Rocky Ford enterprise., 1895-03-07
EMPRESS JOSEPHINE.
Her Early Life and Hsr Separation from
Her First Husband.


Her First Husband.
In 1779, while the boys at Brienne
were still tormenting the little un-
tanned Corsican nobleman, and driving
him to his garden fortalice, there 10
seek refuge from their taunts in COM
pany with his Plutarch, there had ar
rived in Paris from Martinique sue
cessful planter of that island, French
gentleman of good family. NJ. Tascher
de la Pagerle, bringing back to that
city for the second time his daughter
Josephine. She was then girl Of six
teen, without either beauty or educa-
ton, but thoroughly matured, and with
quick Creole intelligence and grace
full litheness of figure which made her
a most attractive woman. She had
spent the years of her life from ten 10
fourteen in the convent Of Port Royal.
Having passed the interval in her ma
tive isle she was about to contract n
marriage which her relatives in France
had arranged. Her bethrothed was the
younger son of a family friend, the
Marquis de Beauharnais. The bride
landed on October 20, and the cere-
mony took place on December 13. The
young vicomte brought his wife home
to suitable establishment in the cap
ital. Two children were born to them
Eugene and Hortense; but before the
birth of the latter the husband quar-
relied with his wife for reasons that
have never been known. The court
granted a separation, with alimOny, to
Nine. de Beauharnais, who some years
later withdrew to her fathers home in
| Martinique. Her husband sailed to
| America with the forces of Bouille, and
remained there until the outbreak of
the Revolution, when he returned, and
was elected deputy to the states-gen.
eral.
Becoming an ardent Republican, he
was several times president Of the Ma
tional Assembly, and his house was an
important centre of influence. In 1890
| NJ. Tascher died, and his daughter,
with her children, returned to France.
1t was probably at her husbands in
stance, for she at once Joined him ut
his country seat, where they continued
to live as "brother and sister" until
Citizen Beauharnais was made COM
mander of the Army of the Rhine. AS
the days Of the Terror approached,
every man of noble blood was more
and more in danger. At last Beauhar-
naiss turn came; he too was de-
nounced to the commune and impris-
oned. Before long his wife was behind
| the same bars. Their children were in
the care of an aunt, Nine. Egle, who
| had been and was again to be a wO-
man of distinction in the social world,
but had temporarily sought the pro-
lection Of an old acquaintance. for
mer ,abbe who had become a member
| of the commune.
The gallant young general was not
one of the four acquitted out Of the
batch of forty-nine among whom he
was finally summoned to the bar Of the
revolutionary tribunal. He died on
June %, 1894, true to his convictions,
acknowledging in his farewell to his
wife a fraternal affection for her, and
committing solemnly to her charge his
own good name, which she was to re-
store by proving his devotion to
France. The children were to be her
consolation; they were to wipe out the
disgrace Of his punishment by the prac-
tice OF virtue and-civism.-Profess
Sloane's Life Of Napoleon in the March
Century.