nse
Beauharnais).]--

Napoleon said at St. Helena that he wished to unite Louis with a niece of
Talleyrand. I can only say that I never heard a word of this niece,
either from himself, his wife, or his daughter; and I rather think that
at that time the First Consul was looking after a royal alliance for
Louis. He often expressed regret at the precipitate marriages of his
sisters. It should be recollected that we were now in the year which saw
the Consulship for life established, and which, consequently, gave
presage of the Empire. Napoleon said truly to the companions of his
exile that "Louis' marriage was the result of Josephine's intrigues," but
I cannot understand how he never mentioned the intention he once had of
uniting Hortense to Duroc. It has been erroneously stated that the First
Consul believed that he reconciled the happiness of his daughter with his
policy. Hortense did not love Louis, and dreaded this marriage. There
was no hope of happiness for her, and the event has proved this. As for
the policy of the First Consul, it is not easy to see how it was
concerned with the marriage of Louis to Hortense, and in any case the
grand policy which professed so loudly to be free from all feminine
influences would have been powerless against the intrigues of Josephine,
for at this time at the Tuileries the boudoir was often stronger than the
cabinet. Here I am happy to have it in my power to contradict most
formally and most positively certain infamous insinuations which have
prevailed respecting Bonaparte and Hortense. Those who have asserted
that Bonaparte ever entertained towards Hortense any other sentiments
than those of a father-in-law for a daughter-in-law have, as the ancient
knights used to say, "lied in their throats." We shall see farther on
what he said to me on this subject, but it is never too soon to destroy
such a base calumny. Authors unworthy of belief have stated, without any
proof, that not only was there this criminal liaison, but they have gone
so far as to say that Bonaparte was the father of the eldest son of
Hortense. It is a lie, a vile lie. And yet the rumour has spread
through all France and all Europe. Alas! has calumny such powerful
charms that, once they are submitted to, their yoke cannot be broken?

--[Bourrienne's account of this marriage, and his denial of the vile
calumny about Napoleon, is corroborated by Madame Remusat. After
saying that Hortense had refused to marry