LOVE ] She consented to follow her husband to Italy only because success had made him famous, and because, consumed with doubts and with suspicions, he had turned requests into commands. But even then, when, weary after battle, recklessly he had deserted camp and army to greet her, he had occasion to write : " I get to Milan ; I fling myself into your room ; I have left all in order to see you, to clasp you in my arms. . . . You were not there. You ^gad about the town arnid junketings. . . . You care no longer for your Napoleon. A passing fancy made you iove him ; your inconstancy now renders him indifferent to you. Used to perils, I know the remedy for weariness and the ills of hfe. The ill-luck that I now suffer is past my calculation ; I should not have to reckon^ with that. I shall be here till the evening of the 29th, but don't alter 3^our plans. Have your fling of pleasure ; happi- ness was made for you. The whole world pleases itself to make you happy, but your husband — he alone is very, very unhappy." Moreover, later, when as the conqueror of nations Bonaparte returned to Paris, Josephine would not forsake the charms of Italy to grace his triumph. Throughout the course of his Egyptian expedition, again, Bonaparte was in an anguish of fears and doubt. In his mind he saw the image of a faithless wife ; he could not blot it out. And that image, alas ! was not the mere fancy of a jealous brain. THE DIVORCE Josephine's fickleness now, as in the days of her widowhood, was merely a matter of policy. She loved life. For no man, for no ideal, would she make sacrifices. Her husband was hated by the Government ; it was more than doubtful if he would return safely from the East. At all cost, therefore, her own position must be made secure. But Bonaparte did return, and his return is one of the most dramatic incidents in history. When the news of his approach reached Paris, Josephine was dining with the Gohiers, her husband's bitterest enemies. Imme- diately she sprang from the table, sum- moned her carriage, and bade the postillions hasten with all speed to her house in the Rue de la Victoire. She hoped to get there first, but her husband had forestalled her, and when she arrived he was closeted in his study. He refused to see her, although he would, as he himself declared, have given all his glory to know that she had been a faithful wife. At length the tearful intercession of her children melted his heart, and he received his wife, a contrite woman. At last Josephine realised the splendour of Napoleon's passion and the greatness of his nature, and she loved him, but loved too late ; for although Napoleon forgave her everything, and had her crowned his empress, his faith had been shaken to its very roots. His eyes had been opened, and the end was now at hand. napoleon's heir To the emperor the need for an heir was imperative, and Josephine had borne him no son. He had a mission to fulfil, and must become the founder of a mighty dynasty to carry on his work and recivilise the world. On one side Napoleon saw glory, fame, and empire ; on the other, a faithless wife whom he adored. Between them he had to choose, and on December 14th, 1809, he published his decision. " The political interests of my monarchy, the desires of my people, require that I should leave behind me heirs to occupy the throne upon which Providence has placed me. For years I have given up hope of children by my marriage with my well-beloved Josephine, and it is this fact, and this alone, which causes me to renounce her whom I love, believing that it is for the good of my country and my subjects. I have no cause for complaint ; on the contrary, I have nothing but kindness in my heart lor her who for thirteen years has been my wife." The Senate then annulbd the act of marriage, and Josephine retired to La Malmaison, but carried with her the proud title, Empress Crowned. In April, 18 14, she heard the news of the Emperor's abdication. His downfall grieved her greatly, and on May 29th she breathed her last. Some months later Napoleon sought out the physician who had watched her on her death-bed, and asked him what had caused her death. " Sorrow," said the doctor, " and anxiety at your Majesty's fallen fortunes." " Ah," replied Napoleon, " good Jose- phine ! So she spoke of me. Good woman ! She loved me truly." Then he w^ent to La Malmaison, and shut himself in the room where she had died whom he had loved.
