The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1880-02-21
A Paryenu Empress.

The Empress Josephine was allowed
by Napoleon $4,000 a year for her
personal expenses, and $4,000 for
aims giving. Her successor, the Arch
duches, received only $72, 900 for these
purposes. The pretext of this differ
ence was that Josephine had a great
many calls upon her purse from her
poor relations. There is no doubt, we
are told, that she gave a great deal
away, but as her presents were never
taken from her own effects, but always
freshly purchased, the practical out
come of her benefcence was a vast ac-
emulation of debts. These Napoleon
would pay once a year, never in full,
however, as he desired to keep his wife
in continual dependence. Josephine,
it seems, would never tolerate anything
like order or etiquette in her private
apartments. After she became EN-
press, Napoleon insisted that she should
have no personal dealings with shop
keepers, but he was forced to yield
upon this point. Her private rooms
were always full of shawl merchants,
silk MERGERS, mantua makers, haber-
dashers, jewellers and portrait painters.
She had mania for having her por-
trait taken, and gave the pictures to
anybody who wanted them, relatives,
friends, chambermaids, even shopkeep-
ers. The latter were always bringing
her diamonds, trinkets, shawls, stuffs
and gew-gaws of every kind; she
bought everything, never asking the
price, and half the time forgetting what
she had purchased. From the outset
she gave her ladies in waiting to un-
derstand that they need not NEEDLE
with her wardrobe; everything con-
nected with that department was trans
acted in private by her, and her maids,
of whom there were six or eight She
rose at nine o'clock, her toilet was a
very prolonged performance, one part
of it being somewhat mysterious and
involving divers operations for the
preservation and improvement of her
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 deliberately trimmed. Nine. de
Remusat deems it pertinent to add the
further detail that Josephine changed
her chemises and all her linen thrice a
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 In
dia she had as many as three or four
hundred-she made gowns of them, or
bed coverings, or cushions for her dog.
She always wore one in the morning.
drapipg 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-$1 200, or
$4,000, or $1,000. Cashmere shawls
were the fashion at the court, and the
oldest lady connected with the impe-
rial household would not condescend
to wear one which cost less than $500.
Josephine's mode of life seems to
have been sufficiently monotonous, yet,
although she never opened a book or
took up pen she showed no signs OF
and the Emperor did not like her to go
without him, lest her appearance should
provoke applause and give her a sort
of personal popularity. She never
walked for exercise except when at
Malmasion, an abode she was forever
embellishing, and on which she squan-
dered immense sums. Her principal
employment was looking over the huge
accumulations of gowns, frippery, and
ornaments in her wardrobes, for which
really colossal magazines had to be as
signed in each of their palaces. She
could never prevail on herself to part
with a single article of clothing, and
up to her last hour derived unquench-
able delight from examining, asserting,
and trying on her fnery. On the day
of her death she had her maids array
her in dressing gown of extreme ele-
gance, because she fancied the Empe-
ror of Russia would, perhaps. call to
see her. She expired in rose-colored
satin.