Identifier: womenbonapartesm02will (find matches)
Title: The women Bonapartes: the mother and three sisters of Napoléon I
Year: 1909 (1900s)
Authors: Williams, H. Noel (Hugh Noel), 1870-1925
Subjects: Bonaparte family Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, 1769-1821
Publisher: New York : C. Scribner's sons
Contributing Library: University of California Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: MSN

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deserving. When, in the following August, Louis broughthis wife to Paris, it seemed that their commonloss had established a new bond between them,and that a brighter future lay before the ill-matedpair; but this reconciliation did not last long.From the days when, as a schoolgirl at MadameCampans, Hortense had been held up to her asa shining example of all the virtues, Caroline haddisliked her sister-in-law, and this dislike hadbeen aggravated into a feeling of the bitteresthatred by Napoleons preference for Hortenseschildren over her own. Moreover, she foresawthat the establishment of amicable relations be-tween the KinCT and Oueen of Holland mio^htbecome a formidable obstacle to the dissolution ofthe Emperors marriage, to which he was now allbut reconciled. She therefore decided that afresh rupture must be brought about, even at thecost of destroying Louiss new-found happinessand peace of mind, and proceeded to engineerit with her customary dexterity. ^ Madame de Rdmusat, M^moires.
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HORTENSE DE BEAUHARNAIS, QUEEN OF HOLLAND FROM AN ENGRAVING; AKTER THE DRAWING IIV IALM.lUEl, (BRITISH MLSEUM) THE WOMEN BONAPARTES 131 She related to her brother, while artfully pre-tending to attach no importance to them herself,the stories told of Hortenses intimacy withDecazes at Cauterets, and Louiss jealousy andsuspicion were at once rekindled. But she wentmuch further than this. The Queen of Hollandwas, greatly to her husbands satisfaction, againenceinte—the result of the recent reconciliation—and Caroline did not hesitate to instill doubts intoher brothers mind as to the paternity of the childwhose birth was expected in the spring.^ Theresult was what might have been anticipated.The unhappy man at first refused to credit thesemalignant insinuations ; but the seed so adroitlysown did not fail to bear fruit, and, with it, all hopeof concord at The Hague definitely disappeared. When, towards the end of September 1807,the Court removed to Fontainebleau, for thatvisit of whic

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