The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-03-31
4 ! ] i1!@ ! ! |[. 11l1l

of an old negress. made to the little
girl herself. that one day she would
be Queen of France. If he looks in
the chronicles of the island for an
explanation, he will find nothing to
indicate that she could ever rise
higher than the life of an indolent
creole, a life narrowed by poverty and
made tolerable chiefly by the beauty
of the nature about her and by her
own happy Indifference of tempera-
ment.'
Tho frankness of Miss Tarhell is onl,
equaied by the sympathetic intuition
which causes her, while admitting all tn
defects of Iosephine's temperament anC
training to discard conventional stan
dards and estimate her heroine at he
actual value, taking into consideration
every fault, every virtue, every excuse
for error, every phase of the tumultuou:
time in which the Bonapartes lived. Fol
example, she pictures with faithfulness
the family of Tascher de la PaEerie. t.
which Josephine belonged, and leads u.
to see at once the kind of morality which
the future Empress of the French learned
in her childhood. The story of her mar.
ri&gc TO Alexander de Bcauharnais is
rather instructive. 1t reveals much con
corning the morals of the society of that
day:
THE influence which had led the
father of Alexander de Beauharnais
% ask for the hand of a daughter of
NJ de In Pagerie for his son was not
altogether creditable. The two families
had never known each other until I757
when NJ. de Beauharnais came to Mar
Unique as governor. The elder NJ. de
Ia FaSerie was not slow in seeking the
new governors acquaintance and sup
port for his family. for the latter was
he Il f.Nnr
Versailles. The relation prospered suf-
ficiently for NJ. de la Pagerie to secure
place in the household of the gov
ernor for one Of his daughters He
could have done nothing better for his
family. This daughter was not long
in getting an important influence over
both NJ. and Nine de Beauharnais,
and in winning a husband NJ. Re-
naudin. an excellent man and prosper
Gus. This for herself. For her fami-
ly, she secured so many favors from
the governor that it became a matter
of serious criticism. and finally added
% other indiscretions. led TO a divorce
between her and NJ Renaudin. All
this scandal did not influence the gov
ernor. however, and when, in I6l, he
left Martinique, on account of the dis
satisfaction with his administration
there, and hurried to France with his
wife to make his peace at Versailles,
Nine. Renaudin went, too. There she
prospered, buying a home and laying
aside money 1t was NJ. de Beauhar-
nails money. people said. However
this may be- ii is certain that she ex-
ercised great influence over him, that
for her he neglected his wife. and that
after the latter's death the friendship
or liaison continued until his death.
From all this it will be seen that
Nine. Renaudin was clever woman,
intent on making the most out of the
one really strong relation she had been
able to form in her life She was
clever enough to see, when Alexander
was brought to France after his
mothers death that his love and graft
tude would be one of her strongest
cards with the father in the future
She set to work To win the boys heart
and she succeeded admirably. In his
eyes. she took his mothers place and
her influence over him was almost I'M
limited"
The marriage then, was made by this
unit. When the little creole demoisene
cached Paris, she proved rather too
PROVINCIAL for her husbands taste. and
his is the picture which her biographer
ives of the first winter she spent in
rance:
She seems to have made but a Door
impression, for in spite of the 20GoJ
livres that Mime. Renaudin had spent
on her trousseau, she had, after all,
provincial air which irritated her
husband, accustomed as he was To the
ease and elegance of aristocratic Paris.
w hat was worse in his eyes, she seem
ed to have no desire to improve her
self on the models he laid down. Poor
little Josephine mad no head for the
exaggerated sentiment the fine spacu
lations, and the chatter about liberty
nature, and the social contract which
moved so glibly from every French
tongue in those DAYS She loved pretty
gowns and jewels and childish amuse-
nents; above all, she demanded to be
ioNed exclusively and passionately by
her handsome young husband. When |
he scolded her. she cried and when
he devoted himself to brighter wo-
men, she was Jealous; and 50 before
the nrst six months of their married
life We're. over. Josephine was seeing
many unhappy hours"
The life of Josephine after the death of
n first husband does not indicate any
,rticulaT moral stamina. 1t shows her
the French creole in every fibre-in-
lent, pleasure-loying, warm-hearted.
I'd willing to do anyone a good turn.
le author says:
In all her efforts to repair her for
-une and secure to her children the
state of Beauharnais she enlisted
ler friends, especially Nine Tallient.
VINO just then was at the height of her
power The two became very intimate.
and the Niscountess de Beauharnais
was soon one of the women oftencst
9N'aA 81 tiif iuHtllpDS gwen IV The |
members of the Directory as wen as
At all the more Intimate gatherings
If that society She became as great
4 favor1te among the dissipated and
proulSal company as she had been
among the aristocratic ladies of The
Abbey de Panthemont or in the mot
ey company at les Carmes 1t was TO
De expected that she could not long he
IN intimate of Nine. Talllen's salon
without finding protector She found
I'm In Barras. a member of the Di-
'ectory, its most influential member
n fact, a prince of corruption but a
nan OF elegance and ability"
t was during this period of Josephine's
e that Napoleon, then a young Cor
an general. for the first time entered
atmosphere Of fashionable society
d met her, whom he must have com
Tered the perfect type of the grande
me. Her unfailing charm delighted
n, her genuine interest-for Josephine's
wer lay in the fact that her Kindness
is not pretence-hattered him, and he
IS soon furiously in love. This is the
y in which Josephine took his offer of
.rriage:
y am urged Gshe says in a letter to
fricndJ to marry again, by the ad-
ice Of all my friends q may almost +,
ayl, by the commands Of my aunt
nd the prayers of my chill
ren. I
Among my visitors you have seen
Ieneral Bonaparte; he is the man who ,
fishes 10 become father to the or
hans Of Alexander de Beauharnais {
nj a husband to his widow. G
DO you love him.? is naturally 4,
our first question.
My answer is: Perhaps-no'
Do you dislike himy
No again; but the sentiments | q
ntertain toward him are of that :
ikcwarm Find which true deyotees
link worst of all in matters of re- =
gion. Now, love being sort of re- I
gion. my feelings ought TO be very :
lnerent from what they really are. b
his Is the point on which i want
our advice, which would fix the wav-
ring of NV iFFseuluta dGcp.gg,;o., |