Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1868-12-30
COurtship of Napoleon and JOsephene.

of the NiscOuntess Beauharnais an,
his silence, however tlattering i
might be to his pride, caused him
slight embarrassment. He therefor
. approached the beautiful widow will
q certain and perpleXed manner, anC
spoke to her in that hasty, imperiOu.
tone which might become a genera
but which did not seem apprOpriat,
in lady's saloon. General Piche
CRU, who stood near JOsephene, smiled
and even her amiahle cOuntenanct
was Overspread with a slight expires
sion of scOTn as she fixed her beauti-
. ful eyes ON this pale, thin, little man.
whose long smooth hair fell in tangled
. disorder on either side of his temples.
over his sallOw, hollow cheeks, whose
whole sickly and gloomy appearance
bore so little resemblance to the ma
jestic figure of the lion to which he
had been so often compared after his
thirteenth Nenhemiare. ~ perceive,
General" suddenly exclaimed Jose
phene ''that YOU are sorry it was youT
duty to fill Paris once more with blood
and horror. You would undoubtedly
have preferred not to be obliged to
carry out the bloody orders of the af-
o.
shrugged his shoulders somewhat.
That is very possible said he, per-
fectly quiet. But what can YOU eX-
pect madam? We military men are
but the autOmatOns which the govern
ment sets in motion according to its
good pleasure ; we only know how to
obey; the sections, however, cannot
but congratulate themselves that ]
have spared them so much. Nearly
all my cannon were loaded only with
powder. | wanted to give a little les
son to The Parisians. The whole al
fair was nothing but the impress OF
my seal on France. such skiTmisheS
are only the vespers Of my fame. -
I JOsephene felt irritated, excited, by
/ the GOODNESS with which Napoleon
/ spoke of the slaughter of that day !;
/ and her eyes, otherwise, so full of gen.
/ tleness, were now animated with
/ flashes of anger. ''Oh ~ cried she,
if you must purchase fame Mt such q
price, | would sooner you We're one Of
/ the victims.r BOnapaarte looked at
( her with astonishment; butas he per-
I ceived her flushing cheek and flash
! ing eyes, the sight of her grace and
beauty ravished him, and a soft, and
Z pleasant smile suddenly illuminated
Z his cOuntenance. He answered her
/ violent attack by a light pleasantly,
and with a gladsOme unaffectedneSs
I he gave to the conversation another
turn. The small, pale, gloomy Cen
/ eral was at once changed into young
impassioned, amiable cavalier, whose
eountenance grew. beautiful under the
( sparkling intelligence that animated
it, whose enchanting elOquence made
| his conversation attractive and lively,
carrying with it the conviction of a
superior mind. After the visitors
who had met that morning in Jose
phene's drawing-rOOm had departed,
the General still remained nOtwith-
standing the astOnishment and ques-
tiOning looks of the NicOuntess, pay
ing no attention to her remarks about
the fine weather, or her intention to
enjoy promenade. With rapid steps
and hands folded behind his back, he
paced a few times TO and fro across the
room; then standing before Jose
phene, he fixed on her a searching
glance. Madam he said suddenly,
with rough kind of tone, "I have a
proposition to make. Give me your
hand. Be my wife, JOsephene
looked at him, half-astOnished, half
irritated. as it joke you are in
dulging in ~ said she. II speak in
all earnestness," said BOnaparte,
warmly. ''Will you do me the honor
of giving me your hand ," The gray
ity with which BOnaparte spoke, the
deep earneStneSs imprinted on his fea-
tures; convinced JOsephin that the
General would not cOndescend to in
dulge in a joke Of so unseemly a char
acter, and Il lovely blush Overspread
the face of the lovely ViscOuntess.
"Sir." said she, "whO knows if l
might not be inclined to accept your
distinguished offer, if, unfortunately,
fate stood in the way of your wishes ?'
''Fateu' said Bonaparte, with ami
nation. "Yes, fatei my General
repeated JOsephene, smiling "But, |
let US speak no more of this. 1t is
enough that fate fOrbids me to be the
wife of General BOnaparte. l can say
no more, for YOU would laugh at me-"
but YOU would laugh at me, if you
could turn me away with so vague an
answer cried BOnaparte, with Vivac- !
ity. 81 pray you, explain the mean
ing of your words. "Well, then Cen |
eral, | cannot be your wife, for l am
destined to be queen of France-yes
perhaps more than queen" 1t was
now BOnaparte's turn TO appear as
tOnished and irTitated, and using her
own words, he said, struggling his |
shoulders, madam. is it joke you
are indulging i'll ~ Il speak in all
earnestness, said JOsephene, shak- |
ing her head. Listen then, A ne !
gro woman in Martinique foretOld |
my fortune; and as her CIRCULAR words |
have thus far been fulfilled, must |
conclude that the rest of her pTOphe- |
sizes concerning me will be realized
"And what has she prOphesied to |
yOu?'' ''She told me: You viii one
day be Queen of France! you will
be still more than queen! - The Cen
eral was silent. He had remained /
standing, but now slowly paced the
room few times, his hands folded on
his back. and his head inclined on his |
breast. Then again he stood before
the NiseOuntcSs, and his eyes rested /
On her with q wOndeTOus bright and |
gentle expression. Il bid defiance |
to fate,u he said, somewhat s0lemuly. |
This prophecy does not frighten me
away; and, i'm defiance of your pro-
phetic negro woman, /, the ropuOli- |
can General, addressed my prayer to
the future queen of France. BE my /
wife give me your hand?' Jose |
phene felt almost affrighted at the |
Dertinacity of the General, and sem
timent of apprehension OveTcame her |
as she looked into the pale, decided
cOuntenance of this man, stranger
to her, and who claimed her for MS
wife. 80. sir she exclaimed, with
some anguish, 'yOu offer me Your
hand with rs much earnestneSs rs II
the whole matter were merely Tor a
But | can assure you
that marriage is = very grave matter,
which has no resemblance whatever
10 a gav dance. I know it Is 50.
have had my sad experience, and can
not so easily decide upon marriage a
second time" "YOu refuse my hand,
then?" said BOnaparte, with threat
ening tone. Josephene smiled ''On
the contrary, General, she said, give
me YOUR hand and accompany me to
my carriage, that has been waiting
for me this long time" That means
that vou dismiss me! You close upon
me the door OF your drawing-rOOm ,"
exclaimed BOnaparte, with warmth
She shook her head, and, bowling be-
fore him with her irresistible grace,
she said in a friendly manner, Il am
too good patriot moi to be proud OF
seeing the cOnquerer Of TOulon in my
Tomorrow | have