Josephine, Napoleon's now ex wife extended an invitation to Maria Walewska that they should meet. Obviously during her passionate romance with the Emperor, Maria had hoped to someday, perhaps when her man was done with war, to have a domestic life with him, to become his wife perhaps. Whatever her feelings for Josephine, she had avoided contact with her. Now the two women had Napoleon's ongoing influence in their lives in common. And so Maria went, with the small son that she had with Napoleon to meet Josephine.
Excerpt page 192:... Mademoiselle Avrillon, Josephine's lady-in-waiting, recalled in her memoirs that 'the ex-Empress developed great affections for Madame Walewska. She often talked of her unusual qualities and went to great lengths to stress that this woman, so essentially kind and good-natures, had never caused her any pain. She set her frequent small gifts and showered presents on the little boy, whose features so reminded her of the Emperor.'
Josephine was only to live another year, and Maria would live another four. But before she passed, Maria met a cousin of Emperor Napoleon's Philippe Antoine Ornano, a newly appointed general, age appropriate, good looking, a charmer with a good character. She would marry him.
Napoleon was finally defeated enough to be forced to abdicate and had to go into exile in Elba, Italy. He'd tried to commit suicide with poisons before he signed the agreement and Maria had traveled to see him in Elba. She intended to live there with him and their son if he would allow it and even brought her jewels in order to provide money. The lovers once again had a romantic interlude but when the word got out, Napoleon panicked and sent Maria away.
Eventually Naples became the place that Maria lived. It was a part of Europe that was enjoyed by many of European's nobles and aristocrats, because of the weather and because they could meet up with each other. The winter warmth, boating, hunting, and celebrations abundant.
In 1815 Anastase Walewski died. Napoleon fled Naples. Maria went back to Paris with their son. She married Ornano in early September 1816 and was soon pregnant. In January 1817 she arrived back at Walewice, Poland and there was found to be seriously ill with kidney disease. She had been warned in her previous two pregnancies not to breast feed because of this kidney problem but had anyway. Now her health was precarious. She gave birth in Liege in 1817 to Rodolphe Auguste Ornano, her third son. She died at thirty one, in December of 1817.
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