rma il JOSEPHINE. /IDafeers of Tbistor^ Josephine BY JOHN S. C. ABBOTT WITH ENGRAVINGS NEW YORK AND LONDON HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS 1904 Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year one thousand eight hundred and fifty-one, by HARPER & BROTHERS, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Southern District of New York. Copyright, 1879, by SUSAN ABBOTT MEAD. MAKIA ANTOINETTE, Madame Roland, and Josephine are the three most prominent hero- ines of the French Revolution. The history of their lives necessarily records all the most interesting events of that most fearful tragedy which man has ever enacted. Maria Antoi- nette beheld the morning dawn of the Revo- lution; its lurid mid -day sun glared upon Madame Roland; and Josephine beheld the portentous phenomenon fade away. Bach of these heroines displayed traits of character worthy of all imitation. No one can read the history of their lives without being enno- bled by the contemplation of the fortitude and grandeur of spirit they evinced. To the young ladies of our land we especially commend the Heroines of the French Rev- olution. CONTENTS. Chapter Pag* I. LIFE IN MARTINIQUE.. 13 II. MARRIAGE OP JOSEPHINE 31 III. ARREST OP M. BEAUHARNAIS AND JOSEPHINE-. 48 IV. SCENES IN PRISON 68 V. THE RELEASE FROM PRISON 81 VI. JOSEPHINE IN ITALY 105 VII. JOSEPHINE AT MALMAISON 130 VIII. JOSEPHINE THE WIPE OF THE FIRST CONSUL. 149 IX. DEVELOPMENTS OF CHARACTER 171 X. THE CORONATION 198 XI. JOSEPHINE AN EMPRESS 232 XII. THE DIVORCE AND LAST DAYS.. . 282 ENGRAVINGS. Page THE SIBYL 24 THE WARNING 58 THE PANTOMIME 85 ISOLA BELLA 109 THE INTERVIEW 156 THE CORONATION.. . 224 JOSEPHINE. CHAPTER L LlFK IV MARTINIQUE. Its Tiria* temtlM FlIHE island of Martinique emerges in tropi- -- oal luxuriance from the bosom of the Ca- ribbean Sea. A meridian sun causes the whole land to smile in perennial verdure, and all the gorgeous flowers and luscious fruits of the torrid zone adorn upland and prairie in boundless pro- fusion. Mountains, densely wooded, rear their summits sublimely to the skies, and valleys charm the eye with pictures more beautiful than imagination can create. Ocean breezes ever sweep these hills and vales, and temper the heat of a vertical sun. Slaves, whose dusky limbs are scarcely veiled by the lightest cloth- ing, till the soil, while the white inhabitants, supported by the indolent labor of these unpaid menials, loiter away life in listless leisure and In rustic luxury. Far removed from the dissi- 14 JOSEPHINE. [A.D. 1760 Birth of JoMpUae. Her parent*' doUh pating influencos of European and American opulence, they dwell in their secluded island in a state of almost patriarchal simplicity. About the year 1760, a young French officer, Captain Joseph Gaspard Tascher, accompanied his regiment of horse to this island. While here on professional duty, he became attached to a young lady from France, whose parents, formerly opulent, in consequence of the loss of property, had moved to the West Indies to re- trieve their fortunes. But little is known re- specting Mademoiselle de Sanois, this young lady, who was soon married to M. Tasoher. Josephine was the only child born of this union In consequence of the early death of her mother, she was, while an infant, intrusted to the care of her aunt. Her father soon after died, and the little orphan appears never to have known a father's or a mother's love. Madame Renaudin, the kind aunt, who now, with maternal affection, took charge of the help- 1668 infant, was a lady of wealth, and of great benevolence of character. Her husband was the owner of several estates, and lived surround- ed by all that plain and rustic profusion which characterizes the abode of the wealthy planter His large possessions, and his energy of ohar&o- A 1). 1765.] LIFE IN MARTINIQUE. 1C M. Renaudio. His kind treatment of kU tlT* ter, gave him a wide influence over the island. He was remarkable for his humane treatment of his slaves, and for the successful manner witl which he conducted the affairs of his plantations The general condition of the slaves of Martin ioo at this time was very deplorable ; but or. the plantations of M. Renaudin there was as perfect a state of contentment and of happiness as is consistent with the deplorable institution of slavery. The slaves, many of them but re- eently torn from their homes in Africa, were necessarily ignorant, degraded, and supersti- tious. They knew nothing of those more ele- vated and refined enjoyments which the culti- vated mind so highly appreciates, but which are so often also connected with the most exquisite suffering. Josephine, in subsequent life, gave a very vivid description of the wretchedness of the slaves in general, and also of the peace and harmony which, in striking contrast, cheered the estates of her uncle. When the days' tasks were done, the negroes, constitutionally light- hearted and merry, gathered around their cab- bis with songs and dances, often prolonged late into the hours of the night. They had never known any thing better than their present lot They compared their condition with that of the 16 JOSEPHINE. [A.D. 1763 Gratitude of the ilarac. JMpll1ini nlTenl f iTorlt* slaves on the adjoining plantations, and exnlted in view of their own enjoyments. M. and Mad- ame Renaudin often visited their oabins, spoke words of kindness to them in then hours of sickness and sorrow, encouraged the formation of pure attachments and honorable marriage among the young, and took a lively interest in their sports. The slaves loved their kind mas- ter and mistress most sincerely, and manifested their affection in a thousand simple ways which touched the heart. Josephine imbibed from infancy the spirit of her uncle and aunt She always spoke to ti* slaves in tones of kindness, and became a uni- versal favorite with all upon the plantations. She had no playmates but the little negroes and she united with them freely in all their f ports. Still, these little ebon children of bond- age evidently looked up to Josephine as to a superior being. She was the queen around whom they circled in affectionate homage. The instinctive faculty, which Josephine displayed through life, of winning the most ardent love of all who met her, while, at the same time, sh*> was protected from any undue familiarity, she seems to have possessed even at that early day The children, who were her companions in aU A. D. 1765.] LlFEINMARTINiqtE. 17 Hospitality of M. Renaudln. Society at his bouw the sports of childhood, were also dutiful subjects over ready to be obedient to her will. The social position of M. Rjnaudin, as DIM of the most opulent and influential gentlemen of Martinique, necessarily attracted to his hos- pitable residence much refined and cultivated society. Strangers from Europe visiting the island, planters of intellectual tastes, and ladies of polished manners, met a cordial welcome be- neath the spacious roof of this abode, where all abundance was to be found. Madame Renau- din had passed her early years in Paris, and her manners were embellished with that elegance and refinement which have given to Parisian society such a world-wide celebrity. There was, at that period, much more intercourse be- tween the mother country and the colonies than at the present day. Thus Josephine, though reared in a provincial home, was accustomed, from infancy, to associate with gentlemen and ladies who were familiar with the etiquette of the highest rank in society, and whose conver- sation was intellectual and improving. It at first view seems difficult to account foi the high degree of mental culture which Jo- sephine displayed, when, seated by the side of Napoleon, she was t l 'e Empress of Frano? 192 18 JOSEPHINE. [A.D. 1765 bity education of Josephine. Her icoomplUhnienU Her remarks, her letters, her conversational ele- ganoe, gave indication of a mind thoroughly furnished with information and trained by se- vere discipline. And yet, from all the glimpses we can catch of her early education, it would eem that, with the exception of the accomplish- ments of music, dancing, and drawing, she was left very much to the guidance of her own in- stinctive tastes. But, like Madame Roland, she was blessed with that peculiar mental con- stitution, which led her, of her own accord, to treasure up all knowledge which books or con- versation brought within her reach. From childhood until the hour of her death, she was ever improving her mind by careful observation and studious reading. She played upon the harp with great skill, and sang with a voice of exquisite melodj . She also read with a correct- ness of elocution and a fervor of feeling which ever attracted admiration. The morning of her childhood was indeed bright and sunny, and her gladdened heart became so habituated to joyonsness, that her cheerful spirit seldom failed her even in the darkest days of her calamity. Hei passionate love for flowers had interested her deeply in the study of botany, and she also became very skillful in embroidery, that aocom A.D 1765.] LIFE IN MARTINIQUE. 19 Ccphemle Sbe beoomM JovepUne'i btwont eompcakm plishment which was onoe deemed an essentia part of the education of every lady. Under such influences Josephine became * child of such grace, beauty, and loveliness of oharaoter as to attract the attention and the admiration of all who saw her. There was an affectionateness, simplicity, and frankness in her manners which won all hearts. Her most in- timate companion in these early years was a young mulatto girl, the daughter of a slave, and report said, with how much truth it is impossi- ble to know, that she was also the daughter of Captain Tascher before his marriage. Her oame was Euphemie. She was a year or two older than Josephine, but she attached herself with deathless affection to her patroness ; and, though Josephine made her a companion and a confidante, she gradually passed, even in these early years, into the position of a maid of honor, and clung devotedly to her mistress through all the changes of subsequent life. Josephine, at this time secluded from all companionship with joung ladies of her own rank and age, made this humble but active-minded and intelligent girl her bosom companion. They rambled to- gether, the youthful mistress and her maid, LB perfect harmony From Josephine's more high 20 JOSEPHINE. (A.D. 177(1 Popularity of Josephine. Childhood enjoynienW iy-cultivated mind the lowly-born child derived intellectual stimulus, and thus each day became a more worthy and congenial associate. At years passed on, and Josephine ascended inte higher regions of splendor, her humble attend- ant gradually retired into more obscure posi- tions, though she was ever regarded by her true- hearted mistress with great kindness. Josephine was a universal favorite with &\\ the little negro girls of the plantation. They .looked up to her as to a protectress whom they loved, and to whom they owed entire homage. She would frequently collect a group of them under the shade of the luxuriant trees of that tropical island, and teach them the dances which she had learned, and also join with them as a partner. She loved to assemble them around her, and listen to those simple negro melodies which penetrate every heart which can feel the power of music. Again, all their voices, in sweet harmony, blended with hers as she taught them the more scientific songs of Europe. She would listen with unaffected interest to their tales of sorrow, and weep with them. Often she inter- posed in their behalf that their tasks might be lightened, or that a play-day might be allowed tnera. Thus she was as much beloved and an- A.D. 1770.) LIFE JN MAR nw/QUK. 2i Characteristic traits. The fortune-tellet mired in the cabin of the poor negro as she was in her uncle's parlor, where intelligence and re- finement were assembled. This same charac- ter she displayed through the whole of her ca- reer. Josephine upon the plantation and Jo- sephine upon the throne Josephine surrounded by the sable maidens of Martinique, and Jo- sephine moving in queenly splendor in the pal- aces of Versailles, with all the courtiers of Eu- rope revolving around her, displayed the same traits of character, and by her unaffected kind- ness won the heart ^dke of the lowly and of the exalted. About this time an occurrence took place which has attracted far more attention than it deserves. Josephine was one day walking under the shade of the trees of the plantation, when she saw a number of negro children gathered around an aged and withered negress, who had great reputation among the slaves as a fortune-teller. Curiosity induced Josephine to draw near the group to hear what the sorcer- ess had to say. The c Id sibyi, with the cunning which is characteristic of her craft, as soon as she saw Josephine approach, whom she knew perfectly, assumed an air of great agitation, and, seizing her hand violently, gazed with most 22 JOSEPHINE. [A.D. 1772 Prediction* ot the IbyL Credulity earnest attention upon the lines traced upon the palm. The little negresses were perfectly aw. stricken by this oraonlar display. Josephine^ however, was only amused, and smiling, said, " So you discover something very extraordi- nary in my destiny ?" " Yes !" replied the negress, with an air of great solemnity. "Is happiness or misfortune to be my lott* Josephine inquired. The negress again gazed upon her hand, and then replied, "Misfortune;" but, after a mo- ment's pause, she added, " and happiness too." "You must be careful, my good woman,' Josephine rejoined, "not to commit yourself Your predictions are not very intelligible." The negress, raising her eyes with an expres- sion of deep mystery to heaven, rejoined, "I am not permitted to render my revelations more clear." In every human heart there is a vein of cre- dulity. The pretended prophetess had now suo eeeded in fairly arousing the curiosity of Jose- phine, who eagerly inquired, "What do you read respecting me in futurity? Tell me ex- actly." Again the negress. assuming an air of pro* A..D 1772.] LIFE IN MARTINIQUE. 25 More prediction*. found solemnity, said, " You will not believe me if I reveal to you your strange destiny." " Yes, indeed, I assure you that I will," Jo- sephine thoughtlessly replied. " Come, good mother, do tell me what I have to hope and what to fear." "On your own head be it, then. Listen. You will soon be married. That union will not be happy. You will become a widow, and then you will be Queen of France. Some happy years will be yours, but afterward you will die in a hospital, amid civil commotions." The old woman then hurried away. Jose- phine talked a few moments with the young ne- groes upon the folly of this pretended fortune- telling, and leaving them, the affair passed from her mind. In subsequent years, when toiling through the vicissitudes of her most eventful life, she recalled the singular coincidence be- tween her destiny and the prediction, and seemed to consider that the negress, with pro- phetic vision, had traced out her wonderful ca- reer. But what is there so extraordinary in this narrative 7 What maiden ever consulted a fortune-teller without receiving the agreeable unnounoement that she was to wed beauty, and 26 JOSEPHINE. [AD. 1772 Explanation* t the prediction*. How fulfilled wealth, and rank 7 It was known universally , and it was a constant subject of plantation go& ip, that the guardians of Josephine were con templating a match for her with the son of neighboring planter. The negroes did not think him half worthy of their adored and queenly Jo- sephine. They supposed, however, that the match was settled. The artful woman was therefore compelled to allow Josephine to marry at first the undistinguished son of the planter, with whom she couid not be happy. She, how- ever, very considerately lets the unworthy hus- band in a short time die, and then Josephine becomes a queen. This is the old story, which has been repeated to half the maidens in Chris- tendom. It is not very surprising that in this one case it should have happened to prove true. But, unfortunately, our prophetess went a lit- tle farther, and predicted that Josephine would die in a hospital implying poverty and aban- donment. This part of the prediction proved te bo utterly untrue. Josephine, instead of dying in a hospital, died in the beautiful pal ace of Mal- inaison. Instead of dying in poverty, she was one of the richest ladies in Europe, receiving an income of some six hundred thousand dollars a year The grounds around her palace were AD. 1772.] LIFE IN MARTIMIQUB. 2? Ftldty of the prediction. Contemplated mtcb embellished with all the attractions, and hei apartments furnished with every luxury which opulence could provide. Instead of dying in firiendlesaness and neglect, the Emperor Alex- ander of Russia stood at her bedside ; the most illustrious kings and nobles of Europe crowded her court and did her homage. And though she was separated from her husband, she still retained the title of Empress, and was the ob- ject of his most sincere affection and esteem. Thus this prediction, upon which so much stress has been laid, seems to vanish in the air It surely is not a supernatural event that a young lady, who was told by an aged negress that she would be a queen, happened actually to become one. We have alluded to a contemplated match between Josephine and the son of a neighbor- ing planter. An English family, who had lost property and rank in the convulsions of those times, had sought a retreat in the island of Mar- tinique, and were cultivating an adjoining plan- tation. In this family there was a very pleas- ant lad, a son, of nearly the same age with Jo- sephine. The plantations being new to each other, they were often companions and play- mates. A strong attachment grew up between JOSEPHINE, [A.D. 1775 Attachment between Jogephini and WUUam. Tfcolr ieparaUon them. The parents of William, and the unol and aunt of Josephine, approved cordially of this attachment; and were desirous that these youth- Sal hearts should be united, as soon as the parties should arrive at mature age. Josephine, in the ingenuous artlessness of her nature, disguised not in the least her strong affection for William. And his attachment to her was deep and endur- ing. The solitude of their lives peculiarly tend- ed to promote fervor of character. Matters were in this state, when the father of William received an intimation from England that, by returning to his own country, he might, perhaps, regain his lost estates. He immedi- ately prepared to leave the island with his fam- ily. The separation was a severe blow to these youthful lovers. They wept, and vowed eternal fidelity. It is not surprising that Josephine should have been in some degree superstitious. The peculiarity of her life upon the plantation her constant converse with the negroes, whose minda were imbued with all the superstitious notions which they had brought from Africa, united with those which they had found upon the isl- and, tended to foster those feelings. Rousseau, the most popular and universally-read French A.D. 1774.J LIFE IN MARTINIQUE 29 RoMeau throwing itone*. Josephioe'i inperstitloa writer of that day, in his celebrated "Confes- sions," records with perfect composure that h was one day sitting in a grove, meditating whether his soul would probably be saved 01 lost. He felt that the question was of the ut- most importance. How could he escape from the uncertainty ! A supernatural voice seemed to suggest an appeal to a singular kind of au- gury. " I will," said he, " throw this stone at that tree. If I hit the tree, it shall be a sign that my soul is to be saved. If I miss it, it shall indicate that I am to be lost." He select- ed a large tree, took the precaution of getting very near to it, and threw his stone plump against the trunk. " After that," says the philosopher, "I never again had a doubt re- specting my salvation." Josephine resorted to the same kind of au- gury to ascertain if William, who had become a student in the University at Oxford, still re- mained faithful to her. She not unfr6quently attempted to beguile a weary hour in throwing pebbles at tne trees, that she might divine whether William were then thinking of her Months, however, passed away, and she re- ceived no tidings from him. Though she had often written, her letters remained unanswered 80 JOSEPHINE [A.D. 1775 Deception of friend*. Mutual fidelity Her feelings were the more deeply wounded, since there were other friends upon the island with whom he kept up a correspondence ; but Josephine never received even a message through them. One day, as she was pensively rambling hi a rove, where she had often walked with her ab- **ent lover, she found carved upon a tree the names of William . and Josephine. She knew well by whose hand they had been cut, and, en- tirely overcome with emotion, she sat down and wept bitterly. With the point of a knife, and with a trembling hand, she inscribed in the bark these words, peculiarly characteristic of her depth of feeling, and of the gentleness of hei spirit : " Unhappy William ! thou hast forgot- ten me !" William, however, had not forgotten her. \gain and again he had written in terms of the most ardent affection. But the friends of Josephine, meeting with an opportunity for natch for her which they deemed far more ad < vantageons, had destroyed these communica tions, and also had prevented any of her letters from reaching the hand of William. Thus each , while cherishing the truest affection, deemed the other faithless. A.D. 1775.J MARRIAGE OF JOSEPHINE. 31 AleuBder de Re*uh*nutU. illt dkaraotw CHAPTER II. THE MARRIAGE OP JOSEPHINE. |"OSEPHINE was about fourteen years of ** age when she was separated from William A year passed away, during which she received not a line from her absent friend. About this time a gentleman from France visited her uncle upon business of great importance. Viscount Alexander de Beauharnais was a fashionable and gallant young man, about thirty years of age, possessing much conversational ease and grace of manner, and accustomed to the most polished society of the French metropolis. He held a commission in the army, and had already signalized himself by several acts of bravery. His sympathies had been strongly aroused by the struggle of the American colonists with the mother country, and he had already aided th colonists both with his sword and his purse. Several large and valuable estates in Mar- tinique, adjoining the plantation of M. Renau- iin, had fallen by inheritance to this young offi- cer and his brother, the Marqui of Beauhar- 32 JOSEPHINE. [A.D. 17V6 A new roitor. Motive* for the raarrim^e nais. He visited Martinique to secure the proof of his title to these estates. M. Renaudin held some of these plantations on lease. In the transaction of this business, Beauharnais spent much time at the mansion of M. Renaudin. He, of course, saw much of the beautiful Jo- sephine, and was fascinated with her grace, and ner mental and physical loveliness. The uncle and aunt of Josephine were delight- ed to perceive the interest which their niece had awakened in the bosom of the interesting stran- ger. His graceful figure, his accomplished per- son, his military celebrity, his social rank, and his large fortune, all conspired to dazzle their eyes, and to lead them to do every thing in then- power to promote a match apparently so eligi- ble. The ambition of M. Renaudin was moved at the thought of conferring upon his niece, the prospective heiress of his own fortune, an estate so magnificent as the united inheritance. Jose- phine, however, had not yet forgotten William, and, though interested in her uncle's guest, for ome time allowed no emotion of love to flow out toward him. One morning Josephine was sitting in the library in pensive musings, when her uncle came Into the room to open to her the subject of her A.D.J775.] MARRIAGE OF JOSEPHINE 3j Hie announcement Feelings of Josephine contemplated marriage with M. Beauharnais. Josephine was thunderstruck at the communi- cation, for, according to the invariable custom of the times, she knew that she aould have but little voice in the choice of a partner for life. For a short time she listened in silence to his proposals, and then said, ^rith tears in her eyes, " Dear uncle, I implore you to remember that my affections are fixed upon William. I have been solemnly promised to him." " That is utterly impossible, my child," her uncle replied. "Circumstances are changed. All our hopes are centered in you. You must obey our wishes." "And why," said she, "have you changed your intentions in reference to William ?" Her uncle replied : " You will receive by in- neritance all my estate. M. Beauharnais pos- sesses the rich estates adjoining. Your union unites the property. M. Beauharnais is ev- ery thing which can be desired in a husband Besides, William appears to have foigotten you." To this last remark Josephine could make no reply. She looked sadly upon the floor and was silent. It is said that her uncle had then li his possession several letters which William 193 34 JOSEPHINE. [A.D 1775 Zeal of M. Rrauharuais. The engagement had written her, replete with the most earnest spirit of constancy and affection. Josephine, but fifteen years of age, could not, Binder these circumstances, resist the influences BOW brought tc bear upon her. M. Beauhar- tais was a gentleman of fascinating accomplish- ments The reluctance of Josephine to become his bride but stimulated his zeal to obtain her. In the seclusion of the plantation, and far re- moved from other society, she was necessarily with him nearly at all hours. They read to gether, rode on horseback side by side, rambled in the groves in pleasant companionship. They floated by moonlight upon the water, breathing the balmy air of that delicious clime, and unit- ing their voices in song, the measure being timed with the dipping of the oars by the ne- groes. The friends of Josephine were importu- nate for the match. At last, reluctantly she gave her consent. Having done this, she al lowed her affections, unrestrained, to repos upon her betrothed. Though her Heart still clung to William, she thought that he had found other friends in England, in whose pleasant com- panionship he had lost all remembrance of the island maiden who had won his early love. Alexander Beauharnais, soon after his en- AJD. 1775.] MARRIAGE OF JOSEPHINE. 35 Departure from Martinique. Parting scene* gagement to Josephine, embarked for Franca Arrangements had been made for Josephine, in the course of a few months, to follow him, upon a visit to a relative in Paris, and there the nup- tials were to be consummated. Josephine was now fifteen years of age. She was attached to Beauharnais, but not with that fervor of feel- ing which had previously agitated her heart. She often thought of William and spoke of him, and at times had misgivings lest there might be some explanation of his silence. But months had passed on, and she had received no letter or message from him- At length the hour for her departure from the island arrived. With tearful eyes and a sad- dened heart she left the land of her birth, ana the scenes endeared to her by all the recollec- tions of childhood. Groups of negroes, from the tottering infant to the aged man of gray hairs, surrounded her with weeping and loud lamentation. Josephine hastened on board, the ship got under way, and soon the island of Martinique disappeared beneath the watery hor izon. Josephine sat upon the deck in perfect silence, watching the dim outline of her beloved home till it was lost to sight. Her young heart was full of anxiety, of tenderness, and of regret* 56 JOSEPHINE. jA.D. 1775 rwephlne'i arrival In France. Her Interview with WllUanv Little, however, could she imagine the career of strange vicissitudes upon which she was about to enter. The voyage was long and tempestuous. Ktorms pursued them all the way. At one time the ship was dismasted and came near foundering. At length the welcome cry of " Land" was heard, and Josephine, an unknown orphan child of fifteen, placed her feet upon the shores of France, that country over which she was soon to reign the most renowned empress. She hastened to Fontainebleau, and was there met by Alexander Beauharnais. He received her with great fondness, and was assiduous in bestowing upon her the most flattering atten tions. But Josephine had hardly arrived at Fon- tainebleau before she heard that William and his father were also residing at that place. Her whole frame trembled like an aspen leaf, and her heart sunk within her as she received the intelligence. All her long-cherished affection for the companion of her childhood was revived , and still she knew not but that William was faithless. He, however, immediately called, with his father, to see her. The interview was most embarrassing, for each loved the other in* tensely, and each had reason to belie\e that th AJD. 1775.] MARRIAGE OF JOSEPHINE. 37 Explanation of William. Distress of Josephine, other had proved untrue. The next day Will- iam called alone ; Josephine, the betrothed bride of Beauharnais, prudently deolined seeing him. He then wrote her a letter, which he bribed a servant to place in her hands, full of protest* tions of love, stating how he had written to her, and passionately inquiring why she turned so coldly from him. Josephine read the letter with a bursting heart. She now saw how she had been de- ceived. She now was convinced that William had proved faithful to her, notwithstanding he had so much reason to believe that she had been untrue to him. But what could she do ? She was but fifteen years of age. She was sur- rounded only by those who were determined that she should marry Alexander Beauharnais. She was told that the friends of William had decided unalterably that he should marry an English heiress, and that the fortunes of his lather's family were dependent upon that alii- mnoe. The servant who had been the bearer of William's epistle was dismissed, and the other servants were commanded not to allo^ him to enter the house. The agitation of Josephine's heart was suoh that for some time she was unable to leave he? 8b JOSEPHINE. [A.D. 177& Jujwtphine retires to convent She marries the Viscount BeauhamaU bed. She entreated her friends to allow her for a few months to retire to a convent, that she might, in solitary thought and prayer, regain composure. Her friends consented to this ar- rangement, and she took refuge in the convent at Panthemont. Here she spent a few months in inexpressible gloom. William made many unavailing efforts to obtain an interview, and at last, in despair, reluctantly received the wealthy bride, through whom he secured an immense inheritance, and with whom he passed an unloving life. The Viscount Beauharnais often called to see her, and was permitted to converse with her at the gate of her window. In the simplicity of her heart, she told her friends at the convent of her attachment for William ; how they had been reared together, and how they had loved from childhood. She felt that it was a cruel fate which separated them, but a fate before which each must inevitably bow. At last she calmly made up her mind to comply with the wishes of her friends, and to surrender herself to the Viscount Beauharnais. There was much in the person and character of Beauharnais to render him very attractive, and she soon be- came sincerely, though never oassionately, at- tached to bin O). 1777.] MARRIAGE OF JOSEPHINE. 39 PtehioEable life. Josephine U introduced at court Josephine was sixteen years of age when she was married. Her social position was in the midst of the most expensive and fashionable so- ciety of Paris. She was immediately involved in all the excitements of parties, and balls, and gorgeous entertainments. Her beauty, her grace, her amiability, and her peculiarly musi- cal voice, which fell like a charm upon every ear, excited great admiration and not a little nvy. It was a dangerous scene into which to intro- duce the artless and inexperienced Creole girl, and she was not a little dazzled by the splen- dor with which she was surrounded. Every thing that could minister to convenience, or that could gratify taste, was lavished profusely around her. For a time she was bewildered by the novelty of her situation. But soon she be- came weary of the heartless pageantry of fash- ionable Me, and sighed for the tranquil enjoy- ments of her island home. Her husband, proud of her beauty and ac- complishments, introduced her at court. Maria Antoinette, who had then just ascended the throne, and was in the brilliance of her youth, and beauty, and early popularity, was charmed with the West Indian bride, and received her without the formality of a public presentation 40 JOSEPHINE. [A.D. 177J3 Maria Antoinette and Josephine. French philosophy When these two young brides met in the regal palace of Versailles the one a daughter of Ma* ria Theresa and a descendant of the Csesars, who had come from the court of Austria tc be not only the queen, but the brightest ornament tf the court of France the other the child of a planter, born upon an obscure island, reared in the midst of negresses, as almost her only companions little did they imagine that Maria Antoinette was to go down, down, down to the lowest state of ignominy and wo, while Jose- phine was to ascend to more and more exalted stations, until she should sit upon a throne more glorious than the Caesars ever knew. French philosophy had at this time under- mined the religion of Jesus Christ All that is sacred in the domestic relations was withering beneath the blight of infidelity. Beauharnais, a man of fashion and of the world, had imbibed, to the full, the sentiments which disgraced the age. Marriage was deemed a partnership, to be formed or dissolved at pleasure. Fidelity to the nuptial tie was the jest of philosophers and witlings. Josephine had soon the mortification of seeing a proud, beautiful, aud artful woman taking her place, and openly and triumphantly claiming the attentions and tho affections of hef A..D. 1780.) MARRIAGE OF JOSEPHINE 41 Birth of B daughter. Infidelity of Beauharnaif husband. This woman, high in rank, loved tx torture her poor victim. " Your dear Alexan- der," she said to Josephine, " daily lavishes upon others the tribute of attachment which you think he reserves solely for you." She could not bear to see the beautiful and virtuous Josephine nappy, as the honored wife of her guilty lover, and she resolved, if possible, to sow the seeds of jealousy so effectually between them as to secure a separation. In the year 1780 Josephine gave birth to fiei daughter Hortense. This event seemed for a time to draw back the wandering affections of Beauharnais. He was really proud of his wife. He admired her beauty and her grace. He doted upon his infant daughter. But he was an infidel. He recognized no law of God, com- manding purity of heart and life, and he con* tended that Josephine had no right to complain, as long as he treated her kindly, if he did in- dulge in the waywardness of passion. The path of Josephine was now, indeed, shrouded in gloom, and each day seemed to grow darker and darker. Hortense became her idol and her on'/ comfort Her husband lav- ished upon her those luxuries which his wealth enabled him to grant. He was kind to her in 42 JOSEPHINE. [A.D. 1780 Birth of ton. An arch deceWet words and in all the ordinary courtesies of in- tercourse. But Josephine's heart was well-nigh broken. A few years of conflict passed slowly away, when she gave birth, in the year 1783, to her son Eugene. In the society of her chil- dren the unhappy mother found now her only solace. While the Viscount Beauharnais was ready iff defend his own conduct, he was by no means willing that his wife should govern herself by the same principles of fashionable philosophy. The code infidel is got up for the especial ben- efit of dissolute men ; their wives must be gov- erned by another code. The artful woman, who was the prime agent in these difficulties, affected great sympathy with Josephine in her sorrows, protested her own entire innocence, but assured her that M. Beauharnais was an in. ^rate, entirely unworthy of her affections. She deceived Josephine, hoarded up the confidence of her stricken heart, and conversed with her about William, the memory of whose faithful love now came with new freshness to the dis- consolate wife. Josephine, lured by her, wrote a letter to her frienis in Martinique, in which she imprudently , "Were it not for my children, I should A..D. 1783.]' MARRIAGE OF JOSEPHINE. 42 Josephine betrayed. Application for a divorce without a pang, renounce France forever. My duty requires me to forget William ; and yet if we had been united together, I should not to- day have been troubling you with my griefs." The woman who instigated her to write this letter was infamous enough to obtain it by stealth and show it to Beauharnais. His jeal- ousy and indignation were immediately aroused to the highest pitch. He was led by this ma- licious deceiver to believe that Josephine had obtained secret interviews with William, and the notoriously unfaithful husband was exas- perated to the highest degree at the very sus- picion of the want of fidelity in his wife. He reproached her in language of the utmost se- verity, took Eugene from her, and resolved to endeavor, by legal process, to obtain an entire divorce. She implored him, for the sake of he* children, not to proclaim their difficulties to the world. He, however, reckless of consequences, made application to the courts for the annul- ment of the matrimonial bond. Josephine was now compelled to defend her own character. She again retired with Hortense to the convent, and there, through dreary months d solitude, and silence, and dejection, awaited the result of the trial noon which her reputation as a vir 44 JOSEPHINE. [A.D. 1784 Josephine triumphant. Visit to Venaille* tuous woman was staked. The decree of the court was triumphantly in her favor, and Jo- sephine returned to her friends to receive theii congratulations, but impressed with the oonrio* tion that earth had no longer a joy in store foi her. Her friends did all in their power to cheer her desponding spirit ; but the wound she had received was too deep to be speedily healed. One day her friends, to divert her mind from brooding over irreparable sorrows, took her, al- most by violence, to Versailles. They passed over the enchanting grounds, and through the gorgeously-furnished apartments of the Great and Little Trianon, the favorite haunts of Ma- ria Antoinette. Here the beautiful Queen of France was accustomed to lay aside the pa- geantry of royalty, and to enjoy, without re- straint, the society of those who were dear to her, Days of darkness and trouble had already begun to darken around her path. As Jose- phine was looking at some of the works of art, she was greatly surprised at the entrance of the queen, surrounded by several ladies of her court. Maria Antoinette immediately recognized Jo- sephine, and with that air of affability and kind- ness which ever characterized her conduct, she approached her, and, with one of her winning A.D. 1784.] MARXIAGE OK JOSEPHINE 45 Interview with Maria Antoinette. Kindness of the queen smiles, said, " Madame Beauharnais, I am very happy to see you at the two Trianons. You well know how to appreciate their beauties. I should be much pleased to learn what objects you consider most interesting. I shall always receive you with pleasure." These words from the queen were an un- speakable solace to Josephine. Her afflicted heart needed the consolation. The queen was acquainted with her trials, and thus nobly as- sured her of her sympathy and her confidence. In a few days Maria Antoinette invited Jose- phine to a private interview. She addressed her in words of the utmost kindness, promised to watch over the interests of her son, and at the same time, as a mark of her especial regard, she took from her neck an antique ornament of precious stones, and passed it over the neck of Josephine. The king also himself came in at the interview, for his heart had been softened by sorrow, and addressed words of consolation to the injured and discarded wife. Josephine now received letters from Marti- nique earnestly entreating her to return, with her children, to the home of her childhood. World-weary, she immediately resolved to ac- cept tha invitation. But the thought of erooa- 46 JOSEPH NE. [A.D. 1784 /rxephlne embarki for Martinique. Hours of despondency ing the wide ocean, and leaving her son Eugene behind, was a severe pang to a mother's heart. Eugene had been taken from her and sent to a hoarding-school. Josephine felt so deeply the pang of separation from her beloved child, that she obtained an interview with M. Beauharnais, and implored him to allow her to take Eugene with her. He gave a cold and positive refusal. A few days after this, Josephine, cruelly sep- arated from her husband and bereayed of her son, embarked with Hor tense for Martinique. She strove to maintain that aspect of cheerful- ness and of dignity which an injured but inno- cent woman is entitled to exhibit. When dark hours of despondency overshadowed her, she tried to console herself with the beautiful thought of Plautus : " If we support adversity with cour- age, we shall have a keener relish for returning prosperity." It does not appear that she had any refuge in the consolations of religion. She had a vague and general idea of the goodness of a superintending Providence, but she was apparently a stranger to those warm and glow- ing revelations of Christianity which introduce us to a sympathizing Savior, a guiding and con- soling Spirit, a loving and forgiving Father Could she then, by faith, have reposed her ach- A.D. 1785.] MARRIAGE OF JOSEPHINE. 47 Josephine arrire* at Martinique. Her ktd reception. ing head upon the bosom of her heavenly Fa- ther, she might have found a solace such as nothing else could confer. But at this time nearly every mind in France was more or less iarkened by the glooms of infidelity. The winds soon "drove her frail bark across the Atlantic, and Josephine, pale and sorrow- stricken, was clasped in the arms and folded to the hearts of those who truly loved her. The affectionate negroes gathered around her, with loud demonstrations of their sympathy and their joy in again meeting their mistress. Here, amid the quiet scenes endeared to her by the recollections of childhood, she found a tempo- rary respite from those storms by which she had been so severely tossed upon life's wild and tempestuous ocean 48 JOSEPHINE. [A.D 17H6 S*divi of Josephine DUtipatiOn of Beauharnak CHAPTER III. 4.RRE6T OF M. BEAUHARNAIS AND Josi PHINE. TOSEPHINE remained in Martinique three ** years. She passed her time in tranquil sad- ness, engaged in reading, in educating Hortense, and in unwearied acts of kindness to those around her. Like all noble minds, she had a great fond- ness for the beauties of nature. The luxuriant groves of the tropics, the serene skies which overarched her head, the gentle zep! yts which breathed through orange groves, all were con- genial with her pensive spirit. The thoughi of Eugene, her beautiful boy, so far from her, preyed deeply upon her heart. Often she re- tired alone to some of those lonely walks which he loved so well, and wept over her alienated husband and her lost child. M. Beauharnais surrendered himself for a time, without restraint, to every indulgence. He tried, in the society of sin and shame, to forget his wife and his absent daughter. He, however, soon found that no friend can take the plaoe of a virtuous and an affectionate wife A..D.1786] ARREST OF BEAUHARNA.S. 49 Repentance of BeauharnaU. Josephine return! to Franc* The memory of Josephine's gentleness, and ten- derness, and love came flooding back upon his haart. He became fully convinced of his in- justice to her, and earnestly desired to have her restored again to him and to his home. He sent communications to Josephine, expressive of his deep regret for the past, promising amend- ment for the future, assuring her of his high appreciation of her elevated and honorable char acter, and imploring her to return with Hor- tensrinces of the proudest courts vie with each other for the honor of her hand. She is led to her sumptu- ous bridals by Louis Bonaparte, brother of the emperor ; becomes the spouse of a king, and takes her seat upon the throne of Holland. But in the midst of all this external splendor she is wretched at heart. Not one congenial feeling unites her with the companion to whom she is bound. Louis, weary of regal pomp and con- straint, abdicates the throne, and Hortense be* somes unendurably weary of her pensive and unambitious spouse. They agree to separate ; each to journey along, unattended by the other, the remainder of life's pilgrimage. Hortense a joyless refuge in a secluded castic, is &4 JOSEPHINE. lAD.178 Death of Hortenae. Meeting of Josephine and Beauharoal* one of the most retired valleys of Switzerland. The tornado of counter-revolution sweeps ovei Europe, and all her exalted friends and tower- ing hopes are prostrated in the dust. Linger ing years of disappointment and sadness pas over her, and old age, with its infirmities, places her upon a dying bed. One only child, Louis Napoleon, since President of the French Repub- lic, the victim of corroding ambition and cease lessly-gnawing discontent, stands at her bed side to close her eyes, and to follow her, a soli tary and lonely mourner, to the grave. The dream of life has passed. The shadow has van- ished away. Who can fathom the mystery of the creation of such a drama ? Josephine arrived in France. She was re- ceived most cordially by her husband. Sorrow- ful experience had taught him the value of a home, and the worth of a pure and a sanctified love. Josephine again folded her idolized Eu- gene in her arms, and the anguish of past years was forgotten in the blissful enjoyments of a re- united family. These bright and happy days were, however, soon again clouded. The French Revolution was now in full career. The king and queen were in prison. All law wa pros- trate. M. Beauharnais, at the commeooeraeni AL.D 1787.1 ARREST OF JbEAUHARNAis. 53 Influential character of Beauharnait. Jacobin* and Girondist* of the Revolution, had most cordially espoused the cause of popular liberty. He stood by the *ide of La Fayette a companion and a support- er His commanding character gave him great Influence. He was elected a deputy to the Con- stituent Assembly, and took an active part in its proceedings. Upon the dissolution of this Assembly, or States-General, as it was also called, as by vote none of its members were im- mediately re-eligible, he retired again to the army ; but when the second or Legislative As- sembly was dissolved and the National Conven- tion was formed, he was returned as a mem- oer, and at two successive sessions was elected its president. The people, having obtained an entire victory over monarchy and aristocracy, beheaded the king and queen, and drove the nobles from the realm. France was now divided into two great parties. The Jacobins were so called from an old cloister in which they at first Weld their meetings. All of the lowest, most vicious, and the reckless of the nation belonged to this party. They seemed disposed to overthrow all law, hu- man and divine. Marat, Danton, and Robes- pierre were the blood-stained leaders of this wild and furious faction. The Girondists, their 5b JOSEPHINE. [A.D. 1789 The Jacobini triumphant Fearful commotions opponents, were so called from the department of the Gironde, from which most of the leaders of this party came. They wished for a repub- lic like that of the United States, where thero should be the protection of life, and property, and liberty, with healthy laws sacredly enforced. The conflict between the two parties was long and terrible. The Jacobins gained the victory, and the Girondists were led to the guillotine. M. Beauharnais was an active member of the Girondist party, of which Madame Roland was the soul, and he perished with them. Many of the Girondists sought safety in concealment and retreat. M. Beauharnais, conscious of his political integrity, proudly refused to save his life by turning his back upon his foes. One morning Josephine was sitting in her parlor, in a state of great anxiety in reference to the fearful commotion of the times, when a servant announced that some one wished to peak to her. A young man of very gentle anJ prepossessing appearance was introduced, with a bag in his hand, in which were several pain of shoes. "Citizen," said the man to Josephine, "I understand that you want socks of plum gray. 1 Josephine looked up in surprise, hardly ooro A. D. 1784.] ARREST OF BEAUHARNAIS. 59 i . warning. Alarm of Josephine. prehending his meaning, when he approached nearer to her, and, in an under tone, whispered, I have something to impart to you, madame.' 1 " Explain yourself," she eagerly replied, much alarmed ; "my servant is faithful." " Ah !" he exclaimed, " my life is at stake in this matter." " Go, Victorine," said Josephine to her serv- ant, " and call my husband." As soon as they were alone, the young man said, " There is not a moment to lose if you would save M. Beauharnais. The Revolution- ary Committee last night passed a resolution to have him arrested, and at this very moment the warrant is making out." u How know you this ?" she demanded, trem bling violently. " I am one of the committee," was the reply, "and, being a shoemaker, I thought these shoes would afford me a reasonable pretext for adver tising you, madarne." At this moment M. Beauharnais entered the room, and Josephine, weeping, thrw herself into his arms. "You see my husband," she said to the shoemaker. " I have the honor of knowing him," was the reply. 60 JOSEPHINE. [A.D. 1786 BeauharnaU proudly refuse* to attempt an escape. M. Beauharnais wished to reward the young man on the spot for his magnanimous and per- ilous deed of kindness. The offer was respect* fall' but decisively declined. To the earnest entreaties of Josephine and the young man that he should immediately secure his safety by his flight or concealment, he replied, " I will never flee ; with what can they charge me ? I love liberty. I have borne arms for the Revolution." " But you are a noble," the young man re- joined, " and that, in the eye of the Revolution- ists, is a crime an unpardonable crime. And, moreover, they accuse you of having been a member of the Constitutional Assembly." " That," said M. Beauharnais, " is my most honorable title to glory. Who would not be proud of having proclaimed the rights of the nation, the fall of despotism, and the reign of laws ?" "What laws !" exclaimed Josephine. " It is in blood they are written." "Madame," exclaimed the philanthropic young Jacobin, with a tone of severity, " when the tree of liberty is planted in an unfriendly soil, it must be watered with the blood of its enemies." Then, turning to M. Beauharnaia, A.D.1786.] AAREST OF BEAUHARNAIS. 61 Entreaties of Josephine. Arrest of Beauhain&k he said, " Within an hour it will no longer b possible to escape. I wished to save you, be- oause I believe you innocent. Such was my duty to humanity. But if I am commanded to arrest you pardon me I shall do my duty; and you will acknowledge the patriot." The young shoemaker withdrew, and Jose- phine in vain entreated her husband to attempt his escape. " Whither shall I flee ?" he an- swered. " Is there a vault, a garret, a hiding- place into which the eye of the tyrant Robes- pierre does not penetrate ? We must yield. If I am condemned, how can I escape ? If I am not condemned, I have nothing to fear." About two hours elapsed when three mem bers of the Revolutionary Committee, accompa- nied by a band of armed men, broke into the house. The young shoemaker was one of this committee, and with firmness, but with much urbanity, he arrested M. Beauharnais. Jose- phine, as her husband was led to prison, wa left in her desolated home. And she found herself indeed deserted and alone. No one could then manifest any sympathy w\th the proscribed without periling life. Josephine's friends, one by one, all abandoned her. The young shoemaker alone, who had arrested he 62 JOSEPHINE. [A.D. 179Q Beneficence of Josephine. The children deceived husband, continued secretly to call with words f sympathy. Josephine made great exertions to r fctain the release of her husband, and was also unwearied in her benefactions to multitudes around her who, in those days of lawlessness and of an guish, were deprived of property, of friends, and of home. The only solace she found in her own grief was in ministering to the consolation of others. Josephine, from the kindest of motives, but very injudiciously, deceived her children in reference to their father's arrest, and led them to suppose that he was absent from home in consequence of ill health. When at last sne obtained permission to visit, with her children, her husband in prison, they detected the deceit. After returning from the prison after their first interview, Hortense remarked to her mother that she thought her father's apartment very small, and the patients very numerous. She appeared for a time very thoughtful, and then inquired of Eugene, with an anxious expression of countenance, " Do you believe that papa is ill ? If he is, it lertainly is not the sickness which the doctor* ture." " What do you mean, my dear ohiM?" asked A..D. 1790.J ARREST OF J os EPHINE. t>a Indiscretions. Airert of Jotepbine Josephine. " Can you suppose that papa and I would contrive between us to deceive you ?" " Pardon me, mamma, but I do think so. w " Why, sister," exclaimed Eugene, " ho\? Otta you say so ?" ''Good parents," she replied, "are unques- tionably permitted to deceive their children when they wish to spare them uneasiness. Is it not so, mamma ?" Josephine was not a little embarrassed by this detection, and was compelled to acknowledge that which it was no longer possible to conceal. In the interview which M. Beauharnais held with his wife and his children, he spoke with some freedom to his children of the injustice of his imprisonment. This sealed his doom. List- eners, who were placed in an adjoining room to note down his words, reported the conversation, and magnified it into a conspiracy for the over- throw of the republic. M. Beauharnais was immediately placed in close confinement. Jose- phine herself was arrested and plunged into pris- on, and even the terrified children were rigidly examined by a brutal committee, who, by prom- ises and by threats, did what they could to ex- tort from them some confession which would \e&Q to the conviction of their 64 JOSEPHINE. JA.D. 1790 Josephine take* leave of her sleeping children. A mother"! tnarm Josephine, the morning of her arrest, received an anonymous letter, warning her of her dan- ger. It was at an early hour, and her children were asleep in their beds. But how could she escape ? Where could she go ? Should she leave her children behind her a mother aban- don her children ! Should she take them with her, and thus prevent the possibility of eluding arrest ? Would not her attempt at flight be construed into a confession of guilt, and thus compromise the safety of her husband ? While distracted with these thoughts, she heard a loud knocking and clamor at the outer door of the house. She understood too well the significance of those sounds. With a great effort to retain a tranquil spirit, she passed into the room where her children were sleeping. As she fixed n. i eyes upon them, so sweetly lost in slumber, ar^ thought of the utter abandonment to which they were doomed, her heart throbbed with anguiahi and tears, of such bitterness as are seldom shed upon earth, filled her eyes. She bent over hai daughter, and imprinted a mother's farewell kiss upon her forehead. The affectionate child though asleep, clasped her arms around her mother's neck, and, speaking the thoughts of thn dream passing through her mind, said A..D. 1793.] ARREST OF JOSEPHINE. 65 Arutality of the (oldien. Josephine dragged to the Carmelite*. " Come to bed. Fear nothing. They shall not take you away this night. I have prayed to God for you." The tumult in the outer hall continually in- creasing, Josephine, fearful of awaking Hortense and Eugene, cast a last lingering look of love npon them, and, withdrawing from the cham- oer, closed the door and entered her parlor. There she found a band of armed men, headed oy the brutal wretch who had so unfeelingly examined her children. The soldiers were hard- ened against every appeal of humanity, and per- formed their unfeeling office without any emo- tion, save that of hatred for one whom they deemed to be an aristocrat. They seized Jose- phine rudely, and took possession of all the property in the house in the name of the Re- public. They dragged their victim to the con- vent of the Carmelites, and she was immured in that prison, where, but a few months before, more than eight thousand had been massacred by the mob of Paris. Even the blackest an- nals of religious fanaticism can record no out- rages more horrible than those which rampant ialidelity perpetrated in these days of its tem- porary triumphs. Wh/>n Eugene and Horiense awoke, they 195 66 JOSEPHINE. [A.D. 1793 forlorn condition of the children. They find a protector fonnd themselves indeed alone in the wide world. They were informed by a servant of the arrest and the imprisonment of their moth er. The times had long been so troubled, anf Jocephlne'i frimd*. She recover* her property lady of great elevation of character, whose largr fortune had by some chance escaped the gen eral wreck, invited Josephine to her housfc. and freely supplied her wants. Madame Fon- tenay, also, who was a woman of great beauty and accomplishments, soon after her liberation was married to M. Tallien, to whom she had tossed the note, inclosed in a cabbage-leaf, from her prison window. It was this note which had so suddenly secured the overthrow of the tyrant, and had rescued so many from the guillotine. They both became the firm friends of Josephine Others, also, soon became strongly attracted to her by the loveliness of her character, and were ambitious to supply all her wants. Through M. Tallien, she urged her claim upon the National Convention for the restora- tion of her confiscated property. After a long and tedious process, she succeeded in regaining such a portion of her estate as to provide her amply with all the comforts of life. Again she had her own peaceful home, with Eugene and Hortense by her side. Her natural buoyancy of spirits rose superior to the storms which had swept so mercilessly over her, and in the love of her idolized children, and surrounded by the ympathies of appreciative friends, days of se- A.D. 1795.J RELEASE FROM PRISON. 91 & domestic ioene. A new order of knighfinood renity, and even of joy, began to shine upon her A domestic scene occurred in the dwelling of Josephine on the anniversary of the death of M. Beauharnais peculiarly characteristic of the times and of the French people. Josephine called Eugene to her room, and presented to him a portrait of his father. " Carry it to your chamber, my son," she said, " and often let it be the object of your contemplations. Above all, let him whose image it presents be your constant model. He was the most amiable of men ; he would have been the best of fathers." Eugene was a young man of that enthusi astio genius which is the almost invariable ac- companiment of a noble character. His emo- tions were deeply excited. With the charac- teristic ardor of his countrymen, he covered the portrait with kisses, and wept freely. Josephine folded her noble boy in her embrace, and they mingled their tears together. In the evening, as Josephine was sitting alone in her parlor, her son entered, accompa- nied by six young men, his companions, eaoh decorated with a copy of the portrait of M. Beauharnais suspended from the neck by a black and white ribboi.. " You see," said Eugene te 98 JOSEPHINE [A.D. 1795 The OreUl o*lj parents, succor each, other, and to defend their country." At this moment, Eugene, unfurling and waving a small banner, with its folds sha- ded the head of his father. "We then em- braced each other," says Josephine, " mingling tears with smiles, and the most amiable disor- ier succeeded to the ceremonial of inaugura- tion." The fascination of Josephine's person and address drew multitudes of friends around her, and her society was ever coveted. As time softened the poignancy of her past sorrows, she mingled more and more in the social circles of that metropolis where pleasure and gayety ever reign. The terrible convulsions of the times had thrown the whole fabric of society into con- fusion. Great efforts were now made to revive the festivities of former days. Two centers of society were naturally established. The first included that in which Josephine moved. It was composed of the remains of the ancient no- bility, who had returned tc Paris with the frag- ment* of their families and their shattered for- tunes. Rigid economy was necessary to keep up any appearance of elegance. But that pol- ish of manners which almost invariably descends from an illustrious ancestry marked all theL JOSEPHINE. [A.D. 1795 The " Ball of the Vlctinn." Fuhionable style of hair-d intercourse. The humiliations through which the nobles had passed had not diminished the exclusiveness of their tastes. The other circle was composed of merchants and bankers who had acquired opulence in the midst of the con- fiscations and storms of revolution. The pas- sion for display was prominent in all their as- semblies, as is necessarily the case with those whose passport to distinction is wealth. At the theaters and all the places of public festivity, there were presented studied memo- rials of the scenes of horror through which al] had recently passed. One of the most fashion- able and brilliant assemblies then known in Paris was called The Ball of the Victims. No one was admitted to this assembly who had not lost some near relative by the guillotine. The most fashionable style of dressing the hair was jocosely called " k la guillotine." The hair was arranged in the manner in which it had been adjusted by the executioner for the nnim- peded operation of the ax. And thus, with songs, tnd dances, and laughter-moving jokes they commemorated the bloody death of their friends. A new insurrection by the populace of Paris at this time planned against the Conven- A..D. 1795.] RELEASE PROM PRISON. 95 4 new tauorrectioa. The flttl* Ccmecn tion. The exasperated people were again to i naroh upon the Tuilleries. The members were in extreme consternation. The mcb could bring tens of thousands against them, well armed with muskets and heavy artillery. There were but five hundred regular troops with which to resist the onset. Menou, the officer in command, ac- knowledged his inability to meet the crisis, and surrendered his power to Barras. This general immediately, as by a sudden thought, exclaim- ed, "I know the man who can defend us ! He is a little Corsican, who dares do any thing, and is perfectly reckless of consequences !" The little Corsican, Napoleon Bonaparte, the day-star of whose fame was just beginning to rise over the smouldering ruins of Toulon, was invited to meet the Convention. His fragile form was almost feminine in its proportions, but an eagle eye calmly reposed in his pallid and emaciate countenance. He had been se- verely sick, and the Convention looked with tuiiazement and incredulity upon this feeble youth, as the one presented to rescue them from their impending peril. The president fixed his eye upon him doubt- ingly, and said, " 4re you willing to undertake our defense ?" 6 JOSEPHINE. [AJ).179f Mapoloon'i authority ertablkhed. The TnlUar.M forttfle* " Yes !" was the calm, laconic, and almost Indifferent reply. " But are you aware of the magnitude of the undertaking ?" u Fully !" said Napoleon, fixing his piercing eye upon the president ; " and I am in the habit of accomplishing that which I undertake." From that moment his authority was estab- lished. Every member of the Convention felt the mysterious fascination of his master minu. Barras surrendered the whole command into his hands. He instantly called into the city all the national forces which were around Paris, and disposed fifty pieces of heavy artillery, un- der the command of Murat, ?o as to rake all the avenues to the Convention. His calm and al- most superhuman energy sought no repose that night. The delay of but a few moments would have placed this very park of artillery, which secured his victory, in the hands of the insur- gents. When the morning dawned, the Tuil- kries, as if by magic, had assumed the aspect if a fortified camp. The little Corsican was silently and calmly awaiting the onset, as se- cure of triumph as if the victory were already achieved. But in every quarter of Paris, during the A..D. 1795.] RELEASE FROM PRISON. 97 Advance of the insurgents. Napoleon opens his batteries. night, the insurgents had been mustering their forces, and the mutterings of the approaching storm were dismally echoed through the streets of the metropolis. Above thirty thousand men, all well armed with musketry and artillery, in regular military array, and under experienced generals, came pouring down upon the feeble band which surrounded the Convention. Will the little Corsican dare to fire upon the people? Will this pale and slender youth, who had hardly yet entered upon the period of man- hood, dare to deluge the pavements of Paris with the blood of her own citizens ? Will he venture upon a conflict so unequal, when fail- ure is his certain death ? Napoleon, with his colorless cheek, his flash- ing eye, and his air of mysterious melancholy, stood in silence, as the gathering thousands crowded down upon him. He offered no par- ley; he uttered not a word of warning; he con descended to no threats. The insurgents, be- lieving that he would not dare to fire upon them, advanced within fifty yards of his masked battery, when he opened his columns, and, in. the roar of artillery shotted to the muzzle, the voice of Napoleon was for the first time heard in the streets of Paris. The thunder of his 197 98 JOSEPHINE. [A.D. 1795 defeat of the Insurgent*. Rifting fame of Napoleou tones was preceded by the lightning's bolt. Tha merciless storrn of grape-shot, sweeping the streets, covered the ground with the dead and the dying. No mortal could withstand such a conflict. The advancing foe wavered for an instant, and then, in the utmost consternation, took to flight. Napoleon commanded immedi- ately the most rapid discharge of blank car- tridges. Peal upon peal, their loud reverbera- tions deafened the city, and added wings to the flight of the terror-stricken crowd. But a few moments elapsed ere not even a straggler could be seen in the deserted streets. The little Cr* sican, pale and calm, stood, with folded aims, as unperturbed as if no event of any moment had occurred. During the whole day, howev- er, the conflict continued in different parts of the city, but before nightfall the insurgents were every where entirely discomfited. Paris was now filled with the name of Na- poleon. Some regarded him as a savior, pro tecting the Convention ; others considered him a demon, deluging tne capital with blood. One evening, Josephine was visiting at the house of a friend, and sitting by a window examining some beautiful violets, when Bonaparte was announced. Josephine had never yet met him, A.J). 1795.] RELEASE FROM PRISON. 99 HI* first interview with Josephine. HLa " seal * though, of course, she had heard much of one whose rising fame filled the metropolis. She says that she trembled violently at th announcement of his name. His entrance seemed to excite general interest, and all eyea were turned toward him, though most of the company regarded him in silence. He approach- ed Josephine, and the subject of the recent con- flict in the streets of Paris was introduced. " It seems to me," said Josephine, " that it is only with regret that we should think of the consternation you have spread through the cap- ital. It is a frightful service you have per- formed." " It is very possible," he replied. " The military are only automata, to which the gov- ernment gives such motions as it pleases. They have no duty but to obey. Besides, I wished to teach the Parisians a little lesson. This is my seal which I have set upon France." This he said in such calm, quiet, imperturb- able tones, so expressive of his perfect confi- dence in himself, and of his indifference to the opinions of others, that Josephine was quite piqued, and replied politely, but yet in a man- ner which indicated her displeasure. " These light skirmishes," the young genera. 100 JOSEPHINE. [A.D. 1795 Napoleon disarms the populace. The sword of Beauhurnais. % . rejoined, " are but the first coruscations of my glory." " If you are to acquire glory at such a price," Josephine answered, "I would much rather count you among the victims." Such was the first interview between Jose- phine and Napoleon. It was merely a casual meeting in an evening party between a widow, graceful and beautiful, and a young man of boundless ambition. Though Josephine was not pleased with Napoleon, he produced a very profound impression upon her mind. Napoleon, being now in command of the troops in Paris, by order of the Convention, executed the very unpopular office of disarming the populace. In the performance of this order, the sword of M. Beauharnais was taken. The next day, Eu- gene, who was then a boy twelve years of age, of exceedingly prepossessing appearance, pre- sented himself before Napoleon, and implored the return of the sword which had belonged to his father. Napoleon was deeply interested in the frankness and the fervor of emotion mani- fested by the lad, and immediately complied with his request. Josephine called upon him the next day to thank him for his kindness to her son. He was at this interview as deeply A.D. 1795.] RELEASE FROM PRISON. 101 Napoleon regards Josephine with Interest Her opinion of him impressed by the fascinations of the mother as he had previously been struck by the noble bearing of the child. After this they frequent- ly met, and Josephine could not be blind to the interest with which she was regarded by Na- poleon. Situated as he then was, it was social elevation to him to be united with Madame de Beauharnais, and her rank, and influence, and troops of friends would greatly aid him in hia ambitious plans. It is also unquestionably true that Napoleon formed a very strong attachment for Josephine. Indeed, she was the only person whom he ever truly loved. That he did love her at times most passionately there can be no doubt. Josephine, however, had many misgivings respecting the expediency of the union. She stated to her friends that he was the most fas- cinating man that she had ever met ; that she admired his courage, the quickness of his judg- ment, the extent of his information. She, how- ever, confessed that she did not really love him that she stood in awe of him. " His search ing glance," she says, " mysterious and inex- plicable, imposes even upon our Directors judge if it may not intimidate a woman." " Being now past the heyday of youth," she *rrites in a letter to a friend, " can I hope long 102 JOSEPHINE. [A.D 1795 letter to a Iriend. Foretight of Napoleon to preserve that ardor of attachment which, in the general, resembles a fit of delirium ? I after our union, he should cease to love me, will he not reproach me with what he will have sacrificed for my sake ? Will he not regret a more brilliant marriage which he might have contracted ? What shall I then reply ? What shall I do ? I shall weep. Excellent resource ! you will say. Alas ! I know that all this can serve no end ; but it has ever been thus ; tears are the only resource left me when this poor heart, so easily chilled, has suffered. Write quickly, and do not fear to scold me, should you judge that I am wrong. You know that what- ever comes from your pen will be taken in gooc* part. " Barras gnes assurance that if I marry th general, he will so contrive as to have him ap- pointed to the command of the army of Italy Yesterday, Bonaparte, speaking of this favor, which already excites murmuring among his fellow-soldiers, though it be as yet only a prom- se, said to me, ' Think they, then, I have need of their protection to arrive at power ? Egre- gious mistake ! They will all be but too happy one day should I grant them mine My swotf* is by my side, and with it I will go far ' AD. 1795.] RELEASE FROM PRISON. 103 HI i confidence. HI* ambition unbounded . His moral principle*. " What say you to this security of success? IB it not a proof of confidence springing from an excess of vanity ? A general of brigade pro- tect the heads of government! that, truly, is an event highly probable ! I knov not now it is, but sometimes this waywardness gains upon me to such a degree that almost I believe pos- sible whatever this singular man may take it in his head to attempt ; and, with his imagina- tion, who can calculate what he will not under- take'" It was now winter. The storm of Devolu- tion had partially subsided. The times were, however, full of agitation and peril. Europe was in arms against France. There was no stable government and no respected laws. The ambitious young general consecrated liis days with sleepless energy to his public duties, but each evening he devoted to Josephine. Napo- leon never manifested any taste for those dissi- pating pleasures which attract and ruin so many young men. He had no moral principles which pronounced such indulgences wrong, but the grandeur of his ambition absorbed all his ener- gies. He was, even at that time, a hard stu- dent. He was never more happy than when alone with Josephine, engaged in conversation 104 JCSUPHINE [A.D. 1795 Napoleon' eitimate of the female lex. Strength of his attachment or reading. His attachment for Josephine be- came very ardent and passionate. The female character at this time, in France, was far from high. Napoleon had but little respect for ladiea in general. The circumstances of his life had led him to form a low estimate of the sex. He often said that all the rest of the sex were noth- ing compared with Josephine. He frequently gave public breakfasts to his friends, at which Josephine universally presided, though other la- dies were invited. In the pleasant mansion of Josephine, Napo- leon was in the habit of meeting a small cir- cle of select friends, who were strongly attached to Josephine, and who were able, and for her sake were willing to promote his interests. Na- poleon was a man of strong affections, but of stronger ambition. Josephine was entirely sat- isfied with the singleness and the ardor of his love. She sometimes trembled in view of its violence. She often remarked to her friends that he was incompaiably the most fascinating man she had ever met. All have equally at- tested Napoleon's unrivaled powers of pleas ing, whenever it suited his purpose to maka the ef- fort. The winter thus rapidly and pleasantly passed away A. D. 1796.] JOSEPHINE IN ITALY. 105 Marriage of Josephine and Napoleon. The army of Italy. CHAPTER YI. JOSEPHINE IN ITALY. O1ST the 9th of March, 1796, Josephine was married to Napoleon. The Revolution had swept away every thing that was sacred in human and divine institutions, and the attempt had been made to degrade marriage into a mere partnership, which any persons might contract or dissolve at pleasure. According to the Rev- olutionary form, Josephine and Napoleon pre- sented themselves before a magistrate, and sim- ply announced their union. A few friends at- tended as witnesses of the ceremony. Napoleon had, in the mean time, been ap- pointed commanderof the French forcesin Italy. In twelve days after his nuptials, he left his bride and hastened to the army, then in the lowest state of poverty and suffering. The vet- eran generals, when they first saw the pale-faced youth who was placed over them all, were dis- posed to treat him with contempt. Hardly an hour elapsed after his arrival ere they felt and admitted that lie was their master. He seemed 106 JOSEPHINE. [1 D.1796 Proclamation ;f Napoleon. He U eallnc n tguormu insensible to mental exhaustion, or itigue, 01 hunger, or want of sleep. He was pon horse- back night and day. Almost supe mtural ac- tivity was infused into the army. It fell like n avalanche upon the Austrians. In fifteen days after he took command, he pioclaimed to ais exulting and victorious troops, " Soldiers ! you have gained in fifteen day six victories, taken one-and-twenty standards, fifty-five pieces of cannon, many strong places, and conquered the richest part of Piedmont; you have made fifteen thousand prisoners, and killed or wounded ten thousand men." Paris was perfectly intoxicated with the aiv nounoement, day after day, of these brilliant achievements. The name of Napoleon was upon every lip, and all France resounded with his praises. " This young commander," said one of the discomfited veteran generals of the Austrian army, " knows nothing whatever about the art of war. He is a perfect ignoramus. He sets at defiance all the established rules of military tactics. There is no doing any thing with him." Napoleon, after a series of terrible conflicts and most signal triumphs, drove the Austrian! out of Italy, pursued them into their own ooun- A.D. 1796.] JOSEPHINE IN ITALY. 107 Josephine at Montebello. Her popularity try, and at Leoben, almost within sight of th steeples of Vienna, dictated a peace, which crowned him, in the estimation of his country- men, with the highest glory. Josephine now went from Paris to Italy to meet her triumph- ant husband. They took up their residence at the Castle of Montebello, a .most delightful country seat in the vicinity of Milan. And here Josephine passed a few months of almost unalloyed happiness. The dark and tempestuous days through which she had re- cently been led, had prepared her to enjoy most exquisitely the calm which ensued. She had been in the deepest penury. She was now in the enjoyment of all that wealth could confer. She had been widowed and homeless. She was now the wife of a victorious general who*e fame was reverberating through Europe, and her home combined almost every conceivable attraction. She had been a prisoner doomed to die, and her very jailer feared to speak to her In tones of kindness Now she was caressed by aobles and princes ; all the splendors of a court surrounded her, and every heart did her homage Josephine presided at all her receptions and en- tertainments with an elegance of manner so winning as perfectly to fascinate the Milanese 108 JOSEPHS E. [A.D. 1796 Pleasure excursions. Isola Bella " I conquer provinces," said Napoleon of her at that time, " but Josephine wins hearts." The ricinity of Montebello combines perhaps as much of the beautiful and the sublime in scenery as can be found at any other spot on the surface of the globe. Napoleon sympathized most cor- dially with Josephine hi her appreciation of the beautiful and the romantic; and though he devoted the energies of his mind, with unsleep- ing diligence, to the ambitious plans which en- grossed him, he found time for many delightful excursions with his fascinating bride. There id not, perhaps, in Italy a more lovely drive than that from Milan, along the crystal waters of Lake Como to Lake Maggiore. This romantic lake, embosomed among the mountains, with its densely wooded islands and picturesque shores, was a favorite resort for excursions of pleasure. Here, in gay parties, they floated in boats, with well-trained rowers, and silken awnings, and streaming pennants, and ravishing music. Th island of Isola Bella, or Beautiful Island, with its arcades, its hanging gardens, and its palace of monkish gloom, was Napoleon's favorite land- ing-place. Here they often partook of refresh- ments, and engaged with all vivacity in rural festivities. It is stated that, while enjoying one ...D. 1796.] JOSEPHINE IN ITALY. Ill nee dote Ambition of Mapotooh jf these excursions, Josephine, with one or two 3ther ladies, was standing under a beautiful orange-tree, loaded with fruit, with the atten- tion of the party all absorbed in admiring the beauties of the distant landscape. Napoleon, nnperceived, crc+, *n the tree, and by a sudden shake brougnt acnra quite a shower of the golden fruit upon the ladies. The companions of Jo- sephine screamed with affright and n n from the tree. She, however, accustomed to such pleas- antries, suspected the source, and remained un- moved. " Why, Josephine !" exclaimed Napo- leon, " you stand fire like one of my veterans." " And why should I not?" she promptly replied " am I no* the wife of their commander ?" Napoleouu, during .these scenes of apparent relaxation, had but one thought ambition. His capacious mind was ever restless, ever ex- cited, not exactly with the desire of personal aggrandizement, but of mighty enterprise, of magnificent achievement. Josephine, with her boundless popularity and her arts of persuasion, though she often trembled in view of the limit- less aspiratiDns of her husband, was extremely influential in winning to him the powerful ' friends by whom they were surrounded. The achievements which Napoleon aooom 112 JOSEPHINE. [A.D. 1796 Bi achievements. Feari of the Directory plished during the short Italian campaign are perhaps unparalleled in ancient or modern war- fere. With a number of men under his command ever inferior to the forces of the Austrians, he maneuvered always to secure, at any one point, an array superior to that of his antagonists. He cut up four several armies which were sent from Austria to oppose him, tooK one nunared and fifteen thousand prisoners, one hundred and sev- enty standards, eleven hundred and forty pieces of battering cannon and field artillery, and drove the Austrians from the frontiers of France to the walls of Vienna. He was every where hail- id as the liberator of Italy ; and, encircled with the pomp and the power of a monarch, he re- ceived such adulation as monarchs rarely enjoy. The Directory in Paris began to tremble in view of the gigantic strides which this ambitious general was making. They surrounded him with spies to garner up his words, to watch his actions, and, if possible, to detect his plans. But the marble face of this incomprehensible youth told no secrets. Even to Josephine he revealed not his intentions ; and no mortal scrutiny could explore the thoughts fermenting in his deep and capacious mind. His personal appearance al A.D. 1796.] JOSEPHINE IN ITALY. 113 Description of Napoleon. His reserve. this time is thus described by an observer of his triumphal entrance into Milan : " I beheld with deep interest and extreme at- tention that extraordinary man who has per- formed such great deeds, and about whom there is something which seems to indicate that his career is not yet terminated. I found him very like his portrait, small in stature, thin, pale, with the air of fatigue, but not in ill health. He appeared to me to listen with more abstrac- tion than interest, as if occupied rather with what he was thinking of than with what was said to him. There is great intelligence in his countenance, along with an expression of habit- ual meditation, which reveals nothing of what is passing within. In that thinking head, in that daring mind, it is impossible not to sup- pose that some designs are engendering which shall have their influence upon the destinies of Europe." Napoleon was fully confident of the jealousy he had aroused, and of the vigilance with which he was watched. His caution often wounded Josephine, as he was as impentirable to her in reference to all his political plans as to any one else. While she at times loved him almost to adoration, she ever felt in awe of the unexplored 198 114 JOSEPHINE [A.D. 1796 Remark of Josephine. Snant pln of Napoleon. recesses of his mind. He appeared frequently lost in thought, and, perfectly regardless of the pomp and the pageantry with which he was surrounded, he gave unmistakable indications that he regarded the achievements he had al- ready accomplished as very trivial merely the commencement of his career. She once re- marked to a friend, " During the many years we have now passed together, I never once be- held Bonaparte for a moment at ease not even with myself. He is constantly on the alert. If at any time he appears to show a little confi- dence, it is merely a feint to throw the person with whom he is conversing off his guard, and to draw forth his real sentiments, but never does he himself disclose his own thoughts." Napoleon now deemed it expedient to visit Paris ; for he despised the weakness and the in- efficiency of those who, amid the surges of the Revolution, had been elevated there to the su preme power, and already he secretly contem plated the overthrow of the government, as soon .s an opportunity promising success should be presented. Josephine, with her children, re- mained in Milan, that she might continue tc dazzle the eyes of the Milanese with the splen- dor of the establishment of the Liberator of It- A..D. 1796.] JOSEPHINE IN ITALY. 115 tftpoleon'i lore for Joaephin*. Her influence orer him aly, and that she might watch over the inter- ests of her illustrious spouse. She gave splendid entertainments. Her sa- loons were ever thronged with courtiers, and the inimitable grace she possessed enabled her, with ease and self-enjoyment, to preside with queenly dignity over every scene of gayety. She was often weary of this incessant giandeur and display, but the wishes of her husband and her peculiar position seemed to afford her no choice. Napoleon unquestionably loved Jose- phine as ardently as he was capable of loving any one. He kept up a constant, almost a daily correspondence with her. Near the close of his life, he declared that he was indebted to her for every moment of happiness he had known on earth. Ambition was, however, with Na- poleon a far more powerful passion than love. He was fully conscious that he needed the as- sistance of his most accomplished wife to raise him to that elevation he was resolved to attain. Self-reliant as he was, regardless as he ever ap- peared to be of the opinions or the advice of others, the counsel of Josephine had more influ- ence over him than perhaps that of all other persons combined. Her expostulations not un- frequently modified his plans, though his high 116 JOSEPHINE. [A.D. 1796 4 young ald-do-camp. Affection of the Italian* for Napoleon spirit could not brook the aoknowledgment. Hortense and Eugene were with Josephine at Milan. Eugene, though but seventeen years of age, had joined Napoleon in the field as one of his aids, and had signalized himself by many acts of bravery. In this arrangement we see an indication of the plans of boundless ambition which were al- ready maturing in the mind of Bonaparte. The Italians hated their proud and domineering mas- ters, the Austrians. They almost adored Na- poleon as their deliverer. He had established the Cisalpine Republic, and conferred upon them a degree of liberty which for ages they had not enjoyed. Napoleon had but to unfurl his ban- ner, and the Italians, in countless thousands, were ready to rally around it. The army in Italy regarded the Little Corporal with senti- ments of veneration and affection, for which we may search history in vain for a parallel. Ita- ly consequently became the base of Nape leon's operations. There he was strongly intrenched. In case of failure in any of his operations in Paris, he could retire behind the Alps, and bid defiance to his foes. Josephine was exactly the partner he needed to protect these all-important interest* during A.D. 1796.] JOSEPHINE IN ITALY. 117 Josephine an ally. She li at horos in every situation his absence. Her strong and active intelligence, her sincerity, her unrivaled powers of fascina- ting all who approached her, and her entire de- votion to Napoleon, rendered her an ally of ex- ceeding efficiency. Powerful as was the arm of Napoleon, he never could have risen to the greatness he attained without the aid of Jose- phine. She, at Milan, kept up the splendor of a royal court. The pleasure-loving Italians ver thronged her saloons. The most illustri- ous nobles were emulous to win her favor, that they might obtain eminence in the service of her renowned spouse. At the fetes and enter tainments she gave to the rejoicing Milanese she obtained access to almost every mind it was desirable to influence. No one could approach Josephine without becoming her friend, and a friend once gained was never lost. A weak woman, under these circumstances, which sc severely tested the character, would have been often extremely embarrassed, and would have made many mistakes. It was remarkable in Josephine, that, notwithstanding the seclusion of her childhood and early youth, she ever ap- peared self-possessed, graceful, and at home in every situation in whioh she was placed. She moved through the dazzling scenes of her court 118 JOSEPHINE IA.D. 1796 Pnoinburused air of Josephine. She become* the queea of etiquette at Milan, scenes of unaccustomed brilliance which had so suddenly burst upon her, with an air as entirely natural and unembarrassed AS if her whole life had been passed in the saloona of monarchs. She conversed with the mosl distinguished generals of armies, with nobles of the highest rank, with statesmen and scholars of wide-spread renown, with a fluency, an ap- propriateness, and an inimitable tact which would seem to indicate that she had been cra- dled in the lap of princes, and nurtured in the society of courts. It seemed never to be neces- sary for her to study the rules of etiquette. She was never accustomed to look to others to as- certain what conduct was proper under any cir- cumstances. Instinctive delicacy was her un- erring teacher, and from her bearing others compiled their code of politeness. She became the queen of etiquette, not the subject. Thus, while Napoleon, in Paris, was cau- tiously scrutinizing the state of public affairs, and endeavoring to gain a position there, Jose- phine, with the entire concentration of ah hei energies to his interests, was gaining for him in Milan vast accessions of power. She had no conception, indeed, of the greatness he was des- tined to attain. But she loved her husband A.D. 17&6.J JOSEPHINE IN ITALY. 119 Josephine an object of homage. Her power* of fascination She was proud of his rising renown, and it was her sole ambition to increase, in every way in her power, the luster of his name. Aristocracy circled around her in delighted homage, while poverty, charmed by her sympathy and her be- neficence, ever greeted her with acclamations. The exploits of Napoleon dazzled the world, and the unthinking world has attributed his great- ness to his own unaided arm. But the gentle- ness of Josephine was one of the essential ele- ments in the promotion of his greatness. In oo-operation with her, he rose. As soon as he abandoned her, he fell. Josephine soon rejoined her husband in Par- is, where she very essentially aided, by her fas- cinating powers of persuasion, in disarming the hostility of those who were jealous of his rising fame, and in attaching to him such adherents as could promote his interests. In the saloons of Josephine, many of the most heroic youths ;f France were led to ally their fortunes with those of the young general, whose fame had so uddenly burst upon the world. She had the rare faculty of diffusing animation and cheer- fulness wherever she appeared. "It is," she once beautifully remarked, " a necessity of my heart to love others, and to be loved by them 120 JOSEPHINE. [A.D. 1796 Popular enthusiasm. Affected secltuion of Napoleon. in return." " There is only one occasion," she again said, " in which I would voluntarily use the words / will, namely, when I would say, * / will that all around me be happy.' " Napoleon singularly displayed his knowledge of human nature in the course he pursued upo } his return to Paris. He assumed none of th : pride of a conqueror. He studiously avoided every thing like ostentatious display. Day aft- er day his lieutenants arrived, bringing the standards taken from the Austrians. Pictures, and statues, and other works of art extorted from the conquered, were daily making their appearance, keeping the metropolis in a state of the most intense excitement. The Parisians were never weary of reading and re-reading those extraordinary proclamations of Napoleon, which, in such glowing language, described his almost miraculous victories. The enthusiasm of the people was thus raised to the highest pitch. The anxiety of the public to see this young and mysterious victor was intense be- yond description. But he knew enough of the human heart to be conscious that, by avoiding the gratification of these wishes, he did but en- hance their intensity. Modestly retiring to an unostentatious mansion in the Rue Chante- A..D. 1796.] JOSEPHINE IN ITALY. 121 Hi* become* itudiouj. Hit laudable emulation. IIlj noble unMttoa reine, which, in compliment to him, had received the name of Rue de la Victoire, he secluded himself from the public gaze. He devoted his time most assiduously to study, and to conver- sation with learned men. He laid aside his military garb, and assumed the plain dress of a member of the Institute. When he walked the streets, he was seldom recognized by the people. Though his society was courted in the highest circles of Paris, his ambition was too lofty to be gratified with shining among the stars of fashion. Though he had as yet reached but the twenty -sixth year of his age, he had already gained the reputation of being the first of gen* erals. He was emulous not only of appearing to be, but also of actually being, an accomplished scholar. "I well knew," said he, "that the lowest drummer in the army would respect me more for being a scholar as well as a soldier." Napoleon might have enriched himself be yond all bounds in his Italian campaign had ht been disposed to do so. Josephine, at times, remonstrated against his personal habits of economy, while he was conferring millions add- ed to millions upon France. But the ambition of her husband, inordinate as it was, was as sublime an ambition as any one could feel in 122 JOSEPHINE. [AD. 1796 Kapoleon the Idel of the array. Anecdote vie.w of merely worldly interests. He wished r o acquire the renown of benefiting nankind by the performance of the noblest exploits. Ilia ultimate end was his own fame. But he knew that the durability of that fame could only be secured by the accomplishment of noble ends. The effeminate figure of Napoleon in these early days had caused the soldiers to blend with their amazed admiration of his military genius a kind of fondness of affection for which no par- allel can be found in ancient or modern story. The soldiers were ever rehearsing to one anoth- er, by their night-fires and in their long marches, anecdotes of his perfect fearlessness, his brilliant sayings, his imperious bearing, by which he overawed the haughtiness of aristocratic power, and his magnanimous acts toward the poor and the lowly. One night, when the army in Italy was in great peril, worn out with the fatigue of sleep- lessness and of battle, and surrounded by A us- trians, Napoleon was taking the round of hi* posts in disguise, to ascertain the vigilance ol his sentinels. He found one poor soldier, in perfect exhaustion, asleep at his post. Napo- ] eon shouldered his musket, and stood sentry for him for half an hour When the m*n awok AD. 1796.] JOSEPHIAE IN ITALY. Napoleon mounts guard. The "Little Corporal.' and recognized the countenance of his general, he sank back upon the ground in terror and despair He knew that death was the doom for such a crime. " Here, comrade," said Na- 9oleon, kindly, " here is your musket. You have fought hard and marched long, and your sleep is excusable. But a moment's inatten- tion might at present ruin the army. I hap- pened to be awake, and have guarded your post for you. You will be more careful another time." At the "terrible passage of the bridge of Lodi," Napoleon stood at one of the guns, in the very hottest of the fire, directing it with his own hand. The soldiers, delighted at this very unusual exhibition of the readiness of their gen- eral to share all the toils and perils of the hum- blest private in the ranks, gave him the hon orary and affectionate nickname of " The Little Corporal." By this appellation he was after- ward universally known in the army. The enthusiasm of the soldiers invested him with supernatural endowments, and every one was ready at any moment to peril life for the Little Corporal The government at Paris, rapidly waning in popularity, notwithstanding their extreme jeal- 124 JOSEPHINE. [A.D. I79t Triumphal fete. Song of the loldleri. Speech of Barriu ousy of the wide-spreading influence of this vic- torious general, was compelled, by the sponta- neous acclamations of the people, to give him a public triumph, when the famous treaty which Napoleon had effected in Italy was to be for- mally presented to the Directory. The mag- nificent court of the Luxembourg was embel- lished with the flags of the armies which he had conquered, and the youthful hero of Lodi, of Arcola, and of Rivoli made his first triumphant appearance in the streets of Paris. The en- thusiasm of the vast concourse of excitable Pa- risians overleaped all bounds. The soldiers of the proud army of Italy sang at their encamp- ments, in enthusiastic chorus, a song in which they declared that it was high time to eject the lawyers from the government, and make the Little Corporal the ruler of France. Barras, the friend of Josephine, who had selected Na- poleon to quell the insurrection in Paris, and who had secured to him the command of the army of Italy, declared in a eulogistic speech on this occasion that " Nature had exhausted all her powers in the creation of a Bonaparte." This sentiment was received with the most deafening peals of applause. But how like the phantasmagoria of magic A.D. 1796.] JOSEPHINE IN ITALY. 123 Remarkable contrast Josephine the center of attraction has this change burst upon the bewildered Jo- sephine. But a few months before, her hus- band, wan and wasted with imprisonment and woo, had been led from the subterranean duiv geons of this very palace, with the execratioLj of the populace torturing hi f ear, to bleed upon the scaffold. She, also, was then herself a pris- oner, without even a pillow for her weary head, awaiting the dawn of the morning which was to conduct her steps to a frightful death. Her children, Hortense and Eugene, had been res cued from homelessness, friendlessness, and beg- gary only by the hand of charity, and were de- pendent upon that charity for shelter and for daily bread. Now the weeds of widowhood have given place to the robes of the rejoicing bride, and that palace is gorgeously decorated in honor of the world-renowned companion upon whose arm she proudly leans. The acclamations re- sounding to his praise reverberate over mount- ain and valley, through every city and village of France. Princes, embassadors, and cour- tiers obsequiously crowd the saloons of Jose- phine. Eugene, an officer in the army, high in rank and honor, is lured along life's perilous pathway by the most brilliant prospects. Hor- tense in dazzling beauty, and surrounded by ad- 126 JOSEPHINE. [A.D. 1796 loMphlne the " Htm- of Napoleon." She U a ministering angel mirere, is intoxicated with the splendor, which, like Oriental enchantment, has burst upon hei ?iew. Josephine, so beautifully called " the Star of Napoleon," was more than the harbinger of his rising. She gave additional luster to his brill- iance, and was as the gentle zephyr, which sweeps away the mists and vapors, and presents a transparent sky through which the undimmed luminary may shine. Her persuasive influence was unweariedly and most successfully exerted in winning friends and in disarming adversaries. The admiration which was excited for the stem warrior in his solitary, silent, unapproachable grandeur, whose garments had been dyed in blood, whose fearful path had been signalized by conflagrations, and shrieks, and the wailmgs of the dying, was humanized and softened by the gentle loveliness of his companion, who was jver a ministering angel, breathing words of iindness, and diffusing around her the spirit of harmony and love. Napoleon ever freely ac- knowledged his indebtedness to Josephine for her aid hi these morning hours of his greatness. "But unalloyed happiness is never allotted tc mortals. Josephine's very loveliness of person and of character was to her the occasion of A.D. 1796.] JOSEPHINE IN ITALY. 127 Jemloury of Napoleon. Art* of her enemies to encourage it many hours of heaviness. No one could be in- sensible to the power of her attractions. The music of her voice, the sweetness of her smile, the grace of her manners, excited so much ad- miration, invested her with a popularity so uni- versal and enthusiastic, that Napoleon was, at times, not a little disturbed by jealousy. Her appearance was ever the signal for crowds to gather around her. The most distinguished and the most gallant men in France vied with each other in doing her homage. Some of the relatives of Napoleon, envious of the influence she exerted over her illustrious spouse, and anxious, by undermining her power, to subserve their own interests, were untiring ha their en deavors to foster all these jealousies. Josephine was exceedingly pained by the occasional indi- cations of her husband's distrust. A word from his lips, a glance from his eye, often sent her to her chamber with weeping eyes and an aching heart. An interview with her husband, liow- 5ver, invariably removed his suspicions, and he gave her renewed assurances of his confidence and his love. The plans of Napoleon in reference to his fu- ture operations were still in a state of great uncertainty His restless spirit could not brook JOSEPHINE. [A.D. 1796 rhe " pear" not yet ripe. Napoleon reaolres to go to Egypt inactivity. He saw clearly that the time had not yet come in which he could, with the pros- pect of success, undertake to overthrow the Revolutionary government and grasp the rein* of power himself. Tt use his own expressive language, " The pear was not yet ripe." To one of his intimate friends he remarked, "They do not long preserve at Paris the remembrance of any thing. If I remain any length of time unemployed, I am undone. The renown of one. in this great Babylon, speedily supplants that of anothe . If I am seen three times at the opera, I shall no longer be an object of curiosity. You ne^d not talk of the desire of the citizens to see me. Crowds, at least as great, would go to see me led out to the scaffold. I am de- termined not to remain in Paris. There i* nothing here to be done. Every thing here passes away. My glory is already declining This little corner of Europe is too small to sup. ply it. We must go to the E ast. All the great men of the world have there acquired their o- labrity. We will go to Egypt." Such was the grandeur of the dreams of young man who had not yet passed his twenty- sixth year. And these were not the musings of a wild and visionary brain, but the deeply laid A.D 1797.J JOSEPHINE IN ITALY. 129 Magnificence rf hit plan*. and cautiously guarded plans of a mind which had meditated profoundly upon all probable emergencies, and which had carefully weighed all the means which could be furnished for the accomplishment of an enterprise so arduous and so majestic. 199 130 JOSEPHINE. [A.D. 1796. Contemplated Invasion of England. Expedition to Kfjpt CHAPTER VII. JOSEPHINE AT MALMAISOM. Directory in Paris became daily more and more alarmed, in view of the vast and ever-increasing popularity of the conqueror of Italy. A plan had been formed for the invasion i England, and this was deemed a good oppor- tunity for sending from France their dangerous rival. Napoleon was appointed commander-in- ohief of the army of England. He visited the ooast, and devoted ten days and nights, with his extraordinary rapidity of apprehension, in investigating the prospects of success. He re- turned to Paris, saying, "It is too doubtful a chance. I will not hazard on such a throw the fate of France." All his energies were then turned to his Egyptian expedition. He hoped to gain reputation and power in Egypt, pass through into India, raise an army of natives, headed by European officers and energized by an infusion of European soldiers, and thus drive the English out of India. It was a bold plan. The very grandeur of the enterprise roused the A-.D.1798.J JOSEPHINE AT MALMAISON. 131 Hope* of the Directory Napoleon'* dislike of the Rerolutin* enthusiasm of France. The Directory, secretly rejoicing at the prospect of sending Napoleon so far away, and hoping that he would perish on the sands of Africa, without much reluctance agreed to his proposal. . Napoleon never loved the Revolution, and he most thoroughly detested the infamous and san- guinary despotism which had risen upon the ruins of the altar and the throne. He chanced to be in Paris when the drunken and ragged mob. like an inundation, broke into the Tuille- ries, and heaped upon the humiliated Louis XVI. and Maria Antoinette the most infamous outrages. He saw the monarch standing at the window of his palace, with the dirty red cap of Jacobinism thrust upon that brow which had worn the crown of Charlemagne. At the sight, the blood boiled hi the veins of the youthful Napoleon. He could not endure the spectacle Turning upon his heel, he indignantly exclaim- ed, " The wretches ! had they mown down four or five hundred with grape-shot, the rest would speedily have taken to flight." He often expressed his dislike of the violent reTolutionary course which the Directory were pursuing, and stated freely to his friends, " For ray part, I declare, that if I had only the option 132 JOSEPHINE [A D. 1798 (Upoleon Royillit Sailing of the expedttloa between royalty and the system of these gen tlemen, I would not hesitate for one moment to declare for a king." Just before Napolaon em barked for the East, Bourrienne asked him ii he was really determined to risk his fate on the perilous expedition to Egypt. " Yes !" he re- plied. " If I should remain here, it would be necessary to overturn this miserable govern- ment, and make myself king. But we must not think of that yet. The nobles will not con- sent to it. I have sounded, but I find the time for that has not yet arrived. I must first daz- zle these gentlemen by my exploits." On the morning of the 19th of May, 1798, the fleet set sail from the harbor of Toulon. It was a morning of surpassing loveliness, and seldom, if ever, has the unclouded sun shone upon a more brilliant scene. The magnificent armament extended over a semicircle of not less than eighteen miles. The fleet consisted of thirteen ships of the line, fourteen frigates, and four hundred transports. They carried forty thousand picked soldiers, and officers of the highest celebrity. For the first time in the world, a corps of scientific gentlemen was at- tached to a military expedition. One hundred eminent irtists and connoisseurs Narolecn had A.D. 1798.] JOSEPH NE AT MALMAISON. 133 A corps of iavan$. Josephine in Toulon. Plan of Napokmn. eolleoted to gather the antiquarian treasures of Egypt, and to extend the boundaries of science by the observation of the phenomena of nature. They formed a part of the staff of the irvading irmy. Josephine accompanied her husband to Tou- lon, and remained with him until his embarka- tion. She was extremely anxious to go with him to Egypt, and with tears plead that he would allow her to share his hardships and his perils. Napoleon, however, deemed the haz- arda to which they would be exposed, and the fatigues and sufferings they must necessarily endure, as quite too formidable for Josephine to encounter. But in the anguish of their part- ing, which is described as most tender, she wrung from him a promise to allow her to fol- low as soon as affairs in the East should render it prudent for her to do so. It can hardly be possible, however, that Napoleon ever expected to see her in Egypt. He himself has thus de- scribed the objects he had in view in this vast enterprise : " 1. To establish on the banks of the Nile a French colony, which could exist without slaves, and supply the place of Saint Domingo. 2. To open a market for the man- ufactures of France in Africa, Arabia, and 134 JOSEPHINE. [A.D. 1799 No obstacle imurmountable. Lonelineu of Jocephia* Syria, and to obtain for the productions of his countrymen the productions of those countries. }. To set out from Egypt, with an army of sixty thousand men, for the Indus, rouse the Mah- rattas to a revolt, and excite against the En- glish the population of those vast countries. Sixty thousand men, half Europeans, half na- tives, transported on fifty thousand camels and ten thousand horses, carrying with them pro- visions for fifty days, water for six, with one hundred and fifty pieces of cannon and double ammunition, would arrive in four months in India. The ocean ceased to be an obstacle when vessels were constructed. The desert becomes passable the moment you have camels and dromedaries in abundance." As the fleet got under way, Josephine stood upon a balcony, with tearful eyes, gazing upon the scene, so imposing, and yet so sorrowful to her. The Orient, a ship of enormous magni- tude, contained her husband and her son. They were going into the midst of dangers from whence it was doubtful whether they would ever return. She fixed her eyes upon the ship is its lessening sails grew fainter and fainter in the distance, until the hardly discernible speck disappeared beneath the horizon, which the blue A.D. 1798.] JOSEPHINE T MALMAISON. 135 Residence at Plombttraa. Josephine tend* for her daughter waves of the Mediterranean outlined. She retired to her room with those feelings of lone- Hness and desolation which the circumstances were so peculiarly calculated to inspire. It was arranged that Josephine should take op her residence, until Napoleon should send for her, at Plombieres, a celebrated watering- place, whose medicinal springs were supposed to be very efficacious in restoring maternity. She sent for Hortense, at that time fifteen years of age, and who was then in the boarding-schoo f the distinguished Madame Campan. Jose- phine wished for her daughter to be her com panion during the weary hours of her absence from her husband. She was expecting that, as soon as a landing should be effected in Egypt, a frigate would be dispatched to convey her to the banks of the Nile. She found solace during the lingering weeks of expectation in devoting herself to the instruction of her daughter. Her comprehensive and excellent views on the sub- ject of education are developed in a letter which he at this time wrote to Madame Campan, Jt accompany a niece who was to return to her school: " MY DEAR MADAME CAMPAN , With my , whom I return to your charge, receive 136 JOSEPHINE | ftm/itvpmit also my thanks and my reproof. The former are due for the great oare and brilliant educa- tion which you have bestowed upon the child ; the latter, for the faults which your sagacity must have discovered, but which your indul- gence has tolerated. The girl is gentle, but shy ; well informed, but haughty ; talented, but thoughtless. She does not please, and takes no pains to render herself agreeable. She conceives that the reputation of her uncle and the bravery of her father are every thing. Teach her, and that by the most effectual means, how absolute* ly unavailing are those qualities which are not personal. We live in an age where each is the author of his own fortunes ; and if those who serve the state in the first ranks ought to have some advantages and enjoy some privileges, they should, on that account, strive only to render themselves more beloved and more useful. It is solely by acting thus that they can have some chance of excusing their good fortune in the eyes of envy Of these things, my dear Madame Campan, you must not allow my niece to re- main ignorant; and such are the instruct! e~s which, in my name, you should repeat to her constantly. It is my pleasure that she treat as equals every one of her companions, most of n..D. 1798.] JOSEPHINE AT MALMAISON. 137 Napoleon lend* frigate for Joiephlne. Seriom accident are better or as good as herself, their only inferiority consisting in not having rela- tions so able or so fortunate." Notwithstanding Napoleon's strong disincli- nation to have Josephine join him in Egypt, and though in every letter he strongly urged her to relinquish the plan, she was so importu- nate in her solicitations that he sent the Pomo- na frigate to convey her across the Mediterra- nean. She was prevented from embarking by an accident, which she must have deemed a very serious calamity, but which probably saved her from years of captivity. She was one morn- ing sitting in her saloon, busy with her needle, and conversing with several ladies who were her companions and intimate friends, when a lady who was standing in the balcony called the at- tention of the party to a very beautiful dog which was passing in the street. All the ladies lushed upon the balcony, when, with a fearful crash, it broke dowr, and precipitated them upon the pavement. Though no lives were lost, several of the party were dreadfully injured Josephine was so severely bruised as to be ut- terly helpless, and for some time she was fed like an infant. It was several months before he was sufficiently recovered to be able to lea vo 138 JOSEPHINE. [A.D. 1798 Capture of the Pomona frigate. Purchase of Mftlmnnoa her house. This grievous disappointment, how- ever, probably saved her from another, which would have been far more severely felt. The frigate in which she was to have embarked, had it not been for this accident, was captured by one of the English cruipers and taken to London Napoleon went to Egypt because he thought it the shortest route to the vacant throne of the Bourbons. He despised the rulers who were degrading France, and placing a stigma upon popular liberty by their ignorance and their vi- olence, and he resolved upon their overthrow Consequently, while guiding the movements of his army upon the banks of the Nile, his atten- tion was continually directed to Paris. He wrote to Josephine that he intended ere long to return, and directed her to purchase a pleasant country seat somewhere in the vicinity of Paris. About ten miles from the metropolis and five miles from Versailles there was a beautiful ohatean, most charmingly situated, called Mai- maison. This estate Josephine purchased, great- ly enlarging the grounds, at an expense of about one hundred thousand dollars. This lovely re- treat possessed unfailing rural attraction for a mind formed, like that of Josephine, for the rich tppreoiat-'ou of all that is kvely in the aspect* A..D.1799.] JOSEPHINE AT MALMAISON. 139 JoMphine remore* thither. Espionage of Majx>leo* of nature. Napoleon was deiighted with the purchase, and expended subsequently incredible tuns in repairs and enlargements, and in em- bellishments of statues, paintings, and furni- ture. This was ever the favorite residence of Napoleon and Josephine. As the leaves of autumn began to fall, Jose- phine, who had been slowly recovering from the effects of the accident, left Plombieres and took up her residence at Malmaison. Napoleon wag absent in Egypt about eighteen months. Dur- ing the winter and the ensuing summer, Jose- phine remained with Hortense, and several other ladies, who composed her most agreeable household, in this beautiful retreat. The celeb- rity of Napoleon surrounded them with friends, mnd that elegant mansion was the resort of the most illustrious in rank and intellect. Napo- leon, who had ever a spice of jealousy in his nature, had every thing reported to him whioh occurred at Malmaison. He was informed re peoting all the guests who visited the chateau, and of the conversation which passed in everj interview. Hortense was a lively girl of fifteen, and the time hung rather heavily upon her hands. She tmnsed herself in playing all manner of prank* 140 JOSEPHINE. f A.D. 1799 Playfulness of Hortence. Cunt The apparition upon a. very singular valet de chambre, by the name of Carrat, whom her mother had brought from Italy. This man was very timid and eo- aentrio, but, with most enthusiastic devotion, attached to the service of Josephine. One evening Carrat received orders to attend Madame Bonaparte and several ladies who were with her in their twilight walk through the magnificent park belonging to the estate. Carrat, ever delighted with an opportunity to display his attachment to his kind mistress, obeyed with great alacrity. No ladies in peril oould desire a more valiant knight-errant than the vaunting little Italian assumed to be. They had not advanced far into the somber shadows of the grove when they saw, solemnly emerging from the obscurity, a tall specter in its wind- ing-sheet. The fearful apparition approached the party, when the valet, terrified beyond all power of self-control, and uttering the most fearful shrieks, abandoned the ladies to the ten- iar mercies of the ghost, and fled. The phan- tam, with its white drapery fluttering in the wind, pursued him. Soon the steps of the af- frighted valet began to falter, and he dropped upon the ground; Insensible, in a fit. Hortense, who had been perfectly convulsed with laugh- A D 1799.] JOSEPHINE AT MALMAIBON. 141 Mortf me tormentor. A chower-bcth In embry.i ter in view of the triumphant success of her experiment, was now correspondingly alarmed. The ghost was a fellow-servant of Carrat, who had been dressed out nnder the superintendence of the mischievous Hortense. As the poor man recovered without any se- rious injury and without the slightest diminu- tion of his excessive vanity, the fun-loving Hor- tense could not repress her propensity still to make him the butt of her practical jokes. It was a defect in her character that she could find pleasure in this mischievous kind of torment. It is not improbable that this trait of character, which appears so excusable in a mirthful girl of fifteen, was the cause of that incessant train of sorrows which subsequently embittered her whole life. Carrat was perfectly devoted to Jo- sephine ; Hortense was his torment. The unlucky valet occupied a sleeping-room separated from another only by a thin deal par- tition. A hole was made through this, and a pail of water so suspended in equilibrium over the pillow of the victim, that by drawing a cord the whole contents would be emptied upon his head. The supports of the bedstead had also been removed, so that the whole fabric would fall as soon as any weight was placed upon it 142 JOSEPHINE [A.D. 1799 PmlU of loving darkness rather than light Murder I fir* Carrat, among his other eccentricities, was evei In the habit of going to bed without a light Matters being thus prepared, Hortense, who had employed an attendant to aid her in her plans stood in an adjoining room to enjoy the oata trophe. The poor man entered his room, and threw himself upon his pallet. Down it came with a crash, and his shriek of fright was for a moment drowned in the inundation of water. Hortense, knowing the almost delirious fear which the pu- erile valet had of reptiles, cried, " Poor man ! poor man ! what will he do. The water was full of toads." Carrat, in utter darkness, drench- ed with cold water, and overwhelmed in the ruins of his bed and bedding, shrieked, " Mur- der ! help ! fire ! drowning !" while Hortense and her accomplices enjoyed his ludicrous terror. She afterward made him a handsome present as a compensation. Hortense was not a mali- cious girl, but, like many others who are mirth- fed and thoughtless, she found a strange pleas- ore in teasing. Josephine's only happiness was in making others happy. " It is a necessity of my heart," she said, "to love those around me, and to be loved by them in return." How much more noble such a spirit ! A.l>. 1799.] JOSEPHINE AT MALMAISON. 143 f OMphlaa'* ie*l for her buibmd. Letter to *n enlgrtut Though Josephine was not fully informed re- rpecting the ultimate designs of Napoleon, and though Napoleon at this time probably had 00 very definite plans respecting his future actions, his interests manifestly required that she should exert all her powers to strengthen the ties of those who were already his friends, and to gain others to his rising name. Josephine acquired great influence over many members of the Di- rectory, and this influence she was continually exerting for the relief of those who were hi dis- tress. Many of the proscribed emigrants were mdebted to her for liberty and the restoration of their forfeited estates. The following letter from Josephine to an emigrant, whose fortune, and perhaps life, she had saved, exhibits her in- tellectual elevation as well as the amiability of her heart. " SIR, Your petition, which reached Mal- maison on the 12th, was presented the same evening, and by myself, to Citizen Barras. J have the pleasure to announce to you that the decision is favorable, and that now, erased from the fatal list, you are restored to all the rights of a French citizen. But in transmitting a com- munication not less agreeable to me than to yourself, permit me to enhance its value by re- 144 JOSEPHINE. [A.D. 1799 Remark* of BarrM. Good adrlce offered, peating to you the exact words with which it was accompanied by the Director. 'I have Osually little to deny you, madame,' said he resenting me with a sealed inclosure contain* ing the act of restoration, ' and certainly, when humanity is concerned, I can have far less ob- jection. But pity for misfortune does not ex- olude justice, and justice is inseparable from the love of truth. As unfortunate, M. de Sansal merits commiseration. As an emigrant, he has right to none. I will say more ; had I been dis- posed to be severe, there existed a cause for stern reprisals on the part of a government to whose kindness he replies by insults. Although I despise those of such a man, I appreciate them. They prove an ungrateful heart and a narrow mind. Let him be careful about expressing his hatred. All my colleagues are' not equally indulgent.' " Blame only yourself, sir, for the small snare of amenity in these counsels. They are harsh; perhaps, but useful; and you will do well to render them effective. Regard, also, the faith. falness with which I transcribe them as a proof of the deep interest I take in your welfare, and of my anxiety that the interference of your friends may be justified by your future conduct * A D. 179U.1 JOSEPHINE AT MALMA/SON 145 Correspondence Intercepted. False charge* against Josephine. For some time a very constant correspond- ence was kept up between Napoleon and Jose- phine, but after the destruction of the French fleet by Lord Nelson in the Bay of Aboukir, and vrhen the Mediterranean had become completely blocked up by English cruisers, almost every letter was intercepted. For political purposes, there were many who wished to destroy the influence which Jose- phine had acquired over the mind of her illus- trious husband. In the accomplishment of this plan, they endeavored, in every way in their power, to excite the jealousy of Napoleon. The very efforts which Josephine was making to at- tract the most influential men in Paris to her saloon were represented to him as indications of levity of character, and of a spirit of unpar- donable coquetry. The enemies of Josephine had their influential agents in the camp of Napoleon, and with malice, never weary, they whispered these suspicions into his ear. The jealousy of his impassioned nature was strongly aroused. In his indignation, he wrote to Jo- sephine in terms of great severity, accusing her of " playing the coquette with all the world." She was very deeply wounded by these unjust nupioions, and wrote to him a letter in reply, 1910 146 JOSEPHINE. [AD. 1749 lUpoleon'i confidence Impaired. Employment! of JoMphiM which, for tenderness and delicacy of sentiment, and the expression of conscious innocence, if hardly surpassed by any thing which has e\ei been written. Her letter was intercepted, an^ Napo.eon never saw it. For many months near- ly all communication with the army of Egypt was cut off by the vigilance of the English. There were flying reports ever reaching the eai of Josephine of disaster to the army, and even of the death of Napoleon. Josephine was at times in great distress. She knew not the fate of her husband or her son. She knew that, by the grossest deception, her husband's confidence in her had been greatly impaired, and she feared that, should he return, she might never be able to regain his affections. Still, she devoted her- self with unwearied diligence in watching over all his interests, and though her heart was often oppressed with anguish, she did every thing in her power to retain the aspect of cheerfulnes* and of sanguine hope. One of her favorite amusements the favorite amusement of almost svery refined mind was found in the oultiva tion of flowers. She passed a portion of everj pleasant day with Hortense among the flower- beds, with the hoe, and the watering-pot, and the pruning- knife. Hortense, though he loved A..D.1799.] JOSEPHINE AT MALMAISON. 147 ha rlcitt the poor. She comfort* the afflicted. the society of her mother, was not fond of these employments, and in subsequent life she never turned to them for a solace. With Josephine, however, this taste remained unchanged through life. She was also very fond of leaving the aris- tocratic walks of Malmaison, and sauntering through the lanes and the rural roads, where she could enter the cottages of the peasants, and listen to their simple tales of joy and grief. To many of these dwellings her visit was as the mission of an angel. Her purse was never closed against the wants of penury. But that which rendered her still more a ministering spirit to the poor was that her heart was ever open, with its full flood of sympathy, to share the grief of their bereavements, and to rejoice in their joy. When she sat upon the throne of France, and even long after she sank into the repose of the grave, the region around Mal- maison was full of recitals of her benevolence. Aristocratic pride at tunes affected to look down with contempt upon the elevated enjoyments of i noble heart. Thus occupied in pleading with those in power for those of illustrious birth who had, by emigration, forfeited both property and life ; in nailing the sick and the sorrowing in the hum- 148 JOSEPHINE. [A.D. 1799 Bene Yolenee of Josephine's heart ble cottages around her ; in presiding with queenly dignity over the brilliant soirees in her own saloons, where talent and rank were ever assembled, and in diffusing the sunlight of her own cheerful heart throughout the whole house- hold at Malmaison, Josephine, through weary months, awaited tidings from her absent bus* Mttd. A.D.1799.] WIFE OF FIRST CONSUL. 149 Deplorable eundttioB of Franc*. The " pear" now rip*. CHAPTER VIIL JOSEPHINE THE WIFE OF THE FIRST CONSUL. f I1HE winter of 1799 opened upon France in -"- the deepest gloom. The French were wea- ry of the horrors of the Revolution. All busi- ness was at a stand. The poor had neither employment nor bread. Starvation reigned in the capital. The Austrians had again entered Italy, and beaten the French at almost every point. No tidings were received from Bona- parte and the army in Egypt Rumors of the death of Napoleon and of a disastrous state of the enterprise filled the city. The government at Paris, composed of men who had emerged from obscurity in the storms of revolution, was imbecile and tyrannical in the extreme. The nation was weary beyond endurance of the strife of contending factions, and ardently desiied ome strong arm to be extended for the restora- tion of order, and for the establishment of an efficient and reputable government " The pear was ripe." 150 JOSEPHINE [A.D. 1799 Braing party. Landing of Napoleon at Frejo* On the evening of the 9th of November, a large an: very brilliant party was assembled in Paris at the house of M. Gohier, president of the Directory. The company included all the most distinguished persons then resident in the metropolis. Josephine, being in Paris at that time, was one of the guests. About midnight, the gentlemen and ladies were gathering around a supper table very sumptuously spread, when they were startled by a telegraphic announce- ment, communicated to their host, that Bona- parte had landed that morning at Frejus, a small town upon the Mediterranean shore. The announcement created the most profound sen- sation. All knew that Napoleon had not re- turned at that critical moment without an ob- ject Many were pale with apprehension, con- scions that his popularity with the army would enable him to wrest from them their ill-gotten power. Others were elated with hope. Yet universal embarrassment prevailed. None dared to express their thoughts. No efforts could re- vive the conviviality of the evening, and the party soon dispersed. Josephine, with the deepest emotion, hast- ened home, immediately summoned her car- riage, and, taking with her Hortense and Louis A.D.1799.] WIFE OF FIRST CONSUL. 151 Josephine hMteni to meet klau Tbej crou ch cJher'i path. Bonaparte, set out, without allowing an hoar for repose, to meet her husband. She was very anxious to have an interview with him before her enemies should have an opportunity to fill his mind with new accusations against her The most direct route from Paris to Frejns passes through the city of Lyons. There is another and more retired route, not frequently traveled, but which Napoleon, for some un- known reason, took. It was a long journey of weary, weary leagues, over hills and plains. Jo- sephine alighted not for refreshment or slum- ber, but with fresh relays of horses, night and day, pressed on to meet her spouse. When she arrived at Lyons, to her utter consternation, she hea* ' that Napoleon had taken the other route, and, some forty-eight hours before, had passed her on the way to Paris. No words can describe the anguish which these tidings caused her. Her husband would arrive in 1'aris and find her ab- sent He would immediately be surrounded by those who would try to feed his jealousy. Two or three days must elapse ere she could poasibly retrace her steps. Napoleon arrived in Paris the 10th of November. It was not until nearly midnight of the 13th that Josephine re- turned Worn out with the fatigues of travel- JOSEPHINE. [A.D. 1799 JoMpklae'f encmlM succeed In roofing the anger of MapoJeon. ing, of anxiety, and of watching, she drove with a heavy heart to their house in the Rue Chan- tereine The enemies whom Josephine had most to fear were the brothers and the sisters-in-law of Napoleon. They were entirely dependent upon their illustrious brother for their own advance- ment in life, and were exceedingly jealous of the influence which Josephine had exerted over his mind. They feared that she would gain an exclusive empire where they wished also to reign. Taking advantage of Josephine's ab- sence, they had succeeded in rousing Napoleon's indignation to the highest pitch. They accused her of levity, of extravagance, of forgetralness of him, and of ever playing the coquette with all the debauchees of Paris. Napoleon, stimu- lated by that pride which led the Roman em- peror to say, " Ceesar's wife must not be sus- pected," threatened loudly " divorce open and public divorce." Said one maliciously to him, " She will appear before you with all her fasci- nations, explain matters ; you will forgive all, and tranquillity will be restored." " Never ! never !" exclaimed the irritated general, strid- ing to and fro through the room. " I forgive ! never ! You know me. Were I not sure of A.D.1799.) WIFE OF FIRST CONSUL. Mr* ting of Josephine and Eugene. Che i repuUed bj Napoleon. my resolution, I would pluck out this heart and oast it into the fire." Such was the mood of mind in which Napo- ison was prepared to receive Josephine, after an absence of eighteen months. Josephine and Hortense alighted in the court-yard, and wero immediately enfolded in the embraces of Eu- gene, who was anxiously awaiting their arrival. With trembling steps and a throbbing heart, Josephine, accompanied by her son and daugh- ter, ascended the stairs to a small circular fam- ily room where they expected to find Napoleon. He was there with his brother Joseph. As his wife and her children entered the room, Napo- leon glanced sternly at them, and instantly saia to Josephine, in a severe and commanding tone, almost before she had crossed the threshold, " Madame ! it is my wish that you retire im- mediately to Malmaison." Josephine came near falling lifeless upon the floor. She was caught in the arms of Eugene, wto, in the most profound grief, had kept near the side of his revered and beloved mother. He apported her fainting steps, as, sobbing with anguish, she silently retired to her apartment. Napoleon, greatly agitated, traversed the room with hasty strides. The sight of Jceephino had 154 JOSEPHINE. [A.D. 1799 Jo*phl'i prompt obedlme*. Napl*on r*let* rekindled all his love, and he was struggling with desperate efforts to cherish his sense of wrong, and to fortify himself against any return of clemency. In a few moments, Josephine and Hortense, with Eugene, were heard descending the stairs to leave the house. It was midnight. For a week Josephine had lived in her carriage almost without food or sleep. Nothing but intensity of excitement had prevented her from sinking down hi utter weariness and exhaustion. It was a drive of thirty miles to M almaison. Na- poleon was not prepared for such prompt obe- dience. Even his stern heart could not resist its instinctive pleadings for his wife and her daughter. He hastened from his room, and, though his pride would not allow him directly to urge Josephine to remain, he insisted upon Eugene's returning, and urged it La iuoh a way that he came back, leading with him his mother ind his sister. Napoleon, however, addressed not a word to either of them. Josephine threw herself upon a couch hi her apartment, and Na- poleon, in gloomy silence, entered his cabinet Two days of wretchedness passed away, during which no intercourse took place between th estranged parties. But the anger of the ho* A.D 1799 | WIFE OP FIRST CONSUL. 157 The reconciliation. Napoleon Tanqulahert band was gradually subsiding. Love for Jose- phine was slowly gaining strength in his hart On the third day, his pride and passion were sufficiently subdued to allow him to enter the apartment where Josephine and Hortense had kept themselves secluded, awaiting his pleasure. Josephine was seated at a toilet table, with her face buried in her hands, and absorbed in the profoundest grief. On the table were exposed the letters which she had received from Napo- leon during his absence, and which she had ev- idently been reading. Hortense was standing silently and pensively in an alcove by the win- dow, half concealed by the curtain. Napoleon advanced with an irresolute step, hesitated for a moment, and then said, " Josephine !" She started up at the sound of that well-known voice, and, her beautiful countenance all suf- fused with tears, mournfully exclaimed, " Mon ami" in that peculiar tone, so pathetic, so mu sical, which ever thrilled upon the heart of Na ooleon. " My friend" was the term of endear ment with which she invariably addressed ler husband. Napoleon was vanquished. He ex tended his hand to his deeply-wronged wife. 8he threw herself into his arms, pillowed her aching head upon his bosom, and in the full new 158 JOSEPHINE. [AD. 1799 Reception of Napoleon on his return to Fruoa. of blended joy and anguish wept convulsively An explanation of several hours ensued. Everj m their elegant yet comparatively plebeian residence in the Rue Chantereine to the palace of the Luxembourg. This, however, was but the stepping-stone to the Tuilleries, the world-renowned abode of the monarohs of France. The) remained for two months at the Luxembourg. The energies of Napoleon were employed every moment in promoting changes in the internal affairs of France, which ever his bitterest enemies admit were marked with the most eminent wisdom and benevolence. During the two months of their residence at the Luxembourg, no domestic event of import- ance occurred, except the marriage of Mural with Caroline, the sister of Napoleon. Caroline A.D. 1800.J WIFE OF FIRST CONSUL. 163 Mirriage of Marat and Caroline. Tne Tnillene* ref urnUhod was exceedingly beautiful. Murat was one of the favorite aids of Bonapa/te. Their nuptial* were celebrated with great splendor, and the gay Parisians began again to be amused with some- thing like the glitter of royalty. Each day Napoleon became more popular and his power more firmly established. Soon all France was prepared to see the first consul take up his residence in the ancient apartments of the kings of France. The Tuilleries had been sacked again and again by the mob. The gorgeous furniture, the rich paintings, and all the voluptuous elegance which the wealth of Louis XIV. could create, had been thrown into the court-yard and consumed by the infuriated populace. Roy alty itself had been pursued and ir suited in its most sacred retreats. By slow and cautious advances, Napoleon refurnished these magnificent saloons. The emblems of Jacobin misrule were silently ef faced. Statues of Brutus and Washington, of Demosthenes, and of others renowned for illus- trious deeds, were placed in the vacant niches, and the Tuilleries again appeared resplendent as in the days of pristine pride and power. On the morning of the 19th of February, 1800, all Paris was in commotion to witness 164 JOSEPHINE. [A D. 1800 Napoleon and Josephine take up their residence in the TniUeriei. the transfer of the embryo court of the first 3onsul and his colleagues from the Luxembourg to the Tuilleries. Already the colleagues of Napoleon had become so entirely eclipsed by the superior brilliance of their imperious asso- oiate that their names were almost forgotten I he royal apartments were prepared for Napo- leon, while those in the Pavilion of Flora were assigned to the two other consuls. The three consuls entered a magnificent carriage, drawn by six white horses. A gorgeous train of offi- cers, with six thousand picked troops in the richest uniform, surrounded the cortege. Many of the long-abolished usages of royalty were renewed upon that day. Twenty thousand soldiers, in most imposing military array, were drawn up before the palace. The moment the carriage appeared, the very heavens seemed rent with their cries, " Vive le premier consul !" The two associate consuls were ciphers. They sat at his side as pages to embellish his triumph. This day placed Napoleon in reality upon the throne of France, and Josephine that evening moved, a queen, in the apartments hallowed by the beauty and the sufferings of Maria An- toinette. The suite of rooms appropriated to the wif AD. 1800.J WIPE OF FIRST CONSUL. 165 Apartments of Josephine. Her drew. Her facial triumph of the first consul consisted of two magnificent saloons, with private apartments adjoining. No- French monarch ever sauntered through a more dazzling scene than that which graced the draw- ing-rooms of Josephine on this occasion. Em- bassadors from nearly all the courts of Europe were present. The army contributed its ut- most display of rank and military pomp to em- bellish the triumph of its most successful gen- eral. And the metropolis contributed all that it still retained of brilliance in ancestral renown or in intellectual achievement. When Josephine entered the gorgeously-illu- minated apartments of the palace, leaning upon the arm of Talleyrand, and dressed in the ele- gance of the most perfect simplicity, a murmur of admiration arose from the whole assembly. She was attired in a robe of white muslin. Her hair fell in graceful ringlets upon her neck and shoulders. A necklace of pearls of great value completed her costume. The queenly elegance of her figure, the inimitable grace of her move- ments, the peculiar conversational tact she po^ sessed, and the melody of a voice which, onoe heard, never was forgotten, gave to Josephine, on this eventful eveni>% a social triumph cor- responding with tht tfhich Napoleon had r^ 166 JOSEPHINE. [A.D. 1800 J and resolute in purpose. Days of tranquillity and happiness would have embellished theii dwelling. The spirit of Josephine ! It is noble as well as lovely. It accomplishes the most ex- alted achievements, and diffuses the most enno- bling happiness. There are thousands of unicna as uncongenial as that of Hortense and Louis. From the woes such unions would naturally engender there is but one refuge, and Josephine has most beautifully shown what that refuge is. Hortense, proud and high -spirited, resolved that she would not submit to the exacting demands of her husband. In her sad fate we read the warning not to imitate ner example. Hortense is invariably described as an un- usually fascinating woman. She had great vivacity of mind, and displayed much brilliance of conversational powers. Her person was fine- ly formed, and she inherited much of that grace- ful demeanor which so signally characterized her mother. She was naturally amiable, and was richly endowed with all those accomplish- ments which enable one to excel in the art of pleasing. Louis, more than any other of th brothers, most strongly resembled Napoleon. He was a very handsome man, and possessed far more than ordinary abilities. Under lean A.D. 1801.] CHARACTER DEVELOPED. 195 Calumnies againit Napoleon. They fall In their effect nntoward circumstances he might have been eminently happy. Few persons, however, have journeyed along the path of life under a darker eloud than that which ever shed its gloom upon the footsteps of Louis and Hortense. Among the various attempts which had been made to produce alienation between Napoleon and Josephine, one of the most atrocious was the whispered insinuation that the strong affec- tion which the first consul manifested for Hor tense was a guilty passion. Napoleon exhibit- ed in the most amiable manner his qualities as a father, in the frequent correspondence he car- ried on with the two children of Josephine, in the interest he took in their studies, and in the solicitude he manifested to promote their best welfare. He loved Hortense as if she had been his own child. Josephine was entirely impreg- nable against any jealousy to be introduced from that quarter, and a peaceful smile was her oniy reply to all such insinuations. Hortense had also heard, and had utterly disregarded, these rumors. The marriage of Hortense to a brother of Napoleon had entirely silenced the calumny, and it was soon forgotten. Subsequently, when Hortense had become en- tirely alienated from her husband, and was re i96 JOSEPHINE. [A.D. 1801 Cn}ut remarki of Horten*e. JoMphine'i reply solved upon a separation, Josephine did every thing in her power to dissuade her from an act o rash, so disgraceful , so ruinous to her happi- ness. She wrote to her in terms of the most earnest entreaty. The self-willed queen, an ooyed by these remonstrances, and unable to re- ply to them, ventured to intimate to her mother that perhaps she was not entirely disinterested in her opposition. In most guarded terms she suggested that her mother had heard the ground- less accusation of Napoleon's undue fondness, and that it was possible that her strong opposi- tion to the separation of Hortense from her hus- band might originate in the fear that Hortense might become, in some degree, her rival in the affections of Napoleon. Josephine very prompt- ly and energetically replied, " You have misunderstood me entirely, my child. There is nothing equivocal in my words, as there can not exist an uncandid sentiment in my heart. How could you imagine that I could participate in opinions so ridiculous and so mali- cious ? No, Hortense, you do not think that I believe you to be my rival. We do, indeed, both reign in the same heart, though by very differ- ent, yet by equally sacred rights. And they who, in the affection which my husband mini A.D. 1801.] CHARACTER DEVELOPED. 197 The lore of f lory Htpolaon'i rnllag pacdoa. fests for you, have pretended to discover other sentiments than those of a parent and a friend know not his soul. His mind is too elevated above that of the vulgar to be ever accessible tc unworthy passions. The passion of glory, if yon will, engrosses him too entirely for our re- pose ; but glory, at least, inspires nothing which is vile. Such is my profession of faith respect- ing N apoleon. I make this confession to you in all sincerity, that I may allay your inquietudes. When I recommended you to love, or, at least, not to repulse Louis, I spoke to you in my char- acter of an experienced wife, an attentive moth- er, and a tender friend, and in this threefo d re 'ation do I now embrace you." 198 JOSEPHINE. [A. D. 1802. |o*ephiite and Napoleon Yi*lt '^yon* Josephine makes new Mend* CHAPTER X. THE CORONATION. EARLY in the year 1802 Josephine aooom. panied Napoleon in various excursions tc distant parts of the empire. She went with him to Lyons to meet the Italian deputies, whc had assembled there to confer upon him the dignity of President of the Cisalpine Republic The entertainments in Lyons upon this oooa gion were arranged with regal magnificence Josephine, by her grace and affability, secured universal admiration, and every tongue was eloquent in her praises. Each succeeding month seemed now to bring some new honor to Jose- phine. Her position as wife of the first consul, her known influence over her husband, and the almost boundless popularity he had acquired over the minds of his countrymen, who were ever conducting him by rapid strides to new accessions of power, surrounded her with mul- titudes striving in every way to ingratiate them selves into her favor. From Lyons they returned to their beloved A.D.1802.] THE CORONATION. 199 R*tarm to MalmaUon. AnMdota of the writing- muter retreat at Malmaison, vhere they passed sev- eral weeks. But place and power had already deprived them of retirement. Napoleon wai entirely engrossed with his vast projects of am- bition. The avenue to their rural mansion was unceasingly thronged with carriages, and the saloon of Josephine was ever filled with the most illustrious guests. One day Josephine happened to be hi the cabinet with her husband alone. A man, whose coat was much the worse for wear, and whose whole appearance presented many indications of the struggle with poverty, was ushered into the room. He appeared greatly embarrassed- and at length, with much confusion, introduced himself as the writing-master at Brienne who had taught the first consul hand- writing. " And a fine penman you made of me !" exclaimed Na- poleon, hi affected anger. " Ask my wife there what she thinks of my writing." The poor man stood trembling in trepidation, when Jose- phine looked up with one of her sweetest smile*. nd said, " I assure you, sir, his letters are per- 'ectly delightful." Napoleon laughed at the well-timed compliment, and settled upon the writing-master a small annuity for life. It was a noble trait in the character of the first consul 200 JOSEPHINE. [A. D 1802 Tour of the northern prorlnoet Enthu*Um of the peopla that in his days of power he was ever mindful of those who were the friends of his early years. A.11 the instructors of the school he attended at Brienne were thus remembered by him. Napoleon and Josephine now made the tour of the northern provinces of France. They were every where -eceived with unbounded en thusiasm. The first consul had, indeed, con ferred the greatest blessings on his country He had effectually curbed the RevolutionarJ fury. He had established the reign of law Thousands of exiles he had restored to their homes rejoicing. The discomfited armies of France he had led to new and brilliant victo- ries. Under his administration every branch of business had revived. From every part of the empire Napoleon received the most enthu siastio expressions of gratitude and attachment He now began more seriously to contemplate ascending the throne of France. Conscious jf his own power, and ambitious of the glory of elevating his country to the highest pinnacle of earthly greatness, and witnessing the enthusi' *sm of admiration which his deeds had excited in the public mind, he no longer doubted that his countrymen would soon be ready to place the scepter of empire in his hands. He thought that the pear was now tioe. A.D- 1802 ] THE CORONATION. 201 Joeephlne erer tolidtoiu In behalf of the ccunfort of Josephine ever enjoyed most highly accom- panying her husband on these tours, and she, on suoh occasions, manifested, in the most at- tractive manner, her readiness to sacrifice her iwn personal comfort to promote the happiness >f others. Napoleon was in the habit of moving with such rapidity, and of setting out so unex- pectedly upon these journeys, and he was so per- emptory in his injunctions as to the places where he intended to halt, that often no suitable accom- modations could be provided for Josephine and her attendant ladies. No complaint, however, was ever heard from her lips. No matter how great the embarrassment she encountered, she ever exhibited the same imperturbable cheerful- ness and good humor. She always manifested much more solicitude in reference to the accom- modation of her attendants than for her own com- fort. She would herself visit their apartments, and issue personal directions to promote their convenience. One night, just as she was about to retire to rest, she observed that her waiting- woman had but a single mattress, spread upon the floor, for her repose. She immediately, with her own hands, took from the bed destined for herself another mattress, and supplied the defi- ciency, that her waiting-woman might sleep 202 JOSEPHINE. [A.D. 1802 BeMvolence cf Josephine' heart. The palace of SL Cloud more comfortably. Whenever any of her house- hold were sick, Josephine promptly visited their bedside, and with her own hands ministered to their wants. She would remember them at her own table, and from the luxurious viands spread ont before her, would select delicacies which might excite a failing appetite. It often hap- pened, in these sudden and hasty journeys, that, from want of accommodation, some of the party were compelled to remain in the carriages while Napoleon and Josephine dined. In such cases they were never forgotten. This was not policy and artifice on the part of Josephine, but the in- stinctive dictates of a heart overflowing with be- nevolence. On Napoleon's return from this tour he took possession of the palace of St. Cloud. This was another step toward the throne of the Bourbons. This magnificent abode of ancient grandeur had been repaired and most gorgeously furnished. The versatile French, weary of Republican sim- plicity, witnessed with joy the indications of a return of regal magnificence. A decree alec granted to Josephine " four ladies, to assist het in doing the honors of the palace." No occupant of these splendid saloons ever embellished them more richly by the display of queenly graces than A.D. 1802.] THE CORONATION 203 Kapoleon's rlewi of Christianity. Striking r. mark* did Josephine ; and Napoleon, now constituted first consul for life, reigned with pomp and power which none of his predecessors had ever surpassed. The few remaining forms of the Republic rapidly disappeared. Josephine exerted much influence over her husband's mind in inducing him to re- establish the institutions of the Christian reli- gion. Napoleon at that time did not profess to have any faith in the divine origin of Christianity. Infidelity had swept resistlessly over France, and nearly every man of any note in the camp and in the court was an unbeliever. He was, con- sequently, very bitterly opposed in all his en- deavors to reinstate Christianity. One evening ne was walking upon the terrace of his garden at Malmaison, most earnestly conversing with some influential members of the government upon this subject. " Religion," said he, " is something which can not be eradicated from the heart of man. He must believe in a superior being. Who made all that ?" he continued, pointing to the star* brilliantly shining in the evening sky. " Last Sunday evening J was walking here alone, when the church bells of the village of Ruel rang at sunset. 1 was strongly moved, so vividly did the image of early days come back with that SS04 JOSEPHINE. [AJX 1802 of Jowphlne In the re-eUbU8hment of OhrUtianity. sound. If it be thus with me, what must it be with others? Let your philosophers answer that, if they can. It is absolutely indispensable to have a religion for the people. In re-estab- lishing Christianity, I consult the wishes of a great majority of the French nation." Josephine probably had very little religious knowledge. She regarded Christianity as a sen- timent rather than a principle. She felt the po- etic beauty of its revelations and its ordinances. She knew how holy were its charities, how pure its precepts, how ennobling its influences, even when encumbered with the grossest supersti- tions. She had seen, and dreadfully had sbA felt, what France was without religion with marriage a mockery, conscience a phantom, and death proclaimed to all an eternal sleep. She therefore most warmly seconded her husband in all endeavors to restore again to desolated Franc* the religion of Jesus Christ. The next morning after the issuing of the proclamation announcing the re-establishment of public worship, a grand religious ceremony took place in honr r of the occasion in the church of Notre Dame. Napoleon, to produce a deep impression upon the public mind, invested the occasion with all possible pomp. As he wa* A.D.1802.] THE CORONATION. 5J08 Religious ceremony at NOtre Dame. Proclamation of Napoleon. preparing to go to the Cathedral, one of his col- leagues, Cambaoeres, entered the room. adjoining rx>m, in earnest conversation, caught my at- tention. Applying my ear to the partition, the name of Bonaparte, and the discovery that Jo- sephine and Madame Tallien were the speak- ers, excited a real curiosity. " I assure you, my dear Theresina," said Josephine, " that I have done all that friendship could dictate, but in vain No later than this morning I made a new effort. Bonaparte would hear of nothing. I can not comprehend what can have prejudiced him so strongly against you. You are the only woman whose name he has effaced from the list of my particular friends ; and from fear le?t he should manifest his displeasure directly against us have I now come hither alone with my son. At this moment they believe me sound asleep in my bed at the Tuilleries ; but I determined on coming to see, to warn, and to console yen x above all, to justify myself" A.D. 1800.] THE CORONATION. 209 The ttolen interview. Eugene 'titerrupU IV " My dear Josephine," Madame Tallien re- plied, "I have never doubted either the good- ness of your heart or the sincerity of your af- fection. Heaven is my witness that the los of your friendship would be to me much more painful than any dread of Bonaparte. In thase difficult times, I have maintained a conduct that might, perhaps, render my visits an honor, but I will never importune you to receive me with- out his consent. He was not consul when Tal- lien followed him into Egypt, when I received you both into my house, when I shared with you " Here she burst into tears, and her voice became inaudible. " Calm yourself, my dear Theresina," Jose- phine rejoined ; "be calm, and let the storm pass. I am paving the way for a reconcilia- tion, but we must not irritate him more. You know that he does not love Ouvrard, and it i Raid that he often sees you." " What, then," Madame Tallien replied. " because he governs France, does he expect to tyrannize over our hearts ? Must we sacrifiot to him our private friendships ?" At that moment some one knocked at the door, and Eugene Beanharnais entered. " Ma- dame," said ha to his mother, "yon have lieea 1914 210 JOSEPHINE. Ou t rard Kumori. Apprehensi now more than an hour absent. The council of ministers is perhaps over. What will th first consul say, should he not find you on hii return?" The two ladies then, arm in am, descended the stairs, conversing in earnest whis- pers, followed by Eugene. This Ouvrard, to whom allusion is made above, was a famous banker in Paris, of enor- mous wealth, and engaged in the most wild and extravagant speculations. It now began to be rumored that Napoleon would soon be crowned as king. Very many of the nation desired it, and though there was as yet no public declaration, vague hints and float- ing rumors filled the air. Josephine was greatly disquieted. It seemed more and more important that Napoleon should have an heir. There was now no prospect that Josephine would ever be- come again a mother. She heard, with irrepress- ible anguish, that it had been urged upon her husband that the interests of France required that he should obtain a divorce and marry again ; that alliance with one of the ancient royal fam- ilies of Europe, and the birth of a son, to whom he could transmit his crown, would place hia power upon an impregnable foundation. Jose- phine *x)uld not but perceive the apparent poliov A.D. 1800.] THE CORONATION. 211 Anecdote. Introduction of mgmi state, of the great wrong. And though she knew that Napoleon truly and tenderly loved her, she also feared that there was no sacrifice which he was not ready to make in obedience to the claims of ois towering ambition. One day she softly entered the cabinet without being announced. Bonaparte and Bourrienne were conversing together. The day before, an article appeared in the Moniteur, evidently pre- paring the way for the throne. Josephine gently approached her husband, sat down upon his knee, affectionately passed her hand through his hair and over his face, and, with moistened eyes and a burst of tenderness, exclaimed, " I entreat you, mon ami, do not make yourself a king. It is Lucien who urges you to it. Do not even list- en to him;" Bonaparte, smiling very pleasantly, replied, "Why, my dear Josephine, you are crazy. You must not listen to these tales of the old dowa- gers. But you interrupt us now. I am very busy." During the earlier period of Napoleon's con- sulship, like the humblest citizen, he occupied the same bed-chamber with his spouse. But now that more of regal ceremony and state was being introduced to the consular establishment, 212 JOSEIHINE [A.D. 1800 Napoleon and Josephine occupy separate apartment*, their domestic intercourse, to the great grief of Josephine, assumed more of cold formality. Sep- arate apartments were assigned to Josephine al a considerable distance from those occupied by her husband, and it was necessary to travers* a long corridor to pass from one to the other The chambers of the principal ladies of the court opened upon this corridor from the right and the left. The splendor with which Josephine's rooms were furnished was no compensation to her for the absence of that affectionate familiar- ity for which her heart ever yearned. She also suspected, with anguish, that this separation was but the prelude of the divorce she so fear- fully apprehended. Whenever Napoleon passed the night in the apartment of Josephine, it was known to the whole household. Josephine, at such times, always appeared at a later hour in the morning than usual, for they generally passed half the night in conversation. " I think I see her still," writes one of th* adies of her household, " coming in to breakfast, looking quite cheerful, rubbing her little hands, as she was accustomed to do when peculiarly happy, and apologizing for having risen so late On such occasions she was, if possible, more .gracious than usual, refused nobody, and wr A-D. 1800.] THE CORONATION. 213 locephlne adrocatei the came of the Bourbon*. A present were sure of obtaining every thing we asked, as [ have myself many times experienced." TLs Bourbons had been for some time in cor- respondence with Napoleon, hoping, through his gency, to regain the throne. He assured them that their restoration could not possibly be ac- complished, even by the sacrifice of the lives of a million of Frenchmen. Josephine, who had suffered so much from anarchy, was a decided Royalist, and she exerted all her powers to in- duce Napoleon to make the attempt to reinstate the Bourbons. When her friends congratulated her upon the probability that she would soon be Empress of France, with heartfelt sincerity she replied, " To be the wife of the first consul ful- fills my highest ambition. Let me remain so." The Bourbons expressed much gratitude at the time in view of Josephine's known intercessions in their behalf. About this time a serious accident happened to the first consul, which also exposed Jose- phine to much danger. The inhabitants of Antwerp had made Napoleon a present of six magnificent bay horses. With four of these spirited steeds harnessed to the carriage, Napo- leon was one day taking an airing, with Jose- phinn and Cambaceres, the second consul, in JOSEPHINE [A.D. 1800 lUpoleon takei t the whip. Accident reaulting from hU uiuklllfnlne* the park. Napoleon, taking a fancy to drive four in hand, mounted the coach-box, and Cae- sar, his favorite coachman, was stationed be- hind. The horses soon discovered that they had a new and inexperienced driver, and start- ed off at the top of their speed. Napoleon lost all control over them, and the frightened ani- mals, perfectly ungovernable, dashed along the road at a fearful rate. Csesar kept shouting to Napoleon, " Keep in the middle !" Cambace- r6s, pale with fright, thrust his head out of the window, and shouted " Whoa ! whoa !" Jose- phine, greatly alarmed, sank back in her seat, and in silent resignation awaited the issue. As they approached the avenue to St. Cloud, the imperial driver had not sufficient skill to guide them safely through the gateway. The coach struck against one of the pillars, and was overturned with a terrible crash. Josephine and Cambaceres were considerably bruised. Napoleon was thrown from his seat to the dis- tance of eight or ten paces, and was taken up insensible. He, however, soon recovered. On retiring at night, they amused themselves in talking 3ver the misadventure. "Mon ami," said Josephine, laughing, " you must render unto Ceesar the things that be Caesar's*. Let AJ). 1800.] THE CORONATION. 21fl Mapoleon't rtew of death. ?ubeqnrn dhungt of opinion him keep his whip. Each to his vocation.* The conversation was continued for some time in a tone of pleasantry. Gradually Napoleon became more serious. He seemed to be reflect- ing deeply, and paid that he never before came so near to death. " Indeed," said he, " I was for some moments virtually dead. But what is death ? what is death ? It is merely a sleep without dreams." Such were probably, at this time, the views of Napoleon upon immoitality. He subse- quently professed himself a sincere believer in the divine origin of Christianity, and wished to die within the pale of the Christian Church. That mind which can contemplate death with levity must be either exceedingly weak or hope- lessly deranged. While nearly all who surrounded the first consul were contemplating with the utmost sat- isfaction his approaching elevation to the throne, the subject awakened in the bosom of Jose- phine the most agitating emotions. She saw in the splendor of the throne peril to her hus- band, and the risk of entire downfall to herself. " The real enemies of Bonaparte," said she tc Rcederer, "are those who put into his head ideas of hereditary succession, dynasty, divorce. 916 JOSEPHINE. [A.D. 180i Baoiftraacei of Josephine. Titled Ktf Uihmoa la Pwto and marriage." Again she is represented ai eaying, " I do not approve the projects of Na- poleon. I have often told him so. He hears e with attention, but I can plainly see that 1 make no impression. The flatterers who sur- round him soon obliterate all that I have said. The new honors which he will acquire will aug- ment the number of his enemies. The gener- als will exclaim that they have not fought so long merely to substitute the family of the Bonapartes for that of the Bourbons." The peace ratified by the treaty of Amiens in 1802 threw open the Continent to travelers from England. There were thousands in that country who were great admirers of Napoleon The Tuilleries, St. CKrad, and Malmaison were consequently ever thronged with illustrious strangers from the island with which France had so long been engaged in war. The cele- brated statesman, Mr. Fox, with Lord and Lady Holland, Lord Erskine, and several others of the most distinguished of the English nobility, were visiting Paris, and one morning were at a breakfast party at Madame Reoamier's. Break fast was nearly concluded, when the sounds of a horseman galloping into the court-yard were heard. Eugene Beauharnais was immediate^ A..D. 1802.J THE OORONATIBR. 217 jocephine invites tl'm to Malmaison. Their reception after announced. After a few woids of regret expressed to the lady of the house for having arrived so late, he turned to Mr. Fox and said, " I hope, sir, soon to .ndemnify myself for the 'ess of your society which I have this morning rastained. I am commissioned by my mother to attend you to Malmaison. The carriages will be here in a few moments which are foi the accommodation of you and your friends, when you can resolve on leaving so many charms as must detain you here. I shall, with much pleasure, act as your guide." The carriages of the first consul soon arrivea and the whole party proceeded to Malmaison Josephine received her guests with that cour- tesy and refined cordiality in which she was unrivaled. Bonaparte, knowing the powerful influence of the illustrious English statesman, was very desirous that he should receive a fa- vorable impression from his visit. It required but little effort on the part of Josephine to ex- oel in the art of pleasing. She banished all parade, and received her guests as family friends. The day was spent at Malmaison, and Mr. Fox afterward stated that he retired from the visit enchanted with the elegance and grace of aJL that he saw and heard. 118 J 3 8 E P H I N E. [ A.D. 1804. DUflpation la Prl*. Napoleon declared emperor. Ten years had passed, during which France had been in a state of constant warfare. The short peace which succeeded the treaty of Amiens filled Paris with the best society of Surope Extravagance and dissipation reigned In the metropolis. But in those scenes of dis- sipation neither Napoleon nor Josephine ever made their appearance. His mind was ever engrossed with the magnificent plans he was forming and the deeds he was achieving. Jo- sephine was equally engaged in watching over the interests of her husband, and in gaining and confirming friends to his cause. On the 18th of May, 1804, by a decree of the senate, Napoleon was declared Emperor of France. The decree was sent out to the various departments for the action of the peo- ple. The result was, that 3,572,329 voted in the affirmative, while but 2569 were in the negative. A more unanimous expression of a nation's will history never has recorded. The day after his elevation to the imperial throne, the emperor .veld a grand Iev6e at the Tuille- ries, and Josephine, with many fears darkening this hour of exultation, made her first appear- ance as the Empress of France. The decre announcing Napoleon Bonaparte to be the em A.D.1804.] THE CORONATION. 219 fotephlae'i feari. Grand lerfe. Josephine's elerated petition peror of France also declared that the imperial dignity should be hereditary in his family. The empress struggled against her fears, but her heart was heavy, and she found but little joy upon this high pinnacle of power. She also plainly foresaw that the throne of her husband, apparently so gorgeous and massive, was erect- ed upon a very frail foundation. At the grand levee held upon this occasion, the assembly was the most brilliant and numer- ous that had ever yet been witnessed in Paris The renown of Napoleon now filled the world, and noted men from every land thronged hi saloons. Josephine found herself elevated to the position of the most illustrious of the queens of Europe. The power of her husband was supe- rior to that of any of the surrounding monarchs, and she received the homage of all as occupying an elevation such as no queen had ever attained before. The second of December, 1804, was appointed for the ceremony of coronation. The pageant was to take place in the church of Notre Dame The pope came from Rome to place the crown apon this lofty, though plebeian brow. For ten centuries such an honor had not been conferred apon any monarch. The day was clear and brill- JOSEPHINK. JA.D. 1804 ttp*r*ticiu for the coronation. Dreis of Josephine iant, but intensely cold. The venerable walls of Notre Dame had never before witnessed suoh luxury and suoh magnificence as was now dis> p.fiyed. Carriages glittering with gold and pur* p-e trappings ; horses proudly caparisoned ; offi- cers in the richest uniforms, and in court dresses sumptuously embroidered ; servants in most gor- geous liveries ; and a waving sea of ostrich plumes, bewildered the multitude with the un- wonted splendor. The empress appeared in a robe of white satin, embroidered with gold, and profusely ornament- ed with diamonds. A mantle of crimson velvet, lined with white satin and ermine, floated over her shoulders, and golden bees were clustered over the dress. The coronation jewels consisted of a crown, a diadem, and a girdle. The coronation crown consisted of eight golden branches, four in imitation of palm, and four of myrtle leaves. The dew-drops glittering upon this foliage were brilliant diamonds. A golden-corded band sur- rounded the crown, embellished with eight very large emeralds. The bandeau inclosing the aead glittered resplendent with amethysts. This was the coronation crown, which was used only upon state occasions. The diadem, whick was for more ordinary service, was composed ~S A.D. 1804.] THE CORONATION. 221 Drew of Napoleon. The Imperial carriage four rows of pearls interlaced with diamonds. In front were several very large brilliants, one of which weighed one hundred and forty-nine grains. The ceinture or girdle was of pure gold, melka had written amid the thunder and the smoke, the uproar and the carnage of the dreadful day of Austerlitz. As soon as Napoleon saw the field covered with the slain, and the routed ar- mies of his foes flying in dismay before their triumphant pursuers, in the midst of all the hor- rors of that most horrible scene, he turned the energies of his impetuous mind from the hot pursuit to pen a line to his faithful Josephine, announcing the victory. The empress, with tears almost blinding her eyes, read the billet where she stood, by the light of a torch which an attendant had brought her. She immediately drew from her finger a valuable diamond ring, and presented it to the bearer of the joyful mes- sage. The messenger was Moustache the Mameluke, who had accompanied Napoleon from Egypt, and who was so celebrated for the devotion of his attachment to the emperor. He had ridden on horseback one hundred and fifty miles within twelve hours. Napoleon was exceedingly sensitive to any apparent want of affection or attention on the part of Josephine. A remarkable occurrence, illustrative of this sensitiveness, took place on his return from his last Austrian campaign. When he arrived at Munich, where he was de- 278 JOSEPHINE. [A.D. 1805. SonsM venees of Napoleon. His unreasonable anger layed for a short time, he dispatched a courier to Josephine, informing her that he would be at Fontainebleau on the evening of the twenty-sev- eiith, and expressing a wish that the court should be assembled there to meet him. He, however, in his eagerness, pressed on with such unantici- pated speed, that he arrived early in the morn- ing of the twenty-sixth, thirty-six hours earlier than the time he had appointed. He had actu- ally overtaken his courier, and entered with him the court-yard at Fontainebleau. Very unreas- onably annoyed at finding no one there to receive him, he said to the exhausted courier, as he was dismounting from his horse, " You can rest to- morrow ; gallop to St. Cloud, and announce my arrival to the empress." It was a distance of forty miles. Napoleon was very impatient all the day, and, in the evening, hearing a carriage enter the court-yard, he eagerly ran down, as was his invariable custom, to greet Josephine To his great disappointment, the carriage con tained only some of her ladies. " And where is the empress ?" he exclaimed, in surprise. " We havo preceded her by perhaps a quarter of an hour," they replied. The emperor was now in Tery ill humor. " A very happy arrangement," said he, sarcastically ; and, turning upon hi* AD 1805.] JOSEPHINE AN EMPRESS. 279 Arrival of Josephine. Napoleon s confession. The reconciliation. heel, he ascended to the little library, where he had been busily employed. Soon Josephine arrived. Napoleon, hearing the carriage enter the court, coldly asked who had come. Being informed that it was the em- press, he moved not from his seat, but went on very busily with his writing. The attendants were greatly surprised, for he never before had been known to omit meeting the empress at her carriage. Josephine, entirely unconscious of any fault, and delighted with the thought of again meeting her husband, and of surprising him in his cabinet, hastened up stairs and en- tered the room. Napoleon looked up coldly from his papers, and addressed her with the chilling salutation, " And so, madame, you have come at last ! It is well. I was just about to set out for St. Cloud." Josephine burst into tears, and stood silently sobbing before him. Napoleon was conquered. His own conscience reproved him for his exceeding injustice. He rose from his eat, exclaiming, " Josephine, I am wrong ; for- give me ;" and, throwing his arms around hei neck, embraced her most tenderly. The recon- ciliation was immediate and perfect, for the gen* tie spirit of Josephine could retain no resent- ment. 280 JostrHiNE. [A.D.1805 lUpoloon'i taste for dresi. The young Mllor Napoleon had a very decided taste in refer- ence to Josephine's style of dress, and her only ambition was to decorate her person hi a man- ner which would be agreeable to him. On this occasion she retired very soon to dress for din- ner. In about half an hour she reappeared, dressed with great elegance, in a robe of white satin, bordered with eider down, and with a wreath of blue flowers, entwined with silver ears of corn, adorning her hair. Napoleon rose to meet her, and gazed upon her with an expres- sion of great fondness. Josephine said, with a emile, " You do not think that I have occupied too much time at my toilet ?" Napoleon point- ed playfully to the clock upon the mantel, which indicated the hour of half past seven, and, taking the hand of his wife, entered the dining-room. Though Napoleon often displayed the weak- nesses of our fallen nature, he at times exhibit- ed the noblest traits of humanity. On one oc- casion, at Boulogne, he was informed of a young English sailor, a prisoner of war, who had es oaped from his imprisonment in the interior of Prance, and had succeeded in reaching the coast near that town. He had secretly constructed, in an unfrequented spot, a little skiff, of the branches and bark of trees, in which fabric, al- most as fragile as the ark of bulrushes, he was A..D. 1805.] JOSEPHINE AN EMPRESS. 281 His fearleMDOM. Napoleon s magnanimity. intending to float out npon the storm-swept channel, hoping to be picked up by some En- glish cruiser and conveyed home. Napoleon was struck with admiration in view of the fear- lessness of the project, and, sending for the young man, questioned him very minutely respecting the motives which could induce him to under- take so perilous an adventure. The emperor expressed some doubt whether he would really have ventured to encounter the dangers of the ocean in so frail a skiff. The young man en- treated Napoleon to ascertain whether he was in earnest by granting him permission to carry his design into execution. " You must doubt- less, then," said the emperor, " have some mis- tress to revisit, since you are so desirous to re- turn to your country ?" " No !" replied the sailor, " I wish to see my mother. She is aged and infirm." The heart of the emperor wr- touched. "You shall see her," he energetical- ly and promptly replied. He immediately gave orders that the young man should be thorough ly furnished with all comforts, and sent in a cruiser, with a flag of truce, to the first British vessel which could be found. He also gave the young man a purse for his mother, saying, " She must be no common parent who can have trained up so affectionate and dutiful a son." 282 JOSEPHINE. [A.D. 1807. N.poleon'i prMpectrre heir. Death of the child CHAPTER XII. THE DIVORCE AND LAST DATS. A LLUSION has already been mad? to the -"*- strong attachment with which Napoleon cherished his little grandchild, the son of Hor- tense and of his brother Louis. The boy was extremley beautiful, and developed all those noble and spirited 'traits of character which pe- culiarly delighted the emperor. Napoleon had apparently determined to make the young prince his heir. This was so generally the under- standing, both in France and in Holland, that Josephine was quite at ease, and serene days dawned again upon her heart. Early in the spring of 1807, this child, upon whom such destinies were depending, then five years of age, was seized suddenly and violently with the croup, and in a few hours died. The blow fell upon the heart of Josephine with most appalling power. Deep as was her grief at the loss of the child, she was overwhelmed with uncontrollable anguish in view of those fearful * r >n*equenoes which she shuddered to contem- A..D. ib07.] DIVORCE AND LAST DAYS. 283 Grandeur of Napoleon. Struggle in hl bosom. plate. She knew that Napoleon loved het fondly, but she also knew the strength of hi ambition, and that he would make any sacrifice of his affection, which, in his view, would sub- serve the interests of his power and his glory. For three days she shut herself up in her room, and was continually bathed in tears. The sad intelligence was conveyed to Napo- leon when he was far from home, in the midst of the Prussian campaign. He had been vic- torious, almost miraculously victorious, over his enemies. He had gained accessions of pow- er such as, in the wildest dreams of youth, he had hardly imagined. All opposition to his sway was now apparently crushed. Napoleon had become the creator of kings, and the proud- est monarchs of Europe were constrained to do his bidding. It was in an hour of exultation that the mournful tidings reached him. He sat down in silence, buried his face in his hands, and for a long time seemed lost in the most painful musings. He was heard mournfully and anxiously to repeat to himself again ace' again, " To whom shall I leave all this ?" The struggle in his mind between his love for Jose- plane and his ambitious desire to found a new dynasty, and to transmit his name and fame 284 JOSEPHINE. A-D. 1807 Dejection of Napoleon. His energy. Grief of Josephine to all posterity, was fearful. It was manifest in his pallid cheek, in his restless eye, in the loss of appetite and of sleep. But the stern will of Bonaparte was unrelenting in its pur- poses. With an energy which the world has never seen surpassed, he had chosen his part. It was the purpose of his soul the purpose be- fore which every thing had to bend to acquire the glory of making France the most illustri- ous, powerful, and happy nation earth had ever seen. For this he was ready to sacrifice com- fort, ease, and his sense of right. For this he was ready to sunder the strongest ties of affec- tion. Josephine knew Napoleon. She was fully aware of his boundless ambition. With almost insupportable anguish she wept over the death of this idolized child, and, with a trembling heart, awaited her husband's return. Myste- rious hints began to fill the journals of the con- templated divorce, and of tho alliance of Napo- leon with various princesses of foreign courts. In October, 1807, Napoleon returned from Vienna. He greeted Josephine with the great- est kindness, but she soon perceived that his mind was ill at ease, and that he was ponder- ing the fearful question. He appeared sad and A.D.1807. 1 DIVORCE AND LAST DAYS. 285 Bar forebodings. Napoleon absent* himself from her society embarrassed. He had frequent private inter- views with his ministers. A general feeling of constraint pervaded the court. Napoleon scarcely ventured to look upon his wife, as if apprehensive that the very sight of one whom he had loved so well might cause him to waver ir. his firm purpose. Josephine was in a state of the most feverish solicitude, and yet was compelled to appear calm and unconstrained. As yet she had only fearful forebodings of her impending doom. She watched, with most ex- cited apprehension, every movement of the em- peror's eye, every intonation of his voice, every sentiment he uttered. Each day some new and trivial indication confirmed her fears. Her husband became more reserved, absented him- self from her society, and the private access be- tween their apartments was closed. He now seldom entered her room, and whenever he did so, he invariably knocked. And yet not one word had passed between him and Josephine upon the fearful subject. Whenever Josephine heard the sound of his approaching footsteps, the fear that he was coming with tho terrible announcement of separation immediately caused such violent palpitations of the heart that it was with tho utmost difficulty she could totter 280 JOSEPHINE [AD. ISO/ A&gouh of Napoleon. Difficulty in selecting a bride across the floor, even when supporting herself by leaning against the walls, and catching at the articles of furniture. The months of October and November passed away, and, while the emperor was discussing with his cabinet the alliance into which he should enter, he had not yet summoned courage to break the subject to Josephine. The evi- dence is indubitable that he experienced intense anguish in view of the separation, but this did not influence his iron will to swerve from its purpose. The grandeur of his fame and the magnitude of his power were now such, that there was not a royal family in Europe which would not have felt honored in conferring upon him a bride. It was at first contemplated that he should marry some princess of the Bourbon family, and thus add to the stability of his throne by conciliating the Royalists of France A princess of Saxony was proposed. Some weighty considerations urged an alliance with the majestic empire of Russia, and some advan- ces were made to the court of St. Petersburgh, having in view a sister of the Emperor Alexan- der. It was finally decided that proposals should be made to the court of Vienna for Maria Lou Ua, daughter of the Emperor of Austria. A.D.1809.] DIVORCE AMD LAST DAYS. 287 A iiient dinner at Fontainebleao. At length the fatal day arrived for the an- nouncement to Josephine. It was the last day of November, 1809. The emperor and empress dinod at Fontainebleau alone. She seems to have had a presentiment that her doom was sealed, for all that day she had been in her re- tired apartment, weeping bitterly. As the din- ner-hour approached, she bathed her swollen eyes, and tried to regain composure. They sat down at the table in silence. Napoleon did not speak. Josephine could not trust her voice to utter a word. Neither ate a mouthful. Course after course was brought in and removed un- touched. A mortal paleness revealed the an- guisn of each heart. Napoleon, in his embar- rassment, mechanically, and apparently uncon- sciously, struck the edge of his glass with his knife, while lost in thought. A more melan- choly meal probably was never witnessed. The attendants around the table seemed to catch the infection, and moved softly and silently in the discharge of their duties, as if they were in the chamber of the dead. At last the ceremony of dinner was over, the attendants were dismissed, and Napoleon, rising, and closing the door with his own hand, was left alone with Josephine. Another moment of most painful silence ensued. 288 JOSEPHINE. [AD. 1809. The communication to Josephine. Efl'ecU thereof when the emperor, pale as death, and trembling In every nerve, approaohed the empress. He took her hand, placed it upon his heart, and in faltering accents said, "Josephine! my own good Josephine ! you know how I have loved you. It is to you alone that I owe the only few moments of happiness I have known in the world. Josephine ! my destiny is stronger than my will. My dearest affections must yield to the interests of France." Josephine's brain reeled ; her blood ceased to circulate ; she fainted, and fell lifeless upon the floor. Napoleon, alarmed, threw open the door of the saloon, and called for help. Attendants from the ante-room immediately entered. Na- poleon took a taper from the mantel, and utter- ing not a word, but pale and trembling, mo- tioned to the Count de Beaumont to take the empress in his arras. She was still unconscious of every thing, but began to murmur, in tones of anguish, "Oh, no! you can not surely do it. You would not kill me." The emperor led the way, through a dark passage, to the private staircase which conducted to the apartment of the empress. The agitation of Napoleon seemed now to increase. He uttered some incoherent nentenoes about a violent nervous attack ; and, A.D. 1809.] DIVORCE AND LAST DAYS. 289 imitation of Napoleon. A night of anguUh finding the stairs too steep and narrow for the Count de Beaumont to bear the body of the help- less Josephine unassisted, he gave the light to an attendant, and, supporting her limbs himself, they reached the door of her bed-room. Napo- leon then, dismissing his male attendants, and laying Josephine upon her bed, rang for her waiting- women. He hung over her with an ex- pression of the most intense affection and anxi- ety until she began to revive. But the moment consciousness seemed returning, he left the room. Napoleon did not even throw himself upon his bed that night. He paced the floor until the dawn of the morning. The royal surgeon, Cor- visart, passed the night at the bed-side of the empress. Every hour the restless yet unrelent- ing emperor called at her door to inquire con- cerning her situation. " On recovering from my swoon," says Josephine, " I perceived that Corvisart was in attendance, and my poor daughter, Hortense, weeping over me. Noi no ! I can not describe the horror of my situa- tion during that night ! Even the interest he affected to take in my sufferings seemed to me additional cruelty. Oh ! how much reason had [ to dread becoming an empress !" A ^rtoight now passed away, during which 1919 290 JOSEPHINE. [A.D. 1809. AnnlrerMiy of the rlctory at Austerlltz. Eugene summoned from Italy Napoleon and Josephine saw but little of each other. During this time there occurred the an- niversary of the coronation, and of the victory of Austerlitz. Paris was filled with rejoicing. The bells rang their merriest peals. The me- tropolis was refulgent with illuminations. In these festivities Josephine was compelled to ap- pear. She knew that the sovereigns and prin- ces then assembled hi Paris were informed of her approaching disgrace. In all these sound? of triumph she heard but the knell of her own doom. And though a careful observer would have detected indications, in her moistened eye and her pallid cheek, of the secret woe which w&s consuming her heart, her habitual affabil- ity and grace never, in public, for one moment forsook her. Hortense, languid and sorrow- stricken, was with her mother. Eugene was summoned from Italy. He hastened to Paris, and his first interview was with his mother. From her saloon he went di- rectly to the cabinet of Napoleon, and inquired of the emperor if he had decided to obtain a di- vorce from the empress. Napoleon, who was very strongly attached to Eugene, made no re- ply, but pressed his hand as an expression that it was so. Eugene immediately dropped the of thp emperor, and said. AJD. 1809.J DIVORCE AND LAST BAYS, brterriew with Napoleon. He U not without feeling " Sire, in that case, permit me to withdraw from your service." " How !" exclaimed Napoleon, looking upon him sadly ; " will you, Eugene, my adopted on, leave me ?" " Yes, sire," Eugene replied, firmly ; " the son of her who is no longer empress can not re- main viceroy. I will follow my mother into her retreat. She must now find her consolation in her children." Napoleon was not without feelings. Tears filled his eyes. In a mournful voice, tremulous with emotion, he replied, " Eugene, you know the stern necessity which compels this measure, and will you forsake me ? Who, then, should I have a son, the object of my desires and pre- server of my interests, who would watch over the child when I am absent? If I die, who will prove to him a father ? Who will bring him up ? Who is to make a man of him ?" Eugene was deeply affected, and, taking Napoleon's arm, they retired and conversed a long time together. The noble Josephine, ever sacrificing her own feelings to promote the hap- piness of others, urged her son to remain the friend of Napoleon. " The emperor," she said, "is your benefactor your more than father, 292 JOSEPHINE. [A.D. 1809 The eouncfl assembled. AddreM of Napoleo*. to whom you are indebted for every thing, and to whom, therefore, you owe a boundless obedi- ence." The fatal day for the consummation of the divoroe at length arrived. It was the 15th of December, 1809. Napoleon had assembled all the kings, princes, and princesses who were members of the imperial family, and also the most illustrious officers of the empire, in the grand saloon of the Tuilleries. Every individ- ual present was oppressed with the melancholy grandeur of the occasion. Napoleon thus ad- dressed them : " The political interests of my monarchy, the wishes of my people, which have constantly guided my actions, require that I should trans- mit to an heir, inheriting my love for the peo- ple, the throne on which Providence has placed me. For many years I have lost all hopes of having children by my beloved spouse, the Em- press Josephine. It is this consideration which induces me to sacrifice the sweetest affections of my heart, to consult only the good of my subjects, and to desire the dissolution of our marriage. Arrived at the age of forty years, I may indulge a reasonable hope of living long enough to rear, in the spirit of mv own thought* A.D.1809.] DIVOR CE AND LAST DAYS. 293 He is still the friend of Josephine. Her regponsa and disposition, the children with which it may please Providence to bless me. God knows what such a determination has cost my heart ; but there is no sacrifice which is above my courage, when it is proved to be for the inter- ests of France. Far from having any cause of complaint, I have nothing to say but in praise of the attachment and tenderness of my beloved wife. She has embellished fifteen years of my life, and the remembrance of them will be for- ever engraven on my heart. She was crowned by my hand ; she shall retain always the rank and title of empress. Above all, let her never doubt my feelings, or regard me but as her best and dearest friend." Josephine, her eyes filled with tears, with a faltering voice, replied, "I respond to all the tentiments of the emperor in consenting to the dissolution of a marriage which henceforth is an obstacle to the happiness of France, by de- priving it of the blessing of being one day gov- erned by the descendants of that great man who was evidently raised up by Providence to efface the evils of a terrible revolution, and to restore the altar, and the throne, and social or- der. But his marriage will in no respect change the sentiments of my heart. The empercr wilJ 294 JOSEPHINE. [A.D. 1809 The council again ase mbled. Conrammation of the divorce. ever find in me his best friend. I know what this act, commanded by policy and exalted in- terests, has cost his heart, but we both glory in the sacrifices we make for the good of the coun- try. I feel elevated in giving the greatest proof of attachment and devotion that was ever giv- en upon earth." Such were the sentiments which were ex- pressed in public ; but in private Josephine sur- rendered herself to the unrestrained dominion of her anguish. No language can depict the intensity of her woe. For six months she wept so incessantly that her eyes were nearly blind- ed with grief. Upon the ensuing day the ooun oil were again assembled in the grand saloon, to witness the legal consummation of the di- vorce. The emperor entered the room dressed in the imposing robes of state, but pallid, care- worn, and wretched. Low tones of voice, har- monizing with the mournful scene, filled the room. Napoleon, apart by himself, leaned against a pillar, folded his arms upon his breast, and, in perfect silence, apparently lost in gloomy thought, remained motionless as a statue. A circular table was placed in the center of th apartment, and upon this there was a writing apparatus of gold. A vacant arm-chair stood A..D.1809.] DIVORCE AND LAST DATS. 295 Entrance of Josephine. Emotion of Hcrtente. before the table. Never did a multitude gaze upon the scaffold, the block, or the guillotine with more awe than the assembled lords and ladies in this gorgeous saloon contemplated these Instruments of a more dreadful execution. At length the mournful silence was interrupt- ed by the opening of a side door and the en- trance of Josephine. The pallor of death was upon her brow, and the submission of despair nerved her into a temporary calmness. She was leaning upon the arm of Hortense, who ; not possessing the fortitude of her mother, was entirely unable to control her feelings. The sympathetic daughter, immediately upon enter- Vng into the room, burst into tears, and contin- ued sobbing most convulsively during the whole remaining scene. The assembly respectfully arose upon the entrance of Josephine, and all were moved to tears. With that grace which ever distinguished her movements, she advanced silently to the seat provided for her. Sitting down, and leaning her forehead upon her hand, he listened to the reading of the act of separa- tion. Nothing disturbed the sepulchral silence of the scene but the convulsive sobbings of Her- tense, blending with the mournful tones of the reader's voice Eugene, in the mean time, pale 2% JOSEPHINE. [A.D 1809 Josephine signs the divorce. Anguish of Eugene and trembling as an aspen leaf, had taken a po- sition by the side of his mother. Silent tears were trickling down the cheeks of the empress. As soon as the reading of the act of separa- tion was finished, Josephine for a moment press- ed her handkerchief to her weeping eyes, and then, rising, in clear and musical, but tremulous tones, pronounced the oath of acceptance. She then sat down, took the pen, and affixed her sig- nature to the deed which sundered the dearest hopes and the fondest ties which human hearts can feel. Poor Eugene could endure this an- guish no longer. His brain reeled, his heart ceased to beat, and he fell lifeless upon the floor Josephine and Hortense retired with the at- tendants who bore out the insensible form of the affectionate son and brother. It was a fit- ting termination of this mournful but sublime tragedy. But the anguish of the day was not yet closed. Josephine, half delirious with grief, had another oene still more painful to pass through in tak- ing a final adieu of him who had been her hus- oand. She remained in her chamber, in heart- rending, speechless grief, until the hour arrived in which Napoleon usually retired for the right. The emperor, restless and wretched, had \usl A..D.1809.] DIVORCE AND LAST DAYS. 297 La*t private interview between Josephine and Napoleon. placed himself in the bed from which he had ejected his most faithful and devoted wife, and the attendant was on the point of leaving th room, when the private door of his chamber was slowly opened, and Josephine tremblingly entered, Her eyes were swollen with grief, her hair disheveled, and she appeared in all the dis- habille of unutterable anguish. She tottered into the middle of the room, and approached the bed ; then, irresolutely stopping, she buried her face in her hands, and burst into a flood of tears. A feeling of delicacy seemed for a moment to have arrested her steps a consciousness that she had now no right to enter the chamber of Napoleon ; but in another moment all the pent- up love of her heart burst forth, and, forgetting every thing in the fullness of her anguish, she threw herself upon the bed, clasped Napoleon's neck in her arms, and exclaiming, "My hus oand ! my husband !" sobbed as though her heart were breaking. The imperial spirit of Napo- leon was for the moment entirely vanquished, and he also wept almost convulsively. He as- gured Josephine of his love of his ardent and undying love. In every way he tried to soothe and comfort her, and for some time they remain- ed looked in each other's embrace. The attend- 298 JOSEPHINE. [A.D. The toil adlem. Mental ai-guish of Napoleon. ant was dismissed, and for an hour they con- tinued together in this last private interview. Josephine then, in the experience of an inten- sity of anguish which few hearts have ever known, parted forever from the husband whom *he had so long, so fondly, and so faithfully loved. After the empress had retired, with a deso- lated heart, to her chamber of unnatural widow- hood, the attendant entered the apartment of Napoleon to remove the lights. He found the emperor so buried beneath the bed-clothes as to be invisible. Not a word was uttered. The lights were removed, and the unhappy monarch was left in darkness and silence to the dreadful companionship of his own thoughts. The next morning the death-like pallor of his cheek, his sunken eye, and the haggard expression of his countenance, attested that the emperor had passed the night in sleeplessness and suffering. Great as was the wrong which Napoleon thus inflicted upon the noble Josephine, every one must be sensible of a certain kind of grandeur which pervades the tragedy. When we con- template the brutal butcheries of Henry VIII., u wife after wife was compelled to place her head upon the block, merely to afford room for the indulgence of his vagrant passions ; when A.D 1810.J DIVORCE AND LAST DAYS. MaJmaiion aisigned to Josephine a* her ftiture residence. we contemplate George IV., by neglect and in- humanity driving Caroline to desperation and to crime, and polluting the ear of the world with the revolting story of sin and shame ; when we contemplate the Bourbons, generation after gen- eration, rioting in voluptuousness, in utter dis- regard of all the laws of God and man, while we can not abate one iota of our condemnation of the great wrong which Napoleon perpetrated, we feel that it becomes the monarchies of Eu- rope to be sparing in their condemnation. The beautiful palace of Malmaison, which Napoleon had embellished with every possible attraction, and where the emperor and empress had passed many of their happiest hours, was assigned to Josephine for her future residence. Napoleon settled upon her a jointure of about six hundred thousand dollars a year. She was still to retain the title and the rank of Empress- Queen. The ensuing day, at eleven o'clock, all the household of the Tuilleries were assembled upon die grand staircase and in the vestibule, to wit- ness the departure of their beloved mistress from oenes where she had so long been the brightest ornament. Josephine descended, veiled from bead to foot. Her emotions were too deep foi 300 JOSEPHINE. [A.D. 1810 Joephlne learei the Tuillerles. Madame de RochfocauJt utterance, and she waved an adieu to the affec- tionate and weeping friends who surrounded her. A. close carriage, with six horses, was before the door. She entered it, sank back upon the cush- ions, buried her face in her handkerchief, and, sobbing bitterly, left the Tuilleries forever. Josephine was still surrounded with all the external splendors of royalty. She was beloved throughout France, and admired throughout Europe. Napoleon frequently called upon her, though, from motives of delicacy, he never saw her alone. He consulted her respecting all his plans, and most assiduously cherished her friend- ship. It was soon manifest that the surest way of securing the favor of Napoleon was to pay marked attention to Josephine. The palace of Malmaison, consequently, became the favorite resort of all the members of the court of Napo- leon. Soon after the divorce, Madame de Roche- foucault, formerly mistress of the robes to Jose- phine, deserting the forsaken empress, applied for the same post of honor in the household cf Maria Louisa. Napoleon, when he heard of the application, promptly and indignantly replied, " She shall neither retain her old situation nor have the new one. I am accused of ungrateful conduct toward Josephine, but I do not choose A.D. 1810.J DIVORCE AND LAST DAYS. 301 sx DAYS. 323 niustrioui party at Malmalaoo. Illness of Joephlne> which you so long embellished. A single mo- tive restrained me, and that you may divine. If I learn that I am the only one who will ful- fill her duty, nothing shall detain me, and 1 will go to the only place where, henceforth, there can be happiness for me, since I shall be able to console you when you are there isolated and unfortunate ! Say but the word, and I de- part Adieu, sire ; whatever I would add would still be too little. It is no longer by wmds that my sentiments for you are to be proved, and for actiov* your consent is neces- sary." A few days after this letter was written, the Emperor Alexander, with a number of illustri- ous guests, dined with Josephine at Malmai- son. In the evening twilight, the party went out upon the beautiful lawn in front of the house for recreation. Josephine, whose health had become exceedingly precarious through care and sorrow, being regardless of herself in devo- tion to her friends, took a violent cold. The aext day she was worse. Without any very definite form of disease, she day after day grew more faint and feeble, until it was evident that her final change was near at hand. Eugena nd Hortense, her most affectionate children, 326 JOSEPHINE. [A.D. 1814 Jotephine always deiired the happlnesi of France. Affecting prayer were with her by day and by night. They communicated to her the judgment of her phy- sician that death was near. She heard the tidings with perfect composure, and called for a clergyman to administer to her the last rites of religion. Just after this solemnity the Emperor Alex- ander entered the room. Eugene and Hortense, bathed in tears, were kneeling at their mother's side. Josephine beckoned to the emperor to approach her, and said to him and her children, " I have always desired the happiness of France. I did all in my power to contribute t it ; and J can say with truth, to all of you now present, at my last moments, that the first wife of Na- poleon never caused a single tear to flow." She called for the portrait of the emperor ; she gazed upon it long and tenderly ; and then, fervently pressing it in her clasped hands to her bosom, faintly articulated the following prayer : " O God ! watch over Napoleon while he re- mains in the desert of this world. Alas ! though he hath committed great faults, hath he not expiated them by great sufferings ? Just God, thou hast looked into his heart, and hast seen by how ardent a desire for useful and durable improvements he was animate* 3 . lcign w. p- A.D.lbl4. DIVORCE AND LAST DAYS. 327 Death of Joephina Tribute to her memory by *laiink>. prove my last petition. And may this image of my husband bear me witness that my latest wish and my latest prayer were for him and my children." It was the 29th of May, 1814. A tranquil summer's day was fading away into a cloud- less, serene, and beautiful evening. The rays of the setting sun, struggling through the foli- age of the open window, shone cheerfully upon the bed where the empress was dying. The vesper songs of the birds which filled the groves of Malmaison floated sweetly upon the ear, and the gentle spirit of Josephine, lulled to repose by these sweet anthems, sank into its last sleep. Gazing upon the portrait of the emperor, she exclaimed, " L'isle d'Elbe Napoleon!" and died. Alexander, as he gazed upon her lifeless re- mains, burst into tears, and uttered the follow- ing affecting yet just tribute of respect to her memory : " She is no more ; that woman whom France named the beneficent, that angel of goodness, is no more. Those who have known Josephine can never forget her. She dies re- gretted by her offspring, her friends, and her ootemporaries." For four days her body remained shrouded 92$ JOSEPHINE. f A.D. 1814 Funeral ceremonle*. Monumental Inscription. in state for its burial. During this time more than twenty thousand of the people of France visited her beloved remains. On the 2d of Tune, at mid-day, the funeral procession moved from Malmaison to Ruel, where the body was deposited in a tomb of the village church. The funeral services were conducted with the great- est magnificence, as the sovereigns of the allied armies united with the French in doing honor to her memory. When all had left the church but Eugene and Hortense, they knelt beside their mother's grave, and for a long time min- gled their prayers and their tears. A beautiful monument of white marble, representing the empress kneeling in her coronation robes, it erected over her burial-place, with this simple but affecting inscription : EUGENE AND HORTEN8B TO JOSEPHINE. TKB EHfc. University of California SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 405 Hilgard Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90024-1388 Return this material to the library from which it was borrowed. UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY A 000 879 535 3