conduct is admirable; he receives none but business
calls, and such others as are absolutely necessary. The fair ladies of
the Faubourg St. Germain cannot boast of his attention to them, and this
does him all the more credit, he being, as it is said, very susceptible
to the fair sex. He told Prince Leopold that he intended going to
Novara, adding: 'You know that I love and esteem this family; Prince
Eugene is the prince of knights; I esteem the Empress Josephine, Queen
Hortense, and Prince Eugene, all the more from the fact that her
demeanor toward the Emperor Napoleon has been so much more noble than
that of so many others, who should have shown him more devotion.' How
could it be possible not to respect a man of such nobility of character?
I trust you will soon have an opportunity of judging of this yourself.
For God's sake, return!

LOUISE."

But these entreaties were all in vain. M. de Marmold arrived at Louis in
time to see the queen; he delivered the letters of her friends, and did
all that lay in his power to persuade her not to go to Rambouillet.

But Hortense held firmly to her intention. "You are right," said she.
"All this is true; but I shall, nevertheless, go to the Empress Marie
Louise, for it is my duty to do so. If unpleasant consequences should
result from this step for me, I shall pay no attention to them, but
merely continue to do my duty. Of all of us, the Empress Marie Louise
must be the most unhappy, and must stand most in need of consolation; it
is, therefore, at her side that I can be of most use, and nothing can
alter my determination."

CHAPTER XV.

QUEEN HORTENSE AND THE EMPEROR ALEXANDER.

Queen Hortense had gone to Rambouillet, in spite of the entreaties and
exhortations of her friends. The Empress Marie Louise had, however,
received her with an air of embarrassment. She had told the queen that
she was expecting her father, the Emperor of Austria, and that she
feared the queen's presence might make him feel ill at ease. Moreover,
the young empress, although dejected and grave, was by no means so
sorrowful and miserable as Hortense expected. The fate of her husband
had not wounded the heart of Marie Louise as deeply as that of the
Empress Josephine.

Hortense felt that she was not needed there; that the presence of the
Emperor of Austria would suffice to console the Empress of France for
her husband's overthrow. She thought of Josephine, who was so deeply
saddened by Napoleon's f