National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1880-02-04
MISCELLANEOUS.
4 PARrHNU EMpREss.
Her Wardrobe - Her Extravaganza - Her
HersnnAl Hnbiis.

Personal Habits.
| me Empress Josephine was allowed by Ma.
| pOleon 100000 n year for her personeI ~.
penses, and $4,000 for aims giving. Her sue.
! cessori the Archduchess, received only $4,000
| for theses purposes The pretext of this az Nor.
| ence was that Josephine had n great many
| calls upon her purse from her poor relations.
| There is no doubt, we are told that she gave
| great deal away. but us her presents wcro
! never taken from her own effects, but always
freshly purchased, the practical outcome of
| her beneicence was n vast accumulation of
| debts. These Napoleon would pay once 70
| 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 Empress.
| Napoleon insisted that she should have no per-
sonal dealings with shopkeopers. but he was
| forced to yield upon this point Her priyate
rooms were always full of shawl merchants
SILK MERGERS, mantau makers, habcrdashcrs
jewellers and portrait painters. She had q
| mania for having her portrait taken, aud gave
the pictures to anybody who wanted them
| relatives friends, chambermads, even shop.
Keepers. The latter were always bringing
| her diamonds, trinkets, shawls, stuils and gew.
| gaws Of every kind She bought every thing
never asking the price and half the time for.
| getting what she had purchased From the
| outset she gave her ladies in waiting to under.
stand that they need not NEEDLE with her
wardrobe. Everything connected with that
department was transacted in private by her
ana her maids, of whom there were six or
eight She rose at 8 o'clock, her toilet
was very prolonged performance,
one part Of II being somewhat mys-
FERROUS and involving divers operations for
the preservation and Improvement of her COM
plcxion. When this work of art was finished
She had her hair dressed and her person
| Il 1....s al. L..
with lace We are Informed that her chemises
and pctticoats were also deliberately embroid-
cred and trimmed. Nine. dc Rurnuyat deems
| II pertinent to add the further detail that
Josephine changed her chemists and all her
| linen thrice day, aud wore none but new
stockings After her hair was done, thew
brought her huge baskets containing quanti.
ties of gowns, bonnets and shawls OF India
she had us 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, drapng it about her shoulders
with grace peculiar to herself. Bonapartc
who thought shawls hid her hguge too much,
would now and then tear them Of and fling
them into the fire. She bought, we arc told,
every Cashmere shawl the tradesmen brought
her, at any price they chose to ask-$I, 500
or 81, 900, or 81, 400. Cashmere shaws were the
fashion at the court and the humblest lady
connected with the Imperial household would
nov conuescenu 10 wear one winch cost less
than $780,
Josephnes mode of life seems to have been
sufficiently monotonous, yet, although she
never opened a book or took up a pen, she
showed no signs of onnui. She had no taste
for tho theatre, and the Emperor did not like
her to 60 without him, lest her appearance
should provoke applause and give her n sort of
personal popularity. She never walked for
exercise except when at Malmaison an abode
she was forever cmbellishing, aud on which
she squandered immense sums Her prin-
cipal employment was looking over the huge
accumulation of gowns, frippery and Ornl.
ments in her wardrobe, for which really colos-
sal magazines had to be assigned in each Of tho
palaces. She could never prevail on herself to
part with single article Of clothing, and up
to her last hour derived uu1uenchablc delight
from examining, asserting and trying on her
iinery. On the day of her death she had her
maids array her in Il dressing.gown of extreme
elegance, because she fancied the Emperor of
Russia would perhaps call to SEQ her. She ex-
pred in rose.colorcd satin.