. The celebrated Madame Campan, lady-in-waiting to Marie Antoinette and confidante of Napoleon. irlswishes count for naught. . The First Consul immediately lost his heart to thedelicate, fair-haired, blue-eyed Stephanie, so unlike thebouncing, rather coarse Bonapartes ; he welcomed herto the Tuileries, taking the motherless child in hisarms and kissing her on both cheeks; beforeStephanie had been many hours in the palace, shehad forgotten her kind friends at Montauban ascompletely as if they had never existed. As for Cousin Josephine, she ransacked all thetoyshops in the capital, spent fabulou
. The celebrated Madame Campan, lady-in-waiting to Marie Antoinette and confidante of Napoleon. irlswishes count for naught. . The First Consul immediately lost his heart to thedelicate, fair-haired, blue-eyed Stephanie, so unlike thebouncing, rather coarse Bonapartes ; he welcomed herto the Tuileries, taking the motherless child in hisarms and kissing her on both cheeks; beforeStephanie had been many hours in the palace, shehad forgotten her kind friends at Montauban ascompletely as if they had never existed. As for Cousin Josephine, she ransacked all thetoyshops in the capital, spent fabulous sums on dolls,pretty clothes, and jewels for the little girl whosedelicate features and refined manners had captivatedher ; but^at the same time she ordered a school outfit—for Mme Bonaparte neither had the time nor theinclination to turn schoolmaam. So when the outfitwas ready, Stephanie was told that she was quiterested from the fatigues of the journey, that no moretime must be lost, and then she was packed off toMaman Campan, who had brought up Cousin Hortenseso successfully. 246. Stephanie de Beauharnais. From a painting by Gerard. STEPHANIE DE BEAUHARNAIS One of Mme Campans first tasks was to undo theharm caused by the First Consuls scandalous habit ofspoiling children. She found the child thoughtless,vain, and passionately fond of pretty clothes and Mme Campan herself was very partial to prettythings, for she wrote to Hortense, December 29,1800:— Old Mile Bertin to-day showed me a mostoriginal apron with a fichu attached which quite turnedmy head as well as the heads of all the young ladies ;although it is trimmed all round with Valencienneslace, the price is only five louis; it is the first of itssort. Ask to see it and explain that you will returnit if it does not suit you. She will not sell it untilyou have inspected it. ... About this time another Stephanie, Mile StephanieTascher de La Pagerie, Josephines cousin and god-daughter, was entrusted to the
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, bookpublish, booksubjectnobility
