every fi e where , and it was regarded as a proof of con denc 154 THE EMP RES S MARIE L O UISE . and cordi ality that w as most welcome to the Viennese ni Con w ith their devotion to the reig ng family. se h quently their delight and interest, w ich had been fed by the festivi ties an d all the details of the jour d r ney, made the sud en return of the mist ess of the robes a cause of surprise and even of anxiety . There ff were riotous assemblies , and the a air was the sub ject of most unf avorable comment . As the Baron of

Mén evalhas said, The reconciliation on the part of i the ari stocracy and people of Austr a was not sincere . Marie Louise’s departure from Vienna was followed by many regrets . Instigated by English and Rus

ul i n sian agents, the pop ace of V en a gathered in the i streets and publ c 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

d . w 24 French Ambassa or Count Otto rote, March , to the Duke of Cadore The Emperor having

ur ret ned 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 w ith 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 La

S MA IE I E 156 THE EM P RE S R L O U S .

in kept up until three the morning, receiving the i in the reports of the pol ce, and hav g ringleaders ff - arrested. They had gone about in the co ee houses, and had carried their effrontery so far as to say that i the French army was aga n in motion , and that Na ’ poleon s sole aim had been to distract the attention ” of this court . Meanwhile Marie Louis e was continuing her tri u m hal r r r p jou ney. At Stuttga t she found the cou t and the population as enthusiastic as at Munich ; ll there , too, even i uminations, a state dinner, a levee, a theatrical representation . At Stuttgart the Em f press received a letter rom Napoleon, brought by the Count of Bea uvau . Another letter from the Emperor was delivered to her by the Count of s Bondy at Carlsruhe , where her reception was no les brilliant than at Munich and Stuttgart .

23 is e March , Marie Lou e was at Rastadt, wher the di k r Here tary Grand Du e of Baden, who had mar ied ’ e dau h St phanie de Beauharnais , Napoleon s adopted g

her . ter, gave a breakfast At the bridge over the

i hi five Rh ne, w ch the Empress reached at in the

n w r an d eveni g, she was met by t enty French gene als several divisions un der arms . The bridge was deco rated with flags ; bells were pealing ; Salvos of ar tillery 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 . ” e It was at Strasbourg, says General de S gur, “ n n e i . that Fra ce, in its tur , greet d Marie Lou se THE 15 JO URNE Y. 7

The enthusiasm on this German and m ilitary fron

- tier was all the more lively, sincere, and wide spread, becaus e the Archduchess was regarded as the most

s brilliant trophy of the success of our arm , and it was thought that after eighteen years of warfare they ” had in her a pledge of cer tain peace .

23 i r March , Marie Lou se w ote to her father, from

Strasbourg, a long letter, in which she apologized for di her long silence , plea ng the excessive fatigue of a

she r long journey, during which had to get up eve y

i five morn ng at , travel all day, and spend every evening at receptions and theatrical performances . She added that the programme of the festivi ties at Strasbourg had just been submitted to her for her “ ’ ” i “ orders . I can t tell you , dear papa, she sa d, how funny it seems to me, who have never had any will ”

ow n . as of my , to have to give orders At Str bourg she had the pleasure of meeting Count Metternich, h 1 2 who had left Vienna Marc , and after stopping at

ts . many German cour , was about to push on to Paris

The festivities there were very brilliant . A news f 24 “ paper o the town said, March , Among the guests

ei er was the Austrian general, Count N pp g, who was here on a mission from his government, as also many ” l officers . Who cou d 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, 158 THE EMP RES S MARIE L OUISE .

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 ’ ” i read Napoleon s letter ; it is full of kindness . W th d i every step she ma e on French soil, Marie Lou se

w . became reconciled ith her lot For his part, the Em peror awaited his new companion with all the ” t . da impatience of a youth of wenty Every y, “ an d says his valet Constant, he sent a letter, she fi answered regularly . Her rst letters were very

an d short probably very cool, for the Emperor never mentioned them ; but the later ones were longer and

f i an d gradually more af ect onate, the Emperor used i to read them with transports of del ght . He complained that his couriers were lazy though they killed their horses . One day he came back from hunt

in his ing, carrying two pheasants hand, and followed by some footmen bearing the rarest flowers from the conservatory at Saint Cloud . He wrote a note,

fi hi m : summoned his rst page , and said to Be ready to start in ten minutes , by coach . In it you will

fin d these things, which you w ill 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 Stras ” bourg .

1 60 THE EMP ES S MA IE I R R L O U SE.

her journey, and thus to hasten the moment set by etiquette for meeting her husband . m Napoleon had awaited, so i patiently ing near. COMPIE E GN .

20th INCE the of March, Napoleon had been at

e u m Compi gne , denouncing the c ber ous machin ery of etiquette which was retarding the happy mo ment when he should at last see his new wife and d enfol her in his arms . He had had the castle repaired and richly furnished, that it might be worthy to receive a daughter of the Caesars . The grand gal lery had been decorated with gilded ceilings and stucco columns the garden had been replanted and adorned with statues . The waters of the Oise had

ri - been car ed there by a system of water works . All the members of the Imperial family had arrived ; the

m ‘ court was ost 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 formal

28 e . ity, March , between Soissons and Compi gne The Emperor was to leave the last-named place with

n his i the pri ces and princesses of fam ly, preceded and followed by detachments of the mounted Impe

161 S M L O ISE 1 62 THE EM P RES ARIE U .

s h rial Guard . Two leagues from Soi sons t ey would e s e fin d a pavilion composed of thr e tent , ent red by two flights of steps, one on the side towards Com

ie n e fi p g , the other on that towards Soissons ; the rst one was for Napoleon, the other for Marie Louise . l The pavilion , which was rich y decorated with flags, was sur rounded by trees ; near it flowed a brook.

r w The cent al tent, the one in hich the Emperor and

w er e to fi Empress , meet for the rst time , was deco rated 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 s ni carriage, and both the escort should u te and form one .

The preparations were completed March 27. i — vi i Everyth ng horses, carriages, escort, pa l on was ready . That morning Prince Charles of Schwarzen berg, the Austrian Ambassador, and the Countess ’ Metternich, the Minister s wife , arrived at the castle

e -l-Fr n i of Compi gne from Vitry e a go s, where they had seen the Empress , of whom they could bring news to Napoleon . At noon the Emperor received

f i uis a letter rom Mar e Lo e, in which she said that in order to make greater haste she w as leaving Vitry-le

Francois that very morning for Soissons . When this w as letter handed to him, Napoleon was walkin g up if and down in the park, as to overcome the impa tien ce which this interminable waiting produced . his When he learned that wife was so near, he could

1 64 THE EMP RES S MARIE L O UISE.

Suddenly the clatter of wheels was heard, and a e carriage , preceded by an outrid r and followed by a great many vehicles, rolled up . It was she , at last,

us Marie Louise , Archduchess of A tria, 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 . i The carr age stopped, and the men began to change the horses . Napoleon hastened to the car

- n i r iage door . He did not wa t to be recogn zed for a ’ f e w t d Au den ar de momen s yet, but the equerry, ,

v scarcely belie ing his eyes, shouted, The Em per or The happy husband flung himself into the

his arms of wife , who was overcome with surprise

d . and emotion . The first glance elighted him That

fin e n you g woman , fresh and young, full of strength w and health, ith her blonde hair, her blue eyes, her

an d d air of innocence can or, was the wife he wanted, the Empress of his dreams ; an d 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-look ing than your portrait. A courier was despatched to carry the news at e full speed to Compi gne, that the Emperor and Em ’ d at press woul arrive there about two o clock, and the carriage containing Napoleon and Marie Louise,

an d with the King Queen of Naples , started in the direction of Soissons , followed by the carriages con ’ taining the Empress s suite . COMP IEGNE 1 6 . 5

They stopped but a moment at Soissons . I had ” “ . Bau sset the honor , says M de , to be in the car r iage with Mesdames de Montmorency and d c

Montem ar t and the Bishop of Metz . It seemed to me that these ladi es were more contented than I was to leave the excellent dinner which was

awaiting us there . Soissons , which had made many

s had i expen ive preparations, no return for ts money

and trouble . As to the ceremonious meeting in the off pavilion two leagues , which had been prepared

for the next day at some expense, it was not to be

thought of . Napoleon showed tact and cour tesy by li i re eving his wife of th s alarming formality, and

especially of the necessity of kneeling before hi m . He was happily inspir ed in setting feeling before

etiquette, and in yielding to his impatience to see

- the face an d hear the voice of his long awaited w ife .

ur As soon as the co ier , sent in advance , reached e Compi gne , and announced the great news , the town

was in commotion . The illuminations were got

d w ready, the triumphal arches were ecked ith flags, orders were given to greet the entry of the Emperor and Empress with a salute of a hundred and one e ea cannon . Marshal Bessi res made r dy the mounted

guard . In spite of the rain, the inhabitants assem bled in crowds to meet the sovereigns at the stone n bridge where Louis XV. had met the Dauphi ess ,

ri Marie Antoinette . The courts and galle es of the

castle , which were open to the public , were thronged

“ with inquisitive visitors . A hard rain was falling, 166 THE EMP RES S MARIE L OUISE. and the night was so dark that nothi ng 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 i princesses were waiting at the foot of the sta rcase, an d 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

ff . to the Empress, and o ered her flowers The Em

r r pe o then conducted her to her apartments, where

d fin she was elighted, as she was surprised, to d her i ds little dog and her b r from Vienna, as well as a piece of tapestry which she had left un finished at ’ the Burg. This delicate attention of Napoleon s moved her to tears . She was also pleased to see a

fi n . i magni ce t piano After a qu et supper, at which the Queen of Naples was the only guest, the Em per or conducted his wife to the room of his sister h Pauline , the Princess Borg ese, who had been pre vented by illness from taking part in the reception .

Then he showed her to her ow n room . The portrait of the Empress whi ch the Baron de

Mén val has : e 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 a was gener lly worn at that time, and this added to her natur al dignity and contraste d favorably with the short waists of our ladies her coloring was deepened by her journey and her timidity ; her fin e and thick

1 68 THE EM P E'S S E R MARIE L OUIS . ordinary occasions he appeared in the green uniform of the Chasseurs of the Guard ; and on Sundays and i reception days in his blue un form with white facings . 29 March , the Count of Praslin set out from Compi e n g e for Vienna, carrying two letters , one from Napo leon, 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 ’ h ! your daughter s appiness Marie Louise, too, expressed content and joy ; after telling her father with what deli cacy her husband had lessened the

fir embarrassment of the st interview, she went on : Since that moment I feel almost at home with him ;

ff . he loves me sincerely, and I return his a ection I

! am sure that I shall have a happy life with him . My health continues good . I am quite rested from the jour ney . I assur e you that the Emperor is as i sol citous 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 per fectly

ul happy, and my husband wo d 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

t ur tell you, my dear fa her, that yo prophecy has come

: true I am as happy as I can be . The more friend i fi sh p and con dence I give my husband, the more he heaps upon me attentions of every kin d . The

’ n whole family are very ki d to me , and I can t believe all vi i - - the e l that s said of them . My mother in law COMP IEGNE. 9 is a very amiable and most respectable pr incess who has welcomed me most kindly. The Queens of

Naples , Holland, and Westphalia and the King of

Holland are very amiable . I have also m ade the t acquain ance of the Viceroy of Italy and his wife . ” She is very pretty .

The court left Compiegne March 31 . At the en trance of the Bois d e Boulogne the Emperor and

n Fr ocho Empress were met by Cou t t, Prefect of the

s n w . Sei e , and a cro d of Pari ians The Prefect made “ a speech which concluded with these words : Es cor ted from Vienna to this point by the love of the n ow people , Your Majesty knows that by the promi n en ce of her virtues as well as by the graces of her person , her destiny is to rule over all hearts . Our

fin d own, Madame , shall be to make you again here u a in your c stomary abode, the country th t you most r e love , where you were most che ished, and to succe d 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 t Marie Louise arrived at Sain Cloud, where were s r assembled in f ull dre s the ma shals, the cardinals, the great dignitaries of the Empire , the senators and a the state councillors . At the pal ce there was a m fa ily dinner, and after it the ladies of the Palace u s of the Italian Crown, Co ntesses Porro, Vi conti, l Thiene , Tr ivu ci, and Mesdames Gonfalonieri, Trotti,

Mon tecuculli er de Rava, Fe , Mocenigo, , w e presented - — a an d by the Italian maid of honor, the Duchess Litt , 1 70 THE EMP RES S M ARIE L O UISE.

they all took the oath of allegiance . The civil mar d d a A 1 r iage was appointe for the next y, pril , at d i i Saint Clou , and the rel g ous ceremony for the next

2 S a lon Car r é but one, April , in the of the Louvre, between the long gallery of the Mus eum and the

Apollo Gallery . The formal entry of the Emperor an d Empress into their capital on the day of the r e li i us g o marriage was to be an occasion of great pomp . Strangers had gathered from all quarters of Europe t to witness his impressive sight, and as much as six hundr ed 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, d had any ceremony excite so much curi osity . The Royalists themselves had come to believe that Na

oleon n p , the miraculous bei g, had forever fastened

hi a fortune to s triumphal chariot . There Ws a truce to recriminations . For a moment the caustic wit of the Parisians turned into profound admiration . The i great conqueror, in l ght of his apotheosis, was more like a demigod than a m an . Every one was eager hi m to look upon and his young Empress .

1 72 THE EMP RES S MARIE L OUISE.

a the Governor of the P lace , the Secretary of State of ffi the Imperial family, the high o cers of the crown of i Italy, the H gh Chamberlain of France and the one

the of Italy, the Grand Master of Ceremonies and

n Chief Equerry of Italy, the Pri ces who were high i dignitaries , the Pr nces of the family, the Emperor, hi the Empress ; and be nd 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 Em

n a -of press, carryi g the tr in of her cloak, the maids honor of France an d Italy and the Lady of the Bed

am chamber, the Princesses of the f ily, the ladies of -of - the palace , the maids honor of the Princesses, the officers on duty of the h ouseholds of the Princes and

Princesses . When the procession had reached the Apollo Gal

r -a — le y, the ushers, the heralds t arms, and the pages drew up in line to the right and left in the Mars

. ffi r fii r s room, near the door The o ce s and high o ce

-of - of France and Italy, the maids honor and the Lady of the Bedchamber took their places behin d Their ’ Majesties chairs, in order of rank . The Emperor and

Empress seated themselves on the throne , the Princes and Princesses on the ri ght and left of the platform in the following order and according to their family rank : To the ri ght of the Emperor :

His m other ;

Pr in ce Louis Na ole n Kin p o , g of Hollan d ; THE CI IL ED D ING 1 3 V W . 7

Pr in e Jer om e Na oleon Kin of West halia c p , g p ;

Pr in e Bor hese D uke of Gua talla c g , s ;

Pr in e Joa him Na oleon Ki n of Na les c c p , g p ;

Pr in e Eu ene Vi er o of Ital c g , c y y; The Pr in ce Ar chchan cellor ; h i — T e Pr in ce V ce Gr an d Elector . On the Empress’s left

Pr in ess Julia ueen of S ain c , Q p ;

Pr in ess Hor te n se ueen of Hollan d c , Q ;

Pr in ess Cather in e u een of West hali c , Q p a ;

Pr in ess Elis a Gr an d D u hess of Tus an c , c c y;

Pr in e Pau lin e u h s f u astall c ss , D c es o G a ;

Pr in ess Car olin e ueen of Na les c , Q p ; The Gr an d D uke of Wiir zber g

Pr in ess Au usta Vi e- ueen of Ital c g , c Q y;

Pr in ess Ste han ie Her editar Gr an d D hess B en c p , y uc ad ; The Her editar y Gr an d D uke of Baden ; The Pr in ce Ar chtr easur er ;

- The Pr in ce Vice Con stable .

e As soon as the Emperor was seat d, the Prince

Ar chchan cellor b of the Empire, followed ythe Sec

r etar y of State of the Imperial family, approached “ hr o : the t one , b wed low, and said In the name of the Emperor [at those words Their Majesties rose! ,

u ri la Sire, does Yo r Impe al and Royal Majesty dec re that he takes in m ar ri age Her Imperial and Royal

e is r Highness Mari Lou e, Archduchess of Aust ia, here ” “ present ? Napoleon replied : I declar e that I take in marr iage Her Imperial and Royal Highness Mar ie ” A r . The Louise , rchduchess of Aust ia, here present same question was then put to Marie Louise in these 174 THE EMP RES S MARIE L O UISE.

“ i terms : Does Her Imperial Highness Mar e Louise,

Archduchess of Aus tria, declare that she takes in mar riage His Majesty the Emperor and King, Napo ” “ ? : a leon, here present She answered I decl re that

i His I take in marr age Majesty the Emperor and King, ” Ar chchan cellor Napoleon, here present . Then the , e e nn Prince Cambac r s, a ounced the marriage in these “ words : In the name of the Emperor and of the Law, I declare that His Imperial and Royal Majesty Napo

Fr en ch n d and leon , Emperor of the a King of Rome , s Her Imperial and Royal Highness , the Archduche s ”

i . Marie Lou se , 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 cann on of the Invalides . Napoleon must have felt a thrill of pride at this moment . The Apollo

ri Gallery, where the te was celebrated, was full of pleasant memories ; there it was that the Ancients were sittin g on that eventful1 9th Brumaire when the w foundations of his vast po er were laid, and there it “ a Re was that he had uttered th t ringing sentence, 1 member that I march in the company of the God of ”

n od . Fortu e and the G of War There it was that,

18 1 804 ha m May , , he d said to the Senators who ca e 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 i ” t loads my family. And in this same galler y he was marrying in triumph the d aughter of the Germanic

Caesar s . The Palace of Sai n t Cloud brought him

176 THE EM P RES S MARIE LOUISE.

his e Louvre . But Napoleon in wrath had xclaimed, Bah they will never d are to stay away ! ” That evening after di nner Their Majesties went into

- the family drawing room . The company that was to accompany them to the play assembled in the neigh

- i . bor ng rooms The orange house , which had been converted into a court theatre , was illuminated . The

I hi en ia in Au lis piece to be given was p g , one of the th favorite operas of the unhappy Marie Antoinette, e ’ - new Empress s great aunt . The choice of this piece seemed an unhappy one ; for Iphigenia recalled the

fi the idea of a sacri ce, and aristocracy of Europe thought that Marie Louise had been sacrificed . Gen

d e e m eral S gur, in spite of his ad iration for the Impe “ in : The rial glories , says his Memoirs feeling that in i prevailed Par s, along with the general curiosity, was surprise at the presence of a pr in cess ascending a throne reared so near the scaffold stained wi th the blood of one of her near relatives . This cruel memory ofi en ded the feeling of propriety. peculiar to the French and especially to the Parisians . They were insensibly pained by this reminder which made fi too evident the sacri ce extorted from Austria, and they felt that their victory had been carried too far . i They condemned the imitat on of Louis XVI . , whose ” sad w as Bu fate attributed to a similar selection . t fi k the c le crowd which assembled, eager for pleasure in n d the park of Sai t Cloud, ma e no such reflections . “ i ” The llumination of the park, says the Mon iteur , had been arranged with infinite art ; the foun tains THE CI IL WED D 1 7 V ING. 7 were rendered more bri lli ant by the lights which h ll were t rown upon the cascades . The great waterfa ff especially produced a magical e ect. Poets, in their i descript on of enchanted gardens , have given but a feeble idea of such an appearance and of such an efi ect of light . Throughout the park sports of all ds d . kin had been prepare An immense crowd, from r Pa is and the suburbs , took part in the festival, which was most gay and a nimated . The arrangements were novel and far exceeded general expectations .

n l 1 1810 At Saint Cloud, Su day, Apri , , when the

w as e civil marriage celebrat d, the weather w as pleas

in ant, while Paris the streets were flooded by a heavy rain . The next day, that of the religious marriage ,

w as it rained at Saint Cloud, but the weather in Paris

fi m a n ifi magni cent, so that nothing was lost of the g cence of the procession or of the brilliancy of the

’ illuminations . The Emperor s good fortune, it was

the u r . said, had twice triumphed over eq inoctial sto ms In the ever-flatter in g Mon iteur it was said : April 2 ’ had been chosen for Their Majesties entr ance into the capital and the wedding rites . One strange cir cu m stan ce aroused universal attention and called forth much favorable comment . A tempest had raged almost all of the previ ous night It was hence natural to suppose that all the preparations which f or 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 tem E 1 78 THE EMP RES S MARIE L OUIS . per atur e 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 i familiar l nes of Virgil when, recalling the tempest in the night and the calm of the day appointed for a

he great entertainment, represents the heavens under the divided control of Augustus and Jupiter :

Nocte luit tota r edeun t s ectacula m n e p , p a , D ivisum im er iu m cum p Jove Ca sar habet.

1 80 THE EM P RES S MA RIE L OUISE.

i The top of the arch, where the vault ng started, was

as- decorated with b 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 “ i i the Emperor, w th this motto , The happ ness of ” world is in hi s hands ! the address of the Senate! “ a laurel with many sprouts, and these words, He d ” i has ma e our glory ; a roaring leopard, w th this

ds he motto , He laughed at our discor , weeps at our reunion the monograms of Napoleon and Marie “ Louise , with this inscription, We love her through ” our him a love for , we shall love her for herself ; Love placing a wreath of myrtles an d roses on the i i helmet of Mars , w th th s motto , She will charm the ’ i ” i hero s le sure ; the sun and a ra nbow, and these ” w d ords, She announces happy days to the worl

’ 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 “ an d i i h Danube , th s l ne, He enriches us wit what is most precious the Austrian coat-of -arm s the “ m an d onogram of Their Majesties, the motto, She w ill be a true mother to the French the figure of

Our the Seine, motto , love will be grateful for the ” an d coatr of gift he makes to us ; last, the French arms . The six has-reliefs represented the followin g sub e cts : s i in his j Legi lat on the Emperor robes , seated d upon the throne , points towar s the tables on which THE ENT ANCE INT R O P ARIS . 1 81

is inscribed the Code , while Innocence, in the form of a young maiden, is sleeping at the foot of the Impe — rial throne ; National Industry merchants present ing to the Emperor various prod ucts from their ware houses ; the Arrival of the Empress in Paris ; the ’ Decorations of the Capital ; the Emperor s Clem ency Napoleon seated, with his hand on his sword, hi is crowned by Victory, w le he generously pardons his vanquished enemies ; union of the Emperor and

— -in - Empress Napoleon and Marie Louise hand hand, in token of alliance , before an altar placed at the foot of the statue of Peace . d The salvos of artillery were hear , announcing the departure of the Emperor an d Empress from Saint the d Cloud . At same moment, as if in obe ience h to t e signal , the sun appeared on the horizon, to

shine all day, and just when the procession reached

Ar r the c de T iomphe, it appeared with greater bril m d lian cy. The cavalry of the I perial Guard heade the procession, the lancers in front, then the chas

r ad scurs, followed by the d agoons, with the bands in vance the heralds-at ar m s came next ; and after them the car riages , 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 d - glass, set in slen er, gilded and wrought corner posts , giving as unimpeded view of those w ithin as if the e coach was open . The Emperor was to be s en in his

r cloak of red and white velvet ; the Empress, in cou t E 1 82 THE EMP RES S MARIE L O UIS .

dr ess and Wearing the crown diamonds . The top of this magnificent coach cons isted of a sort of golden t dome , upheld by four eagles with ou spread wings, and sur mounted by a huge crown . The Marshals of France and the colonels in command of the Guard a rode on each side, near the doors of the carri ge, the d r ai es near the horses, the eque ries near the hind i wheels . Accord ng to the etiquette prescribed f oi the occasions when the Emperor used this state car

the riage, as many pages as possible got on foot board 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

r the Tuileries, on the ter ace by the riverside, and their salutes were repeated by the cannon of the s i had Invalides . Band wh ch been stationed along the routes played triumphal mar ches . Allthe church bells were rung at full peal . The Imperial coach stopped beneath the arch, where the Governor of

r of Pa is, the Prefect of the Seine , the Prefect the

r Police, and the twelve mayors received the sove

n eig s.

Fr ochot Count , Prefect of the Seine, then pro n oun c ed : the following speech Sire , Your Majesty

s hi hi s has at la t interested mself in ow n happiness, an d has succeeded in this as in all he undertakes . If ’ ’ never in the world s annals did any sovereign s m ap ‘ r ia e a g h ve such grandeur, never could love and glory better unite their interests or more happily inspire

1 84 THE EMP RES S M ARIE L O UISE .

t ’ i es y s destiny by all the ties of its allegiance, ts

its I respect, and love The Empress replied that she loved the city of Paris because she knew how attached were its inbah

itan ts . i to the Emperor Young girls, clad in wh te,

ff w . o ered her baskets of flo ers , which she accepted graciously, and the procession moved on . Then Marie Louise,after passing betw een a double

d a line of picke troops before an enthusi stic crowd, E e through the brilliant avenue of the Champs lys es, reaches the fatal Place at its further end . Could all the roar of artillery, the peals of church bells, the d music , so far istract the young Empress as to make tw o i her forget that here for years stood the h deous .

u m fi g illotine , on which ore than fteen hundred peo ple 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 es sayed to speak a f ew last words to his people ? The l place was full of horrid memories , haunted by g oomy

. l ghosts But sixteen years before , cattle wou d not

e . travers it, repelled by the smell of blood The

w an d terraces of the Tuileries were cro ded, , as the

M o'niteu r 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 qui te as

d . densely crowde Yes, a huge throng gathered in 16 793 the cool, foggy morning of October , 1 , to get THE ENT A CE I T P A IS 1 85 R N N O R . 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 Leo

. r pold II ; and again , on the maternal side , th ough her mother, the daughter of Marie Caroline, Queen

. Im of Naples Yes , on the very spot over which the in perial procession passed with so much pomp, 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

scaff old of Marie Antoinette . Could that gorgeous state carriage drive from her mind the memory of the martyred queen ’s tumbrel ? And when Marie

i fi i s Lou se rst saw the Tu leries, mu t she not have

her thought of the last glance which that queen,

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 d chorus of adulation , cannot rown the inexorable lamentations of the voice of history ! XIV .

T HE RELIGIOU S CEREMONY.

HE procession reached the entrance of the

Tuileries gardens, passed beneath a triumphal arch, wound around the basin of water, by the side

fl ow er - d of the beds , which the crowd had respecte , and drew near to the palace walls . The central pavilion had been decorated with a large orchestra, divided by a passage leadi ng 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 in itials surrounded with flowers and various

ri ri emblems and allego es , The car ages 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 apartmen t by the great door, which was thrown wide open .

d -of - The mai s honor of France and Italy, as well as i the lad es of the bedchamber, were shown thither

- - from the throne room through the dressing room . d ’ They remove the Empress s court cloak, and put on her the Imperial cloak . Meanwhile the pr oces 186

THE EMP E 1 88 R S S MARIE L OUISE.

fi ve hours , but the order was so good that every one could easily leave and resume his place . The gallery was tur ned with a magnificent promenade in which

. Paris was treated to a display of the elegance and lux

its an d ury of leading men most fashionable women . Refreshments of various kinds were handed about while orchestras played marches or pieces composed ' ’ Paér the by , the famous leader of Emperor s music .

n The waiti g was thus a long entertainment . At thr ee in the afternoon the whole company was standing in

v place ; the doors of the Pa ilion of Flora opened, and

ds -at ar m s the heral appeared, followed by the Impe T rial procession . he spectacle is thus described by the Mon iteur with its accustomed enthusiasm The sound of the music was drowned in the roar of applause which rang through all parts of the gal

. s W lery At times the applause cea ed, hen the spec tator s silently regarded the Emperor and the Empress . This silence was eloquent ; it was a respectful hom age that attested the solemn thoughts which the

k an d d spectacle evo ed, the eep impressions it made on every soul ; this keen emotion, this silent expres sion of an irresistible feeling, gave way to heartfelt

h . enthusiasm , to cries of joy, to transports of delig t Their Majesties acknowledged this enthusiasm most' courteously as they passed through this long and i hi br lliant gallery leading to the chapel, w ch was a sort of nave of the temple where their august union ” was to be consecrated anew .

S a lon Ca r r é r The chapel was the , which lies be THE RELIGIOUS CEREM ONY. 189

- tween the picture gallery and the Apollo gallery .

Two rows of seats had been placed all around it .

r The altar, which was placed in front of the pictu e gallery had been adorned w ith a large bas-relief and m any rich ornaments . The six candelabra and the fi i cruci x were masterpieces . Th rty feet from the altar, on a platform, and beneath a canopy, were the two armchair s and the prayer desks of the Em

er or . p and the Empress Near the altar, on two chan delier s , had been placed the two candles designed for ofl er in gs ; in each one had been set twenty pieces of gold . The Cardinal, Grand Almoner of France,

m r e assisted by the Grand Al oner of Italy, went to ceive s ofl er the sovereign at the door, and to 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,

n King of Holland ; Prince Jerome Napoleo , King of

Westphalia ; Prince Borghese , Duke of Guastalla ;

Prince Joachim Murat, King of Naples ; Prince

He Eugene de Beauharnais, Viceroy of Italy ; the reditar y Grand Duke of Baden ; the Prince Arch chancellor Cambaceres ; the Prince Archtreasurer Lebrun ; the Pri nce Vice-Constable Berthier ; the — Prince Vice- Grand Elector Talleyr and on the Em ’ l ’ press s left, below the platform , Napo eon s mother ;

Princess Julia , Queen of Spain ; Princess Hortense ,

Queen of Holland ; Princess Catherine , Queen of P A I SE 1 90 THE EM RES S M R E L OUI .

i Westphalia ; Princess El sa , Grand Duchess of Tus cany ; Princess Pauline, Duchess of Guastalla ; Prin cess Caroline, Queen of Naples ; the Grand Duke of

iir z ur - W b g ; the Princess Augusta, Vice Queen of e ni i G Italy ; Princess St pha e, Hered tary rand Duch m di ess of Baden . The Colonel com an ng the Guard on duty, the Grand Marshal, the High Chamberlain,

r r s l o the Fi st Equerry, the Fi t A moner of the Emper r, ff -of - the high o icers of Italy, the French Maid Honor,

-of - the Italian Maid Honor, the Lady of the Bed

—of - Fi chamber, the Knight Honor, the rst Equerry and

F r s the e the i t Almoner of Empr ss, stationed them ’ selves 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

n tone of annoyance , of his chaplai , the Abbé de ’ ” Pr adt I don t see them . He saw them very well, “ but he noticed that they were not all there . A ” i l great many of them are here, t mid y replied the ” b . Abbé ; besides, many of them are old and fee le

No, they are not there , the Emperor repeated, “ s ! casting his eye on some empty benches . Fool ” ! his n . fools he said angrily, face growi g darker It was true i The thirteen cardinals who had declared

n u that they would not come , had had the si g lar audacity to keep their word . What i they had dared

O to persist in a factious pposition which he , the fi Emperor, had de ed them to exhibit ! They had him dared to brave him , to offer a public insult !

1 92 THE EMP ES S M A IE I R R L OU SE.

Film at ir itus a Am en . n om in e P atr is et Sp S n cti. Then mass was said . After the Gospel the Fir st Bishop

r to r ca ried the holy volume Thei Majesties to kiss, and waved incense before them . After the benedic i ff t on , the Grand Almoner o ered them holy water, and gave them the corporalkiss then he turned towards

Te D eu m the altar and intoned the , which was sung by the chapel choir, producing a deep impression . t The procession formed anew af er the ceremony, and retraced its steps . The Emperor gave the Em

r is press his hand, and it was obse ved with surpr e that in passing through the long gallery, his face, m which had been so triu phant and joyous , no longer th wore the same expression . Could the absence of e thirteen cardi nals have been enough to mar this mag n ificen t 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 Em ’ - a i hi . peror drawing room, wh ch opened on t s gallery ma Marie Louise withdre w to her own room . The id of -honor and the Lady of the Bedchamber removed

an d w her Imper ial cloak the cro n , to give them to the

Chamberlain , who had carried them in ceremony to

i s Notre Dame . Then The r Maje ties appeared on the balcony of the Hall of the Marshals and watched the infantry and cavalry of the Imperial Guard march

ffi an d by . O cers men waved their weapons, and

fi i r e lled the air with the r loud cheers, which were peated by an enthusiastic multitude . THE E 1 93 R LIGIOUS CEREM ONY.

The Imperial dinner took place at seven in the theatre of the Tuileries . The stage had been dec orated like the rest of the hall, so that instead of

un being separate divisions, there was but one huge , broken room . The decoration consisted of two cupo las upheld by double arches with the intermediate vaults adorned with columns . One of the two par allel divisions contained the table destined for the

a i Imperial b nquet, wh ch stood on a platform beneath i a magnificent canopy . As soon as the d nner was

ff the ready, the Grand Chamberlain o ered Emperor a i basin in which to wash his hands . The F rst Equerry Th h offered him a chair . e Grand Marshal of t e

Palace gave him a napkin . The First Prefect, the

First Equerry, and the First Chamberlain of the Em press had similar duties . The Grand Almoner stood

d i . up by the table, aske a blessing, and w thdrew D uring the repast the Grand Marshal of the Palace i ofl er ed the Emperor wine . It was an imposing s ght . According to the Mon iteu r : Here again it is im pos sible to do justice to the extraordinary m agnificence of this im posing occasion . Pen and pencil can de scribe bu t faintly the majestic order, the admirable o regularity, the blaze of diamonds , the beauty f a brilliant illumination , the gorgeous dresses, and above

in d efin able all the noble ease , the 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 E I 194 THE EMP R SS MARIE L OU SE.

had balcony. A vast crowd gathered in the garden,

n under the walls of the palace, arou d the amphi theatre which had been built for the public concert . They greeted the sovereigns with repeated calls and

. w cheers The follo ing cantata was given, w ith w ords ’ by Arnault and Mehul s music :

WOM EN.

M ar s him self has yielded the ear th

T the nl ea e ann t o o y god p c c o disar m .

r kie ee llr Ben eath ser ene s s s a evive,

All r t n der alltake fir e. g ow e ,

On the oak, ben eath the heather ,

See eldin to the allof lo e , yi g c v ,

th n The pr oud eagle itself f or getting his u der .

MEN.

h m r r ior s m in lin w ith the itizens See t e any w a g g c ,

r ls ben eath the new m tles Hidin g thei old laur e yr ,

For the fir st time f or getf ulof their conquests.

n an See the Fren chm a , see the Ger m ,

’ Clasping each other s han d

An d in viting you to the sam e f estivals.

M EN AND WOMEN.

Hear the voice r esoun din g Fr om the banks of the D an ube to the banks of the Seine ; Hear the voice that pr om ises

A long r eign to the happiness w hich this daybr in gs.

i I hi enia Then was g ven the chorus . from p g a hi liick What gr ce, what majesty a chorus w ch G ,

Mon iteur “ l said the , cou d not have made more beau

THE EM P ES S MA IE L O ISE 1 96 R R U .

dity . The twelve columns in front, the steps, the ’ lHO ital stone statues of Sully, of p , of Colbert, of ’ d A u esseau an d g , as well as those of Themis Minerva,

i . u were most brill ant The bridge Lo is XV . , leadin g from the Place de la Concorde to the Temple of Hy a its men, resembled triumphal avenue with double

t its its row of ligh s , its colored glass, obelisks, hun d i d dre s of blaz ng columns , each one toppe by a star. The calmness of a lovely spring night w as favorable to the illuminations all Par is seemed a sea of flame with waves Of fir e .

The festival continued till late into the night. “ i Moniteur r e All the happy fam lies, says the , turned to the ir peaceful homes after a long absence . Every one had had the happiness of gazing at the

s u Emperor and his augu t spo se , 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 . d i 3 Tues ay, Apr l , was the day for the presentation i i at the Tu ler es to the Emperor and Empress, seated

di . on their throne , of the great bo es of the State The Emperor replied to the address of the Senate in these words , I and the Empress merit the senti m ents which you express by the love We nourish for ” m our people . The President of the deputation fro “ ur the Kingdom of Italy spoke in Italian . O peo THE ELIGIO S CE EM Y 1 97 R U R ON .

t ple of I aly, replied the Emperor, know how much we love them . As soon as possible , I and the Em

our i press wish to go to good cit es of Milan , Venice,

i ur and Bologna, to g ve new pledges of o love for our

Italian people . The thirteen Italian cardinals who were unwilling to be present at the wedding the day before were in mi the Hall of the Marshals, where, a d a throng of ffi prelates , o cers , functionaries , and court ladies, they were waiting for the moment to pass before their formidable master . They had been there for three

in n hours, great anxiety, when aides appeared, biddi g

n i them depart at once, the Emperor being u w lling d to receive them . Much isconcerted, they made their way with diffi culty through the crowd to their car

ia s . r ge When the other cardinals , who had been d present at the wed ing, presented themselves in

- i the throne room, Napoleon stood up and v olently denoun ced their expelled colleagues . Cardinal Con salvi , formerly Secretary of State to Pius VII . , was “ o ” “ especially attacked . The thers , he said, may perhaps be excused on the score of their theological ff prejudi ces, but he has o ended me from political motives . He is my enemy, and he seeks to revenge hims elf for my dr iving him from the ministry. That s is why he has made this deep plot again t me , raising against my dyn asty a pretext of illegitimacy , a pretext whi ch my enemies will be sure to lay hold of w hen my death shall have freed them from the fear that ” - i restrains them to day . It was in va n that the 1 98 THE EMP ES S MA E R RIE LOUIS . offendi ng thirteen cardinals wrote together an apolo getic letter in whi ch they said that they had never ’ wished to judge the validity of the Emperor s first mar r iage or to throw any doubts on the lawfulness of the i second . Napoleon rema ned implacable . He tur ned

fi ri t them out of their of ce , st pped them of heir cardi ’ m i nals robes, bade the resume their att re as sim ple t w d pries s , so that after ar s they were known as the i black cardinals , in d stinction from the others, the red d s . car inal He deprived them of all their estates, eccle

ias tic h s or in erited, and placed them under sequestra

in tion . He made them live bands of two, in various cities of France , dependent on the charity of the faithful . The contest with the Pope began ; but the

in Pope , though defeated the beginning, was to con quer in the end, and the persecutor of one day was himself persecuted the next . The captive of Savona an d of Fontainebleau was to r e-enter the eternal city ’ - o in triumph, and the all p werful Emperor, the Pope s jailer, was to die, a prisoner of the English, on the rock of Saint Helena .

200 THE EMP RES S MARIE L OUISE .

d i politeness , followe all the most br lliant traditions of

r e im e d ae the old g , the aughter of the German C sars

Fr its could not imagine that ance , with tranquillity, d f its profoun respect, its a fection for the monarchy, in which she was treated more like a goddess than a

had sovereign , , a few years earlier, been governed by the Jacobin s . Marie Loui se found more luxur y and pleasur e at the Tuileries and at Compiegne than at the Burg or

. d u at Schoenbrunn Mo est as she was , the ingenio s

flattery, the delicate homage , she received from all quarters could not fail to afi ect her . The sym pathy

-of - with which her maid honor, the Duchess of Monte

i fir m bello , inspired her, soon grew nto a warm and friendship .

hi s w Napoleon had particular regard for young ife, and in his love there was a shade of fatherly proteo

- tion . He w as not yet forty one . Success and glory had given to his matur e face a greater beauty than it

nn had worn in his youth . His ma ers, formerly harsh

i had . and almost v olent, become much softer To the Republican general had succeeded a majestic monarch m i i w i t fa l ar th all the usages of cour s, all the laws of

i k s . etiquette, maintain ng his rank li e a Loui XIV , and playing his royal part with the e ase and dignity of a

. thi great actor Successful in every ng he undertook,

di u never exposed to contra ction , s rrounded by people u d whose most anxio s esire was to forestall his wishes, s to anticipate his command , he seldom had occasion e r s to giv way to the outbu ts of anger, sometimes real, THE HONE YM N 201 OO .

oftener assumed, in which he formerly indulged . He i l ked to talk, and his conversation was easy and

r witty, and full of an ir esistible charm . His dress,

w . hich in old times he neglected, became elegant His expression and voice acquired gentleness and an almost caressing quality . Not only did he try to fas cin ate the young and handsome Empress , he spared no pains to please her . Being much honored and fl at te r ed his — h in vanity as a Corsican gentleman, for t is

r man of Vendémiaire , the saviou of the Convention,

- - always had a weakness for coats of arms and for titles, - he was proud as w ellas happy in having for his wife a woman belonging to so old and illustr ious a race ; and this sensation of gratified pride inspired an equa bili t l y of temper, a serenity, a gayety, which de ighted his r i cou t ers , who were glad to see his happiness , for they enjoyed its agreeable results . It was in this o s spir it that Napoleon and Marie L ui e starte d, April 5 1 81 0 e , , from Saint Cloud for Compi gne, whence they set forth on the 27th for a triumphal progress in the departm ents of the North . lif In short, this wedded e began under the happiest

, auspices . At Vienna, the Emperor Francis was per

l fi . f ect y satis ed Count Otto, the French Ambassador, 31 1 810 wrote to the Duke of Cadore , March , , as “ follows : The events of the 29th were celebrated l here yesterday by a general i lumination, and by a grand cour t levee where His Majesty r eceived again the congratulations of the Diplomatic Body, the

n . nobility, and of many foreig ers The Emperor 202 THE EM P RES S M ARIE L OUISE . seemed thoroughly contented ; he spoke to me very

hi s i warmly of satisfaction, wh ch is shared by all his subjects with but few exceptions . Both when I came

n S in and when I was leavi g, he poke 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 m h basis . He praised our ar y, and added t at he would ' do what he could to aid those of our soldiers who still ’ . the remained in the hospitals here Henceforth, ‘ m Emperor continued, we have but one and the sa e interest, to work together for the peace of Europe and the furtherance of the arts of use for society . Every thing 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

h as nn Frenc . The French Amb sador wrote from Vie a “ u 8 1 810: to the D ke of Cadore , April , The letters which the Emperor and Empress of Austria have received from Their Majesties have given them the greatest satisfaction , and especially those brought tw o evenings ago by the Count of Praslin . The

Emperor was moved by them to tears . This sentence, ’ im We suit each other perfectly, made the deepest pression, as well as two letters from Her Majesty the

r i Empress, w tten in German , in which, among other in ‘ th gs , she said, I am as happy as it is possible to

204: THE EM P E ll R S S IARIE L O UISE .

the desire that it should be kn own in Paris . The Emperor of Austria is much flattered by the marked distinction with which his Minister of Foreign Affairs

. d [Metternich! is treate in Paris, and he certainly seems to deserve it by his u n fl aggin g zeal and his ” un bounded devotion to the principles of the alliance . ’ il15 ! Count Otto s despatch of Apr ,

The famous Prince Metternich, who was then only a count, and had left his father the Prince in charge had of the ministry in Vienna, intended to stay only

a four weeks in Paris, but he was detained there ne rly

m Me six onths I went thither , he states in his moirs, 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 d m my own free will, but with great uties to perfor . — To day I am recalled to Vienna an d entrusted with

r a an immense responsibility . The Emperor F ncis ’ wanted me to be present at his d aughter s entry into France ; I have obeyed his orders ; but I tell you

i am frankly, S re, that I have a loftier ambition . I anxious to fin d the line to follow in politics in a

’ ‘ ’ . n d remote future I u erstand you, the Emperor “ replied ; your wishes coincide with mine . Remain

i an d w th us a few weeks longer, you will be per f tl i ’ ec y sat sfied . Metternich held a privileged position at the French THE HONE M O Y O N. 205

t cour ; for he was very amiable and charming, a per di feet man of the world, an accomplished plomatist, and thoroughly familiar with France and the French, moreover, very intimate with Napoleon and the whole ” ri . Impe al family Napoleon asked me one day, he th says in his Memoirs, why I never went to see e Empress Marie Louise except on reception days and other more or less formal occasions . I answered that

a s had I had no re son for doing otherwi e , and indeed

n ma y good reasons for doing as I had done . ” s By breaking the cu tomary rule, Metternich

“ ul continued, I sho d 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 Em press ; call on her to-morrow morning ; I will tell her ’ to expect you . The next day I went to the Tuile h ries and found the Emperor with t e 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 t her friend, and she ought to have no secre s from

’ - you . Therewith Napoleon locked the drawing room door, put the key in his pocket, and went out by

the another door . I asked Empress what this meant, and she asked me the same question . Since I saw

r that she had not been p imed by Napoleon , I con jectur ed that he evidently wished me to receive from her own lips a satisfactory idea of her domestic rela her tions, in order to give a favorable account to 206 THE EMP RES S MARIE LOUISE.

r w as father, the Emperor . The Emp ess of the same

a . Opinion . We rem ined closeted together more than an hour . When Napoleon came back, laughing, ll he said, We , 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

t w n t things are your secre s , hich do o concern any i th rd person , not even if that third person is her hus ’

d . ban We carried on the conversation in that vein, and I took my leave . The next day Napoleon

a sought for an opportunity to talk w ith me . Wh t ? ’ did the Empress say yesterday he asked. You

‘ ’ our told me , I replied, that interview did not con ’ an i cern y th rd person ; let me keep my secret. The

’ ‘ Empress told you, Napoleon interrupted, that she

n is happy with me, that she has othing to complain of . I hope you will tell the Emperor, and that he ’ w ll i believe you more than an y one else .

In fact, Metternich told the Emperor Francis, and he believed Metternich . Moreover, he had every reason to believe him ; for the Empress Mar ie Louis e

' w as a then perfectly h ppy, and no clouds were yet to be seen on the sky which was later to be torn by ter rible tempests . We w ill end this chapter by copying the curious ’ s - letter which Marie Loui e s step mother, the Empress

ri r 1 1 810 of Aust a, wrote to Napoleon, Ap il 0, , which expresses in a tone almost of familiari ty the favorable impressions of the Viennese court : My —I brother, cannot express to Your Majesty the

THE EMP E 208 R S S MARIE L OUISE .

Some may blame me because my d aughter has so

i . few deas , such a meagre education I acknowledge

an d its it ; but as to the world perils , one leaves them i only too soon, and. I w ll say frankly she was only

i an d e ghteen, I wanted to preserve her innocence, and cared only that she should have a loving heart, an

an d i honest nature , clear deas about what she did

d r . know . I have entruste her to You Majesty I beg d ’ you, as her mother, to be my aughter s friend and

d . b gui e , as she is your devoted wife She will e happy if Your Majesty will always confidently appeal m to her ; for, I say once ore , 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 w ith this long letter. ’ You will pardon this outpouring of a mother s heart, ’ which knows no bounds w hen a beloved daughter s happiness is concerned . I must say one thing more . You r Majesty sets too high a value on my eagerness to satisfy you by letting you have the portrait of m y dear Louise . I was too anxious to please you as i fis soon as poss ble , not to be sel h in this matter, but I shall certainly thoroughly appreciate the portrait you d w promise me . It will have this a vantage , that it ill 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

ffi ci Napoleon ; it was not written in o al style , with all i w ff the formal compl ments , but rather ith a ectionate THE HONEYM O 209 ON.

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 mi nd and body, which delighted her husband . Doubtless the feeling

n t fi she inspired was o a ery, romantic passion such as fi he had felt for his rst wife and Marie Louise, with her northern beauty, had not the same charm as

i . Joseph ne , the bewitching creole Napoleon cer tain ly would not have written to his second wife

’ i Nouvelle Heloi se burn ng letters, in the style of the , such as he sent to Josephine during the first Italian campaign . His love for Marie Louise was less fer

t i . ven , but he esteemed her more h ghly He thought that the society of the Austrian cour t was after all a better school for a w ife than the society of the i Directory, and he had found in Marie Lou se, a girl

on e worthy of all regard, invaluable blessing, one m treasure whi ch a widow, char ing, it is true , but a coquette , lacked namely, innocence . XVI .

THE T RIP IN THE NORTH.

POLEON and Marie Louise left Compiegne 27 1 810 ’ April , , at seven o clock in the morn ing, to make a journey in several of the northern de

ar tm en ts . p , which was one long ovation In their

u s ite were the Grand Duke of Wurzburg, brother of the Emperor of Austria, the Queen of Naples, the

n King and Quee of Westphalia, Prince Eugene de

Beauharnais , Prince Schwarzenberg, and Count Met “ - : ter n ich . The last named says in his Memoirs I was an eye-witness of the enthusiasm w ith which the young Empress was everywhere greeted by the pcpu lace . 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 . ’ ‘ ‘ ao I should like to show you, he said, how I am ’ customed 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 administra ” tion . Those who care to know the adulation off ered to Napoleon an d Marie Louise on this expedi tion should 210

21 2 THE EMP RES S MARIE L O UISE .

The canal connecting the Seine with the Scheldt was

i d an d illum nate , Napoleon and his court sailed over it in gondolas richly decked with flags . On the 3oth 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 Ad m iral Missiessy were in command of the Imperial flo i tilla . When they arrived in s ght of the squadron

te of Antwerp, which Napoleon had crea d, all the

r t w n in ships, f igates, corvettes , gunboa s , were dra up

a fir e line, and Marie Louise p ssed under the of a thousand cannon thundering in her honor . When i the sovereigns entered the c ty, the throng was most “ ” “ Mon iteur dense . It expressed, the tells us, the gratitude of the inhabitants for its second founder . It was impossible n ot to make a comparison between the present condition of the port and city of Antwerp ’ w ith its condition seven years before, on His Majesty s ” first visit .

five At Antwerp they made a stay of days, which

w ho sun r ise s ent the Emperor, was on his horse at fi p in visiting the works of the port, the arsenal, the

fi s forti cations , in holding reviews, in in pecting the

fleet . May 2 there was launched a ship of eighty u g ns, the largest ship that had ever been built on the i stocks of th s port . It was blessed by the Arch bishop of Mechlin . According to the Baron de “ Mén eval ff un , the Empress was a able, simple , and ’ pretentious . Possibly the memory of Josephin e s charm and earnest desire to please was a misfortune THE IP I 1 TR N THE NORTH. 2 3

to Marie Louise . Her reserve might have been

ul attributed to German family pride , but that wo d 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 ff of sti ness . She was so thoroughly identified with her new position and so touched by the regard and ff w i a ection th which the Emperor was treated, that when he proposed to her to stay at Antwerp while

Zu der he was vi siting the islands of the y Zee, she him him besought to take her with , undeterred by ” n se any fear of the fatigues of the journey . Co quently Napoleon starte d with her to visit Bois-le

-o - Duc, Berg pZoom , Breda, Middelburg, Flushing, and the island of Walcheren, which the English had evacuated four months before . At Breda the Emperor soundly abused a deputa tion of the Catholi c clergy whom he knew to be “ “ opposed to him . Gentlemen , he broke out, why are you not in sacerdotal garments Are you attor ? o ae neys, notaries, or physicians Render unt C sar ’ the things whi ch are Cae sar s . The Pope is not

is C aesar ; I am . It 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 excomm unicated 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 kn ow

it. Renoun ce the hope of putting me in a con 214 THE EMP ES S MA IE L I E R R OU S .

k vent and of shaving my head, li e Louis the Debo

an d ae ! nair, submit yourselves for I am C sar 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

e bishop ; take your oath b fore him, obey the Con cor dat , and then I will see what commands I shall have to give you . i After visit ng the towns on the frontier, as well as

Schom ven the islands of Tholen, , North and South

Bevelan d , and Walcheren , Napoleon, constantly ac

n companied by Marie Louise , asce ded the Scheldt

n o ce more , merely passed through Antwerp, made a

“ ste brief p at Brussels, spent three days at the castle i of Lacken , and hast ly ran through Ghent, Bruges,

Ostend, Dunkirk, Lille , Calais, Dieppe , Havre, and

. 1 1 81 0 . Rouen June , , they were back at Saint Cloud The Baron de Mén eval tells us that Marie Louise was extremely delighted with the way she had been greeted throughout this journey . Everywhere she w had been received under arches of triumph, ith countless festivities , balls , illuminations , and every m ff token of the popular enthusias and a ection , so that “ she w as able to appreciate the French char acter, 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

afl ection wielded, and the he bore to them, as well as

r us fi thei s for his ca e, lled her with hopes for a happy ” life .

216 THE EM P RES S MARIE L OUISE .

he it : because himself had worn , wrote to him Sire,

’ Your Majesty s Ambassador has transmitted to me the decorations of the Legion of Honor, and the afl tion ate ec letter with which you have honored me . Being deeply impressed by these tokens of your good i i w ll, I hasten to express to Your Majesty my s ncere gratitude , which is only equalled by my admiration ’ i for Your Majesty s great qual ties . The esteem of a fi great man is the fairest flower of the eld of honor,

ri and I have always jealously desired, Sire , to me t ” yours .

hi : r A stranger t ng yet even the Spanish Bou bons, the victims of the Bayonne treachery, the princes

had whom Napoleon ousted, set no limits to their ’ ri a adulation . Nowhere was the Emperor s mar ge w ith Marie Louise celebrated with greater show of enthusiasm than at the castle of Valencay, where

Ferdinand III . was living . The Spanish Prince had

T D um a e e sung in the chapel ; he gave a banquet, at which he proposed this toast : To the he alth of

an d M ar ie our august Sovereigns, the great Napoleon ”

ui . Lo se, his august spouse In the evening there were magnificent fireworks . He chose that moment when

n his subjects were exposi g themselves to every danger, welcoming every sacrifice in their bitter war in hi s 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 M ONTH OF JU NE, 1810.

HE whole month of June was filled w ith a suc

cession of brilliant festivities . Under the Em

r v pi e things were not done by hal es ; battles or balls, everything was on a vast scale . Never, says Alfred “ d c Musset, were there so many sleepless nights as ’ dur ing 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 hi ” the clouds on the morrow of s victories . The entertain ment given to the Emperor and Em i 1 0 fi f . press by the city o Par s, June , was magni cent There were great rejoicings in the capital on that day . In the afternoon there were public sports in e the Champs Elys es, and dancing in the open places and the long walks . With nightfall the illuminations began . A troupe of mountebanks performed on a 217 21 8 THE EMP RES S MARIE L O UISE .

mi huge stage a ballet in panto me , called the Union ” a fi of Mars an d Flora . There were s many as ve hun dr ed performers . There were bands playing in every i d rection , and food was distributed to the contented

i Ar e u mult tude . From the to the T ileries, from the

ri r Tuile es to the Louv e , from the Louvre to the H6tel

- de Ville, the spectacle was really fairy like . Napoleon and Marie Louise , starting from Saint Cloud at eight in m the evening, ade their way, in torchlight, through a countless multitude . Their approach was announced

the to the people by sudden ascent of a balloon, from

- which fir eworks were discharged . At half past nine they reached the H6tel de Ville . Nearly a thousand

hr persons had gathered in the concert hall, almost t ee m n thousand in the record roo , the Hall of Saint Joh , and in the semicircular place in front, opposite the

S n fir e pot, on the left ba k of the Seine , where the works were to be set off at a signal of Napoleon and fi v Marie Louise . These reworks were di ided into three parts, representing a military scene , the Temple

. t e fi of Peace , and the Temple of Hymen In h rst there were two forts w hich soldiers were assaulting, fir ing their guns amid the sound of tr umpets and the rattle of drum s . The forts were discharging shells an d 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 column s

. d fi of light The decoration change , and rst the Tem

220 THE EM P E R S S MARIE L O UISE .

m 14 . entertain ent June , at the castle of Neuilly At the end of an illuminated law n appeared the Austrian palace of Laxenburg, and the ballet consisted of dancers arrayed like peasants of the neighborhood of 21 Vienna . June , another great ball was given

n by the Duke of Feltre , the Mi ister of War . But

fi r the nest, the most original , the g andest ball, w as 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 any

' fi un d r thing so magni cent . Never had Rome e the

C aesars seen a more gorgeous Spectacle . For many months the public had been watching the vast prep ar ation s for thi s event . Two wings had been added i to the Mil tary 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 ffi s o cers of the Guard, who were model of French politeness , received the ladies at the entrance of hi f t s garden , o fering 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 i was shaped l ke a tent, and the ceiling was decorated with the sign s of the Zodiac and allegorical represem

tation m h . of a triu p A throne was set there, above seven row s of seats . All around the room hung

r muslin draperies , on which we e embroidered gold THE M O 1 0 21 NTH OF J NE 1 8 . 2 U ,

s h bee and branches of myrtle and laurel . W en the ’ Emperor and Empress appeared at seven o clock,

s three thou and women, each w ith a bouquet in her

fl ow r hand, rose at once . It seemed like a living e garden . The wives of the most illustrious officer s s of the Guard, the Duchess of Dalmatia, of Trevi o,

D or senn e n t of Istria, Countess Walter, , Curial, Sai

l Lef ebor e D esn on ettes Kr asen ska Su pice , , , , Baron

Kir en er Luben ska Guiot D elaistr e esses g , , , Gros , and Lepic, had been chosen to escort the Empress .

s e Mar hal Bessi res , Duke of Istria, presented her with a magnificent bouquet. ccv Meanwhile the Champ de Mars , which was fi dr ered with flags, was lled with three or four hun ed thousand spectators , who had assembled quietly, without crowding, on the terrace, the amphitheatres, and in the walks . When Napoleon and Marie Louise showed them selves on the balcony of the Military

. s School, there broke out loud applause Afterward h dinner was served to the Imperial family . W en that was finished, they gave the signal for the horse ’ Fr an con i s and chariot races . equestrian troupe gave performances in the intervals . When all the n pr izes had been given, a balloon, carrying a woma ,

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 fire w orks . Amid rockets, bombs, and shooting stars, two pretty young women walked up and down

, on the tight rope , like magical apparitions amid the 222 THE EM P RES S M ARIE L O UISE .

. fi encircling flames . After the reworks a ballet was d d performe by the ancers from the Opera, under the direction of Gardel ; it represented the difl er en t nations of Europe in their national dress . After i i the ballet came the ball, wh ch was most an mated .

ds d Napoleon and Marie Louise left towar mi night, 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 court fi yard, lled 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

tr ellice of gilded work , with Corinthian columns, an d a roof covered with frescoes representing groups of children sporting in the air amid flowers an d fi d garlands . About fteen hundred people sat own to table . The Imperial Guard had every reason to be proud

n . ofli cer s of its entertai ment The , young, brilliant,

e d r d vote to pleasu e as to glory, found their life more joyous as war threatened to make it short . They dis d playe the same ardor, the same enthusiasm , in the

- - ball room as on the battle field . They loved the smell fl of owers as much as the smell of gunpowder . Every form of conquest tempted them, and they revived the m i custo s of ch valry . In the language of the time,

XVIII .

THE BALL AT THE AU STRIAN EMBASSY.

HE series of grand entertainments which had been given in Paris was to be concluded by a ball, which Prince Schwarzenberg, the Austrian

u 1 Ambassador, was to give at the Embassy, J ly , 1 81 0 E , to the mperor and Empress ; it had been

m ur announced that this was to be a arvel of lux y, elegance, and good taste . The Ambassador lived ’ d An tin in the rue de la Chaussée , in a mansion formerly belonging to the Marchioness of Montesson, o widow of the Duke of Orleans, to wh m this lady had a been un ited by a morganatic marriage . Great prep rations had been made with extraordinary m agnifi cence . Since the ground floor of the house was too

- d small, a large ball room of woo had been built, di reached by a gallery, also of wood, lea ng from the i body of the house . The ceiling of th s gallery was

d an d covered with varnished paper, ecorated painted ;

floor - ds hi the boar , w ch were supported on a frame work, were raised to the - same height as the floors of the house . A large chandelier hung from the ceili ng

- of the ball room . The sides and the circuit of the THE BALL A T THE A MBA S Y 225 US TRIAN E S .

gallery were lit by c andelabra fastened to the walls . hi m l A gh platform was reserved for the Imperial fa i y,

ri - - in the centre of the ght hand side of the ball room, dir ectly opposite a large door opening on the garden . Behind the platform was a small door reserved for

hi had the sovereigns . The Ambas sador and s w ife

-in - staying with them his brother and sister law,

l rz Prince Joseph and Princess Pau ine Schwa enberg, who were to help hi m in doing the honors of the

t e Napoleon and Marie Louis e, who s art d from Saint

e a Cloud, reached the gat s of Paris at qu rter to ten ; t there they got into another carriage, and soon af er 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 soun ded a flourish of trumpets at the entrance of Their Majesties, who passed through the concert hallinto the garden, where they stopped a mom ent before the Temple of Apollo . There s women, dressed to resemble the Mu es, sang a joy ' e i s ous chorus . Napoleon and Mari Lou se pas ed

- hi slowly along a water walk, where dden music i - issued from a subterranean grotto, to a v ne clad m s arbor adorned with irrors, monogram , flowers, r and wreaths , and listened to a conce t of vocal and n ins tr umental music , French and Germa then they

r o went further into the ga den, st pping before a s Temple of Glory, where were four hand ome women 226 THE EM P ES S MA IE L O I E R R U S .

i representing Victory, the muse Cl o , and Renown ; m d then tru pets sounde , triumphal songs were sung,

ur n n d and perfumes were b i g on gol en tripods . Then they tur ned to see a delightfulballet danced on the

n gree sward, with a view of the Palace of Laxen — — burg so dear to Marie Louise in the backgr ound ; ll that done, they entered the wooden ga ery just put m s fi up before the front of the an ion, and nally entered l- i r the ba l room, wh ch was la ge enough to hold about

fifteen hundred people .

m r hin had It was idnight, and so far eve yt g gone on w ithout a hitch . The Emperor and Empress seemed delighted ; the Ambassador was radiant ; every one was enchanted with the magic of the

O w i dr spectacle . The ball was pened th a qua ille, in which the Queen of Naples danced with Prince i Esterhazy, and Prince Eugene de Beauharnais w th w as Princess Pauline de Schwarzenberg. When that over, the Emperor descended from his throne to walk u through the room ; while the Empress, the Q een of - a ai h r Naples, and the Vice Queen of It ly rem ned in t ei s places on the platf orm . Napoleon had ju t come up

ul r z had to Princess Pa ine de Schwa enberg, who pre

n sente d to him the pri cesses , her daughters, when suddenly the flame of a candle set fir e to the curtains ' ’

a . n D um an oir a of window Cou t , the Emperor s ch m ber lain ofi cer s , and several tried to tear the curtains to down ; but the flames continued spread, and in less

had th than three minutes they reached e ceiling, and all the light decorations which hung from it were

228 THE EM P E R S S MARIE L OUISE.

s Empress pu hing on to Saint Cloud, while the Em

er or n p , retracing his steps, went back to the Austria

x in Embassy, where he hoped to be able to help e t guish the fir e .

as The Amb sador, who had accompanied Napoleon i and Mar e Louise to their carriage, went back to the

s . hou e , then a hideous scene of destruction A storm

r ava had arisen, and a violent wind had spread the g in g flames in every direction . The Queen of West phalia had fainted and had been rescued by Count

Metternich ; the Queen of Naples, Prince Eugene, i and his w fe, who was in a delicate condition , had i remained on the platform . The Queen tr ed to escape by the main door, by which the Emperor and the Empress had left ; but this was speedily w ho so blocked up by the crowd that she , was behind

nl every one , would certai y have been caught by the h flames, like many ot ers , had it not been for the assistance of the Grand Duke of Wiir zbur g and of w a Marshal Marcey, who seized her and forced a y

, for her. Prince Eugene saw the chandelier fall and the passage across the room wholly blocked ; but,

the fortunately, he noticed little door which led into

his . the house, and through that he escaped with 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

d fin d her . Pauline de Schwarzenberg, and coul not T 229 HE B ALL A T THE A US TRIAN EM BAS S Y.

What had become of the unhappy mother ? When

fir e the broke out, knowing her eldest daughter,

Eleonore, to be safe, she had run to the assistance

of her second daughter, Pauline , who was dancing di the schottische, and led her spee lyto 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 cour ageous princess plunged once more into the ball

room . 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

everythin g, supervising everything as on a battle

field, there he stayed more than two hours, exposed

fir e to a heavy rain which began after the , and to all v the heat and smoke . Alone , unguarded, e idently anxious to dispel all misinterpretation which malev

olen ce could dr aw 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

m ost uneasy about the Emperor . At last he arrived, 23 0 THE EMP ESS MA IE L O ISE R R U .

, unharmed but very tired ; his dress in disorder, his face scorched, his clothes and stockings all black fi ened and singed by the r e . 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

d a - hat on the bed, droppe into an e sy chair, saying, Heavens ! what a festivity ! ’ I noticed that his hands were all blackened ; he had lost his gloves at

fir e . i the He was overwhelmed w th sadn ess, and he spoke with an emotion such as I had seen in him only hr two or t ee 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

mi . future cala ties Three years later, in the Russian

n da campaig , he was told one y that Prince S ehwar ’ zen ber s g army corps had been destroyed, and that

n the Prince him self had perished . It happe ed 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 t pages to learn the news . The accoun s they brought back were most gloomy : the Princess de la Leyen had died from her injuries ; General Touzart was in t a desperate condi ion, as well as his wife and daughter,

. Kour akine who , in fact, died the same day Prince , i d the Russ an Ambassa or, was seriously injured ; he had made a misstep on the staircase leading to the garden, and had fallen senseless into the flames,

232 THE EMP ES S MA IE LO ISE R R U .

to hi his il dangers w ch fam y 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 Schw ar ’ zenber g . It was not until five o clock that he received H . is word of her death Majesty, who held this princess in the highest esteem, sincerely regrets her sad lot. The Empress exhibited the most perfect i calmness throughout the even ng . When she heard this morning of the death of Princess Paulin e de ” Schwarzenberg, she burst into tears .

in ul The young Pr cess Pa ine, the daughter of the

s woman who had peri hed, was for a long time in a ’ state that caused the utmost anxiety. Her mother s

u s death was concealed from her, but she became nea y d ’ th at her absence , and rea on her father s face e A marks of the grief which he tried to conceal . t last she recovere d ; later she married Prince Schoen' burg ; but her wounds reopened, and she died a few i year s later, a victim, l ke her mother, of the fatal ball. The day after these occurrences Marie Louise

h r wrote a letter in German to e father, in which she “ said : I did not lose my head. Prince Schwarzen berg led the Emperor and me out of the place,

am ul thr ough the garden . I the more gratef because he left his wife and son in the burning room. The

the panic and confusion w ere terrible . If Grand Duke of Wii r zbur g had not carried the Queen of

a h w a e r v . Naples way, S e ould h v been bu ned ali e THE B L 233 A L A T THE A US TRIAN EMBAS S Y.

-in - h My sister law Cat erine , who thought her husband

fir e . was in the midst of the , 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 m morning, when he ca e back, wet through with the of i di rain . The Duchess Rov go , one of my la es , is

seriously burned . The Countesses Bucholz and ’ Loewenstein, the Queen of Westphalia s ladies , are

vi also injured . Lauriston , in sa ng his wife, had

’ Kour akin e his hair and forehead singed . Prince was

so severely in jured that he . lost consciousness ; in the

w as panic the crowd trampled upon him , and he

dragged out half dead . Prince Metternich is hardly

in hurt at all . Prince Charles Schwarzenberg, who

sisted on staying until every one had got out, is is badly bur ned . The poor Ambassador beside him

in self, though he is no way responsible for the ” calamity . hi Marie Louise , who had been interrupted at t s

: 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 bril tw o liants , on which were engraved the names of her

daughters , Eleonore and Pauline , and it was by this THE EMP ES S MA IE L I R R OU SE.

. i il that she was recognized She leaves e ght ch dren, an d was expecting another . Her family is in conscl

r kin able . Kou a e is very low ; so is Madame Duros ’

i . di nel, the general s w fe I am so stressed that I ” cannot stir . The Emperor Francis wrote to hi s son-in -law about “ this distressing event : July 1 5 . My Brother and

-in -law — It satisf a very dear Son , is with the greatest c d tion that I have hear that Your Imperial Majesty,

ll e as we as the Empress, my b loved daughter, has escaped the melancholy accidents that occurred at

ri . the ball of my Ambassador, P nce 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 prog r ress of the disaster . Count Metternich and P ince Schwarzenberg cannot fin d 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 experi enced in readi ng their report s. The calam ity produced a most melancholy impres sion . It recalled to every one the disasters that attended the festivities given to Marie Antoinette forty years before . This ball, followed by a horrid

s d - n catastrophe , thi grand rawing room , va ishing in ? flames, were they not omens of evil Was not the ? fir e great empire to perish in the same way This , burstin g forth in a night of revelry and triumph, was

fir e h it not like a prophecy of a still more terrible , t at

XIX .

THE BIRTH OF THE KIN G OF ROME.

APOLEON an d Marie Louise grew fonder and

fonder of each other as time went on . The “ : d Empress wrote to her father I assure you, ear

us papa, that people have done great inj tice 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 m 181 0 sum er of , 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 M ontebellofor a companion ; she is an excellent i woman , but sometimes a little ind screet . Yesterday,

236 THE B I T R H OF THE KING OF ROME. 237

for example , when she was walking with the Empress in the park , she presented one of her cousins to her . him The Empress talked with , and that was a mis

. If take she is going to have young men, and second w and third cousins , presented to her, she ill become i the tool of intrigues . Every one n France has always some favor to ask . The Empress will be besieged, i and w ll be exposed to a thousand annoyances , with ’ out being able to do anythi ng for anybody . I told

Napoleon that I quite agreed with him , but that I did

‘ ’ fi i . not see why he con ded th s matter to me It is , said Napoleon , because I want you to speak about it ’ u did to the Empress . I expressed my s rprise that he

‘ not do that himself. Your opinion is sound and W ise , and the Empress is too intelligent not to regard ’ ‘ ’ d ‘ a d d o it . I prefer , sai Napoleon , th t you shoul

o an d i hi . t s The Empress is y ung, she might th nk ’ 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 m ine . w Napoleon manifested great regard, not for his ife

his -in - alone , but also for father law, of whom he alw ays spoke with warm sympathy . When Count Metternich came to bid farewell before returning to

nn m 181 0 Vie a, at the end of Septe ber , , Napoleon charged him to convey to the Emperor Francis the most positive assurances of his friendship and devo ” “ “ r i h tion The Emperor must be su e, he sa d, t at my only wish is for his happiness and prosperity . 238 THE EMP ES S MA IE LO ISE R R U .

He must reject any idea of my encroaching on his

. a w an monarchy That cannot f il to gro , d speedily too , through our alliance . Assure him that anything

h he w ich may hear to the contrary is false . I had rather have him than any one of my ow n brothers on the s an ’ Au tri throne, and I don t see any cause for ” quarrel between us . i Early in July, when their hopes were st ll 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 forw ard without dread to this ” w a event, which ill be a gre t happiness . The official notification of her condition was not made till Novem ber, 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, i dear papa, the great news . I take this opportun ty to ask your blessin g 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 f is her father, My husband o ten speaks of you and i ” anx ou s to see you again .

-in - The Emperor Francis answered his son law, De “ c em ber 3 1 81 0 : , , in these terms My Brother and

- - v in . ery Dear Son law, The letter which M de Mesgrigny has handed to m e fills me with the live

240 THE EMP ESS MARIE R LOUISE.

s Pari , and administrative councils were appointed for the provin ces . The Grand Almoner was made sec r etar y, and there was a general treasurer . The capi tal of the society amounted to five hundr ed thousand francs , raised in part from the public funds, and in

s s i part by voluntary sub cription , wh ch soon furnished the required sum . ’ i New Year s Day was approach ng, and Marie Lou ise desired a set of Brazilian rubies, costing forty m six thousand francs . As she wanted to ake some

' -fi presents to her sisters , and these cost twenty ve fi e thousand francs, she saw that only ft en thousand francs would be left of her December allowance .

Consequently she denied herself the rubies, and for bore to say anything about them to the Emperor.

an d de But Napoleon happened to hear of it, was ’ lighte d with his wife s economy and sense of order, which he rewarded in the most delicate manner. He secretly ordered of the crown-je w eller a set of i d be rubies l ke the one she had wante , but worth an d tween three and four hundred thousand francs, 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

her e . presents to sist rs, the Archduchesses She

had answered yes, and that she ordered for the young Princesses presents worth together something

- like tw enty five thou sand francs . Napoleon thought that a rather small sum ; but she told him that they a were not so spoiled as she was , and th t they would THE BI TH OF THE 2 R KING OF ROME. 41

think their presents superb . Then the Emperor presented her with a hundred thousand francs .

In 1 811 January, , the Emperor thus thanked Napo leon for a portrait of his daughter, the Empress — My Brother, The delicate way in which You r Imperial Majesty has fulfilled my wishes by sending me the portrait of the Empress, your dear wife, lends a n ew value to the letter you have written to me . I hasten to give expression to the joy which I d feel in seeing the features of my belove 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

d n chil re , with two assistants , Mesdames de Mesgrigny

d u an So ffiot. de Boubers, and later a third, Madame

rs — a u d i A nu e was chosen , st r y, healthy woman , w fe of a joiner at Fontainebleau ; and two cribs were pre

d —a pare , blue one for a prince , a pink one for a

- r . p incess The baby linen , which was valued at three d hundred thousan francs , aroused the admiration of all the ladi es of the court .

1811 r In January and February, , Ma ie Louise still

the went about . She drove to the hunt in forest of

Vincennes, in that of Saint Germain , and at Ver sailles . She used to walk in the Bois de Boulogne

s d with Napoleon . Toward the mi dle of February great preparations began to be made f or the happy i event . Dr . Dubois was installed at the Tu leries , in the apartments of the Grand Marshal of the Palace , 242 THE EMP ES S MARIE LO R UISE.

-in— and the Duchess of Montebello , lady waiting, took

. up her quarters in the palace Marie Louise, who

’ ba Rovi o s had gone to a fancy ll at the Duchess of g , 10 February , was present on the 25th at a quiet ball u w given at the T ileries, at hich were present only — two strangers, Prince Schwarzenberg, the Austrian

Ambassador, and Prince Leopold of Coburg.

5 Fr ochot March Count , Prefect of the Seine, came to the Tuileries, at the head of the Municipal Coun the i cil, to present, in name of the city of Par s, a fi magni cent red cradle, shaped like a ship, the emblem

a . r t of the capit l This c adle, a real mas erpiece, had e b en designed by Prudhon the artist, and is now in i the Imperial Treasury of Vienna, to which t w as given by the King of Rome when Duke of Reich

- . f stadt The ornamentation, which is in mother o

- pearl and vermilion, is set on a ground of orange red

- - . of a velvet It is formed of a pillar of mother pe rl,

u on which are set gold bees, and is supported by fo r fi cornucopias, near which are set the gures of Force e and Justice . At the top there is a shield with th ’ r Emperor s initials, surrounded by th ee rows of ivy t and laurel . A figure represen ing Glory overhanging the world, holds a crown, in the middle of which ’ t shines Napoleon s star . A young eagle at the foo ’ t wi of the cradle is gazing at the conqueror s s ar, th wings spread as if about to take flight. A curtain of lace , covered with stars and ending in rich gold

a a . embroidery, h ngs over e ch side When Marie Louise’ s walks were limited to the

244 THE EMP ES S MA IE LO R R UISE. your head ; save the mother ; thin k on ly of the

’ ’ mother . Imagine she s some shopkeeper s w ife ’ i all an in the Rue Sa nt Denis, that s I ask of you ; d, —I it — in any case, repeat , save the mother. I ” shall be with you in a moment. Thereupon he sprang out of his bath, threw himself into a dressing wn ’ go , and hastened to Marie Louise s beds ide . He

u u f fo nd her in great s f ering, and grew ver y pale . Never on the field of battle had he displayed such

hi his emotion ; but he tried to de anguish, an d kis sed his i a w fe very gently, re ssuring her with tender

s . word But, unable to control himself, and fearful

to s of adding her already exce sive alarm, he hurriedly

an d went into the next room, there, listening to every

a sound, as p le as death, trembling from head to foot, he passed a quarter of an hour in intense anxiety. i diffi At last, and w th culty, the child was born ; at

fi d e rst it was supposed to be ead, and for seven minut s it gave no sign of life . The Emper or hastened to ui Marie Lo se 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 m on th ; he was gently slapped all over and wrapped in hot towels, and he

li . came to life with a ttle cry Napoleon, wild with fi joy, kissed him . The thought that he had a son lled him with rapture such as none of hi s triumphs had ” given him . Well, gentlemen, he said, when he

w n “ a fin e went back to his o room, we h ve got a , THE RIRTII OF THE I E 24 K NG OF R OM . 5

. r healthy boy We had to u ge him a little , to per ! suade him to come , but there he is at last And “ w : ! then he added, ith deep emotion My dear w ife

r ! What cou age she has, and how she has suffered I had rather never have any more childr en than see ff ” her su er so much again . Allthis while the people of Paris were in a state d of expectancy, wondering whether the chil was to

. fin e be a boy or a girl If a boy, he would have a sounding n ame . Accordi ng to a decree calling the i Eternal City the second c ty of the French Empire, which had become the capital of a simple department, — the department of the Tiber, and in accordance m with old usages of the Holy German E pire , by which the prince destined to succeed the Germanic

n Caesar, was called Ki g of the Romans before bearing ’ l the title of Emperor, Napoleon s son was to be cal ed e ? the King of Rome . But would Napoleon hav a son Would Heaven crown his unexampled prosperity with this n ew favor ? That was the subject of conversa tion everywhere, in the grandest mansions as in the 20th humblest garrets . From daybreak of March the Tuileries garden was crowded with people of all ages and conditions . The courtyards and quays were thr onged . In the garden, along the terrace , in front of the palace , a rope was stretched from the grating by the Pont Royal to the Pavillon de

’ u lHor loge . The crowd was so fearf l of disturbing the Empress that this frail barrier, this simple rope , was more respected than would have been a lofty 246 THE EM P ES S MA IE L R R OUISE .

wall . The assemblage, which had been growing ever ’ six since o clock, remained at some distance from the rope , and only spoke in a low voice . They waited in i extreme impat ence , yet in perfect quiet, for the soun d

d . of the cannon of the Invali es If it was a girl, only

- n fir twenty one gu s would be ed ; if a boy, there would

d an d be a hun red one . Every window was opened ; in the squares and streets everything stood

- still, foot passengers, horses, carriages . The cannon d of the Invali es was heard, and the anxious multi fi tudes in deep emotion began to count, at rst very — low, but gradually louder one, two, three, four, and so on up to twenty. Then the excitement was tre

- m n d u . e o s Twenty one . Is that all ? No ; there is the tw en t s econ d y , and the rest of the hundred and one are to follow ; but there was no more need of count ing : Napoleon had a son ! At once the enthusiasm

’ h m ulti u t e t de . of broke forth like a volcano Cheers,

t in ha s tossed the air, loud cries of joy, universal, i noisy del ght, 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 hi s glor y brought a tear to ” “ n s his eyes , Constant i form us but the happiness of fatherhood softened thi s soul whi ch the most brilliant i i victories , the s ncerest tr butes of public adoration, had left untouched . Indeed, if Napoleon ever had i reason tobel eve in his good fortune, it was on the

' d ay when the Archduchess of Austria made him the i father of a k ng, him who had begun as the younger

248 THE EM P RES S MARIE L O UISE .

n baptismal font . When Napoleo approached to pre

i s sent his son , there was a moment of relig ou silence, whi ch contrasted with the noisy gayety of the vast crowd whi ch had gathered near the Tuileries from every quarter of the city to see the fireworks and the “ ” ifi . magn cent illumination The houses, Constant “ l i a says in his Memoirs , were i lum nated volunt rily. Those who try to make out from the outside ap pear an ce the real thoughts of a people on occasions like this, observed that the highest stories in the remotest quarters w ere as bright as the most sumptu

‘

. di en ous mansions The public buil ngs, which are g er ally most brilliant in contrast with the darkness of

e the neighboring houses, now were scarcely to b distinguished in the profusion of lights which the rejoicing public had set in every window. The boat men improvised a festival which lasted nearly all

an d t d night, attrac e a huge and happy crowd to the banks of the river . The populace who had been through so many emotions, had celebrated so many

i a victor es in the l st thirty years , displayed as much enthusiasm as if this were the fir s t of its festivities in honor of a happy change in its destiny . 22 d - March , Napoleon receive in the throne room at the Tuileries the great bodies of the State . i Your people , sa d the President of the Senate, greet with unanimous applaus e this new star rising fi above the horizon of France , whose rst ray scatters ” every shadow of future gloom . h When we t ink of the end of this matter, and THE B I R TH OF THE KING OF R OME. 249 reflect that thi s 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

i n he was dest ned to be k own as Francis , Duke of a t Reichst d , and to be buried in the Church of the hi i Capuc ns in Vienna, in Austr an uniform, is it pos sible to repress a sad smile at the simple optimism of t ? 1 811 “ cour s In illusions were universal . Amid “ um e r all our tri phs , says General de S gu , when

m r even our ene ies, at last resigning themselves to thei l d fate , seemed hopeless , or had ra lied to the si e of our Emperor, what pretext was there for gloom, or for any forebodi ng of a total or partial eclipse It

r u his i a was pleasanter to t st in star, wh ch d zzled us w ! from its height, so many wonders had it rought how - And many of us , despite the ever shifting sky of

r en ar e F ance , wh we see it clear, tempted to think

ar e r that no change threatens, and eve y day surprised ! by some sudden storm Who, when he hears that

some apparently healthy person has dropped dead, ? as is not astonished We were in just such c e, when, 1 811 i March 20, , Heaven , feed ng our pride to make s our hum iliation deeper, vouch afed the conclusion of the fairy-show and completed the illusion with the ” birth of the King of Rome . Napoleon, in the enjoy tr ment of every happiness and of every iumph, had reached the lofty summit of glory and prosperity ; w t fr om thi s he w as soon to fall in a s if , giddy flight, ' a ter r ible l at the end of which opened abyss, fu l of

blood and tears . HE REC VERY T O .

m ARIE LOUISE ade a quick recovery, and her restoration to health delighted both her hus band and herself . Her father, the Emperor of Aus w tria, sympathized ith their happiness , as is shown by 27 the following letter of his to Napoleon, dated March ,

1 811 : -in - im My Dear Brother and Son Law, It is possible 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 impor

f or r tance , both for her and France , as the bi th of a

in i pr ce , and the fact that th s is safely over only aug ments my joy . May Heaven preserve this new pledge of the ties uniting us ! Nothing could be more pre cious or surer to unite fir mly the happy bonds exist ing between the two Empires . 20th Napoleon , on the of March, had despatched i i to V enna Count Nicola , who arrived there on the

- - 28th . On that day Francis wrote to his son in law

-in - My Brother and Dear Son Law, Count Nic ' olai has this moment delivered to me the two let

252 THE EMP RES S M ARIE L OUIS E . of the chamberlains should be present all day in the

fi r - rst d awing 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

d u stoppe , and there were no more b lletins, the mother 6 and child being perfectly well . April , Marie Louise got up an d wrote six lines to her father . The 17th she walked on the terrace by the water, amid the d us . a appla e of the crowd The next y Prince Clary, whom the Emperor of Austria had sent from Vienna, was received . Napoleon spoke for a long time about i e d the courage , the v rtu , the kin ness, the excellent

u i i i ed cation , the exqu s te tact, and the perfect d gnity “ ” of the Empress . Moreover, he added, every one ” 1 8 admires her . The same day, April , the Empress

in an d drove the Bois de Boulogne, was present at a reception to receive the congratulations of the Diplo

d . matic Bo y The churching took place the next day, 1 9 h t ui r . the , in the chapel of the T le ies Prince Rohan officiated . 21 April , Marie Louise and the Emperor went to d Saint Clou , whence , two days later , she wrote to her father the following letter, published by M . von Hel — : ~ im fert in German My dear Father, You may i ag ne my great bliss . I never could have imagined that d I coul be so happy . My love for my husband has ’ grown, if that is possible , since my son s birth . I h cannot t ink of his tenderness without tears . It would make me love him now, if I had never loved d him before, for all his kin qualities . He tells me to THE RECOVER Y. 253

speak to you about him . He often asks after you,

‘ a and says , Your father ought to be very h ppy to ’ have a grands on . When I tellhim that you already

. to e love my child, he is delighted I am going s nd you a portr ait of the boy . I think you will see how much he looks like the Emperor . He is ver y 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 inter

in him . him est He carries about in his arms, plays e with him , and tries to giv him his bottle , but he does ’ not succeed . You know from my uncle s letter how

sn fl er ed - much I for twenty two hours, but my happi ness 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 w asglad to hear from Pr inc e h Clary that you are well . I hope t at God will hear

be my prayers, and that dear mamma will soon quite how recovere d . You may imagine 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 a Rambouillet for few days with the Empress, for the hunt . In this residence, which was simpler and

ri smaller than the other Impe al castles , the Emperor had a taste of domestic life . He reached there 1 22d r May 3, and left on the , to make a t ip through

is u Normandy. Marie Lou e was so rgent that at last he decided to take her with him . The departments E 254 THE EM P RES S M ARIE L O UIS . of Calvados an d La Manche greeted them with the u tmost enthusiasm . The Emperor celebrated his stay at Caen by granting favors and conferring benefits . Many young men of good family were appointed en signs one hundred and thirty thousand francs were

an distributed in charity . From Caen the Emperor d 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 . “ d ” e What elight, General de S gur writes in his i “ d Memoirs concerning th s trip, What elight, what admiration was ours ! Great must have been Na ’ oleon s id m i p pr e , judging fro our own sat sfaction which we received as old an d 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

d . di ma e In those days of pro gies , however incapable of amazement I might have been, this roadstead, won by superhuman exertion from the ocean , this vast fi basin hewn to a depth of fty feet in the granite,

fi -of— with accommodations for fty men war, for their fi building, for their repair, for their armament, lled 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

“ d i ts rode out early, visite the he gh about the town and di f inspected f erent ships . The next day he presided at several meetings an d visited the works of the

256 THE EMP RES S MARIE LOUISE.

Napoleon and Marie Louise were back at Saint

n 4 1811 . Cloud Ju e , The Empress, then in the full

, flower of her beauty, and radiant with happiness, had responded to the profuse manifestations of pub lic enthusiasm by her gracious reception of the au thor ities and the people of the departments . It would be hard to imagine all the homage paid s at this time to the Imperi al pair . Dithyramb upon the bir th of the King of Rome were composed in every language of Europe except the English.

O There was a real avalanche of poems, des , epistles ; in less than a week the Emperor received more than h two thousand of these tributes . Probably e read

r very few of these ext avagant 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 ofii

cial . poems Of all these memorials, the most curi ” e ous that flatt ry 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

r in four g ammar schools of Paris , and of those the provinces, thereby assuring a ready sale . In this heap of trash figures the names of all the authors i who, when the giant had fallen , insulted h s remains and burned their incense before the new deity who hi ” e took s place . As B ranger said about those poets THE EC E R OV R Y. 257

The ar e like the n f i y , co ect on er s, ” Fr ien d s of r eve y baptism .

Moniteu r 9 1811 The , in its number of June , , the ’ day of the King of Rome s baptism, spoke as follows at The happy event which, the moment of writing

r these lines , is th oughout 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

fi ds fertile el , and in the camps of our invincible war riors ; which fulfils at once the wishes of the people for the happiness of their Sovereign, and those of the Sovereign for the fir m ‘ establishm e n t of the in stitu tions he has consecrated to the prosperity of his peo d ple, ought more than any other to kin le the fervor of our poets and fill them with a lively and noble

n inspiration . Yet o one of them has been able to di sguise the difficu lty of his task ; all have recog n ized f t i d that their greatest ef or s would be requ re , not only to ri se to the height of a subject of which fi i its greatness is the rst per l, but even to attune

c fi their lyre to the pit h of the enthusiasm that res us, fi an enthusiasm of which the mighty voice , lling 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 dis cour aged their muse ; admiration, gratitude, love , our furnish a happy inspiration , and poets have felt it ; they have faithfully transcribed the language of ” the populace in the language ascribed to the gods . M E I 258 THE E P R S S MARIE L OU SE .

In proof of this we quote some of the verses inserted in the official organ

i n r e oi e ! The oi e of the r o hets S o , j c v c p p

a ain the d a s of the Eter n al n e An n oun ces g y O .

r e a ou n hild dear ho e of Isr ael Bef o y g c , p ,

The ced ar s of Leban on w illbow their heads . Of the oppr essed he w illbecom e the suppor t

He w ill un ish r im e an d w illbr an d i e p c , v c ;

His w or ds illbe the oi e of usti e w v c j c ,

An d the Spir it of the Lor d w illm ar ch bef or e him .

i That is the Bibl cal style, which was used freely a few years later to celebrate the baptism of the Duke

d : of Bordeaux . Mythology, too , was calle in

D o u see the leo ar d w ear of ar n a e yo p , y c g ,

ated ith blood tow ar d s his sa a e lair S w , v g Run r oar in g ?

ized b an in in cible u n kn ow n ter r or Se y v , ,

t n d fl ees at the si ht He an n ou n ces his d ea h, a g

" - e Of a n ew bor n Alcid s.

The poet Millevoye exclaimed

h ir ld w ith laur elan d flo er s Wit your head en c c e w ,

f r th the r o r ess of the ear Com e to r eopen hen ce o p g y , Mon th lon g sin ce con secr ated to the lover of Ven us !

T r ium h an d seize a ain th f ad ed ar lan d p , g y g , Which the f r ien d of Eger ia placed

" On the double br ow of Jan u s .

M . Le Sur spoke about the Tiber in these terms

The Tiber too lon d r ow sin on its ur n , g g ,

Lets gr ow in its bosom the silen t r eed .

It aw aken s at the r eson an t n oise of br ass,

XXI .

THE BAPTISM .

HE baptism of the King of Rome was celebrated 1 811 with great pomp , Sunday, June 7, , 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 h . t e a grand retinue The courtyard of palace, the fi d garden , and the terraces were lled with applau ing spectators . Fr ee performances were given at all the theatres, at which songs referring to the event were

l d . loud y cheere Paris was illuminated, and in all the public places food was given away to the pOpu

fl o ed n . w lace Wine in the fou tains, and everywhere was drunk the health of the youn g 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 r ow from

u the Tuileries to Notre Dame . Many public b ild ings and private hous es were decorated with tapes try, leaves, and designs .

the n At four Se ate started from the Luxembourg, 260 THE BAP ISM 261 T .

u the Council of State from the T ileries , the Court of

Appeal, the Court of Accounts, the Council of the

s Univer ity, from their respective places of meeting . From the H6tel de Ville started the Prefect of the

an d Seine , the Mayors the Municipal Council of

s r - Pari , the Mayo s 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 ” w ! another ith, Good day, neighbor Before the facade of Notre Dame had been built a

- e large , tent shaped portal, support d by columns and

ri decorated with dr aperies and garlands . The inte or 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

ofiic r s the ministers of the high crown e , as well as for

the households of the Imperial family ; the sanctuary,

i ar chbish for the twenty card nals , and the hundred

ops and bishops ; the choir, for the Senate , the Council

- of State , the Mayors and Deputies of the forty nine i cities ; the upper part of the nave , for the civ l and

military authorities ; the rest of the nave , and the

triforiums , for invited guests . ’ At five o clock the mounted chasseur s of the

Guard, who were at the head of the procession ,

began to move . But let us rather yield to the

' r Mom teur , which is always ly ical and enthusiastic,

whatever the Prince , imperial or royal, who is to 262 THE EMP RES S MARIE LOUISE.

: - five ffi or be baptized At half past , says the o cial i e fi i gan , the cannon , wh ch had b en r ng at a certain

in un distance ever since the even g before, anno ced the departure of Their Majesties from the Palace of il i the Tu eries, accompanied by the r suite in the order prescribed by the programme . For the first time the public was able to behold the augus t infan t whose royal name was to be consecrated under the auspices ff of religion . The e ect that this sight produced upon every soul defies description . Long live the King of ’ Rome ! was the un interrupted acclamation all along h the route . T eir Majesties were greeted in the same

n in m onth way ; their august names u ited every , with accents of love , respect, and gratitude . They seemed w as to appreciate this double homage, which , in fact, d but one alone , and they deigne to express their feel in g in the most touchi ng way to the attendant multi ” tude . ’ As the legendary grandmother says in B eranger s

o o the P eo le h Mem r ies f p , the weat er was perfect, the Emperor radiant

r w om an I, a poo ,

in in Par is on e d a Be g y, Saw him w ith his cour t ; He w as goin g to Notr e D am e Allhear ts w er e happy;

Ever y on e adm ir ed the pr ocession . Ever y one said : What fin e w eather !

Heaven is alw ays f avor able to him . His sm ile w as ver y gentle ;

God had m ade him f ather of a son .

M P E MA I I E 264 THE E R S S R E L OU S .

N Hortense , representing the Queen of aples , the second godm other ; the King of Rome , carried by his l governess, in a coat of si ver tissue embroidered with ermine , with his two assistant governesses and nurse on each side ! the train of his coat was carried by k Marshal, the Du e of Valmy! ; the Empress, beneath a canopy upheld by canons, her First Equerry holding

’ Her Majesty s train ; the lady-in -waiting and tire

r woman, the Knight of Honor and the Fi st Almoner, — to the right and left ; behind the canopy Princess

oflicer Pauline , an of her household carrying her di e e train ; the la es of the Palace ; Cambac r s, Duke

Ar chchan cellor of Parma, of the Empire ; Marshal

ri a Berthier, P nce of Neufch tel and of Wagram,

- v Vice Constable ; Talleyrand, Prince of Bene ento,

uk Vice Grand Elector ; Prince Borghese , D e of

ri c Guastalla ; P nce Eugene, Vi eroy of Italy ; the Hereditary Grand Duke of Frankfort ; Prince Joseph

Napoleon , King of Spain ; Prince Jerome Napoleon ,

n King of Westphalia the Emperor under a ca opy, upheld by canons : to the right and left of the can o py, his aides : behind the canopy the Colonel com di r man ng the Guard on duty, the Grand Ma shal of

i di -in- t the Palace , and the F rst Almoner ; the la es wai

r di ffi r ing of the P incesses, the la es and o cer s of Thei

Imperial Highnesses on duty. When the procession had taken their places accord ing to their rank, the Grand Almoner intoned the

’ em Cr eator vi V , and the governess ha ng carried the

r child to the railing of the choir, he went th ough 26 THE BAP TISM . 5

r the prelimina y rites , and then took place the bap tism . As soon as the Im perial child had been bap tized th , the governess placed him in the hands of e Empress ; the Fir st Herald-at-Arms advanced to the “ n middle of the choir and called out three times , Lo g live the King of Rome Cheers and applause, which till that moment had been restrained by the sanctity m of the ceremony and the sole nity of the place, then broke forth on all sides . While they lasted, Marie Louise stood with the child in her arms ; the Emperor h t en took him and held him aloft, that all might see him . Thiers thus comments in a page of real eloquence on this imposin g 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

Ber esin a flames of Moscow, the ice of the and Leipsic, fi Fontainebleau, Elba, Saint Helena, and nally the death of this prince at the age of twenty, in exile , with out one of the crowns he w er e that day upon his m head, and the any revolutions once more to raise his family after overthrowing it ! What a blessing that the future is hidden from man ! But what a stum

- bling block for his prudence , charged to conjecture ’ the morrow and to guard against it w ith all one s ” wisdom .

n Whe 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 266 THE EMP RES S MARIE L OUISE.

’ u . Archbishop s , whence he ret rned to the Tuileries

d Te D eum Then the Grand Almoner intone the , hi w ch was performed by the choir, and followed by

D om in e a e salvum im er ator em . the , f p The Emperor and the Em press were conducted with the same cere

n at mo ies as their entrance , to the church door, where they got into their carriage amid the cheers of the Hfit l crowd, and drove to the entertainment at the e i de V lle . “ i The people of Paris admitted to th s festivity, says Thiers, were able to see Napoleon at table, his

hi s crown on head, surrounded by the kings of his

n e in family and a umber of foreign princes , ating

Old n public , like the Germa ic Emperors , the succes sors 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 . Hencefor th our story ” is but one long lamentation . Napoleon and Marie Louise reached the Hfitelde

. t Ville at eight in the evening . The Prefec of the

mi r Seine , after welco ng them with an add ess, led them to the rooms prepared for them , and the Em

er or p received four sets of presentation s . The Grand Marshal of the Palace an nounced that dinner was ready . The Imperial banquet was thus arranged : in the middle of the table , the Emperor ; on his left, the e Empr ss , the Queen of Holland, Princess Borghese ,

Wiir zbur the Grand Duke of g, the Grand Duke of

268 THE EM P RES S MARIE L OUIS E.

t of the King of Rome . At Antwerp all the ar s and d i t trades contribute to mak ng six chario s , which made fi an imposing procession . The rst represented France d crowne by Immortality ; the second, the marriage

an d r of the Emperor Empress ; the thi d, the birth of i d fi the K ng of Rome ; the fourth, his cra le ; the fth,

Religion , Innocence , and Charity praying Heaven for i a long l fe to the sovereigns and their son ; the sixth, France representing the young Prince as King to the i city of Rom e . Th s procession of chariots was pre ceded by the giant, the whale, the frigate, the car of fi d Neptune, that of Europe , and other gures calle in their language den gr ooten kom m egang .

At Rome , the city of the Prince , festivities began

h u 8 n in the nig t of J ne , bei g announced by guns of hi the fleet of Civita Vecc a, which had sailed up the

a . Tiber, all be utifully decorated The Capitol, the

tim ius Forum, the Coliseum , the arches of Sep and e Constantin , the temples of Concord, of Peace, of

ni Anto nus , and Fausta, the Column of Jupiter Stator, i w ere all br lliantly illuminated . In the morning of the 9th all the authorities went to Saint Peter’s to hear the Te D eum 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

fir Colonnade were illuminated, and there were eworks i at the Castle of Sa nt Angelo . The Rome of the

ae C sars and the Popes , the Eternal City, celebrated the baptismal d ay of its young King with great splendor . XXII .

S AINT CLOU D AND TRIANON.

HE Emperor had determined that there could ’ not be too much rejoicing [ at his son s baptism consequently he gave an entertainment himself, 23 1 811 June , , in the palace and park of Saint Cloud .

its fi its The palace , with magni cent halls , drawing rooms of Mars , Venus, Truth, Mercury, and Aurora, its Gallery of Apollo , and Room of Diana, adorned ’ fin with Mignard s frescoes ; the park, with its e 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 dow n li step by step, breaking into a white foam, spark ng 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 w ent to Saint Cloud ; they began fil to arrive in the morning, and led 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 269 270 THE EMP RES S MARIE L OUISE .

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 d guar or escort, to the great delight of the applaud ing multitude . The orange house , which had been stripped of its contents for the decoration of the front

f fin e of the palace, was adorned with stu fs of colors .

hr Temples and kiosks had been set up in the s ubbery.

At nightfall six illuminated launches, manned by sailors of the Imperial Guard, performed various fi evolutions and discharged reworks, which made a brilliant show upon the river . Meanwhile the illu m in ation s 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

S i n purt ng from gilded masques ; the green law s , the

- flower beds , the shrubbery, all lit up by the blazing ’ fireworks . At nine o clock Madame Blanchard went l fi up in a bal oon, discharging reworks from the car, which form ed a starlike crown set at a great height ; fi she seemed like a magician in a ery chariot . Fire works were then set off by the artillery of the Impe rial 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

272 THE EMP RES S MARIE LOUISE. drawing-room an d the garden ; near him was the

Mayor of Lyons , to whom he said, I am going ” to benefit your manuf actures . Then he remained . i standing in the doorway . The cour t ers received the shower with bare heads and smiling faces . Possibly

the Of d some might have said that rain Saint Clou ,

i d id . like the ra n of Marly, not wet

Of course no one had an umbrella . Prince Aldo m ’ i brandini , the E press s F rst Equerry, managed to

i . n Ré procure one , wh ch he held over her Cou t

an d musat found another, for an hour he was coming an d an d going, between the park the palace, to bring i as many ladies as poss ble u nder shelter . The enter tain m en t could not go on ; every one was wet thr ough . The musicians could n ot play on their dripping in

an d dr w str um en ts . The Emperor the Empress with e

ur at eleven, and both the co t and the people had gloomy memories of this festivity which began so well

u r i n s -d and ended so badly . S pe st tio and ill isposed persons fancied that they saw an evil omen in this ; they recalled the disastrous ball at the Austrian Em

an d bassy , said that the storm broke just at the very moment when the palace of the King of Rome was i i d d llum nate . But what ifference could a simple shower make to a people accustomed to streams of blood ? 15 1 81 1 August , , there was a brilliant celebration at an d l t Saint Cloud Paris , as wel as hroughout the

Empire, of the festival of the great and the small

~ Napoleon . August 25 was the birthday of the Em SAI T OLO D A D 273 N U N TRIANON.

ui press Marie Lo se , 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

r e al as ect e u a simple small square, of no g / p , were ’ chanted palaces ou Marie Louise s birthday . The

i d n two bu l i gs , the belvedere , the little lakes , the i island and Temple of Love , the v llage , the octagonal pavilion, the theatre , were all aglow . It seemed as n if Marie A toinette were alive again , and to the Em

’ press D elille s lines could have applied as well as to the Queen

Like its au ust an d outhf uldeit g y y, Tr ian on com bin es gr ace w ith m ajesty

For her it ador n s itself is b her ador n ed . , y

It was only twenty-two years since Marie An

toinette had been there , and many of the lords and ladi es 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

o or the old r egim e . The French nobility had an pp tun ity 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 scafl old the charming sovereign who had been the idol, the goddess, of this little temple ; and now new festivi ties were begi n ning ; another Aus trian archduchess occupied the place of the mar 274 THE EMP RES S MARIE L OUISE.

tyred Queen . There was the Swiss village , of which d . ha Louis XVI been the miller, the Count of Pro vence the schoolmaster, the Count of Artois the game m l keeper, the village with its erry mi l, the dairy where the cream filled porphyr y vessels on marble tables, the laundry where the clothes were beaten

m aho with ebony sticks, the granary to which led g

- any 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

ul hi m titude thronged its long, wide avenues, w ch had

1789 . been almost deserted since October, The fes tivities of the former monarchy appeared to h ave 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 con tr ar n y, the rain was but brief and o ly 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

i a hundred women in r ch dresses , and blaze with d jewelry, gathere in the gallery of that palace . The

MP S S MA I L I E 276 THE E RE R E OU S .

l t e Then they wa ked further in h garden, and i tableau vivant e s watched a , repr senting Flem h peas

in ants . This w as succeeded by groups represent g the people of the different provinces of the Empire in

i r . the r national d ess, 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 régi me agreed that the festival ui was a perfect success ; and MarieLo se, who was

r becomin g more and more at home in France , was su e that her birthday had never been celebrated with anything like such magnificence . XXIII .

THE T RIP TO HOLLAND .

SHORT time after Wagram Napoleon had

a been heard, in a levee t which his generals

n were present, to lament the bloody campaig s in w hich he always lost some of his early companions . “ i I have been a sold er long enough, he went on ; “ ’ ” 1 811 it s time for me to be a king . During 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 de ter m in ed to make a trip in Belgium and Holland and hi along the banks of the R ne , where he should see h for himself what the happiness of t e people required .

him Na The Empress made the journey with , but t e polcou star ed from Compi gne without her, Septem ber 1 9 ; she was to join him on the 30th at Antwerp . At this time she was so attached to him that she

ur could not end e 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 ” e not go with him, for which I am extr mely sorry . 277 278 THE EMP ES S M A IE L R R OUISE.

i While the Emperor was visit ng Boulogne, Ostend, hi m d and Flus ng, the Queen a e her way, with a

fi r . e magni cent cou t, to Belgium She left Compi gne, 22 u September , and took p her residence at the

us . castle at Laeken , near Br sels She often visited i i the Belg an capital, wh ch then w as only the chief town of a French department, the department of the Dyle . Napoleon made a great point of her ap pearing in all splendor in the provinces which had

s previously been governed by the hou e of Austria.

She went to the theatre, where she was warmly r fi greeted, and pu chased a hundred and fty thousand ’ francs worth of lace to revive the manufactures of 30 the city. September she joined her husband at

Mo iteur Antwerp . The n thus spoke of the way the “ Emperor had transformed this city : Antwerp may be considered as a fortress of the rank of Metz and i Strasbourg . The w ork wh ch has been done there is enormous . On the left bank of the Scheldt, where

as tw o years ago there w only a redoubt, there has wit risen a city twelve thousand feet long, h eight ’ dock ar d is nu bastions . The view from the y

- -of - paralleled ; twenty one men war, eight of them - ll di . three deckers , are buil ng The arsenal is fu y provided with provisions of all sorts brought down the Rhine and the Mouse . ” r Moniteur e Seven yea s ago, continues the , ther

in was not a single quay Antwerp, and the houses ’ - r . came down to the iver s edge To day, in the place of these houses, are superb quays, of service to the

280 THE EMP ES E R S MARIE L OUIS .

' S icelzd es Ma ser prophecy, , etc . , was but an humble i creature by the s de of this infant, who to the most

d s impressive pride of race a ded enormou , newly ac d ” quired glory, such as the worl 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 arous e an enthusiasm that would make them for get their suff erings and losses . Their w elcome was

in of a sort to confirm him this belief . The peace m ful populace of Amsterdam forgot their usual phleg ,

i oun and cheered the m ghty monarch and his y g wife. The Empress entered the city in a gilded carriage w i a w as th gl ss sides, and she met by a guard of honor composed of young men belonging to the fir st families of Holland. The Emperor followed on f horseback, surrounded by a brilliant sta f. Their stay at Amsterdam was marked by extraordinary pomp ; the company of the Theatr e Francais was i brought th ther from Paris, and Talma appeared as

Bayard and as Or osm an e . The court made a stay of s to a fortnight, the Emperor making short excur ions o to Helder, one of his creati ns , to Texel, and the

the dykes of Medemblik, which protect country against the Z uyder Zee . e General de S gur, who went on the journey, thus “ d : escribes it It might naturally be supposed, that

d at in going through Hollan , after the last two

d a tempte assassinations , Napoleon would have t ken THE T IP TO HOL 2 R LAND . 81

i precaut ons against such frequent attacks ; but, far

w as fi from it, he full of con dence , and went about alone among these worst victims of the continental mi system, ngling every day with the dense crowd that gathered about him . His sole thought was to

ds n n study their nee , their ma ers , and habits, anxious to see for himself and trusting thoroughly in them . These nor thern people hide warm hearts beneath a s cold exterior ; they are impressed by greatnes , and

nfi . give it their co dence Their feelings are slow, but for that reason surer when once aroused. The Em ’ per or s enor mous fame had preceded him ; and the i all fir e appearance among them of th s genius, and

' flame, who had come , as he said, to adopt them, warmed their phlegmatic nature . They were at

in once filled with admiration ; his presence , his trust them, his consoling and encouraging words, the good works at once begun by his active and able adm inis ” tr ation , filled them with enthusiasm . ’ During the three days of the Emperor s absence

Marie Louise visited the neighborhood of Ams terdam . l hi s She went to the vil age of Broek, w ch lie a league a fr om the port, on the shores of a little b sin sur m rounded with flowers and grass , and is in com uni cation with the Zuyde r Zee by means of a small h canal . T is vi llage is famous as a perfect model of the attractive luxury and the over-zealous neatness

ha . of the Dutch . It is of a circular s pe The houses, u of wood and one story high, are built aro nd and

e si . upon a lake, and are decorat d out de with frescoes 2 28 THE EMP RES S MARIE L O UISE.

- a Through the window gl ss, which is remarkably clear, it is easy to see the curtains of Chinese figured silk or ff of Indian stu . Within the houses are large Gothic

S . ideboards , 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, h or kitchens . Everyt ing connected with animals is

- banished from this fairy like enclosure . Posts at the

ds bar n en of every street the way agai st carriages .

The pavement is in mosaic, and is covered with a fine

T h in h sand, on which are designs of flowers . e abi tants carry their sense of neatness so far that they compel every visitor to take off his shoes and put on

o . da slippers n entering a house One y, when the

Emperor Joseph II . happened to appear in a pair of t i boo s before one of these cur ous houses, he was told that he would have to take them ofi before he could “ go in . I am the Emperor, he said . Well, if you ’ were the burgomaster of Amsterdam, you couldn t ”

w . come in ith boots on , was the reply Another time

Hortense , then Queen of Holland, was not allowed to i enter one of the houses, and King Lou s approved, because the Queen had not sent word that she was coming .

When Marie Louise visited this famous vi llage, the

a burgomaster, in view of the importance of the occ sion , consented to break the rigid rules and to permit the Imperial carriage to drive over the mosaic pave

his ment to house, where he presented his respects to

THE 284 EMP RES S MARIE L O UISE .

i i the w th him a most favorable impress on of Dutch,

an d whose seriousness, morality, love of order, indus try had continually struck him, so that he shared his brother Louis’ s partiality for a nation as interesting

in in the present as the past . 2 November , Napoleon and his wife reached D us

o . i t s ldorf This pretty town, wh ch is pic uresquely

d D iissel place at the junction of the with the Rhine, was at that time the capital of the Grand Duchyof

an d had d Berg, been un er the rule of Murat before he was appointed King of Naples ; on this visit the Emperor assigned it to the oldest son of Louis Bona

B u n ot l parte . Count e g was then ru ing the princi

alit n m i . p y, which co tained less than a illion inhab tants He it was who said in his curious and witty Memoirs “ How easy it would have been to secur e the alle

ian ce g of the Germans, who are unable to withstand the attraction of military glory, for whom an oath of

m or e h allegiance is a not ing, and who felt for France an aff ection which we cruelly drove out of them ! i n Germany, which always adm res the marvellous, lo g preserved its admiration for the Emperor . At that time this was so general, that a breath would have blo w n over the Prussian monarchy, which neither the armies nor the memories of the great Frederick, together with the invincible legion of the successor of ”

e . Pet r the Great, could defend

D ii sseldor f his At , Napoleon, in accordance with

i an d usual custom , rece ved all the authorities, civil mil i r ta . y, as well as representatives of all sects Among THE T IP R TO HOLLAND . 285

' 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 ,

. s on the other, by the Protestant clergyman Thi union of the three creeds in homage to their sover ei n did g not displease the Emperor, strange as it was . ’ Count Beu gn ot s Mem oirs must be consulted for a l i fu l account of the activity, the interest in deta ls, the i minuteness of the administrative investigations wh ch,

D ii sseldor f at as everywhere else , characterized Napo w leon in these laborious journeys , on hich, under pre text of seeking distraction, he kept himself in almost

n as active movement as if he were at war . The Cou t who once played whist at D iisseldor f with Marie

Louise for his partner, against the Duchess of Monte a bello and the Prince of Neufch tel , says in speaking of

: the occasion As often happens , the game was care lessly played ; all watched the cards only with their eyes, and gave their attention to what was going d forwar 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 Neuf chziteland d d me . I was too busy, both uring the inner and

‘ a an stu d the while we were playing, to m ke y y of ’ Empress s tastes or to form from them a judgment

n about her character . The journey had been lo g ;

s w she seemed tired and out of sort . She ans ered the

Emperor only in monosyllables , and the other by a somewhat monotonous nod of the head . I may be 286 THE EMP R ES S MARIE L O UISE .

i am i d i m staken, but I ncline to bel eve that Her Maj esty is not free from the awe which her august hus ” band inspires in all who approach him . After resting for two days at D iisseldor f Napoleon i and Marie Lou se went on to Cologne, when they d visite the Chapel of the Eleven Thousand Virgins, and a grand Te D eum was sung in the famous Cathe

. e i ezie n dral They returned by Li ge, G vet, M res, a d e i d Compi gne , reaching Sa nt Clou after an absence of

s Em nearly three month , the longest visit that the per or had made in the provinces of either the old or the n ew France . Everywhere he had met with the expression of two di stinct but somew hat difl er ent ff i sentiments for the Empress, an a ect onate respect ;

m an for himself, the sort of violent sensation that a who is a living wonder always produces .

288 THE EM P RES S MARIE L O UISE. consideration that he regarded himself as their supe

n . m rior rather tha as an equal He called the his. brothers ; but he thought that he was more than a brother — something like the head of a family of

i i Wiir tem ber k ngs . The K ngs of Bavaria, of g, of

Saxony, of Spain , of Naples, of Westphalia, who all

o subor di owed their cr wns to him , were indeed his nates . As the Princes Of the Confederation of the d Rhine , the vassals of their protector, they despatche their contingents to him with as much zeal an d 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

r é Coblenz . Those men who belonged to the old gime 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 un der Louis XVI . The most rigid, the most precise etiquette prevailed in the Imperi al residen ces . The high dignitaries and marshals concealed their plebeian names u nder pompous titles of princes and dukes .

Of Madame de Mailly, the widow a marshal of the

had an d royal period, been admitted to the rank privileges of the wives of the grand officers of the ’ an d had fi as crown , gured a marshal s widow, at the

1 1 811 . u reception of January , The co rt of Ver sailles appeared to have revived . Napoleon preferred to d erive his po w er from divine NAP OLEON A T THE HEIGHT OF P O WER . 289

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

i . e div ne choice One day at Compi gne , soon after his marriage , he said to me , I notice that when the Em

r d r press w ites to her father, she a d esses him as His ? ’ Holy Imperial Highn ess . Is that your usual way I told him he was so addressed from the tradition of the old Germanic Empire, and because he also h wore t e apostolic crown of Hungary. Napoleon then said with some solemnity, It is a noble and ex

o t . c llent cus om Power derives from God, and that is the only way it can be secure from human assault . ’ Some time or other I shall ad opt the same title .

m w i M . At about the same ti e , in conversation th e Mol about the houses building in Paris, on being asked when he intended to give his attention to the “ u d Ch rch of the Ma eleine , the Emperor said, Well, ” e t what is expected of me ? M . Mol told him tha he had heard that it was intended for a Temple Of Glory . ’ i That s what people th nk, I know, said Napoleon ; “ but I mean it for a memorial in expiation of the mur ” : der of Louis XVI . He said to Metternich When I was young I favored the Revolution out of ign o rance and ambition . When I came to the age of rea son I followed its coun sels 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 imm ense progress it had made in 290 THE EMP ES S MA IE L O IS R R U E .

’ d i men s minds uring the prev ous reigns, the Revo lu tion uld wo not have triumphed . When the King

, its fell the Republic took place ; and I set that aside .

The former throne was buried under the ruins ; I had ” to make a new one . d Accor ing to Prince Metternich, One of Napo ’ leon 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

i its i k without th s basis , and vulnerab lity to attac s .

d a n One y, in speaking to the Austrian statesma about

u I the letter he wrote when First Consul to Lo is XVII , he said : His answer was dignified and rich in impres

mi is sive traditions . In Legiti sts there something which lies outside of their intelligence . If he had to consulted his intellect alone , he would have come m terms with me, and I should have treated him ost generously. The Emperor had come to regard himself as the

n fi di glorious perso i cation of vine right, and as the d efender of all the monarchies . In his eyes the

King of Prussia was only a revolutionary monarch .

If we may believe Chateaubriand, Frederick Wil ’ di liam s great crime, accor ng to Bonaparte the Repub lican, was this , that he abandoned the cause of the kings . The negotiations of the Berlin court with

n the Directory indicated, Bo aparte used to say, a

m fi u n di n ified fi ti id, sel sh , g policy, which sacri ced his own position an d the general monarchical interests

292 THE EMP ES S MA IE L O ISE R R U .

t Viceroy of I aly, Lord High Chancellor of State ;

ri n P nce Borghese, Gover or General of the Depart m ents beyond the Alps ; Marshal Berthier, Prince of a Neufch tel and of Wagram, Vice Constable ; Talley of rand, Prince Benevento , Vice Great Elector . At

m ar the head of his ilit y household, the Emperor had

- four colonel generals of the Imperial Guard, all four

k Au r marshals of France , Davoust, Du e of e stadt an d

Eckm iihl Prince of ; Soult, Duke of Dalmatia ; Bes

e u si res, D ke of Istria ; Mortier, Duke of Treviso. - - m Moreover, there were ten aides de camp , nine of who i offi were generals of d visions, and thirteen orderly

. di Vesch cers For Grand Almoner he had Car nal ,

d n al Archbishop of Lyons, ai ed by four ordi ary m on er s , two archbishops , and two bishops ; for Grand

Fri oul for Marshal of the Palace, Duroc, Duke of ;

ui Fe High Chamberlain, the Count of Montesq ou z n sac Cul e for First Equerry, General de a aincourt,

Duke of Vicenza ; for Chief Huntsman, Marshal

h n a r Bert ier, Pri ce of Neufch tel and of Wag am ; for d Sé ur Gran Master of Ceremonies , the Count of g , formerly the Ambassador of Louis XVI . to the great

Catherine of Russia . The Emperor had no fewer i than n nety chamberlains, among whom figured these among other great names of the old regime : an Aubus

Teuillade e Mar mier son de la , a Galard de B arn, a , a ’ d Alsace Gontaut , a Turenne, a Noailles, a Brancas, a ,

Sa icha a Gramont, a Beauvau, a p , a Radziwill, a

- i a Potocki, a Choiseul Prasl n , Nicolay, a Chabot, a

La Vieuville . NAP OLEON A T THE HEIGHT OF P O WER . 293

This aristocratic court knew no lack of amuse — ments . The winter of 1 811 1 2 was one long succes sion of pleasures . It was in the whirl of these enter tain m en ts a and festivities of all sorts , s ys Madame “ fi -in - a Durand, rst lady waiting to the Empress , th t

Napoleon formed his plan for the conquest of Russia .

The spoiled child of fortune , intoxicated with flattery, n ever dreaming of the possibility of defeat, seemed to

n be calculati g 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 ” r court . The theat ical representations on the Tuil ’ an d eries stage were most impressive . The Emperor

Empress occupied a box opposite the stage . The princes an d 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 Minis i ters . A large gallery was reserved for the lad es of i fi the court, who all dressed magn cently and wore i t sparkling jewels . A number of d s inguished men

fi r - lled the pit, all in court d ess, with small sword, i ’ and ribbons and orders . Dur ng the entr actes the Emperor ’s liveried footmen carried about ices and h refreshments of various kinds . The all was most bri lliantly lit . The balls in the great rooms of the

n a first floor, and the din ers in the Di na Gallery, were equally sumptuous . The Emperor, however, a especially delighted in the masked b lls , when , chang ing his Imperial robes for a simple domino , he whose police system was so perfect, who knew and saw 294 THE EMP ES S MA IE LO I R R U SE.

f everything, used to ba fle the women, and tease or an d surprise their husbands lovers . m Everywhere Napoleon used to ake himself fear ed, hi s at a ball as well as in a meeting of Ministers . At an entertainment he won as much glory as on the -fi ld battle e . Even those who hated him had to him admire , for he had a most wonderful power of

i . Hi astound ng and fascinating every one s aide,

General de Narbonne, had an old mother, who main tain ed “ her allegiance to the old royalty. See here, N ” “ ’ my dear arbonne, the Emperor said one day, it s a bad thing for me that you see your mother so often . ’ ” ” n She i . I u derstand that doesn t l ke me True, “ ’ replied the crafty courtier, she hasn t got beyond

n do o had admiration . This same Cou t Narb nne been off to preside at an electoral meeting in a a department some distance from Paris . Wh t do they say about me in the difl er en t departments you ” “ ” ? . have been thr ough 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 .

s n sm A witty ob erver, who was incli ed to wittici rather than to enthusiasm, said of the Napoleon of ’ 1 811 : 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 pros

his trate themselves before feet ; that became, in my

un eyes, the normal way of the world. Co t Beug

at not, who was that time ruling the Grand Duchy

296 THE EM P ES S MA IE L R R O UISE .

r , f ul of cou tiers who respect ly made way before him. With a look he transported with rapture or crushed those who approached hi m ; and if he deigned to o speak t any one, the happy mortal thus honored wi w stood th bo ed 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. 19 1 832 o December , , Vict r Hugo, in a Speech before the Court of Commons, where he w as tr ying ’ ” to compel the government to let Le Roi s amuse be

n give , spoke thus of the Imperi al government : ! i Then , sirs, it is great The Empire, in ts adminis tr ation and government, was, to be sure, an intolerable m e tyranny, but let us re emb r that our liberty w as

. a largely paid for with glory At th t time France,

k as i li e Rome under C sar, mainta ned an attitude at

a e once submissive and proud . It was not the Fr nc

c we desire , free , ruling itself, but rather a Fran e,

! n mis . the slave of one m a , and tress of the world It

da u used to be said, On such a y, at such an ho r, I ’ da shall enter that capital , and they entered that y i and at that hour . All sorts of k ngs used to elbow

- as one another in his ante chambers . A dyn ty would a be dethroned by a decree in the Mon iteur . If column was wanted, the Emperor of Austria used to

z furnish the bron e . The control of the French come dians was, I confess, a little arbitrary, but their d orders were date from Moscow . We were shorn of i all our l berties, I say ; there was a rigid censorship, NAP OLE ON A T THE HEIGH T OF P OWER . 297

our books were pilloried, our posters were torn down ; but to all our complaints a Single word suffi ced 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 delibera

‘ tions . Th ey are these : In this century there has been only one great m an m Napoleon and only one — great thing Liberty . We no longer have the great ’ man ; let us try to have the gr eat thing .

Certainly he exceeded the common measure, that man of whom Chateaubriand, his implacable foe,

: said The world belon gs to Bonaparte . What that fi s . destroyer could not ni h, his fame has seized Liv in s g, he mi sed the world ; dead, he possesses it . You may protest, but generations pass by without hearing you . When some one asked the illustriou s author

be ad why, after so violently attacking Napoleon,

so mired him 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

Mé n e al v , who, before he was the private secretary of

u Marie Lo ise , when regent, had been secretary of the I i “ 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 privi leged creature in so few years , in the face of so 298 THE EMP RES S MARIE L O UISE. many obstacles ; yet these were inferior to those of mi which the plans lay in his ghty head . The mem or y of that time, of the hours I spent w ith this s ms to d wonderful man, ee me a ream. In the deep

hi us feeling w ch he aro es in me, I have to bow before e vi the impenetrable decre s of Pro dence, which, afte r

r s its inspi ing thi wonderful instrument of plans, tore him r his f om uncomplete d work . Possibly God did not wish him to anticipate the time He had estab lish d e by an invariable order. Possibly He did not ” wish a mortal to exceed human proportions ! N If apoleon was thus admired, even after the ter rible catastrophes which wrought his ruin, even after as the retreat from Russia, after the two inv ions, after

Waterloo , what an impression he must have made on his enthusiastic partisans when he was the incam a o tion of success and glory, when there was no sp t m on the sun of his omnipotence , and, protected by so e di happy fate, he had sarmed envy, discouraged hate, an d so far boun d Fortune that she seemed to tremble before him like an obedi ent s lave ! In spite of the glory whi ch surr ounded him in 1 812 inf atu , Napoleon, who is often represented as his ated with himself and glory, yet even at this - moment of colossal power and un hear d of prosperity, had moments when he judged himself with perfect impartiality. He knew human nature thoroughly, ll and he indulged in no i usions about his family,

his which he distrusted, or about marshals , whose i r desertion he seemed to anticipate, or about h s cou t

E 300 THE EMP RES S MARIE L O UIS .

i ‘ i i fin d sce many men ; and aga n, My he r w ll my p ’ he d d tre very heavy. As regar e the future , the only power that seemed to threaten thi s sceptre and

i an d this heir was Russ a, it may be that as he began i old to feel h mself grow , he repented that he had enlarged its territory both on the north and the south, to the Gulf of Bothnia and to the Danube . H i ence , poss bly, this eager desire to deal the countr y 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 Em peror had had

n c m no son , he would not have made the Russia a

ai n calcu p g , and possibly it was more by a mistaken lation than by pride , that he was drawn into this

u colossal war which, he hoped, wo ld 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 dis tin uish f g between two very di ferent personages,

an d the man as he appeared in public , the man as he

. di was in private In public, he was obliged to splay more majesty than any other sovereign . The nov olty of his grandeur made additional formality noces

. n sary When the ge eral became Emperor, he was compelled to keep at a distance his old fellow -sol diers who had formerly been his equals and inti i mates , for familiar ty would have low ered his glory NAP OLEON A T THE HEIGHT OE P OWE 301 R.

and have lessened his authority . He had to appear before his court like a living statue that never de scended 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 ff rooms , he laid aside his o icial seriousness as if he

off afi a were taking a fatiguing uniform, and became ble 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

an d was kind to his wife , a good father who played with his child . He used to tease the companions of

r i Ma ie Lou se wittily, and without malice ; he would d i take an interest in their resses , and often g ve them bits of good advice in the gentlest manner . He took as m uch interest in the minutest details as in the greatest questions . He was indulgent and generous

his offi an d to cials , knew how to make himself loved i by them . He and Marie Louise l ved most happily

as together, his valet de chambre , Constant, tells “ AS us , father and husband he might have been a ” model for all his subjects . He simply adored his how son , and knew to play with him better than did

: the Empress . As Madame Durand says Being

r without experience with child en, 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 302 THE EMPRESS MARIE L OUISE.

h j ealous . The Emperor, on the other and, used to m him take him in his ar s every time he saw , play him - with him, hold before a looking glass , and make

hi m . s all sorts of faces at At breakfa t, he used to

his n hold him on knees, and would dip one of his fi an d u an d gers in a sauce , let the child s ck it, rub it all over its face . If the governess complained, the

a Emperor would laugh, and the child, who was lmost k ’ always merry, seemed to li e his father s noisy ca t r esses . It is a notewor hy 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 tw o years old the young Prince was ’ ” always present at Napoleon s breakfast. At this period of his lif e Napoleon was really S happy . The two years that he pent in the society of the young Empress formed a blessed rest in his stormy career ; he loved his wife and thought that she e loved him . He was grat ful to her for being an

a archduchess, for her beauty, youth, and he lth ; for having given him an heir to the Empire . He con

i uall u e in t n y rejoiced in a marriage which, to be s r , spired 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 to give thanks Providence , instead of continuing his perilous course and forever tempting fortune ? How i many ev ls he would have spared France, Europe, and himself ! A few concessions would have dis

M ARIE LOU ISE IN 1812.

r HE Emp ess Marie Louise was twenty, Decem 1 1 12 i 1 2 1 81 . 8 she ber , Early in , l ke Napoleon,

r i was at the summit of her fortune . Du ng the two years of her reign she had received nothing but hom

in age France , and no woman in the whole world

r held so lofty a position . We will t yto draw a por trait of her at this time when She had reached the top of the wave of human prosperity .

ds Rather han ome than pretty, Marie Louise was

in more impressive than charming . Her most strik g quality was her freshness her whole person bespoke physical an d moral health . Her face was more gen tle than striking ; her eyes were very blue and full of animation ; she had a rich complexion ; her hair was

t n ligh yellow, but not colorless ; her ose , slightly i aqu line 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 bir th of her child these MA IE L I E 1 31 2 305 R OU S IN .

two slight imperfections disappeared . With a more fi delicate gure 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 n ature and nothing to artifice ; her face

d r nee ed no paint, her wit no coquet y ; with no fond ness for luxury or dress , possessing simple and quiet

as i ff t t tes , never striv ng for e ec , always preferring half d tints to a blaze of light, her expression and emeanor always had a quality of S implicity and directness w ho which fascinated Napoleon, was very glad to turn from experienced coquettes to a really natural person . ’ Those who had supervised Marie Lou ise s educa tion rightly thought that the greatest charm . in a h d young girl was im r ocen c e . She a 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 wor ds were excised ; no male animals were admitted

bu t into their apartments , only females, these being

. e n endowed with more modest instincts Napol o , who was accustomed to the w omen of the end of the eigh teen th century an d to the heroines of the court of

r d fin d Bar as , was delighte to a girl so pure and so carefully trained . On grand occasions Marie Louise bore no resem blance to the Marie Louise in private life ; She assumed a coldness whi ch was mi staken for disdain . She became imposing ; she weighed every word ; and careless observers attributed to haughtiness what was L I E 306 THE EM PRES S MARIE OU S .

really due to reserve and timidity . The young Em press had every reason to distrust the French court.

She -aim t knew what it had cost her great , Marie

Antoinette, to try to live on the throne like a private

n k d i perso , and to carry in liness even to fam liarity. The best way for the Empress to escape malevolence an d criticism was by saying very little . She knew

but - French very well , it was not her mother tongue,

its r h and however well acquainted with g ammar, S e could not know perfectly the fin e shades of the lan guage . Her fear of employing possibly correct but i unusual expressions made her tim d about speaking. d Besi es, her husband would not have liked to see her taking part in lon g conversations . Political subjects were forbidden to her, and her great charm in Napo leon ’s eyes was that she did not interfere in such

to m . matters . She never tried pass for a witty wo an

- She Although she was well read, lacked the delicate

bs o ervation, the ingenious comparisons, the jingling of brilliant phrases or words which compose what in

fi - in France is called wit . She had no con dence the character of the prominent Frenchwomen, of the romantic but n nsentirn en tal beauties who always

w ho n expressed more than they felt, k ew 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 genui ne . She was alw ays natural .

308 THE EMP ES S MA IE LO R R UISE.

. s in can be As Viscounte s of Beauharnais, she was timate 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 al

n though she ever said anything very important, she always could give what She had to say an agreeable turn . Her most ardent desire was to make people

as forget, by her f cinations, that she was not born to n w the thro e, and she seemed al ays endeavoring to be pardoned for her elevation into the society of the

n r Faubourg Saint Germain . The ames of the g eat 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 r egime whom she preferred ; Madame Lannes was far more congenial to her than the Princess of Beauvau or the

Countess of Montesquiou . She never sought to

a ur e er flatter the F ubo g Saint G rmain, but rath kept a it at a distance , making none of the dvances to which it was accustomed at the hands of the first t l Empress . She felt that the Royalis s secret y 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

hi r in s s Josep ne , who was bo n a family of Royali t , had remained faithful , even when on the Imperial r th one, to her devotion to the old Royalty . M A IE L 181 2 309 R O UISE IN .

Marie Louise indulged in no illus ions . She knew that the courtiers , under the appearance of adoration

n which amounted to servility, were really co cealing

- hi a depth of malice and ill will, w ch was the more m dangerous the ore it was hidden , and that the very ones who were burning incense before her would be m d the ost delighte to catch her trippin g . Hence she was always on her guard, and in public steadily main tain ed 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 ’ d n Empress , she woul only have su k 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

She for the slightest reproach, 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 mo “ li . r a ty 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 es aroused no enthusiastic praise . She was more t teemed than loved ; and, in spi e of her precocious

s w isdom, she arou ed no fervent sympathy, none of E 310 THE EMP RES S MARIE L OUIS .

i mi hi the enthus astic ad ration w ch less reserved, more

h r . amiable queens ave inspi ed Still, no one found

e ri fault with her . Count Miot de M lito, in desc bing

u 1 811 : a reception at the T ileries in , says The Em

f aee press entered . Her wore a dignified but somewhat disdainful expression . She walked round the room, accompanied by the Duchess of Monte ll be o, and spoke agreeably and pleasantly with a number of people whom she had introduced to her, ” e fi e and all wer grati ed by th ir kindly reception .

The Duke of Rovigo , the Minister of Police, speaks “ thus in hi s Memoirs : Marie Louise aroused enthusi asm whenever she opened her mouth . Her success

a ow n in Fr nce was entirely her work ; for I declare, on my honor, the authorities never adopted any par ticular methods to secure for her a warm welcome from the public . When she was to appear in a procession i did or at the theatre, all the authorit es was to pro vide against the slightest breach of order or propri

n . m ety beyond that, nothi g was done For exa ple, 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 t s li ticke s for these boxe to respectable fami es, 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 it welcome from the p , I simply did not take any.

s The Empress Marie Louise was accu tomed, when

2 31 THE E MP RES S MARIE L O UISE . affectionate but not passionate devotion there was no i trace of reluctance . She s ncerely thought that she would always be faithful to him . She was not only ‘ him attached to , she was also jealous of him ; the m i proxi ity of Joseph ne annoyed and disturbed her. i In fact, there was someth ng singular in the S imul tan eous presence in France of two empresses sharing ff almost equally the o icial honors . Mar ie Louise knew how popular Josephi ne was ; and this offended

i i n her, although she p t ed a woma of whom the rigid laws of public policy had required so cruel a sacrifice .

she d Sh Possibly, too , feare that e could not count too

s ab olutely on the feelings of a man who, for reasons d d w of state, had aban one a ife whom a short time

. d before he had really loved Who knows , in eed, but what she dreaded the same fate for herself, in case she shou ld bear no children ? She felt really sure only when she had bor ne a son . Before that she was so jealous that one day when she heard that Napoleon vi i had made a sit to Joseph ne , she was seen to shed

fi . tears , for the rst time since her arrival in France

Another time , when the Emperor had suggested to her to take advantage of the absence of the first Em

v press , who had gone to Aix, in Savoy, and to isit

Malmaison, her face suddenly became so sad that d Napoleon at once aban oned 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

d all the ple ge of the peace and happiness of Europe, M A IE L I E I 1312 313 R O U S N . she thought that She had so well accomplished her ’ destiny that She could always count on her husband s affection and gratitude . a Judging by the words of Cardinal M ury, who had been so famous in the Constituent Assembly, and had

s i been made Archbi hop of Par s by the Emperor, Na poleon was very much in love with his young wife .

It would be impossible , he wrote to the Duchess ho of Abrantes , to make you understand w much the

our . is Emperor loves charming Empress It love ,

. w but a good love this time He is in love ith her, I

e t ll you , and as he never was with Josephine ; for,

her after all, he never knew when she was young . i She was over thirty when they married, wh le this

wife is young and as fresh as the spring . You will l w . see her, and you will be de ighted ith her And

ou then if y knew how gay she is, how pleasant, and, how hl above all, thoroug y at her ease with all those whom the Emperor honors with his intimacy You

will see how lovable she is . People us ed to talk

about the soir é es Of the Queen of Holland . I assure you the Empress is very charming for those whom

the Emperor admits informally into the Tuileries .

r They go there of an evening to pay thei court, they play with Their Majesties reversis or billiards ; i and the Empress is so charm ng, so fascinating, that ’ it is eas y to see from the Emperor s eyes that he is ” dying to kiss her. Probably there is some exaggeration in Cardinal

’ M an r y s enthusiasm . Doubtless Marie Louise pleased 314 THE EM P RE S S MARIE L O UISE .

u Napoleon very much, but had she been a yo ng w o

m nk man of hu ble ra , he probably would not have

be noticed her . What especially admired in her was the Archduchess , the daughter of the German

ae s e C sars , and in the feeling h aroused in him there ifi was perhaps more grat ed vanity than real love . He certainly was not attracted to her by one of those tempests of passion which had dr aw n him towards Josephine ; he would not have written to his second wife burning letters like those he wrote to Josephine dur ing the first campaign in Italy . In his aff ection for Marie Louise there was something calm and rea sonable , 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 mar “ r iage Marie Louise said to Metternich : I am sure that in Vienna people think a great deal about me, and imagi ne that I live in continual anguish . The truth often seems improbable . I am not afraid of Na

oleon n hi nk is p , but I am begi ning to t that he , afraid ” of me . It has been said that the Emperor was not per f ectly constant to Marie Louise ; but even if he was

n hf ul m ever u fait , he kept the fact fro her knowledge, and never made his second wife as unhappy as he ha d made his fir st . He us ed to boast that he cared

an d i only for honest men v rtuous women, and he w as anxious that no one should be able to charge him with setting a bad example . His court had

316 THE EMP RES S MARIE L OUISE.

’ d a ? winter s y In his history of the Restoration, Lamartine has dr awn a picture of the Empress Mar ie Louise which seems tolerably exact for the period r after the calamities that befell the Empi e, but inap plicable to the happy days of the mother of the ” King of Rome . Marie Louise , he writes, sought

silen c f r refuge in ceremony, in retreat and e om the ill

h r will that pursued e at every step . Napoleon

i and loved her from a feel ng of superiority pride . She was a S ign of his alliance with great races ; the mother of his son ; and thus she perpetuated his ambi

did . tion . The public 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 . d Her constraint lessened her natural charms, arkened di her expression, mmed her wit, and burdened her

w as heart . She looked upon as a foreign decoration attached to the columns of the throne . Even his tory, written in ignorance of the truth, and in spired “ ’ has by the resentment of Napoleon s courtiers, slan dered this sovereign . Those who knew her will o rest re , not the stoical, theatric glory which was de

m an d ed e . of her, but her real natur The alleged emptiness of her silence hid feminine thoughts and mysteries of feeling which transported her far from this court . Magnificent though cr uel exile !

n She could not pretend a ything, either during the ’ r days of her grandeu , nor after her husband s over MA IE L O ISE I 1 31 2 31 R U N . 7

thr ow ; that was her crime . The theatrical world of the court wanted to see a pretence of conjugal afiec ’ tion in a victor s captive . She was too natural to simulate love where she felt only obedience, terror, and resignation . History w ill blame her ; nature will pity her . She was expected to play a part ;

as she failed as an actress, but a woman she has sur ” vived .

The Mar ie Louise who is thus described by Lamar tine is not the Marie Louise of the beginning of 1 81 2 ; then the young Empress did not regard herself as a ’ Vi at ctor s captive, nor as a foreign decoration ” tached to the columns of the throne . Napoleon did

n w not inspire her with terror, and she k e none of the hi “ constraint w ch lessened her natural charms , dark di d ened her expression, mmed her wit, and bur ened ” 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 L i . th nk, before the Russian campaign If amartine had read the letters which she wrote to her father in 1 810 1 811 1 812 , , and the beginning of , he would doubtless have acknowledged that for some time Napoleon ’s second wife was happy on the French thr one . To this portrait drawn by the great poet we prefer ’ the one we fin d in Mén evals Memoirs : The better d Napoleon learne to know the Empress , the more he d i applaude h s choice . Her character seemed made for him ; she brought him happiness and consolation 31 8 THE EM P RES S M ARIE L O UIS E .

ami d the cares of his stormy career . In ordinary life

an d i d w di . she was simple k n ly, yet ith no loss of gnity

No word of complaint or blame ever crossed her lips .

Gentle, but reserved and discreet, she never ex pressed her feelings with any vivacity . She was

i d i an d k n and generous , s mple astute at the same

i a w it t me her g yety was gentle , her without malice .

- d d Though well informe , she ma e no parade of her

n acquirements, feari g to be accused of pedantry. ’ Her wifely devotion had won the Emperor s affec tion, 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 n at ural and could not conceal her real impressions ; but events have shown that while she inclined to virtue t when it was easy, she yet lacked the streng h to practise it when it was hard . Marie Louise di d not have the character of her

- e e great grandmother Marie Th r se , or that of her

- great aunt Marie Antoinette . She rather resembled the wife of Louis XIV . or that of Louis XV . She

ul m d i wo d have led a cal , mo est, harmless l fe , like

had d those two queens , if her fate not place her amid i unforeseen and terr ble events, the shock of which d 1 81 2 she coul not endure . In we see her a loving w mother, a faithful ife, a worthy sovereign . If Na

oleon d p had a opted a less imprudent policy, all that

XXVI .

’

THE EMPRES S S HOU SEHOLD .

E have just tried to dr aw a picture of the appearance and character of Marie Louise in

1 812 m u , when at the sum it of her fort ne ; let us turn our attention to the organization of her household at i this epoch, and to the details of her daily l fe . Her fi rst almoner was Count Ferdinand de Rohan , formerly — Archbishop of Cambrai ; her kn ight-of honor was the Count of Beauharnais , who had held the same o positi n to the Empress Josephine, a relative of fi his . Napoleon had at rst meant to appoint the

Count of Narbonne to this place, but Marie Louise

him . L e had dissuaded M . Villemain says in his if “ : u of M . de Narbonne The Empress Marie Lo ise, generally so yielding to her husband, on this occa

h hr h sion manifested great Opposition . Whet er t oug womanly kindn ess or through her pride as a sover ei n r s g , possibly th ough some superstitiou scruple as

n h a second wife, she insisted on the retentio in t is post of the Count of Beauharnais ; she was unwilling t o on any terms seem to exclude , in the person of this

i fi n relat ve of Josephine , the rst ame of the Princess d d whom she succee e on the French throne . On the 320 THE EMP ES S ’ S HO SEHOLD 321 R U .

d other han , 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 r to jesting spi it of the old court, and doubtless o the melancholy presentiments attached, in her mind, to ever ythin g that recalled Versailles and the daughters

s . of Loui XV , who had become the aunts of Marie

Antoinette . In a word, Marie Louise , cold and calm, w as in flexible in her opposition to the choice whi ch 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 m an fif t -fi y ve years old, a relic of the former court, suddenly made a member of the m ost w arlike and fi most active staff in Europe . For rst equerry

i had n Aldobr an dini Marie Lou se Pri ce , and for mas ’ d Aix ter r n . of ce emonies, the Cou t de Seyssel

-of - The maid honor was Madame Lannes , Duchess

e of Mont bello, the widow of the famous marshal

Mén al who w as killed in Austr ia in the fir st war . ev tells us that Napoleon in making this appointment hesitated betw een this lady and the Princess of Beau

n hi s in flu vau . The fear of introduci g into court i s as en ces hostile to the nat onal idea , such a German princess might have favored, with the prejudices of

a i . her birth and position, m de him give up th s idea n t He decided for the Duchess, thinki g his an honor due to the memory of one of hi s oldest and bravest ” comrades . THE EMP ES S MA IE L I 322 R R OU SE .

It was a most happy choice . Madame de Monte bello was ten years older than the Empress ; very

s hand ome , 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 Monte ’ bello recalled Raphael s Virgins . There was in her appearance, and in her life , a quality of calmness , of

u reg larity, which greatly pleased Marie Louise, who was also much touched by her untiring devotion at ’ t the time of her child s bir h, when for nine whole days Madame de Montebello remained in the Em ’ press 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

eon need of a friend, and that the Duchess won her fiden ce and good graces to such an extent that the Empress could not do without her ; she got to love e ff her like a sister, and tri d to prove her a ection by great confidence to her and to her children . She was always delighted to choose presents that the Duch f ess would like , and of ered them to her with charm ing amiability . Naturally a preference of this sort aroused a g reat deal of jealousy, especially among ' d alace m ost the la ies of the p , of whom belonged to h did older families t an the Duchess , and were some what annoyed that she was preferred to them . When ever the Emperor was away, Madame de Montebello

324 THE EM P RES S MARIE L O UISE .

d d e Lu a be enough to name Ma ame e y, my mother in - d law, the La y of the Bedchamber, and Madame de Montesquiou, governess of the King of Rome , whom the Emperor chose when my mother declined — m . fi the position fro ill health His con dence, when

i . once given, was unlim ted

The Countess of Montesquiou, the governess of i ’ the K ng of Rome , was the wife of the Emperor s i Grand Chamberlan . The Baron de Mén eval thus “ S : peaks of her Madame de Montesquiou, who was i of high birth, received the h ghest consideration and

- thoroughly deserved it . She was forty six years old when she was appointed governess of the Impe rial children ; her reputation was above reproach . i She was a woman of great piety, yet ind fferent to t petty formalities ; her manners had a noble simplici y, fi her whole nature was digni ed but benevolent, her

fir m an d l . character was , her principles were excel ent She combined all the quali ties that were required for the important position which the Emperor, of ” d his own choice , had given her . Ma ame Durand

the Countess speaks as warmly about ' of Montes quiou : It would have been hard to make a better

. s choice This lady, who belonged to an illustriou d family, had receive an excellent education ; to the manners of the best society she ad ded a piety too

fi fi d an d rmly xe too wise to run into bigotry . Her life had been so well ordered that she escaped any breath of calum ny . Some were inclined to call her i i haughty, but th s haught ness was tempered by THE M P E ’ H E LD 32 E R S S S OUS HO . 5 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 w hose hopes had been destroyed . Her sole reward was bitter sor row and unjus t persecution . The Duchess of Montebello and the Countess of

e Mont squiou had little sympathy for each other, but they never betrayed any coolness . Even had they it d d desired , they woul have been hel in awe by fear

his . of Napoleon , who insisted on harmony in court

i u Still, there could be d sting ished at the Tuileries

r es ec two parties in occult opposition, belonging p

tively to the old and to the new nobility . At the head of the first stood the Count and the Countess of Montesquiou ; of the second the Duchess of Monte

bello , to whom the Empress s preference gave great

u in fl u authority. Madame D rand says that all the

his e ence which the Grand Chamberlain and wif ,

the gover ness of the King of Rome , enjoyed was

ni an d exercised in obtai ng pardon , favors, pensions ,

places for the nobles , whether they had left France or not ; they assured the Emperor that this was the i best way of attach ng them to his person, of making

them love hi s government . They said this because they really thought it ; and since they believed that fi fi e the destiny of France was rmly xed, they w re anxious to secur e for the ruler of this Empire those H M P E S MA IE L I E 326 T E E R S R OU S .

d its men whom they regarde as strongest support . ’ Since he had seen Madame de Mon tesquiou s unweary ing devotion to his son, it was seldom that he r efused ” her whatever she asked .

hi s The new nobility, w ch was jealou of the old, had a representative in the Duchess of Montebello, i who was very proud, and did not adm t the superi or it old i r a s y of the ar stoc cy to the illustriou plebeians, s who , like her hu band, had no ancestors, but were destined to become ancestors themselves . She thought that the title of Duke w as not enough for her valiant husband, and that the Emperor, in not

ri e e making him a p nce lik Davout, Mass na, and

ar Berthier, had been unjust, and that M shal Lannes was of more account than all the dukes and mar quises of the Versailles court .

rt There was at cou , between these two groups of l the old and the new nobi ity, a third party, the mili tary party, headed by the Grand Marshal of the

Fr ioul Palace, Duroc , Duke of , who , seeing honor and glory only in the career of a soldier, looked down on all other occupations . The Emperor se cr etl ut y favored him , b he nevertheless remained

us true to his ual 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

car s .

1 812 -in - In , the ladies waiting were the Duchess of n h Bassa o , the Countess Victor de Mortemart, t e

328 THE EMP RES S MARIE L OUIS E.

of the pupils of this school, a daughter and a sister

ffi Maler ot of distinguished o cers , Mesdemoiselles and

Rabusson .

These six ladies had an important position . Not ’ only di d they announce all the Empress s visitors ; they also had actual charge of the domestic service ,

ds with six chambermai under their orders, who only ’ r ente ed the Empress s rooms when she rang for them, hil n e w e they four, bei g in att ndance every day, spent alltheir time w ith Marie Louise . They went to the she did Empress as soon as was up, and not leave her till she had gone to bed . Then all the doors of the r ’ i Emp ess s room were locked, except one, lead ng into the next room, where slept the one of the ladies

d n ot in charge , and Napoleon himself coul go into Marie Louise’s room at night without passing through

i . m an Of th s room No , with the exception the Em ’ press s private secretary, her keeper of the purse, and

a l e her medical attend nts , cou d ent r her apartment

. d without an order from the Emperor Even la ies, other than the Lady of Honor and the Lady of the

a Bedchamber, were not received there except by p

di n pointment . The six la es we have me tioned had n t ul charge of the e forcemen of these r es, and were responsible for their observance . One of them was ’ dr w i present at the Empress s a ng, music, and em

- . at di broidery lessons They wrote her ctation, 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 TH M P ’ 32 E E RES S S HOUSEHOLD . 9

Empress, and that was the only approach to her chamber . Madame Durand tells us the goldsmith Biennais had made for the Empress a letter-case with a good

dr w many secret awers which she alone could kno , and he asked to be allowed to explain it to her .

ui Marie Lo se spoke about it to the Emperor, who gave her permission to receive hi m . Biennais was consequently summoned to Saint Cloud and admitted

s - into the mu ic room, where he stood at one end with the Empress , while Madame Durand was in the same

” off hi s room, but so far that she could not overhear explanation . Just when this was finished the Em

er or p came in , and seeing Biennais, he asked who d him that man was ; the Empress hastene to tell , to

s explain the rea on of his coming, mentioning that he hi had himself given him permission . T s the Em

r or i pe absolutely den ed, and pretended that the lady in -waiting was to blame ; he scolded her so severely him that the Empress could scarcely stop , although m she said, But, y 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 sor t would ever happen again .

i . v Another t me , when M Paer was g i ing 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 330 THE EMP RES S MARIE L OUISE .

fi did in . order, when Napoleon came At rst he 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 hi s atten tion 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 w ith 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 gynaeceum of Marie Louise was thus guarded with the greatest care and submitted to a very severe ’ discipline . Napoleon entered freely into his wif e s room whenever he pleased, and she never complained ;

v for ha ing 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 d d desired to rule in important matters, en ure , and even liked to be contradicted on minor matters .

When he was with Marie Louise , he used to be for ever teasing her ladies about a thous and things ; it him often happened that they stood up against , and he would carry on the discussion and laugh hear ti

d d ls when he had succee e in vexing the young gir ,

in i an d i who , the r frankness gnorance of the ways of the world and the court, made very lively and um

332 THE EMP RES S MARIE L OUISE.

did di well. When she cre t 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

a us leisure fter breakfast, he ed to have the horses

his brought around, would get on one himself in silk

an d - th stockings silver buckled shoes, and ride by e ’

i . d r Empress s s de He woul u ge her horse on, get it hi fi to gallop, laug ng heartily at her terri ed cries, altho ugh all danger was guarded against by the pres ence of a line of huntsmen ready to stop the horse ” and prevent a fall .

i o in On returning, Marie Lou se often t ok a lesson

ain tin . h d music or g She was a real musician, and a

tafen t . a real for the piano Prudhon and Isabey, w h n s o taught her drawing and pai ting, prai ed her “ : talents . As Lamartine says When she entered i her own rooms or the sol tude of the gardens, she was once more a German w oman . She cultivated

w i . rf poetry, dra ng, singing Education had pe ected

in these talents her, as if to console her, far from her

u hi co ntry, for the absence and the sorrows to w ch the young girl would be one day condemned. She ex

in hi . celled these t ngs , but for herself alone She us ed to read and recite from memory the poets of her ” own language and country . Marie Loui se busied

al herself with charities, but without ostentation, most secretly hence she never won the credit for it sh that e deserved . Her generosity di d not limit it THE EMP RES S’ S H S H LD 333 OU E O . self to the ten thousand francs which she set aside out of her allowance of fif ty thousand francs a month ; she never heard of a case of suffering without at

once trying to relieve it .

In private life Marie Loui se was kind and amiable . She was very polite and gentle ; unlike many prin fi cesses, she was not given to ckle preferences and to infatuations as intense as they were brief ; she was

v . not unjust, iolent, or capricious She was never

afi ect angry ; she did not give empty promises , or

any excessive interest, but she could always be de pended on ; she never distressed or humiliated any

one . Having been trained from her in fancy 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 di her society agree in this . Sometimes , accor ng to d Madame Duran , 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 ,

r f d d y, a fable , and a ore by all who were with

her . every day Nothing was more gracious , more

case amiable, than her face when she was at her ,

in i o qu ietly at home the even ng, or am ng those to ” whom she was particularly attached .

Marie Louise gave a great deal of care to her son ,

had whom she tend erly loved . She him brought to

an d w her every morning, she kept him ith her until

dr . she had to ess In the course of the day, in the 334 THE EMP RES S MARIE L O UISE. intervals of her lessons; she used to visit the little

his his d . King in apartment, and sit by si e and sew Often she took him and his nurse to the Emperor ; the nurse would stop at the door of the room in

hi was ul w ch Napoleon , and Marie Louise wo d 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 Mé n evalwrites thus : Sometimes he

- was seated on his favorite sofa, near the mantel piece, fi on which stood two magni cent bronze busts, of im Scipio and Hannibal, and was busily reading an portant report ; sometimes he went to his writing wi desk, hollowed in the middle, th two projecting shelves, covered with papers , to sign a despatch, every word of which had to be carefully weighed ;

his his but his son , sitting on knees, or held close to

. had chest, never left him He such a marvellous power of concentration that he could at the same

‘ time give his atten tion to important business and

his . d the humor son Again , laying asi e great

his d thoughts which haunted mind, he woul lie ’ i down on the floor by the boy s side , and play w th i him l ke another child, eager to amuse him and to ” spare him every annoyance . d M é M . e n evalalso tells us that the Emperor had had d i diff ma e l ttle blocks of mahogany, of erent lengths an d i it en d r e r e var ous colors, w h one notched, to p t an d di i i sent battalions , regimen s , v s ons, and that when d i he wante to try some new comb nation of troops, he

336 THE EMP RESS MARIE L OUISE.

ni . III . it was the Council Hall of the Mi sters ! 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 fir st Em

T d e press . hey looked out on the gar en, and consist d

fir of a gala apartment and a private one . The st con

- fi i sisted of an ante chamber, a rst and second draw ng

r - i - room, a d awing room of the Empress, a din ng room,

- and a concert room the second, of a bedchamber, the

r - d library, the d essing room, the bou oir, and the bath room . A rigid etiquette controlled the entrance to ’ ’ the Empress s as well as the Emperor s apartment. fi Napoleon lived on the rst floor, where he had the bedroom which had been previous ly 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 term s with the princes and princesses of the Imperial family, who were less offended by the superiority of an archduchess than had they been by that of a woman of humble origin, ’ like Josephine . In accordance with her husband s

n directions , the seco d Empress was always polite and afiable in her relations with his family, but she was

- — never too familiar. N0 one of her sisters in law was as intimate with her as was the Duchess of Monte

l . d in bel o One inci ent, for which Marie Louis e was no way responsible, threw a little coolness on her l re ations with the princesses , although it was of but brief duration . Soon after the birth of the King of THE EM P ’ H E 33 RES S S OUS HOLD . 7

Rome the Emperor noticed that near the bed on which the Empress was to lie there had been placed h t ree armchairs, one for his mother, the other two for the Queens of Spain and of Holland . He found i fault w th this arrangement, saying that since his

w as mother not a queen , she ought not to have an armchair, and that none of them should have one . d Accordingly, for the armchairs he had three han some

h r di footstools substituted . When t e th ee la es came w i in, they noticed, th some annoyance, the change

an d . ul that had been made , soon left They wo d have done e n g to blame the Empress ; for it was the

Emperor who was responsible , and when Napoleon ul gave an order, no one , not even his wife , co d have thought of saying a word . In matters of etiquette he controlled the minutest details and regard ed them t i as very important . Nothing came of his little nci ’ dent, and in general the members of the Emperor s family got on better with the second Empress than with the first . did in In short, what Marie Louise lack the begin 2 ? d ning of 1 81 She had a husban , at the height of

r f hi s fame and glo y, who gave her more a fection, i regard, and considerat on than any one else in the world . She was the mother of a superb child, whom

her every one admired . Around she saw respect on

-of—h she every face . For maid onor had a real friend, a w oman whom she would herself have chosen, so highly did she value her character and manners . Her household consisted of the flower of the French 338 THE EM P RES S MARIE L OUIS E.

di aristocracy . She followed her own tastes , stu ed i w th the best masters, distributed alms as she pleased, lived in the handsomest palaces in Europe . There diffi l . were no discomforts , no cu ties, in her position

She had no conflicting duties , no occasion to decide

s between her father and her hu band, 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 hi m in dl law, and corresponded with a most frien y 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

w as . timid nature , which made to obey, not to rule

She had then no cause to blame her fate or herself . w As a young girl, as a ife , as a mother, she had nothing to ask for . Her satisfaction was furthered by the thought that she was soon to see again her

a father, her family, her country ; and part from the fi matter of feeling, she must have been grati ed 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 i i the crowning po nt of her br ef grandeur, the end of the s w ift but dazzling period of prosperity and good fortune which may be described as the happy days of the Empress Marie Louise .

340 THE EM P RES S MARIE L OUISE.

cent monarch sur rounded by Asiatic pomp . The pos sibility of defeat occur red to no one . One would have supposed that he was starting on a long ovation, a triumphal progress . At ever y step the all-powerf ul Emperor and his young wife seemed to be tasting the onsets of gran 9 a 1 0 deur and glory . May he slept at Ch lons the th he entered Metz , where he at once got on horseback, fi d i . reviewe the troops, and vis ted the forti cations 1 1 th The he was at Mayence, where he received the Grand Duke and the Grand Duchess of Hesse Darm

An halt KOthen . stadt, as well as the Prince of The 1 3 i d th he crossed the Rh ne, stoppe a moment to see

Aschafi en bur the Prince Primate at g, met in the cour se of the day the King of Wii r tem ber g and the

d Wiir z Grand Duke of Ba en, and spent the night at i of burg, the sovere gn which was the former Grand

Duke of Tuscany, the brother of the Emperor of

Austria . Marie Louise w as delighted to see her uncle again, who was to join her at Dresden . The 14th 1 5th they slept at Bayreuth, the at Plauen, and on the l6th they reached Dresden . o As Thiers says, Napole n had passed through Ger

an n many amid unprecedented thro g of the populace, d “ t . in whose curiosity equalle their ha red Never, d dee , had the potentate whom they abhorred appeared d w more surrounde ith glory . People talked with mingled surprise an d terror of the six hundred thou sand men w ho had gathered at his command from all parts of Europe . They ascribed to him plans far D RESD EN. 341

more extraordi nary than those he had formed . They said he w as going by Russia to India . They spread abroad a thousand fables far wilder than his real

ns l i desig , and almost be ieved them accompl shed, so much had his continual success discour aged hatred from hoping for what it desired . Vast heaps of wood l were prepared along his path, and at nightfal these were set on fir e to light hi s road ; so that what was really curiosity produced almost the same eff ect as love and joy . The Emperor ’s intention in going to Dresden was to spend two or three weeks there before tak

and d ing command of his armies , to azzle all Eu rope 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 Dres

u fi . den, and the tho ght lled her with joy She had “ w r i 15 : s tten to him, March The Emperor send all

sor ts 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

r his hO e . father, the pleasu e I take in t p I am sure that you will not refuse me the great pleasur e of bringing my dear mamma and my brothers and sis ’ t n ters . But I beg of you , dear papa, don t say any hi g ”

hi . s about it, for not ng is decided Marie Loui e was at the height of happiness when she reached Saxony . At that moment she was very proud of being Napo ’ 16 leon s wife . She entered Dresden with him, May , 342 THE EMP RES S MARIE L O UISE.

1 81 2 , 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 n a stayi g in the grand apartment of the royal c stle,

e - r e r ceived the sovereign princes of Saxe Cobu g, Sax m ffi ls Wei ar, and Dessau, as well as the high o cia of the Saxon court . The King of Westphalia and the Grand Duke of Wiir zbur g arrived in the cour se of the day, and at once presented their respects. At one o’ clock in the afternoon of the 1 8th the

Emperor and Empress of Austr ia arrived in Dr esden . What a moment for Marie Louise ! ” writes Madame

“ in f a Durand . She found herself once more her ’ ther s arms, and appeared before the dazzled eyes of fi n her family, the happiest of wives, the rst of sove eign s ! Her august father could not hide hi s emo -in - an d tion . He tenderly kissed his son law, recog

i n m him n zi g the clai s he had upon his heart, told more than once that he could count on him and on ” Austr ia for the tri umph of the com mon cause. Pos sibly these assurances were not perfectly sincere, but e to Napoleon believed in them, or pret nded believe

r i in them . As for Ma ie Lou se, she never interfered

lf . in politics, and gave herse up to family joys ’ The period of Napoleon s stay at Dresden w as the culmination of his power . Possibly no mortal had ever attained so hi gh a position as this new Agam em ” “ . is non It at Dresden, says Chate aubriand, that be united the separate parts of the Confederation

344 THE EM P RES S MARIE L OUISE.

i exer tone of their vo ce , showed the ascendancy he

his cised over them . They were all there solely on

r account . They scarcely ventu ed to discuss any t thing, being always ready to recognize his superiori y “ of which he was himself only too conscious . His “ n r receptio , adds the General, presented a rema k r able sight . Sove eign princes flocked thither to aw ait an audi ence of the Conqueror of Europe ; they so

' d Offi of ten had crowde his cers , that these last to r e mind one another to take care not to offend these

r new cou tiers who were crowding among them . Na ’ 8 d difl r en c poleon presence thus remove the e es, for he was as much their chi ef as he was ours . This common dependence seemed to level everything about

i - i i him . Then poss bly the ill concealed mil tary pr de n ff of many Fre ch generals o ended these princes, when the former seemed to think that they were elevated to royal rank ; for whatever the dignity

u his and position of the conq ered, the conqueror is ” equaL

1 8 and May , the day of the arrival of the Emperor 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 i hospital ty, as if he had been at home in Dresden .

He wanted to receive, not to be received . The ate his w sovereigns at table, and it as he who fixed i the hours and all the deta ls of etiquette . Since he w as unwilling that his stay should inconveni ence the King of Saxony, who was not rich, he was pre E D 45 D R S EN. 3

an d ceded followed by his household , which was supplied with everything necessary for a magnificent representation . Part of the han ds ome vermi lion 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 hi s past splendors with a certain satisf ac ” tion . The interview at Dresden, he said in his “ ’ i Memorial, was the moment of Napoleon s h ghest power . Then he appeared as the king of kings . He was compelled to point out that some attention should

- - in . be paid to his father law, the Emperor of Austria Neither this monarch nor the King of Prussia had his household wi th him ; nor did Alexander at Tilsit or d ’ r . Erfu t There , as at Dres en, they ate at Napoleon s table . These courts , the Emperor used to say, were mean and mi ddle-class ; it was he who arranged r the etiquette and set the tone . He invited F ancis 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 w ith di amonds every one who came -near ” him . He had brought after him the best actors of

ur the Theatre Francais, and, as at Erf t, 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,

s loyal man , of a keen sen e of honor, and he was 346 THE EMP RES S MARIE LOUISE. thorou ghly sincere in the devotion he professed to the Emperor, to whom he thought he owed a great

w as s i debt. Napoleon, who very fond of thi k ng, would have no other guards at Dresden than the ai Saxon soldi er s . Even after Leipsic he ret ned a h pleasant memory of them, and at Saint Helena e said to those who charged him with excessive con fi “ w dence in them , I was then in so kind a family, ith

w as ris such good people, that there no k ; every one loved me, and even now I am sure that the King of ” r P t A e Saxony says eve y day a a er and an v for me .

nlk n s U i e the Saxon ki g, the Emperor of Au tria, in

e mi t aff e Spit of the fa ly ies, had but very moderate c

i n . t on for Napoleo Metternich, who was at Dresden , t itu says in his Memoirs, The a t de of the two sovereigns was such as their respective positions ” d . T rs demande , but was yet very cool hie describes the Emperor Francis as opening his arms almost

- - is in i . in n sincerely to h son law, display ng a sort of co sistency, which is more frequent than is generally w hi imagined, torn bet een delight at seeing s daughter ’ so exalted and pain at Aus tria s losses ; promisin g Napoleon his as sistance after having promis ed Alex ander that this assistance would be nothing, saying to e himself that aft r all he had adopted a wise cour se, by making himself sure whichever party should be ’ or s fi vict iou , yet with more con dence in Napoleon s i fi success, from wh ch he sought to get pro t in advance . As - to the Empress of Austria, the step mother Of

Marie Louise, she concealed beneath formality and

348 THE EMP RES S MARIE L O UISE. and she was annoyed to see her former pupil taking precedence of every queen and empress . She would

h r d have liked to be able to give e a vice , as she had done in the past, and to exercise her authority as step—mother in criticising her ; but she did not dare to

w as . do this, and the restraint not agreeable The careful observer fin ds life in a palace what it is in the

h d : house of a humble citizen . As La Bruyere as sai

as At court, as in the town, there are the same p sions, the same pettinesses, the same caprices , the

m r ds same quarrels in fa ilies and between f ien , the

us : same jealo ies , the same antipathies everywhere

-in -law -in there are daughters and mothers law, hus

a an d i ff b nds wives , d vorces, ruptures, and ine ectual reconciliations everywhere eccentricity, anger, pref

- e . cren es , tattling, and tale bearing With good eyes

s to r it is ea y see town life , the Rue Saint Denis t ans ” ported to Versailles or Fontainebleau . Count de Las Cases has said in the Memorial : On e of us ventured to ask if the Empress of Austr ia w as

as not the sworn enemy of Marie Louise . It w noth c ing else, said the Emperor, than a pretty little ourt

e i a hatred, a heartfelt det stat on, conce led under daily ff i letters , four pages long, full of a ect on and endear ment . The Empress of Austria was very attentive

s to Napoleon and Was very coquetti h with him, so

w as hi s long as he in her presence , but as soon as back w as turned she was busy with trying to detach Marie Louise from him by the vilest and most mali cious insin uations ; She w as much annoyed that she 349 D RESD EN.

‘ ’ could get no power over him . Besides, said the

‘ Emperor, she is witty and intelligent enough to em barrass her husband, who was sure that she cared

very little for him . Her face was agreeable and

as i bright with a charm of its own . She w l ke a ’ pretty nun .

Napoleon kept busy at Dresden . Men were con tin uall ao y coming and going, and the Emperor was

tivel k d y wor ing over the etails, political and military,

of the vast expedition he w as getting ready . Marie

ui Lo se, who wished to avail herself of his few mo t men s of leisure, scarcely left the palace, and it was

- to no purpose that her step mother , the Empress of d Austria, tried to represent this evotion as something

ridiculous . There was a sort of hidden rivalry between the two

di a Empresses . Napoleon had had all the crown

monds brought to Dresden, and Marie Louise was

e r literally covered by them . General de S gu says “ She completely effaced her step-mother by the

splendor of her jewels . If Napoleon demanded less w display, she resisted him, even ith tears, and the i f Emperor y elded the point from a fection, fatigue , or d di straction . It has been sai that, in spite of her fi m birth, this princess morti ed the pride of the Ger ans 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 Aus 350 THE EMP RES S M ARIE L O UISE .

- tria was compelled to conceal her ill will . She was present almost every morning when Marie Louise was ’ d s -d s ressing, ran acked her step aughter s laces , ribbon ,

uf f Off st s, shawls , and jewels, and carried something almost every day . The Emperor Francis pretended not to notice the i hi jealous ies of hi s w fe and s daughter . He spent a i good part of every day in walk ng about the town, and was somewhat sur prised at the enormous amount

-in - of work which hi s son law did . He sought to grat ify the mighty Emperor by telling him that in the Middle Ages the Bonaparte family had ruled over

r Treviso that he was su e of this, for he had seen the authentic documents that proved it . Napoleon replied

e that he took no interest in it, that he pr ferred being the Rudolph of Hapsburg of his family . The little ff genealogical flattery produced its e ect, nevertheless, and Marie Louise was much pleased by it .

Napoleon was on the point of leaving Dresden, w hen Frederic William, King of Prussia, arrived

. 24 1 81 2 there A treaty, signed February , , 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 i which they should be ass gned . Austria, by a treaty

14 r concluded March , had promised to fu nish a corps of thirty thousand men, commanded by an Austri an ’ general, under Napoleon s orders . Prussia especially sufi er ed under such a condition of things , and the memory of Jena had never been keener or more dis

IS E 352 THE EMP RES S M ARIE LOU .

id duced him to the other a es, asking them to treat their new comrade kindly . According to the Memoir s Ba t w as of the Baron de usse , who present at the Dres i thi has r den interv ew, Every ng which been w itten ’ about the coldness of the King of Pru ssia s reception d is false . He was welcome , as he had the right to expect, as a powerful ally, who, by a recent treaty, ” fi an had just united his troops with those of ce .

w as The young Crown Prince, who making his fir st a a ppearance in the world, attracted general ttention by his elegance and distinction . As to the King, he afi ected a content of which the curious despatch given below was the official expression . Nothing more clearly shows the ascend ancy which Napoleon exercised at this time than this circular addr sssed 2 1 81 2 h e , June , , by Count von Goltz to t e di : il plomatic agent of Prussia Sir, it w l be inter estin g for you to learn with certainty the main inci

of Sover dents the recent journey of the King, our

ei n to . g , Dresden Since I had the honor to aecom pany His Majesty, I give myself the pleasure of seiz ing the moment of my retur n to inform you about them . On receipt of a letter from His Majesty, the 24 Emperor Napoleon , brought to the King May , by hi the Count of Saint Marsan, w ch 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 Lieuten D D ‘ 3 RES EN. 35 ant von Z eschau d 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

s m thi a formal occasion, but His Majesty dee ed it

n . better to decline the profou d honors Nevertheless, a squadron of the mounted body-g uard had awaited His Majesty at a good quarter of a league from the city, and accompanied him to the palace of Prince t Antony, a par of the castle in which His Majesty is lodged, amid a countless throng of spectators , who w ith one accord gave the King the most marked

tokens of their respectful devotion . His Majesty was received at the foot of the stair

r case, and in the most flatte ing way, by His Majesty i the K ng of Saxony, accompanied by all his court,

d . his ministers, and the most istinguished citizens ’ i i His After a brief interv ew in the K ng s apartment, Majesty having announced his visit to the two

Emperors , they paid him the friendly attention of w as announcing their own . The Emperor Napoleon fi i the rst to arrive , and the two monarchs , hav ng em

at v braced, had once an inter iew which lasted more u than half an hour . The Emperor of A stria then in con sid arrived, and greeted His Majesty the most ” crate and friendly manner . un The Prussian Minister, expressing the most

bounded satisfaction , abounded with praise of the

courtesy and kindness of Napoleon . He concluded “ his circular despatch thus : I am obliged to ah stain from going into further details with regard to 354 THE EMP RES S MARIE L OUISE.

’ i our Sovereign s reception , and the subsequent nter

the views, as well as court ceremonies and festivals of this day and the two following ; but what I can and

s add - mu t 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 m i of Saxony and their august fa lies , and that the

ri i King has been much gratified by it. The f endsh p and the personal confidence of these monarchs an d the reciprocal conviction of the sincerity of their feel ings have affir med themselves in the most solid way and especially, the close bonds uniting our Sovereign with that of France have acquired a n ew character

an d of cordiality strength . I have to add that His

Royal Highness the Crown Prince , who reached Dres

on 27th su fi r a es den the , has equally received the g of the Sovereigns there assembled, and that the Em per or Napoleon greeted him with affectionate cordi al ” ity . Count von Goltz was evidently anxious that ” t all his should be bruited abroad . The last sentence d of the espatch 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 com m un i cate them .

In fact, not a single Pr ussian had forgotten Jena ;

356 THE EM P RES S MARIE L O UISE.

d they had to make their way, in or er to reach the d d oor of their prou conqueror, was a source of dis tress ; for all, even their own people , seemed to be

n false to them . When his happi ess was proclaimed, their misfortunes were insulted . They had collected at Dresden to make Napoleon’ s triumph more bril

i it i . l ant, for was he who tr umphed Every cry of

d i i him his a m rat on for was one of reproach to them , i exaltat on was their abasement, his victories were ! their defeats They thus fed their bitterness , and ” da n every y hatred sank deeper i to their hearts .

The Duke of Bassano , at that time Minister of i Foreign Affairs , was unwilling to perceive th s latent hostility, which was carefully concealed under pro

. 27 1 81 2 testations of devotion He wrote , May , , to “ i : Count Otto , French Ambassador at V enna Their Royal an d Imperial Majesties will probably leave

d d - Dres en ay after to morrow . Their stay in this city has been marked by reciprocal proofs of the most n perfect i telligence and the greatest intimacy . Now the two Emperors know and appreciate pach other. The embarrassment and tim idity of the Em peror of Austria have left him in face Of Napoleon ’s frankness an d simple character . Long conversations have taken place between the two monarchs . All the

be interests of Austria have been discussed, and I lieve the Emperor Francis will have received from his journ ey a fuller confidence in the feelings of the w d Emperor Napoleon to ar s him, as well as a large ” d n hi crop of goo cou sels . With all s optimism, D ESD R EN. 357 the Minister of Foreign Affair s was compelled to i not ce the secret feelings of the Empress of Aus tria .

n in n After sayi g his despatch to Cou t . Otto that the Emperor Francis had been able to see with his own

is eyes how happy Marie Lou e w as , he went on hi h T s sight, so agreeable to a father, as produced on another august person more surprise than emo

. if a tion However, the real feelings are not ch nged, l there wi l be at least a perceptible amelioration , since the illusions inspired and fed by a coterie w ill have ” disappeared. The Duke ended his despatch by these words of praise for the Crown Prince of Prus~ sia : The King of Prussia arrived here day before yesterday . He was followed yesterday by the Crown

ri i hi s P nce, who is mak ng entrance into the world. f ” He comports him sel with prudence and grace .

The Dresden festivities were drawing to a close .

ct nl s N o y the German , even the French, were grow “ ing weary of them . I pass over the ceremonies ” Bausset of etiquette, says the Baron de , who took — “ part in these so called rejoicings ; they are the same

r t . at every cou Great dinners , great balls, great ll lw i i uminations , a ays stand ng, even at the eternal

r r concerts , a few d ives, long waitings in long d awing e s rooms ; always serious , always att ntive , alway busy ’ ’ ns in defending c ne s powers or one s pretensio ,

s i - a that is to what the e env ed, longed for ple sures dis amount. All this machinery of alleged tractions concealed serious anxieties and the keenest uneasiness . Napoleon had desired that the Dresden interview 358 THE EMP RE S S MARIE L O UISE .

should preserve a pacific appearance . Possibly he had for a moment hoped that the Czar, on seeing d the force assemble about the Emperor of the French,

King of Italy, and Protector of the Confederation hi of the R ne, the ally of Prussia and Austria, would accept whatever conditions so great a potentate

i ofl er d w as m ght , and aban on the struggle before it i begun . The mil tary element was kept in the back ground . 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

n courts . But every one k ew perfectly well that the storm was gathering . One would have said that the fir st cannon fir ed in that tremendous campaign the Russian campaign — were going to di sturb and i i d then to ext ngu sh the soun 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 w ith a d d lowered hea , as if rawn into the abyss by a deadly i fascination . Somet mes, amid the fumes of power d and pri e , some mysterious voice warned him of his peril ; but he would reassure himself by recalling his i former v ctories and thinking of his star . As Gen “ eral d e Segur 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 i a great peril with all his most glor ous recollections .

360 THE EM P RES S M ARIE L O UISE .

hi not suspect that the King of Prussia, seemingly “ : ally, had sent word secretly to the Czar Strike no blow at Napoleon . Draw the French into the heart of Rus sia ; let fatigue and famine do the

h d s work . Meanw ile the sun was rying the road ; the grass was beginning to grow . Nature was pre paring the earth for the common extermin ation of d its people . And, od ly enough, at the moment when the slaughter was about to begin, Napoleon had no feeling Of hate or wrath towards his adver

s . Of sary, the Ru sian monarch He was the opinion that a war between sovereigns, that is to say, between

i ri u in ff brothers by d vine ght, co ld no way a ect their

ds . 25 1 81 2 frien hip He had written , April , , to the Emperor Alexander Your Majesty will permit

r hi me to assu e you, that if fate shall render t s war

vi n li between us ine table, it can ot alter the fee ngs with whi ch Your Majesty has inspired me ; they ” are secure from all vicissitude an d all change . Napoleon rightly spoke of fate for was it not that

hi i r w ch lured him , by its rresistible powe , towards the icy steppes where hi s power an d glor y sank be neath the snow ? If at times a swift and sombre

Of anticipation 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 ow n fate Among the courtiers Of every nation ality who were ri gathe ng around the great Emperor at Dresden , w as an i , a there Austr an general, h lf a military man , D RESD EN. 361

i in half a d plomatist, but not a striking figure any way . One evening the Empress Marie Louise, on i her way to the theatr cal performance, spoke a few

ds s empty wor to him, merely becau e she happened to meet him . He w as the Count of Neipperg. How astonished Napoleon would have been if any one had told him that one day this unknown ofii cer would

succeed him as the husband of Marie Louise . The youn g Empress would have been equally amazed if

' any one had prophesied so str ange a thing. Of these n r lli - two per sonages, the so b i ant, 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 .

P RAGU E .

’ AY 29 1 81 2 O , , at three clock in the morning, Napoleon left Dresden to put himself at the head Of his armies . He kissed Marie Louise most d warmly, and she seemed sorely istressed at parting 3oh him . t from The , at two in the morning, he

d in five reache Glogau, Silesia, whence he started at to enter Poland . The Emperor of Austria passed the 29th w whole of the ith his daughter, trying to con ’ d sole her for Napoleon s eparture, and he left Dres i den that evening . He was go ng 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

an d the r at Prague with her family ; Aust ian ruler, for his part, acted both as a kind father and an as tute statesman in Offering to his daughter attentions and tokens of deference by whi ch his son-in -law could not fail to be flattered . t Af er the departure of her husband and her father, Mari e Louise remained still five days in the capital 362

364 THE EM P RES S MARIE L O UISE .

— I n 5 1 81 2. Prague, Ju e , My Lord, arrived here the night of the 3d . The Emperor of Austria had given orders that I and my suite should be con ducted to a house prepared for me by the side Of the vi palace . I was at once informed on arri ng that I was at liberty to dispose of all the service Of the

—a court, including the carriages , very agreeable attention , because on the mountain on which the castle of Prague is built there are no provi sions 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 di which I should have the honor of ning w ith 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

‘ -in - with his august son law, and spoke with real emo tion of the happiness of his dear Louise . He was impatiently awaiting her arrival at Prague , and anti cipatin g her surprise at the picturesque and m agn ifi cent view from the castle overhanging the broad

s river, full of island , above the brilliantly illuminated

Of city . The Empress the French would enjoy a spectacle which could scarcely be equalled any m where, and the ore striking because she had never seen Prague . Know ing that the Emperor preferred to speak German , I addressed him in that language, d and I was gla that I did. The monarch expressed

tou ched ~ m himself at length in a way that e deeply . He told me that he wanted to keep his august daugh P 365 RAGUE. ter with him as lon g as she should care to stay at

Prague, and that he would escort her to the frontier . ’ - d ll To morrow, he adde , I sha go to meet her with the Empress ; I shall make the most Of every mo ment she can give me, and I shall part with her with ’ the sincerest regret . “ a afiair s Then t lking about the state of , the Em per or 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 ’

i . with a power l ke 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 thous an d men .

i Of F After the aud ence the Emperor rancis , came ’ the . d Empress s The ambassa or described that too , but not wi thout noticing the systematic reserve she showed in speaki ng di rectly or indirectly about the “ state of affairs . When I was introduced to Her d i Majesty the Empress, she receive me w th the same

flattering consideration . She made me sit down by her, and spoke at some length of the excellent health d i t of our Empress, and of her el ght that she was s ill f going to stay for some time w ith her . The rest O the conversation was about matters Of art an d litera ture , which interest Her Majesty very much . She fi talked easily and pleasantly, but con ned herself to literature and philosophy, making no reference to the events Of the day or to those which are prepar

$ 9 ing . 366 THE EMP RES S MARIE L OUISE.

In spite of this shado w which the ambassador was acute enough to notice, the despatch on the whole

n bore witness to his complete content . On risi g ” dd d “ from the table , he a e , the Emperor spoke to me in the kindest way, and asked some of the noble men 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

u . l d ring my stay This court, which is general y so

fi n informal, is to be very magni cent duri g 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 Hungari an 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 fes ti iti v es to celebrate this interesting reunion . I have i been invited again to dine w th Their Majesties, and everything is in readiness to receive our Sovereign. The hearts of this good people of Bohemia are flyin g

. i Of n to meet her Speak ng the loyalty of this natio , the Em peror told me that it is ready to do whatever a is sked Of it . General Klenau added that if he were allowed to make use Of the influence of Saint Ne om uc p , whose bronze statue is saluted every day b y those who cross the Prague bridge, he could raise two hundred thous and Bohemians in a very short time . I have mentioned General Klenau, and I must

368 THE EMP RES S MARIE L OUISE.

i his most distinguished chamberlains . She d ned at

’ her father s table with the Grand Duke Of Wii r z burg, Prince Anthony of Saxony, the Duchess of Of Montebello, the Duchess of Bassano , the Count

an d Montesquiou, etc . The Emperor the Empress fi of Austria gave up to her the rst place at the table,

an d as they had done in the carriage , during her whole stay at Prague she received the honors r e served for the Austrian sovereigns on grand occasions . Prince Clarywas put at the head of the household

s Nei chosen for her, which included besides, Count p

' Nestitz in perg, von , von Clam, Pr ce von Auersperg,

t ~ Prince von Kinsky, Coun s von Lutzow, von Paar,

- i M ar tin itz . von Wall s, von Trautmannsdorf, von Clam

ts Of of 5 1 81 2 In the pos cript his despatch June , , hi d w ch we have quote , Count Otto gave the follow ’ in g d etails about Marie Louise s entrance into Prague Her Majesty the Empress arrived here at about seven in the evening . Ever since eleven in the morn

i i s ing, the troops , the corporat on, the civ c guard , the

an d n ear l ' all n i University, y the i hab tants of the town, ! e had turned out to m et her, forming a line which it w as i kin dli most nteresting to see , on account of the

n f ness a d af ection which animated the m ultitude . The procession was very imposing and worthy of the d two sovereigns . It ha been arranged that Her i Majesty should arrive in an open carr age, which was dr iven ver y slowly so that the vast crowd should be able to get a good look at her . Incessant cheers mingled

i i an d w th the peal ng bells, the cannon, the military P E 369 RAGU .

music . The whole cour t had gathered to welcome

Of the Empress, at the foot the grand staircase of the castle . Her Majesty seemed very little tir ed 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 w ith them .

n 7 . Ju e , the Archduke Charles reached Prague That evening there was a state di nner in the apart f ment of the Emperor O Austria . Marie Loui se sat at the m iddle of the table with the Emperor on her

011 . right, and the Empress her left This was the

place always assigned to her, both at home and at her ’ hi ri father s . At t s di nner she was waited on by P nce

r d ns Cla y, who was entruste with the functio of her

High Chamberlain .

The same day ! June the Duke of Bassano , who

had accompanied Napoleon , wrote to Count Otto f m i Sir , I have the honor O infor ng you that His 29 Majesty, who left Dresden May , reached Thorn

- the 2d inst . He stopped forty eight hours at Posen, ’ leaving at four O clock for D an tzic in order to review is on his way several of the army corps . His health

ri he d perfect, a d everywhere has receive the expres

sion of the enthusiasm and adm iration he inspires . i The army is magnificent . The sold ers are in good

s fin e trim, and all the corps are conspicuou for their t bearing and their di scipline . The weather is faul i less, the roads are in good cond tion, and the country i its amply supplies all that the army needs , w thout

calling on its abu ndant reserves . I propose, Sir, to 370 THE EMP RES S MARIE L OUISE.

write to you twice a week, to give you the news about O His Majesty, and details about the perations of the h w ar m y . T ese communications ill enable you to contradict the idle rumors whi ch malicious persons may spread . At Prague the festivities continued without inter

i : 10 Of r upt on June , the Empress France gave a din

r r ner, and at the Cou t Theatre there was a pe formance ’ “ ” of a German play, Kotzebue s American ; on the 1 lth di , the Emperor of Austria gave a nner ; on the 1 2th i , they visited the Imperial Library, the Draw ng

Of i n School, the Museum Mach nery, and in the eveni g

loth n there was a concert ; the , the Archdukes A thouy and Reinhardt arrived in the afternoon Marie

Louise gave a ball in honor of her sisters , the three

1 4th vi young Archduchesses the , they sited the Park

Buben et 15 Wr atislau of the th, the gardens of Count , l6th and the estate of Count von Clam the , a picnic ’ Chotek s at Count von castle, seven leagues from i Prague , a sa l in the boats, return to Prague , and the 1 8 r arrival of Archduke Albert . The th, the Emp ess Marie Louise rode in the r idi n gs choolof the Wallen

Of stein Place ; the Prince Ligne arrived, of whom the Baron de Bausset says : This amiable Prince had all the qualities needed for social success ; he w as w i fi afi ction ate tty, digni ed without haughtiness, e , and most gracious and polite ; his fancy was qu ick and fertile ; his conversation was animated though kindly an d always in good taste he w as continually s hi u but aying clever t ngs which am sed gave no pain,

372 THE EMP RES S MARIE L OUIS E.

i the Emperor, left Prague at six in the morn ng.

The garrison and the civic guard were under arms . The nobles who were at court escorted the Empress li Of the French to her carriage , and amid pea ng bells

an d n and roaring cannon , the cheers blessi gs of the

d . crowd, the young sovereign eparted That evening

hOffin n da 2 she slept at Sc ; the ext y, July , at Carls 4th m bad ; the , she visited the tin ines of Franken

d d dr thal, escen ing more than six hun ed feet in a

an d e chair, placed at the mouth controll d by balance

w as weights ; the chair then sent up , the Emperor

Francis went down as well as all the ladies, one 5th after another ; the they left Carlsbad, and reached

Fr an z br u n n , where they were entertained by national

S . The 6th ongs and dances , 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

Of Bamberg, in the palace the Duke William of

d h r z . a 7t Wii Bavaria The next y, the , she reached burg, where her uncle , the Grand Duke, gave her a fi magni cent reception . After a few excursions to

- illum i the castle of Werneck, many boating parties,

u s nations , and concerts led by the D ke him elf, she continued her journey . She reached Saint Cloud 1 8 1 81 2 July , ; and at six in the evening the cannon of the Invalides announced to the Parisian s the return of their Empress . i Mar e Louise , who was not yet twenty years and six Old had months , been for two years and four s month Empress of the French and Queen Of Italy. P A R GUE. 373

In her thoughts she recalled everything that had hap

d r n — pened since her pathetic epartu e from Vien a, the i mov ng ceremony at Braunau, where she was given over to the French ; her first meeting with Napoleon before the chur ch of Cour celles ; her triumphal entry into Paris by the Avenue Of the Champs Elysees ; her m agnificent marriage in the salon car r é of the

vr Lou e ; the brilliant festivities , the journeys, con tin u al ri ovations ; the ball at the Aust an Embassy, a gloomy warning am id so much prosperi ty ; her suff er i w ings end ng ith a great joy, with the birth of a son the enthu siasm which this event aroused throughout the world ; then more recently, the wonderful splen dor Of the Dresden intervi ew . For two years noth

i ri m ing but flattery, homage , applause , mus c , t u phal

fi v i arches , magni cence , splendid festi it es ; and, after

ll w as a , how poor and empty it all

us n So far from her h ba d, 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 h omesickness 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 w as to see the other side . Napoleon had not been able to make his w ife share ul h his boundless confi dence in himself. She wo d ave been tempted to apply to all she saw these words from “ ” the Imitation The glory which comes from men 374 THE EMP RES S MARIE L O UISE . passes quickly away The glory Of thi s world is never void of sorrow . Napoleon had just said in his last proclamation : Russia is led by fatality. She ”

u fi . ! must f l l her destiny Alas it was not Russia, it w as France ; it was the Emperor who was led by

2 . fatality. The army had crossed the Niemen June 4

fin As the national historian has said, We shall d glory at every step ; but we must not look for good ” fortune beyond the Niemen . Up to this point hi every one looked upon Napoleon as invincible , and s young wife had imagine d 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 r e gr etted that Napoleon had not oftener sought her di advice . We may say the same thing regar ng the second Empress . Marie Louise was very young and d hi inexperience , especially in matters of statesmans p

. ni and diplomacy Yet her husband, ge us 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 cam paign . She who had known from infancy the pr eju di Of ces , passions , and rancor s the Viennese court, would have warned him against blind confidence in

Austrian promises . But would she have dared to give even one word of advi ce to her powerful hus band ? Had a woman of twenty ventured to advise

a the great Napoleon, the modern C esar, the second

Charlemagne , he would have received the pr esum pf

IND E X.

Alexand er the Em r r d l i , pe o , e ays h s Bausset M. d e extr a ts f r om his , , c ’ answ er oncer nin his sister s Mem oir s 211 352 3 0 c g , . , 357 , 7 .

m ar r ia e to Na oleon 78. Beauhar nais un t kni h f g p , , Co of , g t o Amster d am Na oleon an d Mar ie h nor r i , p o to Ma e Louise, 320.

Louise at 279. Ber an er d , g , quote , 257, 262. Antw er r e e tion of Na oleon Ber thier M p, c p p , ar shal. See Pr in ce of and M ar ie Louise at 212 f estiv , ; Neuf chatel. ities at in hon or of the ba tism Beu n ot Count x r ts f r i , p g , , e t ac om h s of the in of Rom e 268 tr an s Mem oir 2 2 i K g , ; s, 79, 84 ; g ves an ao ’ f or m ation of the city by Na coun t of Napoleon s ac tivity at leon l po , 278. D usse dor f , 285 his im pr essions A llo Gallr S aint Cloud he ar i i i r po e y, , t of M e Lou se, 285 ; h s em ar k ’ cer em on y of the civil m ar r iage able testim ony to Napoleon s in

in 1 3 . r i s ffi , 7 spi at on of hi o cer s , 295 . ’ A d e Tr iom he d e IEtoile con Bi nais a ld smith ad m itted to r c p , en , go , ’ r i str ucted in can vas f or Napoleon s the apar tm ent of Ma e Louise, r i Loui i to entr y w ith Ma e se n 329. r i B ell M e th husband o Pa s, 179. omb es, . d , ir d f i n i r e i 22 Ar chbishop of V e na , h s sc upls Mar e Louise , . ’ in a olon s d i or e B r eaux D uke of hi ir th 27 . r espect g N p e v c , o d , , s b , ati d b Count Otto d e Bor hese Pr in ess Paulin e en ter 102 ; s sfie y g , c , hon or of tainm en t given by, in ’ tr ed of the Fr en h in N oleon s m ar r ia e 220. Austr ia , ha c , ap g . an r thr eatenin B n th S an ish oin in the 48 et d ge s g, our bo s, e p , j

l a oleon 216 . 60 et seq . ad u ation of N p .

n er t 139 . Br aun au , the tr a sf a , r i in honor of Br o k isit of M ar ie Loui se to Ball, given by Pa s c , v , ’ 19 he u r ious habits of the vil Napoleon s m ar r iage, 2 of t 281 ; c

h f r f 282. Im per ial Guar d in onor o lage s o ,

Napoleon and Mar ie Louise , 220; ’ ' Caen Na oleon s isit to 254. at Pr in ce S chw ar zenber g s, 224. , p v , m 0 Cam bacér es Pr in e his r edi tion Baptism of the Kin g of Ro e, 26 , c , p c ’ ti i d elebr a w ith r e ar d to Na oleon s m ar et seq . ; f es vit es an c g p f r ia e 75 his r ounds f or the tion o , 266 et seq. g , ; g Bassan o D uke of w r ites to Count divor ce 100 per f or m s the cer e , , , ; of the i il m ar r ia e Otto of the m eeting of Napoleon m ony c v g ,

t D r esd en 174. w ith the sover eigns a , d Car dinals the thir teen Italian 356 ; sends Coun t Otto e Mesloy , , on in ol n 369 . w ho r ef used to ote er n new s of Nap eo , v c c g 377 378 IND EX.

r k of Fr ioul lead er of the di or e 175 absen t f r om D u oc , D u e , v c ,

li i us er em on 190 the Militar Par t at our t 326 . the r e g o c y, ; y y c , 1 D usseld or f Na oleon and Mar ie their pun ishm en t, 97 . , p ln M ar ie ueen of Na les Louise at 284 assi n ed tothe old Car o i e , , Q p , , g ’ L uise s d eser n f Loui Bon a ar te 284 . cond em ns Mar ie o est so o s p , n l n 2 her har a D ut h the their an ta on ism tio of Napo eo , ; c c c , , g ’ m il 41 h r d d o n b Na oleon s ter , 40; her f a y, ; e e br oken w y p

t tion of the new Fr an e t t 280. tes a c , ac ,

43 . ar olin e of Wur tem ber her fid el C g , ’ Em i r the at Na oleon s our t g es, , p c , it to her hu sban d er om Bon a y , J e 288. t 2 par e, . ’ Char les Ar hduk ol , c e, Nap eon s

Feltr e ball i en h the D uke of 220. r ox at the Vienna m ar r ia e , v y , p y g , g ’ 2 hi l Fir e at Pr in e S hw ar z enber s 226 1 3 ; s etter to Napoleon , 128 c c g , ’ ackn ow ledges Napoleon s be at seq . i Em r r f Austr ia stow alof the br oad r ibbon of the Fr an c s IL, pe o o , Le ion of Hon or 21 sin er e in his f r iend shi f or Na g , 6 . c p Chateaubr ian d on Na oleon oleon 8 his m ar r ia es 39 et , p , 297 ; p , ; g , ’ d e r ibes hi s inter iew w ith his accoun t of Napoleon s j udg seq . sc v m en t of Fr ed r i k Wil Na oleon 46 his thir d m ar r ia e e c liam , 290. p , ; g , ’ Cher bour l 47 r ef uses toin fl uen e hi s d au h g, Napo eon s visit to the c g ’ n a ar d at 25 ter s de ision w ith r e ar d to her vy y , 5 . c g Colo n e a lon m ar r ia e 86 his letter to Na o g , N po e an d Mar ie Lou g , ; p

ise at, 286 . leon , 113 ; the m em ber s of his Cor on ation oa h f am il 120 testi es his lo alt c c , d escr iption of y, ; fi y y

th 1 1 . t l 12 ltt r of to e, 8 o Napo eon , 6 e e , Cour t of Na ol Na oleon n n un in the Vienn a p eon , a list of the p a o c g di n itar ies of 291 n w eddin 131 letter of to Na o g , ; e ter tain g, ; , p m en ts an d f esti iti leon out h r t Pr in e v es of , 293. ab t e fi e a c ’ S hw ar z nb r 234 his letter c e e g s , ;

D ar u M . on sult d to N l n th x , , c e by Napoleon apo eon r egar di g e e r es e tin his m ar r ia e 2 ct d h i 23 th n ks Na o p c g g , 7 . pe e e r , 9 ; a p D avoust Mar shaltr ansm its Gen r l leon f or th or tr ait of Mar ie , , e a e p ’ Ra s w ar n in to Na ole n Louis 241 nd pp g p o , 359 . e, ; m eets Napoleon a D ela i n e Casimir r M v g , , ve ses of , on ar ie Louise in D r esd en in 1812,

Na oleon 259. p , 342 ; his attitud e to Napoleon at D i or e of Na oleon an d Jose hi n D r e d en i v c p p e , s , 346 ; his in ter view w th r eli ious diffi ulties in r o ur in Count Otto d M l t P g c p c g e es oy a r ague, it 98 et e th Ar h i , s q . e c b sli op of 364 ; en ter tain s Mar ie Louise at ’ Vienn a s s r u les o er 102. c p v , Pr ague , 367 . D r esd en Na oleon an d Mar ie Fr eder i k William r , p c of P ussia, Na ’ Louise at 340. oleon s ud en t of 290 o , p j gm , ; g es

D ubois D r . installed at the Tuil t r , , e o D esd en to m eet Napoleon at

r ies 24 . his in itation 351 hi r t , v , ; s sec e ad D ur an d Madam e her d es r i tion i e to th z r , , c p v c e Ca , 360. of an extr avagant eu lo ium of Fr ochot Count in the n am e of g , , Na oleon 256 uoted 293 on e Par is r esent p , ; q , ; , p s a cr adle f or the ’ of the Em r ess s. ladies 327. in of Rom p , K g e, 242.

380 IND EX.

r ed of her et do w aitin 327 d ail habits of 152 ; d ep iv p g , g, ; y , lNei r at 331 her talen ts 332 her har 152 ; m eets Gen er a ppe g ; , ; c 57 her cor r es on it 332 f ond of her son 333 Str asbour g, 1 ; p y, ; , ; m et h r r l tion s w ith the m em ber s d en ce w ith Napoleon , 158 ; e e a ’ at our elles 163 of Na oleon s f amil 337 her by Napoleon C c , ; p y, ; ’ n al or tr it of f r r om ar e and discom Bar on d e Mé ev s p a , eedom f c tter to her f ather f or t 33 a om anies Na oleon 166 ; her le , , 8 ; cc p p ’ a oleon s r e e tion to Dr esden 340 her r i alr w ith d escr ibing N p c p , ; v y 168 ar r i es at Sain t the Em r ess of Austr ia 349 of her , ; v p , ; the i il m ar r ia e m eets Count Nei er at D r es Cloud , 169 ; c v g pp g 4 en t intoPar is d en 361 ar ts f r om Na oleon celebr ated , 17 ; r y , , ; p p , li ou r mon in 2 h entr an e in to Pr a ue 181 ; the r e gi s ce e y 36 ; er c g , r r f th L r e ti ities in her hon or the S alon Ca é o e ouv , 367 ; f es v , ha in h r n ew 370 r tur n s to Saint loud 372 188 ct seq . ; ppy e ; e C , ;

n 199 her satisf a tion homesi k 373 . r elatio s, ; c c , ’ usband 203 our Mar ie Louise Be tr i d Este her w ith her h , ; j a ce , ol n hr the m r r Fr n 7 let n eys w ith Nap eo t ough a iage to a cis IL, 4 ; r r out th Nor ther n D epa tm en ts, 210; he ter of , to Napoleon , ab e r ibed h r on of M ar i uise 206 bear ing d esc by t e Ba education e Lo , ; 2 ath to on 347 d e Meneval, 21 ; en ter tain m ent her an tip y Napole , ; or of b P r i 1 h r l us of Mar ie Loui se at given in hon , y a s, 2 7 e j ea o y

a es w ith Na oleon D r e den 347. et seq . ; esc p p s ,

at . Pr in w ar M r i Th e m th of Mar ie f r om the fi r e ce Seh a e er se, o er ’ r ball227 letter of n Loui her m ar r ia e to Fr an is z en be g s , ; , co se, g c

r e at Pr in e th of . cer n in g the fi ce Sehw ar IL, 40; d a , 46 ’ ball 232 m utu ai M ar r ia e of Na oleon ith M ar ie z enber g s , ; al g p w ‘ a olon n 3 Lo i ti u tt f ob e f ection of N p e a d , 2 6 ; u se, e q e e o , 90; j c her letter to her f ather r egar d tions of the Ar chbishop of Vien of off s r in 38 n e lebr r o ing her hopes p g , 2 ; a to, 102 ; c ated by p xy h r 23 her pr esents to e sister s, 240; at Vienna, 1 ; the civil, at Saint h f he in of m l th r li o er e the bir t o t K g Ro e, Coud , 173 ; e e gi us c i k r ar i 244 ; her qu c ecover y, 250; m ony in P s, 188 et pa r lt r her f ather 2 n he Pl Con he e te s to , 25 ; gea t in t ace de la h r ir h t celebr ation of e b t d ay a cor de, 195. r aill 2 3 oin s h r hus M t r h r i t f Ve s es, 7 ; j e a e nal C a ty, Socie y o , ban d at Antw er 278 in aw e of f ound d b Na l n p , ; e y po eo , 239. Na oleon 286 af r aid to hold Maur d in al f p , ; y, Car , testim ony o , as ’ h r ild 301 or tr ait o in n e ch , ; p f her to Napoleo s love f or Mar ie

2 e . 181 , 304 et s q ; com par ison by Louise, 313. ’ Na oleon betw een an d Jose M elito Coun t Miot d e uoted 295 p , , , q , ; hin e 307 her studied r r i ar i p , eser ve d esc bes M e Louise, 310. an d r udent d em eanor in ubli M n eval Bar on d e d h p p c , é , , escr ibes t e 309 atta hed to but n ot in hear in of Mar ie Lou 2 2 on ; c , g ise, 1 ; ’ lo e with Na oleon 311 her Na oleon s har a ter and en ius v , p , ; p c c g , ealous of Jose hin e 312 her 2 i tur M uise j y p , ; 97 ; his p c e of ar ie Lo , r em ar k to Metter n i h on r n 31 c c ce 7 ; quoted , 334. ’ in Na oleon s f e ar of her M l n g p , es oy, Cou t Otto d e, his d e ’ 314 Lam ar tin e s i ; p ctur e of , 316 S atches to the Fr en h our t ; p c c , household of 320 her ladies-in r e ar din th A , ; g g e ustr ian allian ce, IND EX 381

87 ; his r epor t of a con ver sation Russia r o osed 63 his di or e p p , v c ' w ith Mar ie Lou ise 115 satis es d e , ; fi cr eed and an noun ced , 68; d e the Ar hbisho of Vienn a w ith id r r M ar i c p c es to m a y e Louise, 79 ; r e ar d to the d i or e 0 i g v c , 1 7 ; d e h s gr ounds f or the an nulm ent of S atch of to the D uke of Bass hi p , a s m ar r iage w ith Josephine, 100 n o d es r ibin his inter i ew w ith hi d li h th th , c g v s e g t w i e m ar r iage,

Fr ancis 11. at Pr ague, 364 ; d e 159 ; his m eeting w ith Mar ie s r ibes the r ece tion of Mar i Lou ur lle c p e ise at Co ce s, 163; his

Louise at Pr a ue 368. an er t thir tee r i l g , g a the n ca d na s, Metter ni h ount b c , C , ecom es Min 100; is m ar r ied in the S alon ister of For ei n Afi air i ar r é to Mar i Lou g s, 61 ; h s C e ise . 191 ; r e stay in Par is an d his r elation s ceives the add r esses of the gr eat w th the our t 204 bod i f th tate i c , et seq . ; clos es o e S , 196 ; implaca eted w ith M ar ie i bl r tm n t f Lou se, 205 et e esen e o , against the extr a t f r om his Mem oir thir teen ar din als 15” ha in c s, c , ppy ’ r es e tin Na oleon r l ti n his f e 199 f a or abl h p c g p s e a o s w i , ; v e c an ge to Mar ie Louise i m anner s 200 r i M , 236 ; char ged in h s , ; b ngs et byNapoleon to assur e the Em pe ter nich and M ar ie Louise to r or Fr an is of his e 205 our n n h c ood f eelin , ther , j eys i t e g g g d 237 Mem oir s uoted N r ther n D e ar tm en 210 d u ; q , 289, 290, o p ts, ; a 291 la f 211 s old tholi , 346. tion o , ; c s a Ca c Metter n i h Coun tess d e ut tion at Br eda 213 d eifica c , , appr oached p a , ; b hin n hi o ln and y Josep e a d Hor tense on tion of , 215 ; s c o ess the subj ect of the Austr ian m ar cour age at th e fi r e at Pr in ce ’ r ia e 64 et se . h r h ar zenber s 228 f oun ds g , q ; e gam e of Sc w g , ; r d ith Na oleo i t of Mater nalChar it ca s w p n , 71 . the Soc e y y , n M ar i L ui w ith Mon iteur , The, on the baptism of 239 ; pr ese ts e o se th in of Rom f r ubies 240 his d eli ht e K g e, 257, 261 . a set o , ; g Montebello D u hes h bir th of a son 244 nu , c s of , m aid of at t e , ; honor to Mar ie Loui i n un ces the bir th of the in of se, aff ect on o K g

betw een them 200 her har ac Rom e to Fr an is II. 250 m akes , ; c c , ; h Nor m and 253 ter , 322. a tr ip thr oug y, ; Montes uiou Co n an enter tain m ent at Saint q , u tess of , ap gives pointed gover n ess of the Im pe Cloud in hon or of the baptism of r i hildr en 24 1 x ll n t hi son 269 m akes a tr i to Bel al c , e ce e s , ; p f 324 n iu and Hollan d 277 enter s char acter o , ; her i fl uen ce g m , w ith Napoleon in f avor of the Amster dam an d end eavor s to i 325 D ut h 280 his ar old nobilty , . please the c , ; p h m t o er iods M usset, Alf r ed d e , d escr ibes the tiality f or t e , 284 ; w p ’ n ations ause l n i his ar eer 289 Char lem a ne se s c d by Napo eo s n c , ; g d l 287 r ef er s to d er i e car eer , 217 . his m o e , p v d i 2 his pow er f r om vine r ight, 89 ; a tr eatm n Mar ie his r e r et that he ould not a N poleon , his e t of g c p lea es her f or the last eal to the r in i le of le i ti Louise, 7 ; v p p c p g m 11 his our tes to the Aus m a 290 his O inion of Fr ed ti e, c y cy, ; p m ion hi e er i William 290 his hatr ed of tr ian co m iss er s, 55 ; s b ck , ; l r 291 lief that an heir w ould m ak e his Jacobins an d phi osophe s, ; ur e 59 his m ar r ia e br illian e of his our t 291 his thr one sec , ; g c c , ; in en ius 2 4 r e ar d ed w ith the Gr and D uchess Anne of contr oll g g , 9 ; g 382 IND EX.

mo t u er hum an bein Ram bouillet Na oleon and Mar ie as an al s s p g , p

tho n ar st him 297 his Louise at 253. by se e e , ; , r id 300 hi ha r elation s Ra Gen er al his w ar nin p e, ; s ppy pp , , g befor e r i ouise 301 f on d of the Russian am ai w ith Ma e L , ; c p gn , 359. n 302 in lo e ith Rei hstadt th D uk petting his so , ; v w c , e e of , stor y of i tee or hi li f 3 his w if e, 313 ; h s es m f s e, 2 ; his bir th 24 , 244 ; G6 i ’ hon or able people , 323; k nd to r ar d s por tr ait of , 24; his mili hi f e an d on 335 at D r es tar tas tes w hen a hild s w i s , ; y c , 26 ; hear s ’ den 340 the ulm in ation of his the n ew s of his f ather s d , ; c eath, r 342 ubser i en e of th 28 afi ectio pow e , ; s v c e ; n of the Em per or r in e to 343 n Fr an i Ger man p c s , ; e ter c s f or , 28 ; his im per ial tains the so er ei n s at D r esd en bear in 30 his d e r ession v g , g , ; p , 31 ; 345 h r e tion of the in of his d eath ; is ec p K g , 33 et enthusiasm t Posen an d D t of th P Pr ussia, 353 a an e ar isians on the occasion i zig , 369 . of his b r th , 246 ; pr ivately chr is Na ol n e D uke of i h ten ed 24 i p eo 11 . S e Re c , 7 ; bapt sm of , 260 et

seq . Nar bonn n f u Rom f e ti iti e, Cou t o , s ggests the e , s v es at, in honor of the Austr ian allian e 66 es e iall ba tism of the in of c , ; p c y p K g , 268.

a r e i ted a oleon 288 hi Rom e the in of . pp c a byN p , ; s , K g See D uke of itt r n t Na leon 2 Rei hstad t w y espo ses o po , 94 ; c . ’ a ointed one of Na oleon s Ro i o the D uk pp p v g , e of , descr ibes the aid 321 r e e tion i es, . c p g ven to Mar ie Louise Nei er the oun t of 21 m ar r ie b the Par isian ubli C s 310. pp g , , ; y p c , ’ Mar ie Louise 21 m eets M ar ie Russia Na oleon s f ear of i , ; , p , n the

Louise at Str asbour g , 157 and at f u tur e , 300. D r esd en 3 1 Russian w ar r n , 6 . , w a ni gs toNapoleon Neuf hatel the Pr in of Na o r es e tin the f at f c , ce , p p c g e o , 359. ’ leon s am bassador extr aor d in ar y to es or t Mar ie Louise to Fr an e Saar dam m ad e a it c c , , c y by Napoleon 1 10 his entr an e into Vien n a in hon or of P t c , e er the Gr eat, 283. 111 m akes a f or m ald em and f or Sai n t Cloud ar r i ; , valof Napoleon the han d of the Ar hd u hess 1 17 and Mar ie Louise t c c , ; a , 169 ; civil hon or s done him at the Vienn a m ar r ia e in A oll g p o Galler y, 173 ;

m ar r ia e 127. br illian t t g , spec acle at, in honor of the ba tism of the in of p K g Rom e , 270 a stor m in ter r upts the f es Otto Count. See Coun t Otto d e , ti ti vi es at, 272. Meslo . - y S alon Can é Lou , vr e , the r eligious cer em on y of the m ar r iage of Na Par is enter tain m n i en b to oleon and Mar ie Loui , e t g v y, p se in , 188; l ar i u 21 br illiant assem bl i Napo eon and M e Lo ise , 7 age n , 188.

et . Saxon in of his d seq y, K g , evotion to Pr a u r ar ie ui a olon g e. eception of M Lo se N p e , 346 . at and f esti ities in he r hon or S hw ar z enber Pr , v , , in e Char les de c g c .

367 et seq . an xious f or M ar i e Louise to be Pr okesoh -Osten Count the con fi om e Em r ess of the Fr en h , , c p c , 67 ; d ant of the D uk e of Rei h stad t his in str u ti c , c on s r egar ding the

31 et se . Au str ian mar r ia e 9 q g , 7 ; signs

FAMOUS WOMEN O F THE FRENCH COURT.

’ CHA RLES SCRIBNER S S N P O S, U BLISHERS .

IT HIN st f e I W the pa w ye ars M . m bert d e Sain t Amand has written a se rie s of volum es which have mad e him on e of the most popular autho r s of F n e E c has f or i ra c . a h ts nuc leus some portion of the life of on e of the emin ent w ome n who have pr e sid ed

e or r ed at the F e c h c r t e it er ai ~ ve ~ ov r figu r n ou , h r aille or the T i r ie But t u s s u le s. ho gh thus largely biogr aphical an d posse ssing the inter est inse par able r m e i the v l e s ar e ll ic t r e s f o p rsonal ty, o um equa y p u of the tim s t e d r i He is him se l a a i h e h y e sc be. f s tur ted w t the lite r t r e an d i t of the e i d an d at a u h s ory p r o , wh m ainly d istinguishe s his books is the f act that they

' ar e in c onsid erable par t mad e u p of c ontempo r ar y le tte an d e ir s so ha the r e d e r ear s the rs m mo , t t a h c a r ac e t e m s ve s s e k an d is t i t the h t rs h el p a , brough n o i r i h c l s t i a t c t t t e . M r e e r the o es m g na y con a w h m o ov , complexion of the mo saic thus c leve rly mo r tised is The ist ia is n ot f amiliar rathe r than her oic . h or n ab e si in its d e s an d the in ic h ov gos p goo s n e, way wh the lif e of the tim e a n d of its d istinguished person age s is d e picted is extr emely intimate as we llas vivid an d tr uthful. he t l m e s e a e n d e ed i tien T firs vo u to app r, r r nto par a lar ly idiomatic English by M r . Thomas Serge nt Pe r W se a c lis e as a tr l t r ar e ell r y, ho c omp hm nts ans a o w el te to M ar ie i ette J se hi as i known, r a Anto n , o p ne w fe

f the Fir st s l a n d M ar ie L ise . T i e a o Con u , ou hey g v vivid re pre se ntation of the mom e n tous time s imme iate l b f r e d r in an d f te the e h of the d y e o , u g, a r poc Re ti P r bl ti in an c tr e r e volu on . oba y no mes y oun y w er so ict es ue so c w d ed w ith e en ts an d so ev p ur q , ro v ,

r i r ac t r s T he c a ac te istic s of peopled w ith st ik n g cha e . h r r the an c ien t r é im e the cc u ati n s of the c u t e s at g , o p o o r i r V er sailles an d other in c id en ts of the Old ord e r of thin gs t tter in to its f all ar e u ed eff ecti el ar u d the o g , gro p v y o n ’ athetic u e of Louis Sixteen t s u een se ine sym p fig r h q . Jo ph is taken as the c entre of the n ew soc iety that issue d f rom the dis r an iz ati n w r u t b the Re l ti n an d in o g o o gh y vo u o , “ ” T he Ha D a s of the E r ess M a ie L uise w e ppy y mp r o , ar e led be hin d the scenes an d show n the d omestic lif e as ' w ellas the splen did c our t pomp of the w orld s Conq ueror i ar e r at the ac m e of h s c e .

WIFE OF T HE FIRST ONSU L B IM BERT D E T HE C . y

- A ND T r an slated b T HOM A S SERG EA NT S AINT AM . y Read Now . PERRY . y

T HE HA P P Y D A YS O F T HE EM PRESS M ARIE LOU ISE. By Now Read the sam e . y.

ANT O INET T E A ND T HE END O F T HE O LD REGIM E M A RIE .

e By the sam e Rea dy in j un .

A A In P r ess . CIT IZENESS BON P RT E.

AND T HE D ECAD ENCE O F T HE EM PIRE M AR IE LO U ISE .

1 n P r ess .

R T O F T HE EM PRES S OSEPHINE In P r ess T HE CO U J . .

e r volum e . Each with Por tr ait. I2m o. p

CHARLES S CRIBNER’S S O NS ,

PU BLISHERS, — 7 4 3 7 4 5 B R O A D W A Y , N E W Y O R K .

ZNDLUERJEUVALEKS ‘QVA JD OZJEOAK

’ se ve r le d iti s the a th r s in tr d cti a n d the a dd i a on , u o o u on, ’ tion al tte r ic su le e ts Bou r r ie n n c s r ma wh h pp m n wo k, an ac of the i ta t ev en ts of the H d r d D a s count mpor n un e y , ’ O f Na l su r r e d r to the E is an d of his r esi po eon s n e ngl h, d ea th at St Hele a it a e cd te an d i l d e n c e a n d . s n , w h n o s l u f M ir Th r tr ative extr ac ts r om c ontemporary emo s. e pe son ality Of on e of the g r e ate st figur e s in histo r y is plac ed be f o r e the r ead e r with r emar kable fidelity a n d d r amatic ’ p ow e r by on e who was the Emper o r s c o n fid an t an d the an f r h i S har e r of his thoughts d o tu n e s . T e p c tu r e of the i a m an Na le is of f asc ti i t e st. Be sid e s this po on n ng n er ,

‘ the book is f u llof the st i te r e tin an e d tes hon mo n s g c o , mots c a ac te r ske tc es d r a atic in c id e ts an d the , h r h , m n , gossip of c our t an d c am p at on e of the mo st stirr in g e c s of hist take f r c te r r M e ir s an d po h ory, n om on mpo a y mo inc o r porated in the wor k by the e d itors of the d ifi e r e n t e d itions .

LIS T OF P RTRAITS E O TC. ,

NA E N T HE BUG D 'EN HIEN MA PO L O I. G RS HAL MAssENA LET ITIA RAMO LINO G ENERAL PICHEGRU MARS HAL MACDO NALD T HE EMPRES S JO S EPH MARS HAL NEY FAC—S IMILE O FT HE EM ’ - PERO R S AB A O N CAULAINCOURT , DUKE DIC T I EUGENE BEAUHARNAIS O F VICENZ A IN 18 14 ENERAL KLEBER MARS HAL D AVOUS T NAPO LEO N I G . MARS HAL LArxNES CHARGE O F T HE CUIR MARS HAL S OUCHET T ALLEY RAND AS S IERS AT EY LAU T HE DUKE O F WELLING N G ENERAL DURO C GENERAL JUNO T T O N N MARS HAL S OULT PLANS O F BAT TLE O F MURAT , KI G O F APLES T HE EMPRES S MARIA WAT ERLO O ENERAL D ES AIX G LOUIS A MARS HAL BLUCHER AL MO REA G ENER U A GENER L LAS ALLE MARS HAL OUVIO NST RT ENS E BEAUHAR G . HO CO LO RED MAP S HO W O YR NAIS ’ ING NAPO LEO NS D O MARS HAL NEY T HE EMPRESS JOS EPH MINIO N t e INE T HE EMPRES S MARIA r u KING or RO ME A LE N LOUIS A E E N PO O I. G N RAL BES S IERES B O URRIE NNE ’ S NAP OLE ON ”

I ou w ant somethin to r ead both nt r t n an f y g , i e es i g d ‘ a m usin et the M tmoir es de B our r i n These ar e the on g , g e ne . ly authentic M emoir s o Na oleon w hich ha e et a ear ed The f p o y pp . st le is not br illiant but tha t onl ak tr ust y , y m es them the mor e ”— w ar th . RIN E ET ERN y P C M T ICH.

The r w as a m a n of u c r ti n w iter n ommon penet a o , an d he enjoyed oppo r tunities f or intimate kn owle dg e of ’ Napole on s life and c ha r ac te r such as no othe r pe r so n possessed ; an d the liveliness of his style rend e r s the Me moir s in tere sting r e ad in g f r om the fi r st page to the r r i h er of last. The volum e s a e e n c ed with a large numb " — ll i The Academ . e xc e ent portra ts. y

“ It is a br illian t pic tu re of Napoleon as he appeare d in his d aily lif e to on e who held the u niq u e position of f ie n d M ini te a n d S e r e tar d e ic ti the e lit r , s r c y, p ng p rsona y of the Empe r o r with extr ao r d inary vivid ness an d tr uth l I im ssible n ot to r e i e the r eat fu n ess . t is po cogn z g — Ne . Yor h mes. value of these M emoirs. w Ti

ho s as the her o o M ar en o and III. de B onr r ienne s w f g — ‘ A uster litz in his night-gow n a nd slipper s w ith a tr a it d e lu he in a hundr ed instances laces the r ealman be or e p me , , p f us ith allo his er son alhabits a n d eculiar ities o manner , w f p p f , ” — FROM T HE PREFACE. temper and conver sation .

2M0 IN 4 BOX THE 35 7, 4 VOLS. , 1 , ,