Poland, and
serve the revolution there[61].

[Footnote 61: La Reine Hortense, p. 93.]

Hortense had taken no part in these attempts and efforts of her family;
she knew that it was all in vain; she understood her sons better than
they, and she knew that nothing in the world could alter a resolution
they had once formed. But she also knew that they were lost, that the
revolution must be suppressed, that they would soon be proscribed
fugitives, and she quietly prepared to assist them when the evil days
should come. She armed herself with courage and determination, and made
her soul strong, in order that she might not be overwhelmed by the
misfortune that was so near at hand.

While all about her were weeping and lamenting, while her husband was
wringing his hands in despair, and complaining of the present, Hortense
quietly and resolutely confronted the future, and prepared to defy it.

That which she dreaded soon took place. An Austrian fleet sailed into
the Adriatic; an Austrian army was marching on the insurrectionary
Italian provinces. Modena had already been reconquered; the insurgents
were already flying in crowds before the Austrian cannon, whose
thundering salvos were destined to destroy once more the hopes of the
youth of Italy.

Like an enraged lioness glowing with enthusiasm and courage, Hort