t. It is as true that the
young Prince, for whom the Emperor of Austria stood sponsor at the font,
was the son of Napoleon and the Archduchess Maria Louisa as it is false
that Bonaparte was the father of the first child of Hortense. The birth
of the son of Napoleon was hailed with general enthusiasm. The Emperor
was at the height of his power from the period of the birth of his son
until the reverse he experienced after the battle of the Moskowa. The
Empire, including the States possessed by the Imperial family, contained
nearly 57,000,000 of inhabitants; but the period was fast approaching
when this power, unparalleled in modern times, was to collapse under its
own weight.

--[The little King of Rome, Napoleon Francis Bonaparte, was born on
the 20th of March 1811. Editor of 1836 edition.]--

CHAPTER XXVI.

My return to Hamburg--Government Committee established there--
Anecdote of the Comte de Chaban--Napoleon's misunderstanding with
the Pope--Cardinal Fesch--Convention of a Council--Declaration
required from the Bishops--Spain in 1811--Certainty of war with
Russia--Lauriston supersedes Caulaincourt at St. Petersburg--The war
in Spain neglected--Troops of all nations at the disposal of
Bonaparte--Levy of the National Guard--Treaties with Prussia and
Austria--Capitulation renewed with Switzerland--Intrigues with
Czernischeff--Attacks of my enemies--Memorial to the Emperor--Ogier
de la Saussaye and the mysterious box--Removal of the Pope to
Fontainebleau--Anecdote of His Holiness and M. Denon--Departure of
Napoleon and Maria Louisa for Dresden--Situation of affairs in Spain
and Portugal--Rapp's account of the Emperor's journey to Dantzic--
Mutual wish for war on the part of Napoleon and Alexander--Sweden
and Turkey--Napoleon's vain attempt to detach Sweden from her
alliance with Russia.

As I took the most lively interest in all that concerned the Hanse Towns,
my first care on returning to Hamburg was to collect information from the
most respectable sources concerning the influential members of the new
Government. Davoust was at its head. On his arrival he had established
in the Duchy of Mecklenburg, in Swedish Pomerania, and in Stralsund, the
capital of that province, military posts and custom-houses, and that in a
time of profound peace with those countries, and without any previous
declaration. The omnipotence of Napoleon, and the terror inspired by the
n