This is part of a series about why Hortense broke the law.
Here Hortense mentions General Duphot. After Napoleon broke off his engagement with Joseph’s sister in law “Desirée”, Napoleon set Desirée up to marry Duphot and he was killed in an Italian uprising right before the marriage took place. Then Napoleon comes up with Bernadotte for Desirée. This plays out drily in Napoleon’s letters to Joseph and we hear about Duphot in Eugene’s memoirs. Both Eugene’s memoirs and Napoleon’s letters to Joseph can be found in French at this resource.
When we last left off, Hortense was warned not to go to carnaval because of revolutionary activity and she invited some people into her apartments.
- walking around my living rooms, worried about the events that were going to happen, when I learned that the Cours (carnaval) was being cancelled. The Pope’s edicts which announced plots and all that transpired regarding the plan of an uprising, made all foreigners worried about their position.
The authorities had made an appeal to the famous suburbs of Transtevère and dei Monti. It is claimed that the inhabitants of these suburbs are of pure Roman blood, and that they have never mixed. Their courage equals their ignorance, and their distrust of foreigners would easily arouse their passions.
We remembered the death of General Duphot; and without knowing where the danger could come from, each Frenchman armed himself in the event of an attack. There were several who came to my house, and who, seeing me without much support, offered their services to me.
They were almost all people attached to Charles X. M. de Bressieux, distinguished captain of the royal guard, former page of the Emperor and son of a lady of my mother-in-law was the one who put the most insistence on it. I had no concern for myself. On the contrary, I felt very light not having to tremble for my children.
However, I accepted his offers of service so as not to be alone in the event of disturbance, and I urged him to come with one of his friends to dine with me every day until his departure.
They therefore came there for the first time the same day whose morning had been designated for the uprising. We were talking cheerfully at the table, as the French always do, about even the most serious things, the terror caused by revolutions, the pillage of which everyone seemed to be afraid, and the means of barricading oneself at home, when we hear a musketry discharge.
Prince Ruspoli, owner of the palace I lived in, hurriedly entered my house. He was rightly very frightened, and yet he came to reassure me. M. de Bressieux, with all the calm of a man more accustomed to events, began -
Cela fait partie d'une série sur pourquoi Hortense a enfreint la loi.
Ici, Hortense mentionne le général Duphot. Après que Napoléon ait rompu ses fiançailles avec la belle-sœur de Joseph «Désirée», Napoléon a préparé Désirée pour épouser Duphot et il a été tué dans un soulèvement italien juste avant le mariage. Napoléon propose alors Bernadotte pour Désirée. Cela se joue sèchement dans les lettres de Napoléon à Joseph et nous entendons parler de Duphot dans les mémoires d'Eugène. Les mémoires d'Eugène et les lettres de Napoléon à Joseph se trouvent en français dans cette ressource.
