This is part of a series where we’re translating a book about why Hortense broke the law. The premise of this memoir is that the shadowy forces that tried to sneakily get Bonapartes killed were after her 2 sons, the nephews of Napoleon.
In 1831, revolutions were arising in Italy where Hortense’s sons were baited into them by their good intentions and their desire to serve humanity. Then once Hortense’s sons tried to help, the Austrian military was deployed to capture them. This is the story of all of Hortense’s attempts to save her sons from these covert plots.
Hortense writes:
[my sick valet got into] my husband's travel carriage. I got in with my lady in the carriage driven by my foreign coachman.
Arriving at the Santa Croce gate, they came to take my English passport; it was examined and the name entered.
Only they came to make me the remark that I was not taking the indicated route. I replied that I was going to spend a few days at a villa, and I was dismissed and told to have a good trip which I would have liked to enjoy. I did half a league.
There was no connection between the route I was following to another route that could have brought me back to Florence. I stopped near an inn. I told my valet to take my place in the carriage, to stay even for a moment to give the coachman a drink, and I indicated his way back, recommending him well not to enter by the door by which we had gone out, and as he was in a carriage and without packages, he should say that he had just gone for a walk.
I got into my travel car with my lady and turned back, very worried about my return, because my traveling situation was ridiculous enough to have been noticed.
When I got to the door I had just left, my heart beat hard. Fortunately, the police were taking care of a stagecoach that came out immediately.
We were therefore able to turn at this door without being seen, and outside the walls we join again.
On entering we were halted. "They are travelers,” they say “a passport is required.”
"We don't have one”, we say, “we are testing a car that we want to buy, you can see that it is not loaded.” We went out through another door to take a walk, and we come back. After hearing all these reasons, they let us pass.
My German groom, who did not know the city, got us lost and it was only after an hour that we were able to find our hotel. The carriage returned without embarrassment, and my carriages were changed the next day.
…
Cela fait partie d'une série où nous traduisons un livre expliquant pourquoi Hortense a enfreint la loi.
La prémisse de ce mémoire est que les forces ténébreuses qui ont tenté de faire sournoisement Bonaparte étaient après ses 2 fils, les neveux de Napoléon.
En 1831, des révolutions éclatent en Italie où les fils de Hortense sont harcelés par leurs bonnes intentions et leur désir de servir l’humanité.
Puis, une fois que les fils de Hortense ont essayé d’aider, l’armée autrichienne a été déployée pour les capturer. Voici l'histoire de toutes les tentatives d'Hortense pour sauver ses fils de ces complots secrets.
