many witnesses.

In spite of this constraint their hearts understood each other in the
midst of the brilliancy and applause of the assembly, and assuredly no
idea of divorce entered the Emperor's mind at that moment; and, for my
part, I am very sure that this cruel separation would never have taken
place if her Majesty the Empress could have borne children, or even if
the young Napoleon, son of the King of Holland and Queen Hortense, had
not died just at the time the Emperor had decided to adopt him. Yet I
must admit that the fear, or rather the certainty, of Josephine not
bearing him an heir to the throne, drove the Emperor to despair; and I
have many times heard him pause suddenly in the midst of his work, and
exclaim with chagrin, "To whom shall I leave all this?"

After the mass, his Excellency, Cardinal Fesch, grand almoner of France,
bore the Book of the Gospels to the Emperor, who thereupon, from his
throne, pronounced the imperial oath in a voice so firm and distinct that
it was heard by all present. Then, for the twentieth time perhaps, the
cry of 'Vive l'Empereur' sprang to the lips of all, the 'Te Deum' was
chanted, and' their Majesties left the church in the same manner as they
had entered. The Pope remained in the church about a quarter of an hour
after the sovereigns; and, when he rose to withdraw, universal
acclamations accompanied him from the choir to the portal.

Their Majesties did not return to the chateau until half-past six, and
the Pope not till nearly seven. On their entrance to the church, their
Majesties passed through the archbishop's palace, the buildings of which,
as I have said, communicated with Notre Dame by means of a wooden
gallery. This gallery, covered with slate, and hung with magnificent
tapestry, ended in a platform, also of wood, erected before the principal