oiselle Tascher were superior to what would be
supposed by those who have only known the French colonies at a
subsequent period. The proprietors were many of them highly
accomplished gentlemen, born and educated in France, who had retired
to their estates in the New World, as a retreat from which to watch
the progress of those events which were beginning to disturb the quiet
of the Old.

[Illustration: JOSEPHINE.]

Josephine, naturally amiable and gentle in disposition, with manners
which combined ease and elegance with dignity, possessed a natural
aptitude for acquiring feminine accomplishments. She played,
especially on the harp, and sung with exquisite feeling. Her dancing
is said to have been perfect. An eye-witness describes her light form,
rising scarcely above the middle size, as seeming in its faultless
symmetry to float rather than to move--the very personation of Grace.
She was mistress of the pencil and of the needle. Flowers were her
passion; she early cultivated a knowledge of botany. To the _empress_
Josephine Europe is indebted for a knowledge of the Camelia. She read
delightfully; the tones of her voice fascinated. "The first applause
of the French people," said Napoleon, "sounded to my ear sweet as the
voice of Josephine."

The companion of her infancy was a mulatto girl, some years older than
herself,--her foster-sister, Euphemia,--who never afterwards quitted
her patroness, shared in her amusements, and was the companion of her
rambles. In one of these an incident occurred, which exercised a
lasting influence over her imagination. The particulars were, long
afterwards, thus related by herself:--

"One day, some time before my first marriage, while taking my usual
walk, I observed a number of negro girls assembled round an old woman,
who was telling their fortune. I stopped to listen to her. The
sorceress, on seeing me, uttered a loud shriek, and grasped my hand. I
laughed at her grimaces, and allowed her to proceed, saying, 'So you
discover something extraordinary in my destiny?' 'I do.' 'Do you
discover traces of happiness, or misfortune?' 'Of misfortune,
certainly; but of happiness also.' 'You take care not to commit
yourself, my worthy sibyl; your oracles are not the most clear.' 'I
am not permitted to make them more so,' said the woman, raising her
eyes in a mysterious manner towards heaven. My curiosity was now
awakened, and I said to her, 'But tell me, what read you in futurity
concerning