. The love affairs of Napoleon. ermen who are the dupes of their feelings and hood-winked by women accomplished in the art of exploit-ing them for their own ends, Napoleon was for everwanting to marry the first woman he encounteredwhose reputed rank and fortune would be likely tohelp him on in the world, and who sufficiently en-couraged him to hope that his wooing would not bein vain. The events of the 13th Vendemiaire rescued Bona-parte from the obscurity and straitened circumstancesin which he had dwelt hitherto, and henceforth he wasto be met with in the most brilliant circles in Paris,wher
. The love affairs of Napoleon. ermen who are the dupes of their feelings and hood-winked by women accomplished in the art of exploit-ing them for their own ends, Napoleon was for everwanting to marry the first woman he encounteredwhose reputed rank and fortune would be likely tohelp him on in the world, and who sufficiently en-couraged him to hope that his wooing would not bein vain. The events of the 13th Vendemiaire rescued Bona-parte from the obscurity and straitened circumstancesin which he had dwelt hitherto, and henceforth he wasto be met with in the most brilliant circles in Paris,where he became a centre of attraction. He was tobe seen at the house of Barras, where the societywas as mixed as it could possibly be, but where onecame in contact with the leaders of politics and financefawned upon by those courtesans, Madame Tallien,Madame Mailly de Chateaurenault, Madame Beau-harnais and the rest. It is with these ladies that heliked best to converse. Did he not moreover owe a 1 Madame Elliot, Memoires, p. 4 ^.x ? -- fA&rpAjrl&iU+M. Thomas Gainsborough, , Pinxt. GRACE ELLIOT John Dean, sculpt. fl. .n THE LOVE AFFAIRS OF NAPOLEON 57 debt of gratitude to the Citoyenne Tallien ? He hadnot forgotten how he had come back after campaign-ing with the Army of the Alps with his only uniformmuch the worse for wear, and how Madame Tallienhad used her good offices in procuring some materialfrom the Government stores to provide him with anew But gratitude, where a beautiful woman is con-cerned, swiftly takes on the colours of a deeper Tallien, then the queen of fashion, hadbeen struck by the Generals expression,2 and hadinvited him to La Chaumiere, her house in theCours-la-Reine at the corner of the Allee des us hear what one of the ladies who frequentedthe soirees of the fair Citoyenne de Thermidor has totell us. At Madame Talliens that evening the guestsincluded the ex-Vicomtesse de Beauharnais, whoseCreole beauty
Size: 1279px × 1954px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectnapoleoniemperorofth
