bonaparte is made first consul—josephine’s tact in public life—her personal charm—malmaison
josephine realized fully that if her victory over her brothers-in-law was complete, it could endure only during her own good behavior—that, if she ever again gave them reason for complaining of her conduct, she probably would have to suffer the full penalty of her wrongdoing. she must have realized, too, that the supreme power she had once exercised over napoleon was at an end, that he could get along very well without her. the absorbing passion of the italian campaign had become the comfortable, unexacting affection which would have been so welcome to her in 1796. the change, if more peaceable, brought its dangers, she well knew. it meant that if she kept him now, she not only must be irreproachable in her life, but she must foster his affection by her devotion, amuse him, stand by him in his ambition; she must be the suitor now. there was no question in her mind that he was worth it. if there ever had been, the wonderful enthusiasm of the people on his return from egypt would have dissipated the doubt. her course was evident, and she adopted it immediately, and applied herself to it with more seriousness than she ever had given to anything before in her life. indeed, the only serious purpose consistently followed which is to be found in josephine’s life is the resolve taken after the egyptian campaign, unconsciously, no doubt, to keep what remained to her of napoleon’s affection, to make herself necessary to him.
361an opportunity to show him how useful she might be in his career came very soon. the coup d’état of the 18th and 19th brumaire (9th and 10th november, 1799) resulted in napoleon’s being made first consul in the new government which took the place of the directory. the bonapartes went at once to the luxembourg palace to live, and remained there until february, when the tuileries was made the government house. as the first lady of the land, josephine was in a position where she could be an infinite harm or help to her husband. any flippancy, self-will, or malice in managing the crowds of people she saw from day to day would have been fatal both to her and to napoleon. the tact she showed from the first in playing the hostess of france was exquisite. that a woman who for thirty-seven years had been the plaything of fate, who had shown no moral principle or high purpose in meeting the crises of her life, whose chief aim had always been pleasure, and whose only weapons had been her sweet temper and her tears, should preside over the official society of a newly-formed government and not only make no mistakes, but every day knit the discordant elements of that society more close, is one of the marvels of feminine intuition and adaptability.
no doubt but that with josephine her perfect goodness of heart was at the bottom of her tact. she had no malice, she much preferred to see even her enemies happy rather than miserable, and though she might weep and complain of their unkindness, if she had an opportunity she would do them a favor. her goodness impressed everybody. the most disgruntled, after passing a few moments with the wife of the first consul, went away mollified, if not satisfied; and a second visit usually satisfied them. she flattered the rough soldiers, when napoleon, always eager to show attention to the army, presented them to her, by her knowledge 362of their deeds. she softened the suspicions of the radical republicans by her affectation of sans-culottism and her familiarity with the members of the girondin and terrorist governments. she aroused hope among the aristocrats that she would secure them favors from the government—was she not one of themselves? was not her first husband a viscount and a victim of the guillotine. she really wanted everybody to be pleased, and by her mere amiability she came as near as a human being can to pleasing everybody.
she was wise, too, in her dealings with people. she never pretended to know anything about politics—that was napoleon’s business; but if she could do them a favor, she would; and straightway she wrote a note or took her carriage to intercede, personally, for them. if she was refused, she explained with much pains just why it was; if she succeeded, she was as pleased as a child. hundreds of her little notes soliciting favors, are to be seen in the collections in europe. napoleon allowed her a free hand in this matter, for he appreciated how purely it was good will, not any desire to mix in politics, which animated her. he realized, too, how valuable to the first consul it was to have some one who always made a friend, whether she secured a favor or not.
no doubt much of josephine’s influence was due to her personal charm. she was never strictly a beautiful woman, but her grace was so exquisite, her toilet so perfect, her expression so winning, that defects were forgotten in the delight of her personality. madame de remusat, in describing josephine, says that without being beautiful, she possessed a peculiar charm. her features were fine and harmonious; her expression was pleasant; her mouth, which was small, concealed skilfully her poor teeth; her complexion, which was rather dark, was helped out by rouge and powder; her form was perfect, her limbs being supple and 363delicate, and every movement of her body was easy. “i never knew anyone,” mme. de remusat writes, “to whom one could apply more appropriately la fontaine’s verse, ‘et la grace, plus belle encore que la beauté.’”
one of josephine’s greatest charms was her voice: it was soft, well modulated, and very musical; it always put napoleon under a peculiar spell. she was an excellent reader, and seemed never to tire of reading aloud. in the intimacy of their apartments she spent much time reading aloud to napoleon, and often, when he was sleepless after a hard day, she would sit by his bed with a book until he fell asleep. many of those who heard her read have said that the charm of her voice was such that one forgot entirely what she was saying and listened simply to the music of the sound.
constant says, in describing josephine: “she was of medium height and of a rarely perfect form; her movements were supple and light, making her walk something fairylike, without preventing a certain majesty becoming to a sovereign; her face changed with every thought of her soul, and never lost its charming sweetness; in pleasure as in sorrow she was always beautiful to look upon. there never was a woman who demonstrated better than she that ‘the eyes are the mirror of the soul;’ hers were of a deep blue, and almost always half closed by her long lids, which were slightly arched and bordered with the most beautiful lashes in the world. her hair was very beautiful, long and soft; she liked to dress it in the morning with a red madras handkerchief, which gave her a creole air, most piquant to see.”
364
josephine at malmaison.
by prud’hon. this charming portrait, which is one of prud’hon’s most successful works, and also one of the most graceful and faithful likenesses of josephine, was doubtless executed at the same time as isabey’s picture of napoleon wandering, a solitary dreamer, in the long alleys at malmaison (1798). (see page 88.) prud’hon shows us josephine in the garden of the chateau she loved so well, and in which she spent the happiest moments of her life, before seeking it as a final refuge in her grief and despair. the empress presents a full-length portrait, turned to the left; she is seated on a stone bench amid the groves of the park, in an attitude of reverie, and wears a white décolletté robe embroidered in gold. a crimson shawl is draped round her.—a. d.
365josephine showed her wisdom, from the beginning of the consulate, in yielding to napoleon’s wishes about whom she should receive. the first consul’s notions of official society were severe and well-matured. nobody should be admitted that did not support his government. at least, if they criticised, they must do so quietly. the army must be honored there before all. the republicans must be made to feel, of course, that this was their society. the aristocrats must be encouraged just as far as it could be done without giving the people alarm. a fusion of all elements was really what he aimed at, but nobody dared mention that fact. josephine’s intuition seems to have guided her almost unerringly through the difficult task of giving just the right amount of encouragement and attention to each.
above all, in this new society there must be no irregularities, no scandals. the government must be respectable. there should be no speculators, no contractors, no fakirs, no persons of immorality of any sort; only honest people, and they must behave. order, decency, and dignity were to prevail in the consulate. no more impromptu suppers for josephine, no more dinners with barras and mme. tallien and their like, no more moonlight walks in the garden at malmaison. la vie bohème was ended, and she was wise enough to accept the situation and make the most of it.
for nearly two years the entertainments over which josephine presided as wife of the first consul were very simple. there were balls and parades and fêtes, but they were conducted like such functions in a great private house, where there is only the necessary etiquette to insure order and comfort. it was a republican court which was held at the tuileries and at malmaison—for the country home of the bonapartes had come to be almost an official residence, so much of their time was spent there and so many were the visitors who came there. the place was a great delight to josephine. she was having the chateau rebuilt and the gardens laid out over again, and she was indulging her caprices fully in doing it. she must have a new dining-room, large enough to seat a great diplomatic dinner party, if necessary. there 366must be a new billiard room, a new library, new private apartments, more room for guests and servants, more stable room. but to build over an old house in this elaborate way was no easy task, particularly when the proprietor enlarged and changed his plans each month. the architects warned bonaparte that it would be cheaper to pull down the old chateau than to rebuild, but the work was under way, and it must go on. a year and a half after the repairs began, and before anything was completed, the bills were sent in—$120,000 had already been spent. “for what?” demanded the enraged first consul. protest as he would the work had to continue. for years malmaison was a constant expense—for josephine, never satisfied, was always enlarging and changing. in the end, the chateau was nearly double its original size, but its exterior never had any real distinction. the interior, however, was most interesting from the great number of rare and beautiful art objects which it contained and which, for the most part, josephine had either received as gifts or had brought from italy. there was a wonderful mantel of white marble, ornamented with mosaic, given to her by the pope, and there were vases of berlin from the king of prussia. there were rare specimens of the ancient and modern works of all the italian painters, sculptors, potters, metal workers, and there were pictures by all the great french artists of the day, among them many portraits of napoleon—in egypt, in italy, crossing the alps.
josephine took even more interest in the park and gardens at malmaison than in the chateau. she was passionately fond of flowers, and immediately undertook to cultivate at malmaison a garden of rare plants, similar to that which marie antoinette had started at the petit trianon. this soon became, at the suggestion of the professional botanists she called in to assist her in collecting her plants, a veritable 367botanical garden. she gathered from the world over, and her fancy becoming known, ambassadors, merchants, and travellers, foreign and french, exerted themselves to please her. in the end, thanks to the skilful gardeners she secured, her plants became of large public value and interest. masson says that between 1804 and 1814, 184 new species of plants found their way into the country through josephine’s garden. the eucalyptus, hybiscus, catalpa, and camelia were first cultivated by her, not to speak of many varieties of heather, myrtle, geranium, cactus, and rhododendron.
when she first owned malmaison, the land was in park or in vines, and there were some long avenues of fine trees. there was none of the complicated english gardening which was then in fashion. josephine would have nothing else. so the fine allées and lawns were destroyed, and groups of shrubs, long rows of hedges, a brook, lakes, winding paths, a swiss village, a temple of love, grottoes, a cascade, an endless variety of artificial and sentimental devices, took their place. to decorate this park of malmaison to josephine’s liking, the government turned over to her dozens of bronze and marble busts, vases, columns, and statues, some of them of great value.
one curious and amusing feature of the park was the animals it contained. josephine was as fond of pets as of flowers. she always had one or more dogs from which she was never separated—not even napoleon could make her give them up, much as he detested them. at malmaison, she gave free rein to her liking. birds were her chief delight, and she bought scores. in three years her bill for birds from one dealer was over $4,500. the lakes were filled with swans, black and white, and ducks from america and china; in the parks were kangaroos, deer, gazelles, a chamois; there were monkeys everywhere; and there were no end of trained pets of all kinds—usually gifts. none of these animals were of any practical use; to be sure there was a flock of valuable sheep, but these were kept merely as a decoration to a certain field, the shepherds who guarded them having been brought in their native costumes from switzerland.
368
malmaison.
369josephine’s interest in her garden and flowers and animals was beyond that of the mere prodigal who buys for the sake of buying and loses his interest in possessing. one of the delights of her life at malmaison was visiting daily her animals, in each of which she took the liveliest interest. her flowers she watched carefully, and she took great delight in distributing them. many gardens in france to-day contain plants and trees which are said to be grown from cuttings sent to some dead-and-gone ancestor by josephine.
during the first two years of the consulate, in spite of all the changes going on, malmaison was the source of much brilliant life. here when the news of marengo reached paris, josephine had tents spread, and gave a great fête in honor of the victory; here gathered all the artists and writers and musicians of the day; here eminent travellers came. there was great simplicity in all entertaining, and when only the private circle of the consul was present, there was much went on which looked like romping, bonaparte and josephine leading in the games.
the favorite amusement was private theatricals. bonaparte was very fond of the drama, had studied it carefully for many years, and he gave much attention to the performances at malmaison. the little company there was very good, hortense de beauharnais and bourrienne, bonaparte’s secretary, being actors of more than ordinary ability. something of the care that was given to the preparation of an entertainment is indicated by the fact that talma himself used to come to the rehearsals to criticise. theatricals took such a place in the life at malmaison that finally a little theatre 370was built. it would seat perhaps 200 persons, and was connected with the salons of the chateau by a long gallery.
at the tuileries, the bonapartes were in a government house; at malmaison they were at home, and they never anywhere were so gay, so busy, and so happy together. certainly in these two years josephine succeeded admirably in her purpose of repairing the mischief she had done by her past indiscretions. it was not alone her tact in society and its value to him which had won napoleon. it was that she had been to him an incessant delight and comfort. she yielded to his will unquestioningly and willingly, and this pliability was the more welcome because his own family were in incessant opposition to his wishes. she was always on hand, ready to walk, to drive, to go with him where he would. she was tireless in her efforts to please the people he wanted pleased, to carry off successfully the burdensome functions of official life, to provide the entertainment he liked. she studied his tastes and foresaw his wants. she tried to please him in the least detail. napoleon loved to see her in white, hence she wore no other kind of gown so often. he liked to hear her read, and no matter how tired she was she would sit at his bedside by the hour, if he wished, and read uncomplainingly. little wonder that as the weeks went josephine grew dearer and dearer to napoleon or that she, seeing her hold, watched carefully that nothing loosen it.