244 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1809. 



addresses. He told the deputies, 

 among other kind expressions, that 

 his mind was full of recollections 

 relating to their ancestors. The 

 first time he should cross the Alps, 

 he said, he would come and reside 

 for some time in their city. The 

 French emperors, his predecessors, 

 had detached a territory from the 

 empire and bestowed it as a fief on 

 their bishops. But the whole of 

 France and of Italy, ought to be 

 united under the same system. 

 They had need of a strong hand, 

 and he felt pecuhar satisfaction in 

 being their benefactor. " But," 

 said he, " it is not my intention to 

 introduce any change into the reli- 

 gion of our ancestors. The eldest 

 son of the church, I have no mind 

 to withdraw myself from her bosom. 

 Jesus Christ did not think it neces- 

 sary to set St. Peter upon a tem- 

 poral throne. I render to God the 

 things that are God's, and to Caesar 

 the things that are Caesar's." 



After the deputies from Rome, 

 those of Tuscany were introduced 

 to pay their homage. To their 

 address, his majesty briefly re- 

 plied in these words, " gentlemen, 

 deputies of Tuscany, I am pleased 

 with the sentiments you express. 

 Your people are dear to me on 

 several accounts. Henceforth, as 

 forming a part of my great fa- 

 mily, they shall find in me the love 

 of a father." 



Towards the close of 1809, a 

 grand meetingof Buonaparte's bro- 

 thers, and other relatives, princes 

 and princesses, and vassal kings, be- 

 gan to discover a secret article in 

 the treaty of Vienna. To this meet- 

 ing Buonaparte represented the ne- 

 cessity of providing an heir to that 



throne on which providence hat} 

 placed hira. For this purpose his 

 present marriage must be dissolved j 

 and that which had been for fifteen 

 years a source of happiness to him, 

 he must sacrifice to the welfare of 

 France. Still his present consort 

 should hold the rank of empress, 

 and be treated by him as his best and 

 dearest friend. Josephine returned 

 her thanks to him for his generous 

 goodness in exaltingherto a throne, 

 expressed her consent to a measure 

 necessary for the country, and de- 

 clared that she should always look 

 to him as her great benefactor and 

 best friend, and exult in the sacri- 

 fice thus made of their mutual 

 affections. A note was taken of 

 the whole transaction signed by 

 Napoleon, Josephine, and all the 

 kings, queens, princes, and prin- 

 cesses present, and on the 16th of 

 December it was laid before the 

 senate, which agreed that the mar- 

 riage should be dissolved, the title 

 of empress queen be retained, and 

 an annual revenue of two millions 

 of francs (precisely the annual in- 

 come bestowed, or left to thepope), 

 accompanying it.* 



The loss of Pomerania and Fin- 

 land, the severe distress in which 

 the Swedish nation was involved 

 by the war with the overwhelming 

 power of Kussia, aggravated by 

 the ravages of a contagious distem- 

 per, and the knowledge of the army 

 that it was the fixed purpose of the 

 king notwithstanding the armistice 

 of November 1808,t to renew a 

 war, altogether hopeless and des- 

 perate with Russia, backed by 

 France.— These circumstances na- 

 turally and almost necessarily led 

 to the deposition of the king, 



which 



Stale Papers, p. 748. 



t Vol. L. (1808) p. 237. 



