s:

"I have received your letter of the sixth of May. I see in it already
the injury which you are suffering, and I fear that you are not
reasonable, and that you afflict yourself too much from the calamity
which has befallen us.

"Adieu my love. Entirely thine,

"NAPOLEON."

Again, after the lapse of four days, he wrote:

"I have received your letter of the tenth of May. I see that you have
gone to Luchen. I think that you may rest there a fortnight. That will
give much pleasure to the Belgians, and will serve to divert your mind.
I see with pain that you are not wise. Grief has bounds which it should
not pass. Preserve yourself for your friend, and believe in all my
affection."

On the same day the Emperor wrote as follows to Hortense:

"Finckenstein, May 20th, 1807.

"MY DAUGHTER,--Every thing which reaches me from the Hague informs me
that you are unreasonable. However legitimate may be your grief, it
should have its bounds. Do not impair your health. Seek consolation.
Know that life is strewn with so many dangers, and may be the source of
so many calamities, that death is by no means the greatest of evils.

"Your affectionate father,

"NAPOLEON."

It is to be borne in mind that these brief epistles were written from
the midst of one of the most arduous of campaigns. Four days after this,
on the 24th, Napoleon wrote to Josephine:

"I have received your letter from Luchen. I see with pain that your
grief is still unabated, and that Hortense has not yet arrived. She is
unreasonable, and does not merit that one should love her, since she
loves only her children. Strive to calm yourself, and give me no more
pain. For every irremediable evil we should find consolation. Adieu, my
love.

"Wholly thine,

"NAPOLEON."

After two days again the Emperor wrote to Josephine:

"I have received your letter of the 16th, and see with pleasure that
Hortense has arrived at Luchen. I am indeed grieved by what you tell me
of the state of stupor in which she still continues. She should have
more fortitude, and should govern herself. I can not conceive why they
should wish her to go to the springs. Her attention would be much more
diverted at Paris, and she would find there more consolation. Control
yourself. Be cheerful, and take care of your health. Adieu, my love. I
share deeply in all your griefs. It is painful to me that I am not with