HOME OF THE EMPRESS JOSEPHINE. 303 



father of Josephine, returned to Martinique from 

 France, whither he had been sent to school. That 

 year war was declared between England and France, 

 and the young officer, first lieutenant of artillery, was 

 actively engaged in erecting batteries at Foit de 

 France, then, as now, the naval port of the island. 

 He aided in the repulse of the English under General 

 Moore in 1759- an< ^ tQ() k such active part in the second 

 defence, in 1762, when the town was captured, that 

 he was complimented by the general commanding the 

 English forces and allowed to retire to his estate at 

 Trois-Ilets. 



In June, 1760, there was baptized in the church of 

 Saint Louis, at Fort Royal, an infant, born the pre- 

 ceding May, and named Alexandre de Beau- 

 harnais, who was destined to be the husband of 

 Josephine. An aunt of Josephine was godmother to 

 this child. The Marquis de Beauharnais, father to 

 Alexander, had been appointed governor of Marti- 

 nique and the French colonies three years previously, 

 with authority over all the respective governors of the 

 other islands. Leaving Martinique for France in the 

 following year, the Marquis left his infant son in 

 charge of Madame de La Pagerie, grandmother to 

 Josephine. This lady resided principally in Fort de 

 France, and when Josephine attended school at the 

 near convent, she was a frequent visitor at the house 

 of her grandmother, if indeed she did not reside 

 with her. 



But the most interesting event in the history of the 

 island was the marriage of the parents of Josephine, 

 the register of which I found among the musty 

 archives of the island, in Fort de France. The docu- 



