Josephine and Bonaparte

JOSEPHINE AND BONAPARTE.

WE get much light upon Josephine, and upon Napoleon's general brutality towards women from the Memoirs of Madame de Remusat, which the people of Paris have been reading lately with so much interest. This lady was a member of the household of the Empress Josephine for several years, and she gives its an inside view of Napoleon's court which is highly edifying. A particularly interesting chapter is that in which the coronation of Bonaparte and Josephine is related ; a scene which Tiers has described with extraordinary splendor and graphic power. Tillers gives us the outside of the wondrous show; Madame de Remusat the inside.

It was November, 1804. The new emperor and empress were at the palace of Saint-Cloud, with the ladies and gentlemen of their "households," a great company of noted persons, all looking forward with intensest interest to the coming spectacle. The brothers and sisters of Napoleon were there with their families and retinue. A great preliminary question agitated the circle, respecting the position of Josephine in the ceremony of the coronation. Should she be a spectator or a participant ? All in a word : Was she about to be crowned or divorced? Bonaparte himself passionately desired an heir to his new throne, which Josephine could never give him. In his address to the Senate, formally accepting the throne, he used such language as this:

"My descendants will long preserve this throne. In the field, they will he the first soldiers of the army, sacrificing their lives for the defence of their country. As magistrates, they will never lose sight of the truth that contempt for the laws and of the social order are only the results of the weakness and indecision of princes."

To the people of France the full significance of these words was not apparent; but Josephine and all the family of Bonaparte knew very well what they meant. His brothers and sisters, who had nothing of Napoleon but his littleness, urged him with excessive importunity to seize this occasion to set Josephine aside. If they had been less persistent, they might have succeeded, for the emperor was strongly tempted to begin his reign with this act of baseness. Josephine herself was torn with anxiety, for she loved the pomps and splendors of a court, and was really attached to her husband. In the crisis of these family intrigues an incident occurred which came near deciding the question against Josephine.

Imagine a large drawing-room at Saint-Cloud, with windows looking out upon the beautiful gardens of that royal chateau, and commanding a view of the opposite wing in which were the emperor's own rooms. Imagine this drawing-room filled with the ladies belonging to the household of the empress, occupied in various idle employments. One of the ladies suddenly leaves the apartment, and Josephine, who had been for some weeks very jealous of her, looks out of the window, and sees her enter the emperor's cabinet. She took Madame de Remusat aside, and said to her in fierce whispers:

"I am going this very hour to know the truth of the matter. Remain in this saloon with all my circle, and if any one asks what has become of me, you will say that the emperor has sent for me."

The lady strove to retain her, but she was beside herself with passion, and would not listen to her. Josephine left the mom, and was gone for half an hour. Then returning, she ordered Madame de Remusat to follow her into her chamber.

"All is lost! " cried the empress, as soon as they were alone; " and what I suspected is only too true. I sought the emperor in his cabinet. He was not there! Then I went by the secret staircase to the little suite of rooms above. I found the door shut, but through the keyhole I heard their voices. I knocked very loud, saying who I was. When the door was opened I burst into reproaches, and she began to cry. Bonaparte flew into a passion so violent that I scarcely had time to escape from his resentment. In truth, T am still trembling ; for I do not know to what excess he would have carried his fury. No doubt he will come here, and I expect a terrible scene."

"Do not commit a second fault," said Madame do Remusat ; " for the emperor would never forgive your making a confidante of any one whatever in this matter. Let me leave you, madame. He must find you alone, and do try to soften him, and repair so great an imprudence."
There was indeed a terrible scene between the most arbitrary of men and his jealous wife. As soon as he was gone, .Josephine called Madame de Remusat to her and told her that Bonaparte in his anger had broken some of the furniture, and given her notice to prepare to leave Saint-Cloud, as he was tired of being watched by a jealous woman. He was resolved, he said, to shake off such a yoke, and then do what his policy required—marry a woman who could give him children. Upon leaving her, he sent to Paris for her son Eugene to come and take charge of his mother's departure from the palace.

"I am lost beyond resource," said Josephine.

Eugene arrived. He behaved nobly, refusing all recompense and benefits of every kind, and declaring that he would devote; himself to his mother, even if he had to go back with her to Martinique, her native island. Bonaparte appeared struck with this generous devotion, and listened to the young man in " ferocious silence." A few days passed. Josephine acted upon the advice of her lady, and played the part of the contrite and submissive wife. Napoleon, who had really loved her after his fashion, was soon mollified, and he then endeavored to persuade her to spare him the pain of sending her away by going away herself.

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"I have not the courage," said he to her, " to take the last resolution, and if you exhibit too much sorrow, and if you only obey me, I feel that I shall never be firm enough to compel you to leave me; but, I confess, I greatly desire that you should resign yourself to the interest of my policy, and that you yourself should relieve me of the embarrassment of this painful separation."

To all such words as these, Josephine only replied by the penetrating eloquence of tears. These might not have succeeded if the other Bonapartes had not urged the divorce with the vehemence of personal jealously and dislike. They thought they had succeeded, and boasted of their triumph a little too openly and confidently. Napoleon perceived this, and suddenly determined to disappoint them. He told her one evening that the Pope was about to arrive, who would crown them both iii the cathedral of Notre Dame.

The preparations now went forward with great rapidity. There were private rehearsals of the coronation, attended by the artist David, who directed the positions of each performer, and arranged all the details of the scene. It was on one of these occasions that Napoleon announced his intention of putting the crown upon his own head; for. said he :

"I found the crown of France on the ground, and I picked it up."

On the great day, the sisters of Napoleon were forced to carry the train of the empress ; a duty which they per-formed with so much repugnance, and so badly, that she could scarcely walk, until the emperor growled a sharp reproof through his clenched teeth.

The most startling anecdote which these Memoirs have so far given, is one showing that Napoleon was willing at one time to palm of on the French people a false heir to the throne. Attempts of this kind have been the subject of more than one popular novel; but here it figures as a fact. Josephine, to save her crown, gave her consent to the fraud, and Bonaparte sent for his chief physician, Corvisart, to arrange with him the details. Dr. Corvisart proved to be a man of courage and honor. He refused to lend himself to the deception, and the notable project was of necessity given up. It was not until after the marriage of Bonaparte with Marie Louise and the birth of her son, that Dr. Corvisart confided this secret to Madame de Remusat.

Such is personal government. Such are courts. Such are the consequences of resting the honor and safety of a nation upon one man.

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Source: Daughters of Genius: A Series of Sketches of authors, artists, reformers, and heroines, queens, princesses, and women of society, women eccentric and peculiar. James Parton, Hubbard Brothers, Publishers, Philadelphia: 1886.