General Bonaparte to implore that the sword of his
father might be restored to him. The young general was so much impressed
with the grace and beauty of the boy, and with his artless and touching
eloquence, that he made many inquiries respecting his parentage, treated
him with marked tenderness, and promptly restored the sword. Josephine
was so grateful for the kindness of General Bonaparte to Eugene, that
the next day she drove to his quarters to express a mother's thanks.
General Bonaparte was even more deeply impressed with the grace and
loveliness of the mother than he had been with the child. He sought her
acquaintance; this led to intimacy, to love, and to the proffer of
marriage.

In the following letter to a friend Josephine expressed her views in
reference to her marriage with General Bonaparte:

"I am urged, my dear, to marry again by the advice of all my friends,
and I may almost say, by the commands of my aunt and the prayers of my
children. Why are you not here to help me by your advice, and to tell me
whether I ought or not to consent to a union which certainly seems
calculated to relieve me from the discomforts of my present situation?
Your friendship would render you clear-sighted to my interests, and a
word from you would suffice to bring me to a decision.

"Among my visitors you have seen General Bonaparte. He is the man who
wishes to become a father to the orphans of Alexander de Beauharnais,
and husband to his widow.

"'Do you love him?' is naturally your first question. My answer is
perhaps '_no_.' 'Do you dislike him?' 'No,' again. But the sentiments I
entertain towards him are of that lukewarm kind which true devotees
think worst of all, in matters of religion. Now love being a sort of
religion, my feelings ought to be very different from what they really
are. This is the point on which I want your advice, which would fix the
wavering of my irresolute disposition. To come to a decision has always
been too much for my Creole inertness, and I find it easier to obey the
wishes of others.

"I admire the general's courage, the extent of his information on every
subject on which he converses; his shrewd intelligence, which enables
him to understand the thoughts of others before they are expressed. But
I confess that I am somewhat fearful of that control which he seems
anxious to exercise over all about him. There is something in his
scrutinizing glance that can not be described. It awes even our
D