The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1880-05-27
LADIES COLUMN.
An Expensive Wife.

The Empress Josephine was al
lowed by Napoleon 100000 year
for her personal expenses, $4,000
for alms-giving. Her successor, the
archduchess, received only $4,000
for these purposes. The pretext of
this difference was that Josephine
had great many calls upon 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 taken from
her own effects, but always freshly
purchased, the practical outcome of
| her beneficonce was a vast accumu-
lation 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 ETH
quette in her private apartments.
After she became empress, Napo-
leon insisted that she should have
no personal dealings with shop
keepers, but he was forced to yield
on this point. Her private rooms
were always full of shawl mer-
chants, silk MERGERS, mantua max
ers, haberdashers, jewellers and por-
trait painters. She had a mania for
having her portrait taken, and gave
the pictures to anybody who want
ed them, relatives, friends, cham
bermaids, even shopkeepers. The
10 oil hrinDiror hnr 1io
mOnds, trinkets, shawls, stuffs and
gewgaws of every kind; she bought
everything, never asking the price,
and half the time forgetting what
she had purchased. From the out
set she gave her ladies in waiting to
understand that they need not med
die with her wardrobe; everything
connected with that department
was transacted in private by her
and her maids. of whom there were
six or eight. She rose at 9 o'clock;
her toilet was very prolonged per-
Torrance, one part of it being
somewhat mysterious, and involv- |
ing divers preparations 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 tEat |
her chemises and petticoats were
also deliberately trimmed. Nine.
de Remusat deems it pertinent to
add the further details that jose
phine 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 quanti
ties of gowns, bOnnets and shawls;
of India, she had as many as 300 or
400-she made gowns of them. or
bed coverings, or cushions for her
dog. She always wore one in the
draplng it about her
shoulders with a grace peculiar to
herself. BOnaparte, who thought
shawls hid her figure too much,
would now and then tear them off
md fling them into the fire. She
bought, we are told, every cash
mere shawl the tradesmen brought
Ter, at any price they chose to ask
81, 800 or $1,000 or So, 400. Cash
mere shawls were the fashion at the
court, and the oldest lady connect
.d with the imperial household
would not condescend to wear one |
which cost less than 5000.
Josephine's mode of life seems to I
lave been sufficiently monotonous, i
-et, although she never opened I
,ook nor took up a pen, showed no I
igns of ennui. She had no taste for :
he theater, and the emperor did not !
ike her TO 90 with him, lest her APP i
,earance should provoke applause t
md give her a sort of personal pop !
llarity. She never walked for eXer-
Use except when at Malmaison, an
bode she was forever embellIshing, '
nd on which she squandered im l
nensC sums. Her principal en- !
,loyment was looking over the huge :
of gowns, frippery a
nd ornaments in her wardrobes, S
or which really colossal magazines
lad to be assigned in each of their
palaces. She could never prevail :
IN herself to part with a single arti 5
lie of clothing, and up to her last
lOur derived uDquenchable delight
rom examining, asserting and try :
ng on her finery. On the day of s
Ter death she had her maids array /
Ter in dressing-gown of extreme 8
ELEGANCE, because she fancied the S
Emperor of Russia would, perhaps, '
all to see her. She expired In /
Ose- colored satin. I