The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1880-04-15
A Parvenu Empress.
Her Wardrobe-Her Extravagances-Her
Personal Habits.

The Empress Josephine was allowed by Ma.
poleon $4,000 year for her personal ex-
penses, $4,000 for alms-giving. Her success
sor, the Arcbduchess, received $4,000 for
these purposes. The pretext of this difference
was that Josephine had great many calls up
on her purse from her poor relations There
is no doubt, we are told, that she gave great
deal away, but as her presents were never TAX
en- from her own effects, but always freshly
purchased, the practical outcome of her bene-
icence was vast accumulation of debts
These Napoleon would pay once year, never
in full. however, as he desired to keep his wife
in continual dependence. Josephine it seems,
would never tolerate anything lie order or
etiquette in her private apartments. After
she became Empress, Napoleon insisted that
she should have no personal dealings with
shop-keepers, but had to yield upon this point.
Her private rooms were always full of shawl
merchants, silk merchants, ,mantua makers, ,hab-
erdashers, jewellers and portrait painters. She
had a mania for having her portrait taken, and
gave the pictures to anybody who wanted
them, relatives. friends chambermaids, even
shopkeepers. The latter were always bringing
her diamonds, trinkets, shawls, stuffs and
gew-gaws of every kind; she bought every
thing never asking the price, and half the
time forgetting what she had purchased. From
the outset she gave her ladies in waiting to
understand that they need not meddle with
her wardrobe; every thing connected with that
department was transacted in private by her
and her maids, OF whom there were six or
eight. She rose at o o'clock; her toilets were a
very prolonged performance, one part of it be-
ing somewhat mysterious and involving divers
operations for the preservation and improve
ment OF complexion. When this work of art
was finished, she had her hair dressed and her
person wrapped in long wrapper lavishly
trimmed with lace. We are informed that
her chemises and petticoats were also elabor-
ately trimmed. Nine. de Remusat deems il
pertinent to add the further details that jose
phine changed her chemises and all her linen
thrice day and wore none but new stockings
After her hair was done they brought her
huge baskets containing quantities of gowns
bonnets and shawls. OF India, she had as
many as 800 or 400-she made gowns of them,
or bed covering, or cushions for her dog. She
alwaps wore one in the morning, draping it
about her shoulders with grace peculiar to
herself. Bonaparte, who thought shawls hid
her figure too much, would now and then tear
them off and fling them into the fire. She
bought, we are told, every cashmere shawl the
tradesmen brought her, at any price they chose
to ask-$1 800 or $2 900, or -, 400. Cashmere
shawls were the fashion at the court, and the
Oldest lady connected with the imperial
household would not condescend to wear one
Josephines mode of life seems to have been
sufficiently monotonous, yet, although she
never opened book or took up pen, she
showed no signs of ennui. See had no taste for
the theatre, and the Emperor did not like her
to go with him, lest her appearance should
provoke applause and give her sort of person.
al popularity. She never walked for exercise
except when at Malmasion, an abode she was
forever embellshing, and on which she squan-
dered immense sums Her principal employ
ment was looking over the huge accumulations
of gowns, frippery and ornaments in her ward
robes, for which really colossal magazines had
to be assigned in each of their places. She
could never prevail ON herself to part with
single article of clothing, and up to her last
hour derived unquenchable delight from ex-
am.ning, asserting and trying on her finery.
On the day of her death she had her maids ar
ray her dressing-gown of extreme elegance be-
cause she fancied the Emperor Of Russia
would perhaps call to see her. She expired in
rose-colored satin.