you left. I want to know that you are gay. I will come to see you
during the week. I have received your letters which I will read in my
carriage.” In fact he was returning to the Tuileries, after an absence
of ten days, and this was another trial for him and for Joséphine.
The day after his arrival he writes: “I was much bored at seeing the
Tuileries again; this large palace seemed empty to me, and I find
myself very lonesome in it.” The same evening he writes again: “I much
desire to go to Malmaison, but you must be strong and calm.” He adds:
“_I am going to dine all alone_.”
In other letters written during the last week in December the Emperor
promises Joséphine to come to see her “to-morrow.” But one day he is
retained by the Council until eight o’clock, at which hour he dines
alone. The next day, Sunday, there is a grand review of the Old Guard
in the court of the Tuileries, and he is unable to come “after Mass,”
as he had proposed.
Napoleon begins to find Malmaison too far away for frequent visits in
mid-winter, and wearied of his lonely dinners he conceives the idea
of having her nearer him in Paris. But there is no abode vacant. He
had given her the Élysée for a town house, but after the departure of
the King of Saxony, the Murats had at once taken possession, on the 17
December. Their stay was supposed to be only temporary, but Caroline
found the palace so comfortable, and was so delighted to keep Joséphine
out, that she planned to prolong her occupancy as much as possible,
and sent out invitations for a masked ball and other entertainments.
However, the palace was formally promised Joséphine for the first week
in January, and she took good care to have the promise renewed by the
Emperor when he came, although ill, to wish her a Happy New Year.
But Joséphine wished not only to move to the Élysée, but to assure her
continued occupancy of the palace, and she now made a move which has
often puzzled her biographers. On the first day of January 1810 she
sent an invitation to Madame de Metternich, the wife of the former
Austrian ambassador, to visit her at Malmaison. Much surprised at
this summons, the lady came on the following day. In the salon she
found Eugène, who seemed to expect her, and in a few minutes Hortense
entered. Madame de Metternich was almost stupefied when Hortense
greeted her with the words: “You know, Madame, that we are all
Austrians at heart, but you would never imagine that my mother has
had the courage to advise the Emperor to ask for the hand of your
Archduchess.”
Before Madame de Metternich had time to recover from her astonishment,
Joséphine herself appeared. “I have a project,” she said, “which
occupies me exclusively, the success of which alone gives me hope that
the sacrifice I have just made will not be entirely lost. This is that
the Emperor shall marry your Archduchess. I spoke of the matter to him
yesterday, and he replied that his decision was not yet entirely made;
but I am certain that it would be if he were sure of being accepted by
you.”
Madame de Metternich replied that, personally, she should regard such
an alliance as a great piece of good fortune; but, with the thought of
Marie-Antoinette in her mind, she could not refrain from adding that
it might be painful for an Austrian archduchess to come to reside in
France.
Joséphine continued: “We must endeavor to arrange all this. You must
make your Emperor see that his ruin and that of his country are certain
if he does not consent, and that it is the only means of preventing the
Emperor from creating a schism with the Holy See.” Joséphine concluded
by saying that the Emperor was coming to breakfast with her, and that
she would again speak to him on the subject.
At that time Joséphine had no connections with the Russian Court,
and no acquaintance with the Czar Alexander, who later was so
devoted to her. She felt that, on that side, she had nothing to hope
and everything to fear. But her feeling for Austria was entirely
different. Since the time of her first visit to Italy in 1796 she had
been on very friendly terms with the Archduke Ferdinand, the brother
of the Emperor. After the Peace of Campo-Formio, she had received from
the Emperor himself handsome presents, in recognition of the “friendly
feelings which animated her.” She had always been on confidential terms
also with Metternich. She felt sure, therefore, that her Austrian
connections would never fail her. This is the explanation of what would
seem otherwise a very strange move on her part.
Metternich, who had recently been recalled to Vienna, to take the
portfolio of Foreign Affairs, wrote his wife at Paris, in reply to
her communication regarding Joséphine’s project: “This Princesse has
recently given proofs of a force of character which must greatly
increase the feeling of veneration with which not only France but all
Europe has long regarded her.”
In the meantime the Emperor does not fail in his attentions to his
former wife. Every day that he cannot visit her, he sends her a letter.
He is interested in all her acts; he is rejoiced if she takes a walk or
is diverted in any way. The first week in January, after a long call,
the previous day, he writes:
Sunday, 8 P.M. (7 January 1810)
It gave me very great pleasure to see you yesterday; I realize
what a charm your company has for me. I have worked to-day
with Estève. I have granted 100,000 francs for 1810 for the
extraordinary expenses of Malmaison. You can therefore plant as
much as you please; you will employ this sum as you wish. I
have charged Estève to remit 200,000 francs also as soon as the
contract for the Julien house is closed. I have ordered that
your set of rubies be settled for as soon as they are appraised
by the administration, as I do not wish any robbery by the
jewelers. All that costs me 400,000 francs.
I have ordered that the million due you from the civil list for
1810 shall be held at the disposal of your man of affairs, to
pay your debts.
You should find in the _armoire_ at Malmaison 5 to 600,000
francs; you can take them to pay for your silver and linen.
I have commanded for you a very handsome set of porcelain; they
will take your orders, that it may be very fine.
NAPOLEON
During the first month that Joséphine was at Malmaison the Emperor
wrote her every day or two, and went to see her several times a week.
After that, both his letters and his calls became more and more
infrequent. He was gradually becoming accustomed to his lonely dinners,
and his solitary nights. Joséphine, for her part, was daily getting
more and more bored at Malmaison, and anxious to return to Paris. She
had Napoleon’s promise, and she did not hesitate to remind him of it.
On the 28 January he writes: “I have had your belongings here arranged,
and given orders to take everything to the Élysée.” Two days later he
says: “I shall be pleased to know that you are at the Élysée, and very
happy to see you oftener, for you know how much I love you.”
But Joséphine began to have her doubts. There were rumors of exile, of
a prohibition of her residence in Paris. She took alarm and sent Eugène
to see the Emperor. Napoleon defended himself in two letters, written
probably on the 6 and 10 February:
Tuesday Noon (6 February) 1810
I learn that you are worried; that is all wrong. You are without
confidence in me, and are affected by all the reports which are
noised around; this shows your ignorance of me, Joséphine. I
am vexed with you, and if I do not learn that you are gay and
contented, I shall go and scold you well.
Adieu, mon amie.
NAPOLEON
Saturday 6 P.M. (10 February) 1810
I have told Eugène that you preferred to listen to the gossip of
a great city rather than what I said to you; that people should
not be permitted to annoy you with idle tales.
I have had your effects transported to the Élysée. You shall
come to Paris very soon; but be calm and contented, and have
entire confidence in me.
NAPOLEON
Monsieur Masson, who places the date of this last letter a week
earlier, says, “the same evening Joséphine was installed [at the
Élysée], and the Emperor came immediately to see her.” But this seems
to be an error. In the collection of Queen Hortense we find the
following letter (No. 209):
_To the Empress, at Malmaison_
Sunday, 9 o’clock (? 11 February) 1810
Mon amie, I was very glad to see you day before yesterday.
I hope to go to Malmaison during the week.
I have had your affairs here arranged and ordered everything
taken to the Élysée-Napoléon.
I pray you to keep well.
Adieu, mon amie.
NAPOLEON
On Tuesday the 20 February, the Emperor, after hunting in the woods of
Versailles, attended a fête given by Marshal Bessières at Grignon. From
there he went to Rambouillet, and returned to Paris at six o’clock on
the evening of Friday the 23 February. It was apparently just prior to
this absence that Joséphine moved to Paris, as will appear from the two
following letters:
_To the Empress, at the Élysée-Napoléon_
19 February 1810
Mon amie, I have received your letter. I wish to see you,
but your reflections may be correct. There are perhaps some
objections to our finding ourselves under the same roof during
the first year. However, the country place of Bessières is too
distant to be able to return; besides, I have a slight cold, and
am not sure to go there.
Adieu, mon amie.
NAPOLEON
Friday, 6 P.M (23 February) 1810
Savary has handed me your letter on my arrival; I notice with
regret that you are sad; I am glad that you saw no signs of the
fire.
I had fine weather at Rambouillet.
Hortense tells me that you had planned to come to dine with
Bessières, and return to Paris to sleep. I regret that you were
not able to carry out your project.
Adieu, mon amie; be gay; think that this is the way to please me.
NAPOLEON
In the collection of Queen Hortense the earlier letters of Napoleon to
Joséphine, almost without exception, are fully dated; but those written
after the divorce usually give only the day of the week. This makes the
task of arrangement in many cases very difficult. In this instance,
however, it is manifest that the letter dated “19 February,” which the
editors place last, was written before the departure of the Emperor for
Rambouillet, and the letter dated “Friday 6 P.M.” was written
after his return. It is also evident that Joséphine did not move to
Paris until after the middle of February.
CHAPTER THIRTY
1810
THE CHATEAU OF NAVARRE
Napoleon’s Preference for a Russian Alliance--The Matter
Discussed in Conference--The Archduchess Marie-Louise
Favored--The Marriage Arranged--The New Empress Arrives at
Paris--Joséphine Goes to Malmaison--The Emperor Gives Her
Navarre--She Takes Possession of the Château--Its Dilapidated
Condition--Josephine’s Letter to Hortense--The Empress Worried
Over the Paris Gossip--Her Letter to Napoleon and His Reply--The
Emperor Agrees to All Her Plans--Joséphine Returns to Malmaison
From the time that the divorce of Joséphine was first officially
discussed, at the Erfurt conference in the autumn of 1808, Napoleon’s
preference seems to have been for an alliance with the imperial family
of Russia. The replies of the Czar to the overtures of Talleyrand at
that time had been equally vague and discreet; but a week after his
return home his elder sister Catharine had been affianced to the heir
of the Duchy of Oldenburg.
During the following year the time of the Emperor was taken up with the
campaigns in Spain and Austria, and the matter remained in abeyance.
But his thoughts still turned to Russia, and on the 22 November 1809,
a week before the formal notification to Joséphine, he instructed
Champagny, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, to send a despatch to
Caulaincourt, the French ambassador at St. Petersburg, directing him
to ask the Czar to state frankly whether he would consider favorably an
alliance between the Emperor and his younger sister, Anne.
At that time it took two weeks for a courier to go from Paris to Saint
Petersburg, and a month later no reply had yet been received from
Russia. Another month passed, and Napoleon’s patience was exhausted.
After Mass, on Sunday the 28 January 1810, the Emperor called a meeting
of the principal dignitaries of the Empire, to discuss the respective
advantages and disadvantages of a matrimonial alliance with Austria,
Russia or Saxony. Prince Eugène, Talleyrand, Champagny, Berthier, and
Maret declared for the Archduchess Marie-Louise; Murat and Cambacérès,
for the Grand Duchess Anne; while only Lebrun favored the daughter of
the King of Saxony. Napoleon took no part in the discussion, and gave
no indication of his preference.
Finally, on the 6 February, a despatch was received from Caulaincourt.
He stated that he had not yet succeeded in obtaining a definite answer
from the Czar, but added that Anne, who was only fifteen, was not
yet of an age to marry, and furthermore that she was not willing to
change her religion. Napoleon hesitated no longer. He immediately
sent a messenger to inquire of the Austrian ambassador, Prince de
Schwarzenberg, whether the marriage contract with the Archduchess
Marie-Louise could be signed the next day!
The contract, which was accordingly signed as proposed, was an almost
exact copy of that of Marie-Antoinette, forty years before. The
marriage by procuration was celebrated at Vienna on the 11 March, the
Archduke Charles representing the Emperor Napoleon. On the 23 March
Marie-Louise crossed the Rhine at Strasbourg, and four days later
reached Compiègne where Napoleon had been awaiting her arrival for a
week.
The Court left Compiègne on the 30 March and arrived at Saint-Cloud
the same evening. Here the civil marriage was celebrated on Sunday,
the first of April. The religious ceremony was performed in Paris the
following day by Cardinal Fesch, and took place in the Salon Carré of
the Louvre, which had been transformed into a chapel for the occasion.
In the meantime, Joséphine at the Élysée was finding her life in Paris
as monotonous as it had been at Malmaison. The capital had never
been so gay. Every night there were dinners, balls, suppers; but the
Empress Joséphine was not present. The Emperor attended the opera,
the theatres: he even gave, in the former apartments of the Empress
at the Tuileries, a performance by the troupe of the Théâtre-Feydeau.
There were balls given by Schwarzenberg, Talleyrand, Pauline, Berthier,
Cambacérès; but in the midst of all these gaieties, Joséphine passed
her evenings quietly at home.
The Emperor had completely changed his habitudes, and seemed to be
in training for his life with a young wife. In place of the former
tragedies, he demanded comedies to amuse him. He hunted in the Bois de
Boulogne, at Saint-Germain, and at Satory. From time to time he paid a
brief visit to Joséphine, but his letters had almost entirely ceased.
In the centre of Paris, Joséphine felt as though she were marooned on
a desert island.
After passing only a few weeks at the Élysée, on the 9 March Joséphine
returned to Malmaison. It is not definitely known whether she tired of
her isolation in the capital, or whether she received a delicate hint
that her absence would be appreciated during the coming fêtes in honor
of the arrival of the new Empress.
The very day that the marriage contract with Marie-Louise was signed,
the Emperor had taken up the matter of finding a suitable country
residence for Joséphine: one not too far from Paris, but at the same
time more distant than Malmaison, which was almost at the gates of
the city. His choice finally fell on the old château of Navarre, near
Evreux, about seventy miles west of Paris. It will be recalled that
this property had been assigned to the Prince of the Asturias in
May 1808, as a part of the bargain for the Crown of Spain, but the
agreement had never been carried out, and the following January, by a
decree of the Emperor, the land of Navarre had been added to the domain
of the State.
This château owed its name to Jeanne of France, Queen of Navarre, who
about the middle of the fourteenth century had erected the building on
the site of an old manor house. Three hundred years later the property
was ceded by Louis the Fourteenth to the Duc de Bouillon in exchange
for the sovereignty of Sedan, and remained in the possession of that
family up to the time of the Revolution. By a curious coincidence, it
was one of the cadet members of this same family who built at Paris
the hôtel which later became the palace of the Élysée. During the
Revolution the property was confiscated, and had later been joined to
the Crown lands, although the title was far from clear. It was also
very doubtful whether the Emperor had the power now to alienate the
property from the Crown domain, and present it to a private person.
But after certain formalities, more or less legal, had been complied
with, the Emperor directed Maret to prepare letters patent erecting the
land of Navarre into a duchy, and conveyed the title and the revenues
to Joséphine for her life. In a letter to the Empress at Malmaison,
Napoleon tells her of this gift:
(PARIS) 12 March 1810
Mon amie, I hope that you have been satisfied with what I have
done for Navarre. You will have seen in this act a new proof of
my desire to be agreeable to you.
Take possession of Navarre; you might go there the 25 March to
pass the month of April.
Adieu, mon amie.
NAPOLEON
This letter of the Emperor was in effect an order, which admitted of
no evasion. The date of her departure and the length of her exile were
both fixed. The 19 March, the day of Saint-Joseph, was her fête, but
it was very quietly celebrated this year. The following day Eugène was
to arrive with his wife, whom she had not seen since their marriage at
Munich four years before. They came to spend a week at Malmaison, and
thus Joséphine found an excuse to defer her departure for a few days
longer. She had already stayed three days beyond the limit fixed by
the Emperor; the new Empress was at Compiègne, and expected in Paris by
the end of the week. It was time to start, and Joséphine went into her
first exile.
Late in the afternoon of Thursday the 29 March, Joséphine made her
triumphal entry into Évreux. She was received by the mayor, the
prefect, and the authorities, with a band of music, and a guard of
honor; the church bells were rung, and there were salvos of artillery.
Joséphine did not stop in the city, but proceeded directly to Navarre,
where she arrived at nightfall.
The first view of the château was very disappointing: it was a huge
two-storied square block, surmounted by a dome upon which one of the
original owners had intended to set up a statue of his uncle, the great
Turenne. At the side of the château stood a smaller house. Both alike
were dilapidated, draughty, and unfurnished, in spite of the fact
that for two weeks past all of the laborers available at Évreux had
worked “to make in haste the most necessary repairs.” The unfinished
and uncrowned dome, which gave a ludicrous appearance to the building,
was irreverently termed the _marmite_ by the Normands of the
neighborhood.
The rooms were vast and chilly; the windows would not close; the roof
leaked, and the chimneys smoked. The château’s situation in a valley,
while giving from the windows beautiful views of wooded hills in the
summer, made it very damp for the rest of the year. On all sides there
were large bodies of water, with cascades and fountains; and the park
was planted with magnificent trees, but at the end of March “the
leaves are rare, and between the water which flows, the water which
stagnates, and the water which falls, with, for companions, these black
skeletons, denuded and oozing, it would require, to be pleased, a
backing of gaiety which Joséphine did not bring with her.”
A few days after her arrival Joséphine wrote Hortense, who was at
Compiègne with the Court:
NAVARRE, 3 April 1810
I arrived here in good health, my dear Hortense, although
somewhat tired from the journey. I was depressed by the
greeting I received. The inhabitants of Évreux have displayed
much enthusiasm over my arrival, but this appearance of a fête
somewhat resembled the compliments of condolence.... The Emperor
is happy; he deserves to be, and he will be more and more; this
thought is a great consolation for me, and the only one which
sustains my courage. Navarre will become a very fine residence,
but it demands many repairs and expenditures. Absolutely
everything needs to be done over. The château is not habitable.
The persons whom I have brought with me have each only a small
room, of which the door and the windows do not close. My lodging
is also very small and ill-arranged, and the woodwork is in bad
order. The park is magnificent; it is in a large valley between
two hills planted with the most beautiful trees; but there is
too much water, which makes the place damp and unhealthy; one
should live at Navarre during the months of May, June, July, and
the beginning of August. Then it is the most enchanting spot
to be found anywhere. At the present season Malmaison would be
preferable to me.... My life here is that of the country. I go
out for a walk or a drive when it does not rain; in the evening
I have a game of backgammon with the Bishop of Évreux, who is
very agreeable in spite of his seventy-five years. The time
passes slowly, but it will seem shorter to me when you are
here. I look for you impatiently. Your rooms are ready; they are
not handsome; you will only camp out; but you know with what
tenderness you will be received.
Adieu, my dear daughter, I embrace you.
If the Emperor asks you for news of me, tell him, what is true,
that my only occupation is thinking of him.
JOSÉPHINE
In a letter to her husband at Compiègne, written early in April, Madame
de Rémusat says:
There are many tales here (at Paris) regarding the Court and
the life you lead there. In general all these inventions are
unkind; they all tend to show the _hauteur_ of the manners
of the Empress and the brusqueness of her character. Then every
one recalls _the other_, and that will make her position
difficult. They say that she will only be Duchesse de Navarre;
that she will be relegated to the Duchy of Berg; that Malmaison
will be bought back from her; that our new sovereign has
displayed a great aversion to seeing her so near, and in support
of that assertion they cite words clearly invented, for it is
impossible that they should have been repeated. I await your
return to know the truth.
As Madame de Rémusat was a great friend of Joséphine these rumors
undoubtedly reached her at Navarre, and increased her anxiety to return
to Malmaison. The Emperor had not written her since his marriage, and
she looked upon his silence as a proof of his intention to abandon her
entirely. She feared to write him direct, but through Eugène asked
permission to return to Malmaison. The reply being favorable, Joséphine
wrote the letter which follows:
NAVARRE, 10 April 1810
SIRE
I have received through my son the assurance that Your Majesty
consents to my return to Malmaison, and is willing to grant me
the advances which I have asked for to render the chateau of
Navarre habitable.
This double favor, Sire, goes far to drive away the great
anxiety, and even fear, inspired by Your Majesty’s long silence.
I was afraid of being banished entirely from your remembrance.
I see now that I am not. I am therefore less unhappy, and even
as happy as it is possible for me to be henceforward. I shall go
to Malmaison at the end of the month, since Your Majesty sees
no objection to this.... My plan is to stay there for a very
short time; I shall soon take my departure to go to the waters.
But during my stay at Malmaison Your Majesty may be sure that
I shall live there as if I were a thousand leagues away from
Paris. I have made a great sacrifice, Sire, and every day I more
appreciate its magnitude. This sacrifice, however, shall be all
it ought to be; it shall be complete on my part. Your Majesty
shall not be troubled in the midst of your happiness by any
expression of my regrets....
May I have always a little place in your remembrance, and a
large place in your esteem and friendship. This will soften my
grief, without compromising, it seems to me, that which is of
the highest importance, the happiness of Your Majesty.
JOSÉPHINE