24
Still Josephine, with the same angelic sweetness which had marked her whole life, endeavoured, by concealing her suffering, to soothe the anxiety of her surrounding friends. The morning of the 26th, she appears to have been perfectly sensible of her danger; for, looking then steadily upon the physician, and perceiving his alarm, she silently pressed his hand in token of consciousness and acquiescence. The preceding night was passed in a lethargic sleep; and at ten in the morning of the 26th, the physicians, after consulting, deemed it proper to prepare Eugene and Hortense for the final change. From those two cherished beings, who she had loved so truly, Josephine heard a communication which thus lost all its bitterness. With pious resignation she received the last rites of the Romish faith from the ministration of her grandchildren's preceptor, for the parish clergyman of Reul happened to be absent. Late on the evening of the same day the emperor Alexander arrived, and was shewn into the chamber of the sufferer, now evidently approaching the goal of her sorrows. By the bed of their mother knelt Eugene and Hortense, too deeply moved to address the emperor; but at sight of a monarch whom she regarded with gratitude, Josephine seemed to acquire renewed strength, made a sign for all to approach, and said,-'At least I shall die regretted; I have always desired the happiness of France; I did all in my power to contribute to it; and I can say with truth to all of you now present at my last moments, that the first wife of Napoleon never caused a single tear to flow. These were her last words, for she fell immediately after into a slumber, which continued uninterrupted by a scarcely audible sigh, till half past eleven on the morning of the 26th of May, when her gentle spirit calmly passed to a world of love and peace."
