The marriage of Napoleon with a Hapsburg was not pleasing to the French people, who took pride in the simple origin of their emperor and empress.

This hero of Marengo, and Austerlitz, and Jena, and Wagram, the man before whom Europe trembled, was he not, after all, only a crowned citizen?
And was this not a triumph for the revolutionary principle which offset the existence of an empire, as its final result?
[Illustration: Josephine crowned Empress, December 2, 1804, in Notre Dame Cathedral.

From the painting by David.] Alexander had broken away from his agreement and his friendship with the emperor, and had joined the allies.

So in 1812 the long-contemplated invasion of Russia began.

Of the 678,000 souls recruited chiefly from conquered states, only 80,000 would ever return.
Never before had Napoleon fought the elements, and never before met overwhelming defeat! The flames at Moscow, followed by the arctic cold, converted the campaign into a vast tragedy.
With indomitable courage another grand army had filled the vacant places, and was putting down a great uprising in Germany.