To further the universal peace he desired, to prevent plots among his subordinates who would aspire1 to his crown in case of his sudden death, and to assure a succession, Napoleon now decided2 to take a step long in mind—to divorce Josephine, by whom he no longer hoped to have heirs.
In considering Napoleon’s divorce of Josephine, it must be remembered that stability of government was of vital necessity to the permanency of the Napoleonic institutions. Napoleon had turned into practical realities most of the reforms demanded in 1789. True, he had done it by the exercise of despotism, but nothing but the courage, the will, the audacity3 of a despot could have aroused the nation in 1799. Napoleon felt that these institutions had been so short a time in operation that in case of his death they would easily topple over, and his kingdom go to pieces as Alexander’s had. If he could leave an heir, this disaster would, he believed, be averted4.
Then, would not a marriage with a foreign princess calm the fears of his Continental5 enemies? Would they not see in such an alliance an effort on the part of new, liberal France to adjust herself harmoniously6 to the system of government which prevailed on the Continent?
Thus, by a new marriage, he hoped to prevent at his death a series of fresh revolutions, save the splendid organization he had created, and put France in greater harmony 222with her environment. It is to misunderstand Napoleon’s scheme, to attribute this divorce simply to a gigantic egotism. To assure his dynasty, was to assure France of liberal institutions. His glorification7 was his country’s. In reality there were the same reasons for divorcing Josephine that there had been for taking the crown in 1804.
Josephine had long feared a separation. The Bonapartes had never cared for her, and even so far back as the Egyptian campaign had urged Napoleon to seek a divorce. Unwisely, she had not sought in her early married life to win their affection any more than she had to keep Napoleon’s; and when the emperor was crowned, they had done their best to prevent her coronation. When, for state reasons, the divorce seemed necessary, Josephine had no supporters where she might have had many.
Her grief was more poignant8 because she had come to love her husband with a real ardor9. The jealousy10 from which he had once suffered she now felt, and Napoleon certainly gave her ample cause for it. Her anxiety was well known to all the court, the secretaries Bourrienne and Méneval, and Madame de Rémusat being her special confidants. Since 1807 it had been intense, for it was in that year that Fouché, probably at Napoleon’s instigation, tried to persuade the empress to suggest the divorce herself as her sacrifice to the country.
After Wagram it became evident to her that at last her fate was sealed; but though she beset11 Méneval and all the members of her household for information, it was only a fortnight before the public divorce that she knew her fate. It was Josephine’s own son and daughter, Eugène and Hortense, who broke the news to her; and it was on the former that the cruel task fell of indorsing the divorce in the Senate in the name of himself and his sister.
Josephine was terribly broken by her disgrace, but she 223bore it with a sweetness and dignity which does much to make posterity12 forget her earlier frivolity13 and insincerity.
“I can never forget [says Pasquier] the evening on which the discarded empress did the honors of her court for the last time. It was the day before the official dissolution. A great throng14 was present, and supper was served, according to custom, in the gallery of Diana, on a number of little tables. Josephine sat at the centre one, and the men went around her, waiting for that particularly graceful15 nod which she was in the habit of bestowing16 on those with whom she was acquainted. I stood at a short distance from her for a few minutes, and I could not help being struck with the perfection of her attitude in the presence of all these people who still did her homage17, while knowing full well that it was for the last time; that in an hour she would descend18 from the throne, and leave the palace never to re?nter it. Only women can rise superior to such a situation, but I have my doubts as to whether a second one could have been found to do it with such perfect grace and composure. Napoleon did not show so bold a front as did his victim.”
There is no doubt but that Napoleon suffered deeply over the separation. If his love had lost its illusion, he was genuinely attached to Josephine, and in a way she was necessary to his happiness. After the ceremony of separation, he was to go to Saint Cloud, she to Malmaison. While waiting for his carriage, he returned to his study in the palace. For a long time he sat silent and depressed19, his head on his hand. When he was summoned he rose, his face distorted with pain, and went into the empress’s apartment. Josephine was alone.
When she saw the emperor, she threw herself on his neck, sobbing20 aloud. He pressed her to his bosom21, kissed her again and again, until overpowered with emotion, she fainted. Leaving her to her women, he hurried to his carriage.
Méneval, who saw this sad parting, remained with Josephine until she became conscious. When he left, she begged him not to let the emperor forget her, and to see that he wrote her often.
224
NAPOLEON.
Engraved22 in 1841 by Louis, after a painting made in 1837 by Delaroche, now in the Standish collection, and called the “Snuff-box.” Probably the finest engraving23 ever made of a Napoleon portrait.
225“I left her,” that na?ve admirer and apologist of Napoleon goes on, “grieved at so deep a sorrow and so sincere an affection. I felt very miserable24 all along my route, and I could not help deploring25 that the rigorous exactions of politics should violently break the bonds of an affection which had stood the test of time, to impose another union full of uncertainty26.”
Josephine returned to Malmaison to live, but Napoleon took care that she should have, in addition, another home, giving her Navarre, a chateau27 near Evreux, some fifty miles from Paris. She had an income of some four hundred thousand dollars a year, and the emperor showed rare thoughtfulness in providing her with everything she could want. She was to deny herself nothing, take care of her health, pay no attention to the gossip she heard, and never doubt of his love. Such were the recommendations of the frequent letters he wrote her. Sometimes he went to see her, and he told her all the details of his life. It is certain that he neglected no opportunity of comforting her, and that she, on her side, finally accepted her lot with resignation and kindliness28.
Over two years before the divorce a list of the marriageable princesses of Europe had been drawn29 up for Napoleon. This list included eighteen names in all, the two most prominent being Marie Louise of Austria, and Anna Paulowna, sister of Alexander of Russia. At the Erfurt conference the project of a marriage with a Russian princess had been discussed, and Alexander had favored it; but now that an attempt was made to negotiate the affair, there were numerous delays, and a general lukewarmness which angered Napoleon. Without waiting for the completion of the Russian negotiations30, he decided on Marie Louise.
226
MARRIAGE OF THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON AND MARIE LOUISE, ARCHDUCHESS OF AUSTRIA, AT THE PALACE OF THE LOUVRE, APRIL 2, 1810.
By Rouget in 1836. On the emperor’s right hand and at the lower end of the platform, stood the King of Holland; the King of Westphalia; the Prince Borghese; Murat, King of Naples; Prince Eugène Napoleon, Viceroy of Italy; the hereditary31 Grand Duke of Baden; the Prince Arch-chancellor; the Prince Arch-treasurer; the Prince Vice-constable; the Prince Vice-Grand Elector. To the left of the empress, Madame mère; the Queen of Spain; the Queen of Holland; the Queen of Westphalia; the Grand Duchess of Tuscany; the Princess Pauline; the Queen of Naples; the Grand Duke of Würzburg; the Vice-Queen of Italy; the Grand Duchess of Baden. The nuptial32 benediction33 was given by Cardinal34 Fesch. This picture was exhibited in the Salon35 of 1832.
227The marriage ceremony was performed in Vienna on March 12, 1810, the Archduke Charles acting36 for Napoleon. The emperor first saw his new wife some days later on the road between Soissons and Compiègne, where he had gone to meet her in most unimperial haste, and in contradiction to the pompous37 and complicated ceremony which had been arranged for their first interview. From the beginning he was frankly38 delighted with Marie Louise. In fact, the new empress was a most attractive girl, young, fresh, modest well-bred, and innocent. She entirely39 filled Napoleon’s ideal of a wife, and he certainly was happy with her.
Marie Louise in marrying Napoleon had felt that she was a kind of sacrificial offering, for she had naturally a deep horror of the man who had caused her country so much woe40; but her dread41 was soon dispelled42, and she became very fond of her husband. Outside of the court the two led an amusingly simple life, riding together informally early in the morning, in a gay Bohemian way; sitting together alone in the empress’s little salon, she at her needlework, he with a book. They even indulged now and then in quiet little larks43 of their own, as one day when Marie Louise attempted to make an omelet in her apartments. Just as she was completely engrossed44 in her work, the emperor came in. The empress tried to conceal45 her culinary operations, but Napoleon detected the odor.
“What is going on here? There is a singular smell, as if something was being fried. What, you are making an omelet! Bah! you don’t know how to do it. I will show you how it is done.”
And he set to work to instruct her. They got on very well until it came to tossing it, an operation Napoleon insisted on performing himself, with the result that he landed it on the floor.
On March 20, 1811, the long desired heir to the French throne was born. It had been arranged that the birth of the child should be announced to the people by cannon46 shot; 228twenty-one if it were a princess, one hundred and one if a prince. The people who thronged47 the quays48 and streets about the Tuileries waited with inexpressible anxiety as the cannon boomed forth49; one—two—three. As twenty-one died away the city held its breath; then came twenty-two. The thundering peals50 which followed it were drowned in the wild enthusiasm of the people. For days afterward51, enervated52 by joy and the endless fêtes given them, the French drank and sang to the King of Rome.
In all these rejoicings none were so touching53 as at Navarre, where Josephine, on hearing the cannon, called together her friends and said, “We, too, must have a fête. I shall give you a ball, and the whole city of Evreux must come and rejoice with us.”
Napoleon was the happiest of men, and he devoted54 himself to his son with pride. Reports of the boy’s condition appear frequently in his letters; he even allowed him to be taken without the empress’s knowledge to Josephine, who had begged to see him.
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1
aspire
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| vi.(to，after)渴望，追求，有志于 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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audacity
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| n.大胆，卤莽，无礼 | |
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averted
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| 防止，避免( avert的过去式和过去分词 )； 转移 | |
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continental
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| adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的 | |
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harmoniously
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| 和谐地，调和地 | |
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glorification
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| n.赞颂 | |
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poignant
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| adj.令人痛苦的，辛酸的，惨痛的 | |
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ardor
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| n.热情，狂热 | |
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jealousy
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| n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌 | |
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beset
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| v.镶嵌；困扰，包围 | |
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posterity
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| n.后裔，子孙，后代 | |
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frivolity
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| n.轻松的乐事，兴高采烈；轻浮的举止 | |
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throng
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| n.人群，群众；v.拥挤，群集 | |
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graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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bestowing
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| 砖窑中砖堆上层已烧透的砖 | |
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homage
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| n.尊敬，敬意，崇敬 | |
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18
descend
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| vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降 | |
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depressed
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| adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的 | |
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sobbing
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| <主方>Ⅰ adj.湿透的 | |
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bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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engraved
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| v.在（硬物）上雕刻（字，画等）( engrave的过去式和过去分词 )；将某事物深深印在（记忆或头脑中） | |
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engraving
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| n.版画；雕刻（作品）；雕刻艺术；镌版术v.在（硬物）上雕刻（字，画等）( engrave的现在分词 )；将某事物深深印在（记忆或头脑中） | |
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miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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deploring
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| v.悲叹，痛惜，强烈反对( deplore的现在分词 ) | |
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uncertainty
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| n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物 | |
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chateau
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| n.城堡，别墅 | |
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28
kindliness
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| n.厚道，亲切，友好的行为 | |
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29
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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negotiations
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| 协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过 | |
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hereditary
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| adj.遗传的，遗传性的，可继承的，世袭的 | |
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nuptial
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| adj.婚姻的，婚礼的 | |
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benediction
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| n.祝福；恩赐 | |
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cardinal
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| n.(天主教的)红衣主教；adj.首要的，基本的 | |
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salon
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| n.[法]沙龙；客厅；营业性的高级服务室 | |
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acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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pompous
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| adj.傲慢的，自大的；夸大的；豪华的 | |
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frankly
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| adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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woe
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| n.悲哀，苦痛，不幸，困难；int.用来表达悲伤或惊慌 | |
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dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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dispelled
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| v.驱散，赶跑( dispel的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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larks
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| n.百灵科鸟（尤指云雀）( lark的名词复数 )；一大早就起床；鸡鸣即起；（因太费力而不想干时说）算了v.百灵科鸟（尤指云雀）( lark的第三人称单数 )；一大早就起床；鸡鸣即起；（因太费力而不想干时说）算了 | |
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engrossed
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| adj.全神贯注的 | |
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conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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cannon
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| n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮 | |
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thronged
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| v.成群，挤满( throng的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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quays
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| 码头( quay的名词复数 ) | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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peals
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| n.（声音大而持续或重复的）洪亮的响声( peal的名词复数 )；隆隆声；洪亮的钟声；钟乐v.（使）（钟等）鸣响，（雷等）发出隆隆声( peal的第三人称单数 ) | |
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51
afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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52
enervated
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| adj.衰弱的，无力的v.使衰弱，使失去活力( enervate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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53
touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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54
devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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