In the winter of 1809 the people of France were not comfortable. The promised peace with England seemed again postponed; the war in the Spanish peninsula was still raging; the Continental System was steadily undermining public prosperity. There was stagnation in the great French seaports; hand in hand with commerce, both industry and trade were languishing. The great southern towns, deprived of their Spanish market, were nearly bankrupt. In addition the clergy and their adherents were thoroughly roused by the treatment of the Pope. On the other hand, the Emperor's personal popularity was also suffering serious ravages. In the new administrative system the places which led to promotion had now for a long time been given to members of the old nobility; the recipients looked on them as their right, and neither they nor their families were grateful, while the sturdy democracy felt slighted and injured. Even the new nobility grew more unmanageable with every day. In full possession of their estates, titles, and incomes, they felt their independence, and refused to be longer guided by the hand which had led them into their promised land. They had allied themselves with the oldest families in France, and the haughtiness of family pride led them to feel condescension for the great adventurer whose blood so far flowed in no aristocratic veins. It seemed to Napoleon that in order to secure popular good will he must restore prosperity, which was not easy, and to assert a moral ascendancy over his court he must make a suitable match, which was easy enough. Neither must be half done; his prestige required a great stroke, and it was better to make the match first, and thereby ease the tension until England could be brought to terms--with Russia's aid if possible, without it if necessary. CHAPTER XIX THE AUSTRIAN MARRIAGE[34] [Footnote 34: See Welschinger: Le Divorce de Napoleon. Vandal: Napoleon et Alexandre Ier, Vol. II, Le second mariage de Napoleon. Correspondance de Marie Louise 1799-1847. Lettres intimes et inedites a la C^tesse de Colloredo et a Mlle de Poutet, depuis 1810 C^tesse de Crenneville. Welschinger: Le mariage de Napoleon et de Marie Louise, in Revue de la revolution, Paris, Nov., 1788. Durand, Madame la Generale, A Memoir, Napoleon and Marie-Louise ("Memoires sur Napoleon et Marie-Louise").] Anxieties of the Austrian Court -- The Plan for a Matrimonial Alliance with Napoleon -- Opening of Formal Negotiations -- The Deliberations in Paris -- Napoleon's Decision -- The Czar's Indignation -- The Ceremonies at Vienna -- Napoleon's Preparations -- His Meeting with Maria Louisa -- The Wedding -- Gifts and Rejoicings -- Impressions of the New Empress -- The New Dynasty. [Sidenote: 1809-10]