Chapter 25

[186]"July 24, we anchored at Torbay about eight in the morning: Napoleon had risen at six, and went on the poop, whence he surveyed the coast and anchorage. I remained by his side to give the explanations he required."—Las Cases, tom. i., p. 41.[187]Las Cases, tom. i., p. 50.[188]The white flag was flying at Rochelle and the isle of Oleron. It was hoisted on the 12th, and hauled down afterwards; again hoisted on the 13th July, to the final exclusion of the three-coloured ensign.—S.[189]Admiral Hotham and Captain Maitland had no particular orders how this uncommon person was to be treated, and were naturally desirous of showing respect under misfortunes to one who had been so great. Their civilities went no farther than manning the yards when he entered the Superb on a breakfast visit, and when he returned to the Bellerophon on the same occasion. Captain Maitland also permitted Napoleon to lead the way into the dining cabin, and seat himself in the centre of the table; an honour which it would have been both ungracious and uncalled for to have disputed. Even these civilities could not have been a portion of the snare of which Napoleon complains, or have had the least effect in inducing him to take his resolution of surrendering to the English, as the argument in the text infers; for that resolution had been taken, and the surrender made, before the attentions Napoleon founds upon could have been offered and received. This tends to confirm the opinion of Nelson, that the French, when treated with ceremonial politeness, are apt to form pretensions upon the concessions made to them in ordinary courtesy.—S.[190]Russie!—Dieu m'en garde.—S.[191]Having had the inestimable advantage of comparing Sir Henry Bunbury's Minutes of this striking transaction with those of Mr. Meike, who accompanied Lord Keith in the capacity of secretary, the Author has been enabled to lay before the public the most ample and exact account of the interview of 31st July which has yet appeared.—S.[192]"Aug. 3. The Emperor said to me, 'after all, it is quite certain that I shall go to St. Helena; but what can we do in that desolate place?'—'Sire,' I replied, 'we will live on the past; there is enough in it to satisfy us. Do we not enjoy the life of Cæsar and that of Alexander? We shall possess still more; you will reperuse yourself, Sire!'—'Be it so,' rejoined Napoleon, 'we will write our memoirs. Yes, we must be employed; for occupation is the scythe of time.'"—Las Cases, tom. i., p. 57.[193]"Speaking of Napoleon's wish for an interview with the Prince Regent, Lord Keith said, 'D—n the fellow, if he had obtained an interview with his Royal Highness, in half an hour they would have been the best friends in England.'"—Maitland, p. 211.[194]Las Cases, tom. i., part ii., p. 229.[195]Las Cases, tom. i., p. 69.—The reader may judge for himself, by turning top. 220, where the instructions are printed, acting under which no man but a fool, as the admiral truly said, could have entered into such a treaty, as Count Las Cases pretends Captain Maitland to have engaged in.—S.[196]"Narrative of the surrender of Buonaparte, and of his residence on Board H.M.S. Bellerophon. By Captain F. L. Maitland, C. B. 1826."[197]"'My friend,' said the Emperor to me, 'I have sometimes an idea of quitting you, and this would not be very difficult; it is only necessary to create a little mental excitement, and I shall soon have escaped. All will be over, and you can then quietly rejoin your families.' I remonstrated warmly against such notions. Poets and philosophers had said, that it was a spectacle worthy of the Divinity to see men struggling with fortune; reverses and constancy had their glory."—Las Cases, tom. i., p. 56.[198]Savary, tom. iv., p. 189.[199]SeeAppendix,No. II.—"It occurred to me, that, in such a decisive moment, the Emperor was bound to show a formal opposition to this violence. I ventured, therefore, to read to him a paper which I had prepared, with the general sense of which he seemed pleased. After suppressing a few phrases, and correcting others, it was signed, and sent to Lord Keith."—Las Cases, tom. i., p. 59.[200]"Taking off his hat, he said, 'Captain Maitland, I take this last opportunity of once more returning you my thanks for the manner in which you have treated me while on board the Bellerophon, and also to request you will convey them to the officers and ship's company you command;' then turning to the officers, who were standing by me, he added, 'Gentlemen, I have requested your captain to express my gratitude to you for your attention to me, and to those who have followed my fortunes.' He then went forward to the gangway; and before he went down the ship's side, bowed two or three times to the ship's company. After the boat had shoved off, and got the distance of about thirty yards from the ship, he stood up, pulled his hat off, and bowed, first to the officers, and then to the men; and immediately sat down and entered into conversation with Lord Keith."—Maitland, p. 202.[201]"After Napoleon had quitted the ship, being desirous to know what were the feelings of the ship's company towards him, I asked my servant what the people said of him. 'Why, sir,' he answered, 'I heard several of them conversing together about him this morning; when one of them observed, "Well! they may abuse that man as much as they please, but if the people of England knew him as well as we do, they would not hurt a hair of his head;" in which the others agreed.'"—Maitland, p. 223.[202]Las Cases [tom. i., p. 101,] gives somewhat a different account of this trifling matter, which appears to have been a misunderstanding. Las Cases supposes the admiral to have been offended at Napoleon's rising, whereas Sir George Cockburn was only desirous to show that he did not conceive himself obliged to break up the party because his French guests withdrew. It seems, however, to have dwelt on Napoleon's mind, and was always quoted when he desired to express dissatisfaction with the admiral.[203]Las Cases, tom. i., p. 138.—"After dinner the grand maréchal and I always followed the Emperor to the quarterdeck. After the preliminary remarks on the weather, &c., Napoleon used to start a subject of conversation, and when he had taken eight or nine turns the whole length of the deck, he would seat himself on the second gun from the gangway, on the larboard side. The midshipmen soon observed this habitual predilection, so that the cannon was thenceforth called theEmperor's gun. It was there that Napoleon often conversed hours together, and that I learned, for the first time, a part of what I am about to relate."—Las Cases, p. 95.[204]"Sept. 1-6.—The Emperor expressed a wish to learn English. I endeavoured to form a very simple plan for his instruction. This did very well for two or three days; but theennuioccasioned by the study was at least equal to that which it was intended to counteract, and the English was laid aside."—Las Cases, tom. i., p. 137. "Sept. 7. The Emperor observed that I was very much occupied, and he even suspected the subject on which I was engaged. He determined to ascertain the fact, and obtained sight of a few pages of my Journal; he was not displeased with it. He observed that such a work would be interesting rather than useful. The military events, for example, thus detailed, in the ordinary course of conversation, would be meagre, incomplete, and devoid of end or object. I eagerly seized the favourable opportunity, and ventured to suggest the idea of his dictating to me the campaigns in Italy. On the 9th, the Emperor called me into his cabin, and dictated to me, for the first time, some details respecting the siege of Toulon," &c.—Las Cases, p. 171. "Sept. 19-22. The Emperor now began regularly to dictate to me his campaigns of Italy. For the first few days he viewed this occupation with indifference; but the regularity and promptitude with which I presented to him my daily task, together with the progress we made, soon excited his interest; and at length the pleasure he derived from this dictation, rendered it absolutely necessary to him. He was sure to send for me about eleven o'clock every morning, and he seemed himself to wait the hour with impatience."—Las Cases, p. 187.[205]Las Cases, tom. i., p. 92.[206]Las Cases, tom. i., p. 241.[207]"Before Napoleon stepped into the boat, he sent for the captain of the Northumberland and took leave of him, desiring him, at the same time, to convey his thanks to the officers and crew."—Las Cases, tom. i., p. 243.[208]See the Edinburgh Annual Register for 1815.[209]Mr. Abercrombie's motion respecting the escape of Buonaparte from Elba.—Parl. Debates, vol. xxx., p. 716.[210]This, to be sure, according to Las Cases, was only in order to carry through those great schemes of establishing the peace, the honour, and the union of the country. He had hoped to the last, it seems, in the critical moment, "That, at the sight of the public danger, the eyes of the people of France would be opened; that they would return to him, and enable him to save the country of France. It was this which made him prolong the time at Malmaison; it was this which induced him to tarry yet longer at Rochefort. If he is now at St. Helena, he owes it to that sentiment. It is a train of thought from which he could never be separated. Yet more lately, when there was no other resource than to accept the hospitality of the Bellerophon, perhaps it was not without a species of satisfaction that he found himself irresistibly drawn on by the course of events towards England, since being there was being near France. He knew well that he would not be free, but he hoped to make his opinion heard; and then how many chances would open themselves to the new direction which he wished to inspire."—Journal, tom. i., p. 334. We cannot understand the meaning of this, unless it implies that Napoleon, while retiring into England, on condition of abstaining from politics, entertained hopes of regaining his ascendency in French affairs, by and through the influence which he expected to exercise over those of Britain.—S.[211]See Appendix,No. III.[212]Extract of a despatch from Earl Bathurst, addressed to the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, dated 30th July 1815.[213]Voice, &c., vol. i., p. 14.[214]"Briars, Oct. 28-31.We had nearly arrived at the end of the campaign of Italy. The Emperor, however, did not yet find that he had sufficient occupation. Employment was his only resource, and the interest which his first dictations had assumed furnished an additional motive for proceeding with them. The campaign of Egypt was now about to be commenced. The Emperor had frequently talked of employing the grand mareschal on this subject. I suggested, that he should set us all to work at the same time, and proceed at once with the campaigns of Italy and Egypt—the history of the Consulate—the return from Elba, &c. The idea pleased the Emperor; and, from that time, one or two of his suite came regularly every day to write by his dictations, the transcript of which they brought to him next morning."—Las Cases, tom. i., p. 286.[215]The suite of apartments, destined for his own peculiar use, consisted of a saloon, an eating-room, a library, a small study, and a sleeping apartment. This was a strange contrast with the palaces which Napoleon had lately inhabited; but it was preferable, in the same proportion, to the Tower of the Temple, and the dungeons of Vincennes.—S.[216]"Every island is a prison,Strongly guarded by the sea;Kings and princes, for that reason,Prisoners are, as well as we."Ritson'sSongs, vol. ii., p. 105.[217]Voice from St. Helena, vol. i., p. 21.[218]Voice from St. Helena, vol. i., p. 22.[219]Et tragicus plerumque dolet sermone pedestri.Telephus et Peleus, cum pauper et exul uterque,Projicit ampullas et sesquipedalia verba.Hor.Ars Poetica."Princes will sometimes mourn their lot in prose.Peleus and Telephus, broke down by woes,In indigence and exile forced to roam,Leave sounding phrase, and long-tail'd words, at home."—S.[220]Parl. Debates, vol. xxx., p. 377.[221]"In default of America, I prefer England to any other country. I shall take the name of Colonel Meuron, or of Duroc."—Instructions to Gourgaud, July 13, 1815; Savary, tom. iv., p. 162.[222]Parl. Debates, vol. xxxiii., p. 213.[223]Parl. Debates, vol. xxxiii., p. 235.[224]"Je le répète, il peut s'évader seul, et aller en Amérique quand il le voudra." Taken from a report of Baron Sturmer to Prince Metternich, giving an account of General Gourgaud's communications, dated 14th March, 1818.—S.[225]"Je ne puis plus vivre en particulier. J'aime mieux être prisonnier ici, que abre aux Etats Unis."—S.[226]Warden's Letters from St. Helena.[227]Voice from St. Helena, &c.[228]Appeal to the British Nation, &c. By M. Santini, Porter of the Emperor's closet.[229]Official Memoir, dictated by Napoleon; being a Letter from Count de Montholon to Sir Hudson Lowe.[230]Manuscrit venu de St. Hélène d'une manière inconnue, &c.[231]"Santini has published a brochure full of trash. There are some truths in it; but every thing is exaggerated."—Napoleon,Voice, &c., vol. ii., p. 76.[232]Vol. xxviii., p. 227.[233]Sir Hudson Lowe writes, for example, to Lord Bathurst, 13th May, 1816:—"Having found Dr. O'Meara, who was attached to Buonaparte's family on the removal of his French physician, very useful in giving information in many instances, and as, if removed, it might be difficult to find another person who might be equally agreeable to General Buonaparte, I have deemed it advisable to suffer him to remain in the family on the same footing as before my arrival." On the 29th of March, 1817, Sir Hudson writes:—"Dr. O'Meara had informed me of the conversations that had occurred, and, with that readiness which he always manifests upon such occasions, immediately wrote them down for me."—S.[234]"A catastrophe seemed inevitable. Napoleon indeed concluded that there was a determination to bring it about. On the 6th of May, he sent for O'Meara, in order that he might learn his personal position. He desired me to express to him in English, that he had hitherto no cause of complaint against him. It was necessary, he said, to come to an understanding. Was he to consider him as his own physician personally, or merely as a prison doctor, appointed by the English Government? Was he his confessor or his inspector?Had he made reports respecting him, or was it his intention to do so if called upon. The doctor replied with great firmness, and in a tone of feeling. He said he had madeno reportrespecting the Emperor, and that he could not imagine any instance in which he might be induced to make a report, except in case of serious illness."—Las Cases, tom. i., p. 211.[235]Last Days of the Emperor Napoleon, vol. i., p. 60.[236]Last Days of the Emperor Napoleon, vol. ii., p. 185.[237]Las Cases, tom. ii., p. 89.[238]Las Cases, tom. ii., p. 115-120.[239]Hist. de la Campagne de 1814 par Alphonse de Beauchamp.[240]"It appears that this governor was with Blucher, and is the writer of some official letters to your government, descriptive of part of the operations of 1814. I pointed them out to him, and asked him, 'Est-ce vous, Monsieur?' He replied, 'Yes.' I told him that they werepleines de faussetés et de sottises. He shrugged up his shoulders, and replied, 'J'ai cru voir cela.'"—Voice, &c., vol. i., p. 49.[241]Las Cases, tom. i., p. 121.[242]Voice, &c., vol. i., p. 93.—"The Emperor admitted that he had, during this conversation, seriously and repeatedly offended Sir Hudson Lowe; and he also did him the justice to acknowledge, that Sir Hudson had not precisely shown, in a single instance, any want of respect; he had contented himself with muttering, between his teeth, sentences which were not audible. The only failure, perhaps, on the part of the governor, and which was trifling, compared with the treatment he had received, was the abrupt way in which he retired, while the admiral withdrew slowly, and with numerous salutes."—Las Cases, tom. iii., p. 222.[243]The claret, for example, was that of Carbonel, at £6 per dozen without duty. Each domestic of superior rank was allowed a bottle of this wine, which is as choice, as dear certainly, as could be brought to the table of sovereigns. The labourers and soldiers had each, daily, a bottle of Teneriffe wine of excellent quality.—S.[244]Voice, &c., vol. ii., p. 76.[245]"Sept. 19.—The Emperor examined a large basket-full of broken plate, which was to be sent next day to the town. This was to be for the future the indispensable complement for our monthly subsistence, in consequence of the late reductions of the governor. When the moment had come for breaking up this plate, the servants could not, without the greatest reluctance, bring themselves to apply the hammer to these objects of their veneration. This act upset all their ideas; it was to them a sacrilege, a desolation! Some of them shed tears on the occasion!!"—Las Cases, tom. iii., p. 184.[246]"As I was waiting in the antechamber with the military secretary, I could hear, from the Emperor's tone of voice, that he was irritated. The audience was a very long, and a very clamorous one. On the governor's departure, I went to the garden, whither the Emperor had sent for me. 'Well, Las Cases,' said he, 'we have had a violent scene. I have been thrown quite out of temper! They have now sent me worse than a gaoler! Sir Hudson Lowe is a downright executioner; I received him to-day with my stormy countenance, my head inclined, and my ears pricked up. We looked most furiously at each other. My anger must have been powerfully excited, for I felt a vibration in the calf of my left leg. This is always a sure sign with me; and I have not felt it for a long time before.'"—Las Cases, tom. ii., p. 286.[247]Las Cases, tom. i., p. 61.[248]Las Cases, tom. ii., pp. 1-7.[249]Seeante, vol. ii., pp.7and8,note.[250]"Plays occupied our attention for the future; tragedies in particular. Napoleon is uncommonly fond of analyzing them, which he does in a singular mode of reasoning, and with a great deal of taste. He remembers an immense quantity of poetry, which he learned when he was eighteen years old, at which time, he says, he knew more than he does at present."—Las Cases, tom. i., p. 249.[251]"Tragedy fires the soul, elevates the heart, and is calculated to generate heroes. Considered under this point of view, perhaps, France owes to Corneille a part of her great actions; and, had he lived in my time, I would have made him a prince."—Napoleon, tom. i., p. 250.[252]"Napoleon is delighted with Racine, in whom he finds an abundance of beauties. He thinks but little of Voltaire, who, he says, is full of bombast and tinsel; always incorrect, unacquainted either with men or things, with truth or the sublimity of the passions of mankind."—Las Cases, tom. i., p. 249.[253]"Voltaire, in the character and conduct of his hero, has departed both from nature and history. He has degraded Mahomet, by making him descend to the lowest intrigues. He has represented a great man who changed the face of the world, acting like a scoundrel, worthy of the gallows. He has no less absurdly travestied the character of Omar, which he has drawn like that of a cut-throat in a melo-drama. Voltaire committed a fundamental error in attributing to intrigue that which was solely the result of opinion. Those who have wrought great changes in the world, never succeeded by gaining over chiefs: but always by exciting the multitude. The first is the resource of intrigue, and produces only secondary results: the second is the resort of genius, and transforms the face of the universe."—Napoleon,Las Cases, tom. ii., p. 80.[254]Narrative, p. 234.[255]"The sound of bells produced upon Napoleon a singular effect. When we were at Malmaison, and while walking in the avenue leading to Ruel, how often has the booming of the village bell broken off the most interesting conversations. He stopped, lest the moving of our feet might cause the loss of a tone in the sounds which charmed him. The influence, indeed, was so powerful, that his voice trembled with emotion while he said—'That recalls to me the first years I passed at Brienne.'"—Bourrienne, tom. iii., p. 222.[256]Seeante, vol. ii., p.76.[257]Las Cases, tom. ii., p. 325.[258]Las Cases, tom. ii., p. 324.[259]O'Meara, vol. i., p. 65.[260]Captain Hall's Voyage to the Eastern Seas, vol. i., ch. vii., pp. 302, 319.[261]SeeAppendix,No. IV., for one of the best and most authentic accounts of Napoleon's conversation and mode of reasoning.[262]"See Dr. Baillie's inestimable book on Morbid Anatomy, pp. 141, 142."—S.[263]See, for a detailed account of the establishment at Longwood,Appendix,No. V.[264]Las Cases, tom. iii., p. 359.[265]Las Cases, tom. iv., p. 281.[266]See Parl. Debates, vol. xxxv., p. 1137.[267]Voice, &c., vol. ii., p. 256.[268]The letter alluded to is quoted at full length in the Quarterly Review, vol. xxviii., p. 224 to p. 226. It was received after Dr. O'Meara's dismission; which therefore, must have been occasioned only by the suspicion of what was afterwards proved.—S.[269]"As member of the College of the Propaganda, he could not go alone. Missions in which the line is to be crossed, must be composed of at least two missionaries; and the Abbé Vignali, who had some notions of medicine, was attached to Bonavita. Princess Pauline gave her cook; Madame Mère one of her valets; and thus a little colony was formed."—Antommarchi, vol. i., p. 9.[270]Mémoire sur le Consulat, 1799 et 1804.—S.[271]Antommarchi, vol. ii., p. 71.[272]Such at least was the report. The attempt was to have been made by Johnstone and his desperate associates in a boat, which they were to row across the Scheldt towards Flushing, just when Napoleon was proceeding thither. They were to board the imperial barge, throw every one save Napoleon into the sea, and, removing him to their own light row-boat, were to pull out and deliver him up to the British squadron, then cruizing off the island. It is added, that Napoleon took the alarm from seeing a boat rowing very swiftly towards him, and, ordering his crew to pull harder, or give way, as it is called, the smuggler, instead of running athwart the barge, fell astern, and the opportunity was lost. We do not know that there is any good authority for this story.—S.[273]Parl. Debates, vol. xl., p. 1559.[274]Despatches to Sir Hudson Lowe, 30th September 1820.—S[275]Antommarchi, vol. i., p. 339.[276]Antommarchi, vol. i., p. 363.[277]"'Twas ever thus—from childhood's hourI've seen my fondest hopes decay;I never loved a tree or flower,But was the first to fade away."[278]Antommarchi, vol. i., p. 371.[279]"He repeated the attempt three or four times, and with as little success. 'I now see,' said he, with a tone of affliction, 'that my strength forsakes me. Nature no longer answers, as formerly, to the appeals of my will; violent shocks are no longer suited to my debilitated frame: but I shall attain the end I propose by moderate exercise.' On the following day, the Emperor was labouring under profound depression of spirits;—he still felt persuaded that exercise would save him. 'Sire,' said Montholon, 'perhaps the see-saw would do your Majesty good?'—'True, I will try: have one arranged.' This was immediately done; but this motion produced no favourable effect, and he gave it up."—Antommarchi, vol. i., p. 393.[280]Dr. Shortt, physician to the forces; who, at this time, replaced Dr. Baxter as principal medical officer at St. Helena, and to whom we have been obliged for much valuable information.—S.[281]Antommarchi, vol. ii., p. 59.[282]"I seized a moment, when the Emperor was more tranquil, to hazard a few words about the necessity of a consultation.—'A consultation! what would be the use of it? You all work in the dark. No! I will have none of them.' The Emperor was warm, and I therefore did not insist for the moment, but waited until he was more calm, when I again pressed the subject. 'You persist,' said he, with a tone of kindness, 'consult with the physician of the island that you consider the most skilful. I accordingly applied to Dr. Arnott."—Antommarchi, vol. ii., p. 59.[283]Antommarchi, vol. ii., p. 65.

[187]Las Cases, tom. i., p. 50.

[188]The white flag was flying at Rochelle and the isle of Oleron. It was hoisted on the 12th, and hauled down afterwards; again hoisted on the 13th July, to the final exclusion of the three-coloured ensign.—S.

[189]Admiral Hotham and Captain Maitland had no particular orders how this uncommon person was to be treated, and were naturally desirous of showing respect under misfortunes to one who had been so great. Their civilities went no farther than manning the yards when he entered the Superb on a breakfast visit, and when he returned to the Bellerophon on the same occasion. Captain Maitland also permitted Napoleon to lead the way into the dining cabin, and seat himself in the centre of the table; an honour which it would have been both ungracious and uncalled for to have disputed. Even these civilities could not have been a portion of the snare of which Napoleon complains, or have had the least effect in inducing him to take his resolution of surrendering to the English, as the argument in the text infers; for that resolution had been taken, and the surrender made, before the attentions Napoleon founds upon could have been offered and received. This tends to confirm the opinion of Nelson, that the French, when treated with ceremonial politeness, are apt to form pretensions upon the concessions made to them in ordinary courtesy.—S.

[190]Russie!—Dieu m'en garde.—S.

[191]Having had the inestimable advantage of comparing Sir Henry Bunbury's Minutes of this striking transaction with those of Mr. Meike, who accompanied Lord Keith in the capacity of secretary, the Author has been enabled to lay before the public the most ample and exact account of the interview of 31st July which has yet appeared.—S.

[192]"Aug. 3. The Emperor said to me, 'after all, it is quite certain that I shall go to St. Helena; but what can we do in that desolate place?'—'Sire,' I replied, 'we will live on the past; there is enough in it to satisfy us. Do we not enjoy the life of Cæsar and that of Alexander? We shall possess still more; you will reperuse yourself, Sire!'—'Be it so,' rejoined Napoleon, 'we will write our memoirs. Yes, we must be employed; for occupation is the scythe of time.'"—Las Cases, tom. i., p. 57.

[193]"Speaking of Napoleon's wish for an interview with the Prince Regent, Lord Keith said, 'D—n the fellow, if he had obtained an interview with his Royal Highness, in half an hour they would have been the best friends in England.'"—Maitland, p. 211.

[194]Las Cases, tom. i., part ii., p. 229.

[195]Las Cases, tom. i., p. 69.—The reader may judge for himself, by turning top. 220, where the instructions are printed, acting under which no man but a fool, as the admiral truly said, could have entered into such a treaty, as Count Las Cases pretends Captain Maitland to have engaged in.—S.

[196]"Narrative of the surrender of Buonaparte, and of his residence on Board H.M.S. Bellerophon. By Captain F. L. Maitland, C. B. 1826."

[197]"'My friend,' said the Emperor to me, 'I have sometimes an idea of quitting you, and this would not be very difficult; it is only necessary to create a little mental excitement, and I shall soon have escaped. All will be over, and you can then quietly rejoin your families.' I remonstrated warmly against such notions. Poets and philosophers had said, that it was a spectacle worthy of the Divinity to see men struggling with fortune; reverses and constancy had their glory."—Las Cases, tom. i., p. 56.

[198]Savary, tom. iv., p. 189.

[199]SeeAppendix,No. II.—"It occurred to me, that, in such a decisive moment, the Emperor was bound to show a formal opposition to this violence. I ventured, therefore, to read to him a paper which I had prepared, with the general sense of which he seemed pleased. After suppressing a few phrases, and correcting others, it was signed, and sent to Lord Keith."—Las Cases, tom. i., p. 59.

[200]"Taking off his hat, he said, 'Captain Maitland, I take this last opportunity of once more returning you my thanks for the manner in which you have treated me while on board the Bellerophon, and also to request you will convey them to the officers and ship's company you command;' then turning to the officers, who were standing by me, he added, 'Gentlemen, I have requested your captain to express my gratitude to you for your attention to me, and to those who have followed my fortunes.' He then went forward to the gangway; and before he went down the ship's side, bowed two or three times to the ship's company. After the boat had shoved off, and got the distance of about thirty yards from the ship, he stood up, pulled his hat off, and bowed, first to the officers, and then to the men; and immediately sat down and entered into conversation with Lord Keith."—Maitland, p. 202.

[201]"After Napoleon had quitted the ship, being desirous to know what were the feelings of the ship's company towards him, I asked my servant what the people said of him. 'Why, sir,' he answered, 'I heard several of them conversing together about him this morning; when one of them observed, "Well! they may abuse that man as much as they please, but if the people of England knew him as well as we do, they would not hurt a hair of his head;" in which the others agreed.'"—Maitland, p. 223.

[202]Las Cases [tom. i., p. 101,] gives somewhat a different account of this trifling matter, which appears to have been a misunderstanding. Las Cases supposes the admiral to have been offended at Napoleon's rising, whereas Sir George Cockburn was only desirous to show that he did not conceive himself obliged to break up the party because his French guests withdrew. It seems, however, to have dwelt on Napoleon's mind, and was always quoted when he desired to express dissatisfaction with the admiral.

[203]Las Cases, tom. i., p. 138.—"After dinner the grand maréchal and I always followed the Emperor to the quarterdeck. After the preliminary remarks on the weather, &c., Napoleon used to start a subject of conversation, and when he had taken eight or nine turns the whole length of the deck, he would seat himself on the second gun from the gangway, on the larboard side. The midshipmen soon observed this habitual predilection, so that the cannon was thenceforth called theEmperor's gun. It was there that Napoleon often conversed hours together, and that I learned, for the first time, a part of what I am about to relate."—Las Cases, p. 95.

[204]"Sept. 1-6.—The Emperor expressed a wish to learn English. I endeavoured to form a very simple plan for his instruction. This did very well for two or three days; but theennuioccasioned by the study was at least equal to that which it was intended to counteract, and the English was laid aside."—Las Cases, tom. i., p. 137. "Sept. 7. The Emperor observed that I was very much occupied, and he even suspected the subject on which I was engaged. He determined to ascertain the fact, and obtained sight of a few pages of my Journal; he was not displeased with it. He observed that such a work would be interesting rather than useful. The military events, for example, thus detailed, in the ordinary course of conversation, would be meagre, incomplete, and devoid of end or object. I eagerly seized the favourable opportunity, and ventured to suggest the idea of his dictating to me the campaigns in Italy. On the 9th, the Emperor called me into his cabin, and dictated to me, for the first time, some details respecting the siege of Toulon," &c.—Las Cases, p. 171. "Sept. 19-22. The Emperor now began regularly to dictate to me his campaigns of Italy. For the first few days he viewed this occupation with indifference; but the regularity and promptitude with which I presented to him my daily task, together with the progress we made, soon excited his interest; and at length the pleasure he derived from this dictation, rendered it absolutely necessary to him. He was sure to send for me about eleven o'clock every morning, and he seemed himself to wait the hour with impatience."—Las Cases, p. 187.

[205]Las Cases, tom. i., p. 92.

[206]Las Cases, tom. i., p. 241.

[207]"Before Napoleon stepped into the boat, he sent for the captain of the Northumberland and took leave of him, desiring him, at the same time, to convey his thanks to the officers and crew."—Las Cases, tom. i., p. 243.

[208]See the Edinburgh Annual Register for 1815.

[209]Mr. Abercrombie's motion respecting the escape of Buonaparte from Elba.—Parl. Debates, vol. xxx., p. 716.

[210]This, to be sure, according to Las Cases, was only in order to carry through those great schemes of establishing the peace, the honour, and the union of the country. He had hoped to the last, it seems, in the critical moment, "That, at the sight of the public danger, the eyes of the people of France would be opened; that they would return to him, and enable him to save the country of France. It was this which made him prolong the time at Malmaison; it was this which induced him to tarry yet longer at Rochefort. If he is now at St. Helena, he owes it to that sentiment. It is a train of thought from which he could never be separated. Yet more lately, when there was no other resource than to accept the hospitality of the Bellerophon, perhaps it was not without a species of satisfaction that he found himself irresistibly drawn on by the course of events towards England, since being there was being near France. He knew well that he would not be free, but he hoped to make his opinion heard; and then how many chances would open themselves to the new direction which he wished to inspire."—Journal, tom. i., p. 334. We cannot understand the meaning of this, unless it implies that Napoleon, while retiring into England, on condition of abstaining from politics, entertained hopes of regaining his ascendency in French affairs, by and through the influence which he expected to exercise over those of Britain.—S.

[211]See Appendix,No. III.

[212]Extract of a despatch from Earl Bathurst, addressed to the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, dated 30th July 1815.

[213]Voice, &c., vol. i., p. 14.

[214]"Briars, Oct. 28-31.We had nearly arrived at the end of the campaign of Italy. The Emperor, however, did not yet find that he had sufficient occupation. Employment was his only resource, and the interest which his first dictations had assumed furnished an additional motive for proceeding with them. The campaign of Egypt was now about to be commenced. The Emperor had frequently talked of employing the grand mareschal on this subject. I suggested, that he should set us all to work at the same time, and proceed at once with the campaigns of Italy and Egypt—the history of the Consulate—the return from Elba, &c. The idea pleased the Emperor; and, from that time, one or two of his suite came regularly every day to write by his dictations, the transcript of which they brought to him next morning."—Las Cases, tom. i., p. 286.

[215]The suite of apartments, destined for his own peculiar use, consisted of a saloon, an eating-room, a library, a small study, and a sleeping apartment. This was a strange contrast with the palaces which Napoleon had lately inhabited; but it was preferable, in the same proportion, to the Tower of the Temple, and the dungeons of Vincennes.—S.

[216]"Every island is a prison,Strongly guarded by the sea;Kings and princes, for that reason,Prisoners are, as well as we."Ritson'sSongs, vol. ii., p. 105.

[216]

"Every island is a prison,Strongly guarded by the sea;Kings and princes, for that reason,Prisoners are, as well as we."

Ritson'sSongs, vol. ii., p. 105.

[217]Voice from St. Helena, vol. i., p. 21.

[218]Voice from St. Helena, vol. i., p. 22.

[219]Et tragicus plerumque dolet sermone pedestri.Telephus et Peleus, cum pauper et exul uterque,Projicit ampullas et sesquipedalia verba.Hor.Ars Poetica."Princes will sometimes mourn their lot in prose.Peleus and Telephus, broke down by woes,In indigence and exile forced to roam,Leave sounding phrase, and long-tail'd words, at home."—S.

[219]

Et tragicus plerumque dolet sermone pedestri.Telephus et Peleus, cum pauper et exul uterque,Projicit ampullas et sesquipedalia verba.

Hor.Ars Poetica.

"Princes will sometimes mourn their lot in prose.Peleus and Telephus, broke down by woes,In indigence and exile forced to roam,Leave sounding phrase, and long-tail'd words, at home."—S.

[220]Parl. Debates, vol. xxx., p. 377.

[221]"In default of America, I prefer England to any other country. I shall take the name of Colonel Meuron, or of Duroc."—Instructions to Gourgaud, July 13, 1815; Savary, tom. iv., p. 162.

[222]Parl. Debates, vol. xxxiii., p. 213.

[223]Parl. Debates, vol. xxxiii., p. 235.

[224]"Je le répète, il peut s'évader seul, et aller en Amérique quand il le voudra." Taken from a report of Baron Sturmer to Prince Metternich, giving an account of General Gourgaud's communications, dated 14th March, 1818.—S.

[225]"Je ne puis plus vivre en particulier. J'aime mieux être prisonnier ici, que abre aux Etats Unis."—S.

[226]Warden's Letters from St. Helena.

[227]Voice from St. Helena, &c.

[228]Appeal to the British Nation, &c. By M. Santini, Porter of the Emperor's closet.

[229]Official Memoir, dictated by Napoleon; being a Letter from Count de Montholon to Sir Hudson Lowe.

[230]Manuscrit venu de St. Hélène d'une manière inconnue, &c.

[231]"Santini has published a brochure full of trash. There are some truths in it; but every thing is exaggerated."—Napoleon,Voice, &c., vol. ii., p. 76.

[232]Vol. xxviii., p. 227.

[233]Sir Hudson Lowe writes, for example, to Lord Bathurst, 13th May, 1816:—"Having found Dr. O'Meara, who was attached to Buonaparte's family on the removal of his French physician, very useful in giving information in many instances, and as, if removed, it might be difficult to find another person who might be equally agreeable to General Buonaparte, I have deemed it advisable to suffer him to remain in the family on the same footing as before my arrival." On the 29th of March, 1817, Sir Hudson writes:—"Dr. O'Meara had informed me of the conversations that had occurred, and, with that readiness which he always manifests upon such occasions, immediately wrote them down for me."—S.

[234]"A catastrophe seemed inevitable. Napoleon indeed concluded that there was a determination to bring it about. On the 6th of May, he sent for O'Meara, in order that he might learn his personal position. He desired me to express to him in English, that he had hitherto no cause of complaint against him. It was necessary, he said, to come to an understanding. Was he to consider him as his own physician personally, or merely as a prison doctor, appointed by the English Government? Was he his confessor or his inspector?Had he made reports respecting him, or was it his intention to do so if called upon. The doctor replied with great firmness, and in a tone of feeling. He said he had madeno reportrespecting the Emperor, and that he could not imagine any instance in which he might be induced to make a report, except in case of serious illness."—Las Cases, tom. i., p. 211.

[235]Last Days of the Emperor Napoleon, vol. i., p. 60.

[236]Last Days of the Emperor Napoleon, vol. ii., p. 185.

[237]Las Cases, tom. ii., p. 89.

[238]Las Cases, tom. ii., p. 115-120.

[239]Hist. de la Campagne de 1814 par Alphonse de Beauchamp.

[240]"It appears that this governor was with Blucher, and is the writer of some official letters to your government, descriptive of part of the operations of 1814. I pointed them out to him, and asked him, 'Est-ce vous, Monsieur?' He replied, 'Yes.' I told him that they werepleines de faussetés et de sottises. He shrugged up his shoulders, and replied, 'J'ai cru voir cela.'"—Voice, &c., vol. i., p. 49.

[241]Las Cases, tom. i., p. 121.

[242]Voice, &c., vol. i., p. 93.—"The Emperor admitted that he had, during this conversation, seriously and repeatedly offended Sir Hudson Lowe; and he also did him the justice to acknowledge, that Sir Hudson had not precisely shown, in a single instance, any want of respect; he had contented himself with muttering, between his teeth, sentences which were not audible. The only failure, perhaps, on the part of the governor, and which was trifling, compared with the treatment he had received, was the abrupt way in which he retired, while the admiral withdrew slowly, and with numerous salutes."—Las Cases, tom. iii., p. 222.

[243]The claret, for example, was that of Carbonel, at £6 per dozen without duty. Each domestic of superior rank was allowed a bottle of this wine, which is as choice, as dear certainly, as could be brought to the table of sovereigns. The labourers and soldiers had each, daily, a bottle of Teneriffe wine of excellent quality.—S.

[244]Voice, &c., vol. ii., p. 76.

[245]"Sept. 19.—The Emperor examined a large basket-full of broken plate, which was to be sent next day to the town. This was to be for the future the indispensable complement for our monthly subsistence, in consequence of the late reductions of the governor. When the moment had come for breaking up this plate, the servants could not, without the greatest reluctance, bring themselves to apply the hammer to these objects of their veneration. This act upset all their ideas; it was to them a sacrilege, a desolation! Some of them shed tears on the occasion!!"—Las Cases, tom. iii., p. 184.

[246]"As I was waiting in the antechamber with the military secretary, I could hear, from the Emperor's tone of voice, that he was irritated. The audience was a very long, and a very clamorous one. On the governor's departure, I went to the garden, whither the Emperor had sent for me. 'Well, Las Cases,' said he, 'we have had a violent scene. I have been thrown quite out of temper! They have now sent me worse than a gaoler! Sir Hudson Lowe is a downright executioner; I received him to-day with my stormy countenance, my head inclined, and my ears pricked up. We looked most furiously at each other. My anger must have been powerfully excited, for I felt a vibration in the calf of my left leg. This is always a sure sign with me; and I have not felt it for a long time before.'"—Las Cases, tom. ii., p. 286.

[247]Las Cases, tom. i., p. 61.

[248]Las Cases, tom. ii., pp. 1-7.

[249]Seeante, vol. ii., pp.7and8,note.

[250]"Plays occupied our attention for the future; tragedies in particular. Napoleon is uncommonly fond of analyzing them, which he does in a singular mode of reasoning, and with a great deal of taste. He remembers an immense quantity of poetry, which he learned when he was eighteen years old, at which time, he says, he knew more than he does at present."—Las Cases, tom. i., p. 249.

[251]"Tragedy fires the soul, elevates the heart, and is calculated to generate heroes. Considered under this point of view, perhaps, France owes to Corneille a part of her great actions; and, had he lived in my time, I would have made him a prince."—Napoleon, tom. i., p. 250.

[252]"Napoleon is delighted with Racine, in whom he finds an abundance of beauties. He thinks but little of Voltaire, who, he says, is full of bombast and tinsel; always incorrect, unacquainted either with men or things, with truth or the sublimity of the passions of mankind."—Las Cases, tom. i., p. 249.

[253]"Voltaire, in the character and conduct of his hero, has departed both from nature and history. He has degraded Mahomet, by making him descend to the lowest intrigues. He has represented a great man who changed the face of the world, acting like a scoundrel, worthy of the gallows. He has no less absurdly travestied the character of Omar, which he has drawn like that of a cut-throat in a melo-drama. Voltaire committed a fundamental error in attributing to intrigue that which was solely the result of opinion. Those who have wrought great changes in the world, never succeeded by gaining over chiefs: but always by exciting the multitude. The first is the resource of intrigue, and produces only secondary results: the second is the resort of genius, and transforms the face of the universe."—Napoleon,Las Cases, tom. ii., p. 80.

[254]Narrative, p. 234.

[255]"The sound of bells produced upon Napoleon a singular effect. When we were at Malmaison, and while walking in the avenue leading to Ruel, how often has the booming of the village bell broken off the most interesting conversations. He stopped, lest the moving of our feet might cause the loss of a tone in the sounds which charmed him. The influence, indeed, was so powerful, that his voice trembled with emotion while he said—'That recalls to me the first years I passed at Brienne.'"—Bourrienne, tom. iii., p. 222.

[256]Seeante, vol. ii., p.76.

[257]Las Cases, tom. ii., p. 325.

[258]Las Cases, tom. ii., p. 324.

[259]O'Meara, vol. i., p. 65.

[260]Captain Hall's Voyage to the Eastern Seas, vol. i., ch. vii., pp. 302, 319.

[261]SeeAppendix,No. IV., for one of the best and most authentic accounts of Napoleon's conversation and mode of reasoning.

[262]"See Dr. Baillie's inestimable book on Morbid Anatomy, pp. 141, 142."—S.

[263]See, for a detailed account of the establishment at Longwood,Appendix,No. V.

[264]Las Cases, tom. iii., p. 359.

[265]Las Cases, tom. iv., p. 281.

[266]See Parl. Debates, vol. xxxv., p. 1137.

[267]Voice, &c., vol. ii., p. 256.

[268]The letter alluded to is quoted at full length in the Quarterly Review, vol. xxviii., p. 224 to p. 226. It was received after Dr. O'Meara's dismission; which therefore, must have been occasioned only by the suspicion of what was afterwards proved.—S.

[269]"As member of the College of the Propaganda, he could not go alone. Missions in which the line is to be crossed, must be composed of at least two missionaries; and the Abbé Vignali, who had some notions of medicine, was attached to Bonavita. Princess Pauline gave her cook; Madame Mère one of her valets; and thus a little colony was formed."—Antommarchi, vol. i., p. 9.

[270]Mémoire sur le Consulat, 1799 et 1804.—S.

[271]Antommarchi, vol. ii., p. 71.

[272]Such at least was the report. The attempt was to have been made by Johnstone and his desperate associates in a boat, which they were to row across the Scheldt towards Flushing, just when Napoleon was proceeding thither. They were to board the imperial barge, throw every one save Napoleon into the sea, and, removing him to their own light row-boat, were to pull out and deliver him up to the British squadron, then cruizing off the island. It is added, that Napoleon took the alarm from seeing a boat rowing very swiftly towards him, and, ordering his crew to pull harder, or give way, as it is called, the smuggler, instead of running athwart the barge, fell astern, and the opportunity was lost. We do not know that there is any good authority for this story.—S.

[273]Parl. Debates, vol. xl., p. 1559.

[274]Despatches to Sir Hudson Lowe, 30th September 1820.—S

[275]Antommarchi, vol. i., p. 339.

[276]Antommarchi, vol. i., p. 363.

[277]"'Twas ever thus—from childhood's hourI've seen my fondest hopes decay;I never loved a tree or flower,But was the first to fade away."

[277]

"'Twas ever thus—from childhood's hourI've seen my fondest hopes decay;I never loved a tree or flower,But was the first to fade away."

[278]Antommarchi, vol. i., p. 371.

[279]"He repeated the attempt three or four times, and with as little success. 'I now see,' said he, with a tone of affliction, 'that my strength forsakes me. Nature no longer answers, as formerly, to the appeals of my will; violent shocks are no longer suited to my debilitated frame: but I shall attain the end I propose by moderate exercise.' On the following day, the Emperor was labouring under profound depression of spirits;—he still felt persuaded that exercise would save him. 'Sire,' said Montholon, 'perhaps the see-saw would do your Majesty good?'—'True, I will try: have one arranged.' This was immediately done; but this motion produced no favourable effect, and he gave it up."—Antommarchi, vol. i., p. 393.

[280]Dr. Shortt, physician to the forces; who, at this time, replaced Dr. Baxter as principal medical officer at St. Helena, and to whom we have been obliged for much valuable information.—S.

[281]Antommarchi, vol. ii., p. 59.

[282]"I seized a moment, when the Emperor was more tranquil, to hazard a few words about the necessity of a consultation.—'A consultation! what would be the use of it? You all work in the dark. No! I will have none of them.' The Emperor was warm, and I therefore did not insist for the moment, but waited until he was more calm, when I again pressed the subject. 'You persist,' said he, with a tone of kindness, 'consult with the physician of the island that you consider the most skilful. I accordingly applied to Dr. Arnott."—Antommarchi, vol. ii., p. 59.

[283]Antommarchi, vol. ii., p. 65.

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