The Russellville Democrat., 1880-05-27
A PARvENU EMPRESS.
Her Wardrobe-Tfer Extrayagance--Her
 Personal Habits.

Her Wardrobe-Her Extravagance-hei
 Personal Habits. s. l The Empress Josephine was allowed by Napoleon $120,000 year for her per- sonal expenses, $24,000 for alms- giving
 Her successor, the archduchess, received only $72,000 for these purposes. The pretext of this difference was that Jose phine had 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 asher presents were never taken from her own effects, but al- ways freshly purchased, the practical outcome of her bene6cence 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 | like order or etiquette in her private apartments. After she became empress, Napoleon insisted that she should have no personal dealings with shopkeepers, but he was forced to yield on this point. Her private rooms were always full of shawl merchants, silk mercers, mantua makers, haberdashers, jewellers and DOT trait painters. She had a mania for hav- ing her portrait taken, and gave the pie lures to anybody who wanted them, relatives, friends, chambermaids, even shopkeepers The latter were always bringing her diamonds, 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 outset she gave her ladies in waiting to under stand that they need not meddle- 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 performance, one part of it being some what mysterious, and involving 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 a long wrapper lavishly trimmed with lace. We are informed that her chemis- es and petticoats were also elaborately trimmed. Mime. de Remusat deems it pertinent to add the further details that Josephine changed her chemises and all her. linen thrice day, and wore none but new stockings. Alter her hair was done, they brought her hugh baskets containing quantities 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 morn ing, draping it about her shoulders with grace peculiar to herself. Bonapart, who thought shawls hid her figure too much, would now and then tear them off and fling them into the fire. She tn1I al. shawl the tradesmen brought her, at any price they chose to ask--$l 300 or $2,- GOO, or $2,400. Cashmere shawls were the fashion at the court, and the oldest lady connected with the imperial house. which cost less than $200. dt7cr a77f 7l
 Josephine's mode of life seems to have been sufficiently monotonous, yet, al- though she never opened book nor took up pen, showed no signs of ennui. She had no taste for theater, and the emperor did not like her to go with him, lest her appearance should provoke ap- plause and give her a sort of personal popularity. She never walked for ex- ercise except when at Malmaison, an abode she was forever embelishing, and on which she hesquandered immense sums. Her principal employment was looking over the huge accumulations of gowns, frippery and ornaments in her ward robes, for which really colossal maga- zines had to be assigned in each of thelr palaces. She could never prevail on herself to part with a single article of clothing, and up to her last hour de- rived unquenchable delight from exam ming, asserting and trying on her fiAery. On the days of her death she had her maids array her in dressing-gown of extreme elegance. because she fancied the Emperor of Russia would, perhaps, colored satin. sesssaa ilnFH@ 3ae '&E7t