The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1869-09-30

your prophetic negro woman |, the Re-
publican General, addresses my prayer to
The future Queen ofFrance be my wife!
give me your hand"
! Josephine felt almost affrighted at the
pertinacity of the General, and senti-
ment of apprehension oYercame her as
she looked into the pale, decided counter
ance of this man, a stranger to- her. and
who claimed her for his wife. & r. 81
ooh, sir" she exclaimed with some an
guish; "you offer me your hand with as
much carelessness as if the whole matter
were merely for contra dance. But |
can assure YOU that marriage is very
grave matter, which has no resemblance
whatever to gay dance. | know
can not so easily decide upon marrying a
second time"
"You refuse my hand, then?" said Bon
aparte, with threatening tone.
Josephine smiled. CON the CONTRARY,
General" said she, give me your hand
and accompany me to my carriage, which
has been waiting for me this long time"
."'That means to dismiss me !! You close
uponme thedoors Of your drawing room ?"
exclaimed Bonapoote, with warmth.
! She shook her head, and, bowling be-
i fore him with her own irretistable grace,
/ sac said, in friendly manner, 81 am too
good patriot not to be proud of seeing
! the conqueror of TouEon in my drawing
room Tomorrow l have an evening re-
ception, and | invite you to be present,
General, as k..
From this day Bonaparte visited Jose
phine daily ; she was certain to meet him
everywhere, At first she sought to avoid
him, but he. always knew with cunning
foresight how to BATTLE her efforts, and to
overcome all difficulties which she threw
in his way Was she at her friend There
SEES, she could safely reckon that General
Bonapartc would soon make his appear
ance and come near her with his eyes
/ beaming with JOY, and i'll his own ener-
getic language speak to her. of his love
and hopes. Was she to be present at the
reception of the five monarchs Of Paris,
\ it was General Bonaparte who waited for
| her at the door of the hall to Offer his
arm and lead her amid the respectful, re
treating, and gently applauding crowd to
her seat, where he stood by her, drawing
! upon he's the attention Of all. Did she
take a drive, at the accustomed hour, in
the Camps. Elysees, she was confident
soon to see General Bonaparte on his gay
horse gallop at her side, followed by his
brilliant staff, himself the object of pub
/ lie admiration and universal respect, and,
/ finally, if she went to the theatre, General
| Bonapartc never failed to appear in her
l0ge, to remain near her, during the per
/ formance, and when she left, to offer his
arm to accompany her to her carriage.
/ It could not fail that this persevering
/ homage of the renowned and universally
admired young General made deep and
flattering impression on Josephines heart,
and fill her with pride and joy But 10
sephine made resistance to this feeling !;
she endeavored to shield herself from it
by maternal love- She sent for her chill
dren from their respective schools, and
with her nearly grown-up son on one side
and her daughter budding into maiden
! hood on the other, she thus presents her
i self to the General, and with an enehant
ing smile, said: "See, General, how old
4 am, with a groWn-up son and daughter
who soon can make me grandmother. :"
But Bonaparte, with heartfelt emo
ton, reached his hand to Eugene, and
4 said - "a man who can call so woithy a
Z
! A cunning, smiling expression Of the
eye revealed to Josephine that he had I'M
4 derstood her war -stTatagem that neither
the grown up son nor the manageable
i daughter could deter him from his object
4 Josephine at last was won by so much
! love and tenderness, but she could not yet
acknowledge that. the wounds of her heart
were closed; that she could trust in hap
piness and devote her life to "a new love,
4 to- a new future. She shrank timidy
4 away from such a shaping of her destiny;
4 and even the persuasions of her friends
4 and relatives, even the father oe9 her de-
! ceased husband, could not bring her to a
j decision. 8ess elff t5rfs,ss 1q.. ng.:.tl
/ The state of her mind is depicted in a
letter which Josephine wrote to her friend
Madame de Chateau Renaud, and which
describes, in great measure, the strange
uncertainty of her heart
i o"You have seen General Bonaparte at
: my house. Well, then, he is the one who
wishes to be father of the orphans of Al
lleXandre Beauharnais, and the husband of
his widow. DO you love him?' you will
ask. Well, no. Do you feel any repug.
nance toward him?' No, but I feel in q
J, state Of vacillation and doubt, state verv
,disagreeable to me, and whichth -devout
in religious matters consider to be the
most scandalizing. AS love is a kind OF
worship, one ought in its presence to feel
animated by other feelings than those /
now experience, and therefore long for
your advice, which might bring the con.
slant indecision of my mind to a fixed
Conclusion. To adopta firm course has al
ways appeared to my creole nonchaIoncg
: something beyond reach, and find it in
4 initely more convenient to be led by the
will Of another A Is a nf 80
j 81 admire the courage of the General