She brought
Eugene and Hortense to the princess, who was now waiting in St.
Martin, in the vicinity of St. Pol, in the county of Artois,
expecting a favorable moment for departure; for already was the
emigration watched, already it was considered a crime to leave
France. With bitter tears of grief, and yet glad to know her
children safe, Josephine bade farewell to her little ones, and then
returned to Paris, so as to excite no suspicion through her absence.
But no sooner had General Beauharnais heard of Josephine's plan to
send her children from the country, than in utmost speed he
dispatched to his wife a courier bearing a letter in which he
decidedly opposed the departure of the children, for by this
emigration his own position would be imperilled and his character
made suspicious.
Josephine sighed, and, with tears in her eyes, submitted to her
husband's will; she sent a faithful messenger to St. Martin to bring
back Eugene and Hortense. But the Princess von Hohenzollern would
not trust the children to any one; she had sworn to her friend
Josephine to watch over them, never to let them go out of her sight,
and she wished to keep her oath until such time as she could restore
the children to their mother.
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