with the boy's deportment; he made particular inquiries about him, and sought an acquaintance with his mother." Bonaparte soon became passionately attached to Madame Beauharnals, and married her on the 17th. of February, 1796; and his affection for her continued through life. She possessed considerable influence over him, and his letters to her are proofs of his warm attachment, as well as of her amiability. She was always accessible and benevolent to those who sought for mercy or protection from Napoleon. She followed him to Italy, and was with him during that brilliant period when he laid the foundation of his military reputation. When Bonaparte set out on his expedition to Egypt, Josephine took up her residence at Malmaison. Much has been said of her conduct during this period. Whether the censure was fully merited or not, has never been known; that Napoleon, on his return, contemplated a separation, is well ascertained. A reconciliation was effected by her children, whom he tenderly loved, and Josephine was again restored to the affection and confidence of her husband. When Napoleon was elevated to the consulate, Josephine constantly exercised her benevolence in favour of the unfortunate. She was particularly kind to the emigrants, many of whom she restored to their country. Napoleon, in one of his letters to her, said, "If I gain battles, it is you who win hearts."
When Napoleon became emperor a divorce was proposed to him, but this he rejected, and Josephine was consecrated Empress of France by Pope Pius the Seventh, December 2nd., 1804. Soon after, at Milan, she was crowned Queen of Italy. Josephine acquitted herself in her exalted position with a grace and dignity which won all hearts; to many, it was a matter of surprise how she had acquired this "royal bearing." Eugene and Hortense, her children, shared her elevation; Napoleon never neglected their interest, nor that of any members of Josephine's family. As Napoleon's power increased, and his family became to all appearances more and more firmly established upon the throne of France, his desire for offspring to continue his line increased; and after much deliberation, and many painful scenes, a divorce was determined upon. Josephine bore it with a fortitude which her good sense alone enabled her to exert. To have opposed the will of Napoleon would have availed her nothing, and it was everything to her to continue to possess his esteem. The world, too, would sympathize with a wife who, under such painful circumstances, yielded with dignity to her fall; her impotent resistance would only excite its contempt or sneers. Josephine retired to Malmaison, at the age of forty-six, with the title of empress-dowager, and two millions of francs a year. Napoleon visited her occasionally, and always gave proofs of his esteem and regard for her. While at St. Helena, he paid the highest tribute to her virtues and amiability. On the birth of the King of Rome, in 1811, Josephine Is said to have exhibited the most unfeigned satisfaction. If such was really the case, her magnanimity was of the highest order; for that event, which must have confirmed Napoleon's sense of the expediency of the divorce, also rendered his wife more dear to him, and Josephine's situation more glaringly humiliating.
In 1814, Josephine beheld the downfall of that throne which she had once shared. When Napoleon retired to Elba, she wrote to him, signifying her wish, if permitted, to follow him in his reverses.
