always prepared to give his soul for Bonaparte, was frank
enough to intimate that there was a risk of driving her husband into
the arms of some covetous female, many of whom were angling in the
hope of capturing the brilliant and rising General, and that already
he was showing signs of jealousy and suspicion of her good faith.

News of fresh victories was coming in, fetes were held in honour of
them, crowds of people congregated, and at the sight of her leaning on
the arm of Junot after leaving the Luxembourg they shout, "Long live
General Bonaparte! Long live Citizeness Bonaparte!" She is enthralled
by the adulation which reflected glory showers upon her. Her spirit
rebels against leaving all its pleasures and pomps. But she has
exhausted every canon of truth in excuses, even that of being
pregnant, and finds herself inevitably driven to abandon the seat of
joy and easy morals and set off for Milan with her dog "Fortune" and
Eugene, her son. Tears flow copiously at the thought of her wrongs,
but these are dried up with the compensating opportunity of commencing
a flirtation with Murat, who is soon to become the husband of Caroline
Bonaparte.

The popular opinion was that it was Junot who was the object of her
designs, but the future Duchess d'Abrantes scornfully repudiates this,
and declares that Junot's devotion to his beloved General forbade him
reciprocating his wife's indiscretion, so he made love to Louise
Compoint, Josephine's waiting-maid, instead, the result being that
Louise was requested to leave the service of the offended Josephine.

On arrival at Milan, Napoleon was absent, so the honour of receiving
her was deputed to the Milanese Due de Serbelloni, who took her in
regal style to stay at his palace. On Napoleon meeting his wife for
the first time since their marriage his joy was unbounded. Marmont,
who betrayed him and France in later days, says that "at that time he
lived only for his wife, and never had purer, truer, or more exclusive
love taken possession of the heart of a man, and that a man of so
superior an order."

Napoleon had still much work to do, and many hard battles to fight, so
that they were frequently separated during the remaining months before
he had freed Italy and beaten the Austrians. On no occasion when he
was absent from her did he neglect sending letters on fire with the
assurance of unabated love, but they frequently indicate not only a
conviction of her indifference, but a su