family—early surroundings—eugene de beauharnais—marriage—separation from her husband

the proudest monument in the island of martinique, in the french west indies, so any inhabitant will tell you, is the statue of a woman in the town of st. pierre. the woman thus honored is josephine, once empress of the french people, who, so the legend on the pedestal of the statue relates was born at the hamlet of trois ilets, martinique, on june 23, 1763.

if one searches in the legends of the island for an explanation of the position to which the child of this humble spot arose, he will find nothing more serious than the prophecy of an old negress, made to the little girl herself, that one day she would be queen of france. if he looks in the chronicles of the island for an explanation, he will find nothing to indicate that she could ever rise higher than the life of an indolent creole, a life narrowed by poverty and made tolerable chiefly by the beauty of the nature about her and by her own happy indifference of temperament.

joseph tascher de la pagerie, the child’s father, was the eldest son of a noble of blois, france, who went to martinique in the first quarter of the eighteenth century chiefly because he could not succeed in anything in his own country. 326he did no better in martinique than he had done in france and was only able to start his children in life by dint of soliciting favors for them from his well-to-do relatives at home. for joseph he obtained a small military position, but the lad was no better at improving his opportunities than his father had been and returned to martinique after a few years a lieutenant of marines—without a place.

when soliciting failed, nothing was left in those days for a nobleman who did not relish work but marriage, and joseph succeeded, by help of his friends, in making a very good one with mlle. rose-claire des vergers de sannois, whose father was of noble descent and, what was more to the point, was prosperous and of good standing in martinique. joseph went to live on a charming plantation belonging to his father-in-law, just back from the sea and near the village of trois ilets. soon after this, war with the english called him into service as a defender of the french west indies. the war was not long, and for his services he secured a pension of 450 livres (about ninety dollars). it came none too soon, for a passing hurricane devastated the plantation at trois ilets in 1766, and drove the family into one of the sugar houses to live. m. de la pagerie was never able to repair the damages to his plantation done by the storm or build another home for his family. he never, indeed, followed any steady employment, but idled his life away in gaming, intrigue, and soliciting—always in debt, always in bad odor among honest men—his only asset his birth.

but to the happiness of little josephine it mattered very little in those days whether her home was a sugar-house or a palace, her father an honest man or a sycophant. her days were spent under the brilliant skies, in the forests or the open fields, chasing birds and butterflies, and gathering the gorgeous tropical flowers which to the end of her life 327she passionately loved. almost her only companions were the negroes of the plantations, who gave her willing admiration and obedience. untaught, unrestrained, idolized by slaves, knowing nothing but the tropical luxury and beauty of the nature about her, she developed like the birds and the negroes, becoming, it is true, a graceful, beautiful little animal, but with hardly more moral sense than they and with even less sense of responsibility.

josephine was ten years old before it occurred to anybody to send her to school. so far her only instruction had been what little she had gathered from a mother occupied with younger children; from the priest of trois ilets, who, it is fair to suppose, must have at least tried to teach her the catechism, and from the curious lore and gossip of the negroes. at ten, however, she was sent to a convent at fort royale, where she remained some four years. here she was taught such rudimentary knowledge as enabled her to read,—if not understand, to write a polite note, to dance,—not very well, to sing, and play the guitar a little. it was a small equipment, but no doubt as good as most young girls of martinique possessed in that day. indeed many a noble-born maid in france started out with less in the eighteenth century, and it was quite as much as one would suppose from her position that she would need—more than she used indeed, for little yeyette, as josephine was called, if amiable and obedient when she left the convent, was indolent and vain, loving far better her childish play of decorating herself with brilliant flowers and watching her own image in the clear water of the pools on the plantation, than she did books and music; and the loving flattery of her old nurse was dearer to her than any amusement she found in the meager society of the island, where she now was to take her place and, her parents hoped, help retrieve the bad fortunes of the family by a good marriage.

328the opportunity came quickly. josephine had been but a few months out of the convent when one day her father laid before her what must have been a bewildering and, one would suppose, a terrifying proposition—would she like to leave martinique and go to france, there to marry alexander de beauharnais. the boy was not unknown to her. like herself, he was born in martinique, and though he had left there when she was only seven years old and he ten, it is not unlikely that she had seen him occasionally at the home of her grandmother who cared for him in the absence of his father and mother in france.

the influence which had led the father of alexander de beauharnais to ask for the hand of a daughter of m. de la pagerie for his son was not altogether creditable. the two families had never known each other until 1757, when m. de beauharnais came to martinique as its governor. the elder m. de la pagerie was not slow in seeking the new governor’s acquaintance and support for his family, for the latter was rich and in favor with the king at versailles. the relation prospered sufficiently for m. de la pagerie to secure a place in the household of the governor for one of his daughters. he could have done nothing better for his family. this daughter was not long in gaining an important influence over both m. and mme. de beauharnais, and in winning as a husband m. renaudin, an excellent man and prosperous. this for herself. for her family, she secured so many favors from the governor that it became a matter of serious criticism and finally, added to other indiscretions, led to a divorce between her and m. renaudin. all this scandal did not influence the governor, however, and when, in 1761, he left martinique, on account of the dissatisfaction with his administration there, and hurried to france with his wife to make his peace at versailles, mme. renaudin went, too. there she prospered, buying a home and laying aside 329money. it was m. de beauharnais’s money, people said. however this may be, it is certain that she exercised great influence over him, that for her he neglected his wife, and that after the latter’s death the friendship or liaison continued until his death.

from all this it will be seen that mme. renaudin was a clever woman, intent on making the most out of the one really strong relation she had been able to form in her life. she was clever enough to see, when alexander was brought to france after his mother’s death, that his love and gratitude would be one of her strongest cards with the father in the future. she set to work to win the boy’s heart, and she succeeded admirably. in his eyes, she took his mother’s place, and her influence over him was almost unlimited.

by the time he was seventeen, alexander de beauharnais was a most attractive youth. he had been well educated in the manner of his time, having been, with his elder brother, under the care of an excellent tutor for a number of years, two of which, at least, were passed in germany. after his brother entered the army, alexander and his tutor joined the household of the duke de la rochefoucauld and there studied with the latter’s nephews. in this aristocratic atmosphere he imbibed all the new liberal ideas of the day; he learned, at the same time, the graces of the most exquisite french society and the philosophy of rousseau. alexander was seventeen years old when his education was pronounced finished, and a search was made for a place for him suitable to his birth, his relations, and his ambition. thanks, largely, to the duke de la rochefoucauld, he was made a lieutenant in the army.

no sooner was his position in the world fixed, than mme. renaudin made up her mind that he must marry one of her nieces in martinique. it mattered not at all that alexander had not yet thought of marriage. mme. renaudin persuaded 330him it would be a good thing—not a difficult task for her since at marriage the youth was to come into a much larger income than he then enjoyed. alexander satisfied, she soon persuaded his father to write to m. de la pagerie. the letter shows the whole situation:—“my children,” wrote m. de beauharnais, “each enjoy an annual income of 40,000 livres (about $8,000). you are free to give me your daughter to share the fortune of my chevalier. the respect and affection he has for mme. renaudin make him eager to marry one of her nieces. you see that i consent freely to his wishes by asking the hand of your second daughter, whose age is more suited to his. if your eldest daughter (josephine) had been a few years younger, i certainly should have preferred her, as she is pictured quite as favorably to me as the other; but my son, who is only seventeen and a half, thinks that a young lady of fifteen is too near his own age.”

now, just before this letter reached martinique, the second daughter of m. de la pagerie had died of fever. the chance was not to be missed, however, and the father hastened to write to m. de beauharnais that he might have either of the two daughters remaining; josephine or marie, the latter then a child of between eleven and twelve years. from the long correspondence which followed, one gathers that it is the elders in the transaction who really count. alexander is resigned, little marie absolutely refuses to leave her mother, and josephine, of whom little is said, seems to be willing, even eager for the adventure. the upshot of it was that, in october, 1779, m. de la pagerie sailed for france with josephine. he arrived at brest in november, worn out by the passage, and there his sister, mme. renaudin, came with alexander to meet them. if the first impression of his fiancée did not arouse any enthusiasm in alexander, it at least offered no reason for breaking the 331engagement. “she is not so pretty as i expected,” he wrote to his father; “but i can assure you that the frankness and sweetness of her character are beyond anything we have been told.”

from brest the little party travelled together to paris, where the marriage took place on december 12. the young pair at once went to live with the marquis de beauharnais, and that winter josephine was introduced into the brilliant society of the capital. she seems to have made but a poor impression, for in spite of the 20,000 livres that mme. renaudin had spent on her trousseau, she had after all a provincial air which irritated her husband, accustomed as he was to the ease and elegance of aristocratic paris. what was worse in his eyes, she seemed to have no desire to improve herself on the models he laid down. poor little josephine had no head for the exaggerated sentiment, the fine speculations, and the chatter about liberty, nature and the social contract which flowed so glibly from every french tongue in those days. she loved pretty gowns and jewels and childish amusements; above all, she demanded to be loved exclusively and passionately by her handsome young husband. when he scolded her, she cried, and when he devoted himself to brighter women, she was jealous; and so before the first six months of their married life was over, josephine was seeing many unhappy hours, and the viscount gladly left her behind when he was called to his regiment. nevertheless, in his absence, he wrote her long letters, largely of advice on what she should study, and took pains to laugh at her jealousy and her complaints. the birth of their first child, in september, 1781, a boy, who received the name of eugène, did little to restore peace between the two. the viscount continued to spend much time away from paris, either with his regiment or in travel, and when at home, he did not always share his pleasures with 332his wife. the tactics with which josephine met his restlessness and his indifference were the worst possible to be used on a man whose passion was for ideas, for elevated sentiments, for bold and brilliant actions—she was amiable and indolent as a kitten until a new neglect came, and then she gave up to a continuous weeping.

one reason, no doubt, of the restlessness of beauharnais was his failure to advance in his profession as fast as he desired. he had been made a captain, but he wished for a regiment; and when late in 1782 a descent of the english on martinique threatened, he enlisted for service there. peace was made between france and england before he had an opportunity to distinguish himself, but he remained in martinique some time. he had fallen in love there; and unhappily his new mistress had persuaded him that josephine had had love affairs of her own before she left martinique to marry him. there was never any proof of the truth of any of the stories she retailed to him; but beauharnais was glad to have a reason for deserting his wife, and he wrote her a brutal letter, in which he justified his demand for a divorce by the righteous indignation which had seized him when he heard of her follies. the letter reached josephine in the summer of 1783. in the april before, she had given birth to a daughter, christened hortense-eugénie. it was the first word she had received from her husband since her confinement.

beauharnais reached paris in october (his mistress had preceded him); and in spite of the efforts of his family and friends, all of whom took josephine’s part, he secured a separation. she, however, received from the courts the fullest reparation possible, considering the viscount’s means—a pension for herself and the children; the custody of eugène, until he was five years old, and permanent possession of hortense.

333josephine now went to live at the abbey de panthemont, a refuge for women of the french nobility who had suffered in one way or another. here her youth, beauty, sweetness of disposition, and her misfortune made her a favorite with many a noble dame; and she soon learned in this atmosphere more of the ways of aristocratic society than she had learned in all her previous married life.

after nearly a year in the abbey, josephine returned to her father-in-law, who was living at fontainebleau. the life she here took up pleased her very well. she had an income for herself and children of something over $2,000 a year, she was free, she knew many amusing people, she had admirers, many say, lovers,—we should be surprised more if she had not had them than if she had, it was the way of her world. she was devoted to her children, she cared for the marquis de beauharnais and mme. renaudin in their illnesses, and she corresponded regularly with her husband—whom she never saw—concerning their children. in 1788, she broke the monotony of her life by a trip to martinique, taking hortense with her. she remained some two years in the island—a sad two years, for both her father and her sister were very ill at the time, and both died soon after her return to paris, in the fall of 1790.