The Republican journal., 1874-01-29
Josephine and Napoleon.

Josephine and Napoleon.
There is scarcely to be found i'll history
4 life so rich in dramatic interest as that
Of the. empress Josephine for its romance
commences with the dawn Of her exist
ence in the island Of Martinique in l7G3,
and continues unabaled until 1914, When
ut the Chateau Malmaison she breathed
her last, clasping in one hand the NINA
ture OF Napoleon and in the otherthe hand
OF Alexander |. of Russia, her sincere
friend and admirer. Especially is she i'm
mortal in the hearts of women by the
triple appeal of moral excellence, intense
suffering and heroic submission to her
fate. 1t is the romance of her life, more
than all other causes, that has thrown il
halo around the ugly Old pile with its
high pointed pyramidal roofs, its tall
chlmneys, and its general Eck of archi-
tectural symmetry Its very name is 4
malediction ndlnnQatSlO - though the
motive of it is lost in the obscurity OF the
thirteenth century. The chateau is near
Rueil, some eight miles from Paris 1t
was purchased in 1898 for sixty thousand
francs, partly with the dover of Jose
phine, and partly with the resources ot
General Bonaparte, whom She married in
1896, being then thirty-threc Years old
and he tWenty-seyen. ihe marriage WAS
fortunate one for him, As his own words
testify. The circumstance NJ my mar
rIage with Madame de BeHuharnais" he
says, placed me on 4 proper footing
with the party necessary to my plan ot
fusion, one of the first principles of my
adm mi II tr0tia Without lrlyr u IL.
should never have established amy natu-
raj relation with that class" Another
declaration Of his agrees perfectly with
this idea: . win only battles-,JoSephiu
wins me all hearts"
+ Il WAS proud boast Of Josephine thai
She never kept amy one waiting halt
minute where punctuality depended upon
herself, This consideration for the pleas,
rc of others, the ueycr-iailing mark a.
refined breeding. was ~ignalll wanting
in Napoleon When the established hour
for dining ut Malmaison was sin O'Clock
and though etiquette forbade any one To
approach the table before the announce
ment of the head OF the house, he often
failed To- appear before seven, eight or
even ten o'clock. y chicken or some 9th
en- article was placed on the spit every fiji
teen minutes by order of the cook. who
knew well the habits of the emperor The
table manners of Napoleon may have been
those OF the hero, they We're certainly
anything but those OF the gentleman. He
completed the process of cramming-n
could scarcely be called eating--in six or
seven minutes as 4 rule ignoring the
use Of knives and forks is regarded his
own plate. he did not stop there, but help
ed himself with hi fingers from the dish
rs nearest him and dipped his beard i'm
the GRAVY. Knowing the time necessary
for the emperor to dine, the ShreWdrf
ones took care To dine in advance. Eu
opnp once confessed this ut the dinner ia
bic much To the amusement of the cmpr
For. Josephine alWay4 ,luittvd the table
with Napoleon. hut with her meyer failing
| consideration for the comfort ~ other
me commanded the rest by ~ratHr,' to-
remain
No one can excuse Napoleon lor that
dominecriu% spirit toward Josephine
which made HIM forbid her to- receive,
when she became empires, her UId lSSo
ciatcS whom he knew were tried and trGt'
friends \ letter from Josephine to the
eucheS9e dAgullon, Il former fellow cap
tive and Il sincere friend, throws Sumr
light upon NapOlcon'e motive. She write
among other things on the same subject
The more | think Of what my friend
did for me, the greater is my sorrow ut
being unable to do now What mN hcurI
dictates The empress OF France is bat
the first slave in the empire, and cannot
pay the debts Of Madame dc Beauharnaj,
! This constitutes the torture ot my litr
and Will explain why You do not occupy
place near me; why do NOT see Mad
anne fallen; in fine why several lldir~
| formerly our confidential friends, would
be strangers To- me were not MY memory
faithful DESTROYS OF strengtheniug
more and more the Church rc-cStablishcd
by himself Napoleons intention
is to keep at Il distance from his court all
those who may have proted by the po--
siblitv of divorce This he has promised
the Pope. and hitherto he hts Kept his
word Hence the cause of hi, retusa} ot
the favor | asked Of having yuu with mc
which has caused me un1peakablr regret ,
bat he is too absolute ion me to have even
4 hope of seeing him retract OF
ten do regret that small, dark and dr
mai chamber which We shared together
for there, at least, | could pour out any
whole heart, and WAS sincerely loved lu
return.
One Of the greatest attractions at Nal
maiSon was the magnificent collection Ot
tropical and other rare plants gathered
from an parts on the e'rth ~ Nllil'
botanical treasure to Josephine, who fair
~ looIlzeu mowers "hG seemed =" PoI-
SeSs sort oil lratefh;t! SyinplihF WIN
them-a mysterious alllhilN n"' 'uiilPr'
hended by 'he rest OF 'he world a mower
was Il surer passport TO her iaV"r IMAM 'hr
most precious gem All Europe hnc" oI
Sr"'l'Sihs !" ENen wal SuoPti,'ie'' 'T
llSols III III ol ~ tae'e ~ l'"'''''',' anu
'e'iI'l.e'''' i3' ''i1 pii'l, iS i' W '-'