The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1912-12-01
By 4. ID. JACOBSON.

THE EMPRESS JOSEPHINE: By the Baron de
Mcneyal, Minister PlenipOtentiary; Translated
from the French BY ID. ID. Fraser. The j. B.
IlppincOtt Co. Philadelphia.
1t is a matter of history that the life
of Emperor Napoleon's first wife was
full OF surprises and of contrasts. From
the downfall of the first imperial re-
gime in 1915 insult and calumny were
heaped upon the members of the. Bona
parte family. Nor was Emperess jose
phine spared any more than the others
Her reputation, at this period, became
the object of unjust attacks. Though
herself maligned. Queen Hertense of
Holland could not but take her mother s
part, defending the character of one
whose memory was so very dear to her.
The author-diplomat has been fOrtu-
nate in securing a number of autograph
letters addressed by Hortense to Able
Bertrand. her former chaplain; also some
forty odd letters written by her young
est son. afterward Emperor Napoleon
III, to the same able. Consequently he
was in an excellent position to speak
authoritatively on the subject Of the
discarded Empress.
There is an amount of bitter philosophy
IN these letters that throw a strange
light upon the domestic life of the en-
tire Bonaparte family. Here is an in
stance: We are big marionettes," writes
the Queen, made to act our parts to
amuse the passers-by and to bring in
money, and I have to be her highness
the moon, or her majesty the sun, &C.
cording to the within of the Snowman"
(NapoIeonD
There certainly is a great deal Of truth
in these bitter reflections, penned by this
poor queen. fallen from her high estate
arC who did not live long enough to
take part in the apotheosis Of her son.
the Emperor Napoleon III.
The author makes no attempt to relate
over again a number of well-known in
c:dents, but he marshals out for the
benefit of the reader many details here
tufore unpublished. He admits that Jo-
scphine was far from being exempt from
some weaknesses, but he tries to prove
that she was not the selfish, perverse
woman, whose fair name certain his
turisns seem to be ready to destroy. She
was Napoleon's good genius, seconding
Kim ably in the work Of national re-
generation after the terrible revolution.
Josephine's worst detractors, unable to
furnish precise data as to her alleged
errors of conduct. generally have been
Obliged to search for accusations against
her in pamphlets-and these they do not
name even. From the moment she as
cended the throne no one has been able
to discover any serious fault with which
" INBAOdSh AASl PAN-
verbal goodness, her kind disposition,
full of sweet charms, made a conquest
of all hearts And as to her, she never
harbOred either ill-will or hatred for her
worst enemies, which is more than can
be said of many as highly placed as she
was
A last touching tribute of esteem, we
learn from the author, has been paid
to her memory by the Duke Reichstadt
(''L'Aiglon'D, her husbands son by his
second wife, the Archduchess Marie
Louise, of Austria, who said: IF Jo-
sephine had been my mother, my father
never would have been in st. Helena,
nor would be languishlng at Vienna -
This Inflated prince had every reason to
form such an opinion, for Josephine. diff
ferent from Marie Louise, above all
things, was an Incompatible mother.
THE NEXT RELIGION: By ISneI ZsngwflL A
play in three acts The Macmillan Company,
New York
There is an institution in England
called the Dramatic Censorship, the chief
reason for removing which is that it
secures the representation of bad plays.
If the English censor had not taken
upon himself the ancient responsibility
OF Defending the Faith" we should
never, in the theater at least, have been
troubled with Mr.. Zangwilrs. II really is
not . good play. A good soul IL vicar