She could not refuse.  Presently she appeared in her drawing-room, where she was at once surrounded by an immense throng of her own countrymen and countrywomen, who made no pretense of misunderstanding the situation.  To them, what was one woman’s honor when compared with the freedom and independence of their nation?  She was overwhelmed by arguments and entreaties.  She was even accused of being disloyal to the cause of Poland if she refused her consent.

One of the strangest documents of that period was a letter sent to her and signed by the noblest men in Poland.  It contained a powerful appeal to her patriotism.  One remarkable passage even quotes the Bible to point out her line of duty.  A portion of this letter ran as follows: 

Did Esther, think you, give herself to Ahasuerus out of the fulness of her love for him?  So great was the terror with which he inspired her that she fainted at the sight of him.  We may therefore conclude that affection had but little to do with her resolve.  She sacrificed her own inclinations to the salvation of her country, and that salvation it was her glory to achieve.  May we be enabled to say the same of you, to your glory and our own happiness!

After this letter came others from Napoleon himself, full of the most humble pleading.  It was not wholly distasteful thus to have the conqueror of the world seek her out and offer her his adoration any more than it was distasteful to think that the revival of her own nation depended on her single will.  M. Frederic Masson, whose minute studies regarding everything relating to Napoleon have won him a seat in the French Academy, writes of Marie Walewska at this time:  Every force was now brought into play against her.  Her country, her friends, her religion, the Old and the New Testaments, all urged her to yield; they all combined for the ruin of a simple and inexperienced girl of eighteen who had no parents, whose husband even thrust her into temptation, and whose friends thought that her downfall would be her glory.

Amid all these powerful influences she consented to attend the dinner.  To her gratification Napoleon treated her with distant courtesy, and, in fact, with a certain coldness.

“I heard that Mme. Walewska was indisposed.  I trust that she has recovered,” was all the greeting that he gave her when they met.

Every one else with whom she spoke overwhelmed her with flattery and with continued urging; but the emperor himself for a time acted as if she had displeased him.  This was consummate art; for as soon as she was relieved of her fears she began to regret that she had thrown her power away.

During the dinner she let her eyes wander to those of the emperor almost in supplication.  He, the subtlest of men, knew that he had won.  His marvelous eyes met hers and drew her attention to him as by an electric current; and when the ladies left the great dining-room Napoleon sought her out and whispered in her ear a few words of ardent love.