This is part of a series about why Napoleon’s stepdaughter Hortense de Beauharnais Bonaparte broke the law. When we last left off the Bonaparte family were trying to figure out how to get Hortense’s sons back safely from a doomed revolutionary effort.
Here, Hortense’s oldest son, Napoleon Louis is called upon to speak up for the disaffected youth.
Napoleon Louis Bonaparte.
Hortense writes:
[General] Armandi, appointed Minister of War, was to have them recalled from the army. Finally, friends, enemies, family, everyone put a word in to neutralize their efforts, while the greatest enthusiasm animated the whole country they occupied, and only the youth, calculating the success on their ardor and on their courage, already saw themselves in their hopes, the mistress of Rome, which they knew was full of discouragement and had little means of defense.
There was no doubt that in two days the Pope would be in control of this small army. It was doubtless feared in Rome, for M. de Stoelting [an officer who worked for Napoleon’s brother Jerome] was sent to my children by King Jerome, who had just seen the Pope.
It was therefore with the permission of the Pope that we wanted to enter into talks and find out the real intentions of the insurgents. "His Holiness," said Mr. Stoelting to my eldest son, "does not know what the insurgents want; let them explain themselves. It would be important to let him promptly express the true state of things. If you want to present an overview of their complaints, I will take care of submitting them to him.”
My son agreed to be the interpreter of the wishes expressed by all the youth around him. He had the main grievances, the desires and needs of the country drawn up by the Terni committee; and his letter to the Pope, delivered by M. de Stoelting, was but the expression of all these wishes of this youth united.
He thus seemed to impose laws in vain, while he only interceded on behalf of all. But the opinions dictated to him by his love of the public good, the elation which surrounded him and his conciliatory disposition, were later imputed to him as a crime. It was represented as an insult what this young man was doing when he was really being prompted by a feeling of benevolence. M. de Stoelting judged the feelings of my children for what they really were, since in a letter which he then wrote to me, he praised them for -
To be continued.
Pope Gregory XVI.
Cela fait partie d'une série expliquant pourquoi la belle-fille de Napoléon, Hortense de Beauharnais Bonaparte, a enfreint la loi. La dernière fois que nous nous sommes quittés, la famille Bonaparte essayait de comprendre comment récupérer les fils de Hortense en toute sécurité d'un effort révolutionnaire voué à l'échec. Ici, le fils aîné de Hortense, Napoléon Louis est appelé à parler au nom des jeunes mécontents.
