This is the memoir of the suspected last mistress of Napoleon, Albine de Montholon. When we last left off, Albine was being mistaken for Napoleon’s somewhat shameless sister, Pauline. Albine’s carriage was being held up as part of the ongoing harassment campaign against Napoleon and those who support him. Somehow Albine was set free and she finds herself invited to dinner with Napoleon and her husband at Rochefort.
Albine writes:
I arrived at Rochefort very tired from two nights spent in the carriage. The next day, the Grand Marshal informed me that we would have dinner with the Emperor at eight o'clock. I had waited until my husband came to pick me up, before going to the prefecture where the Emperor was staying.
He couldn't come get me, and when I arrived, everyone was seated at the table. I took my place which had remained empty to the left of the Emperor, Madame Bertrand was on his right.
I had beside me General Becker (1), appointed by the provisional government to accompany the Emperor until the embarkation. The other people were Prince Joseph, the Grand Marshal, General Gourgaud, M. de Las-Cases, M. de Montholon and the maritime prefect.
General Lallemand joins the Emperor at Rochefort. Barely seated: "You were very worried in the Vendée, Madame," was the first words the Emperor said to me. I remembered it all the better since this word “worried”, is said to mean “tormented”.
This expression is a way of speaking in the South, and I have since had the opportunity to observe that Napoleon used southern phrases. [Napoleon had lived in the south of France when he was younger.]
The Emperor wore a brown frock coat. I had never seen him in anything except a uniform.
This outfit and the place where we were, made me feel an impression that will never fade. We talked about the Vendée affair. The Emperor ate and spoke little, his speech was brief and cut.
After dinner, we went into the living room which opened onto a terrace. The Emperor took his brother there, then the gentlemen. During this time, I chatted with Mme Bertrand; the walk on the terrace was being extended.
Madame Bertrand offered to retire, since the Emperor was not coming back.
I agreed and we left. What is singular is that the Emperor, from whom nothing escaped, has spoken to me since our disappearance, telling me he wanted to chat with us and that he had been surprised and upset to not find us anymore.
It was indeed lacking in etiquette; one never left the drawing-room until he had retired. Perhaps, at that moment, he had doubly noticed it.
M. de Montholon was all day at the prefecture, I did not see him; we expected to embark at all times. We asked ourselves: Will it be tonight, tomorrow? We hardly dared to go to bed.
The people who were at Rochefort were: Grand Marshal Count Bertrand, Countess Bertrand and their children: Napoleon, Henry and Hortense;
The Duke of Rovigo;
General Baron Lallemand, aide-de-camp:
General Count de Montholon, Countess de Montholon and their son Tristan;
General Baron Gourgaud;
The Count de Las-Cases, chamberlain of the Emperor; the young Las-Cases, page;
The young ***, relative of the Empress Josephine;
M. de Planat, orderly officer;
M. de Résigny,
Two Polish officers who had been on the island. MM. Plontowski and Schoutty;
M. Merchaire, Captain;
M. Marchand;
Lieutenant Rivière, who had served under M. de Montholon;
M. Deschamps, quartermaster of the palace;
Mr. Huro, doctor;
Cipriani (Corsican), butler; Pierron, head of office; Saint-Denis, chasseur of the Emperor;
Noverras,
Lepage, cook;
Gentilini, footman;
The two Archambaults, Two couriers;
M. Bertrand had a servant and a chambermaid;
Mme de Montholon: Pierre, her servant, Joséphine, her maid;
General Gourgaud, a servant.
During the day of the 7th preceding the embarkation, Mr. Renault, aide-de-camp of the maritime prefect, showed us the establishments of the port. Rochefort seemed to me a rather sad place to stay. Finally, we were informed that we were going to embark.
To be continued.
(1) Bajert-Becker, Count of Mons, in disgrace since 1809, deputy for Puy-de-Dôme in 1815, later peer of France and grand cordon of the Legion of Honor. He died in 1840.
Il s'agit des mémoires de la dernière maîtresse présumée de Napoléon, Albine de Montholon. La dernière fois que nous nous sommes arrêtés, Albine était confondue avec Pauline, la soeur quelque peu éhontée de Napoléon. La voiture d'Albine était bloquée dans le cadre de la campagne de harcèlement contre Napoléon. En quelque sorte, Albine a été libérée et elle se retrouve invitée à dîner avec Napoléon et son mari à Rochefort.
Let’s look at the natal charts plus the planetary transits on July 7th, 1815, when Albine and Napoleon got on board a ship with a somewhat uncertain destination.
Mars is transiting Aries at this time which could bolster the courage of those who wished to behave aggressively. Pluto (death) and Chiron (wounds) are transiting natal Chiron in Napoleon’s 4th house of home matters. Napoleon’s home situation is going to become depressing and intolerable and it will kill him fairly quickly.
Regardons les cartes natales et les transits planétaires le 7 juillet 1815, quand Albine et Napoléon sont montés à bord d'un navire.
Mars traverse actuellement le Bélier, ce qui pourrait renforcer le courage de ceux qui souhaitent se comporter de manière agressive. Pluton (mort) et Chiron (blessures) transitent par Chiron natal dans la 4e maison des affaires domestiques de Napoléon. La situation intérieure de Napoléon va devenir déprimante et intolérable.
Pluto is transiting Albine’s 4th house of home matters along with Chiron (wounds). These are deep transformative energies for Albine’s domicile situation. Her life will be transformed. It’s worth noting that surprising Uranus is transiting her Saturn (prison) in the 12th house of isolation which can allude to incarceration.
The English government is about to declare her one of their prisoners - because they had the power to do so and the willingness to ignore the law (Saturnine tyranny). Saturn is transiting Pluto and Mars in her 2nd house of values. The behavior of the English ministers can be shown potentially in this darkest manifestation of Pluto (death), Saturn (prison) and Mars (aggression).
Pluton est en train de traverser la 4e maison des affaires familiales d'Albine avec Chiron (blessures). Ce sont de profondes énergies transformatrices pour la situation de domicile d'Albine. Sa vie sera transformée.
Il est à noter que surprenant Uranus transite son Saturne (prison) dans la 12e maison d'isolement qui peut prendre la forme d'une incarcération. Le gouvernement anglais est sur le point de la déclarer l'une de leurs prisonnières - parce qu'ils avaient le pouvoir de le faire et la volonté d'ignorer la loi (Saturne).
Saturne transite Pluton et Mars dans sa 2e maison de valeurs. Le comportement des ministres anglais peut être montré potentiellement dans cette interaction de la manifestation la plus sombre imaginable de Pluton (mort), Saturne (prison) et Mars (agression).
This below is the composite chart of Albine and Napoleon. We see a big blue triangle which is a harmonious aspect. It’s Saturn Neptune, Pluto and Uranus, mostly in earth signs. Albine and her husband were known for trying to get money out of Napoleon (earth constellations).
These three planet/planet groups are in harmonious aspects but Saturn (limitations), Neptune (illusions), Pluto (death) and Uranus (disruption) seem potentially very painful.
Venus in the 4th house of home matters. This implies compatibility for a liaison. Three planets, the Sun, Jupiter and Mercury in the 11th house (friends and community) may refer to the fact that they were all stuck in a sort of colony together in St. Helena. These three planets are in a difficult square against Pluto. This can point to a deathly transformative situation.
Il s'agit de la carte composite d'Albine et Napoléon. On voit un grand triangle bleu qui est un aspect harmonieux. C'est Saturne Neptune, Pluton et Uranus, principalement sous forme de signes terrestres. Albine et son mari étaient connus pour avoir tenté de retirer de l'argent de Napoléon (constellations terrestres).
Ces trois groupes planète / planète sont dans des aspects harmonieux mais Saturne (limitations), Neptune (illusions), Pluton (mort) et Uranus (perturbation) semblent potentiellement très douloureux.
Vénus dans la 4e maison des affaires intérieures. Cela implique la compatibilité pour une liaison. Les trois planètes, le Soleil, Jupiter et Mercure dans la 11e maison (amis et communauté) peuvent se référer au fait qu'elles étaient toutes coincées dans une sorte de colonie ensemble à Sainte-Hélène. Ces trois planètes sont dans un carré difficile contre Pluton. Il s'agit d'une situation transformatrice mortelle difficile.
