eed be no difficulty; but time was pressing;
the Emperor had need of an heir; "we are counting the minutes here,"
ran the despatch; and an answer was expected from St. Petersburg after
an interval of _two days_.[222] The request caused Alexander the
greatest perplexity. He parried it with the reply, correct enough in
form as in fact, that the disposal of his sister rested with the
Dowager Empress. But her hostility to Napoleon was well known. After
the half overtures of Erfurt she had at once betrothed her elder
daughter to the Duke of Oldenburg. No similar escape was now possible
for the younger one: but, after leaving Napoleon's request unanswered
until February 4th, the reply was then despatched that the tender age
of the princess, she being only twenty years old, formed an
insuperable obstacle.

Some such answer had long been expected at Paris. Metternich asserts
in his "Memoirs" that Napoleon had caused Laborde, one of his
diplomatic agents at Vienna, tentatively to sound that Court as to his
betrothal with the Archduchess Marie Louise. But the French archives
show that the first hint came from Metternich, who saw in it a means
of weakening the Franco-Russian alliance and saving Austria from
further disasters.[223] A little later the Countess Metternich was at
Paris; and great was her surprise when, on January 2nd, 1810,
Josephine informed her that she favoured a marriage between Napoleon
and Marie Louise. "I spoke to him of it yesterday," she said; "his
choice is not yet fixed; but he thinks that this would be his choice
if he were sure of its being accepted." Thereafter the Countess
received the most flattering attentions at Court, a proof that the
Hapsburg match was now favoured, even though the coyness of the Czar
was as yet unknown.

At the close of January a Privy Council was held at the Tuileries to
decide on the imperial bride. The votes were nearly equal: four voted
for Austria, four for Saxony, and three for Russia. After listening
quietly to the arguments, Napoleon summed up the discussion by
pronouncing firmly and warmly in favour of Austria. The marriage
contract was therefore drawn up on February 7th; and Berthier was
despatched to Vienna to claim the hand of Marie Louise. He entered
that city over the ruins of the old ramparts, which were now being
dismantled in accordance with the French demands.

The marriage took place at Vienna by proxy; the bride was conducted to
Paris; and the final ceremon