WhatBonapartesaidthatdaygood—naturedlytohiswifeIhaveoftenheardhimdeclareseriously.Ihavebeenpresentatfiveorsixaltercationsonthesubject.Thatthereexisted，too，anenmityconnectedwiththisquestionbetweenthefamilyofBEAUHARNAISandthefamilyofBonapartecannotbedenied.
Fouche，asIhavestated，wasintheinterestofJosephine，andLucienwasthemostbitterofherenemies.OnedayRaedererinveighedwithsomuchviolenceagainstFoucheinthepresenceofMadameBonapartethatsherepliedwithextremewarmth，\"TherealenemiesofBonapartearethosewhofeedhimwithnotionsofhereditarydescent，ofadynasty，ofdivorce，andofmarriage！\"Josephinecouldnotcheckthisexclamation，assheknewthatRoedererencouragedthoseideas，whichhespreadabroadbyLucien’sdirection.IrecollectonedaywhenshehadbeentoseeusatourlittlehouseatRuel：asIwalkedwithheralongthehighroadtohercarriage，whichshehadsentforward，IacknowledgedtoounreservedlymyfearsonaccountoftheambitionofBonaparte，andoftheperfidiousadviceofhisbrothers.\"Madame，\"saidI，\"ifwecannotsucceedindissuadingtheGeneralfrommakinghimselfaKing，Idreadthefutureforhissake.Ifeverhere—establishesroyaltyhewillinallprobabilitylabourfortheBourbons，andenablethemonedaytore—ascendthethronewhichheshallerect.Noone，doubtless，withoutpassingforafool，canpretendtosaywithcertaintywhatseriesofchancesandeventssuchaproceedingwillproduce;butcommonsensealoneissufficienttoconvinceanyonethatunfavourablechancesmustlongbedreaded.Theancientsystembeingre—established，theoccupationofthethronewillthenbeonlyafamilyquestion，andnotaquestionofgovernmentbetweenlibertyanddespoticpower.WhyshouldnotFrance，ifitceasestobefree，prefertheraceofherancientkings？Yousurelyknowit.Youhadnotbeenmarriedtwoyearswhen，onreturningfromItaly，yourhusbandtoldmethatheaspiredtoroyalty.NowheisConsulforlife.Wouldhebutresolvetostopthere！Healreadypossesseseverythingbutanemptytitle.NosovereigninEuropehassomuchpowerashehas.Iamsorryforit，Madame，butIreallybelievethat，inspiteofyourself，youwillbemadeQueenorEmpress.\"
MadameBonapartehadallowedmetospeakwithoutinterruption，butwhenI
pronouncedthewordsQueenandEmpresssheexclaimed，\"MyGod！
Bourrienne，suchambitionisfarfrommythoughts.ThatImayalwayscontinuethewifeoftheFirstConsulisallIdesire.Saytohimallthatyouhavesaidtome.TryandpreventhimfrommakinghimselfKing.\"——\"Madame，\"Ireplied，timesaregreatlyaltered.Thewisestmen，thestrongestminds，haveresolutelyandcourageouslyopposedhistendencytothehereditarysystem.Butadviceisnowuseless.Hewouldnotlistentome.Inalldiscussionsonthesubjectheadheresinflexiblytotheviewhehastaken.Ifhebeseriouslyopposedhisangerknowsnobounds;hislanguageisharshandabrupt，histoneimperious，andhisauthoritybearsdownallbeforehim.\"——\"Yet，Bourrienne，hehassomuchconfidenceinyouthatofyoushouldtryoncemore！\"——\"Madame，Iassureyouhewillnotlistentome.Besides，whatcouldIaddtotheremarksImadeuponhisreceivingthelettersofLouisXVIII.，whenIfearlesslyrepresentedtohimthatbeingwithoutchildrenhewouldhavenoonetowhomtobequeaththethrone——that，doubtless，fromtheopinionwhichbeentertainedofhisbrothers，hecouldnotdesiretoerectitforthem？\"HereJosephineagaininterruptedmebyexclaiming，\"Mykindfriend，whenyouspokeofchildrendidhesayanythingtoyou？Didhetalkofadivorce？\"——\"Notaword，Madame，I