She
had in view the fact that an heir might be born to them, and the
possibility of the inheritance going to him. In due course Napoleon
Charles was born, and an attempt made by Napoleon to carry his idea
out. Louis was at first in favour of it, but Joseph and Lucien had
envious conceptions of what the brothers' rights were. Louis became
impressed with their views, and ultimately decided against Napoleon's
wishes. The Senate passed a resolution in favour of "direct natural,
legitimate, and adoptive descendants of Napoleon Bonaparte, and on the
direct, natural, legitimate descendants of Joseph and Louis." The
plebiscite supported the resolution of the Senate, and Joseph and
Louis had the mortification of seeing that to them the succession was
barred.

This decision was regarded by Josephine as highly satisfactory to
herself. She made no fuss about it, but was greatly overjoyed at the
prospect of the effect it would have on Napoleon, and for a time no
more was openly heard of divorce; but the venom was insidiously eating
its way to that end all the same, and as he grew in power, so did the
conspiracy develop. His own family were eager that she should be put
away, but there were influences more powerful than that of Madame Mere
and her sons and daughters. Talleyrand and Fouche being the High
Commissioners who founded the direct hereditary idea, they
persistently worried him with the plea that the State claimed that he
should make the sacrifice. They knew that this was the strongest and
most effective reason they could put forward to a man who would have
given his soul in the service of his country.

The birth of Madame Eleonore Denuelle's son Leon on December 29, 1806,
made a great impression on the Emperor's mind. It was well known that
he was the father of the child, and now that there was no doubt as to
the possibility of him having an heir, it was only to be expected
that the advocates of divorce would press their claim that an
alliance should be made with one of the powerful ruling families. The
advantages to France would be inestimable, and would it not establish
himself and his dynasty more firmly on the throne? It is not unlikely
that Napoleon pondered over the great possibilities of such a
marriage, but he could not bring himself to the thought of divorcing
the woman he still loved. He went so far as to seek Josephine's
support in the plan of making his natural son his heir, and Masson
says that in support of h