This is part of a series where we translate the account of why Hortense Bonaparte broke an unjust law to try and save her sons. At this point, she is traveling to find them,
Napoleon Louis Bonaparte,
[a cold fear grabbed me], my ideas were getting confused, and I felt like I was going to lose the use of my faculties and my courage.
It was in these sad dispositions that I entered the insurgent territory. What a contrast to my impressions! Everything breathed joy. The whole population, adorned with cockades and tricolor ribbons, seemed to enjoy the beautiful sunshine for the first time.
The joy spread over all the faces showed the image of happiness and security. Having done no harm to anyone, this overconfident people feared nothing.
The word liberty intoxicated them like opium, which, it is said, destroys all our faculties, except that of enjoying its intoxication.
What people contains in itself as many means of being happy as the Italians! Their love for the arts, their enthusiasm for the beautiful, their always serene sky which seems to lighten existence, their lively imagination which wanders constantly on all that charms life, and knows how to fix itself on all that uplifts and ennobles thought, these are already the stuff of happiness.
May more perfect institutions assure them still more real benefits! I arrived in Perugia. The whole city looked festive. M. —- came to see me. It was important for me to get accurate information on the localities, on the navigable roads and on the horses to find when I returned to this side.
I did not hide my concerns from him about the events that were going to take place. His security was complete as was his noble resignation.
“My father, at the first revolution, lost his life," he said to me; “he was sacrificed despite the promises of leniency. I have vowed to the same course, I will bear with anything with courage the same as he did.”
He brought me Count Pepoli, who came to Perugia to find ammunition which was lacking in the small army of General Sercognani: we talked all evening. In order to calculate their hopes, they relied on the French newspapers which assured that the -
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Cela fait partie d'une série où nous traduisons le récit des raisons pour lesquelles Hortense Bonaparte a enfreint une loi injuste pour tenter de sauver ses fils. À ce stade, elle voyage pour les trouver,
