The Republican journal., 1877-12-13
From McGees Illustrated " Weeklv.
The Story of the Empress Josephine

/ son was born to Monsieur Charles Bona
/ parte, lawyer Of Aiaccio, the principa
town in the little Mediterranean isle 0
/ Corsica. Beyond two oceans, in the islanC
/ Of Martinique, there was living, at the
/ time of this notable birth in Corsica, {
/ girl Of six. Josephine, the daughter o
Count Tascher de la Pagerie. These
| two, SO far apart, and 50 little likely, as i
seemed, to meet upon their ways, Were
| vet to be man and wife, and to share Tho
imperial throne of France.
Count Tascher being noble, and jose
phlne a beauty, it was natural to expect
for her what the world would call Il bril-
liant match. But the count must have
been poor, or he never would have sur
rendered the pleasures of life in France
for the tedlun OF existence on a Speck IL
the Caribbean Sea. Nor was Martinique
the place where even Il beauty of noble
birth could look to find an eligible hu3-
band. When the daughter of Count
Tascher, at the early age Of fifteen, was
welded to the Nicomte de BcauharnaiS
her family must have felt that she had
succeeded well, and the most ambitious
amongst them scarcely fancied upon hel
brow a more dazzling sign OF rank than
the coronet Of a viscountesS OF France.
Some thought OF a proudcr destiny may
have sometimes crossed her own imagina
ton. one day. when she was a girl, and
happened to 90 out for a walk with some
companions, gypsy woman came III thcil
way. and offered to tell their fortunes
Josephine, amongst others, was induced
to submit her hand to the gaze Of the
fierce eyed, brown skinned Wandercr.
You will wear a royal crown one day,
said the gypsy to the girl.
The remark one has to make upon this
now famous incident is Just that the ol,l
imposter gave liberal value in return tol
the coin of gold or silver WhercWith Jose
phine had ''crossed her palm Those
fortune telling vagabonds, who know lit
tie about the past, and nothing at all, OF
course, about the future, find ii their in
terest to take note Of the dispositions Of
their clients, and to shape and measure Il
prophecy 10y the probable station in life
Of the buyer. 70 Il rustic servant girl,
for instance, the crone would have prom
Sed Il farmers son for Il husband to a
city drudge, a shop Of her own; and to a
belle Of the bourgc0{Sio a brilliant ''es-
tablishmcnt," Jewels, carriages, perhaps
a title. But patron such as Josephine,
one who gave in tone and manner, in
every glance OF her eye and in every line
Of her cold, pure, naughty beauty, such
tokens of birth and rank as the veteran
pretender could not mistake she should
be presented with splendid draft on the
fund Of the all-paying future. a crown,
a royal crown for that fair brow. Often
and often, we make no doubt, had that
same old crOne, aud others of her calling,
operating on human credulIty-a mine
never to be worked out till man hears the
very crack of doom-0ften and often had
they held out to some radiant girl, stand
ing wide-eyed at the gate of life, the daz-
zling hope that royal state would yet be
hers. But crowns, we know, are are in
the world. Those who desire to wear
them, and whose position bids them as
pre- to the realization OF that wish, are
not Il few. Besides, the loves of kings
and the needs and chances of politics do
not tit themselves to carry out what ''tor-
tune -telers' choose to say: and hence it
comes to pass that the favored Of WAN
dering prophets are not found to be set
down in the family trees of the worlds
royal houses.
Now did Josephine heed the gypsy
Most likely not. one who became d W0-
man distinguished for her force and grace
Of mind must have been, even in her
childhood, endowed with such high intel
ligenee as sc0rned to waste Il thought on
a gypsy's prating. The incident was, no
doubt, forgotten by Josephine till its singu-
l1, III wit n hnr .trtDD1 Ii fa
recalled it.
Years passed. The Revolution burst
forth in France. The Reign of Terror
came Humanity stood aghast before a
spectacle of anarchy unparalleled in havoc
and utter horror. An outraged people
had risen against the seorn OF q Wanton
court, the intolerable tyranny OF luNuri-
Gus and ruthless castles of men. The
court and the casteS went down before
righteous wrath as a willow yields to the
stroke of a tempest. Then the power OF
great success fell into the hands OF
demons, and like demons they put the
power in force No article OF mercy found
place in their fearful code. In the sacred
name Of Liberty they gloritied wholesale
murder. Rank was to them a helnOus
crime, and adhesion to the royal house ol
attachment to the llingly principle trea-
son to be washed away with blood. The
knife of the gullotine slid swiftly in its
socket, and red were the kennels and
sewers OF Paris Among those mobiles
who knelt on the scafold and forfeited
their lives to the fiat of a bind and turi-
Gus power the Nlcolnte de BeauharnaE
was one of the first
Like many another noble lady, Nj
comtesse Josephine spent a part of the
Reign of Terror in prison, not knowing
| any day but the morrow might bid hel
forth to die. Fate, however, that spared
not crowned ladies and mighty lords dealt
equally with the masterspiritS OF reVo
| luton The first CLEAN of welcome light
| that shot through the black sky OF tyranny
| was when the dagger OF the Normal
| heroine, Charlotte Corday, avenged OF
| itrociouS Marat the death of her love
and the terrible tribulation of France
Another wear, and Danton, suppanteC
| by Robesplerre, laid his head upon tha
block to which he had sent the noble an'
the brave. Robespierre himself, the las
of the tiendish three, soon shared tht
bloody doom OF the rest. Talien out
generated him. and that same Conyen
ton OF which he had been the ruling
spirit got rid Of its fears Of him by th
short and simple recipe of the knife tl
the fall Of Robespierre, the influence o
the man who had brought about hi
death was able to set Josephine ut liber
ty. She resumed her high place in society
Her misfortunes attracted sympathy, he
beauty won admiration, her power 0
mind commanded respect BY means q
her social talents she gained favor witt
men i'll power; nor was 1t long TIL tn
inner circles of keen Partisan life came t.
look upon the widow Of the victim Beau
harnais as woman of political influence
About this time the figure OF Napoleo
Bonaparte was seen to advance from tn
foremost rank of Frances military chiefs
and stand, as it were, alone before tn
nation. His life was in the very flower {
youth. Not twenty seven yet, he held tn
brilliant rank of a general of the line
Only ten years had passed away sine