Washington telegraph., 1849-04-18
JOSEPHINE.

brought wildly before us the character
and position of the Empress Josephine.
Connected with France in her days of
revolutionary excitement, she had suffer-
ed much bitterness before she was made
partner in the imperial crown; and
from the enviable height which she at
tanned, she was most wantonly hurled
down by the unbounded ambition of Ma
poleon. Yet. amid all her positions,
whether as a young Creole on her fathers
plantation, Countess among the nobility
of France, prisoner in the dungeons of
Paris, an Empress on the throne, or the
rejected victim of ambition, she displayed
magnanimity of soul scarcely paralleled
In the annals of her sex.
She was born on the 26th of June,
1868, in the island of Martinique, and
there remained till she had reached the
years of womanhood. At the urgent So
licitation of her parents, she then visited
France to reside with her aunt Renaudin
where she became acquainted with and
married Viscount Beauharnois. Of her
early years few very remarkable incidents
are recorded. She was light-hearted
daughter of our American islands, and
loved to sport unrestrained by conven-
tional forms. Her own language is:
al did not like the restraint of my
clothing, or to be cramped in my move
ments. L ran, and jumped, and danced
from morning till night. Why restrain
the wild movements of my childhood p
| wanted to do no hurt to those from
whom l received any evidences of affec-
ton. Nature gave me a great facility
for every thing [ undertook. Learning
to read and write was mere sport; the
same was true as to the instruction | re-
ceived from my father and there were
few better taught men, or possessing a
more skilful manner in making himself
understood, than he. | had no other
master until was twelve years DID,
In common with young people gener-
ally, she had a strong desire to know her
future destiny in life; and for this purpose
she visited the cottage of an old negro
woman, who was reported to be fortune
teller The result of the visit we extract
from the account given by Mademoiselle
Normand, as containing most singular
production, which was literally fulfilled !:
1.-The black woman, after telling her
that her art taught her that she really
wished to know the whole truth, not
withstanding her apparent indifference,
remarked, that her frankness would cause
her great surprise. She then examined
the ball of her left thumb with marked
attention; while doing so, the Pythoness
changed countenace repeatedly; then, i'll
a hollow, shrill voice, she articulated these
words:
"You will be married to man of fair
complexion, destined to be the husband
of another of your family. The young
lady whose place you are called to fill
will not live long. A young Creole,
whom you love, does not cease to think
of you; you will never marry him, and
you will make vain attempts to save his
life. but his end will be unhappy. Your
star promises you two marriages. Your
first husband will be man born in Mar
Unique, but he will reside in Europe and
wear a sword he will enjoy some mo-
ments of good fortune. A sad legal pro-
ceeding will separate you from HIM, and
alter many great troubles which are TO be-
fall the kingdom of the Franks, he will
perish tragically, and leave you widow
with two helpless children. Your second
husband will be of an olive complexion,
of European birth without fortune, yet
he will become famous; he will fill the
world with his glory, and will subject
great many nations to his power. You
will then become an eminent aCOnad1a, and
possess supreme dignity; but many
people will forget your kindnesses. At
ter having astonished the world yoW acalI
die miserable. The country in which
what foretell must happen, forms part
of Celtic Gaul and more than once in
the midst of your prosperity, you will re-
gret the happy and peaceful life you led in
the colony. At the moment you shall
quit it, (but not toreUer) a prodigy will
appear in the air; this will be the first
harbinger of your astonishing destiny"
When Josephine left the island, a
strange phenomenon was observed, and
her mind was deeply impressed for time
with the convic ton that the words of the
colorered fortune-teller would prove true;
but as strange scenes arose before her
she was diverted from her affections. In
her marriage with M. Bauharnois she
was unfortunate. He was moved to jeal-
ousy by the treachery Of a female friend.
that her affections had once been fixed
upon young Creole, who had grown up
with her in her native island Her hus-
band abandoned her and her two children
for some years; and when, after recon-
ciliation was effected, it was but TO pre-
cede a severer trial.
Her husband was member of the fa-
nous assembly convoked at the COM
mencement of the French Revolution