was frequently rebuked with stern severity
for his pertinacious advocacy of the separation. At another time we
hear of him falling into Josephine's arms, shedding copious tears,
and, choking with grief, he sobs out, "My poor Josephine! I can never
leave you," "I still love you," and so forth.

Those who pretend to see in these outbursts of devotion nothing but
artifice, cannot have informed themselves of the true character of
this extraordinary man. In truth, his was a sacrifice of affection
forced upon him for the benefit of the State. That is the conclusion
the writer has come to after much research. Even after he was
persuaded that he would have to submit, the recollections of the glory
they had shared together, and of their happy days, and the grief and
suffering the parting would cause, filled him with remorse and pity,
and then would come a period of wavering which exasperated his family
and the upholders of the stability of the Empire. At last he saw
clearly that it was an imperative duty that must be fulfilled.

The succession problem had been artfully revived, and the amiable
Marie Walewska, who was living close to Schoenbrunn, was about to give
birth to a child which he knew to be his, and it is not improbable
that this double assurance that he might reasonably expect to have an
heir if he married again brought him to the definite decision to go on
with the divorce; and the Emperor Francis of Austria made haste to
form an alliance by offering his daughter Marie Louise in marriage.

At the end of December, 1809, the great political divorce was ratified
amid sombre signs of sympathy. Even the Bonapartes were compelled to
yield to emotion, and Napoleon himself was profoundly affected. The
subdued distress of Josephine pierced through the chilly hearts of
those who had looked on with composure while men and women were being
led to the guillotine during the Reign of Terror. But even Josephine's
tears and grief were graceful and fascinating, so that it was not
surprising that the spectators extended sympathy to her in her sorrow.
Almost immediately after the ceremony Napoleon became overcome with
grief. He allowed a little time to elapse before asking Meneval to
accompany him to Josephine's apartments. They found her in a condition
of inexorable despair. She flung herself into the Emperor's arms; he
embraced and fervently kissed her, but the ordeal was too great. She
collapsed and fainted. He remained with her unt