STATE PAPERS. 



507 



tlieThuilleries, attended by Micliel 

 Louis Etienne llegnault (de St. 

 Jean d'Angely) count of the em- 

 pire, minister of state, and secre- 

 tary of state to the imperial family. 

 A quarter of an hour afterwards, 

 we were introduced to the grand 

 cabinet of the emperor; where we 

 found his majesty the emperor and 

 king, with her majesty the em- 

 press, attended by their majesties 

 the kings of Holland, Westphalia, 

 Naples, his imperial highness the 

 prince Viceroy, the queens of 

 Holland, Westphalia, Naples, and 

 Spain, madame, and her imperial 

 highness the princess Paulina. 

 His majesty the emperor and king 

 condescended to address us in 

 these terms : — 



" My cousin, prince arch-chan- 

 cellor, — I dispatched to you a pri- 

 vate letter, dated this day, to di- 

 rect you to repair to my cabinet, 

 for the purpose of communicating 

 to you the resolution which I and 

 the empress, my dearest consort, 

 have taken. It gives me pleasure 

 that the kings, queens, and prin- 

 cesses, my brothers and sisters, 

 my brothers and sisters-in-law, 

 my daughter-in-law, and my son- 

 in-law, become my adopted son, 

 as well as my mother, should wit- 

 ness what I am going to com- 

 municate to you. 



" The policy of my monarchy, 

 the interests and the wants of my 

 people, which have constantly guid- 

 ed all my actions, require, that af- 

 ter me, 1 should leave to children, 

 inheritors of my lovefor mypeople, 

 that throne on which Providence 

 has placed, me ; notwithstanding, 

 for several years past, I have lost 

 the hope of having children by 

 my marriage with my well-be- 

 loved consort, the empress Jose- 

 phine. This it is which induces mc 



to sacrificethe sweetestafl'ectionsof 

 my heart, to attend to nothing but 

 the good of the state, and to wish 

 the dissolution of my marriage. 



" Arrived at the age of forty 

 ■years, I may indulge the hope of 

 living long enough to educate in 

 my views and sentiments the chil- 

 dren which it may please Provi- 

 dence to give me. God knows 

 how much such a resolution has 

 cost my heart ; but there is no sa- 

 crifice beyond ray courage, when 

 it is proved to me to be necessary 

 for the welfare of France. I should 

 add, that far from having reason 

 to complain, on the contrary I 

 have had reason only to be satisfied 

 with the attachment and the affec- 

 tion of my well-beloved consort : 

 she has adorned fifteen years of my 

 life, the remembrance of which will 

 ever remain engraven on my heart: 

 she was crowned by my hand. I 

 wish she should preserve the rank 

 and title of empress, but above 

 all, that she should never doubt 

 my sentiments, and that she should 

 ever regard me as her best and 

 dearest friend." 



His majesty the emperor and 

 king having ended, her majesty 

 the empress and queen spoke as 

 follows :— 



•* By the permission of our dear 

 and august consort, I ought to de- 

 clare, that not preserving any hope 

 of having children, which may ful- 

 fil the wants of his policy and the 

 interest of France, I am pleased to 

 give him the greatest proof of 

 attachment and devotion, which 

 has ever been given on earth, I 

 possess all from his bounty : it was 

 his hand which crowned me ; and, 

 from the height of the throne, I 

 have received nothing but proofs 

 of affection and love from the 

 French people. I think I prove 



