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Imbert de Saint-Amand. The Court of the Empress Josephine
The Court of the Empress Josephine
Table of Contents
CHAPTER. I. THE BEGINNING OF THE EMPIRE. II. THE JOURNEY TO THE BANKS OF THE RHINE. III. THE POPE'S ARRIVAL AT FONTAINEBLEAU. IV. THE PREPARATIONS FOR THE CORONATION. V. THE CORONATION. VI. THE DISTRIBUTION OF FLAGS. VII. THE FESTIVITIES. VIII. THE ETIQUETTE OF THE IMPERIAL PALACE. IX. THE HOUSEHOLD OF THE EMPRESS. X. NAPOLEON'S GALLANTRIES. XI. THE POPE AT THE TUILERIES. XII. THE JOURNEY IN ITALY. XIII. THE CORONATION AT MILAN. XIV. THE FESTIVITIES AT GENOA. XV. DURING THE CAMPAIGN OF AUSTERLITZ. XVI. THE MARRIAGE OF PRINCE EUGENE. XVII. PARIS IN THE BEGINNING OF 1806. XVIII. THE MARRIAGE OF THE PRINCE OF BADEN. XIX. THE NEW QUEEN OF HOLLAND. XX. THE EMPRESS AT MAYENCE. XXI. THE RETURN OF THE EMPRESS TO PARIS. XXII. THE DEATH OF THE YOUNG NAPOLEON. XXIII. THE END OF THE WAR. XXIV. THE EMPEROR'S RETURN. XXV. THE COURT AT FONTAINEBLEAU. XXVI. THE END OF THE YEAR 1807. I
THE BEGINNING OF THE EMPIRE
II
JOURNEY TO THE BANKS OF THE RHINE
III
THE POPE'S ARRIVAL AT FONTAINEBLEAU
IV
THE PREPARATIONS FOR THE CORONATION
V
THE CORONATION
VI
THE DISTRIBUTION OF FLAGS
VII
THE FESTIVITIES
VIII
THE ETIQUETTE OF THE IMPERIAL PALACE
IX
HOUSEHOLD OP THE EMPRESS
X
NAPOLEON'S GALLANTRIES
XI
THE POPE AT THE TUILERIES
XII
THE JOURNEY IN ITALY
XIII
THE CORONATION AT MILAN
XIV
THE FESTIVITIES AT GENOA
XV
DURING THE CAMPAIGN OF AUSTERLITZ
XVI
THE MARRIAGE OF PRINCE EUGENE
XVII
PARIS IN THE BEGINNING OF 1806
XVIII
THE MARRIAGE OF THE PRINCE OF BADEN
XIX
THE NEW QUEEN OF HOLLAND
XX
THE EMPRESS AT MAYENCE
XXI
THE RETURN OF THE EMPRESS TO PARIS
XXII
THE DEATH OF THE YOUNG NAPOLEON
XXIII
THE END OF THE WAR
XXIV
THE EMPEROR'S RETURN
XXV
THE COURT AT FONTAINEBLEAU
XXVI
THE END OF THE YEAR, 1807
Отрывок из книги
Imbert de Saint-Amand
Published by Good Press, 2019
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The morning mist soon cleared away. Josephine, who had breakfast served on deck, admired the many charming scenes between Boppard and Bacharach, the fertile fields, the towns perched on the steep banks; in the distance, the mountains covered with forests; then the narrowing river, the bounded view, the cliffs crowded together, where nothing can be seen but the river, the sky, and the crags crowned by the mirrored towns of mediaeval castles. The light boat, as it glided smoothly over the stream, with its gilded Neptune at the bow, recalled Cleopatra's barge. At times the silence was profound, then the church-bells would be heard, as well as the cheers of the peasants on the river-banks. The pettiest villages had sent guards of honor, had hoisted flags, and raised triumphal arches. Curiously enough, the right bank, which did not belong to France, seemed to display quite as much zeal and enthusiasm as the left bank, the French one; on both sides were the same shouts of welcome, the same demonstrations, the same salutes. When she reached Saint Goar, on the left bank, the Empress saw the authorities of the town coming out to meet her, with military music, in boats decorated with branches of trees; and on the other side of the river, on the terrace of the castle of Hesse Rheinfels, the Hessian garrison was presenting arms, and their salutes joined with those of the inhabitants of Saint Goar, Further on, they shouted through a speaking- trumpet to hear the famous echo of the Lorelei, with its wonderfully distinct and frequent repetitions. Then they passed the fantastic castle of the Palatinate, built in the middle of the stream, and in old times the refuge of the Countesses Palatine, where their children were born and kept in security during their babyhood. The Empress landed at Bingen, where she spent the night, starting again the next morning. Towards three in the afternoon she reached Mayence, where twelve young girls belonging to the best families of the city were awaiting her. Almost simultaneously, the cannon at the other gate announced the Emperor's arrival.
On his way, Napoleon had noticed on an island in the Rhine, at the very extremity of the French Empire, the convent of Rolandswerth. He was told that the nuns who lived there had refused to leave it during the last war, that very often the cannon-balls of the contending armies had often fallen on the island without damaging the convent where those holy women were praying. The Emperor became interested in their fate, and made over to them the forty or fifty acres of which the little island consisted.
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