rds made, a most princely residence. The hall, the
billiard-room, the reception-rooms, the saloon, dining-room, and
Napoleon's private apartment, occupied the ground floor, and are
described as having been very delightful. The gallery was appropriated
to the noblest specimens of the fine arts; it was adorned with
magnificent statuary by Canova and other celebrated artists, and the
walls were hung with the finest paintings. The pleasure-grounds, which
were Josephine's especial care, were laid out with admirable taste;
shrubs and flowers of the rarest and finest growth and the most
delicious odors, were there in the richest profusion. But there is an
interest far deeper than the finest landscape, or the most exquisite
embellishments of art, could ever impart--an interest touchingly
associated with the precincts where the gifted and renowned have moved,
and with the passions and affections, the joys and sorrows by which they
were there agitated. It is, indeed, an interest which excites a mournful
sympathy, and may awaken salutary reflection. Who, indeed, could visit
Malmaison without experiencing such?

The vicissitudes experienced by some individuals have been so strange,
that had they been described in a romance, it would have lost all
interest from their improbability; but occurring in real life, they
excite a feeling of personal concern which forever attaches to the name
with which they are associated. Of this, the eventful life of Napoleon
furnishes a striking example. There cannot be found in the range of
history one who appears to have identified himself so much with the
feelings of every class and every time; nay, his manners and appearance
are so thoroughly impressed on every imagination, that there are few who
do not rather feel as if he were one whom they had seen and with whom
they had conversed, than of whom they had only heard and read. Scarcely
less checkered than his, was the life of Josephine: from her early days
she was destined to experience the most unlooked-for reverses of
fortune: her very introduction to the Beauharnais family and connection
with them, were brought about in a most unlikely and singular manner,
without the least intention on her part, and it ultimately led to her
being placed on the throne of France. The noble and wealthy family of
Beauharnais had great possessions in the West Indies, which fell to two
brothers, the representatives of that distinguished family; many of its
members had